"Gove Misses The Point"

Online, January 21, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Next week in London, Learning Without Frontiers (LWF) hosts its biggest and most important conference to date. Featuring the most influential and esteemed gathering of education experts and leaders anywhere this year, the conference will continue to set the agenda for learning and education debate.

The recent announcement by UK Education Secretary Michael Gove that ICT is to be radically changed is likely to be welcomed by conference, but also questioned for failing to recognise the broader issues. Rather than simply looking at a single subject area, a digital revolution is needed across the curriculum.

Graham Brown-Martin founder of Learning Without Frontiers, says, "The world is currently going through a digital revolution, but rather than leading it, education is holding it back. This is crazy! Technology is prevalent in every aspect of our children's lives - they live and breathe it. And yet our education system largely ignores it.

"Gove needs to stop worrying about royal yachts and instead realise that ICT isn't simply a single subject, but rather the very engine of future learning. He needs to empower children and teachers to learn using interactive technology. And should encourage the use of tablets smart phones and digital platforms for learning in and outside of the classroom. He needs to understand that technology is the pencil and paper of the 21st century and that our education systems should reflect the rapid changes in our society.

"If he doesn't he will not be preparing our children for the future; but instead preparing them for the third division of global prosperity."

Taking place on 25th and 26th of January, at London's Olympia, this year's conference will debate Gove's announcement on ICT, as well as other government education initiatives. In addition the conference will act as a platform for a number of lively debates led by such speakers as Noam Chomsky, Dame Ellen MacArthur, Sir Ken Robinson and the Astronomer Royal Martin Rees. Noted futurists such as Jaron Lanier and Ray Kurzweil will present their visions of the future to conference.

On the morning of 25th the conference opens with the session "Learning Futures", which looks at the challenges ahead for children currently entering the education system. In the afternoon the discussion moves on to the important idea of "How Innovation Happens". The 26th looks at what is really meant when we say "21st Century Learning". The conference closes with a thought provoking debate on "Leading a Learning Revolution".

Using the space within Olympia's National Hall and inspired by the idea of the "pop-up uni-versity of the future", LWF have designed an innovative auditorium that maximises audience engagement. It is surrounded by an encampment of leading organisations in futuristic domes. All delegates' passes come with an iPad 2 which will enable the conference to be fully interactive.

Alongside the conference will be the free to attend, LWF 12 Festival. This will feature de-bates, seminars, talks, showcases and demo's from leading industry and content partners. The Festival will be open to the general public and it is hoped that up to 10,000 people will attend.

ENDS

If you would like further information please contact;

Andrew McLachlan 020.7384.6980 / 07931.377162 / [email protected]
Sion Taylor 020.7384.6980 / 07768.372714 / [email protected]
Katy Lithgow 020.7384.6980 / 07938 787 011 / [email protected]

Notes for editors

1. Learning Without Frontiers 2012 presents a challenging, provocative and agenda-setting conference about the future of learning presented by some of the world's leading thinkers and activists. The event is at London Olympia on January 25th and 26th 2012. An outstanding line-up of speakers includes;

Ray Kurzweil, Inventor & Futurist
Marjorie Scardino, CEO, Pearson Plc.
Jaron Lanier, Computer Scientist
Dame Ellen MacArthur, Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Noam Chomsky
Sir Ken Robinson
Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal
Mitchel Resnick, Director, Lifelong Kindergarten Group, MIT Media Lab
Stephanie Schipper, VP, Web Strategy, Mozilla
Francis Gilbert, Teacher & Author
Geoff Mulgan, Chief Executive, NESTA
Jacob Kragh, President, LEGO Education
Michael Brooks, Scientist & Author - Free Radicals
Charles Leadbeater, Innovation & Creativity Leader
Conrad Wolfram, Mathematician & Founder, Wolfram Research Europe
Edward Vaizey MP, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries

2. http://www.learningwithoutfrontiers.com/lwf12/

3. Media passes are available to all press who would like to attend.

To obtain a press pass please contact:

Katy Lithgow on 020.7384.6980 / 07938 787 011 / [email protected]