What is EduCon 2.1?
EduCon 2.1 is both a conversation and a conference.
And it is not a technology conference. It is an education conference. It is, hopefully, an innovation conference where we can come together, both in person and virtually, to discuss the future of schools. Every session will be an opportunity to discuss and debate ideas — from the very practical to the big dreams.
Guiding Principles of EduCon 2.1
1) Our schools must be inquiry-driven, thoughtful and empowering for all members
2) Our schools must be about co-creating — together with our students — the 21st Century Citizen
3) Technology must serve pedagogy, not the other way around.
4) Technology must enable students to research, create, communicate and collaborate
5) Learning can — and must — be networked.
There are going to be some great thinkers here in an TedTalk like format as well as keynotes. It is not often I aspire to go to conferences overseas but this sounds great. Wouldn’t this be fun in NZ … get a whole group of great thinkers and practitioners together and get them to spend 10-15min reflecting on their key professional learning. Then time for interaction and conversation.
The ultimate UnConference ….??!!
I love the Guiding Principals …. capture well what the revised NZC has to offer in terms of possibilities and where I believe ICTs fit in our classrooms. Isn’t it good to see the #3 made overt …. “oh my teaching will be so much beter if only I had an IWB, another 3 laptops, more digital cameras”. Rubbish!! Your teaching will be better whe you are a better teacher, not simply when you have more toys and tools.
I had never heard of the Jonas Brothers till today …. then again who of their target audience has heard of Kim Wilde
This ….
v’s …. this
The Kids@Conference today was fantastic. We had a group of 5 children running the workshop we were leading using I Can Animate. Lots of excited kids learning heaps. Well done to the organising group!!
Teacher resignations have reached a five-year high, with fears that up to 1000 teachers left last year to work overseas.
The rate of principal resignations is also the highest since at least 2002, with one-in-10 school leaders leaving their posts in the past year.
10% of any group leaving a profession is a pretty sad indictment of the general ‘health’ of an organisation. With the average age of NZ principals being 55 things will not get better any time soon.
A good time for people with aspirations to step into principalship.
I have been having conversations with a couple of friends over the last week or so about principalship and management positions. I know I ‘thought’ I was ready for my first principals position at Taieri Beach after having been involved in management study for a couple of years. But like with Teachers College it is the on-the-job training that really seems important and nothing really prepares you for the intensity and constantness of management and principalship.
Having said that it is great fun and the view ‘from the swivley chair’ is unique and one I would not be keen to relinquish. I enjoy the level of influence on learning for all (children and adults) that principalship holds. One of the biggest thrills of the role is seeing people you have mentored go on to achieve in their own right. I would hope that people who leave our school go on to do better things, whatever that may mean for them. And certainly not feel like they have to get away or need a change or a challenge. Thats the test for me.
This video of Viviane Robinson is an interesting reflection on the changing requisite skills for principalship too:
It seems to me that that the continuum between reactionary educators who still find overhead projectors a cutting edge tool and progressive educators who seem to master each tool and philosophy du jour is stretching ever longer every year. As a classroom teacher in the 70s and 80s, we all taught pretty much the same way, with the same sets of tools.
The question of importance to me is not the mastery of tools, but the underlying processes that are important. This is the rub - there are those who, rightly or wrongly, are amongst the elite in terms of commentary or influence on directions in education, who it seems to me have become what my own family constantly remind me not to be…..
and
Unfortunately there are some amongst us that are so poorly read themselves that they can’t see how silly it is to tout 20th century ‘industrial age schooling’ as the reason for educational change. Oh but they are probably the same people who run your education system, or institution and are good at verbose cliques to justify their actions.
Yes, there’s a lot that needs to change about schooling. Let’s focus on the facts to get there. Cliches are born of ignorance - that’s all. Focus on the revolution not the rhetoric!
I am reminded of the rubbish written about digital immigrants and digital natives - a cliche that doesn’t hold water. I have written about this a lot in the past and it frustrates me to still see people lapping it up at conference and in blog writings.
Some kids love technology, some love singing - sounds like my kids! Sure kids starting school now have only ever known the technologies as part of their lives. But give me a break, this doesn’t mean they are actively engaged with it and know it well. Any more than living in NZ means you love rugby and understand netball!
I do like Judys point about the widening gap between the teachers who actively understand and engage with technologies and those who don’t. Some would argue that we all have to keep up, but many don’t. There are lots of teachers and classrooms out there where a computer is simply and expensive typewriter and an even more expensive way to keep the room warm. ICT PD has extended to nearly 70% of primary schools now but how many schools who have ‘been in the programme’ now have few/no staff who were there when it was happening?
I hate when people have to somehow work into every conversation how busy they are. I have colleagues who start every conversation with a statement along the lines of, “You wouldn’t believe how busy I’ve been…” or “I get to my office every morning at 6 ayem (that’s Texan for a.m.) and still cannot get all my work done…” or “I work until 10 pm every night”….
It’s like they’re bragging or playing some game of I’m Better Than You Because I Work Harder Than You.
I have close administrator friends who brag about being at work from before sun-up until long after sun-down and go in on weekends to “get caught up”. They make it sound like they are running cattle from Fort Worth to Kansas City…what a hardship out here on the trail, sleeping in the rain and eating nothing but burnt beans…
Hey, if you’re a workaholic - and you love impressing folks by telling them how many hours you worked last week…good for you. Now pipedown, will ya please?
You really want to know what I think when friends tell me over and over how hard they work and what long hours they keep? I seriously think, “So you have no clue how to manage your time? And you expect what? Sympathy?”
It’s not [how] hard you work, it’s how smart you work. It’s [not] how long you work, it’s how much you get done at work.
My observation is that folks who ROUTINELY work more than a standard work week:
* Have poor time management skills; or
* They don’t know how to delegate; or
* They cannot prioritize [HINT: Family comes first!]; or
* They are Wannabe Martyrs.
[OMG!, did he really just say that?]
Listen? I hear eggshells being stepped on.
Look, if you’re a school administrator and you consider football games, plays, concerts, academic and athletic events to be WORK, you’re in the wrong career.
Sure, I’m “on duty” while at those events, but I’m also having FUN! I see fellow admintypes so worried and uptight about the lighting systems, sound systems, crowd control, etc. that they completely miss a 98 yard punt return for a score. Or they don’t really HEAR that subtle oboe melody played perfectly during a concert.
Kenny sings about knowing when to hold ‘em and knowing when to fold ‘em. Effective - and the most healthy - school administrators know when to be vigilant, focused, and when to let go and just enjoy the moment.
…….
When I start telling everyone how hard I work, how many hours I spent at the school, and how busy I am…it will [be] time for me to retire.
Love it!! Greg has his ‘crap detector’ turned up high in all that he posts.
Disclaimer: - me talking, not my employers or blog host
With the election coming up soon the crusade for our votes has well and truly begun. For those of us in education and who are parents we have a vested interest in being aware of what the political parties are proposing.
This excerpt from a recent email from National (unsolicited to me at school) is interesting clarification for me of their policy:
There are 10 first steps that National will take as part of its Literacy and Numeracy package. National will:
1. Set National Standards in literacy and numeracy.
2. Require every primary and intermediate school pupil to be assessed regularly against National Standards.
3. Require primary and intermediate schools to report to parents in plain English about how their child is doing compared to National Standards and compared to other children their age.
So National Testing is part of their platform… The logical extension of National Testing is league tables of the results. Any national test is far more a test of community than some sort of assurance of educational quality. (This apart from the fact we already have NEMP, PAT’s, ARB’s, ASTTle, already… so what more do we need? What schools use none of these tools?) Newspapers already collate the publicly available information of NCEA results, property funding, roll trends, etc NOW … It is naive to assume anything but league tables will come from National Testing. Jeremy Clarkson puts it much more eloquently than me:
We now have bloody league tables, a handy cut out ’n’ keep guide to how well the school performs. Well, forgive the expletive, but that’s bollocks.
Printing a list of “best schools” purely on the grounds of academic achievement is as idiotic as printing a list of “best foods” purely on the grounds of calorie content. It tells you nothing.
A couple of years ago a sixth-form student I know wanted to study for a science A-level so she could pursue a noble career in engineering. The school campaigned vigorously for her to do something useless instead, like media studies or knitting. But she and her parents were adamant.
So she sat the science A-level and got a D. And because of that single failure the school fell 50 places in the league tables. One child. One exam result. And a 50-place fall. Still think league tables make sense?
I think not!
The USA has the No Child Left Behind Act, England has state sponsored league tables. And teachers in both countries are decrying the negative impact these policies have had on the educational purpose and outcomes of their systems. In some parts of the States the whole school staff get fired if results don’t improve ‘enough’ each year.
I have real concerns about the impact on the introduction on the revised NZC of National Testing. The imperative to do well in the educational competition may very well be greater than the one to design and implement a child centred and focused local curriculum … and that, I believe, would be very sad for both our profession and our children.
ULearn 08 had some really good workshops and sessions for me and some that were not so flash. That’s conferences and after some time now in ICT PD circles it can be difficult to consistently find things that are profoundly new and challenging. Having said that there has been some really great new learning and I enjoyed following the trails of thinking that are next steps for school/my learning like with digital portfolios.
It was great to connect again f2f with the people I usually only see ‘online’, and also with the crew from CORE.
There has been a buzz in blogs since the conference about the issues involved with Twitter and online engagement with conference content. There were obviously the same issues at the Australian conference as we had at ULearn. As I have put in comments though I believe the issues are moral and ethical ones rather than about the technologies - they just enable the immediacy of the sharing of the streams of consciousness that Twitter and blogging can evoke. I am afraid I don’t really ‘get’ Twitter and that probably colours my thinking … I did find some of the Twittering during keynotes at ULearn quite meaningless and from the little I did follow it didn’t add anything or challenge my thinking in any way.
I did find people physically leaving during presentations or just before people began speaking pretty rude though. I was also surprised how the numbers for some sessions in the auditorium were quite low - as a principal and project director I would be a bit concerned if I was paying for people to go to a conference and they were missing sessions they had booked and our cluster/school was paying for. Maybe that is a bit odd and old fashioned but funding for professional learning opportunities is very scarce and I certainly value the dollars spent on me. Too much to simply not turn up or leave early. I have sat through some shockers at past conferences, but also had some gems that others have missed out on because they didn’t bother.
It is also interesting how some people who write wonderfully are not great presenters and some presenters I have looked forward to for months have been big disappointments on the day. Again that’s conferences - the good with the bad; the challenging with the affirming; the new with the familiar. Overall though I always come away with something new to follow up on and continue thinking about … Ulearn08 was no exception!
This quote stood out to me in the context of the ULearn Conference I am at in ChCh.
Nearly 75% of US college students believe WiFi access on their college campus helps them get better grades, according to a recent survey conducted for the Wi-Fi Alliance.
Wakefield Research polled 501 US college students in September 2008 and found that nine out of ten say Wi-Fi access is as essential to education as classrooms and computers, while nearly three in five say they wouldn’t go to a college that doesn’t have free Wi-Fi. Almost 80% percent said that without Wi-Fi access, college would be a lot harder.
I must admit that I certainly feel it if I am away from wireless internet access for too long. It is good to make the choice at times but it is difficult to do my job without it.
Wolk outlines eleven essentials to put more joy into learning.
1 Find Pleasure in learning. With pleasurable learning we don’t mind possible difficulties invoved in any in learning; we tend to see them as a natural part of learning, so we are far more open to taking risks. Schools need to tap into what children enjoy learning about and also make all school learning more enjoyable.
2 Give Students Choice. How much choice ( or ‘ownership’) do students have about their learning? Students can be given choices during the school day. Students can be given choice in their studies, the questions they want to explore, and how they wish to express their ideas. Schooling ought to inspire children to ask questions able to design their own tasks.
3 Let Students Create Things. People like to make stuff. Creating something original gives us a tremendous sense of agency and pride. As well, creating things gives us an appreciation of the creative process in action.
4 Show off Students Work. Our schools, and classrooms, should be brimming with wonderful, original student work. Classrooms should ’speak’ to visitors.
5 Take Time to Tinker. We all learn by fooling around. Student’s imaginative ideas , their intuitive leaps of imagination, should be encouraged. All too often our schools are too planned, leaving no room for spontaneity. We need to free teachers to take risks, experiment, to play with the art of pedagogy, and to feel the joy that comes from such on open approach to teaching.
6 Make school Places Inviting. All spaces, inside and outside of schools, need to be seen as learning spaces.
7 Get Outside. More of the school day should be outside. Fresh air and a sunny day can do miracles for the human spirit. Children need to have their sensory awareness expanded.To sit under a tree to read, draw, think, or talk. Much of our science could directly include the outdoors. Ecosystems are all around.
8 Read Good Books. Make sharing good literature an important feature of all classrooms. Give students time to share their own stories. All study topics have themes which provide opportunities to introduce good literature.
9 More Physical Education and Arts. In America many students have no art, music, and drama and little time for PE. For many students these are the areas that many children have strengths in and gain joy from.
10 Transform Assessment. Assessment is a pert of life and students need to see it as an important part of the learning process. We should make more use of immediate feedback, narrative assessment, self assessment, portfolios of authentic work, presentations, exhibitions and performances.
11 Have Fun Together. Teachers need to take a break from the seriousness of the school day and have some fun together. Anything that tears down the walls that often get built inside schools and builds more caring relationships is to be encouraged
Wolk concludes by referring back to John Dewey quote and says that schools can sap our souls is just as true for teachers as it is for students
If principals can help teachers find joy in their work, and help their teachers strive to ‘own their own teaching’ the teachers can enter their rooms every morning enthusiastic to help their students experience joy in their learning.
We were having a discussion last week in staff meeting about how our school vision includes ALL children having WOW moments at school every day. Also that teachers should expect the same…
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