Digital learning

• 5 Stars

Images courtesy of Anne Keeling on behalf of Childwall Valley Primary School

The recommendations to Government by Sir Jim Rose’s Primary Curriculum Review Report say it loud and clear: digital literacy among all primary school children is essential. To what extent this government and any future government pursue the Rose recommendations is not yet certain, but the arguments for developing ICT from the earliest age cannot be ignored. As Jim Rose says: ‘To argue against the importance of ICT in the primary curriculum is to ignore the increasing digitisation of information worldwide. Information required for leisure, work, finance, communication and citizenship will be mediated electronically. In all branches of knowledge, all professions and all vocations, the effective use of new technologies will be vital.’ He goes on to say that foundations for the learning of ICT are best forged in primary schools to ensure that a population divide of ICT ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ never happens.