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what constitutes digital literacy or digital literacies, should, in symmetry with the subject itself, not be perceived as a problem we aim to solve, or a thing we aim to determine once and for all.

At some point, we need to agree actions.

What I’m interested in is supporting the skills and critical thinking about educational engagement in networked environments, and particularly in how educators and learners can use these to support and transfigure existing practice.

This is a space for students, parents, teachers and visitors to share their thoughts, videos, photographs, and learning about World Water Day - March 22, 2011.  We welcome contributions from our local and international visitors, so please leave a sticky stating your (first name) and country of origin.

"He and I agreed immediately on the idea that education is so compartmentalised," Mr Clark said. "Kids go to maths and they do that in isolation, they go to science and they do that in isolation.

"Big history just ties everything together. And I think a lot of history had become obscure and irrelevant to modern students."

The $99 million ultranet, an online portal that was supposed to connect teachers, parents and students at state schools, has been dogged by cost blowouts, technical glitches and opposition from teachers

The ultranet, promised by the former government before the 2006 state election, was designed to provide a state-wide, secure website that parents, students and teachers at every state school could access.

the ultranet was a closed space which meant students could not be taught digital citizenship skills in a real environment. ''The whole point of Web 2 was communicating globally - this is completely within a walled garden,''

Otherwise teachers generally do have rights to photograph their own students while on school property. Permission for this is typically included in the terms and conditions that parents sign when enrolling their child in the school. If parents object to photographs, then they must sign a declaration to that effect (most don't bother).

"I basically begged my parents for six months to get [an Apple] computer," he said of his father, an investment banker, and his mother, a lawyer. "And when I finally got it, instead of using it for just watching videos or browsing the web, I kind of had an interest to create things."

"I began kind of looking into algorithmic technologies and natural language programming," Nick said. The technology is now integrated into his latest app, formally known as Trimit and now known as Summly.

students submit assignments and tests by email, and each subject has a web portal with homework, lesson plans and applications to download. They create multimedia slideshows, stop-motion animations and cartoons for projects, as well as traditional essays. Parents can track progress online and check the lesson plans, which Mr Cook said created accountability and transparency.

The previous four ACCE study tours incorporating the ISTE conference have proven to be a fun and effective professional learning opportunity for participants.

What students are really motivated by are opportunities to be social — to interact around challenging concepts in powerful conversations with their peers. They are motivated by issues connected to fairness and justice. They are motivated by the important people in their lives, by the opportunity to wrestle with the big ideas rolling around in their minds, and by the often-troubling changes they see happening in the world around them. Technology’s role in today’s classroom, then, isn’t to motivate. It’s to give students opportunities to efficiently and effectively participate in motivating activities built around the individuals and ideas that matter to them.

Basically what I’m arguing is that finding ways to motivate students in our classrooms shouldn’t start with conversations about technology. Instead, it should start with conversations about our kids. What are they deeply moved by? What are they most interested in? What would surprise them? Challenge them? Leave them wondering? Once you have the answers to these questions — only after you have the answers to these questions — are you ready to make choices about the kinds of digital tools that are worth embracing.