Walking through the Exhibit Hall the other day we met these two teachers from Chicago. They were really excited because the girl on the right had just won a Promethean Classroom.

She was over the moon! She was so enthusiastic about winning Promethean because she was aware of the company’s all encompassing philosophy of sharing knowledge and creating rather than controlling knowledge and shutting the world out.

What an amazing site.

500 exhibitors with 50 new ones this year. It takes a day to walk and talk with even just a fraction of the exhibitors whose product is of interest.

The Conference Centre is vast here are some stats for NECC 2009 (courtesy ISTE Daily Leader).

• 10 000 particpants from 60 countries across the world.
• 62 New Zealanders are here and they have the largest contingent of International visitors.
• 6 000 danishes were served in one hour at the continental breakfast.
• 5 300 unique users are on the wireless network at any one time.
• 90 mb of bandwith is being used consistently.
• 102 wireless internet access points.
• 31 buses are running every hour between 6.30 am and 7.45 pm.
• 1 cat inhabits the exhibit hall.

 Craig Bellamy

In recent times the line between public and private has become very blurred to the point of non existence. Young people, young teachers, students all use social networking spaces to air their thoughts, their feelings and their lives.

More and more I hear comments about there being no privacy anymore. All is public!! The most recent comment was as I was sitting in Kevin Amboe’s session on Wiki’s for Writing Workshops at NECC 2009.

Kevin Amboe said he expected his young daughter to be up on the web and out their organising her life on Facebook and commenting through her blog. Will Richardson has said he would be disappointed if his daughter did not have a web presence. Employers today look for a web presence as a guide for employability.

Mark another of the presenters today commented that he felt it would be safer for his child to be out there on the internet than walking through the local park.

Creeps and undesirables lurk everywhere, we need to teach our children and students how to deal with them both physically and internetly rather than locking them away in inpenetrable towers.

The inpenetrable towers block out so much that is good and exciting and fun to be part of. A world I don’t always understand but I do respect the young people’s need to be part of it. To us it is technology. To them it is natural they were born to it.

Nobody can stop the young people of today from getting through all the blocks that are put in their way. What a challenge? What a skill! I could never hope to be half as good a hacker as most of the young kids I know.  

A case in point. At our school we use a really cool social networking / problem solving game. It can be played in beta or paid for. For payment you become a full member with treasures at your fingertips.

One of our 11 yo really wanted a membership but his parents wouldn’t allow it. He wanted to be a member so badly he persevered until he hacked into the site and became a member.

Does he get rewarded for skill and initiative or sanctioned for willfully tampering with another’s property?

The world is changing, the world is changing so fast, way too fast for many of the older generations to understand. A young person’s social mores are not what the older generation understand. Do older generations have the right to impose our will and sanctions on something we don’t understand.

Rather than funding technocrats to shut down something that can be amazing shouldn’t we promote teaching practices which ensure we are developing responsible students who are so engaged and motivated by the authenticity of what they are doing that they do not have the time or inclination to abuse their use of the internet.

Footnote 

It was really interesting in the session on one to one laptops attended yesterday the majority of those present felt people who saw themselves as EXPERTS in technology should be kept AWAY from SCHOOLS. Technocrats were cast as control freaks preferring to use technology to shut people out and control rather than develop an inclusive caring and respectful learning community. 

This is an amazing conference and it hasn’t even started yet. The pre-conference workshops are so comprehensive and across such a wide range of areas. Which one to choose?

I don’t know much about wiki’s so did that yesterday. Now I know a whole lot more. Still only really a beginner.

Edubloggercon was on as an unconference yesterday and it was great. Kim was at the smashup (sorry) smackdown session and said it was like a religious experience. Her blog explains that.

The unconference sessions we attended explored one to one laptop use,  the use of the ipod touch as a mobile device and the educational apps for that. There is a comprehensive list of educational apps being published by Sue Wells and Lyn on Classroom 2.0 look out for it.

Google has amazing tools and apps and stuff so much more than emails and searching. I use gmail and search using Google.

After today’s session I do it so much better and am beginning to understand the depth of the functionality of Google.

And we can’t access it in its fullness through our network!!

• collectively pursue professional knowledge and skills and take on shared responsibility for the success of all students.
• engage in the reflective practice, collegial inquiry, collaborative work, and continuous innovation on which 21st century learning environments thrive
• enable teachers to refine their knowledge and skills in supportive ways and help overcome the isolation that characterizes teaching  
• structure time during the day for interaction with other teachers
• provide a comprehensive planning guide to help teachers move from collegial conversations to critical dialogue.

It is not just how much, but how time is used that matters.

But schools have become silos of isolation – classrooms isolated from other classrooms, teachers isolated from other teachers, schools isolated from the outside world.

Research reveals:

• Positive and productive relationships within and outside an organization enable it to carry out its mission more effectively.

• When people are connected and they collaborate their effect is multiplied, for communities are able to accomplish goals that would be impossible through more isolated efforts.

•  An educational community imbued with a positive culture is more likely to foster innovation and excellence.

What is school culture?

it is the “invisible but powerful meanings and mindsets” (Wagner T & Kegan R 2006) that shape the learning environment even more than the four walls of the classroom.

What kind of culture is most effective?

The answer is many.There is no single culture that suits schools; each school must determine its own blend of teaching talents, instructional approaches, and effective leadership to meet the unique learning needs of its community. 

There is a common element which unites all effective school communities:

a commitment on the part of every member to the learning of everyone, children and adults alike. . . a climate of respect and trust (Meier, D (2002) In Schools We Trust, Boston Beacon Press.

In most of our experiences it is a school, a classroom, a library for some a playing field. 

In today’s interconnected and technology-driven world it can be virtual, online, remote; in short, it doesn’t have to be a place at all.

Another way of looking at it is as support systems which serve to organize the condition in which humans learn best:

• providing for  the unique learning needs of every learner;
• promoting the positive human relationships necessary for effective learning.

Where learning is

• tailored to the needs and wants of the individual
• occurs anytime and anyplace when and where the learner desires
•  in a context of relevance
• “just in time,” rather than “just in case.”
• offering “just what I need”

–        the opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills using learning strategies that are personalized

–        adapted to the learner‟s own learning styles and preferences.

An environment

• where the children know each other and know their teachers, not just academically but as people.
• where friendliness, openness, and accessibility promote cooperation and interaction.

What goes for students, goes for teachers, too.

Educators need tools and spaces that enable collaborative planning and information sharing.

An interesting read on this topic is the white paper out of the USA 21st Century Learning Environments at last someone in America is understanding what learning needs to look, sound and feel like.