I read a very interesting article written by Joke Voogt (the Netherlands), Chris Dede (USA).Ola Erstad (Norway), which discusses the importance of ICTs in 21t century learning. They reiterated on the topic that "rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICT) are continuously transforming the way in which we live, work and learn." They explored they skills that are required for living and working in the 21st century: collaboration, communication, digital literacy, citizenship, problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, productivity. I agree with Voogt and Dede when they say that "an important change has taken place in the way new digital tools and collaborative environments have enhanced learning, from an emphasis on reproducing information and content to content creation and sharing in virtual environments, which some describe as a remixing culture. There are 3 main literacies that we need to develop: Technological literacy (to be aware of the interplay between technology and society), ICT literacy (the skills needed to make effective and efficient use of ICT) and Information literacy (the capacity to access information efficiently and effectively) (Voogt and Dede, 2011). I think the biggest statement that they make is "using ICT to shift our educational structures from industrial era schools to new types of 21st century formal educational models is important" (Voogt & Dede, 2011). I believe schools are now on the edge of this shift, but some educators are reluctant. I mean to make that shift, to evaluate how I use ICTs in the classroom and how I use them to transform learning, not just to use them as 'add-ons'.

I thought I'd post this short movie. It's an example of ICT activities being done in a class I had my last practicum in. It is a simple activity that the teacher did, using ICTs that were readily availble.. The teacher takes a traditional printed text being used in guided reading (PM readers) and helps the students produce a digital text based on the language used in the original text. Students select images from google images and then use a digital camera to take photos or video, and manipulate the images using IWB software, to place themselves in the digital text. The images are uploaeded into Movie Maker where additonal text, ddialogue and sound are added. The finished artefact is then uploaded toYouTube so that it can be placed on the school website for sharing. The students and their families can view the new digital text at home. The movie is also presented at the school assembly. The teacher does ICT activities like this on a regular basis in English. If you google Tyalgum Public School and click on More News you can view other ICT activities the Kindergarten, Year , Year 2 class did. I think this type of ICT activity gives the students a sense of ownership of their learning.

This page on Google forms can be used to create 'barometer that can be used in classroom/schools to collect and analyse useful data.

Reasons for using ICTs.