Two leading organisations representing technology practitioners and ICT professionals in education today launch a public discussion on the implications of new technology developments for schools, working with the Department for Education.

The initiative takes the form of an online conversation with teachers, parents, researchers, industry and the wider learning technology community through a site created by the Association for Learning Technology (ALT) and Naace to support a six-week moderated discussion about technology in learning in English schools.

Michael Gove offered his vision of the role ICT should play in education in the 21st century during his opening speech at the annual BETT show in London. The speech emphasised the critical role technology can play in transforming education and  equipping young people with technological skills and knowledge to meet the needs of further study and the workplace.

The discussion site – http://www.schoolstech.org.uk/ – will remain available until the end of February. It contains some "stimulus questions” on which comment is invited. In March ALT and Naace will produce a brief report on the discussion. This will serve as a contribution to coming to a shared understanding of the role of new technology in teaching and learning in the schools sector.

Bernadette Brooks, General Manager at Naace, The ICT Association, whose members include teachers, school leaders, advisors and consultants, said: “Naace is delighted to engage in this timely discussion. We are passionate about the best use of technology in schools and sincerely hope that this discussion will help inform and develop our thinking.”

Seb Schmoller, Chief Executive of the Association for Learning Technology, ALT the UK's leading membership organisation in the learning technology field, said: “The way that knowledge is now created, distributed and acquired has been transformed by the Internet and the Web. This raises profound questions about the role of technology in learning, about the skills of the schools workforce, and about how learning is organised. Today’s speech by Michael Gove touched on several of these issues. ALT is keen to now work with our schools-based counterpart Naace and with DfE in hosting and promoting this web-based discussion about the best ways to ensure that young people can benefit from technology-enhanced learning. We know that out there in the community there are teachers, parents, researchers and technology practitioners who have insights and experience to contribute."

Areas addressed by stimulus material on the website include:

• Coping with the pace of technological change,
• New models of teaching and education supported by technology,
• The need for new teacher skills – in 2010, 44 per cent of teachers said they required professional development in using technology in lessons.
• Professional digital tools and skills delivering authentic experiences

Notes to Editors

Social media: The hashtag for discussion on other social media is #schoolstech and the site ingests the Twitter stream with that hashtag in its right hand sidebar.

Naaceis a professional association representing the voice of the UK education technology community in the schools sector at a national and international level. It supports professionals across the sector through conferences, courses and the dissemination of resources, research and reflection. Naace plays a key role in both members’ professional development, through the challenge and support of a community of practice, and the development of the profession as a whole, through the sharing of innovation and expertise.

ALT is the UK's leading membership organisation in the learning technology field. Its purpose is to ensure that use of learning technology is effective and efficient, informed by research and practice, and grounded in an understanding of the underlying technologies, their capabilities and the situations into which they are placed. It does this by improving practice, promoting research, and influencing policy.

For more informationabout ALT go to http://www.alt.ac.uk/. For more information about Naace go to http://www.naace.co.uk/.