Education is breaking out of the classroom across the English Schools Foundation through its online connected learning community (CLC).
Children as young as eight showed teachers at an ESF conference on the CLC this week how they use e-learning to conduct surveys, discuss topics, do project work and submit homework.
The event, featuring the work of seven schools, was attended by about 50 teachers and curriculum leaders as well as a team of IT advisers from the Education and Manpower Bureau.
The CLC was launched in September last year by the ESF Educational Development Centre at a cost of about $600,000 and is available to all 16 ESF schools which can set up a school homepage - on which both access and content can be controlled - as well as departmental and class pages and forums.
Peter Woodhead, ESF information and communication technology adviser, said it aimed to promote inquiry-based learning and problem-solving.
'The teacher will create a homepage which introduces the topic. They will paste up the homework and the assignments and forum topics to encourage student debate and set up project groups,' he said. 'It has given students the tools and environment within which they can publish their work, get feedback and share ideas.'
For younger primary years, it was also being used to build links with parents.