Key Question

Rather provocative Scott.



Dangerously Irrelevant: Another key question

If individuals at home can see the transformative effects of digital technologies, and corporations can see the transformative effects of digital technologies, why can’t schools? Are they just incompetent, dunder-headed organizations compared to other institutions or is something else going on? In other words, why WOULDN’T schools see the same transformative effects of technology that we’re seeing in most other sectors of society?

Were you Paying Attention?

Darren Draper of Paying Attention fame, now has a blog dedicated to the presentation.

Drape's Takes

With so many people out there "Paying Attention", it must be time to write about it. These are my takes (you know - my opinions, thoughts, ramblings) on the world of Educational Technology.

Comment on Australia Rising

As an educator I am somewhat shocked by Mr Howard's speech.

Its hard for many to see past the party political rhetoric of an election year campaign speech. However Mr Howard's speech struck a chord with me. Perhaps that ought to be "discord".

You see, out of all the 21st century skills, flat world, what if, shake it up, type presentations that I have been referring to in my previous posts, (presentations which in my opinion inspire and motivate many educators), it took Mr Howard to link 2020 to the ongoing global war on terror. (In my mind at least).

Mr Howard's choice of words is very telling. When describing australia in 2020 he uses, Struggle, terrorism, fight, war, enemy, battle, defence force, combat, heavy burden.

Have the educators got it wrong? Or is it the politicians that refuse to shift from 20th century "world is round" thinking? What kind of world are we creating? Do we tell the class of 2020 (todays kindergarten), that our leaders are planning to continue the war? That the world they graduate into will be a burden and a struggle, or ought we be trying to inspire them with some other, more hopeful vision?

Howard outlines vision for 2020

Howard outlines vision for 2020

Full text here

I want to begin by sketching the sort of world Australians are likely to be living in a decade from now; for argument’s sake let’s say by 2020, when most of today’s children will be young adults.

Liberal democracies will flourish, yet their purpose, patience and resolve will continue to be tested. For a country like Australia, there’ll be no holiday from history or from the long struggle against terrorism.

This fight is a different type of war against a different type of enemy. Our interests and ideals demand we stay engaged in the world and in the global battle of ideas.

Australia’s defence forces must be combat ready and well-resourced and our alliances close and strong in 2020.

We will continue to carry a heavy burden for order and stability in this part of the world. One of the most far-reaching national security decisions this Government has taken was to end a posture of benign neglect in the Pacific. There will be no going back from that commitment.

In 2020, policy makers will still be grappling with the great disjunction of our age – between a globalised economic order and a fragmented political one. Australia has a profound interest in a stable, cooperative and market-oriented global system underpinned by stable, cooperative and market-oriented nation states.

No-one should pretend the nation state is going anywhere. People will continue to express their demands for security, economic wellbeing and identity primarily through national politics. And the duty of political leaders will still be protecting and advancing the national interest.

It will be a world where economic and geopolitical power is more evenly distributed; more so perhaps than any time since America’s rise in the late 19th Century.

The human face of globalisation in 2020 will be increasingly Asian and middle class – as our region becomes the epicentre of history’s first truly global middle class.

It will be a world of intense competition for markets and for global talent. Australia must work hard to earn our place in a fiercely competitive global economy. We must ensure Australia retains and attracts our share of the best and brightest – the researchers, scientists, innovators and risk takers who’ll generate the ideas for a rising Australia.

Australia’s workforce will continue to face challenges from demographic change, from technological change and from globalisation. The Treasurer’s Intergenerational Report earlier this month showed that we have made progress in meeting the challenge of an ageing society.

Many families are confronting these pressures directly with the rise, for example, of the so-called sandwich generation. More and more baby boomer women in particular carry heavy responsibilities around caring for ageing parents and for children still at home, while also holding down a job in the paid workforce.

All this points to the need for governments to become even more nimble and responsive to individual needs in the next decade. The old rigid welfare state models have become increasingly obsolete.

Pay Attention

I love Teacher tube. You tube is blocked (for good reason) in many state education departments. Teacher tube is not. Many worthwhile videos from you tube are being reposted to teacher tube by teachers.

Here is a recent post along the lines of "did you know". Its called "Pay Attention" and it's by Darren Draper. There are support materials for Pay Attention at Darren Draper's site

Enjoy!

Profiles for Tech Literate Students

NETS for Students

This page emphasises the technology standards that ought to be achieved so that learning is supported, personal productivity increased and decision making ability is enhanced. Well at least thats the claim.

In reality the Indicators are very heavy on tech skills, not so much emphasis on thinking skills. Don't get me wrong, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the development of technical skills...(this is a mouse, this is how we log in). Its just that students today need more than a knowledge of how to use the tools, they need to use the tools thoughtfully and productively.

A set of 21st century Thinking tools is probably the main resource for ICT (21st century) educators that is lacking today. We all have long lists of skills that we try to develop and foster in our students, but most of these are tech skills. We need to be fostering thought processes as well. In the words of Kim Flintoff,

We all understand that digital natives are avid users - but are not necessarily critical users - so it seems a better argument to highlight the role of schools and universities in equipping the students with the requisite skills and knowledge to not only consume, but consume critically, manage the technologies, control the technology (in terms of soft-, firm- and hard- ware). GRIP-FIX-TURN as well as RIP-MIX-BURN.

Flat-Worlders Are Here

Do you see the world as flat or round?

Wonderful, concise video that helps raise awareness of the issues raised in "The World is Flat" by Friedman

Watch the video, if you like it, you can listen to Friedman talking about the book here

Putting it all Together with Intel Teach.

This is a fantastic resource. It brings together current thinking and research on thinking skills,and strategies teachers might use to develop those skills in their classrooms.



From project design, to thinking, to planning, stategies and assessment. Lots here.



Intel Education: Designing Effective Projects

This program emphasises curriculum development that aligns to Australian state standards and syllabus outcomes. It promotes higher-order thinking using Curriculum-Framing Questions, authentic project tasks, effective instructional strategies, and performance assessment. Designing Effective Projects provides a foundation for good planning and supports you in adapting these project-based units – or developing your own from scratch.