The force is with Scotland’s schools intranet, literally. I really had to read this story twice to believe it, and didn’t know whether to laugh or to re-read it a third time. Direct from the Times Online, I’ve really nothing to add to make this more amusing… or curious: The force is with Scotland's schools intranet, says George Lucas.

“It seemed the most unlikely of joint-billings - the Star Wars director George Lucas and a modest Scots initiative to improve e-communication within schools.

 

In what must rank as one of the most heady compliments ever given to an education system, the film maker announced to members of the US House of Representatives that America should adopt Scotland's pioneering school websites as a way to improve pupil access to technology.

 

May the force, indeed, be with Glow, a scheme which sets up chatrooms and shared resources for pupils and is being held up as a shining international example of how ICT can help teaching and learning.

 

Mr Lucas, who heads his own not-for-profit education foundation and is on the quest for what he calls “edutopia”, told representatives on the telecommunications and internet sub-committee that the US is lagging behind Scotland in using 21st century tools to teach its children.

 

He said: “This year we describe a project from Scotland called Glow, the first national schools intranet, which provides every Scottish school with a common e-platform for student and teacher e-mail, for parents to have regular communication with their schools, for publishing school websites and for features such as online course and videoconferencing between schools.

 

“This kind of common platform makes perfect sense. As companies and government agencies do, school districts and states should invest in ensuring that each of their locations has the same suite of online tools for their work and communications.

“But school districts and states have been slow to invest at the level the Scottish government has done for its schools. For a nation of five million people, the system cost $75 million and took four years to develop.”

 

Glow, which is run by the organisation Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS), with £37.5 million funding from the government, is credited with revolutionising e-teaching in Scottish schools.The network could eventually see around 800,000 pupils, teachers, parents and education professionals from all 32 Scottish local authorities linked together.

 

By all accounts, this is a very intriguing and worth program. And I salute Lucas for citing and promoting the program. In fact, I truly believe that there is no more worth cause in the Western World than children’s programs, particularly those that focus on education."

But, Glow? The force is with “Glow”?

Notwithstanding all the potential jokes and puns (I’m trying hard to refrain), I would like to know more about Glow if anyone has a decent case study to share?