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Channel 4 held their annual Summer Education Conference last month, which brought together 300 of the country’s most inspiring and innovative teachers and educators to explore the new ideas and innovations which will shape education in the next decade. This year there was a particular focus on 14 – 19 year olds and how to reach and engage them using the latest technologies. The day also revealed Channel 4′s new education plans around citizenship, science and games.

For Channel 4′s commissioning editor for education and new media, Matt Locke, the argument around traditional teaching vs technology is a pointless debate because both the market and teen’s attention spans change so quickly that a definitive answer can not be made. For Matt, the real focus should be around how do we remain curious about the different ways people are learning and when new forms do come up, how do young people adapt and engage with these new technologies.

In 2006, college students at South Kent College in Dover were give free iPods so they could catch up on missed lectures in their own time, and just this year all new full time students at Seton Hill University in the USA, were provided with an iPad to assist them with their educational studies. Although these new media tools are innovative, and are certainly revolutionising the way young people educate themselves, it’s important to recoginse that these new technologies don’t replace traditional forms of teaching and that they only enhance the education system.
You can watch the full video report below:

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