You are Never Alone

A discussion here yesterday with colleagues at education.au got me thinking about how different things might be once you can assume that every Year 9-12 secondary student has access to a computer all the time while at school.

One of our group commented that everything that has happened so far in the last 20 years with using computers in education has been minor in comparison to the potential impact of DER. As a result of some of that activity we have some ideas of what will work, and what doesn’t; we have a glimmering of understanding of the possible problems we will face.

Among my predictions/thoughts (perhaps prediction is too sophisticated a term)

• classroom activities are going to have to become more student centred, more collaborative, more enquiry based. Students will need to drive their own learning more.
• teachers are going to need to learn to harness the expertise of individual students, particularly those who will spend hours on their computers at home developing skills well beyond those the teacher will have. This may be an uncomfortable process for some.
• in many cases the curriculum currently being delivered locally will need adaptation, better linking and response to current issues, and even deletion of some “beloved-by-teachers” topics.
• we need to get rid of the assumption that all computers need to be online all the time. The internet is not the answer to everything.
• more than ever we need the establishment of a standard operating environment for an educator, in terms of recency of computer, software available, levels of internet access for students.
• teachers will need to create or have access to online materials for students, even create their own mini learning objects such as 2 minute “how to” videos for a range of processes. They will involve their students in the creation of some of these.
• there is an immense need for appropriate professional development provision both in resources and time for teachers.
  We have seen that this week with our first scheduled edna online mini conference. Sessions for 18 June put on offer on Monday afternoon, giving a total of 100 places, had filled by Tuesday morning. Late yesterday afternoon we set up another online conference for 24 June. That hasn’t filled quite as fast. 73 of the 100 places have gone. It will be full by the end of the day.

It occurs to me too, in the light of a recent report from the US headed: Parents unsure about kids’ digital media use. Most parents accept the importance of digital media but wonder about the impact on students’ social skills, we have quite a lot of work to do on research, PR etc. to persuade parents of what we value in the DER.

Parental concerns outlined in the survey underpinning the article

• 67 percent of parents said they did not think the web helped teach their kids how to communicate.
• 87 percent of parents said they did not believe the web helped their kids learn how to work with others.
• Three out of four parents did not believe the web can teach kids to be responsible in their communities.

Another article to think about is this one:

Schools’ Web 2.0 ban contributes to social exclusion

Blocking students’ use of Web 2.0 sites - blogs, Facebook, YouTube, and chat - at school could exclude them from valuable educational opportunities as well as heighten social exclusion, particularly in remote and Indigenous communities.

As I said, things are going to need to be different. We have to manage change more rationally.