Mar
10
Cutomers don’t seem to matter; except for their money.
March 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment
It’s no secret that the Rudd government is about to issue thousands and thousands of netbook like devices to all Year 9 students. There is much consternation on who will support them and how they are used in the classroom and so on. All the usual whinging that happens with anything that isn’t routine.
But!
There is [...]
Feb
5
Is a laptop school fundamentally different from a school where students have laptops?
February 5, 2009 | Leave a Comment
I think so because of where the focus is; it’s on who carries responsibility for using the technology. Teaching staff have done a fairly poor job over the last 20 years in adopting technology (remember that this is a broad stroke statement and not a comment on those individuals who do some truly remarkable things [...]
Feb
5
So why is filtering a pointless exercise?
February 5, 2009 | 1 Comment
Filtered, sensibly restricted internet access via cable and wireless should be available in all schools. It should be an attractive option within school grounds based on: ubiquitous access, high access speeds, uncapped capacity, extremely high reliability, large file storage capacity, reliable backup and support from sound educational software. This isn’t generally the case. Over zealous [...]
Jan
14
We have to stop thinking its homework…
January 14, 2009 | Leave a Comment
There is still an unfortunate and overwhelming belief that schools are supposed to subscribe to the Qantas method of education; face the front, sit up straight, turn off all electronic communications devices, we are landing now and will be for the next 20 minutes – after, you can move freely and join the world once [...]
Jan
8
Twitter is/was good – now, maybe, the too familiar is creeping in
January 8, 2009 | 1 Comment
Twitter is still one of the more brilliant components of a personal learning network. For example, the links to good stories and articles, websites about new innovative products and methods would be a 24×7 job to find if you’re doing it alone. This, plus the collective knowledge and memory of your followers still makes Twitter [...]
Dec
9
Antisocial networks??
December 9, 2008 | 1 Comment
All day we hear things like “the world is flat” “wisdom of crowds” “always on communications” and more and more and they are all right – in their own way. Well, except that wisdom of crowds thing. Can’t say I have a lot of faith in most individuals so a crowd of them doesn’t [...]
Dec
1
Overcoming technological myopia: Whos job?
December 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment
There is a common myth, a technological myopia, applicable to the current generation of students. Most students regularly use technologies like SMS texting, iPods, games consoles, internet chats, etc. It is highly visible and this leads to the (reasonable?) assumption that there is a broad and deep understanding of the associated technologies. This is a [...]
Oct
1
What should we expect of a keynote address?
October 1, 2008 | 4 Comments
Without question it should be inspiring, entertaining, thought provoking, and even leaving you feeling inadequate but promising to do better from here on. The speaker should be directly relevant to the premise of the event (conference). They MUST be a good public speaker with something to share. It should not an advertising session nor should [...]
May
21
I remember pen-pals
May 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Back in the not-so-old days, when I was much the age of the children I now teach, it was de-rigueur to have a pen pal; someone from far flung climes, or exotic sounding places and using foreign languages like… American. The intervening years between then and now, saw the popularity of correspondence and correspondents wane [...]
May
19
When you go into a photographic darkroom, there is change. Not just from the bright light of day into that rarified red glow, but a change of attitude. You go ‘there’ to work, to develop, to create… Don’t believe me? Stand with a group of year 10s in a photographic darkroom pending the slow fading [...]
