7 Outlandish Idea For ICT

Yesterday I was faced with a grim journey into central London. Now, we Brits like nothing better than to complain about the weather, but this time our moaning was justified. The dreadful heat made it difficult not only for us to work, but also the signals on a part of the rail service into London. The part that I use. Rather than face delays of up to 40 minutes (nearly 50% of the normal journey time), I “asked” Transport for London to find an alternative route for me, one which didn’t involve going by rail.
I'm glad I did.
Go on, be daring!The new route was delightful. Instead of being squashed standing up for most of the journey, I had a seat on the bus and then on the tube. Instead of being cooped up with lots of tired-looking adults, I shared part of my journey with schoolchildren. I daresay I wouldn’t like that much if I were a bus driver having to put up with them every day, but I found their exuberance quite uplifting. They were also quieter than a lot of commuters, because instead of bellowing into their cell phones they were listening to their mp3 players and texting people. More of the trip was spent in daylight as well. Because of these differences, I actually took notice of the journey instead of concerning myself with the report I’d taken with me to read.
And here’s an unexpected bonus: the journey took 15 minutes less time than it usually does, despite TFL’s assuring me that using rail was the fastest route.
So what has all this to do with educational technology? Well, nothing in itself, except that it made me think. We often get into a particular way of doing things, not least because we’re assured that that is the best way. Once you start doing certain things in certain ways, it becomes easy to forget that there might be a completely different approach.
So what if you were to do something totally different, outlandish even? What unexpected benefits might come out of it? What if…

• You decreed that next Friday everyone had to use a visualiser in a meaningful way at least once in each lesson?
• You decreed that nobody in your team should use the interactive whiteboard one day next week?
• You stipulated that the pupils in each ICT class had to be responsible for one lesson each term?
• You abandoned the scheme of work for one lesson and instead  asked the pupils to come up with a way of using technology to make supermarket shopping more pleasant?
• Taught ICT in a room with no technology in it at all, for one lesson a week for a month?
• You asked your pupils to extend this list, weeded out the dangerous or really impossible suggestions, and then selected one to do at random?
• Used this list as a starting point for your next team meeting?

No doubt there would be many unworkable and ludicrous ideas – but there might, just might, be a fantastic idea that reinvigorates everyone, staff and pupils alike, and leads to your doing things in a completely different, and actually better, way.

SOURCE :http://www.ictineducation.org
AUTHOR :Terry Freedman 

The importance of research for ICT teachers

How important is research for teachers in general, and ICT teachers in particular? One might be tempted to say that people learn in the same way now as they did thousands of years ago, so research, apart from keeping abreast of the latest developments in technology, is pretty redundant.
I think there are problems with that attitude.
First, we don’t know what we don’t know. Research can shed light on issues we didn’t even know existed, and can raise questions we hadn’t realised even needed asking. Second, I’m not convinced that people do learn in the same way as they did thousands of years ago. Technology has meant that we can make mistakes that would have been fatal in the past, through the use of simulations and modelling. Social media has meant that we can canvass, or be exposed to, views from a much wider range of people than would have been possible hitherto. This happens by accident almost. For example, I recently wrote an article about how school districts in the USA are spending their money on computer hardware. This led to comments by John McLear, Michael Pickett and someone called Hamish. All their views are interesting, especially as two of them (John and Michael) seem to feel the same way as I do about tablets vs netbooks (article on that subject is already in the works). Moreover, Michael has provided a couple of links to articles on his website which I am looking forward to reading, and provided a further reference in Twitter this morning. Perhaps in a sense the actual mechanisms by which stuff enters our brains, stays there and then becomes useful in a practical way really hasn’t changed for millennia – which may or may not be true, but in a sense that is irrelevant.
I’d also say that, if you discovered that your doctor hasn’t read a medical journal article since he or she qualified, you might consider changing your doctor! Hopefully, research is not a life or death issue in education, but  I do believe that what makes a professional a professional is keeping up-to-date with the issues and thinking that are pertinent to that subject. That’s why it’s quite right that the powers-that-be believe teachers should continue to do research, although I agree with Christina Preston (see below) that such research doesn’t have to be at Masters level.
What is research? On the one hand you have the highly academic stuff that universities and other institutions engage in. On the other hand you have Freda Bloggs keeping a note of what happens in her classroom when she introduces a new application into her teaching. And somewhere in the middle are people like myself, who carry out research via online surveys or in Twitter. The methodology may not be scientific in the true sense of the term, but I like to think that at the very least it can act as a catalyst for discussion and flag up issues for further exploration.
But enough of this persiflage! Take part in a free  online discussion, which takes place at 7pm UK time on Tuesday 8th February, under the auspices of Vital. Christina Preston, founder of the teacher-centred research organisation Mirandanet, and its seminar programme of Mirandamods, discusses the importance of research for ICT co-ordinators. This is important because we don’t have to rely on anecdotes to show people how important technology can be in the learning process. Join Drew Buddie and me for an online discussion here. Please note that the discussion and chat will be recorded.

 SOURCE :http://www.ictineducation.org
AUTHOR :Terry Freedman

Singapore gives ICT retraining to civil servants

While Singapore’s Infocomm Manpower Development Roadmap V2.0 (MDEV 2.0) looks to develop infocomm experts and leaders for the country, the government itself has been giving its workforce continual learning and skills upgrading for an effective, productive and efficient ICT workforce.


Under the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), provides regular ICT training programmes are given to internal infocomm personnel and the end-users in the public sector. IDA told FutureGov Asia Pacific that the courses for the infocomm workforce are compliant with the National Infocomm Competency Framework (NICF) which articulates the competencies needed for key infocomm job roles, aims to widen and deepen the infocomm capabilities of infocomm professionals and guide their career development against standards agreed by the industry and companies.
As for non-IT public sector officers, training and courses are aligned with IDA’s Public Sector Infocomm Competency framework with the key objective of expanding the infocomm capabilities and capacities and also to raise the levels of infocomm standards in the public service.
Andrew Khaw, Senior Director, Industry Development Group, IDA, said that infocomm has been the key strategy to deliver better quality and efficient public services.
“Infocomm professionals with up-to-date and relevant skills, expertise and good sector knowledge are required to develop relevant infocomm solutions. For example, the healthcare sector leverages on infocomm to cut down waiting time for new beds. Having an infocomm workforce has also allowed the government to deploy a total of about 1,600 online services and over 300 mobile services which have allowed users to search for information on the move, transact on the go, and obtain information in the context of the users’ location,” Khaw explained.
IDA is keen to develop “emerging skills like those in area of business analytics and cloud computing”. Khaw said that business analytics gives the ability to organise and manage data so as to be able to extract valuable insights and analysis and “such insights and findings can then be used to make better informed business decisions”.
“With the use of cloud computing by both private and public sector organisations, CIOs must be able to address the related security, compliance and privacy issues. Hence, having a team of infocomm professionals skilled in these areas will be important,” Khaw said.

SOURCE :http://www.futuregov.asia/articles/2011/mar/16/singapore-gives-ict-retraining-civil-servants/
AUTHOR : Xinghui GUO

Injecting education into social media

With the nation’s fastest internet speed (70 mbps) within a campus, De La Salle University in Manila has been pulling out all the stops to add an element of education to social media.

By “talking their talk” and opening communication channels to the school and faculty on social media and the internet, Allen Surla, Director of Information Technology Services Office in DLSU, said he hopes to increase the educational value in internet media.
“We jumped on the bandwagon because they [the students] are already spending so much time on the internet—it is hard to pull them away,” he said. “Everyone has Facebook, Friendster or Twitter. This is how they talk now.
“We have to ride on that medium before we lose them. We need to talk to them in a language that they understand and see eye to eye with them.”
Hence the school has actively leveraged on the internet for announcements, online classes and assignment submission.
But would setting camp on youngsters’ domains backfire? Not according to Surla.
“It is their world,” Allen Surla, explained. “We are not imposing on them; we enter it [social media] and try to inject educational content.
“They might think they are in it just to play Farmville, Mafia Wars or update their photos and statuses. But if you go in there and optimise your chances by posting your questions in that medium, they are bound to answer. And they are learning already.”
A maximum of 40 per cent of all lessons can be held online at the discretion of the lecturer.
At the lecturer’s disposal are approved media like Yahoo Groups, Instant Messaging clients, and the school’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).
Lessons can be conducted in real-time via chat or video functions, or students can be tasked to work on research and post their findings online.
Work is submitted online, syllabus is posted online, and students are also graded online.
With essays posted onto a shared community, the faculty can easily check for plagiarism and students can share essays and files without having to photocopy, supplying them with the views of all 20 students in the class, said Surla.
Along with online classroom initiatives, evaluation of lecturers has also moved to the world wide web and the school’s Facebook and Twitter pages are used to announce changes to the school schedule and news updates.
“We are a paperless community,” Surla said. “With the internet, learning becomes easier.”

SOURCE : http://www.futuregov.asia/articles/2010/dec/10/injecting-education-social-media/
AUTHOR : Xinghui GUO

Education technology in Australia

In Australia, ICT played and continues to play a significant role in ensuring access to education by remote and rural communities, said Elodie Journet, Trade Commissioner, Singapore & Asean Industry Team Leader (ICT, Health and Medical), Australian Trade Commission (Austrade).

Journet’s role in Austrade demands that Australian education and training is marketed and promoted internationally and it certainly helps the agency’s case when “Australia has become a leader in e-learning content and educational technology systems”.
“Since assuming this role, we have developed a strategy and delivered a number of initiatives to further promote Australia as one of the high quality education providers and to encourage deeper engagement with regional stakeholders,” said Journet to FutureGov Asia Pacific.
One project Journet highlighted to FutureGov Asia Pacific was the US$71.58 million Le@rning Federation initiative. The Le@rning Federation, managed by Education Services Australia on behalf of the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA), has since created more than 7000 online curriculum materials.
“This gives classrooms an enhanced learning experience,” said Journet.
Also, Australia completed the US$121 million Clever Networks programme in June 2010, enabling the rollout of broadband infrastructure and services to regional, rural and remote areas of Australia. This project has since given students in regional, rural and remote areas of Australia easy access to “online learning tools, at home and within their communities”, benefitting more than 1330 schools and education institutions.
Together with the Digital Education Revolution initiative, Austrade has been well positioned to perform its role—“continue to position Australia as a high quality education partner worldwide and support Australian education providers by providing access to global networks, business and investment opportunities as well as strategic regional and global partnerships”.

SOURCE :http://www.futuregov.asia/articles/2011/mar/25/education-technology-australia/
AUTHOR :  XINGHUI GUO