Introduction

For almost twenty years successive governments have realised the importance of computers and computing and made significant investment in schools. The latest initiative, the National Grid for Learning, seeks to place online learning facilities at the heart of the curriculum for both teachers and students, and use it as a vehicle for Life Long Learning. The impact of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the classroom transforms management, organisation and conventional pedagogical approaches. Many teachers still struggle with the demands of ICT in the classroom: the ICT training programme provided by New Opportunities Fund aims to provide the skills and theoretical framework within which educational praxis can absorb these changes. From the mid 1990s, however, a significant number of students have gained access to a personal computer at home. The programs they use, the ways in which they learn and work they create mean that the education system struggles to meet the demands and expectations of these young people.