Group items tagged

"The educational thought experiment I wish to undertake concerns curriculum. Not the specific content of curriculum, but the idea of curriculum, what any curriculum is, regardless of subject. Like Copernicus, I propose that for the sake of better results we need to turn conventional wisdom on it is head:  let's see what results if we think of action, not knowledge, as the essence of an education; let's see what results from thinking of future ability, not knowledge of the past, as the core; let's see what follows, therefore, from thinking of content knowledge as neither the aim of curriculum nor the key building blocks of it but as the offshoot of learning to do things now and for the future."

The educational thought experiment I wish to undertake concerns curriculum. Not the specific content of curriculum, but the idea of curriculum, what any curriculum is, regardless of subject. Like Copernicus, I propose that for the sake of better results we need to turn conventional wisdom on it is head:  let's see what results if we think of action, not knowledge, as the essence of an education; let's see what results from thinking of future ability, not knowledge of the past, as the core; let's see what follows, therefore, from thinking of content knowledge as neither the aim of curriculum nor the key building blocks of it but as the offshoot of learning to do things now and for the future.

The Leading Curriculum Change program will enhance teachers' knowledge, skills and confidence to effectively lead curriculum change, particularly local implementation of the Australian Curriculum.It will be a unique opportunity to learn with teachers from across Australia in a national professional learning community.Bringing curriculum to life through innovation and excellence. Teachers will experience a high quality, evidence-based, interactive online professional learning program that is designed by experts for adult learners.

"What excited me about the Digital Technologies curriculum in particular is the way that it has embraced the Digital Technologies as a way of thinking and a tool for creativity. The problem I've always had with the teaching of ICT in schools is that it has largely been seen as a tool that should be integrated to assist the teaching of other subjects - that's fine, but that's captured in the ICT General Capability in the Australian Curriculum and is very different to the study of ICT as a discipline, sometimes branded as Computer Science, Informatics, Computing or similar. Given the ubiquitous nature of ICT in our world today, it has always struck me as odd that we've relegated the understanding of ICT to being all about its use, rather than how it manages to achieve the "magic" that many people mistake it to be."

"Published on 2 Apr 2014 Introduction to the Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies. Members of the Digital Technologies Advisory Group discuss the features of the curriculum."

"Introduction to the Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies. Members of the Digital Technologies Advisory Group discuss the features of the curriculum."

Some interesting apps here to support the teaching of Mathematics. I have used Dragonbox+ its awesome for teaching Algebra. Great for high flying grade 6's to year 8's Developers have introduced a greater range of apps across all areas of the Maths curriculum that can be used to enhance the Maths teaching and learning in your classroom. Here's a selection of 20 apps that cover Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, and Statistics and Probability ( these are the Content strands (CS) Australia's Mathematics curriculum has been categorized under ). They also cover the proficiency strands (PS) of Understanding, Fluency, Problem Solving and Reasoning. I'm sure other countries' curricula are similar in many regards and you will be able to make the connections.

Expressions of Interest for the Australian Curriculum: Technologies curriculum writers and advisory group members

"Australia finally has its first digital technology curriculum which is mandatory for all Australian children from Foundation, the name replacing kindergarten, to Year 8. The Technologies area now has two individual but connected compulsory subjects: Design and Technologies, where students use critical thinking to create innovative solutions for authentic problems Digital Technologies, where students using computational thinking and information systems to implement digital solutions."

An article about coding in the Australian curriculum. Bec Spink lists here yhe content descriptions taken directly from the Australian 'Digital Technologies' curriculum that demonstrate the progression of SOME of the process and production skills students are expected to learn from their first year of school until Year 10.

Every Australian student will study the arts from their first year of school under the new national arts curriculum, which was released today for public consultation.

Khan Academy has just launched this new project designed to engage maths, science and media teachers, as well as young filmmakers. "Pixar In A Box" is an new online curriculum that "analyzes how the studio fuses art, tech, science, engineering, and math to develop top-shelf animated cinema. Created with middle and high school students in mind but available to everyone, Pixar In A Box's interactive exercises, in-depth video lessons, and hands-on activities are an informative addition to Khan Academy's extensive educational resources. The curriculum spans the pipeline of the production process.

"In the Australian Curriculum students develop ICT competence as they learn to use ICT effectively and appropriately when investigating, creating and communicating ideas and information at school, at home, at work and in their communities.

"We have devised an interactive curriculum aimed to support teachers of secondary students (approximately ages 13-17)" Google's resources to help teachers help their students to use YouTube in an appropriate and safe way.

Great post and great comments from Alan Kay, Brian Harvey and others!!!!! "Because of my recent posts on teaching with Logo and the culture of older programming languages, I've been poking around the Logo sites.  My most enjoyable find has been the Logo Books page of the Logo Foundation. "

Teaching for Effective Learning (TfEL) describes the DECD position on pedagogy-the teaching and learning practice that leads to improved student engagement and achievement. Together with the new Australian Curriculum, the TfEL Framework provides the basis for the ongoing development of teaching and learning practices in South Australia.

"We have a romantic attachment to skills from the past which are no longer relevant on a curriculum for today's children"

EBOOK Dec 2011 Edited collection of papers on using self-paced in the curriculum. Flexible learning....another buzzword with e-portfolios and problem-based learning?

"The Design Studio is a developing toolkit which draws together a range of existing and emergent Jisc resources which support technology-enhanced teaching and learning practice." Curriculum change & transformation Transforming assessment & feedback Developing digital literacies

"A wiki approach to developing joint guidance to support the Computing Curriculum" ... but useful guidance for anyone delivering Computing with their K-12 students.

Edutopia provides this neat article on Hour of Code and a brief history of coding which contains lots of embedded links to "things code".