The second conference was held in January 2008 at the Oaklands Hotel in Laceby.

The first speaker was Mick Waters from the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.

He believes the national curriculum should be treasured and valued and that it needs to be shaped to fit with children’s lives. To make the curriculum work, people in schools need to set understandings of their children alongside the learning they should meet to create learning that is irresistible. There was a strong theme about creativity and innovation in the curriculum and how technology can facilitate this.

The notes from Mick’s presentation can be downloaded from the link below.

Mick Waters Presentation

The second speaker was Professor Steve Molyneaux who is one of the leading experts in the use of ICT to support education and training. Steve talked about how today’s pupils have grown up with technology and are ‘digital natives’. He also talked about how the workplace has changed with the advances in technology and that by the age of 38 most people will have had about 14 different jobs. He then went on to discuss the impact that this has on the curriculum and what we need to do if we are to prepare our learners for a successful economic future. For some of the resources Steve used see the links below:

Digital Natives Digital Immigrants by Marc Prensky

Did you know? How advances in technology are changing learning