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A paper discussing recent trends in public funding for VET and TAFE and the implications for future funding of government targets to improve the skills of the Australian population Prepared by Michael Long Monash University -ACER Centre for the Economics of Education and Training for The Australian Education Union

Directory of the Web's best educational video resources. Includes 5min, Academic Earth, BrainPOP, Brightstorm, iTunes U, YouTube EDU, and many more sites.

"At the other end of this educational theory spectrum is the idea of instructivism. Instructivism, by this name or any other, has been around for many years and has formed the basis of the American, among others, educational system. Based on behaviorist theories, Instructivism, sometimes referred to as Direct Instruction incorporates a teacher-directed, carefully planned curriculum, with purposeful teaching at its core. It follows two basic assumptions. First, the purpose of instruction is to help the learner understand and interact with the world; and, secondly, learners should be directed by instructors who make the decisions about the content and sequence of the learning (Margules, 1996). The instructors would base these decisions on professional training and scholarship. According to Fosnot, 1996, ". . . the instructivist, or behaviourist, approach is to pre-plan a curriculum by breaking down a subject area (usually seen as a finite body of knowledge) into assumed component parts, and then sequencing these parts into a hierarchy ranging from simple to more complex," (in Malibar & Pountney, 2002). This approach is more of teacher as "sage on the stage," than as a facilitator of learning. Even further, "according to instructivist principles, learning flows in a mostly unidirectional path, proceeding from the knowledgeable authority (teacher), or from instructional content, to the passive learner," (Diaz& Bontenbal, 2000). Not only is the teacher the authority, but the learner is also passive and merely absorbs the content. For students, there is little room for self-discovery and reflection. In instructivism, real world situations are not the models of instruction, nor are there modifications made for individual learning style; the lecture, in its different forms for primary, secondary and tertiary, is the primary mode of content delivery. Students are aware of expected learning outcomes, and outcomes are easily assessable. Further, students are rewa

This book chapter was originally published as Onley, I, Herrington, J and Verenikina, I, Digital story telling using iPods, in Herrington, J, Herrington, A, Mantei, J, Olney, I and Ferry, B (editors), New technologies, new pedagogies: Mobile learning in higher education, Faculty of Education, University of Wollongong, 2009, 138p.

Useful reflective blog post from an educator who uses Roxio PhotoShow in educational contexts for student assessment etc

'…I think most educators do have the desire to be excellent instructors that's why we got into this field in the first place some of us aren't here because we're hoping to get rich we have a genuine passionate commitment to students. It's the roles of managers to create an environment where that natural desire that teachers have to deliver excellent level of instruction can be nurtured. That requires removing barriers it does require building skills and extending an instructor competence so they can do the things that they want to do. That's why I refer to an ecology being created by management so that instructors can do what they want to do I am quite convinced if management plays a role of removing rather that becoming barriers then the people hired by the organisation in the first place will be well capable in achieving the objectives that are required…''…I think most educators do have the desire to be excellent instructors that's why we got into this field in the first place some of us aren't here because we're hoping to get rich we have a genuine passionate commitment to students. It's the roles of managers to create an environment where that natural desire that teachers have to deliver excellent level of instruction can be nurtured. That requires removing barriers it does require building skills and extending an instructor competence so they can do the things that they want to do. That's why I refer to an ecology being created by management so that instructors can do what they want to do I am quite convinced if management plays a role of removing rather that becoming barriers then the people hired by the organisation in the first place will be well capable in achieving the objectives that are required…'

a nice presentation about Creative Commons that is up in slideshare. Slideshare allows you to upload and share ppt presentataions and add a voiceover

Wiki version (and PDF) from George Siemen's research into how emergent technologies impact the ways we transmit, [process and make sense of information for learning including models for managing change and adaptation. 'How is education to fulfill its societal role of clarifying confusion when tools of control over information creation and dissemination rest in the hands of learners, contributing to the growing complexity and confusion of information abundance?' Siemens

'How is education to fulfill its societal role of clarifying confusion when tools of control over information creation and dissemination rest in the hands of learners, contributing to the growing complexity and confusion of information abundance?' Siemens

Thanks for this Stephan - but would you believe it - I handed in my uni assignment on e-learning last week!!!! This would have been great. Still a good read. Thnx.

Thanks Kathy glad ot was useful ;>

"Twenty-first century curriculum has certain critical attributes. It is interdisciplinary, project-based, and research-driven. It is connected to the community - local, state, national and global. Sometimes students are collaborating with people around the world in various projects. The curriculum incorporates higher order thinking skills, multiple intelligences, technology and multimedia, the multiple literacies of the 21st century, and authentic assessments. Service learning is an important component. The classroom is expanded to include the greater community. Students are self-directed, and work both independently and interdependently. The curriculum and instruction are designed to challenge all students, and provides for differentiation. The curriculum is not textbook-driven or fragmented, but is thematic, project-based and integrated. Skills and content are not taught as an end in themselves, but students learn them through their research and application in their projects. Textbooks, if they have them, are just one of many resources. Knowledge is not memorization of facts and figures, but is constructed through research and application, and connected to previous knowledge, personal experience, interests, talents and passions. The skills and content become relevant and needed as students require this information to complete their projects. The content and basic skills are applied within the context of the curriculum, and are not ends in themselves. Assessment moves from regurgitation of memorized facts and disconnected processes to demonstration of understanding through application in a variety of contexts. Real-world audiences are an important part of the assessment process, as is self-assessment. "

By Sir Ken Robinson, Special to CNN June 1, 2010