Access to specialist knowledge through information and communications technology: a case study

Abstract

Faced with a shortage of suitably qualified teachers in many subject areas, the United Kingdom Government has set up a number of initiatives to explore ways of supporting students' learning in classes taught by underqualified subject specialists and classes with no specialist teacher. One such initiative has been the Key Stage 3 (11-14 age range) Educational Service Pilot, a £5 million project to investigate the contribution to learning that information and communications technology (ICT)-delivered courses can make in three subject areas: numeracy, Latin and Japanese. Drawing on evidence from the Latin element of the project, this article examines students’ reactions to studying a subject where they have access to a wide range of digital resources to support their learning but little or no face-to-face contact with a Latin specialist teacher. It also examines organisational issues that schools must address in order to establish effective elearning courses