ClassroomICT.com

Here is a short newspaper report about Yr 8 students using iPod Touches at school. 

I am currently seeking expressions of interest from educators in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore who would be interested in attending a Waters Foundation run Systems Thinking in Schools (Level 1) workshop. 

This 4-day workshop will provide an introduction to systems thinking and its connections to other effective instructional practices and school improvement efforts.

 During the workshop, participants will:

◊ develop skills and knowledge in the use of systems thinking concepts and tools.

◊ experience, practice, and discuss interactive, inquiry-based instructional and school improvement strategies.

◊ use systems thinking tools to analyse complex issues and identify high leverage interventions.

◊ develop and share a plan of application relevant to their work.

The workshop would most likely occur in the second week of January 2009 (around 4th-7th) in Brisbane, Australia. 

 Registration costs will depend on the number of participants.  At current estimates (based on a minimum of 15 participants) this fee would be around the AUD$1000-$1500 mark.  Participants would be responsible for organising their own travel and accommodation requirements.

No firm plans have been made to date.  This expression of interest is to find out whether this would be a viable event to occur outside of the U.S.

More information about a systems approach to the curriculum can be accessed via www.clexchange.org and www.watersfoundation.org

Information regarding the specifics of the training can be directed to Tracey Benson at t.benson@watersfoundation.org

If this is an event that you might be interested in attending please email Ian Marsden at imars7@eq.edu.au

Here is a PDF version of this post if you want to pass it around to your networks Expression of Interest

 Registration for the bi-annual Australian Council for Computers in Education conference is now open.  2008 sees the conference being held in our nation’s capital Canberra.  Full info about the conference can be viewed by visiting the conference site.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/biztech/dialup-duxes/2008/03/08/1204780125281.html 

A Sydney Morning Herald article on new ICT initiatives in New South Wales schools.  Glad to see many quotes highlighting the fact that ICT is a tool to improve teaching and learning.  Some pertinent quotes below:

“Technology is just a tool,” he says. “You have to think about how the teaching and learning can best be done and not do technology for technology sake.”

“They have to make sure they are using it (ICT) effectively and not just for ‘busy’ time, otherwise it’s like the old [time-killing] stencils.”

“Technology is positive. It adds another 10 per cent to the classroom package. But really all you need is a piece of paper, a pencil, a student who is well fed and awake and an inspired teacher. Technology is good, it’s necessary but it’s not the cure.”

I have just gotten back from 3 days at the Smart Classrooms eLearning Conference which was held at Education Queensland’s (EQ) ICT Learning Innovation Center.  This was my first time participating in the conference and I found it very informative and inspiring. 

One question that I had in my mind during the conference was “How are other education organisations outside of Queensland handling the task of making ICT embedded in teaching and learning?”  In the hope of receiving help in getting this question answered I thought that I might, over the coming weeks, post information about the various components of my education department’s ICT strategy which is called Smart Classrooms.

To get an overview of the Smart Classrooms strategy follow this link to view a streaming video of an abridged version of a presentation that Dr Richard Eden (Assistant Director-General, Strategic Information and Technologies) gave at the 2007 School of the Future World Summit.

Dr Eden gave a similar but more in-depth presentation at the conference and it was fantastic to see the “Big Picture” explained so well - I now have a clear view of where EQ is headed in regard to ICT…….and I like it!

More from me soon.  In the meantime, if anyone out there wants to share what their education department’s ICT strategy is then I encourage you to use the comments feature to celebrate where you are headed.