Principal Jan Olsen at Prince of Wales elementary school in Barrie – where Collett teaches – says schools have basically been operating the same way since the Industrial Revolution. But the digital age is bringing an education revolution all its own. While using technology is a part of it, what's important for students "is being able to use information and understand it, versus just remembering it." Students know more about technology than their teachers; and they're being educated for jobs that haven't yet been created, he adds, so what they really need are transferable skills.
A few years ago, the school banned homework, arguing there was little evidence it helped boost student achievement and that it wasn't fair to assign such work to students with challenging home lives when others had two parents at home able to help them. After the first year, grades went up slightly and parents raved about all the family time available.