Today and tomorrow we are running the free and easy computing course at Mac ICT Centre. We have about 60 teachers here learning about 4 different mini-courses on a variety of free open education applications. Teachers can select from these applications:

picasa, web2.0 tools, audacity and podcasting, scratch, blender, google earth, monkey jam and hot potatoes. To find out more go to http://www.ictcentre.wikispaces.net/freeandeasy

Keith Kruger – CEO from the Consortium of School Networking (CoSN) was keynote for today. His comments were to do with research around the effectiveness of technology in education. What are the big trends? How do we get to transformation? This included a comparative analysis of research across the globe. Interestingly, there was no reference to Australian research. I wonder why?

1. Asia – 2003 – integration has been weak
2. Europe – 2006 early phase of adoption, patchy uncoordinated – no improvements in T & L
3. Nordic – 2006 positive impact on overall target. Potential not being fullly realised. not focussed, moderate impact on education
4. UK – 2007 – BECTA 4 yr study: personalised learning key to ed. improvement. High level tech. needs right support and enthusiasm to sustain
5. US – 2006 – over-promised technology. Will not transform unless vision, prof development are appropriate. Can be transformative

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Students feel that schools do not reflect technology-rich environments enjoyed outside of school – schools are becoming more ‘irrelevant’. Students wonder: Why can’t we use

• gaming for learning
• mobile devices
• online learning

Me too!

Professor Mitch Resnick from MIT

Amongst other things he spoke about their Scratch project – http://scratch.mit.edu/

my Scratch account: devans17

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Liz Murphy Global Media – Lizmurphy.com.au

She has her own catering business / teaching background / travelled overseas (literally) sailed for 5 years with family. She spends her time collaborating with experts to create highly engaging online resources using rich multimedia. I suppose she was inspiring but the website is very cool!

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Dr Margaret Cox

Is interested in the impact of informal learning using ICT on student outcomes. She discussed lessons from the past (research): How was ICT used in education in the past?

‘70: student’s individual learning, drill and practice

‘75: student’s individual learning, simulations, drill and practice

80: student’s individual learning, uptake by teachers in schools (teacher’s pedagogies)

85: plus group learning, teacher training (+ teacher/student interactions)

90: collaborative learning institutional integration  (Policies and practices in schools)

95: motivation, online ,earning, curriculum change

2000: lifelong learning, informal and social learning

TIME: is a huge issue when planning a project (der)

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Just blogging some thoughts about the ACEC conference here in Canberra. What new things have I seen and learnt today?

1. Alice: http://www.alice.org. Have been meaning to play with this for a while. Will look at working with it at the Centre. Has great potential for involving a wider audience than Kahootz with 3D animation.
2. Scratch: http://scratch.mit.edu/ Very cool. (ditto as above)

Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard

Had trouble staying awake, until I heard Learning Activity Management ‘Project’!! Really?? LAMS? Read her speech through without any engagement with the audience. No Q & As, of course!

Margaret Cox

Amusing, real. Some old research and a bit all over the place.

Trudy Sweeney

Very neat IWB framework. I like it because it links Quality Teaching Framework into her framework which means I can relate to it. Her ideas on how to use it as a tool for identifying where teachers are on the learning continuum are easy to implement. Can’t wait to see the online tool version.

This page is for teachers to view when deciding what courses are available through TNT (Technology-Networking-Training).

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Welcome to Edublogs.org. This is my own personal yet professional blog about integrating ICT into classroom practice. I would love my friends and colleagues in the teaching profession to comment on how they are managing to do this. In my new role as Director of Macquarie ICT Innovations Centre, I am constantly reminded of how enthusiastic, dedicated and creative my colleagues are. Please share your ideas, comment on your experiences and just enjoy reading about others’ ICT stories here.