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<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=867194422-24102007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>Some nice questions, Roland.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=867194422-24102007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=867194422-24102007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>The discussion has a familiar ring to it ... some
unfinished work which Peter Macinnes put together some years ago: <A
href="http://members.ozemail.com.au/~macinnis/scifun/whatif.htm">http://members.ozemail.com.au/~macinnis/scifun/whatif.htm</A></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><BR> </DIV>
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left>
<HR tabIndex=-1>
<FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> yr7-10it-bounces@edulists.com.au
[mailto:yr7-10it-bounces@edulists.com.au] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Roland
Gesthuizen<BR><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, October 24, 2007 10:30 PM<BR><B>To:</B>
Year 7 - 10 Information Technology Teachers' Mailing List<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re:
[Yr7-10it] RE: Year 7-10 IT structures<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>Thank you young Cameron, some good questions but it isn't my place to
spoon out the answers.<BR><BR>Here are some more. Can you tell me about your
planet and your place in it? If you came back to school in 20 years time, what
would changes would you see? Can you still open your homework files? If you had
a penfriend in Africa, what changes could you expect? Imagine a school
surrounded by mine fields, no electricity and a hand cranked laptop. What would
you learn? What do you think about introducing new technology to the native
people of the pacific islands, what will they think of us? Should we throw your
old computer into landfill so we can have some better ones? Golly, has the bell
gone yet? Now run outside, kick a ball and soak up some sunlight, we can tackle
world peace tomorrow. <BR><BR>Thanks everybody .. today 24 October is the
official United Nations day and as the official school flag coordinator,
we fly the UN flag. BTW, the UN is taking charge of distribution for the OLPC
project.<BR><BR>Regards Roland <BR><BR>
<DIV><SPAN class=gmail_quote>On 24/10/2007, <B class=gmail_sendername>Cameron
Bell</B> <<A
href="mailto:bell.cameron.p@edumail.vic.gov.au">bell.cameron.p@edumail.vic.gov.au</A>>
wrote:</SPAN>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=gmail_quote
style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(204,204,204) 1px solid">Dear
Mr Gesthuizen,<BR>Regarding the homework you set us - "What can we do to
really help our<BR>students make this world a better place for us all to live
in?"<BR>Did you want that as a PowerPoint or Word Document? Also, I have read
<BR>all through the text book and can't seem to find the answer. Can
you<BR>give us a clue as to what chapter it is in? Also, when is it
due?<BR>Could you at least make it multiple choice?<BR>Regards<BR>A.
Typical<BR>PS - Will it be on the exam?<BR><BR><BR>Roland Gesthuizen
wrote:<BR>> I am really excited to read all these posts and all the
right<BR>> questions that we seem to be asking each other.<BR>><BR>>
I agree with Bill. The OLPC is a fascinating invention. Like the <BR>>
student that freely dips into the wireless access spilling over the<BR>>
school fence from his neighboring home, the mesh technology has even<BR>>
enough range to bridge between the different islands in the Solomons. <BR>>
Whilst the original vision for the telephone was that it could be used<BR>>
to pipe music directly to homes, we would be equally narrow minded to<BR>>
think that the Internet was for edumail and piping music to pockets <BR>>
filled with iPhones.<BR>><BR>> I have some Sudanese lads who are
struggling with renaming files yet<BR>> can happily play computer games and
chat online. Is it appropriate to<BR>> measuring their learning from their
understanding of a computer <BR>> desktop, a metaphor based upon the
workings of a small business<BR>> office? The different ethnic groups at
our school have vastly<BR>> different traditions and ideas of what it means
to 'be working<BR>> together'. I am now not sure if the collaborative,
learning model that<BR>> I carry about in my head is best and only way
forward.<BR>><BR>> I have had some indirect contact with of the huge
technology issues <BR>> faced by countries on our doorstep. From young
computer technicians<BR>> trained in Melbourne to set up Ubuntu Linux
networks for East Timor,<BR>> the KhmerOS group that has managed to retain
a Cambodian keyboard and <BR>> recover their language using Open Office and
the network manager on<BR>> Naru who is experimenting recycling old
hardware using Kbuntu.<BR>><BR>> I would like us to engage with what it
really means to transform ICT <BR>> education, beyond rubbing the latest
shiny new toy or unboxing the<BR>> latest bit of commercial software. I
like asking the big questions in<BR>> my IT classrooms so here is one. What
can we do to really help our <BR>> students make this world a better place
for us all to live in?<BR>><BR>> Regards Roland<BR>><BR>> On
23/10/2007, *Bill Kerr* <<A
href="mailto:billkerr@gmail.com">billkerr@gmail.com</A><BR>> <mailto: <A
href="mailto:billkerr@gmail.com">billkerr@gmail.com</A>>>
wrote:<BR>><BR>> hi
Cameron,<BR>><BR>> The OLPC has wireless mesh
networking and a new user interface<BR>> (sugar)
based on a community metaphor, which invites extensive
<BR>> collaboration with each child having their
own laptop. In that<BR>> respect (and some others)
OLPC is superior to its new low price<BR>> rivals
from Intel etc.<BR>> <A
href="http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/05/community-user-interface.html">http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/05/community-user-interface.html</A><BR>>
<<A
href="http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/05/community-user-interface.html">http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/05/community-user-interface.html
</A>><BR>><BR>> If each child owns the laptop
then that open up potential for home<BR>> use - as
well as the clearly important "sense of personal
ownership"<BR>><BR>> I agree with you that if
the laptops are introduced and teachers <BR>> keep
to their old techniques and lesson plans then its not
going<BR>> to work very well at
all<BR>><BR>> That is sort of the point of this
discussion - where would /<BR>> should it lead?
<BR>><BR>> Papert has argued for years that
maths could be transformed with<BR>> one laptop per
child but that it doesn't work with other
ratios.<BR>> The pencil argument, it would be poor
education to chain up <BR>> pencils in a lab or to
insist on sharing of pencils<BR>><BR>> As you
say:<BR>> The laptop struggles to break out from
being a glorified<BR>> word-processor, file storage
and email client to the off the shelf <BR>> tool
that gets used as needed, to develop a solution for
the<BR>> problem at
hand.<BR>><BR>> With OLPC the laptop does or
should develop or appear to develop<BR>> some sort
of agency of its own, it demands to be used in new and
<BR>> different ways - are the teachers up to
it?<BR>><BR>> btw I attended a conference at
Methodist Ladies College<BR>> (Melbourne) in circa
1980 when every child had a laptop and
they<BR>> were using logo extensively (David Loader
was the Principal). <BR>><BR>> Your points about
forcing collaboration are interesting and I'd<BR>>
like to hear more about the tool you mention that facilitates
a<BR>> process whereby students "produce work that
reflects their own <BR>> knowledge, not the groups
knowledge"<BR>><BR>> I'm wary of formalising
collaboration in an institutional sense. I<BR>>
think learners have the right to choose their time and place for
<BR>> collaboration. When setting up groups I often
do permit a group of<BR>> one. I'm aware
of one very good educational blogger who has
been<BR>> arguing this for some
time:<BR>> blog of proximal development
<BR>> <A
href="http://www.teachandlearn.ca/blog/">http://www.teachandlearn.ca/blog/</A><BR>>
(I will dig up some of his posts about this particular topic
if<BR>> you
want)<BR>><BR>>
cheers,<BR>> --<BR>>
Bill Kerr<BR>> <A
href="http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/">http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/</A><BR>><BR>><BR>>
On 10/23/07, *Cameron Bell* < <A
href="mailto:bell.cameron.p@edumail.vic.gov.au">bell.cameron.p@edumail.vic.gov.au</A><BR>>
<mailto:<A
href="mailto:bell.cameron.p@edumail.vic.gov.au">bell.cameron.p@edumail.vic.gov.au</A>>>
wrote:<BR>><BR>> But
Bill, lots and lots of schools have implemented laptop
<BR>> programs - some for
many years now. We have found that
you<BR>> don't need one
laptop per child - in fact, I believe
that<BR>> insisting each
child having their own laptop can stifle
<BR>> pedagogical progress.
When each child has their own laptop
or<BR>> they are working in
a lab, the teacher is generally just
using<BR>> the same
teaching techniques and lesson plans they always
<BR>> have, insisting on
personal work, students working
in<BR>> isolation
(communicating, but in isolation) with the
whole<BR>> class doing the
same activity at the same time. The
laptop<BR>> struggles to
break out from being a glorified
word-processor,<BR>> file
storage and email client to the off the shelf tool
that<BR>> gets used as
needed, to develop a solution for the problem at
<BR>>
hand.<BR>> We have run with
a one-between-two program here for the
past<BR>> couple of years
(I was skeptical as I had just come from a
1-1<BR>> school) and apart
from a couple of dedicated labs, we now
<BR>> deliberately aim for
one-between-two for all our
technology<BR>>
infrastructure. It means students _must_ collaborate as
teams<BR>> on producing
work and we are being forced to develop methods
<BR>> for students to be
able to collaborate- but then produce
work<BR>> that reflects
their own knowledge, not the groups
knowledge.<BR>> It's tricky
but I have found a very useful little tool that
<BR>> enables that to
happen in my classes and the rest of the
staff<BR>> have adapted
too! Some of us are creating digital
portfolios,<BR>> this
requires group prac work, but individual reflections. How
<BR>> do you do this with
one-between-two? You are forced to
examine<BR>> individual
learning plans, multiple lesson plans within
a<BR>> lesson, rather than
the one-size-fits-all approach that we
<BR>> have always done.
(Primaries have done this for years!)
While<BR>> 1/2 the class
use the laptops for part of an activity,
the<BR>> other 1/2 are
doing another part. For us, this is also
<BR>> essential to break up
a 72 min period and help keep
the<BR>> students
focussed.<BR>> One between
two is cheaper
too! ;-)<BR>>
Cheers<BR>>
Cameron<BR>><BR>> Bill
Kerr wrote: <BR>>> There
is a large elephant in the room that no one
has<BR>>> referred to so
far: the
OLPC<BR>>><BR>>>
The one laptop per child non profit project not only plans
to<BR>>> deliver
millions of laptops to third world children but
has<BR>>> also become a
hand grenade in the commercial world - and
has<BR>>> succeeded in
forcing down the price of other laptops now on
<BR>>>
offer<BR>>><BR>>>
"... the whole global mind-think around technology has
changed.<BR>>><BR>>>
No longer is low cost computing in education a fantasy,
no<BR>>> longer are big
technology companies secondary, and
everyone<BR>>> wants to
sell technology into classrooms. Intel
introduced<BR>>>
Classmate PC<BR>>>
<<A
href="http://www.olpcnews.com/countries/brazil/olpc_classmate_mobilis.html">
http://www.olpcnews.com/countries/brazil/olpc_classmate_mobilis.html</A>><BR>>>
to Brazil, Asustek is selling Eee
PC's<BR>>> <<A
href="http://www.olpcnews.com/sales_talk/intel/negroponte_100_laptop_asus.html">
http://www.olpcnews.com/sales_talk/intel/negroponte_100_laptop_asus.html</A>><BR>>>
in the USA, and even thin-client manufactures
compare<BR>>> themselves
to OLPC<BR>>> <<A
href="http://www.olpcnews.com/sales_talk/competition/stephen_dukker_anti_olpc_campaign.html">
http://www.olpcnews.com/sales_talk/competition/stephen_dukker_anti_olpc_campaign.html</A>>."<BR>>>
<A
href="http://www.olpcnews.com/sales_talk/countries/sales_inhibiting_xo_distribution.html">http://www.olpcnews.com/sales_talk/countries/sales_inhibiting_xo_distribution.html
</A><BR>>> <<A
href="http://www.olpcnews.com/sales_talk/countries/sales_inhibiting_xo_distribution.html">http://www.olpcnews.com/sales_talk/countries/sales_inhibiting_xo_distribution.html</A>><BR>>>
<BR>>> How will schools
and education departments in the
wealthy<BR>>> west react
to the fact that in a few years we will have
the<BR>>> capability for
every child to have their own laptop?
<BR>>><BR>>> Will
we treat them like mobile phones and ban them or try
to<BR>>> figure out a
way to utilise them for optimal
educational<BR>>>
development?<BR>>><BR>>>
The use and misuse of computers in schools has up until now
<BR>>> been based around
the idea that computers mainly belong
in<BR>>> labs and / or
that access is limited. The fact of
limited<BR>>> access has
acted as a powerful brake for many teachers not to
<BR>>> extend their
knowledge much beyond the
basics.<BR>>><BR>>>
Most (all?) of the maths curriculum could be taught
using<BR>>> laptops. In
fact MIT produced a series of books in the 80s
<BR>>> for teaching much
of maths and aspects of language and
art<BR>>> using
logo.<BR>>><BR>>>
Shouldn't we factor this potential into the discussion? If
we<BR>>> are talking
about the future it might be incorrect to assume
<BR>>> that the pattern
of distribution of computers in schools
will<BR>>> remain
similar to the
present.<BR>>><BR>>>
--<BR>>> Bill
Kerr<BR>>> <A
href="http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/">http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/</A><BR>>><BR>>>
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