Hi-tech goes to the top of the class

He told conference-goers at the annual Bett educational technology show that he would personally take responsibility for improving the use of technology in England's schools and colleges.

"Technology has a huge impact on pupil's performances. It can empower learners, improve self-esteem and help motivation, thinking skills and concentration," he said.

but he said technology alone would have "as little pedagogic value as the quill pen," and promised that training would follow the hardware to ensure it was used to its best advantage.

At a later date, he said, technology would be harnessed to help with the assessment of pupils.

Power shift

Mr Clarke outlined his vision of an "e-confident" school that would use multimedia resources to their full advantage.

Such a school would promote collaborative and online learning for students and use video-conferencing to draw on the knowledge of teachers around the country.

He said technology in schools had the power dramatically to shift the relationship between students, teachers and parents, particularly by making greater use of e-mail.

The need for greater collaboration between teachers and schools was also a key theme of ex-head teacher Marion Brooks, who delivered the Times Educational Supplement's keynote speech.

She urged teachers to take more risks in their use of information and communication technologies in schools and to have more faith in their abilities.

"Lack of teacher confidence is our most pernicious constraint," she said.

She called for a network of collaborative schools, sharing not just best practice but also of technology that were not perfect or polished.

"We do not have a culture of sharing," she said.

Most importantly, she said, using technology in schools should be fun, integrated into music, art and drama lessons as well as the core subjects of english, science and maths.

"Gaming for instance is a reasonable thing to do in school, recognising the intrinsic skills it requires for what they are," she said.