Such a lot to write about from today’s symposium here in Washington D.C.
The theme was Harnessing Web 2.0 for Global Understanding in Education.
This morning’s opening address was given by Francesc Pedro from the OECD.
His topic was Rethinking Schooling in a Globally Connected World: What it Means for Our Economy and Our Future.
According to Francesc we have 5 basic questions to answer:
* Competition or Cooperation?
* Are new skills required?
* Is technology uptake enough?
* Could we do better?
* Policy implications
Among the points he made
* The world is not as it used to be: not only that, but the targets keep moving
* The demand for skills has changed. Top performers do matter.
* There is evidence that the high achievers are using technology at home: more than they do at school.
* We need to do better in using web 2.0 in our schools,
* Technology is the enabler, assessment is the driver.
His address set the tone for some of the serious discussions of the day.
Here are some of the other questions addressed during the day:
* Why are Global Competencies Critical for Today’s students?
* Using Web 2.0 in Education for a Global Connection
* Defining Key Challenges and Opportunities
* What Stands in the Way?
* Generate Recommendations for Policy and Practice.
Lots of food for thought, as well as some really polarised points of view.
Among the presenters were Sue Mann (the new CEO of Education Services Australia), colleague Garry Putland, and Associate Professor Kathryn Moyle from Canberra University.
It was nice too to catch up with Jim Bosco and Keith Krueger from CoSN, Geetha Narayan, and some people from ISTE.
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