A close look at a significant number of schools where technology has changed how learning takes place, rather than just injecting productivity into existing practice, reveals some emergent certainties for schools starting new-build BSF planning or refurbishment.
If you add technology to learning, it usually engenders longer blocks of concentrated activity. Children move a lot less within schools, but they will now be moving more between schools and other institutions, helped perhaps by today's better communications. This requires a fresh look at both architecture and timetables.
Schools are moving rapidly to much longer teaching blocks. Half-day blocked timetables make off-site learning simpler to organise, with the longer blocks having less "disruption" time and giving rise to the now many corridor-less schools. After all, why waste a fifth of the BSF budget on spaces to move children when they don't move? Off-site and inter-institutional learning means networks need to be much more open, with better access and less draconian firewalls.
A locked-down network will simply waste the opportunity provided as equipment gets cheaper, personally owned and more ubiquitous. If children can walk into Starbucks and go straight online, they will expect the same from their schools and, anyway, with mobile phone operators now offering high-speed uplink packet access (HSUPA) with up to seven megabits nationwide, children will use networks other than the schools', even in school. A "guest" network works for most companies, why not schools too?
Children increasingly own a wide range of useful equipment. In some areas, a laptop is not a wise thing to carry home; in others ruggedness and splashproofing may be key, while yet others seek the tactile feedback of today's touch screens, or just a smartphone. Personalisation means more reliance on personal ownership, without neglecting equality issues.
As children reach out for multiple media in their study, the learning space starts to move away from a traditional front-of-class approach to offer multiple spaces for small groups to present to each other. The school might not be funding vast and slow computer suites any more, but it will need to be looking at a lot more white walls for projectors. Energy becomes an issue with so much presentation on offer, and LCD projectors look like a way to help minimise the carbon footprint of the hi-tech school.
Technology transforms administration, too. Smartcards can offer far more than reliable registration: smartlocks can limit access to unstaffed areas (where there is science or sport equipment, for example). Smartcards can also make the movement between institutions much easier to monitor, but neighbouring schools and colleges really do need to get their act together on this or students will co-exist in a number of unlinked parallel registers. Tomorrow's technology will always surprise us; we need buildings and systems that are ready for surprises!
Professor Stephen Heppell runs his own ICT education consultancy at heppell.net
