Very Good Resource
http://digitallyspeaking.pbworks.com/
Digitally Speaking
"In fact, one of the saddest but most common conditions in elementary
school computer labs (when they exist in the developing world), is the
children are being trained to use Word, Excel and PowerPoint. I
consider that criminal, because children should be making things,
communicating, exploring, sharing,not running office automation
tools."
---Nicholas Negroponte, Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab
Easily the greatest struggle that educators face in today's day and
age is properly preparing students for a future that is poorly defined
yet rapidly changing. While we know that something must change, we
simply cannot begin to imagine what those changes might look like.
Thankfully, leading thinkers on teaching and learning are beginning to
tackle this question in a very structured and systematic way. In a
2008 post on his blog, Will Richardson---widely recognized as one of
America's most progressive educational thinkers---worked to define the
kinds of skills that would be necessary for students to succeed in an
increasingly interconnected world. He wrote:
Our kids' futures will require them to be:
Networked–They'll need an "outboard brain."
More collaborative–They are going to need to work closely with people
to co-create information.
More globally aware–Those collaborators may be anywhere in the world.
Less dependent on paper–Right now, we are still paper training our kids.
More active–In just about every sense of the word. Physically.
Socially. Politically.
Fluent in creating and consuming hypertext–Basic reading and writing
skills will not suffice.
More connected–To their communities, to their environments, to the world.
Editors of information–Something we should have been teaching them all
along but is even more important now.
Like many of those working to redefine schools, Richardson believes
that technology can play an important role in promoting the kinds of
networking, collaboration and global awareness that will become a
regular part of tomorrow's learning. The question becomes are today's
teachers prepared for the significant changes that must happen before
this new vision of an educated citizen becomes a reality?
In most cases, the answer to that question is (sadly) no! For a range
of reasons---lack of interest or time, poor access to functioning
technology, limited opportunities for ongoing professional
development, an accountability culture that over-emphasizes
test-taking skills---teachers have fallen far behind in their
understanding of meaningful teaching and learning. Classrooms are
often simplistic places where students are prepared for today, but
completely unprepared for tomorrow. Digital experiences are almost
non-existant, leaving our students lost in a school environment that
is uninteresting and ineffective.
What makes this disconnect between what is and what could be so
disheartening is that a wide range of free web-based tools are
available to educators that are making digital creation, collaboration
and communication incredibly approachable. The purpose of this wiki
is to introduce a few of these tools to users---and to include
practical examples of how educators can make digital dialogue a real
part of their classroom instruction.
http://digitallyspeaking.pbworks.com/
Digitally Speaking
"In fact, one of the saddest but most common conditions in elementary
school computer labs (when they exist in the developing world), is the
children are being trained to use Word, Excel and PowerPoint. I
consider that criminal, because children should be making things,
communicating, exploring, sharing,not running office automation
tools."
---Nicholas Negroponte, Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab
Easily the greatest struggle that educators face in today's day and
age is properly preparing students for a future that is poorly defined
yet rapidly changing. While we know that something must change, we
simply cannot begin to imagine what those changes might look like.
Thankfully, leading thinkers on teaching and learning are beginning to
tackle this question in a very structured and systematic way. In a
2008 post on his blog, Will Richardson---widely recognized as one of
America's most progressive educational thinkers---worked to define the
kinds of skills that would be necessary for students to succeed in an
increasingly interconnected world. He wrote:
Our kids' futures will require them to be:
Networked–They'll need an "outboard brain."
More collaborative–They are going to need to work closely with people
to co-create information.
More globally aware–Those collaborators may be anywhere in the world.
Less dependent on paper–Right now, we are still paper training our kids.
More active–In just about every sense of the word. Physically.
Socially. Politically.
Fluent in creating and consuming hypertext–Basic reading and writing
skills will not suffice.
More connected–To their communities, to their environments, to the world.
Editors of information–Something we should have been teaching them all
along but is even more important now.
Like many of those working to redefine schools, Richardson believes
that technology can play an important role in promoting the kinds of
networking, collaboration and global awareness that will become a
regular part of tomorrow's learning. The question becomes are today's
teachers prepared for the significant changes that must happen before
this new vision of an educated citizen becomes a reality?
In most cases, the answer to that question is (sadly) no! For a range
of reasons---lack of interest or time, poor access to functioning
technology, limited opportunities for ongoing professional
development, an accountability culture that over-emphasizes
test-taking skills---teachers have fallen far behind in their
understanding of meaningful teaching and learning. Classrooms are
often simplistic places where students are prepared for today, but
completely unprepared for tomorrow. Digital experiences are almost
non-existant, leaving our students lost in a school environment that
is uninteresting and ineffective.
What makes this disconnect between what is and what could be so
disheartening is that a wide range of free web-based tools are
available to educators that are making digital creation, collaboration
and communication incredibly approachable. The purpose of this wiki
is to introduce a few of these tools to users---and to include
practical examples of how educators can make digital dialogue a real
part of their classroom instruction.
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