DfES e-Learning strategy: Ruth Kelly comments :: PublicTechnology.net :: e-Government & public sector IT news from

DFES e-Learning strategy: Ruth Kelly comments


Is E-Learning technology the answer our school's problems?

I am all for Ruth Kelly's initiatives, however, the question that comes to mind is "Is this what we need?". Sure this might help some parents be more involved as they take a look that this latest "cool" thing at school. But will the enthusiasm last? If parents were not interested in their kids before will cool technology change that?

I'm usually optimistic but in this I am having difficulty believing Kelly. I think there is a lot more we need to know about parent involvement. Why are so many Asian parents so demanding of their kids, for example. Perhaps the answer is in that they have seen the negative consequences of not being educated. The income potential of education is truly amazing but for some reason that is not seen with the same urgency in other places. At least it doesn't seem to be urgent here in the USA. Maybe because for so long people in America have succeeded doing what they liked. Maybe that is a good thing...

Yes, I do support equipping the schools with up to date technology. I do support the use of e-learning and Kelly's initiatives since I successfully taught and tutored young children with such technology even in the late 80s. I well aware of the benefits of technology but I also know that much of the success we had at the Langston Hughes Institute in Buffalo, New York was due to parent involvement not just cool technology. Parents are the home are the greatest challenge for today's educators. We will be watching with interest the developments of this interesting initiative.