.The art of developing a valid pedagogy for ITC in schools is to marry technical expertise with a meaningful philosophy of education.  Education should be about engaging with ideas, being creative and learning how to think; technology needs to enhance this and not to become the focus of interest itself. David Hargreaves has called for a change in pedagogy altogether; which can only be achieved by a new approach to learning, in which students learn faster and/or learn more than one thing at a time (a richer curriculum) at the hands of more skilful teachers (a better pedagogy) supported by a reformed approach to assessment (assessment for learning). This inevitably entails changes to the structure and culture of schools, ones that are needed to provide the conditions for a better curriculum for learning and pedagogy for learning. There are those who argue for a paradigm shift in education, using IT as the engine for change, while others have genuine reservations about the “IT revolution.

Thus the HMIe

“The ever increasing pace of development in ICT presents the education system with a challenge to develop a capacity for change that will ensure quick and flexible response to new opportunities. The effective use of the wide range of facilities offered by ICT opens up unprecedented opportunities for invigorating learning and teaching in our schools and improving pupils’ attainment in coursework across the whole curriculum. Indeed, our thinking on the nature of the curriculum itself is likely to be challenged as the use of ICT becomes more effective and widespread. Skills in using ICT provide the potential for access to lifelong learning opportunities that can empower all learners to develop their own unique intellectual capacity and operate as effective members of a digital society. In the longer term, the very nature of schools and learning communities is likely to be altered radically by the influence of ITC” 

 (source: “The Use of ICT in Learning and Teaching: A Report by HM Inspectors of Schools” 

In similar vein, an article in McKinsey Quarterly felt that ”Technology has the potential (to make) education more interactive. When linked to clear educational objectives, IT can enable students to master traditional skills, prepare them for work in a technological age, and—perhaps more effectively than other means—help them to think creatively, solve problems, and make decisions” Significantly, much support for ITC delivery in schools comes from business and management sources. Coburn in “School Planning and Management” states that:   “technology is the backbone that will support the transition from didactic instruction to a project-based curriculum… (it) can facilitate a new kind of learning experience: children engaged in the active construction and use of knowledge, not passive  receivers of decontextualized facts” 

(Source:  “School Planning and Management, Dec 1999 v38 i12 p5.Technology on the Horizon. Author:  Janet Coburn) 

The alternative view is well expressed by Gertrude Himmelfarb who is concerned that the computer screen is, ”… too fluid, too mobile and volatile, to encourage any sustained effort of thought. The emphasis on computer technology in schools is overrated”, she continues “because whatever students learn is obsolete by the time they are working. Computers are more suitable for training than for education.” Sociologist Mark Brosnan considers the tendency of ITC to reinforce typical gender and social patterns of inequality when he discusses the issue of technophobia, a major problem among many teachers. Such teachers either avoid using computers with their class or they pass on their negative views to their pupils. Brosnan also notes that girls are less confident or have less access to computers and they are less likely than boys to have or use computers at home. A management issue that arises is that girls prefer to work collaboratively on the computer rather than on individualised tasks. From “Technophobia: the psychological impact of information technology”(Mark Brosnan;  Routledge 1998)  Computer and business guru Alan November makes the cogent remark that school ITC plans need to recognize one over-riding point: Instead of asking teachers, “What technology do you need?” ask them “Which concepts are the most difficult to teach and what information would help you teach these concepts?”