FOREST GATE CITY LEARNING CENTER, Newham, London; Facilities at this City Learning Center are shared between neighbouring schools and the local community.

• Learning in a context, drawing a number of ideas together by common themes (a way of learning currently familiar at primary level);
• Learning at the individual's own pace, which is often difficult to achieve if all learning is gained through lecture-style teaching;
• Variety in the learning experience, whether different teachers, different co-learners, different places or different styles of learning.

Working individually allows learners to set their own pace on projects that place their learning in context. However, individual work should not totally supplant other experiences (for example, an over-emphasis on computers for individual learning can lead to isolation). Group working develops social awareness and builds team working skills. It is also a valuable means of presenting ideas; it is a key part, for example, in primary literacy and numeracy hours. One important result of more independent working is that it tends to lead to higher adult/pupil ratios because guidance is needed, although a lighter ‘collegiate’ touch can be effective. Adults can include parents or others with specialist knowledge, business partners or support staff.

ICT and the way we learn
Developments in ICT have had, and will continue to have, a profound effect on teaching and learning. Computers are now an essential tool for learning. The number of computers in schools will continue to increase and, in the future, it is likely that all pupils will have their own (wireless) hardware. Electronic whiteboards, scanners and colour printers are also becoming valuable teaching aids. Where practical activities are prohibitively expensive or even dangerous, technology now allows pupils to have 'virtual' practical experience. Good quality recordings of speech and music mean that oral skills can be learnt and

With ICT, individualised work plans can be devised for pupils, allowing them to learn at their own pace. In the future, pupils may have their own hardware.

assessed more easily Government initiatives are supporting the use of new technologies through the National Grid for Learning program for funding infrastructure and connectivity; the NOF teacher training program; initiatives such as Curriculum Online; and developments such as City Learning Center's which are being established to support a number of schools.
Used imaginatively, ICT can open up new learning opportunities. It should be seen as a creative tool that encourages learners to be actively involved in learning, enabling creativity and helping people to develop their learning and thinking skills.
It can give access to an enormous amount of information (hence our need to learn how to handle and critique information), which can be accessed and contributed to from anywhere at any time. Pupils can learn from, and with, others across the network ­ whether using the Internet or video link-ups ­ reducing isolation for outlying schools. They can communicate their ideas around the world, which is important to young people today who expect the right to be heard. ICT contributes to inclusion by offering multiple media opportunities that may engage some students previously alienated from education. In different contexts, and with different students, video, sound, speech, graphics and different cultural representations can close the 'inclusion gap' dramatically. ICT helps teachers to create personalised work plans to encourage individualised learning, making it easier for pupils of different ages and abilities to work more easily together. Students can be continuously assessed from a distance and records of achievement can be kept for a lifetime in a 'digital vault'. ICT can also enable remote access to school networks by teachers, which could help to improve their work/life balance by allowing greater flexibility in working time and place.