Virtually There! The Millennium

Abstract

Providing the right learning environment in design and technology is not an easy task. An ideal environment is one where pupils have maximum autonomy and are working on self directed projects and where teachers are constantly assessing with pupils where they are and where they need to go. As a result, teachers have a complex management task providing multi-media resources and multiple paths for learning to suit individual needs. Our current situation does not make this easy and one can already begin to see how ICT (information and communications technology) will have an important part to play in lifting the barriers to quality learning.

This article begins by envisioning a 'parents' evening' and 'food technology lesson' in the millennium and then considers how well prepared design and technology teachers are for the changes that this scenario presents and what skills will become central in the future.