ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the extent to which a range of ICT tools and Internet connectivity can be used to transform the learning environment. The answer to real educational transformation and improving student achievement using ICT is not simply providing access to content, but using the full range of tools available for students to seek the answers to authentic (relevant to the student's life experience) questions in a supported environment where well-constructed resources are just one part of the equation and where critical thinking and problem-solving skills are key. My background as a teacher, a teacher educator, a researcher and now working for an IT company as an education adviser, has enabled me to visit classrooms across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and be involved in observing and advising on the use of ICT for teaching and learning. This chapter is based on the experience I have gained and explains how these tools can justify the use of ICT alongside or instead of traditional text-based resources; the possibilities the tools open up for individualisation and personalisation; the potential for learning to be collaborative and to be supported and accessed anytime and anywhere; and the opening up of the classroom through access to other teachers, experts and students in other schools nationally and internationally.
