The challenge of coming to terms with the reality of the digital age is one of the most absorbing facing education in Scotland. As ever the needs and expectations of children must be balanced by our responsibility to ensure that each child receives the best possible education.

As young people become increasingly confident with IT, their expectations of what constitutes a relevant and accessible education have changed. This has created a number of challenges with regards teaching methods and how best to come to terms with the new reality teachers and pupils are facing. Amongst these challenges lie opportunities for advancement, on both an academic and practical front, in terms of how best to achieve results.
 
The benefits of allowing children to use devices in conjunction with traditional methods remain debatable but technology is transforming society and education is not immune. Schools now have the chance to engage better with children who may otherwise struggle to attend the classroom, close the attainment gap and help those with literacy problems and motor problems. Technology provides teachers with exiting opportunities to offer personalised learning and to keep lessons relevant and engaging for children.

Despite this progress more needs to be done in order to ensure children across the country reap the benefits. The Scottish Governments Technologies for Learning Strategy will attempt to redress this balance by embracing digitised learning but there remains work to be done, not least how we make ICT cost effective for schools and how we encourage learners to make the most of it.

This Holyrood magazine conference will discuss ICT in our schools, bringing together education and IT professionals to discuss how we bring exciting new technology into classrooms. Experts from the IT and education sectors will discuss how best to develop ICT in schools in order to ensure a world class education for Scotland’s learners.