Tuesday, August 25, 2009

What's education.au up to?

Well, there seems to be quite a lot of activity at education.au recently (or maybe I've just noticed!)

  • Teacher professional learning: planning for change The promise of ICT transforming teaching and learning relies heavily on professional learning. An education.au survey found that only 27% of teachers use ICT effectively in the classroom! So, the recommendations include the development of a national professional learning strategy based on research evidence, development of national ICT standards.
  • What does 21st century learning look like? A one-day seminar with opportunities to find out more about what this might mean for the learning environment and what might be the impact on schooling. When: 11 Sept. Where: Australian Technology Park
  • Annual report on emerging technologies: planning for change ‘The focus is on recommending actions that will support an environment that normalises change.’ The recommendations that are of interest (to me!) are #1 implement an ICT in teaching and learning continuum to enable a smooth transition for learners through the education sectors; #3 plan a program of research around the use of ICT [This is sort of like futurelab which is focused on promoting innovation in education by encouraging exchange of ideas and a place to experiment. Check out the research articles.]; #7 develop a strategy for professional learning based on sound research; and #8 implement an ICT competency framework for teachers. Challenges! Of course there are but these are best described by the Horizon report 2009 K-12 edition.

Great ideas, makes perfect sense but I reckon by the time all this happens, ‘new and emerging’ will be a thing of the past!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Dialogic teaching

Using interactive whiteboards in the classroom is a great opportunity to embrace talking for learning in the classroom as students express opinions, talk about issues and ideas, build confidence and extend their thinking skills.

Here are some links to interesting information to inspire and motivate: