Terry Mahon says a curious thing on the way to the computer room. "The Internet can make all the difference for students who have been labelled `slow' or `remedial'. The Internet can set them free."
Curious because, well, it's just that, with his earthy mannerisms and meaty smile, the soft-spoken principal of St Oliver's Community College, Drogheda, Co Louth, bears scant resemblance to the yankophile techno `radicals' usually associated with such unabashedly utopian enunciations. But it's Mahon's fervent dedication to the information technology revolution which has propelled to the first rank of Internet-fluent schools in Europe an institution previously renowned chiefly for The Source, the surreal wedge of neo-pagan sculpture to be found bristling archly near the front gates and as alma mater of soccer internationals Gary Kelly and Ian Harte.
Last September St Oliver's became the first school in Ireland, and one among only a smattering across the EU, to offer each student, all 1,100 of them, open-ended access to the World Wide Web and individual email accounts. The project - christened `Teangmhail' (Irish for link) and unveiled earlier this year by the Minister for Education and Science, Micheal Martin - was accompanied by the expansion of the college's internal network. This involved making 80 per cent of the sprawling building Internet accessible and upgrading its web homepage to include a contact point for past pupils. Put simply, St Oliver's is hardwired to the bone.
Unlimited email access has yielded surprising results, according to Brian Lennon, guidance counsellor and computer studies tutor. The Internet, he says, with its infinite capacity to engage and enthral, is opening new vistas for children who have fallen behind in a conventional class-room environment.
"Why do certain kids start messing at school," he asks. "Because they are bored, because they don't know what's going on. But sit them in front of a computer and you'll see a transformation.
"They start to explore their environment. It may only be a home page set up by The Prodigy or an on-line chat room - but, to an extent, the issue of what they are doing on the net is irrelevant. The trick is to get them engaged again."
Lennon's mantra will be familiar to seasoned net watchers. Microsoft founder Bill Gates for one, is a convert. Gates is pushing hard for a greater share of the lucrative, ever expanding education software market through Microsoft's Anytime Anywhere programme.
The programme posits "a stream of consciousness" approach to education. The idea is that a child is more likely to develop an appetite for knowledge through exploring a computer environment rather than by being spoon-fed information in a stuffy classroom.
Gates says he wants to empower children, to make education a pro-active two-way process - and he won't complain that Anytime Anywhere needs Microsoft's Windows operating systems.
It was the munificence of IT's big boys, including Microsoft and network specialists Compaq which made the St Oliver's project possible. The school's Internet connection was provided by on-line developers Internet Ireland. The hulking "service provider" link serves as the hub of the company's Internet activity in the region. Outside calls are routed through St Oliver's, sparing the college costly overheads such as phone bills and line rentals which continue to hobble IT schemes in other schools.
An industrious hush pervades St Olivers' twin computer rooms. The atmosphere is akin to that of a third-level IT lab on the eve of an assignment deadline. There is no horseplay and little conversation - instead fingers dance across keyboards and the mesmerising, faintly disquieting, hum of computer fans dominate.
A member of staff is required to stay after hours to supervise but it's clear that pupils are unlikely to run amok in the absence of authority.
Like the Internet itself, students' on-line interests range from the mundane to the trivial to the downright bizarre. It's learning, Jim, but not as we know it.
"I emailed a message to Robbie Williams yesterday," giggles Transition Year student Martha Gorman from Termonfeckin. "He hasn't got back to me yet. But you never know . . ."
Classmate Andrew Farrell from Drogheda says that the Internet has been of invaluable assistance in his Transition Year project. At his side Niall Gilmore from Laytown confesses his email account had been pressed into action for electronic St Valentine's Day mail shots.
The students seem to be turning the Internet to every use under the sun - apart from the stodgy business of education itself. "So what," exclaims Lennon. "Yes, most of students are not using email in a way which is directly relevant to the curriculum. But - and this is important for their later education - they are developing as people. They are picking up communications skills. They are learning to use a tool of unlimited potential. The computer can become an extension of the child."
And the future? Principal Mahon points to a recent video conferencing link-up with a school in Finland. St Oliver's is also promoting a multimedia class as part of its Senior Certificate cycle. In addition, there are plans to supply every student with his or her own laptop, a central plank of the Anytime Anywhere project.
"We want every child in this school to be able to use a computer," says Mahon. "We've come a long way - but there's so much more we can achieve."
