Global Connections

I love these forums they give us insights into how others problem solve and apply their creative energy to their teaching. Here in Australia we lag behind in giving teachers discussion forums in through which ideas can be shared and projects developed. I'm sure this will change as more of us acquire the skills and confidence needed to participate in worthwhile on-line discussions about our teaching and its relevance to our students. I welcome all your suggestions. I am particularly interested in finding out more about the 21Century learning initiatives you are focusing on.

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Permalink Reply by Larry Sandberg on June 14, 2010 at 7:10am

I can speak for what I have seen and do hear around. Technology and Social Media have combined to make learning more effective.

There has been a lot of talk of allowing usage of mobile devices in schools, UK and a few other countries have been advocating the use of mobile devices.If you google "cell phones" and "school" you'll come up with a lot of recent articles about schools allowing phones for educational purposes.

And of course there is a lot of talk of Social media and its relevance in education.

Here are a few links which I personally feel are useful in providing more information.

http://ipodclassroom.wikispaces.com/

http://www.shambles.net/pages/learning/ict/mobphone/

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_175007.asp

http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/28006/Top-5-Ways-to-Use-Twit...

Cheers

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Permalink Reply by Brigitte Williams on June 15, 2010 at 5:55am

Larry

If this is what you do in your classroom then what we do here is like living in the last century. The articles you posted are interesting, but where are the studies to show that these technologies are as effective as we would all like to think they are? I am keen to know what actually works for you. I have literally seen dozens of youtube videos that proclaim the advantages of using x y or z... but how much of this is just promotional hype? I am following the Colorado Learns initiative because I want to see how teachers are establishing best practice and the kind of discussions they are having. I don't think that some wiz-kid with Gatesian aspirations - who seems to think that technology is the answer to poor government policy and a threadbare public education system is way to improve educational outcomes or create sustainable communities. The advantages of saving time, and alternatively the problem of not having time to interact with students are issues that need to be addressed by the profession. There are clear benefits but none of these presentations mention the social issues posed by the misuse of technology. In my current school mobile phones are not allowed to be used in the classroom. Many students use them to chat and we often have to insist on them being put away so the student can actually engage with the work. Students now have laptops supplied by our Federal government, and can distract themselves in other ways, but at least the school has some power to control their misuse.