The Futurelab Research Day was hard work, and all the better for it. The sessions shared experiences of projects, discussion papers and research reviews, and posed difficult questions to an audience more than prepared to offer their perspectives from a wide range of different communities. The day was thought-provoking, and I went away with ideas, [...]

The Byron Review report was published today. I’ll let others express their opinions about new age ratings for video games and increased controls over children’s access to the internet. In fact, first glance, it all seems sensible, good stuff.
But.
Has anyone else seen the front cover of the report yet?
At first, what seem to [...]

I have observed that those involved long-term in the business of mainstream education become habitually ‘weathered’ by it’s idiosyncrasies. I have also observed that underlying educational dogma, systematic inflexibility and exclusive practices (figuring as the most likely causes which…) have made the system so resistant to and inadequate for wide-ranging change is (and has always been) the issue of power dynamics.

I thoroughly welcome the opportunity to critically examine where ‘we’* are heading in education. The ‘future’ discussion day prompted me to consider my own practice as an informal media educator and researcher. I am an advocate of the potential of informal education approaches in encouraging inclusive, participatory practice that seeks to encourage people to develop their own learning, on their own terms.

Therein lies maybe the strongest message of the day for me. Sat, listening to the dialogue stemming from the digital inclusion session, there was a congruence of thinking which positively affirmed practitioners facilitating (as opposed to the didactic implications which have been associated which teaching) young people’s choice and participation through digitally mediated processes in an educational context.

The conference confirmed, if I was ever in any doubt that the big issues and unresolved questions about education need wide and informed public and professional debate. Though we have barely scratched the surface of this dialogue we expect BSF stakeholders to be able to contribute with to the redesign of education for the 21st [...]