"Poor marks for education revolution"

November 1, 2009 by tsheko This article in The Age resounded with me - Surely there's a better test was written by Alexandra Adornetto, Year 12 VCE student at Eltham College and, at 17, already an author of a popular children's trilogy starting with The shadow thief. This article in The Age resounded with me - Surely there's a better test was written by Alexandra Adornetto , Year 12 VCE student at Eltham College and, at 17, already an author of a popular children's trilogy starting with The shadow thief."

Integrating twenty-three different case studies-which include Harry Potter podcasting, video-game playing, music-sharing, and online romantic breakups-in a unique collaborative authorship style, Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out is distinctive for its combination of in-depth description of specific group dynamics with conceptual analysis. This book was written as a collaborative effort by members of the Digital Youth Project, a three-year research effort funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and conducted at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Southern California.

Breakthrough Learning in a Digital Age will bring together 200 of the nation's top thought leaders in science and technology, informal and formal education, entertainment media, research, philanthropy, and policy to create and act upon a breakthrough strategy for scaling-up effective models of teaching and learning for children. The forum will showcase cutting edge research, proven and promising models to challenge decision-makers in key sectors to help "refresh and reboot" American global leadership in education.

And to a large degree, creativity is a learned behavior. It's a matter of how you approach things, how you act or react to new circumstances, your proclivity to look at things in different ways, your willingness to question, experiment, and take chances. In other words, creativity is not "what you are" as much as "what you do." Think of creativity as a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets. To increase your creativity, you simply need to "act" like a creative person. Not surprisingly, people recognized as creative tend to share common traits.

Is a lack of PD a barrier? Professional development is a barrier, although I think they can teach themselves much of what teachers need to be learning to be able to modernise their classrooms. The worst thing a teacher can say is: "who's going to teach me how to do that?" Teachers are teachers and should be able to teach themselves what they need to know. If they can't then they probably shouldn't be teaching. You want a teacher who can keep up. There are networks of other educators out there that can connect you with new skills. Professional development doesn't have to be something that is done to teachers - it can be just ongoing conversations they're having with other professionals that they're learning from every day.

Reformers have largely worked within, rather than on, the system of education. Working within the system has resulted in status-quo preservation, even when reformists felt they were being radical. Illich failed to account for how educational institutions are integrated into society. Freire spoke with a humanity and hope that was largely overlooked by a comfortable developed world incapable of seeing the structure and impact of its system. To create and nurture change, a message must not only be true for an era, but it must also resonate with the needs, passions, interests, realities, and hopes of the audience to whom the message is directed.

From today, Catholic schools across Australia will be able to publish education content on iTunes U, providing teachers and students materials to enhance learning and teaching. As one of the first Australian institutions in the K-12 section of iTunes U, Catholic schools will be able to share resources with the world's education community and enable anywhere, anytime learning.

Are you thinking about using web2tools for research, administration or teaching? If so, make a quick start with the web2practice user guides. The web2practice guides explain how emergent web technologies like RSS, microblogging, podcasting and social media can enhance your working practice. Each guide consists of a short animated video explaining the key concepts (such as microblogging in the example below), supported by a more in-depth guide covering potential uses, risks and how to get started.

The DET blog (BlogEd) is nearing full release - dates to be confirmed for Term 4. Below I've summarised key features which differentiate it from any 'open' blog. I'll post a slide show after the hols.

We're currently revising the NetSafe CyberSafe Schools programme to create a more learner centered approach to Digital Citizenship We are looking to recruit classroom teachers, school administrators, and students to our online panel of expert advisers. This online panel, the NetSafe Education Network, will be invited to comment on digital citizenship discussion documents from time to time. We are looking for contributions on what New Zealand schools, the Ministry of Education and NetSafe could do to ensure young people have the skills and attributes to be good citizens in a digital age.

resource list for making educomics

While there are still some educators who dispute the importance of technology in the classroom, there is no dispute over the fact that technology is here to stay in schools. Whether you are one of those tech-savvy teachers who can't get enough of technology news and ideas or you are a teacher just learning to embrace technology in the classroom, these blogs offer a wealth of information straight from teachers and other professionals in the education field themselves.

If you use Twitter, here is a list of History teachers who have said hello to #historyteacher so we can all follow each other via http://tinyurl.com/chwzq8 (be sure to add your name by sending your own hello to #historyteacher!)