A bouquet to the government for its planned investment in ultra-fast broadband. From an education perspective, this is the most significant technology initiative in schools since, well, the introduction of pen and paper to classrooms.
I’ve written about the government’s plans and the implications for schools in the latest edition of Education Aotearoa. But there’s a few more things to say – bouquets and brickbats to award.
The second edition of the NZEI’s new magazine for teachers in schools and kindergartens is hot off the press, and it includes an article written by Boost.
Sarah’s been asked by the NZEI to contribute a regular column on technology in education to Education Aotearoa. Around half of Boost’s work is in the education sector, so we’re really happy to get this opportunity to talk about one of our big passions: how technology can support great teaching and learning in our classrooms.
Our article in this issue is about the benefits for teachers of using technology to grow their personal learning networks. It includes links to tools and resources online and five simple steps for building your personal learning network.
It’s available on the magazine’s website, where you can also leave comments and feedback. Other features in this issue include new research and false claims about early childhood education and the latest on national standards.
The MacArthur Foundation in the US funds some very interesting digital media and learning initiatives. Last month, they released this video featuring those involved in developing and using the very cool YouMedia space at the Chicago Public Library, which opened in July this year.
It’s an example of how young people’s use of digital media can be factored into libraries. The way they’ve set up the library space recognises the importance of social connections between students and leverages their digital interests. Connie Yowell from MacArthur Foundation says that at the library the students will find ‘extraordinary resources on anything they may be interested in but now they can create produce and make things as well’.
Nichole Pinkard from Chicago Public Library adds that the point of YouMedia is not just about making young people into movie producers and music producers but enabling them to become ‘fluid in use of technologies so they can use them to engage in public conversation and public discourse.’
Locally, it’s great to see the Aotearoa People’s Network Kaharoa get an award at the LIANZA conference this month. Interesting stories on their website about the impact that providing free broadband in public libraries is having on the community and on the use and development of library services.
YouMedia from Spotlight on Vimeo
I’m pretty excited about this. Clive Thompson writes in Wired Magazine 17.09 about Andrea Lunsford, professor of writing and rhetoric at Stanford University, and the Standford Study of Writing.
“[Lunsford] has organized a mammoth project called the Stanford Study of Writing to scrutinize college students’ prose. From 2001 to 2006, she collected 14,672 student writing samples — everything from in-class assignments, formal essays, and journal entries to emails, blog posts, and chat sessions. Her conclusions are stirring.
“‘I think we’re in the midst of a literacy revolution the likes of which we haven’t seen since Greek civilization,’ she says. For Lunsford, technology isn’t killing out ability to write. It’s reviving it – and pushing our literacy in bold new directions.’
“The first thing she found is that young people today write far more than any generation before them. That’s because so much socializing takes place online, and it almost always involves text. Of all the writing that the Stanford students did, a stunning 38 percent of it took place out of the classroom—life writing, as Lunsford calls it. …
“We think of writing as either good or bad. What today’s young people know is that knowing who you’re writing for and why you’re writing might be the most crucial factor of all.”
Martin Westwell is a great speaker on social change, technology, neuro-science, ‘back to basics’ policy and evidence-based practice in education. Unfortunately this video is only part 1 of his keynote to the 2009 Innovation Showcase (I’ve scoured the web for part 2, but no luck so far), but it’s well worth it all the same.
Some of Martin’s observations include:
Here are Martin’s presentation slides, and here’s a series of podcasts from Martin on similar themes. (Thanks to Jedd Bartlett, who provided the link to this video over twitter.)
I think it’s fair to say that there’s some tension between the breadth of the vision in The New Zealand Curriculum and the government’s crusade for literacy and numeracy, which has seen something of a narrowing of focus and funding in the education sector.
What I’ve heard said in some circles is that we’re not leaving the curriculum behind, rather that students need literacy and numeracy to access the curriculum. But how about teaching the curriculum to teach literacy and numeracy? Using the curriculum to genuinely engage with students’ strengths and interests to support literacy learning?
There’s a history of educational resource development across government departments, which serves to advocate for their work and the wider curriculum. Let’s hope it continues – I think it can both support the crusade and the curriculum.
To help out, here’s a video by Professional Daniel Willingham on why teaching content is teaching reading. (Thanks to Artichoke for the link over twitter.)
I spoke about technology in education at the Future of the Book Conference at the end of June. The conference was great fun. I was there for the second day – for perspectives on the whole conference, check out these posts by Virginia and Matthew.
I talked about how technology is changing the way young people organise themselves and take action, access information and learn, connect with each other, create and publish to audiences, and consume services and products. I talked about how we might design learning experiences for these young people.
How digital technology is changing the way young people learn, create and consume.
New technologies, new practices, new learning – the result should be new approaches to educational publishing. Did we get that at the conference? I’m not sure we did.
I’ve just stumbled across this blog – Technology for Communities. It’s the combined project of Etienne Wenger, John D Smith and Nancy While – all influential in the online communities of practice space.
It looks like the blog is working towards the publication of a book called Digital Habitats: Stewarding Technology for Communities.
I’ve come across this idea of the ‘stewardship’ of communities before in Wenger’s article Knowledge management as a doughnut: Shaping your knowledge strategy through communities of practice. A highly memorable article title and a piece of writing that I’ve returned to time and time again as a touchstone for understanding communities and knowledge management. Don’t leave home without it.
If it’s good to look outside education for inspiration sometimes (see last post), it’s also great when other sectors get involved with education. The NZTA has worked with the folks at Hooked on Thinking to develop the Feet First curriculum resources: 24 teacher-led and four student-led inquiry topics based around the key understanding ‘walking benefits people, places and the planet’.
As well as linking to The New Zealand Curriculum, the units are designed against the SOLO Taxonomy. There’s great video footage of students from Waikowhai School explaining the SOLO Taxonomy as a framework for questioning and how it applies to their thinking and learning. Wow.
As well as the curriculum resources, there’s also an ‘active travel’ picture book competition. The winning book will be published and distributed to every school library. An illustrator/author/editor will workshop the winning book with the class/group or schools, and the students will be able to take part in a professional book lauch. Entries are due on 3 September. Digital formats are accepted!
I’ve been so busy with work that I’ve been lacking the processing power for blogging – both reading, writing and commenting. However, I’ve put some effort into Twitter instead and the experience has been great. I’m learning all sorts of interesting things about teaching and learning by following all sorts of interesting education people.
I’ve also expanded my connections beyond education, which has proved very valuable. For example, a link from Twitter sent me to The Long Now Foundation, which fosters long-term thinking and responsibility in the framework of the next 10,000 years. The Long Now is like the slow food movement for thinkers. It’s about thinking about the long term, and it’s also about slower, better thinking. Obviously they intend to be around for a long time.
They’ve got a bunch of interesting projects and wide-ranging seminars, including the option to place bets and vote on predictions about the future. At the moment, it’s Kevin Kelly’s prediction that “By 2060 the total population of humans on earth will be less than it is today.”
Startling news about the state of my local harbour here in Porirua has got me wondering about whether we need a New Zealand chapter.
