Well I am back from a short vactaion… Now spending my last week of holidays studying for my Final Cut Pro certification exam. It is quite interesting working through the course work, I just hope I can get through it all. I took a break from it all tonight and came across this video on youtube…. Certainly some food for thought. The stats in the video relate to us here in Australia just as much as the folk in the US. It would be interesting to see how Australian students compared. Anyway, enjoy the video and let me know what you think…

Oh my this is going to be quite interesting…. A complete education conference hosted in second life. Free registration for everyone open to anyone. Check out the link and let me know what you think – Once I work out the time for us Aussies I will post more.

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!!!

Ok so there are 2 skycast’s scheduled. First is the one from Wesly Fryer on blogging options. Then I have scheduled one for later in the week.

the one that Wes is hosting works out at 8pm Tuesday 11th of July US central time – 12pm Wednesday Aus Eastern Standard time. You can read more about his skypecast here
The skypecast I am hosting is scheduled for 8:00pm Thursday 13th of July US Central time – 11:00am Friday Aus Eastern Standard time.
I plan to cover the following topics for discussion….
1) Technology in learning programs….. What technologies enhance learning in your curriculum and how does it make the learning program or curriculum better.

2) Student access to technologies. A look at what students are using today and how that could be integrated into thier learning.

3) What are the characteristics of a 21st century learning program or curriculum?

4) What skills do teachers need to teach this generation of studnets?

5) Digital citenzenship…. What should we be teaching students? Who is responsible to teach them responsible digital citenzenship?

Let me know if you plan to make either of these skypecasts….

Ok so I am going to get the ball rolling here.  I am going to post some issues that I think would be a great discussion for any upcoming skypecasts.  What an amazing professional development tool this could very quickly become.  Let’s share ideas and see what is possible. 

So here are some of my ideas….. comment and let me know what you would like to be involved in and then I will organise time that suits everyone. 

1)  Technology in learning programs…..  What technologies enhance learning in your curriculum and how does it make the learning program or curriculum better. 

2)  Student access to technologies.  A look at what students are using today and how that could be integrated into thier learning.

3)  What are the characteristics of a 21st century learning program or curriculum?

4)  What skills do teachers need to teach this generation of studnets?

5)  Digital citenzenship….  What should we be teaching students?  Who is responsible to teach them responsible digital citenzenship?

Perhaps we could discuss these 5 points in the next skypecast?  Or should we just focus on one or two?  Any other ideas?

This is exciting stuff!!!!  Once I have some responses I will post a skypecast time and date.

Blogged with Flock

Had a great experience yesterday being involved in my first international skype cast. Wesley Fryer and a crew of educators from around the globe came together to discuss some of the issues raised at this year’s NECC.

I joined the skypecast late and in the middle of the conversation. It was amazing to share ideas and thoughts together with similarly minded educators. Check out Wes’s podcast of this session and let me know what you think. I would love to get more of these happening in the near future and especially involve an even wider global audience.

Thanks again Wes. What a great experience!!

Blogged with Flock

Just looking over the many blog entries from NECC. Even though Wes Fryer is not there he is organising The first international skypecast about necc. The link will explain everything. I hope there is more than just he and I on the call this weekend!!

Well I have arrived in India to an amazing culture shock. Poverty on one side of the street then extreme affluence on the other. I have been rereading Thomas Freedman’s book during my travels and am amazed how often I come across another example of the dedication of the Indian people to become a superpower. The hotel newsletter quoted the GM as stating that the hotel was helping India become the world’s next economic super power. The discussions I have with the locals demonstrates their extreme pride in all that they do as well as a feeling that they are contributing to something bigger as an entire nation. I have taken clips from newspaper articles that really paint the whole education scene into perspective. Schools here (public schools at that) take out page 3 newspaper advertisements and proudly state their overall educational achievements and their desires for their students. I started reading one advertisement that quoted exam results, but was taken back by the statement at the end by the principal. He is quoted as saying

“While we delight in the impressive examination results at our school we are committed to the larger cause of inspiring the young to lead society to new possibilities in a rapidly changing world.”

Oh how I wish our educational institutions back home could grab a hold of that idea. Exam results are not the be all and end all. It is obvious that this principal has a true understanding of the purpose of education. I am now interested in how they actually achieve this goal. – Some more research for me perhaps?!?!?!?

So far, from what I have seen Freedman is on the mark. I am amazed at the infrastructure here in such a diverse nation. As we drove to the hotel down dirt roads and past old tin shacks I counted at least 5 internet café’s that were running out of run down old shacks. As I write this I am in my hotel room in Goa accessing the hotel wireless internet. Each morning I head down to the beach with my laptop and use skype to call my wife as I look over the Arabian Sea. If that is not enough, in this remote part of the country I have full mobile phone coverage. Not a single drop out… I receive text messages all day long from friends and family.

It is truly an amazing experience…..

I don’t get to write on here as often as I would like but I am committed to getting to it more often. I have spent some time in the past week meeting a number of educators who are on the same journey many of us are on when it comes to web 2.0 technologies. I am still getting my head around the concept of students becoming more than just consumers of information but also becoming producers of information. I look at the quality podcasts and blogs that are being done in the educational realm and am beginning to see first hand how quickly this generation of students are adapting to a new information environment. Some things I am noticing here…

1) Students are not nervous about being the producers of information.
As soon as they sense that they have the ability to have ownership of the information they embrace the change immediately.
2) Students have more ideas on the ways the information can be produced than adults do.
I have introduced many different groups of students to the concept of podcasting. The one thing that amazes me each time is how quickly they grasp the concept and begin to suggest different and innovative ways to present.
3) Students want to be producers of information.
Give them an inch and they will want to take a mile!! (What more can I say?)
4) Students enjoy the challenges involved in producing information.
They attack the new challenges that come in this area head on.
5) Students enjoy becoming producers of information.
They can see the potential and the way that they can begin to have a sense of ownership over their learning. “I am in control of what and how I am learning”

I love the quote “In order to be the best you need to be different.” In fact I enjoy sharing that with teachers and students when encouraging them to embrace these new learning tools. Educators need to have an understanding of this idea. To be the best educators we need to be different. We need to present information and content in new and innovative ways. It is not that our students want us to do it this way; it is that they expect us to do it this way. I reflect back on the digital student’s movie that Wes Fryer alluded to in a recent podcast. It is a must viewing for any educator at all levels of education.

Just my little rant for the day. I am starting to get excited about my trip to the centre of the flat world next week. I leave for India in 7 days time and will be posting blogs on my observations while I am there.

This is a lengthy comment I wrote on Dave Warlicks blog post. I thought I would add it here and see if I can get some comment.

I wanted to weigh in here because I think it will raise an interesting point of argument when it comes to blog edict. Ewan Macintosh in the podcast from Wes Frayer’s site mentioned that one of the problems he saw in student blogging was this lack of moral judgement when commenting on a peer’s weblog. The students saw it as a chance to be rude or inconsiderate of each other. There is an interesting debate to have here about how exactly we go about setting rules and guidelines for blog comments. What I write on my own site is entirely up to me and therefore what I allow to be posted on my site is also my decision. However, you would hope that professionals would never abuse what should be an environment of trust. The digital native and digital immigrants still need to be guided with some wisdom and values. Oh how I can see an even more increasing need for quality values education as we head toward the future of such technologies….
Moral questions come to mind like…….

1) Is it wrong to use someone’s unprotected wireless?
2) Is downloading a TV show that isn’t available for purchase in your area wrong?
3) Don’t I have a right to constructively criticize someone’s point of view in a podcast or weblog and have it read by all that read the blog?
4) What if I copy and past information off someone’s weblog? Especially if they haven’t copyrighted it?
5) Can I take David Warlick’s opinion, thought or concept and present it as my own presentation at a conference in which I receive financial gain, without giving him credit?
6) Who owns the intellectual property of wikipedia?

Furthermore, we need students to understand the concept of bias and what the particular bias of a piece of writing is. If I have complete control over the content on my weblog, all who read it and perhaps my reference to it need to emphasise the fact that all comments by me and all comments by my readers have gone through a personal bias filter – The Brett Moller bias filter!!

How important it is to communicate this idea to students, especially if we continue to encourage them to participate in these types of conversational technologies.

All these questions I can answer on my own value system, but what if you disagree, what the law disagrees? And like so many areas of technology change what if there is no law that covers these questions?

This got lengthy enough for me to post on my weblog (http://blog.brettmoller.com) – Oh is it wrong for me to promote my weblog on Dave’s site? Especially, considering he has his site setup to auto allow my comments!!!!