Bill Gates and the new frontier

The world's richest man is leading a technological revolution to transform education. Ali Brackenreports from the Microsoft summit in Edinburgh

How education is delivered at school is about to evolve beyond recognition. It's out with schoolbooks, in with computerised classrooms and, eventually, students sitting the Leaving Cert and Junior Cert exams using a laptop. But it's vested big business, not governments, driving this technological revolution.

"The blackboard is dead," says Jerome Morrissey, director at the National Centre for Technology in Education (NCTE), based at Dublin City University (DCU). Its role is to promote and assist schools in integrating information and communication technologies (ICT).

"More interactive material will begin to be delivered digitally through images, graphics and sound. This is needed to keep things relevant and students interested," he continues. "We're looking at the beginning of an exciting era."

An Irish school is one of 12 globally taking the lead in grasping the "digital chalk" and setting standards that will eventually be adopted in schools worldwide. Dunshaughlin Community College in Co Meath has been selected for development by Microsoft as a "school of the future" through new uses of technology.

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates made the announcement in Edinburgh last week that the Irish school earned its place in the Innovative Schools Programme because of its tech-savviness and visionary thinking.

The Microsoft boss spoke at length about his vision for the future of education at the company's Government Leaders Forum Europe, held at the Scottish Parliament. If you closed your eyes, you could have been listening to an academic expert. But then he slipped Microsoft's latest release, Windows Vista, into his speech, and you remembered one of the world's most successful businessmen was talking.

Gates's latest endeavour sees him sporting both his business and philanthropy hats. While the investment in this initiative is massive and consequent educational research will be invaluable, the potential knock-on financial benefits for the company cannot be ignored.

Describing the new programme as an "education experiment," he outlined the importance of access to education across the digital divide and erasing exclusivity of information through technology.

Within a decade, he predicted, schoolbooks will be replaced by technology and the potential benefits are boundless.

When Gates arrived in Edinburgh, he didn't come alone. Microsoft security personnel wasted no time in taking control of the Scottish parliament, a strange choice of venue for the conference.

When attempting to move around in the building, Microsoft personnel almost always escorted you. But this wasn't just for the protection of the Microsoft boss. If somehow you stumbled into the wrong area without the appropriately coloured pass, of which there were many, you could be held there indefinitely while your clearance was checked. Microsoft personnel outnumbered civilians five to one making security at Edinburgh airport seem lax by comparison.

In the media room, the irony wasn't lost when the company failed to supply the broadcast reporters with relatively basic technology necessary to do their jobs.

At a private press conference with a small group of reporters and the principal of Dunshaughlin Community College, Gates was unassuming, professional and up to speed on relevant educational research.

His approach was no-nonsense, nonetheless. "That's not what we're here to talk about," he told one reporter who asked an overly technical question about the new operating system. Time seemed precious for Mr Microsoft. After exactly 10 minutes' chit-chat, he was ushered out of the room by a few dozen personnel.

But not before driving home the message of the significant role the 12 schools will play in moulding future technological educational policy.

If the programme could be rolled out in schools worldwide instead of just a select few, he explained, the education world would be transformed. "The results would be phenomenal. There would be a dramatic reduction in drop-out rates and graduates would be ready for college."

Gates, the richest man in the world (according to Forbes, he is worth $58 billion), had no problem using his sway to urge governments to pick up the ball on supporting the computerisation of education. But until that day comes, the Microsoft boss has no problem investing his own cash.

Saying he's all too aware of the adage that "those who die rich, die disgraced", he added with a smile: "I'm working on avoiding that."

But our Government cannot be accused of blind technophobia. Almost two weeks ago, the availability of €252 million for ICT in schools under the National Development Plan was announced. In order to be granted funding, schools must have an e-learning plan in place.

But this ICT commitment comes after years of underinvestment in technology in schools. Last year, just €2.3m was given to schools for IT equipment and the Republic has one of the lowest rates of ICT usage in education in the developed world.

"The hope is that every school in Ireland will eventually be as advanced as Dunshaughlin, but that's a long way off. Eventually, textbooks will be replaced with technology and all teachers and students will work from laptops or tablet PCs," says Morrissey.

A recent NCTE study found that 20 per cent of computers in schools cannot be used, while 50 per cent are at least four years old.

It seems we've a long way to go. The next step for Ireland is to develop a "meta-tagging" curriculum system that all schools can access. "That's the real challenge now and one we're working on with our EU partners," Morrissey continues.

The benefits of using technology as a teaching tool in Ireland have already been explored through projects like the Libertines Learning Initiative. The introduction of software at select primary and second-level schools recently affected dropout rates and motivated students. "That, ultimately, is the point," says Morrissey. "We're on the right path."

How teachers embrace technological advancements in the classroom is central, but they are open to it, says Morrissey, with 95 per cent at primary and second level trained in ICT. "But the real experts in technology are the kids. It's time for us to legitimise their experiences in the classroom."