Transforming learning

This post originally appeared on the CORE Education blog (Feb 2016)] toka kāhuarau: (noun) metamorphic rock. Ko te toka kāhuarau: Ko te momo toka ka hua mai ina huri te hanga me te āhua o tētahi atu o ngā toka mā te pā mai o te wera me te pēhanga i roto i takanga o […]

Got tech? Hear me roar!

It’s been a week or two of interesting stories related to school students harnessing social networks in order to make a point. We’ve had school speeches on the state of education and a plea for puffer jackets to name the most recent two. There has been reciprocal handwringing on the part of the press in response that has […]

Creative Commons in schools

“Universal access to research, education and participation in culture” – Creative Commons Aotearoa goal. I recently attended one of the sessions being held around the country by Creative Commons Aotearoa, featuring guest presenters included Matt McGregor, Keitha Booth, Andrew Matangi, Ian Munro and Stephen Lethbridge. Together, they offered a quick-fire overview of the issues, challenges and […]

The impact of digital technology on learning

I recently saw the following piece of research – “The Impact of Digital Technology on Learning” – pass across my desktop, via DERN (the Digital Education Research Network). Overview In their intro to this report, DERN states: “Taking into account the scarcity of rigorous research into the benefits of teaching and learning with digital technologies, [this […]

Only some of us can be digital citizens

“I have children in my class whose parents do not want them to appear online. So how can I do collaborative work with those children? They have to do something else and that’s not fair at all…” It is quite normal, even ideal, to surface crunchy questions during sessions with schools. One of the workshops […]

The knowledge is in the network

[Here’s an article recently published and cross-posted here from the Education Review, Leadership & PD July 2013. This article has also appeared in the Education Gazette.] Atarangi is a teacher working in a large secondary school in the North Island. She is passionate about ensuring her students engage with her English lessons in ways that […]

“I have nothing to blog about…” | My response

I have heard this said, in various ways and tones, after many sessions this year. When I have discussed sharing and collaborating online around teaching inquiries, I hear comments such as the one in the title – or variants of it, such as: “I have nothing worth sharing.” “There are others who know far more […]

Does BYOD really mean SYOD?

I’m about to tell you a secret but, as it’s just you and me, I’m sure you won’t tell. I hate sharing. There. I’ve said it. It doesn’t apply to every situation – I’ll happily share a story, cut you in on a good night out, split the bill, and pour us each a nice […]

Pedagogy, not technology

Interesting how, once you see a reference to an idea, it pops up everywhere. And although this work from Michael Fullan came out last year, it’s slid across my radar twice this week. Fullan’s paper – Choosing the wrong drivers for whole system reform (April, 2011) – highlights that policy makers who select the wrong […]

How to assess impact of ICTs on learning?

It’s certainly an interesting question – to what extent ICT raises student achievement – and I appreciate the accountability that schools have, especially after significant investment from the BoTs:-) While we do need to be asking questions about the impact of our teaching, I’m not sure that focusing on the impact on ICT alone is the right […]