Following this year's conference, I'm struggling to =
find solutions.
Clearly Ofsted is still counting that =
which can be counted and nit-picking over whether data-logging is being =
'delivered' or not. In the meantime the world's children are disengaging =
from education en masse. (If they need datalogging they can pick it up =
in an hour - and probably most do when they buy some technical Lego or a =
similar toy).
The pressure to break the mould =
and throw out the Victorian curriculum with its deliver-and-test regime =
is building towards bursting point. Too many bright people are saying =
it: Ken Robinson, Don Tapscott, David Puttnam; their numbers are growing =
and their voices getting louder almost =
daily.
And finally, Lord Puttnam's film =
showed that increasing global problems mean that if we don't create a =
21st century curriculum - and quickly - there may be no need for five =
A*- Cs because there'll be no world to live in.
So what's the =
solution?
Needless to say I haven't a clue.
But =
I do find that Web 2.0 technologies open the ability to problem-solve =
and debate.
Twitterfall at conference added a dimension and a =
global audience to our sessions.
You do realise, don't you, =
that Chris Smith was participating in Thailand and many comments were =
being retweeted to a global network of people by an educator in Ecuador. =
That's just two examples.
TeachMeet was real =
chalk-face practitioners turning their back on Government and Ofsted and =
getting together to share innovative ideas - and their sessions were =
streamed on Ustream to a global audience.
This =
global dimension is almost totally lacking in the average classroom. In =
its place we have locked-down systems which wouldn't allow my photos =
from BETT to be viewed by Pete Rafferty (@raff31) an innovative Year 4 =
teacher on Merseyside. No, he didn't have 8-year-olds accessing Twitter =
- this was his own account on his own laptop which he was using to =
receive news from professional educators attending the BETT Show. =
Nothing reached his children without being filtered by him - yet even =
he, as a teacher, wasn't given this freedom because Twitpic is =
blocked.
How can children become the "people we =
need" when even their teachers can't show them the benefits technology =
can bring?
Unlock the Web
My =
instinct is to unlock the web and let teachers use Web 2.0 with their =
classes but that ignores Internet safety =
issues.
The more I think about it the more I =
know that it depends on age. But the starting point should be open =
access and then lock down only as much as necessary.
Consider =
nursery and reception children for example. Open access would be so =
wrong for them. Yet a primary teacher who can't put Twitterfall on =
the whiteboard is surely damaging the children's =
prospects.
So how about =
this.
Consider the roads analogy.
We wouldn't =
let five year olds roam freely on the roads so we keep them shut indoors =
or safe in the garden with the gate shut.
But we also go out =
onto the roads with them so they learn road safety.
We do it by =
constantly explaining and demonstrating.
Not =
incessantly, just every time a road needs to be =
crossed.
In between we are talking about everything =
else.
A suggestion:
On the net, then, I think we =
should direct young children to safe sites for specific activities and =
have filters in place so they can't go ANYWHERE else.
But not a =
county filter or even a school filter. It needs to be a class filter =
because the seven year olds will need a bit more flexibility and the 11 =
years old a lot more.
AND, the class filter should be only on the =
children's access points. The teacher should have unfettered access so =
if she wants to use Twitter or any other social networking site - or MSN =
- or Skype - or Ustream - she can. Because she won't let the children on =
that computer and she'll only ever access these sites as part of a =
lesson. So she might have Twitterfall on the big screen for a particular =
purpose during a particular lesson, perhaps with a TA monitoring content =
in the seconds between receipt and display.
Thus the children are =
safe but they also learn to communicate and collaborate as the teacher =
holds their hand.
Just like on the road.
As they grow older =
the filters come off but only with adequate internet safety =
training.
And on that subject, see these two articles::
A =
school that's praised for less filtered access with good safety =
training:
http://www.thisisplymout=
h.co.uk/news/Use-online-tool-nets-school-E-Safety-mark/article-1812042-det=
ail/article.htmlManaged rather than locked down:
http://news.bbc.=
co.uk/1/hi/education/8505914.stm
So those are my fairly random thoughts so far, two days after =
conference.Disclaimers about how this is intended for you and =
if you aren't you, let me know.
Oh and by the way, the content =
*is* my =
opinion.