Using camera phones for education

Many students around the world have more computer power in their pockets than exists in the classroom. School's fret because camera phones can be used to invade privacy but they can also be use for a wide array of educational purposes such as:

• Photos of work
• Photos and video of excursions
• Produce vod casts.
• Photograph down a microscope
• Tape audio of a class to listen to later.
• Tape audio to make a podcase.... and the list goes on.

Once media is collected it can be mixed and presented as a video... here is an example of a video I made from an excursion to the Melbourne Aquarium. Every kid should be able to do this at school!

Sony ereader

Finally I lashed out and bought a Sony E-reader, despite having a mac and living in Australia. Why did I buy it? 

     Because I can put 100's of books to read on it, no flickering screen, no light shining in my eyes.

Where did I buy it? 

     Ebay - and got it sent from the USA.

How can I get it to work with the mac? 

     I use libprs500 a free software package to synchronise books and electonic mgazines with it.

How do I get books when they only sell to USA customers through their online store?

    I buy in microsoft reader (.lit) format from other online stores (ebooks.com is the best for professional and academic books). To dowload in the mac I use internet explorer in a vm-ware fusion windows xpvirtual machine - but you can buy and download on any windows machine. Within windows I use a piece of software to remove the DRM protection. Then I switch back to MAC and use libprs to convert and load the .lit book onto the ereader as a sony file. 

I have read that sony is working on implementing Adobe Reader compatibility. This is an absolute must- or they need to open their online bookshop to the whole word. Adobe reader format can be downloaded and read on the mac- if they can then be synchronised with the ereader this would be a whole lot easier.

Ultimately when this technology decreases in cost, allows some sharing or once off reselling, and moves to color- I can see it largely replacing books within 10-15 years. Of course it doesn't have the interactivity and collaborativity so necessary for generation Y, but for the rest of us, who like to read more rather than spout our own opinions... it will be perfect. 

Teacher Profile- The Robin Hood

The Robin Hood Teachers' (RHT) self image is the protector of all serfs (fellow teachers). They are quick to draw a bow towards school leadership which they see as The Sheriff of Nottingham. Unfortunately Robin's approach is entrenched in the paradigm of the dichotomy between the servant-slave, rich-poor, royalty-serf, administration-worker and their actions reinforce this world system. They often aren't aware that there is a cooperative way of doing things. Having never developed a clear understanding of leadership through leading anything of significance themselves, some insist on an unrealistic rule via vote through proletariat, even though this will never happen or produce the changes needed.

RHT's are both admired and feared by fellow teachers, they inhibit progress towards a learning community where everyone is valued and contributes towards progress through their different roles. Robin Hoods insist that 'administration' fix and solve all the problems of the school, yet at the same time resist, undermine and challenge any direction and leadership from "management" that might do so. Its all part of the 'merry mens' game.

What is a good school for my child?

I get asked this quite frequently.

It depends on what you want for your child. Many parents want an education similar to what they had, even if they acknowledge that it had limited utility in their own life (Loader 2007). If this is the case then you can't make a rational judgement. If you can work out what skills, knowledge, environment will suite your child then this is a good starting point.

Conventional wisdom says - go to the school and look around, talk to parents who have kids at the school. This is good advice. Just looking at published academic results really tells you very little about the school for many reasons.

What is a good school? A lot of research in the western world suggests that in the eye-of-the-student their are very few 'good schools' - if on-balance, most students would rather avoid school than attend then schools are not making the grade on a massive scale. Other research shows that high performing students will perform comparably no matter where they are (Freakonomics), and that there is more variation in student learning between classes than their is between schools. So don't make a decision on academic grounds only.

A common misconception is that your child is smarter than they actually are. Most kids are average (by definition), but most parents and students see themselves as a bit above average. This is a hard pill to swallow- but guess what the world is full of average people doing all srts of amazing things because they put their mind to it. Its not so much the metal horsepower that matters for most jobs, but the amount of effort put in over a long period of time. Being driven to learn and improve for the joy of learning is enough.

In my own opinion - school trying to personalise education, or change towards knowledge era schooling or genuinely undertaking a Montessori style approach (in lower grades) are on the right track.

Go for a school that is committed to making education exciting and relevant for the kids, uses a variety of modern technologies in the classroom (not just electronic white boards), and is focussing on students becoming better learners.

Insider information - teachers

Welcome to my new blog. (Did I have an old one.... no)

A lot happens in schools. A lot.

This blog is to serve several purposes:
1. To share interesting stories from the classroom.
2. To comment/reflect on educational issues and trends
3. To give an insiders view of the sort of politics that occurs inside schools
Stories will not necessarily be in chronological order and names will of course be fictitious to avoid to much blood-shed and mayhem.