Tomorrow evening, at 7 pm UK time, I’ll be hosting a discussion on managing ICT on a budget. If you have any top tips you’d like to share, or are looking for some ideas on how to make your budget go further, why not pop along?
Read MoreThe effective use of ICT
One laptop per child: a worthy goal, but does it lead to the most effective learning? Research published over the years has challenged the assumption that youngsters do better working on their own than sharing a computer.
Read MoreGrowing Knowledge
OK, because of the insanity of the deadlines I’m up against I’m going to have to say this fast, so you will have to listen fast. If you’re in London over the next week or so, there is a great exhibition you should go to.
Read MoreVirtual schooling? Don’t make me laugh!
Online discussion today: don’t miss it!
Later on today, Di Brooks, who lives in Christchurch, New Zealand, will be giving a talk on life without connectivity, based on her recent experience with the earthquakes there. this will be followed by a discussion.
The talk will take place at 7pm UK time, 6am Christchurch time. And if you get as confused about time zones as I do, check what time it will be in your neck of the woods by going to this time zone converter.
To listen to the talk and join in the discussion, click on this link.
Life without connectivity
As you know, Christchurch in New Zealand has been beset recently by a terrible earthquake, which was then followed by aftershocks – which are still occurring. People have lost their homes and, worst, their lives.
For those who are fortunate enough to have survived the disaster, what has it been like without internet connectivity, or with only intermittent internet access? Why did Diane Brooks, an ICT consultant who runs an ICT in Education blog, recently advise schools to take up blogging?
Four hours to go…
In just four hours’ time, Professor Margaret Cox will be giving a short talk on haptics, ie touch technology. This will be followed by a discussion. Do join us!
28th June at 7pm UK time, join by clicking here. If you’re not in the UK, find out what time it is in your neck of the woods by using this timezone converter.
There is more information on this topic in this article: ICT gets all touchy-feely
Update on 2011-07-01 10:10 by Terry Freedman, Educational ICT Consultant
To view the recording, click the link below:
View the Elluminate Live! recording
If you're interested in joining a small group to explore these ideas further, please email me to register your interest, for me to pass on to Margaret. If you can say a bit about who you are that would probably be helpful.
ICT gets all touchy-feely
Is educational technology only about keyboards and other familiar input devices? Actually, no! There’s a lot of cutting-edge work going on in the realm of haptics.
Professor Margaret Cox explains what haptics is:
Where can you get advice that is both free and good?
I don’t think it’s necessarily true that you get what you pay for. Some of the best advice available has been free. But where can you go now for good advice which is also free? I’ve started a new discussion on this topic in one of the Vital forums:
Read MoreUpcoming online discussions for ICT co-ordinators
As you may know, I’ve been asked to conduct a few “Teachshares” – online discussions – for Vital. I’ve arranged the next two, and I’ll post details of others once they’ve been finalised. The next one is today, so read this quickly!
Read MoreEDUsummIT 2011 Report: The Digital Divide
Did you know that there are now more mobile subscriptions in the developing countries than in the (so-called) developed countries? I didn’t either. That was a fact pointed out to us by Dr Paul Resta, of the University of Texas at Austin, USA. Yet our appreciation of how such technologies can be used to support learning (both formal and informal) is still in its infancy.
Read MoreThe school where students MUST have a mobile device
#edusum11 Mike Searson is the President of The School for Global Education & Innovation at Kean University in the USA. I met him in Paris the day before the EDUsummit 2011 conference which took place there. He headed up our small, intrepid band of social media folk.
Something Mike related really made me think.
Discussion about the role of the ICT Co-ordinator
I recently posted a couple of articles that questioned whether the role of the ICT Co-ordinator was necessary. (See the links below if you missed those masterpieces.) Well, we had an online discussion (I’m not daft enough to make an appearance in real life on that sort of platform!), escaped relatively unscathed, and here is the result...
Read MoreThe role of ICT Co-ordinator is unnecessary: discuss
OK, I admit it: I was being a bit of a devil’s advocate when I suggested that the role of ICT Co-ordinator is redundant, but consider this. In these hard times, how will you respond if your Headteacher calls you into her office one morning and says:
I need to make some serious budget cuts. What exactly do you do, why does it need to be done anyway, and why can’t I get an admin person on half your salary to do it instead?
A conference, summer CPD and a UNESCO report
Here are three options for you to consider in order to give a boost to your professional development:
- The forthcoming ISTE conference in Philadelphia.
- A cornucopia of ideas for professional development over the summer break, in case all that relaxing gets you down.
- A report from UNESCO on Learning, Innovation and ICT.
All this was published last week in Computers in Classrooms, the free e-newsletter for educational ICT professionals. Subscribe now (literally: right now) and you’ll stand a chance of winning a premium version of Xobni, a pretty good email management tool. I’m running the draw for that at 10 pm UK time today.
Read on for the details of those three resources.
Computers in Classrooms New Edition
The next edition of Computers in Classrooms, the free e-newsletter for people with a professional interest in educational ICT, will be available at 09:30 UK time today. Here is a summary of its contents, which includes news, articles and book reviews:
Read MoreConference: The Future of Education: Creating an Education System Fit for the 21st Century
This conference takes place on 24th May, and has a most timely agenda, with a focus on the Big Society, Free schools, and ICT.
Two slots in particular caught my eye, these being Teaching in a 21st Century School and ICT as a Driver of Educational Reform.
Read MoreConference: The future of education
This conference takes place in London on Tuesday 17th May. I’ve looked at the programme, and it looks pretty good, with some high profile speakers and some useful-sounding topics.
Read More5 Reasons to contribute to consultations
The number of responses to consultations tends to be low. For example, the Royal Society in England has received 125 responses to its consultation on computing in schools. Admittedly this is a niche area, but it still seems pretty low to me, given the fact that there are over 17,000 primary schools in England and, especially, over 3,000 secondary schools which, one would assume, have a vested interest. I believe that the number of responses to Government consultations is higher, but still relatively small.
I think people are mistaken not to have their say in this type of situation, even though I can understand why they might not wish to do so.
Yes / No - Ummm.....!
"If you have a position that requires an opinion to be made then you have to give one. It may not tie in with the rest of the team but it may actually be the opinion that makes the difference."
Read MoreJulia Skinner gives her opinion on the importance of having -- and expressing -- an opinion.