There is much talk on a national scale about raising standards, setting targets, and introducing teaching and learning styles, and the apparent 'problem' of boys' underachievement. In many cases that is all that appears to be done...just talking about it ! There is also the advent of the National Grid for Learning, and the Virtual Teachers' Centre, designed to assist teachers to overcome the 'technology' fear factor, and to use ICT in a meaningful and relevant way in the classroom. Many teachers will be unaware of  1998 being  assigned  'Net Year ' in the UK. There is a very real danger that 1998 will slip by quietly with the vast majority of teachers being unaware, or not appreciating the use of ICT can be applied now, and that it is not a virtual dream of a few teachers, lost in cyberspace.

The Tenerife Project is designed to used in conjuction with everyday, or 'normal' , teaching. It offers a means by which the learning process can be enriched and enhanced, by the use of computers and communications technology. The teaching objectives can still be reached, and the use of ICT offers more variety and options in the way that they can be achieved. More importantly, it offers the opportunity for teachers and students  to learn on a global stage, rather than just being based in a classroom. It is designed to complement the existing teaching and learning styles, and also to extend and enrich them. It should generate more enthusiasm for learning, by students and teachers being able to use a global resource, and to communicate with other students and teachers, in other countries.

It is all too easy to find excuses not to use ICT within teaching. Getting to grips with ICT is one of the most important challenges that teachers face as we approach Year 2000. The use of computers and communications technology is here to stay, and we would be depriving our students the opportunities that they need as they need as we enter a new era of  technological development, which will have a major impact on education.

I have already spoken with other colleagues in other departments about this venture, and the feedback has been most encouraging. Quite apart from the subject learning targets for the students to be achieved, there are a number of targets for all teachers to be met by 2002, set by the UK Government. Here, by use of  The Tenerife Project , is an opportunity for those targets to be achieved , but also having the benefits of being an enjoyable and pleasurable experience at the same time !

Martyn Overy