Authentic Learning

Becta's "Next Generation Learning" campaign aims to improve the way schools and colleges use technology for learning, and a key part of this drive is about raising awareness among parents of the benefits of technology and the internet, while encouraging them to stay safe online. There is a huge amount of advice and guidance available for parents to ensure their children are protected in the virtual world. Organisations like the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) and Stay Safe Online, for example, are working hard to help parents understand more about what their children are doing on the web.

I'm not saying these are necessarily bad things. I'm just saying they no longer exist as they once did b/c they relied on an inaccessibility/scarcity of information and the difficulty of forming and maintaining groups: two things media networks obviously do very well.

The British government has created a computer-literacy test that challenges teens to solve realistic problems (how to control crowds at a soccer match, for instance) using online resources. The more sophisticated these tools become, and the more adeptly test makers use them, the better assessment will be.

Schools have an educative role in preparing young people for an adult world. Irrespective of all the above, the most powerful means of protecting young people is to help them make appropriate decisions for themselves.

Schools have an educative role in preparing young people for an adult world. Irrespective of all the above, the most powerful means of protecting young people is to help them make appropriate decisions for themselves.