a quick n brief response

if i may quote sabrina’s tweets:

“time seems to be THE issue during ICT mentor discussions on ICT lesson implementation. is it becos our timetable isn’t made for ICT lessons?” … “if we’re to really go forth with ICT in every aspect of learning & teaching, our current entire system needs an overhaul?”

it’s going to take too many tweets to response, so return to blog instead. i think we’re dealing with a few issues here:

1. we’re still very much operating in an efficiency+ability-driven mode, though we are trying hard to transit to aspiration-based mode.

2. our emphasis for ICT use leans towards developing a 21st century learner (hence, self-directed, self-discovery, collaborative & lifelong learner etc). even without the use of ICT, developing a 21st century learner requires a paradigm change in beliefs about learning and teaching, and leading on an entire pedagogical change/shift. perhaps a more fundamental question to ask is, how far have we shifted in terms of this paradigm change in teachers’ belief? if so, using ICT requires teachers to move 2 leaps forward, instead of 1.

3. if content mastery is perceived as very important (again something to do with teachers’ belief), and in the name of efficiency, content delivery (cf. personal meaning-making; construction; creation) becomes the way to go! cos the more knowledge one stuffed into a student, the more a student would have learnt! (or has learning takes place someone with a different belief might ask)

when we put the above together, if it is no wonder a teacher has no time, cos there’s so much to “deliver”, a belief system to change, and the technicalities of any ICT to pick up (not to mention ICT appears and changes so fast, new versions get rolled out so quickly). i think i have not covered all influencing factors, but the above is enough to make any teacher pants (and pants a 1000 times) any moment.

“a system overhaul” is needed indeed, but our system is already trying hard to shift (if we reflect upon the philosophy behind those many initiatives which teachers again cried “make us extremely busy, no time, etc.”. if anything is to be overhauled, it is a teacher’s personal belief (which influence all his/her actions) needs an overhaul first i felt.

— changelog —
minor edits to (3) to include the ‘efficiency’ view on Apr 1, 2016

Australian Internet Safety Education Resources

Cyberwellness is quick becoming a concern for teachers and parents alike. Chanced upon this and it seems the Australian government has quite a head start:
For primary school: Cyberquoll
Cyberquoll is a computer based Internet safety program for primary school students. It teaches students about the risks of using the Internet and provides advice on managing and minimising those risks. (adapted from this resource index)
For secondary school: CyberNetrix
CyberNetrix is a computer based Internet safety program for secondary school students. It teaches students about the risks of using the Internet and provides advice on managing and minimising those risks. (adated from this resource index)

ideas from Classroom News Feb 09

juz “fetched” my copy of feb 09 classroom news from the server.
some useful ideas within:
1. on cyber-wellness/safety: a study that involved emailing students who posted explicit contents to their socialnetworking profile (myspace, facebook as such). awareness through email brought about behavioural change to some students. this idea could be tested n come in handy for a teacher 🙂
2. students turned to video clips in youtube/teachertube/schooltube for learning. students can “watch the video as many times as … needed”; thinking out loud processes can be recorded and shared as well, and it may be ‘not as daunting’.
3. reports and discussed a survey that suggested “sending or posting nude or semi-nude cell phone pictures starts at a young age and becomes even more frequent as teens become young adults” … this would fall in the same category as (1) as well. some food for thoughts, including “Most parents have at least some sort of experience or
understanding of what adolescence was like in terms of other risky behaviors, but no one old enough to have teenage children today had a cell phone when they were
teens”
u’ll be the free subscribption to read the full text.