21st century educators, work and students

Friday afternoon is a good time to kick back and relax thinking about the wins of the week. Why not spend some time thinking about the powerful influences on education in the 21st century? Here are some things to excite and inspire - or at the very least interest you.

• The 21st century educator: creating a personal learning network “The kind of questioning, collaborative, active, lateral rather than hierarchical pedagogy that participatory media both forces and enables is not the kind of change that takes place quickly or at all in public schools.” Howard Reingold, Smart mobs

This is only one quote from an incredibly interesting look at 21st century teaching and learning, personal learning networks and technology tools.
This presentation is on slideshare. If you haven’t had a chance to explore the presentations uploaded to this site yet, set some time aside … there’s lots to learn!

• Shoulder pads are out! Working from home is outré! Enter the Digital nomad. “Wireless internet has develop a new kind of colleague – the digital nomad. They work wherever they can find a wireless Web connection and then reach their co-workers via instant messaging, Twitter, Facebook, email and more.” The Washington Post (story and video).Seems to me DER NSW is getting us moving in a direction where students are preparing for this emerging world of work!

• How teenagers consume media was an instant hit on the internet just recently. Why? Well I’m not sure … the article was written by a 15-year-old and whilst this cannot be considered to be representative it nonetheless a really interesting insight in how teenagers consume media.

This document has been published at Scribd, a place to upload and share your documents. Not been there before? Take a few minutes to trawl and see what’s of interest. I just found one … Reinventing Edison, maybe not something you’re interested in though.

Forty years on ...

Did you know that it has been forty years since the first moonlanding in 1969! Much has changed since then and some things have stayed the same. It’s worth reflecting on.

For example:

• What sort of educational technology was in place in schools then? How far have we come?
• What content was taught and how was this delivered?

Watch the video of the moonlanding ... and think about:

• What could have happened if NASA forgto the parachute?
• What were the challenges for the astronauts?
• What opportunities were provide for us by the space program?
  

In looking back, it’s quite incredible this was possible in 1969 - space technology was a sharp focus for many years but not so much now - we are much more focused on global issues of climate change and economic crisis.

Times have changed – how are these social changes reflected in education?

What is the role of digital interactive technologies in promoting student learning, particularly in relation to learning with laptops?

Ladies and gentleman - this is our moon shot - let's not screw it up!

Digital Education Revolution - vision, outcomes, plans

As we gear up to support colleagues in schools introducing laptops, it’s worth considering the broader context of the Digital Education Revolution from AICTEC and DEEWR. Here are some of the latest publications and some highlights:

· DER fact sheet (2009) the key statistics and broad directions (3 pp.)

· DER strategic plan (2008) Success through partnership outlines the vision. (12 pp.)There are four strands: leadership, infrastructure, learning resources and teacher capability. Some goals of interest:

o Teachers devise student centric programs of learning that address agreed curriculum standards and employ contemporary learning resources and activities

o Students engaged in rigorous and stimulating programs of learning that meet their individual needs and prepare them for success in 21^st century

o Students and teachers routinely collaborate, build and share knowledge using digital technologies – blogs, file sharing, social networking, videoconferencing, etc.

o Students and teachers are able to innovate in their use of ICT to achieve learning outcomes

· DER roadmap (2009) some stuff is reiterated in this (just a bit boring) document. However, of note are the Indicative outcomes for teacher capability (21 pp.). Teaching for the digital age:

o Teachers and school leaders contribute to early career teachers’ disposition, knowledge, skills and capabilities to meet national standards in ICT

o Teachers and school leaders engage in professional learning about effective innovative inclusion of digital learning, tools and resources in teaching to enhance student learning outcomes

o Teachers and school leaders are supported to develop pedagogical understandings about how ICT enables improved teaching and enhances student outcomes

o Teacher registration and accreditation authorities incorporate the capacity to use ICT to enhance teachers and learning as a requirement for registration

o School systems are supported to incorporate into teachers standards as expectation of how ICT enhances teaching and learning practices.

· DER teaching for the digital age work plan (2009) last one!!! (9 pp.) The principles relating to professional learning include:

o Opportunities that are evidence-based and data-driven to guide improvement and to measure impact

o Opportunities that are just in time and just enough (looking for Goldilocks – just right!)

o Programs focused on and embedded in teacher practice

o Opportunities that are collaborative and involve reflection on practice and student learning

o Engagement that is ongoing, supported and fully integrated into the culture and operations of the system and accredited where possible

o Programs that take into account of teachers’ prior knowledge, different learning styles and access to technology

o Recognition of emerging technologies and their impact on teaching, learning and research

o Opportunities for school-based learning with close connections to classroom practice.