To see a world in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, And eternity in an hour. William Blake Big History: The Big Bang, Life on Earth, and the Rise of Humanity is an extraordinarily important course developed by Professor David Christian which is […]
Students in Australian schools could be given access to a wealth of pre-existing online books and journals with just a little coordination by the state. Thinking about Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) in schools and the quiet online revolution taking place in our libraries has led me to the conclusion that it is very possible for students to […]
The future of the book has been widely discussed in the last decade, as has that great democratic institution, the library. Both have been challenged by technological advances and societal change this century but are fighting off most suggestions of obsolescence by adapting successfully. My local libraries have made a number of innovations that I […]
“The tone of modern political discourse [in Australia] has caused younger generations to become disillusioned with government, and by extrapolation, with democracy.” SOURCE “In a result that confirmed the surprise findings of our 2012 Poll, only 59% of Australians say that ‘democracy is preferable to any other kind of government’, and more than one in […]
“Whether you want to uncover the secrets of the universe, or you just want to pursue a career in the 21st century, basic computer programming is an essential skill to learn.“ Stephen Hawking Our brightest students are no longer questioning the usefulness of the content they are taught at school but are seeking out what […]
Walking, ideally, is a state in which the mind, the body, and the world are aligned, as though they were three characters finally in conversation together, three notes suddenly making a chord. Walking allows us to be in our bodies and in the world without being made busy by them. It leaves us free to […]
How do we best educate children to be thoughtful about their online security in these rapidly changing times? The challenge of staying up-to-date, when technological innovation gallops at breakneck speed and new tools are available daily, is a major challenge for most of us. However, it is not just an understanding of technology that is […]
The next generation of NAPLAN literacy and numeracy tests will transform the monitoring of students’ development of these key foundational skills. It will be 21st century assessment for 21st century young people and their families…Electronic delivery will bring major benefits. It will allow quicker turnaround of results and give schools a better opportunity to use […]
Darcy tapped the page of his book and the next appeared. It had been years since he had to physically labour, turning page after page, of a novel or heavy non fiction tome and he knew he would resent having to make that much effort to read when his Kindle iPad app was so convenient. […]
State schools in NSW are grappling with a post-DER world. The Digital Education Revolution funding from the federal government provided Lenovo laptops, technical support and wireless coverage to schools. For the last 5 years Year 9 students have been issued with a laptop. That has all evaporated with no funding from the state government to […]
My EDGD 824 English method students have been considering the question: how do I ‘teach Shakespeare’ and have students enjoy the experience? and I would value your input and advice. There are more resources for teaching Shakespeare than any teacher could ever read, view or use but, of course, the plays and sonnets are what […]
…the plan is to add more services you can choose from in the next weeks and months…* Sue Waters and Richard Byrne recently posted about alternatives to the much-loved Google Reader for RSS feeds. I am slowly exploring options but do, realistically, have limited time to evaluate all that is on offer. I have been sitting […]
The Red Room Company’s national poetry education program transforms the way poetry is taught in Australian schools and learning institutions by bringing young and emerging poets into classrooms across the country to run practical writing workshops. During the workshops, poets inspire students to develop read, listen, compose and perform their own poetry, which simultaneously enriches […]
And it has become a kind of a truism in the study of creativity that you can’t be creating anything with less than 10 years of technical knowledge immersion in a particular field. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi It’s best to have your tools with you. If you don’t, you’re apt to find something you didn’t expect […]
Now the extra base funding necessary to get us to this school resourcing standard over six years is $14.5 billion. It’s a lot of money, but I believe it is a wise investment in our children’s future and in our nation’s future. J. Gillard The Gonski Review has led to our Prime Minister announcing “the biggest changes […]
“I want to do something I am interested in. I want to pursue my passions and live happily.” Quiia Cheng (17) “China is getting rich now. But if you look at the picture more closely, you’ll see that China is very unequal. So – how do we make society more equal? How do we divide […]
My Year 10 English class had a really positive experiencing ‘skyping’ with Sarah Vaughan who is a “Director, Developer and Platform Evangelist at Microsoft Australia”. The group is comprised of boys who volunteered to be in my class this year (knowing they would have more opportunities to use technology than in other English classes). Their first unit […]
The students in my Year 10 English class are encouraged to pursue one of their passions as a Personal Interest Project (PIP). Over the years I have found that many students find it challenging to generate their own project. School is usually about doing what someone else gives you rather than a free choice of […]
‘I’ve seen the future of children’s digital education and it is awesome.’ Thanks to Brian Giesen for inviting me to Microsoft’s #OMGtips event at Est. in George Street, Sydney today. All of the speakers – Melissa Doyle, Ben O’Donoghue, Sarah Vaughan and Stacey Quince – were engaging and shared great tips to help parents use technology successfully in their busy lives. One could […]
A blueprint is a reproduction of a technical drawing…invented in the 19th century, the process allowed rapid and accurate reproduction of documents used in construction and industry. The blue-print process was characterised by light colored lines on a blue background, a negative of the original. The process was unable to reproduce color or shades of grey. […]
If Australia genuinely wants to continually enhance the nature and standard of its schooling and move to the fore internationally it is imperative it advocate the appointment at schools small and large of principals who can successfully lead ever-evolving digital schools operating increasingly in the networked mode. Mal Lee posted The Principal and the Digital School at his […]
Why Don’t Leaders Listen? Professor Hugh Mackay‘s keynote at the the 12th ACEL Leadership Conference was excellent and quotable. It was a great, reflective way to open the day and I’m certain the delegates, myself included, will listen to colleagues and students more closely in coming weeks. I was conscious that ‘tweeting’ during the talk looked suspiciously like not […]
“The Australian Government supports the use of new technologies in Australian schools to prepare students to learn, train and live in a digital world.” (sic) SOURCE It has reached the stage where the contradictions in government education policy in Australia are leaving satirists with very little to parody. In […]
The narrative about learning at our school is changing and parents are increasingly in on the secret. Students are asking the question of their teachers: how do I learn how to learn (in this subject)? Parents are asking their children to explain to them what they are learning about learning too. One wonders what their answers […]