Delight and Travel

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Delight and Travel Delight and Travel Dialogues in teaching and learning Wesley College St Kilda Rd October 10 2009 The chase John Brack http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/johnbrack/education/imagebank.html We may well ask of any item of information that is taught or that we lead a child to discover for himself whether it is worth knowing. I can think of only two good criteria and one middling one for deciding such an issue: whether the knowledge gives a sense of delight and whether it bestows the gift of intellectual travel beyond the information given in the sense of containing within it the basis of generalization. The middling criterion is whether the knowledge is useful. It turns out, on the whole, as Charles Sanders Pierce commented, that useful knowledge looks after itself. So I would urge that we as schoolmen let it do so and concentrate on the first two criteria. Delight and travel, then. Jerome Bruner (1979 ) Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press On Learning Mathematics in On Knowing: Essays for the left hand pp108- 109 Ithaka C. Cavafy (translated J. Mavrogordato) Setting out on the voyage to Ithaka You must pray that the way be long, Full of adventures and experiences. The Laistrygonians, and the Kyklopes, Angry Poseidon,—don’t be afraid of them; You will never find such things on your way, If only your thoughts be high and a select Emotion touch your spirit and your body. The Laistrygonians, the Kyklopes, Poseidon raging—you will never meet them, Unless you carry them with you in your soul, If your soul does not raise them up before you. You must pray that the way be long; Many be the summer mornings When with what pleasure, with what delight You enter harbours never seen before; At Phoenician trading stations you must stop, And must acquire good merchandise, Mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony, And sensuous perfumes of every kind; As much as you can get of sensuous perfumes; You must go to many cities of Egypt, To learn and still to learn from those who know. You must always have Ithaka in your mind, Arrival there is your predestination. But do not hurry the journey at all. Better that it should last many years; Be quite old when you anchor at the island, Rich with all you have gained on the way, Not expecting Ithaka to give you riches. Ithaka has given you your lovely journey.. Without Ithaka you would not have set out. Ithaka has no more to give you now. Outline of the day (details within the booklet) 8:30 – 8:55 Registration – Coffee Common Room 9:00 – 11:00 Session One: Library Dr Julie Landvogt: Bring me that horizon: Working in the spaces of story 11:00 – 11:30 Morning Tea Common Room 11:30 – 12:45 Session Two: Library Readings and Discussion Groups Part One 11:35 – 12:00 Presentation Part Two 12:15 – 12:45 12:45 – 1:30 Lunch Common Room 1:30 – 3:00 School Presentations Allocated Rooms For rooms and abstracts, see in booklet 3:00 – 3:15 Concluding remarks Library Colleen Abbott 3:15 – 4:00 Drinks Common Room Special thanks to Colin Dobson and Wesley College for hosting the Ithaka Conference Bring me that horizon: Working in the spaces of story Julie Landvogt You may not believe me, but my title is not just an excuse to use an image of Johnny Depp. The film Pirates of the Caribbean finishes with yet another cunning escape from the worthy but boring careful rule-following military of Port Royal … and reunited with his ship and crew, our Johnny grabs the wheel and is off once more. “Bring me that horizon…” I’m happy to overlook a bit of skulduggery for the satisfaction of romance winning the day, and particularly for the sense that the closing of one adventure is simply the beginning of the next. Aiming for the horizon seems not a bad goal for us in education. There are no simple answers in teaching and learning– only more questions, and partial stopping points. In a recent discussion on The Book Show between Ramona Koval and the literary critic James Wood about How fiction works, Wood argued that the books he found most appealing are those which don’t try to reveal everything about a character, as if you can know them completely. His view was that “unknowability and mysteriousness characterise most of our relations with other people” and it is when novels take this on that they are most illuminating. Perhaps that unknowability is also what keeps us in teaching - we solve one set of challenges, at least for now, and see that another is around the corner; if a solution seems impossible, experience teaches that time (and some effort!) are likely to tell… I started getting ready for today in the usual way; clearing my desk, and then gradually, over several months, accumulating bits of paper with scraps of ideas, books and pictures seeming to promise inspiration or invite exploration, and old presentations to remind what I used to think so I can move onto now I think... Stuff piles on every available surface until the weight and disorder become oppressive and stressful and there is nothing to do but to start. Of course the clearing of space, and the accumulation of “stuff” for exploration, are part of the process, the work of writing; they are the preparation, or at least the first stages of the preparation. It’s an orientation, a tuning in, just as we construct for students in the first moments of a lesson. I used to think, now I think - is part of deciding where to go next. So you won’t be surprised that I found myself back with the Ithaka poem, which has served us pretty well for six years now – reminding us that any journey tests us with obstacles, monsters and temptation, but that it is the trip itself, not the arrival, which matters. Setting out on the voyage to Ithaka You must pray that the way be long, Full of adventures and experiences… The journey is in danger of becoming a pretty hackneyed metaphor for learning through experience; but like everything, it depends on the way we use it, on what we allow the image to offer. Someone – not even google has been able to tell me who – has said that there are really only two or three stories, and we tell them over and over again in slightly different ways. The first is the romance – boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy finds girl again. The second is the journey – the path from innocence to experience, from ignorance to understanding. A third is good versus evil. They are interlinked, often, of course, and it is the variations on the core story, the surprises, the challenges, the deviations from the expected tale, which illuminate new meanings. The common tale invites us in; it’s where we start. So when we began, it was with the journey story. The poem offered the idea that the experiences along the way are what matters, even if at the time they are not so pleasant. It echoed our knowledge of young people learning, and perhaps also ourselves; that it is not always simple, that the end is often not easy either to see or to be certain of. Most importantly, the poem stands revisiting; it offers different kinds of sustenance – images of the blue and white of island Greece, the romance and danger of trying tasks just beyond reach, the promise of understanding ... it calls to us in different ways at different times. The Laistrygonians, and the Kyklopes, Angry Poseidon,—don’t be afraid of them; You will never find such things on your way, … Unless you carry them with you in your soul, If your soul does not raise them up before you. The blind poet Homer, singing the story of the Trojan War and then of Odysseus’s travel home, little thought he would inspire films starring Brad Pitt, Eric Bana and Orlando Bloom three thousand years hence. He was spinning a yarn that was part news story, part romance, part hero macho adventure; beginning from competing royal suitors for the most beautiful woman in the world through stories of loyalty and betrayal, lust and love, pride, humility and cunning. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl – good versus evil – journey towards understanding (or not) – Homer had it all. No surprise, then, that people have taken elements and made new stories from it, filling in the gaps – he knew the power of big ideas to engage and stimulate; he knew that from them people would think and learn. Today I am going to use the journey – elements of Odysseus’s journey, towards home after ten years at Troy - to think about and with what we have learned, over the last few years – and what all that means in going forward. Thus of course there are some ideas to revisit, some just for remembering and some to have a closer look at - four stages. o Setting off: Somewhere, over the rainbow… o Delight and travel: sustenance and challenge o Holding fast: the siren song o Arrival and onwards To begin, then, two elements without which we do not set out: a dream, and some kind of preparation. 1. Setting off: somewhere, over the rainbow… First: the dream. What does a dream need to have? It needs to connect at some level with what we know, so that we can believe in its possibility – but it needs also to promise something bigger – as writer Milan Kundera puts it, to imagine… Dreaming is not merely an act of communication (or coded communication, if you like); it is also an aesthetic activity, a game of the imagination, a game that is a value in itself.
Recommended publications
  • Practical Experience in Teaching Inventory Management with Edublogs
    doi:10.3926/jiem.2011.v4n1.p103-122 JIEM, 2011 – 4(1): 103-122 – Online ISSN: 2013-0953 Print ISSN: 2013-8423 Practical experience in teaching inventory management with Edublogs Julio J. Garcia-Sabater1, Pilar I. Vidal-Carreras1, Cristina Santandreu-Mascarell2, Mª Rosario Perello-Marin3 1ROGLE. Dpto. Organización de Empresas, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia (SPAIN); 2IGIC. Dpto. Organización de Empresas, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia (SPAIN); 3Dpto. Organización de Empresas, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia (SPAIN) [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Received December 2010 Accepted March 2011 Abstract: Purpose: The aim of this paper is to analyze the utility of edublogs in teaching- learning process applied to postgraduate Courses. Particularly, it describes an experience carried out while delivering a Course offered to students, mainly Industrial Engineers, of a certain Master program. Design/methodology/approach: In the first section of the paper, we perform a literature review with the aim of defining some basic concepts as blog, weblog or edublog. Later on, we compare some educational models to identify best practices related to new technologies, and particularly, to edublogs. Finally, we analyze our experience in a postgraduate Course. Findings and Originality/value: We have identified best practices on teaching using edublogs and we have applied them to a particular postgraduate Course. Research limitations/implications: Conclusions are obtained from only one experience (one postgraduate Course). We intend to extend the analysis to more postgraduate Courses and compare the obtained results. Practical implications: We have applied the previously described methodology and we have discussed advantages and disadvantages of using edublogs.
    [Show full text]
  • DOLLAR-DISSERTATION-2018.Pdf (4.659Mb)
    REFLECTIONS OF THE HEART: AN AUTOETHNOGRAPHY OF A LITERACY LEADER’S ONLINE IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION AND CHANGE A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE TEXAS WOMAN’S UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF READING COLLEGE OF PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION BY TAMRA R. DOLLAR, B.A., M.ED. DENTON, TEXAS AUGUST 2018 Copyright © 2018 by Tamra R. Dollar DEDICATION To my life partner and best friend, Michael T. Dollar You told me I could, so I did. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I feel privileged to express my eternal gratitude to the people who were directly involved in my doctoral journey. First of all, I would like to thank my advisor and exemplary Chair, Dr. Patricia (Pat) Watson, for whom I am forever indebted. She walked beside me and would gently nudge me when I would get “stuck in the weeds.” Dr. Watson affirmed my creative ways of thinking while at the same time helped me to stay grounded. I aspire to be the kind of professor and mentor to others just as Dr. Watson has been to me. I am extremely grateful to the members of my Dissertation Committee: to Dr. Amy Burke for her enthusiasm and great advice that helped me to best articulate my methodology and epistemological stance; to Dr. Claudia Haag for her ongoing encouragement, genuine care and unwavering support through all of my trials and triumphs; and to Dr. Teresa Starrett for her benevolence and guidance throughout the process. I want to express my sincere thanks to all of my professors at Texas Woman’s University, who guided and assisted me on my doctoral journey to reach this milestone in my life.
    [Show full text]
  • Practical Experience in Teaching Inventory Management with Edublogs
    A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Garcia-Sabater, Julio J.; Vidal-Carreras, Pilar I.; Santandreu, Cristina; Perello- Marin, Rosario Article Practical experience in teaching inventory management with edublogs Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management (JIEM) Provided in Cooperation with: The School of Industrial, Aerospace and Audiovisual Engineering of Terrassa (ESEIAAT), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) Suggested Citation: Garcia-Sabater, Julio J.; Vidal-Carreras, Pilar I.; Santandreu, Cristina; Perello-Marin, Rosario (2011) : Practical experience in teaching inventory management with edublogs, Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management (JIEM), ISSN 2013-0953, OmniaScience, Barcelona, Vol. 4, Iss. 1, pp. 103-122, http://dx.doi.org/10.3926/jiem.v4n1.p103-122 This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/188445 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle You are not to copy documents for public or commercial Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, If the documents have been made available under an Open gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte.
    [Show full text]
  • Hopkinsdavid's Tweet Book
    hopkinsdavid's Tweet Book By David Hopkins. hopkinsdavid David Hopkins eLearning, mLeaning, Web 2.0, Game-based learning, Blogging, WordPress, Blackboard, Technology, CMALT, etc - Learning Technologist, the Business School, BU Bournemouth, UK http://www.dontwasteyourtime.co.uk All content © David Hopkins. All rights reserved. 2009 September Monday, 21st of September. 18:48:42 Blogged: Reflection: Learning Technologies 2009 http://bit.ly/16HvYz 19:02:10 Sorry Sorry Sorry!! #ihatehackers 19:06:13 Damn ... 320 emails sent to each blog subscriber! I think I'm off their Christmas Card list. Sorry folks. 19:07:11 Watch number of followers drop after blog fiasco ... down we go #fail 19:50:53 Blogged: An apology from Don't Waste Your Time (and me!) http://bit.ly/109rWh Tuesday, 22nd of September. 07:53:44 OK, going for broke - deleting everything and re-installing wordpress, then import all posts, comments, plugins, etc. Finger's crossed 08:57:04 RT @esolcourses @grahamstanley amazing tool showing publicly available information about people on the Web : http://tinyurl.com/m526t3 09:03:57 RT @esolcourses @russeltarr: Nine Reasons to Twitter in Schools: http://tinyurl.com/o2owoe 09:06:53 Students and innovative assessment http://bit.ly/DKU4l 09:13:25 RT @sharonlflynn @mattlingard @anthonymcneill draft Twitter in HE report - RTs and comments welcome http://bit.ly/UrS9U 09:26:18 Dr. Karen Clegg; "Innovative Approaches to Assessment" http://bit.ly/eb41c 11:35:48 blog down, reinstall in progress ... #ihopethisworks 12:59:04 Blog back, all working ... but lost polls (plus archive) and some images. Loads of work to look through and sort ..
    [Show full text]
  • Flat Classroom® Projects
    LEARNINGconnections Multidisciplinary 28, 32, 34 • Performing Arts 31 • Language Arts 35 Flat Classrooms By Julie Lindsay and Vicki Davis n November 2006, we eliminated the walls of our high school class- Irooms. We embarked to create a joint semester assessment to analyze the trends of information technology and ended up on a journey into excel- lence and into the very future of edu- cation itself. This wiki-centric collaboration, aptly named the Flat Classroom Project, an- alyzed the 10 societal trends from The World is Flat by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Thomas Friedman. Not only did this project win the 2006 Interna- Screenshot from the Virtual Communication team's award-winning Flat Classroom video. tional Edublog Award for best wiki in education, but Friedman followed the a video including footage “outsourced” One of the most exciting things, project development with much inter- from the partner. To start the project, however, happened at the conclusion est and awarded signed copies of his every student posted a podcast intro- of the project, when expert judges book as prizes. Students formed bonds duction. We intentionally chose voice Jeff Utecht (China), Terry Freedman with those very unlike themselves, and communications to prevent students (United Kingdom), Jo McLeay (Aus- our objectives were far exceeded. from having preconceived notions tralia), and Darren Kuropatwa (Can- about each other. ada) judged the wikis, and presented Why Did We Flatten Our Classrooms? After “meeting” their partners, stu- awards for best wiki and best video. We wanted to challenge our students dents planned their topic using asyn- Additionally, they advised us on how to have a deeper understanding of the chronous tools such as the discussion to make such a project more scalable effect of information technology on tabs on the wiki pages, MySpace, and and more effective based on the most our world.
    [Show full text]
  • Integrating Edublog in the Teaching of Narrative Writing in Primary School (Integrasi Edublog Di Dalam Pengajaran Penulisan Naratif Di Sekolah Rendah)
    Jurnal Pendidikan Malaysia 45(1) Isu Khas (2020): 75-85 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/JPEN-2020-45.01SI-10 Integrating EduBlog in the Teaching of Narrative Writing in Primary School (Integrasi EduBlog di dalam Pengajaran Penulisan Naratif di Sekolah Rendah) NUR NADIYA BAHARUDDIN* & MASLAWATI MOHAMAD ABSTRACT The Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 aims to optimize the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in enhancing teaching and learning (T&L). Edublogs could be a useful platform that can facilitate the T&L of English. This case study explored the effects of the teaching of English narrative writing using Edublogs on pupils’ achievement in narrative writing in terms of content, vocabulary, and grammar. Eight Year 6 pupils were purposely selected as participants. Data was collected using focus group interviews, observation, and tests. Data were analysed using thematic analysis and document analysis. Findings show that learning narrative writing using Edublogs significantly improved the pupils’ ability to generate better content and improved the pupils’ vocabulary development and retention. However, the pupils were found to show no significant improvement in terms of grammar. The findings implicate that Edublogs can help in providing a meaningful T&L of language in the 21st century learning environment. It is suggested that future similar research using other digital applications and tools to be done with other language skills namely, reading, speaking, or listening. In addition, a longer duration of the similar study could also be considered in order to allow the natural course of learning to take place for grammar competence. Keywords: primary school, narrative writing, Edublogs, blogging, English as a second language ABSTRAK Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia 2013-2025 bermatlamat untuk mengoptimumkan penggunaan Teknologi Maklumat dan Komunikasi (ICT) dalam mengayakan pengajaran dan pembelajaran (PdP).
    [Show full text]
  • Teaching and Learning (2009) 5(1), 1-12
    Teaching and Learning (2009) 5(1), 1-12 Engaging 21st Century Learners and Differentiating Instruction with Technology DR. CANDACE FIGG Brock University DR. KAMINI JAIPAL Brock University Abstract Engagement is the key to student learning. Using activities that are relevant and differentiated for 21st century students includes using activities that incorporate technology tools that are a part of their everyday digital lives. The integration of digital technologies into teaching practices requires teachers to acquire new strategies and activities for differentiating instruction for 21st century learners. This paper highlights how technology can be used for differentiated instruction, and describes six specific technologically-enhanced activities that are appropriate authentic uses of technology for differentiating instruction. Introduction The integration of digital technologies into teaching practices provides teachers with new strategies and activities for differentiating instruction for 21st century learners. Prensky (2005) describes 21st century learners as having an easy familiarity with: new systems for communicating (instant messaging), sharing (blogs), buying and selling (eBay), exchanging (peer-to-peer technology), creating (Flash), meeting (3D worlds), collecting (downloads), coordinating (wikis), evaluating (reputation systems), searching (Google analyzing [SETI]), reporting (camera phones), programming (modeling), socializing (chat rooms), and even learning (Web surfing) (p. 10). Having this skill set, these learners find instruction
    [Show full text]
  • Weblogs and Writing Instruction in the High School Classroom Marilyn V
    Nova Southeastern University NSUWorks CEC Theses and Dissertations College of Engineering and Computing 2007 Painting the Voice: Weblogs and Writing Instruction in the High School Classroom Marilyn V. Olander Nova Southeastern University, [email protected] This document is a product of extensive research conducted at the Nova Southeastern University College of Engineering and Computing. For more information on research and degree programs at the NSU College of Engineering and Computing, please click here. Follow this and additional works at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/gscis_etd Part of the Computer Sciences Commons Share Feedback About This Item NSUWorks Citation Marilyn V. Olander. 2007. Painting the Voice: Weblogs and Writing Instruction in the High School Classroom. Doctoral dissertation. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, Graduate School of Computer and Information Sciences. (757) https://nsuworks.nova.edu/gscis_etd/757. This Dissertation is brought to you by the College of Engineering and Computing at NSUWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in CEC Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of NSUWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Painting the Voice: Weblogs and Writing Instruction in the High School Classroom by Marilyn V. Olander A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Computing Technology in Education Graduate School of Computer and Information Sciences Nova Southeastern University 2007 We hereby certify that this dissertation, submitted by Marilyn V. Olander, conforms to acceptable standards and is fully adequate in scope and quality to fulfill the dissertation requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. _________________________________________ ____________________ Gertrude W.
    [Show full text]
  • Index of /Sites/Default/Al Direct/2010/December
    AL Direct, December 1, 2010 Contents American Libraries Online ALA News Booklist Online San Diego Update Division News Round Table News Awards Seen Online Tech Talk The e-newsletter of the American Library Association | December 1, 2010 Publishing Actions & Answers New This Week Calendar American Libraries Online Chicago Public Library funding holds steady for 2011 Despite the rampant budget deficits facing municipal and state government all over Illinois, the Chicago Public Library has been allocated a 2011 budget that calls for no reductions. Ruth Lednicer, CPL director of marketing, contacted American Libraries November 29 “to let you know how happy we are to report that the Chicago city council’s 2011 budget leaves Chicago Public Library’s funding with no change from 2010.”... American Libraries news, Nov. 30 Booking to the future Jamie E. Helgren writes: “In response to a hot-button issue in the library profession nationwide, the Library Research Service, a unit of the Colorado State Library, conducted a survey to check current library professionals’ predictions for the future of the paper book. It’s probably no surprise that respondents thought the trend would be toward electronic formats. But for a variety of reasons, paper books refuse to die a quiet death. Overall, almost two out of three (63%) respondents claimed that paper books would never disappear.”... American Libraries feature Chicago vies with Hawaii for Obama presidential library Competition appears to be growing between universities hoping to become the site of Barack Obama’s presidential library. A working group at the University of Hawaii’s main campus in Honolulu is considering whether or not the university should make a formal bid.
    [Show full text]
  • Social Aspects of Web 2.0 Technologies: Teaching Or Teachers' Challenges?
    Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences 15 (2011) 3768–3773 WCES 2011 Social aspects of web 2.0 technologies: teaching or teachers’ challenges? Elena Danciua, Gabriela Grosseckb * a,bUniversity of the West Timisoara, Faculty of Sociology and Psychology4 Bd Vasile Parvan, 300223 Timisoara, Romania Abstract University courses which examine the social aspects of Web 2.0 technologies should be available to all students enrolled either in socio-humanistic specializations or in computer science, management, engineering etc. Although there is a growing literature about the content and pedagogy of such courses in academia, there is little reference to content stressing the social impact of information technology and communications, and social media in particular, using teaching resources based on Web 2.0 technologies, tools, services and applications for collaboration, communication, information-sharing, on-line productivity, data organization, digital storytelling and other online social artifacts. This paper discusses some of the challenges which occur in the preparation and teaching courses about the social aspects of Web 2.0 and the ways to respond to them via pedagogical approaches that help students transform the social media universe in reflexive practice. © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Keywords: social media, social aspects, teaching-learning, Web 2.0, higher education 1. Introduction With the emergence / increased use of Web 2.0 tools, a large number of higher education institutions are embracing
    [Show full text]
  • Curriculum 21: Essential Education for a Changing World
    EDUCATION curriculum Essential Education 21 for a Changing World curriculum Essential Education What year are you preparing your students for? 1973? 1995? Can you honestly for a Changing World say that your school’s curriculum and the program you use are preparing 21 your students for 2015 or 2020? Are you even preparing them for today? With those provocative questions, author and educator Heidi Hayes Jacobs launches a powerful case for overhauling, updating, and injecting life into the K–12 curriculum. Sharing her expertise as a world-renowned curriculum designer and calling upon the collective wisdom of 10 education thought leaders, Jacobs Curriculum provides insight and inspiration in the following key areas: • Contentandassessment—How to identify what to keep, what to cut, and what to create, and where portfolios and other new kinds of assessment fit into the picture. • Program structures—How to improve our use of time and space and groupings of students and staff. • Technology —How it’s transforming teaching, and how to take advantage of students’ natural facility with technology. • Media literacy—The essential issues to address, and the best resources for 21 helping students become informed users of multiple forms of media. • Globalization —What steps to take to help students gain a global perspective. • Sustainability —How to instill enduring values and beliefs that will lead to healthier local, national, and global communities. • Habits ofmind—The thinking habits that students, teachers, and administrators need to develop and practice to succeed in school, work, and life. Jacobs Curriculum 21 is the ideal guide for transforming our schools into what they must become: learning organizations that match the times in which we live.
    [Show full text]
  • The Effectiveness of Using Edublogs As an Instructional and Motivating
    ARTICLE https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-00859-x OPEN The effectiveness of using edublogs as an instructional and motivating tool in the context of higher education ✉ José María Campillo-Ferrer 1 , Pedro Miralles-Martínez 1 & Raquel Sánchez-Ibáñez1 The aim of this research is to study the impact of blogs on improving self-reported motivation and learning in a higher education context. A quasi-experimental study was carried out in a 1234567890():,; social science core unit of the Primary Education degree at the University of Murcia, Spain. The study involved two groups of student teachers, with a total of 101 participants, who created their own blogs as a framework for exchanging their views and sharing their ideas on a variety of contemporary issues related to social science teaching. Data were collected through pre- and post-tests to measure whether the expected changes had occurred as a result of using this digital information platform. The results indicate that the use of blogs helped students to develop their digital literacy, to enhance their social and civic skills, and increase their self-perceived motivation. It is therefore worth updating the current commu- nication processes with regard to online learning with a view to promoting digital access to information and fostering a meaningful learning network through these web resources. 1 Faculty of Education, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain. ✉email: [email protected] HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES COMMUNICATIONS | (2021) 8:175 | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-00859-x 1 ARTICLE HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES COMMUNICATIONS | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-00859-x Introduction n recent decades, the potential of information and commu- outcomes (Poore, 2013).
    [Show full text]