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 […]
“What must be admitted, very painfully, is that this was a disaster made in Japan…Its fundamental causes are to be found in the ingrained conventions of Japanese culture: our reflexive obedience, our reluctance to question authority, our devotion to ‘sticking to the program,’ our groupism, our insularity.” Source I studied […]
It seems to me, albeit very late at night and when a little weary, that if your profession, hobbies and passions involve reading, literature, history, walking, nature, photography and the politics of existence, travel is the perfect companion and a kind of utopian space for a family to spend time outside of themselves and their […]
Japan Please indulge my musings about our travels for a few posts during January. My family has arrived for three weeks in wintry Japan during our summer holidays. We are currently exploring Tokyo and surrounds with the assistance of a JR Pass and some very generous Japanese volunteers. Already, after less than a week in the metropolis we […]
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” “Fight evil, read books.” These two quotes are my favourites for the year. Pithy and profound, they seem to share great truths with some hope that one can start doing something positive right now. When so many issues […]
It is clichéd to comment about the impossibly rapid passing of time but I do find it difficult to believe this is our school’s fourth annual conference at the Nan Tien Temple in Wollongong. cc licensed ( BY NC SA ) flickr photo shared by Darcy Moore The principal’s idea, back in 2009, was that we […]
The Edublog Awards will undoubtedly spur many on to post more often about their learning and educational issues. I believe that students who participated, having their class or individual blogs nominated, are very likely to post with renewed enthusiasm – as will their teachers – in 2013. In fact, I’d like to see the student […]
After posting about my reading in 2012 I asked my eldest daughter, who is in 3rd class and 9 years of age, what she read this year. She did not look up from her book and turned a page. She clearly had no interest in telling me and I did get a “there’s 100s, I can’t […]
How many adults, especially teachers and parents, discuss their own reading or passion for literature with children? How much reading for professional or personal pleasure do adults actually do? How central is reading to their busy days? Every year, especially as I witness the growth and development of my own daughters’ ‘imaginary lives’, reading seems […]
November has been so busy and I am embarrassed to admit that, for the first time in 5 years, I completely missed nominating bloggers for the 2012 Edublog Awards. My most sincere apologies to all my blogging buddies and online colleagues who I would have loved to nominate. Next year. Reading blogs really is a professional and […]
“The best camera is the one that’s with you.” Chase Jarvis iPhoneography I really want to learn more about iPhoneography. This art of capturing images, editing and sharing them using an iPhone, in my case a 4S, is obsessing millions. I too have been experimenting with a raft of amazing apps. Organising these apps into folders […]
“This dissertation introduces a new approach to everyday photography, which solves the longstanding problems related to focusing images accurately. The root of these problems is missing information. It turns out that conventional photographs tell us rather little about the light passing through the lens. In particular, they do not record the amount of light traveling along […]
“The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now.” I am tempted to write that nurturing democracy has never been more important. It always has been but one senses that in established successful democracies, like Australia, we take much for granted, especially regarding the practical cogs and mechanisms that […]
What is it to be a good digital citizen? How do schools effectively manage their online reputation and assist students to be safe? How does a school balance freedom of speech with the rights of others to not be bullied or have their reputations unfairly impugned? What is the law and how does it relate to the ‘community […]
“…is a new education website for Australia, packed with 100s of videos, audio clips and games. Totally free to watch and play at home and in school.” ABC Splash, a potentially very exciting resource to “help you teach and plan for the Australian Curriculum“, launched yesterday. Annabel Astbury, the Head of Digital Education at the ABC, explains […]
My children love Nippers. Every Sunday morning during the summer they learn more about staying safe at the beach thanks to the efforts of many volunteers, of all ages, who support our local surf lifesaving club.* It is important, living where we do, minutes from the beach, that my daughters are accomplished swimmers and surf savvy. […]
How do students learn about democracy? Engaging with the people and processes, ideas and the realities of democratic systems, in an authentic manner, has to be at least as important as historical or theoretical knowledge. Our school genuinely wants students to learn about civil society and our democratic governance, wherever possible, by having real experience […]
My last session with EDGD824, my English pre-service teachers at the University of Wollongong, arrives this week and I wanted to say something to inspire them. There’s endless pages of quotes that Google can deliver in service of such oratory and many American or British television shows, novels and films that could provide an uplifting excerpt […]
Please reflect idealistically, in exactly 100 words, on the important role of a schoolteacher in 21st century Australia. I recently asked pre-service teachers to reflect about the role of a schoolteacher in Australia. I wondered what they’d say. Here are just a few responses and excerpts from the next generation of teachers: …By supporting students in their […]
Winston Churchill famously said that ‘democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried’. One can certainly bemoan the messiness of what can only be described as a serious deficit of coherent national educational strategy, ironically, at a time when ‘Australia is falling behind’ is often heard from politicians. […]