Education today 2010: The OECD perspective

the book, providing insight into both the research process and the children's thoughts, enabling the reader to create their own interpretations alongside the analysis given.The children did not uniformly feel that more ICT was necessarily desirable, one even explicitly stating 'I don't think it's a good idea' alongside a drawing of a frazzled looking boy standing beside a desktop computer (107).The authors note that 'the children's perceptions of future forms of education were remarkably mundane, rooted in the present-day context of the classroom and constrained by school rules, regulations and expectations' (110).The slightly unimaginative nature of the responses is suggested to demonstrate that the 'ICTsavvy' children are also 'school-savvy' with a strong awareness of how difficult it is to effect change in school environments.The final chapter draws from the findings of the research project as a whole to make recommendations and suggestions for change.The authors advocate a 'think small' approach, making adjustments that fit more closely with the realities of pupils' experiences of primary education.In contrast to other proposals for change and more technology led initiatives, Selwyn et al do not see a need for primary schools to buy new equipment or for subject teachers to receive yet more training, they suggest that 'instead the answer to changing ICT use in school for the better could involve something as simple as changing the ways that schools talk about technology with their pupils' (156).The authors' proposal has five distinct elements: to establish a dialogic approach to ICT; to encourage a democratic approach to ICT; to encourage a 'loosening up' of ICT use wherever possible; to empower teachers to act as orchestrators and managers of pupils' ICT use and to develop children's 'critical digital literacy' alongside their 'media literacy'.Each of these proposals is outlined in some detail in the chapter which contains concrete suggestions on how practitioners can develop the ideas.In this book, Neil Selwyn, John Potter and Sue Cranmer have been able to share the differing perspectives of over 600 primary pupils in considering the place of ICT in their lives.The detail provided on the children's current uses of technology, combined with a realistic sense of what could be possible, ensures the book meets one of its key aims -to reinvigorate the debate and reimagine ICT in school.In the current educational climate where the curriculum for both primary and secondary schools is under review in the UK, it seems vital to take into account the perspectives of the learners who are most affected by any change.By listening to and recording the experience of children from a range of backgrounds, this book provides a major contribution in developing that understanding.