Subject: [IFETS-DISCUSSION:1010] Re: Making it to the classroom
From: Catherine BURKE (CBURKE@bretton.ac.uk)
Date: Tue 30 Jan 2001 - 11:45:16 MET
Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2001 10:45:16 +0000 From: "Catherine BURKE" <CBURKE@bretton.ac.uk> Subject: [IFETS-DISCUSSION:1010] Re: Making it to the classroom
Couldn't agree more.
However, it is not just the teachers who can and should contribute to such a fundamental discussion.
'The School That I'd Like' is a national competition currently underway in the UK, launched by The Guardian Newspaper on Jan 16th. Children & young people are invited to design, describe, construct their 'ideal' school or learning environment.
see http://www.educationunlimited.co.uk/schools/story/0,5500,422510,00.html
for details .
This is a research project of mine and the competition entries will be kept as a complete archive at my Institution. There are many issues here - whether such an event can register the voice of children unfiltered by their teachers: how to evaluate the material: how to keep the discussion going to inform policy etc...
changes and continuities in the expressed needs of children over a thirty year period - the competition was originally run by the Observer newspaper in 1967 & Edward Blishen edited a collection of the resulting writings in a Penguin Educational Classic in 1969 (found on many a teachers shelf who was trained during the 1970s!)
But it will be interesting how far computer supported learning features as part of the vision of future learning environments as perceived now by UK children.
There is an associated international discussion forum and website.
see http://cfs.bretton.ac.uk/schoolilike.html
contact me if you would like details of how children of school age might access the discussion forum.
Cathy
>>> Steve.Mahaley@DukeCE.com 01/30 2:42 am >>>
"What additional skills will future online teachers need with the advent of
major changes in the technological landscape?"
Sandra B. writes:
How about flexibility and life long learning <groan> I know its been done to
death, but it hasnt actually impacted on those institutions called schools! They
use it in their school mottos and logos but it hasnt actually crossed the
classroom floor yet!
-----\
I was sitting with a group of american public middle school teachers
this weekend. I work in a corporate environment, providing online
learning tools for custom educational programs. I asked the group if
having more technology (computers) would help their instruction. They
unanimously agreed that more hardware would help, and, when asked what
they would do with the hardware and internet connection, there was a
pause, and then ideas started flowing about individualized instruction,
project work, research, etc. =20
The current educational agenda for North Carolina is to test and
standardize - to provide some measure that "proves" that kids are
learning. The group of teachers I was with bemoaned the emphasis on the
testing as a creativity-killer. They also had stories to tell about the
many "duties" they have while on campus - monitoring lunch rooms, bus
loading, hallways, committees, buckets of paperwork and so on.
It is my assertion that we cannot expect to see real change in education
(US public flavor), including an effective integration of technology
tools, until we (u.s. citizens) address the lack of respect for
teacher's time, and for the profession. When we make a monetary
committment to improving the tech base at our public schools, when we
provide ample planning time and eliminate many of the low-end
administrative duties, when we encourage creativity and a real
application of proven teaching methodologies, that's when we will see
flexibility and life-long learning benefiting our children.
A perspective from stateside. Kind regards to the readership.
Steve Mahaley
Learning Technology and Development
Duke Corporate Education, Inc.
tel 919 680 5618
fax 919 680 5600
<http://www.dukece.com>
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