Friday, July 28, 2006

Podcasts and Websites


First of all it would be great to have some comments on Post 2 - or rather some of the material in it. I will try to post to this blog once a week with a mixture of information which may be useful to you.

The link below will download a podcast from Nine to Noon where Katherine interviews an Australian Author (sorry, I've temporarily forgotten her name) who is critical of the way we dissect writing into various genre. She feels it has had a negative effect on creative writing. Worth a listen....

Click to Download Podcast

Go on - give it a go! You could do some marking while you listen.

Now - Web sites of the week.........

Children's Literature site specialising in classic literature.

Very good movie making site.

Or this site which give you ways to use the free software Photo movie .

Last week we talked about Flikr - the shared photo website.

And, if you want to download Google Earth click here.

Enough for this week.

R

Monday, July 17, 2006

Professional Development Day

“I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.”– Albert Einstein

Friday:

We will have a look at where we are with ICT and take into account the information horizon as far as we can scan it today………….

What are the characteristics of our learners today?

Marc Prensky estimates that by the time an individual reaches 21 years of age they will have spent:
5,000 hours reading
10,000 hours playing video games
10,000 hours on the cell phone
20,000 hours watching TV
In addition, he estimates the individual will have sent 200,000 emails

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_generations

Characteristics of The Net Generation:

• They are able to multitask / multiprocess: Net-geners can do several things at once.

• They "have little tolerance for delays." They expect webpages to load quickly, responses to e-mail immediately, etc. (Skiba)

• They tend to be more comfortable constructing their knowledge than being instructed.

• They prefer to be interactive: "They want to be users--not just viewers or listeners." (Tapscott, 1998, p.3)

http://davidwarlick.com/wiki-warlick/index.php?title=Retooling_for_the_Millennial_Child

or Educating the Net Generation

Some stats: MySpace Youtube

World's Largest Airlines: Number of aircraft in 2006
American Airlines 707
Federal Express 635
United Parcel Service 577
Delta Air Lines 535
United Airlines 495

Warren's stuff - The Upper Limit Hypothesis

Where does that leave us at Wellesley?

• Inquiry Learning – We have reinvigorated our approach to inquiry Learning

• Closely integrated ICT – Our 2004 strategy and 2005 Information Policy – ICT equipment – 5 computers per class + laptop trolleys

• Our planning – pins thinking skills and ICT to all class planning

• Moving towards a customised collaborative intranet (Mindspring) which provides resources and links for all learners and the wider school community

• Digital Learning Objects

• Smartboards

The ICT Learning Landscape 2006+:

Web 2.0
Wikis
Blogging David Farrar Russell Brown Rodney Hide Facts

Podcast
- U.S. Adults Warming Up To Podcasts
Videocast
RSS News feeds
Real time chatting
Distributed Learning / Intranet Moodle Explained

Digital Learning Objects
Smartboard technology
Personal Digital Devices

More stuff.

Flat Classrooms - David Warlick
Jamie McKenzie - The Art of Communication


Information Management at Wellesley



With the huge increases in the volume of information and students’ use of the internet, it has become crucial that students learn how to evaluate the authority, accuracy, objectivity, currency and coverage of the information they get from a wide range of sources

PC Schools Timeline

January 2006 - Student Management and Finance System Running

July 2006 - System being used by all Staff

August - December 2006 - Curriculum System introduced

- Behaviour System used

January 2007 - Curriculum System training

March 2007 - PAT and STAR + input from classroom

Attendance data input replaces attendance register?

July 2007 - System replaces progress card?


Friday, July 14, 2006

Wellesley


This site will be updated with web based teacher resources for Wellesley College. These ideas come from a variety of sources.

Use Inspiration? have a look at Inspiration Data:
"InspireData™ applies the proven strategies of visual learning to data literacy, inspiring students to discover meaning as they collect and explore data in a dynamic inquiry process. "

http://www.inspiration.com/productinfo/inspiredata/index.cfm

More soon.