[Yr7-10it] "education revolution" and other buzz words

[Adrian Janson]

HI everyone,

> Rudd's "education revolution" was mentioned a few times at VITTA and  
> VITTA itself promoted its conference on the theme of revolution

For the record - VITTA's 'so you say you want a revolution' was devised
independent of the ALP or the AEU!  In fact the source of inspiration for
the conference theme was Michael Wesch's excellent Web2.0 presentation.

>> The way language is used at educational ICT conferences, especially  
>> at keynotes, makes me want to throw up, the list of buzz words is  
>> enormous,

>I agree; the keynote on the day I attended was 99% "bum fluff" as I  
>like to call it.

I have to disagree with this view (although you are all of course entitled
to your own opinions - and whether or not you enjoy a keynote or an
individual presentation).

>From my perspective, the purpose of a keynote is to propose big ideas,
generate discussion and inspire.  Stephen Heppell filled this brief
perfectly - and truly addressed the theme.  A keynote presentation is not
about solutions and detailed practice primarily.  The keynotes on the
Tuesday and the Wednesday fitted in well with this with an expansion of
detail - and the sessions themselves provided delegates with detailed
examples of practice.

We worked hard to bring a high profile, international ICT educator to
Melbourne - with the purpose of exposing delegates to some truly innovative
ideas and issues.

Cheers,
Adrian
 
Adrian Janson, 
VITTA President
Director of ICT, 
Melbourne High School, 
Forrest Hill, South Yarra 3141 Australia.
Phone: 03 9826 0711 International: +61 3 9826 0711
Fax: 03 9826 8767 International: +61 3 9826 8767
E-mail: janson.adrian.a at edumail.vic.gov.au
Website: http://www.mhs.vic.edu.au

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-----Original Message-----
From: yr7-10it-bounces at edulists.com.au
[mailto:yr7-10it-bounces at edulists.com.au] On Behalf Of Russell Edwards
Sent: Wednesday, 21 November 2007 8:38 PM
To: Year 7 - 10 Information Technology Teachers' Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Yr7-10it] "education revolution" and other buzz words


On 21/11/2007, at 8:10 PM, Bill Kerr wrote:

> Rudd's "education revolution" was mentioned a few times at VITTA and  
> VITTA itself promoted its conference on the theme of revolution

I agree, and I must admit it really angers me that our AEU is actively  
campaigning for Rudd and encouraging teachers to indoctrinate students  
to do likewise. Especially when our state Labor governments, who bear  
the primary responsibility for public education, are doing such an  
appalling job of it. Particularly in Victoria. We go on strike on the  
one hand and then go and campaign for them on the other. Crazy.

> The way language is used at educational ICT conferences, especially  
> at keynotes, makes me want to throw up, the list of buzz words is  
> enormous,

I agree; the keynote on the day I attended was 99% "bum fluff" as I  
like to call it.

> Noticeable that there is no mention of programming in this revolution.

   On the other hand, how widespread do you think programming  
education should be, and to what breadth and depth? How much education  
do or should people have in other technical fields?

Computer software and cars are similar in this regard-- both have  
become so sophisticated that  whereas a keen amateur could once safely  
and profitably fiddle with nearly every aspect of the system, they are  
now largely limited to relatively trivial tinkering (even if source  
code/workshop manuals/engineering diagrams and data are available).  
Most people can happily leave the technical details to the  
professionals, who comprise a very small proportion of the population  
and therefore of the student cohort. On the other hand, every user  
benefits from some basic experience under the hood-- even if they make  
no practical use of the specifics of their learning, having a  
conceptual understanding and general "feel" for the principles that  
underly any piece of technology enhances and informs the user  
experience.

(Uh oh, speaking of buzz words, check out that last sentence!!)


Russell Edwards
Whittlesea Secondary College


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