Classroom 2.0

Apple in its next release of its iOS operating system for mobile devices will introduce a new feature called 'Emojification' that aims to make this new style of communication easily accessible to all. So, what does this mean for the language arts and how might the emojification of language alter the way in which we communicate.

As technology evolves and its inner workings increasingly disappear from view, replaced with solid-state parts hidden by glass, aluminium and plastic, our understanding of what makes the world operate is similarly impeded. When machinery from just a few decades ago is viewed a world of moving parts, linkages, cogs and levers is revealed. These mechanical objects contain an inherent beauty and inspire curiosity in ways that modern devices with their pristine surfaces and simplified design language do not. Opportunities to explore devices from the past open our eyes and lead us to new questions of how our devices function, how machines do the jobs we need them to do and how engineers solve problems.

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Sydney has become a beacon that brings people together and sparks conversations. Most recently the conversation centred on the topic of girls in tech and what might be done to re-dress the gender balance in STEAM subjects and related career pathways. Sponsored by INTEL this Vivid Ideas event drew a mix of entrepreneurs, educators and tech luminaries to the Museum of Contemporary Art on a Saturday afternoon to share their ideas on what might be done.

This [Buck Institute for Education] rubric describes beginning, developing, and Gold Standard levels for Project Based Teaching Practices for K-12 teachers" (What is it? ¶1, 2016.06.10).

The role of the teacher is slowly but surely changing and with this come new challenges. Change becomes inevitable and processes for managing this and capitalising on the opportunities it brings becomes paramount within organisations. It is perhaps not surprising that educational institutions may evolve to become what are termed 'Learning Organisations' or 'Professional Learning Communities' within which there is a focus on the application of the principles of learning to manage change and explore new opportunities. 

A mother lode of rubrics for all sorts of products, projects, and processes

Something is missing from my classroom lately and I am quite happy to have seen it disappear. It is the traditional line at the teacher's desk formed by students awaiting feedback on a recently completed piece of writing. What has replaced this is our use of Google Docs and Slides as a tool for the collaborative development of ideas from initial thinking and strategising through to final editing and refinement. It has introduced a new workflow to the class that both streamlines the process of providing feedback, allows for greater detail and transforms the process into one that is richly collaborative.

Fortunately there are a number of free tools that do these things and they are available for use on any technology platform as they require nothing more than access to the internet. Recently Eric Sheninger used a set of these tools to give his audience at the Hawker Brownlow Conference on Thinking and Learning in Melbourne a voice.

"Cyber Savvy is a student-led, positive norms approach to teach upper intermediate, middle, and high school students (grades 5 - 12) about digital safety, including effective digital decision-making, safe posting of personal information, digital relationships, social networking, cyberbullying, and digital dating/exploitation. The schools that have used this program in the pilot testing have been very pleased with the results. "