http://www.deewr.gov.au/Schooling/DigitalEducationRevolution/Documents/DERNatPartnership.pdf
This is the National Partnership Agreement on the Digital Education Revolution. Basically the Australian Government is supporting the use of ICT in schools by investing $2.4 billion over seven years (2008-2014).
The funds will go towards providing ICT equipment to secondary year students, high speed broadband internet connection to schools, professional development and learning for teachers, online curriculum tools and resources and online learning with parent access.
The aim by December 2011 is for there there to be a 1:1 computer to student ratio for secondary students with high speed network access and digital resources.
The government believes that this will bring beneficial change to teaching and learning in Secondary schools.
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Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Entry Three - So who is the teacher?
http://www.eden-online.org/papers/jenkins.pdf
In this entry I am looking at the role the teacher plays since integrating ICT into the classrooms.
The source is slightly old (1999) but I found it an interesting and inviting read. Plus its points are still relevant to today.
The source discusses that ICT has significantly changed the teacher's role but by no means has lessened it.
Ict is a valuable tool that can encourages learning. However some of the changes are a cause for concern, for example the impact on teachers. Are the teachers comfortable changing their role from being a projector of information to simply supporting learning?
I know myself, a young woman who been using technology everyday for as long as I can remember would feel well out of my comfort zone using ICT in the classroom (at this stage), so I can easily see that an older generation of teachers may find it difficult to learn to integrate ICT into the classroom, particularly if they are technologically challenged, or have strong pedagogical beliefs about teaching. To me the solution to this is educating the educators about the benefits of integrating ICT and allowing them to learn the technology. This then leads us back to the Digital Education Revolution policy that enables professional development for teachers.
Jenkins, J. Teaching For Tomorrow. The Changing Role Of Teachers in the Connected Classroom. (accessed 29/06/2010) from http://www.eden-online.org/papers/jenkins.pdf
In this entry I am looking at the role the teacher plays since integrating ICT into the classrooms.
The source is slightly old (1999) but I found it an interesting and inviting read. Plus its points are still relevant to today.
The source discusses that ICT has significantly changed the teacher's role but by no means has lessened it.
Ict is a valuable tool that can encourages learning. However some of the changes are a cause for concern, for example the impact on teachers. Are the teachers comfortable changing their role from being a projector of information to simply supporting learning?
I know myself, a young woman who been using technology everyday for as long as I can remember would feel well out of my comfort zone using ICT in the classroom (at this stage), so I can easily see that an older generation of teachers may find it difficult to learn to integrate ICT into the classroom, particularly if they are technologically challenged, or have strong pedagogical beliefs about teaching. To me the solution to this is educating the educators about the benefits of integrating ICT and allowing them to learn the technology. This then leads us back to the Digital Education Revolution policy that enables professional development for teachers.
Jenkins, J. Teaching For Tomorrow. The Changing Role Of Teachers in the Connected Classroom. (accessed 29/06/2010) from http://www.eden-online.org/papers/jenkins.pdf
Monday, June 28, 2010
Entry Two - Technology Changing Education
http://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=digital_learning
This paper is an interesting read, giving a brief overview of the world wide web and its uses. It goes on to discuss the Digital Education Revolution policy which is a positive step towards providing greater ICT in schools.
White goes on to discuss trends in ICT and the fast development of the web which has now become so powerful and information is so easily accessed. Further more we can not only access this information from our computer but so many other more portable devices which mean we have the information right at hand when we want it and we can share information and connect with others much more easily.
Some good points that categorise benefits of ICT in education.
One paragraph in particular interested me, that discussed a recession in the printing of newspapers yet saw that a huge amount of people were accessing the newspaper online. The statistics got me thinking that yes, technology is making its way into the classroom, but this to me gives a small insight into the fact the our current society is one of technology (obviously with all the gadgets etc), but now the classroom is adapting, including and using this technological world.
White, G. ICT Trends in Education (2008) accessed 28/6/2010 from http://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=digital_learning.
This paper is an interesting read, giving a brief overview of the world wide web and its uses. It goes on to discuss the Digital Education Revolution policy which is a positive step towards providing greater ICT in schools.
White goes on to discuss trends in ICT and the fast development of the web which has now become so powerful and information is so easily accessed. Further more we can not only access this information from our computer but so many other more portable devices which mean we have the information right at hand when we want it and we can share information and connect with others much more easily.
Some good points that categorise benefits of ICT in education.
One paragraph in particular interested me, that discussed a recession in the printing of newspapers yet saw that a huge amount of people were accessing the newspaper online. The statistics got me thinking that yes, technology is making its way into the classroom, but this to me gives a small insight into the fact the our current society is one of technology (obviously with all the gadgets etc), but now the classroom is adapting, including and using this technological world.
White, G. ICT Trends in Education (2008) accessed 28/6/2010 from http://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=digital_learning.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Entry One - So is technology taking over?
"Robots taking over the classroom" - the title scares me a little. Immediately I envision a world where technology literally has taken over. We are already seeing the replacement of checkout staff in shops for "self-serve" checkouts, but is this really where the future lies in education? Robots taking over human teachers?
The thought of robots taking over is rather troubling, however these robots are proving to be a positive step in South Korea at the moment. Currently the robots are only being used as teacher's assistants and are filling the gap where such required staff is not available. The Government funded project is proving to initially expensive, however in the long run may work out to be economical considering they don’t require a salary.
The robots are able to fulfil duties such as checking the daily attendance, supervising, taking photos of the children, check whether a child is well or not and can lead the children in certain classes.
With such a high level of technology a clear line should be drawn as to what exactly is the role of the teacher in the classroom?
The Korean Government states that they do not wish to replace teachers, but give them an invaluable tool. This reminded me of a point a fellow classmate brought up: "ICT stands for 'It Can't Teach.'" A point I completely agree with. These robots can be programmed to do almost anything, but however great the technology; it will never provide the same human qualities that constitute great human teaching.
Video:Robot Teachers Taking Over the Classroom. (2010) video retrieved 26/06/2010 from http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=89874776
Friday, June 25, 2010
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