Interview with the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, the Rt Hon Charles Clarke

 'You have pioneered the use of e-communications in the
educational world not just in this country, but internationally, and I
think it is no exaggeration to say that without the work that Jisc has
done, we would be literally years and years behind where we should
be.' Rt Hon Charles Clarke, Secretary of State for Education
and Skills, to the Jisc Conference, ICC Birmingham March 2003.

In his speech to the Jisc Conference in March 2003, Charles Clarke, the
Secretary of State for Education and Skills, set out a range of priorities
in the field of e-learning and the role of Jisc in tackling these
priorities. Jisc Inform followed up an invitation from the Secretary of
State for an interview to pursue in further detail some of the themes he
set out in his speech.

JI:  What do you see as the main advantages
or benefits of using Information and Communications Technology (ICT) - for
learners, teachers, parents, managers ?

CC:  E-learning offers flexible learning on demand,
any time or anywhere. It can allow learners to take part in active and
creative learning with others through simulations, role-playing, remote
control of real-world tools and devices and so on. I don't think ICT
can replace teachers and lecturers but, alongside existing methods, it can
certainly enhance the quality and reach of their teaching and reduce time
spent on administration. It can also offer a wide range of design tools to
enable teachers to be innovative: creating and sharing ideas, or
customising resources for their own use. It can offer parents excellent
home-school links through MLEs (Managed Learning Environments), which allow
them to follow their child's lessons and progress from home. ICT can
provide advice and reassurance for parents through portals such as The
Parent Centre.

There are many examples of e-learning successes in our schools, colleges
and universities, but they are not yet universal. This is why we have
published proposals for an e-learning strategy, which addresses the needs
of all learners and potential learners, and all sectors of education and
training from early years to higher education (HE).

JI:  The e-learning strategy will need to challenge the main
barriers to the use of ICT. What do you see as the main barriers to a
higher level of use of ICT ?

CC:  We have identified seven areas where we believe
action is required. Education leaders need more support to enable them to
lead and manage the challenging change processes involved. We also need to
engage staff more widely. They should all be fully aware of the benefits of
ICT, and encouraged to take advantage of it, both pedagogically to enhance
teaching, and administratively to maximise value for money. This should be
coupled with support and guidance to help higher education staff respond
effectively to the increased ICT demands of today's student.

JI:  In a speech at the Association for Learning Technology
conference in 2002, Lord Puttnam talked about one of the main barriers to
widespread use of ICT as the structure of government departments - the
unhelpful split between schools, FE and HE. In the era of lifelong
learning, does this structure need to be re-thought ?

CC:  The e-learning Strategy Unit is well established
in the Department with a cross-sector brief to facilitate communication and
development of the e-learning Strategy. The autonomy of HE institutions,
however, means that the sector faces some unique challenges, and we have
asked the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to bring
forward plans for a detailed e-learning strategy for HE.

JI:  Lord Puttnam also talked about the barriers being a lack
of imagination and vision. Are we too ambitious in what we are trying to
achieve or not ambitious enough ?

CC:  The actions that we are proposing are
challenging, and rightly so. I want all children and adults, all teachers
and lecturers, all trainers and mentors, to experience the fantastic
excitement of these new ways of teaching and learning. I want us to turn
the pockets of excellence we already have into standard features of
teaching and learning. This is why we have focused on innovation and
creating the conditions that allow the education workforce to take more
responsibility for the way teaching and learning is carried out, beyond the
physical constraints of the classroom, the book and the timetable.

JI:  In your speech at the Jisc conference, you talked about
the need for a coherent 'e-something' to bring together the large
number of publicly-funded e-initiatives. How do you see Jisc's role in
bringing together this coherent e-something ?

CC:  Jisc is well placed to promote collaboration
between FE and HE as the only strategic body to work across both sectors,
and to extend this work into the adult and community learning, and
specialist colleges. Working with Becta, Jisc can help bring about a truly
joined up service so that the benefits of ICT are felt by all learners at
all stages.

JI:  We would hope that the universities would have experience
to share with the schools' sector. What might the university sector
learn from the schools' sector in the deployment of ICT ?

CC:  The potential of ICT to motivate and inspire
young people is well documented. The ImpaCT2 study recently found that
pupils who use ICT in the classroom get better results than those that
don't. This is shown to be true across all abilities, communities and
subjects tested. The research also shows that we must have a teaching
profession that understands how best to apply ICT to support and enhance
teaching and inspire all children to learn. This would also be true for
tutors and students in universities.

Schools and LEAs (local education authorities) are also very innovative in
levering funding and a range of resources from a variety of sources,
including money allocated to government departments, such as regeneration
funding. Industry, from local supermarkets to multinational corporations,
also supports ICT in schools through sponsorship deals. A key priority of
the DfES (Department for Education and Skills) and HEFCE is to continue to
identify and disseminate good practice from wherever it is found.

JI:  Content - either creation, use or licensing - is one of
the biggest single costs for the mainstream uptake of ICT. Do you see
potential for sharing content across sectors given the lack of an
established curriculum in FE and HE ?

CC:  One of the great assets of ICT is the
flexibility of content, as the same piece of information can be easily
adapted to a number of uses. For example, a 3-D online model of a trench
could be used by a PhD student studying war poetry, by an A-Level
psychology student studying the effects of shell shock and by a primary
school teacher preparing for a trip to the Imperial War Museum.

The recent White Paper 'The Future of Higher Education' makes clear
the importance we attach to the strong development of links between higher
and further education, notably through the development of foundation
degrees. I very much welcome the extension of JANET coverage to the further
education sector to enhance future collaboration between the sectors. In
considering the sharing of content, we must be aware of wider issues, not
least intellectual property rights, and I welcome the work of Jisc in
addressing this vital issue.

JI:  Deploying ICT forces schools, colleges and universities
to explore questions about the quality of their programmes. In the long
term, do you see ICT as a positive or negative force for the overall
quality of education in the UK ?

CC:  I think e-learning is an important, positive
force because it can contribute to all the Government's objectives for
education: raising standards; improving quality; removing barriers to
learning; preparing for employment; improving workforce skills; and
ultimately, ensuring that every learner achieves their full potential. If
implemented poorly, however, it can be a negative and costly force, which
is why we need to get it right.

JI:  The e-learning consultation document released this summer
marks an important moment in Government engagement with the question of ICT
in education. What do you hope the consultation process and the discussion
surrounding the document will lead to ?

CC:  We are trying to consult as widely as possible,
which is why the consultation period is longer than usual. The strategy
involves a wide range of people from head teachers, college principals and
vice chancellors through teachers and lecturers to individual learners and
would-be learners. We want to encourage high-quality debate and real
understanding of the role of everyone in fully embedding e-learning
throughout all the sectors.

 

Rt Hon Charles Clarke

Secretary of State for Education and Skills

speaking at the Jisc Conference

ICC Birmingham

March 2003