You are Never Alone

Julia Gillard’s special address to participants in the recent ACER Research conference should be compulsory listening for all involved in school education, whether in a school or at a higher administrative level.

Some snippets:

• For over a decade, debates about knowledge and skills in Australia have been based on the opposite of evidence – prejudice.
  
• Figures from the most recent OECD Education at a Glance show a strong correlation between school completion and higher per capita GDP.
• there is evidence of slippage in our performance [in education] at a time when we know standing still is equal to falling behind.
• Australia currently ranks 23rd out of 35 OECD countries for finishing Year-12 or a Certificate III qualification.
• As a nation, we should be tracking attainment, knowing that we are in the powerful position of comparing like schools with like schools. If two schools have comparable school populations but widely varying results we would be able to ask the question why and ascertain the answer.
• we should be identifying excellent teaching and excellent school leadership.
  
• We must expect high standards for every child.
  
• ‘Dumbing down’ is unacceptable.
• estimated that the failure of young people to make a smooth transition to the world of work is costing our economy some $1.3 billion per year.
• there are 5 million working age Australians without a qualification at the certificate III level or above
  

Whether you agree with what she is saying or not, there is certainly some food for discussion.
You can listen to Ms Gillard’s speech here and the text of her speech is available on the DEWR Media Centre.

And then combine that with the Technology Integration Matrix and ask yourself how enabling you, or your school, is.
The matrix plots “characteristics of the learning environment” against “Levels of Technology integration into the Curriculum”.

On the matrix, at the highest level, “transformation” means

• The teacher creates a rich learning environment in which students regularly engage in activities that would have been impossible to achieve without technology.
• Given ongoing access to online resources, students actively select and pursue topics beyond the limitations of even the best school library.
• Technology enables students to collaborate with peers and experts irrespective of time zone or physical distances.
• Students use technology to construct, share, and publish knowledge to a worldwide audience.
• By means of technology tools, students participate in outside-of-school projects and problem-solving activities that have meaning for the students and the community.
• Students engage in ongoing metacognitive activities at a level that would be unattainable without the support of technology tools.

How do your teachers, your school, measure up?