Learning: A Digital Renaissance (a draft)

I Music & Photography: A Digital Renaissance This century, the digital revolution in photography and music, has led to the democratisation and proliferation of human beings sharing images and sounds, experiences, knowledge and beauty. How have these two industries, with entrenched interests and well-established systems, changed so rapidly that they little resemble their former selves […]

‘Shut Down The Schools!’

A new report asks a very important question in, ‘What can we learn today about the students’ aspirations, adoption and adaption of emerging technologies for learning than can help us plan for the future?’ A major national survey concluded that students were already very effectively implementing a vision of socially-based, un-tethered and digitally-rich learning on […]

Pen & Paper Exams

A recent conversation with a colleague, who genuinely believes that students are more creative when they write with a pen, really made me wonder about the future of pen & paper examinations in NSW and the rest of the world. As you likely know, the students sitting the Higher School Certificate examinations in 2012 were issued […]

10 things 'a school' can do in preparation for 1:1 (laptops) in classrooms

This is the third post in a series. You may wish to read the first and second posts concerned with what a teacher and faculty can do in preparation for 1:1 too. 10 things ‘a school’ can do in preparation for 1:1 (laptops) in classrooms: 1. Funding– expectations of  a champagne experience from a beer budget tend to fizzle when the reality […]

Connected?

This IBM commercial makes me think about our still very disconnected classrooms. [vodpod id=Groupvideo.2351574&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26] more about “Connected?“, posted with vodpod  

Director General's Memo: Commonwealth-state Funding Outcomes for NSW

Dear Colleagues,   State and territory governments met with the Commonwealth on the weekend to negotiate funding agreements for public schools and vocational education and training.   Of course you’d have to been living on the moon to miss recent media coverage of all this, so forgive me any repetition in outlining how this is […]

'NSW pulls out of computers-for-schools program'

The term ends and one would hope for more inspirational news from our political and system leaders. The above headline is from the ABC website and I am assuming it is reporting on yesterday’s memo from the Director-General but am uncertain what it will mean for us in schools who have already been allocated money/laptops […]

Mountains to die on?

What was it like at your school? Were you a smart kid? Were the classes streamed/graded or mixed ability or some combination of both? How did your teachers teach, engage and stimulate interest in the topic or activities? What was the best thing about the way you were taught at school? What was the worst? […]

The squabbling continues…

NSW may scuttle computers in schools deal and way down at he bottom of the article one reads, tomorrow is the deadline for NSW to sign on to the deal. We’d just like to get started knowing where we are heading – and when. Timeline needed…now! A good blog post about the underfunding of the revolution is Australia’s […]