21st Century Educator

I have been wanting to upgrade my blog to wordpress V2 but I haven’t got the courage to do it as I am too scared 18 months of blogging will disappear!! Anyone got any ideas on how it can be done easily? I have been using wordpress version 2.whatever for some projects at work and think it is great.

I have been on the road quite a bit lately, working with different schools and presenting to principals in New Zealand. I get to do a lot of thinking while on the road, but very rarely get to write or post anything worthwhile on the blog. I have been interested to read a number of articles recently about how we need to teach kids to think with higher order thinking skills. I have linked to a particular article I read some time ago from the Melbourne age. Some ideas on how technology can help students to develop these higher order thinking skills….

1) I think we need to see students learn through discovery. Allowing them to experiment and have a go at something. Letting them work out how to get something to work or solve a problem. Students traditionally don’t like reading instructions, which is not such a bad thing as the problem can still be solved through experimenting and trial and error. Hopefully, students will learn that instructions are there to make the process easier and quicker, however, I don’t believe following instructions actually develops higher order thinking skills. These skills are developed when the student is made to think through ideas and concepts that will all work together to solve a problem. For example, why do we think we need to teach students how to use a software package? Why not tell the students to produce example ‘A’ using software ‘B’ by the end of the lesson by experimenting with the software. Some students will go straight to the help menu, but in my experience many will click around the screen trying different things. Many of them are accessing prior knowledge of other applications they have learnt and are attempting to apply it to a new situation. Unfortunately, schools are too busy to allow the time for this type of learning to take place. I think our prep teachers got it right when they integrate such a high level of experimental play into the curriculum. This is actually the beginnings of higher order thinking skills.

2) Writing with technology has recently lent itself very nicely to having students higher order thinking skills developed. When students are introduced to the world of blogging they are launching themselves into a whole new audience. They have a new audience to write for, it is not a traditional audience, in fact there are new skills required to write to a global social network audience. Students need to apply what they know about writing to different audiences and almost create an appropriate genre for their blogging. If the engagement and interaction with the audience is happening, hopefully students will be challenged by their readers to, apply, justify, and reason their thoughts. I use to write comments back to students that would challenge their opinions – Basically, inviting or requesting further justification.

3) Simulation is a powerful learning tool that I believe is not harnessed enough in learning. Technology allows us the ability to simulate an event with all the required parameters with out too much trouble. A basic example of this is sim-city or rollercoaster tycoon. I had students last year that were hooked on these types of games. I believe with very little guidance from the teacher students can begin to analyse their strategies for the game or for particular parts of the game and then see if they can improve their strategy. Future lab in the UK has some wonderful examples of this with the use of GPS technology and a simulated African wildlife adventure.

Just a few thoughts that I have finally got down here. It is interesting to note that while we have so many experts calling for students to be taught to be critical and higher order thinkers we have an education world that is speeding toward standardised testing that does not test these skills in a manner that is at all accurate for a 21st century world. We have the research and the skills from quite old research such as Bloom, Gardner etc, however we have policy makers that believe we can assertain the brilliance of students for the world they moving into by making them sit tests.

On the road again – this time in New Zealand on my way to a conference where I will be presenting to a group of Principals. Speaking to principals is always the hardest gig as they seem to be the most serious crowd you can present to. Never presented to an audience of this size before, so it should be an interesting experience. I returned last week from 2 weeks in Sydney and Melbourne. Spent the first few days in Sydney where the highlight was certainly the Education.au conference (See previous posts). What a great presentation it was…. The speakers all gave a unique perspective on the issues revolving around web 2.0

Had an interesting experience yesterday in the cab on the way to the airport. Actually I had one of those, wish I had recorded for a podcast moment. My cab driver was from India and just had an amazing life story. I asked him a few questions that I had about the Indian culture after reading “The world is flat.” He continued to tell me about his time in Indian Schools followed by studying here at an Australian University. I guess the most interesting thing here was the way that he was happy working his way from a cab driver (with a masters degree in International Aide) to a career in international aide. He continued to explain to me how he was now going to look for a trade so he could get out of the cab. He was studying at night to learn an electrical trade. What an amazing attitude to life!! I guess this paints a picture of a culture that is determined to be an economical power.

Anyway, thought I would share that one…. Wish I had recorded our chat on the way. Signing off now with another 3 hour wait in the airport!!!

How can digital technologies transform the way that people learn

I apologise for spelling mistakes…. Blogging on the fly issomething new for me!!! I will play with these posts later tonight.

This has been a great seminar…. One of the best I have attended in some time!! I will go through these posts and tidy them up in the coming days… For now here is the final session.

Opening with an interest video showing how students in London are using GPS technologies to learn about African wildlife. The students are out playing a game with GPS PDA’s, engaging in a game where they have to survive in the Suvanna. The students receive information through to their PDA - When they need to eat, drink and their success of surviving. Once they have finished using the game the students spend time to reflect on the experience. The learning becomes relavent and real to them. This is great!!!

We have a live link from one of the project officers in London about to give her presentation live from London. This is cool!!! (Virtual Suvannah - Still looking for the link)

The digital Environment

- User driven revolution

- Pervasive and ambient technologies

- Open source and scoial software

- Games environments (Joint authorship)

What might the learner of the future look like

- Learners shaping their own learning

- Networked and collaborative learners

- Changing ‘identities’

- Changing conceptions of production and consumption

- Expectations of agency and feedback

She has noted some ideas on assesment that are of interest to me…. Assessment as something that is collaborative. I would like some more thoughts on this.

We are watching a demo of a game that teaches physics of racing cars where students develop cars that perform in the game based on what the students have learnt about the properties learnt relating to the physics.

What might teaching and learning look like in the future

- C-learning not e-leanring (connectivity creativity community construction collaboration) - indivdual learning becoming less important or dominant.

- Authentic learning - Becoming relavent for young people (engaging the learner into curriculum)

- Immersion and simulation

- Particpation in real action (eg: Peer assessment)

- Making learning visible - Personalised digital resources… Logs of the learning. Visiable to parents, teachers and future employers. integrating features of video games into the learning of particular concepts.

(eg Space Mission Ice Moon: Another game (will try and find link later) that Future Lab developed where students engage in a video conference with a command centre where they have to save some stranded astronaunts. Students have a program on their computers that feeds health information about the stranded astronaunts which they use to work out how to communciate with one another to save the day!!

What are the impluications for the teacher and the educational institution

- Teachers needing to work out what the required competencies will be for students into the future. Teachers needing to reflect upon learning experience and understanding the learner more effectivly. Making connections for learners to other groups of learners or experts/resources. Needing to become and expert in learning, expert researcher of student learning, and an expert particpant that engages in learning forums for themselves.

- Institution becomes a site where learners go to support and review what learning is occuring. It is not the focus of learning experience rather the environment for sharing and collaborating.

How do we get there

- Learners as co-designers (Making it relavent to our learners, we engage the learners in their own learning outcomes, looking beyond the classroom and the learning that occurs outside the school - Assessing skills required for the 21st century survival. New Basics program from Queensland (Link coming soon)

- Innovative applications of technology to support learning

- New sites and spaces of learning

- Shifts to our curriculum assessment systems.

Question Time:

1) Making these concepts sustainable - Open source seems to be the answer to making these concepts sustainable and seeing them become affordabel. Young people seem to be the ones making this possible in the way they engage in the open source community.

2) Much of the teaching and learning theory is not new. It is using digital technolgies to enhance the great pracitce.

3) Using games in education without tagging them with the word education in a way that turns kids off using games in learning - How do we make sure this doesn’t happen? It is a matter of making the learning fun and engaging as students love learning when it is engaging.

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Apparently the 2 guest speakers have allready had their session added to the educationau website. We are about to start a workshop session….

List changes and trends that we have noticed in our work and or private life that are due to web 2.0 technologies?

- Commuciation in general

- Wider networks (Broader communities)

- Sifting through information we want

- Richer infromation environment

- Become easier to be a producer and a consumer of information

- Archive our lives (keeping everything together)

- Capturing our development

- Engages all the senses

Part 2

1) What are the major changes for me - Become dependant on our multi tasking skills,

2) What do I need to change - we need to be more discerning of information… Ethics 2.0

3) What are the barriers to the change - Limited access, censorship, ignorance, lack of PD time.

www.educationau.edu.au/whatschanged

Tech tag: edau2.0

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Engaging and empowering teachers and learners. What does this mean for pedagogies?

I apologise for spelling mistakes….  Blogging on the fly is something new for me!!!  I will play with these posts later tonight. 

The technology really does matter…. It is our environment of where the learning is happening. An interesting thought considering many are slugging that it is all about pedagogies and learning and teaching skills.

Technologies… (What makes things engaging and empowering)

Engage - Captivate, engross, fascinate, immerse, involve, rivet.
Empower - Permit, facilitate, make possible, endow, capacitate.

Examples:

1) The traditional computer lab setup in rows: Engaging but not in a social sense. We should want students to engage on a social level with technologies not engaging with software etc.

2) Traditional Discussion boards: Discussion threads do not engage students.

3) Quizzing tools: Does nothing for empowerment. Raising the issues of online assessment. No ownership to content and a lack of range of media. A need to engage and empower tools with video and media.

So What has Changed? (James Farmer)

A community of Inquiry:

Social Presence, Cognitive presence, Teaching Presence

Incorporated Subversion - Designing tools for education that can be subverted to fit their personal needs.   Tools that allow people to subvert them.  Making it relevant to the needs of different educational environments.

Success of Edu.Blogs:
1)    An example of incorporating subversion and creating an environment of inquiry. 
2)    Allows people to communicate in ways that haven’t been possible by other means.  Allowing people to present in a number of different roles.  Teachers presenting themselves as real people – conveying personality. 
3)    Open source creates an environment of freedom. 

The Case Against Blackboard:

1)  A system that is taking away the real socail learning oppurtunities of students.  Some traditional learning thoughts from John Dewey and Paulo Friere.  Not focussing on teaching and learning and what it is, rather than the easy to use marketing strategy. 

Technology can force us into poor pedagodgy…  Thinking about quality education - What about the power of group work!!

Question time:

1)  Assuring the future of edublogs.  The technology is there to expand the service.  Duty of care and the issues involved….  Creating a culture of dealing with problems as they arrive (softer security). 

Tech tag: edau2.0

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Our first speaker for today is challenging some thoughts on the nature of knowledge and new technologies allowing us to block knowledge that challenge us and give us a wider view of the world.  I guess the question here is how do we become aware of the issues around the comment above for the benefit of students.  Banning it never works as students will always use it.  So what are the steps to make sure educators can help students become aware of the challenges these new technologies will present.  Critical and analytical thinking skills are becoming more and more important.  It is not a matter of finding relavent knowledge but leading students to wisdom. 

An interesting presentation here.  Phillip Adams is a media personality here in Australia and has given an interesting insight into the future of education technolgies. 

Question time….

1)  Children needing to be taught that there is a danger of being too open and not selective to information that is bombarding them.  - hmm does this lead to censorship!?!?!?   

2)  Question 2 has come to this issue of censorship.  Education being forced to censor information.  Answer…  Censorship being counter productive?  Interesting concept… As soon as we censor something the popularity increases.  A suggestion that we develop value systems in students that create wise students. 

3)  Web 2.0 offering collaboration is creating a greater world for education.  The point here though is that the threats that come with these technologies and the apparent great promises come with more ways that those who have alteria motives can access the minds of our students.  Once again educators have the obligation to develop the minds of students to become deserning. 

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The theme for this summit is to discuss the use of new technologies in learning….  “So what has changed?”  Interesting question…  Perspectives from folk from different industry hopefully bringing it all back to education and learning. 

Core of Literacy being creativity?  hmm different to my school experience. 

Content knowledge not enough to succeed.  What knowledge is important for future employment or survival in the 21st century.  A concept of the new world changing the redefinitions of literacy.  What are we trying to achieve in terms of literacy skills of students?  I guess it comes down to understanding the learner and what works for them. 

What teachers know and what students are learning - The big miss match?  Oh the gap is getting bigger the more I think about this one. 

A world where we are swamped with information and limited skills to discern what is relevant and what is not.  Oh here is the skill that is needed to be taught more than much of what I use to have to teach as a classroom practitioner.  Confidence, creativity, citizenship and character - Developing citizens for the 21st century - What role do 21st century technologies have in this. 

Just some thoughts from some opening addresses some that I will expand on a bit further as I begin to digest some of these ideas. 

My country is ranked 15 in the world for access to Broadband…  Number 1 is Iceland!!!!  Couldn’t find the US on the list - that was a surprise….

Use of mobile phones in schools…. Well we have banned them in education.  What are the possibilities.  I remember a presentation some months ago that discussed the way a college prof was submitting his lecturers to all 3G mobile phones of students at the end of each class.  slides synced with voice in the hands of students within seconds of the class finishing!!

What has changed….  Everything except the size of our brains!!  hmm I like that!!  Now for the first guest speaker….  Phillip Adams…

Phillip is a media personality here in Aus…  Post 3 some thoughts from him….  This is the first time I have done a post like this on the fly.  I will try and wrap it all up in a podcast next week.  Apologies for spelling errors!!!

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Well it has been a while since I have had a chance to write on here. I am sitting in the ballroom of the latest education.au seminar. I must be a more mature learner these days because I am sitting at the front of the room. Quite different from the old days. I am on the hotel wireless getting a very low signal… Just hope it lasts the day so I can keep the blogging happening.

Should be an interesting discussion today. I have added the feed to hitchhikr and hope that it all feeds through nicely. They have setup an RSS feed for the summit today. Looking forward to seeing how it all works. Wonder if there is anyone else blogging from here today?

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