Primary School learners in Finlad

I recently found an interesting article. It was about primary school learners in Finland who studied wild courtyard plants. The topic of the project was “the influence of growth factors for courtyard plants”. The 10-lesson project was coordinated, documented and shared using a Web-based teamwork environment. The goal of the project was,to introduce “progressive inquiry”. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?Progressive inquiry). A web-based learning environment – “FRONTER” http://com.fronter.info was used for this purpose. So learners were sharing and commenting (in groups)online on ideas and explanations. Learners (9 and 10 years olds) were actually communicating and sharing their results with other learners in other crounties. I find this fascinating!!

An eye opener . .

A while ago I watched a presentation at our school that was done by a young gentleman. He was selling a new educational computer programme.
He showed a very interesting video clip. It started off showing teenagers and how "busy" and "fast" their lives are - with cellphones, mixit, ipods, etc. etc. This part of the video clip played in fast forward.
In the next part of the video clip the teenagers were in class. The teacher was writing on the blackboard. Now the video played in slow motion and the teenagers looked as if they could fall asleep any minute.
This really made me think . . . .

Ongoing teacher training

I think ongoing professional development is necessary to help teachers learn to use new technology and also how to provide meaningful activities using technology in the classroom.

Teachers always have been the key to establishing new innovations and creative thoughts. As teachers in the 21st century we need to ensure that we keep up with current technology so we can stimulate and motivate our learners today.

Teachers cannot learn how to use educational technology in their teaching after a once off workshop. Teachers need in-depth, continued assistance in the use of technology and also in their efforts to integrate technology into the curriculum.

Teachers also need time to become familiar with available products, software, and online resources. They also need time to discuss technology use with other teachers.

A stamp of "urgency" need to be put on this by the Education Department and strategies to put this in place should become priority!

Grade 7 learners at I R Griffith Primary School

The Grade 7 learners at my school recently had their annual "Entrepreneurial Fete". Learners get the opportunity to sell their self-made products to the rest of the school. The profit that they make goes into their own pockets. This project is driven by the Grade 7 EMS teacher and myself (Computer teacher). Learners get first hand experience of setting up their own business. In the computer class learners then have to set up an Excell Spreadsheet showing their income, expenses, gross income and profit/loss. A Graph is then also added to display their profit (or loss). Each learner then hands in a profile. This includes a picture of themselves at their stall and also their Excell Spreadsheet and graph. Learners are very proud of their achievements and enjoy this experience tremendously.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdMB_aACPoM

Introduction

I am a BEd (Hons) student specialising in the Design of ICT-mediated Learning environments. In our course, we focus on tools (hardware and software) that enable learning in the twenty first century. The whole emphasis is on learning WITH computers.

Being an educator in a primary school it is a challenge to experiment with this and especially to put it in practise. As educators in the 21st century we need to meet our students in their thought processes and development. The new generation is a technology advanced generation and so we (as educators - from an older/different generation) need to constantly review our thought processes and update ourselves with the latest technology so that we can ultimately stimulate our students efficiently.

Any ideas round how do one (as educator) starts thinking in a new/different way so that we can communicate with our students so that we will motivate and stimulate them in their learning experience, will be welcomed.