What will the school life of a pupil born in 2010 be like?

We've been asked to consider the above question, in terms of the differences that may or may not exist between the school experience for a present-day pupil and that of a pupil of the future.

Now as I don't currently work in a school, I have only done occasional workshops in primary and secondary schools, I must admit that my understanding of what comprises a 'normal schoolday' is limited. What I have witnessed, however, are the variations in what I have seen at the different schools I have worked in.

In terms of layout, for example, in one local primary school the classrooms were set out with clusters of desks to form small learning groups - and in a local secondary school, they had the more traditional rows of desks facing the teacher. I view the 'clustered', group-learning approach to be aligned with more contemporary views of learning, and so to me this illustrated that learning institutions vary greatly in their approaches.

In terms of technology, my involvement in schools has been in practical, creative workshops where a trip outside of school was normally involved, and I have not been overtly aware of the technological facilities available, aside from a digital projector. In one secondary school, however, I was offered use of an interactive whiteboard and of the facility of doing live classroom polling, to enable some interaction and to gage opinions and findings easily.

On a broader note, whilst I may not be aware of the intricacies of each school's current approach, I am aware of the wider issues facing mainstream education today, and that the country's education system is made up of a large variety of institutions with different funders, objectives and aims, loosely known as 'schools' - for example, state schools, independent 'public' schools, academies, 'free schools' and numerous specialist schools including faith schools. I don't think that I can discount the political and economical factors influencing decisions that are made in education, when discussing how the technology used in a classroom may change:

"How a society selects, classifies, distributes, transmits and evaluates the educational knowledge it considers to be public, reflects both the distribution of power and the principles of social control."
Bernstein, B. (1975) Towards a Theory of Educational Transmission. New York: Routledge.

However, whilst education in the classroom is managed by a variety of stakeholders, new opportunities for learning are being created at a staggering speed at home, thanks to the internet connection that many young people today have access to. This is creating a sense of both opportunity and trepidation for schools, in that the possibilities for facilitating creative, collaborative and student-led learning are growing, but that young people are keeping far more up to date with such technologies than the institutions managing their formal learning environments. I think that the excitement surrounding new and emerging technologies, such as web-based programmes and mobile devices, can be harnessed by learning facilitators, and needs to involve aspects of student-led learning as advocated by such collaborative mechanisms as Web 2.0 tools.

In summary, what I hope is that the classroom of the future will be one where learners can have a more active role in their learning. I believe that technology, combined with an increased appreciation for collaborative approaches from schools, can help to make this happen.