Young learners reflections working within a rich e-learning environment

Abstract

E-learning is a word of the moment in the world of education. It has as its basis an immense variety of technologies and techniques. There are almost as many views on the place of ICT in underpinning teaching and learning as there are educational professionals. Such views are wide ranging: from enthusiastically optimistically to almost pathologically negative. But what of the views of the clients? The students themselves?

This small scale study, set in the context of Chafford Hundred Campus a new, technologically rich school with a highly innovative, personalised and integrated curriculum, has engaged students in discussing many issues surrounding e-learning. For example, learners reflected on the present and future roles of teachers in an e-classroom and the potential for collaboration and research-based learning.

The outcomes of this article clearly demonstrate that students in Year 8 at the Campus approach their connected school with a mixture of both excitement and trepidation. They are motivated, inspired and engaged by their learning environments. They value the inputs of their teachers and wish to see their roles change, rather than be eroded by the emerging technologies for learning. They see value in a goal of working alongside teachers and learning support tutors, face to face as both their mentors and as fellow learners. They perhaps, comprehend the concept of the lead learner more clearly that do we.