Things to discuss..... 21st century learners, internet safety, Access and equity, taking difference into account, learner/student centred learning.....
21 st century learners....
I am a digital native as I have mentioned earlier, I like using technology to keep myself busy. But is technology the answer to our behaviour management issues? Engaging a less then enthusiastic learner with an educational game may be easiest but is it for the best? My goal in 3 years time is to be a teacher who can engage my students using a number of mediums including technology yes, sure but behaviour management will still need to be addressed separately.
Internet safety......
Internet safety, the downside to technology, how do we know that our kids are safe on the internet? How do we know who they are talking to on the net?
Company after company have brought out net safe, kid safe, programs to protect our kids but do they work? Only time can tell us. The government has gotten on the bandwagon in the past bringing up the website www.netalert.gov.au as an informative website for parents and has links to child directed activities to help with the educating of our little ones.
I believe that the best way for our students to be safe on the net is to be supervising them and at home if they are at the age where they want their privacy make sure you are checking who exactly they have been typing frantically to for the last 4 hours.
The walled garden is one approach for schools but I think that the private schools may be on the better track with rules set in place for the students to be able have freedom to great websites that the government may not have gotten around to approving yet.
Access and Equity.....
Watching 'Voices from the cape' from ABC's Message stick does show how technology can help engage students in the classroom. Getting the students involved in these sorts of programs shows not only the students that school is worthwhile and that they have great potential inside of them but it shows their parents, siblings, elders, the community and the rest of Australia the tactic works and here are the results to show it. Each of these areas of Australia no matter how bad their reputation, should be given the opportunity to have these sorts of visitors to engage the children, help manage behaviours and bring them technology and experiences that they may not have been able to gain from anywhere else in their life.
Each child within Australia no matter where they are from should have access to computers, cameras and someone to motivate them to make something of it. In 2007 Kevin Rudd did make a promise of a computer for every student from years 9-12 in his election campaign in 2007 and sure we are starting to see these computers pop up here and there but are they too late to help some of our less fortunate students?
Korea international School.....
They made a online reference for themselves and the world and they got noticed. It's a brilliant idea and it is apparent on youtube that they are now using it as a bit of a draw card for the school. But it comes down to the students were involved, they put time, energy and a lot of thought into the presentation of this piece of work (or is it art?) As a student I would have loved to have been able to sit back at the end of the term put up old Internet explorer and go "look mum this is what I did all term". Looking at it, it is something that I would have loved to have done and I wish that my schools had the imagination, creativity and the energy to help us create something so outstanding.
Just some thoughts on the things brought up in this weeks eLearning exercises.......
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