Garry's Rambles

Schwarzenegger signs Digital Literacy Order for California

Putland Garry — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 04:09:26 +0000

Arnold Schwarzenegeer has signed an Executive Order in California is intended to tackle the digital divide, California’s competitiveness and leadership role in the US. Some interesting statistics were given to support the Executive Order.

Less than half of Latinos (48%) have home computers, compared with about 86% for Whites, 84% for Asians, and 79% for Blacks.

Only 40% of Latinos have Internet access, and only 34% of Latinos have broadband connections at home, while majorities of other racial or ethnic groups have both Internet access and broadband connections.

Only 32% of Californians are very confident about using the Internet.

More than 56% of parents indicate that they visit their children’s school websites, but only 30% of those with household incomes under $40,000 indicate doing so, as compared to 84% of those with incomes of $80,000 or more.

More than 62% of Californians indicate a concern that lower-income areas are less likely than others to have access to broadband Internet technology.

There is a disparity among ethnic/racial groups, income levels, and regions when comparing rates of computer ownership, Internet access, and broadband connections at home.

A majority of residents express concern that Californians in lower-income areas and rural areas have less access to broadband Internet technology than others.

There are indications that since 2000, computer use has grown among whites (79% to 85%) and blacks (76% to 83%), as has Internet use (70% to 81% for whites, 60% to 82% for blacks), but among Latinos, computer use has declined (64% to 58%) and Internet use is unchanged (47% to 48%), while Asians have seen in both their use of computers (91% to 81%) and the Internet (84% to 80%).

I wonder how much longer before we will be expecting everyone will have a computer with internet access? How can governments ensure that those who do not have the financial capacity do get access to computers? Will the next Digital Education Revolution assist people at home to purchase appropriate technology for learning and workforce development?

Twitter and Education

Putland Garry — Sun, 24 May 2009 02:43:56 +0000

Whilst still relatively newbie user of Twitter we are starting to see educators use the technology to great effect.
Thanks to Jude O’Connell, who pointed to this video of a lecturer using Twitter for class feedback. What was interesting about this was that the students found the exercise added considerable value to their experience in the classroom. The Twitter Experiment - Bringing Twitter to the Classroom at UT Dallas

A recent post by dana boyd on her apophenia blog where she asked for people to tweet questions she asks in her research on students. The answers provide some really interesting insights to student views about social networking sites, parents and education. As one commentator suggests, ‘…and no media literacy training!!! Enlightenment 2.0 has a long way to go!!’ So here is two great examples of the use of Twitter….I am sure there will be lots more!!

Kesmit-ing: The Twitter Experiment - Bringing Twitter to the Classroom at UT Dallas

Putland Garry — Sun, 24 May 2009 02:26:43 +0000

more about "Kesmit-ing: The Twitter Experiment - …", posted with vodpod

Student and Teacher Expectation…the growing gap

Putland Garry — Tue, 12 May 2009 08:02:07 +0000

Thanks to Jenny Lewis (CEO, ACEL), I was pointed to this interesting piece of research out of the US. The Speak Up 2008 Research project was conducted by Project Tomorrow (PT) PT is a not-for-profit national education group based in California. Its vision is to ensure that today’s students are prepared to be tomorrow’s innovators, leaders and engaged citizen’s of the world. The research is based on an online survey of students in the US (more than 200,000) and teachers/administrators (more than 29,000)

A major outcome was that only one third of high school students polled in 2008 believe that their school is preparing them for jobs of the future. Yet 56% of school principals believe that they were doing a good job. Students have a different vision for learning than what we are providing in the way of formal education. There is a disconnect that should not get wider!!

The Consortium of School Networking has recently released another report on Web 2.0 titled Leadership for Web 2.0 in education : Promise and Reality. In this report, they surveyed school district superintendents, curriculum directors and technology directors. Their findings indicate that ‘educational mindsets and school cultures do not yet align learning to the realities of the 21st Century, although they report that there is an increasing awareness amongst schools that they need to do so.

Do we have such evidence in Australia? Let me know!!

Supporting personalised learning

Putland Garry — Sun, 03 May 2009 08:29:42 +0000

At the SICTAS symposium on Friday I was a provocatuer and my assertion was that the next Digital Education Revolution might involve the government giving tax breaks to parents (actually, they already do…..see Education Tax Refund) to purchase computers rather than give the money to school/school systems to provide. Now students will own the computers and bring them into the formal learning environment. Some of my colleagues at the table said that this already happens in schools, TAFEs and universities….but it is not widely acknowledged or even supported. If the students own the computers then they won’t want their computers locked down to the system requirements (ie ban Youtube and many other sites). This will truly be a personal learning device.

On my recent trip overseas my iPhone was almost permanently connected to the Internet. As I walked the streets/subways the device locked into the wireless hotspots and seamlessly connected. All I had to do was subscribe to any of the hotspot providers and because of their peering arrangements could connect from almost anywhere and from any European city.

So….imagine a new world where students bring their machines which lock into the wireless network at home and then connect at the local coffee shop and finally connect to the hotspots near schools. In fact, this may mean that schools no longer need to provide fixed line connectivity. So it raises in my mind how the $43b investment in Fibre to the Home (FTTH) would support such a scenario??

So will the next government initiative provide tax incentives to not only purchase a computer but subsidise hotspot access to the internet from anywhere in Australia. Now that would be a great initiative!!

Lost in London…saved by the iPhone

Putland Garry — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:44:19 +0000

For those who have had the experience of coming out of the London Underground and being disoriented, I had that experience today on my way to a meeting with Sarah Porter from JISC. However, my iPhone through its GPS system was able to pinpoint where I was and I quickly realised I was actually walking away from my meeting place. I am now realising how the iPhone is now my personal portable device that I soon won’t be able to do without.

Serendipity has it, that only yesterday I discovered a recent report from Becta called ‘Location Based Technology Learning’ by Steve Benford from the University of Nottingham. Steve says that location based learning can

can place knowledge in context (ie associate objects with location) on say field trips
enable learners to document the world around them
enable collaborative learning from publishing and sharing evidence captured in the field

Steve warns that there are some challenges also. Issues such as privacy (I think this is becoming less and less of an issue) and there are some technical challenges (coverage of networks, costs and accuracy of the positioning systems)

Steve covers some very interesting case studies such as field trips, pervasive games, sport health and bio-sensing. These devices are certainly challenging the notion that the classroom extends beyond the four walls…..it may even be an exercise on the way home from school….and an interstng one at that!!

Anyway, I must admit I am becoming very attached to my iPhone for many good reasons. Perhaps surgery may be required later!!

Qantas and 21st Century Learning Spaces

Putland Garry — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:31:08 +0000

We recently released a short review of the latest material around the world on 21st century learning spaces. What is interesting about the designs for flexible learning is that learning spaces should reflect the different kinds of learning from instructional to collaborative. In the past our rooms were designed essentially for one type of learning. But now with new technologies and a shift towards personalised learning where students have defferent learning needs then the rooms need to be set up for different functions.

This is not that different to what I call the Qantas Club model for their lounges. The spaces, furniture and equipment are arranged in such a way to accomodate different activities for travellers. You can have a quiet space, a meeting place, a relaxing place, a work place.

You can explore our summary and access a wide variety of excellent resources at http://www.educationau.edu.au/jahia/Jahia/home/pid/777

OER Teachers - Sharing good sites

Putland Garry — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:35:45 +0000

In Brussels working with teachers from around the world on selecting content for learning and looking at the concept of travel well as part of the EUN project funded by the Hewlett Foundation. We are exploring what characteristics allow resources to be used across countries.

Barbara (from the US) showed the http://nobelprize.org/educational_games site. She said that this resource was visually stimulating and could be used for classes of varying ability. Says in her Google search looks for domain specific safe sites (ie .edu or .org)

Bridget (from South Africa) showed the WorldClock site. This is like Gap Minder and uses this for engaging kids. Rob (also from South Africa) showed the Astro-Venture site. Says that this site is engaging for the kids.

National Geographic sites which is a Google maps mashup. Discussion ensue about how this has revolutionised geography learning although because it is dynamic

The content from the British Museum about the Ancient greeks was very good because it allowed the students to interact and learn about Greek culture in a very engaging way. A disappointing aspect was the limited rights associated with use.

Moses and Mischeck described the very different conditions in Zambia where chalk is hard to fund let alone computers. The gap beween the developed and developing countries is getting wider given the current funding commitments from the Australian government. A very difficult issue…Moses says their teachers were very excited to be part of this project. He showed a project in Zambia www.ischool.zm

Learners - Should we leave them to their own devices?

Putland Garry — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 07:27:53 +0000

Imagine if the Digital Education Revolution (DER) was not about schools providing the technology for the students but the government actually funded the students, through tax breaks and grants, the ability to purchase their own equipment. In many instances, this is already the case…and in some private schools actually encouraged. BTW, our current government is encouraging parents to invest in computers in the home, through tax breaks.

Becta has just released a paper by John Traxler, University of Wolverhampton titled ‘Learners - Should we leave them to their own devices?‘ In the paper, John explains that mobile devices include smartphones, games consoles, media players, netbooks and handheld computers. He says almost everyone owns one or uses one.

He says that traditional education provision is built around time and place and that the formal education system is getting ‘out of step’ with how many people understand the world in which they live. These changes cause significant shifts in the idea of ownership of technology, knowledge and learning. We are moving from knowledge consumption to production with mobile and wenb 2.0 technologies.

He summarises the paper by saying that learner devices are disruptive. What are the choices? A business as usual option would lead to an unsustainable option. The other choice shifts the responsibility to the learner, shifts education’s (and government’s) role from providing technology to technology support. He also says more research needs to be done….and quickly.

Grown Up Digital - Don Tapscott - CoSN Conference

Putland Garry — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:17:37 +0000

Don Tapscott says that those people who are negative and critical about how this generation has been dumbed down by the internet is not true. See his video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoqiRRMQ0fs

He says this generation are not only using the internet they are changing it. He described how his kids created an online community pre-release of his book Wikinomics. Within a short space of time they had created an online community who were placing demands on him to contribute to this community. Don is an educational pyschologist. He says our kids are far more pro-active and positive.

He talked about a generational firewall. For example privacy is an issue which our kids don’t fully appreciate. Are reference checks on Facebook preventing these kids from getting their dream job? I actually don’t believe there is evidence this is happening and many kids are more sophisticated about this. This could be a good research topic.

He says that there is fear about who has control. Adults don’t. And we need to not combat but deal with this. He says the following norms are expected by our kids. They are freedom, customisation, scrutiny, integrity, collaboration, entertainment, speed and innovation.

Says that the pedagogical model needs to shift from broadcast to engaged in learning and spoke of recent experience in Portugal where all students are getting notebooks and how kids had netbooks and were asked to find out about the equinox in astronomy. The kids quickly used Google and Wikipedia to find out the answer and then shared with the class. It was noisy and productive. BTW, kids above Year 5 would receive a full notebook computer, prior to that NetBooks were issued.