This link from Edudemic provides an interesting infographic on some of the key advancements in the 21st century classroom. Some of the key facts include:
91% of teachers have computers in the classroom
Just 20% think they have the right level of technology in the classroom
29% of teachers use social networks...80% of college professors do.
What are your thoughts on the graphic? Are there any other facts that you want to point out?
PARENTAL occupation and education levels have less influence on whether students finish year 12 than factors such as being suspended, repeating a grade or risky behaviour, a new study has found.
While previous research has identified a strong link between students completing year 12 and measures of their parents' education or occupational status, a report from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research, released today, found that the main predictors of year 12 completion were factors such as poor school experiences, low aspirations, smoking and consumption of alcohol.
This presentation is by Steve Wheeler, who gave the keynote at the e-learning 2.0 conference at Brunel University in West London. It contains a number of facts and raises a number of issues which may be useful in ICT discussions in schools.
Students struggle to evaluate credibility on the net A study of students’ ability to evaluate digital texts has revealed that teenagers find it particularly difficult to determine the credibility and trustworthiness of material on the internet. ACER Senior Research Fellow Tom Lumley and ACER Research Director Juliette Mendelovits report on research investigating how well young people deal with information online.
The study found that 15-year olds were more capable at identifying contradictory information during online reading, than when critically evaluating digital texts for credibility and trustworthiness which was relatively challenging for students. So-called ‘digital natives’ need to be taught how to make evaluations and be given criteria for helping them do so.
There has been some discussion in UK papers throughout the past week about the value of reading for pleasure in a child's education. The discussion came about as a result of a survey of 400 teachers conducted by Pearson.
Children with short attention spans 'failing to read books' By Graeme Paton, Education Editor 20 Jun 2012
Growing numbers of children are being turned off books by the end of primary school because of the influence of the internet and lack of reading in the home, according to research.
More than four-in-10 teachers said children failed to read for pleasure at the age of 11, it emerged.
The study – by the publisher Pearson – found that many schools fear children have short attention spans and prefer to spend time online rather than reading a novel.
Koori students lag in national tests Jewel Topsfield June 27, 2012
UP TO 20 per cent of Koori students fail national literacy and numeracy tests even though Victoria does not have remote, disadvantaged indigenous communities like other states.
A report says Victoria is an ''outlier'' in showing almost no improvement in NAPLAN failure rates, despite federal targets to halve the gap in reading, writing and numeracy between indigenous and non-indigenous students by 2018.
Only Queensland and Western Australia are making significant progress towards meeting the target, with the number of indigenous students failing NAPLAN tests increasing in all other states.
This Radio National program raises issues about indigenous literacy. Jeanie Adams of Black Ink Press in Townsville, Northern Queensland, talks about some of the reasons for low literacy among many indigenous Australians. One of her key arguments is that indigenous youth/students are not well represented in fiction novels, therefore are unlikely to engage in reading. The link to the program is here.
New census figures show that closing the education gap is still a long way off for Indigenous Australians. By Nicholas Biddle, Australian National University AUSTRALIA BY NUMBERS: Today, the Australian Bureau of Statistics will release the first batch of its 2011 census data. We’ve asked some of the country’s top demographers and statisticians to crunch the numbers on Australia’s population: how we live, where we work, who our families are and how we spend our time. Here, economist and demographer Nicholas Biddle looks at Australia’s Indigenous population as it stands in 2011, and how far from “Closing the Gap” we really are.
The 1990s was supposed to be the “reconciliation decade”. Despite 250,000-300,000 Australians walking across the Harbour Bridge twelve years ago, it is clear that many of the aims of the movement have not been met.
Smartest students are giving up in boredom By: CHIP LE GRAND From: The Australian June 21, 2012
GIFTED and talented students are frustrated, disengaged and failed by an education system that offers an inadequate and ad hoc approach to teaching the smartest kids, a Victorian parliamentary inquiry has found. A year-long examination of how gifted students are taught in kindergarten, primary and secondary schools identified shortcomings in how they are identified, the absence of any statewide, systematic approach and an imbalance in the resources and programs offered between schools and particularly in regional areas.
"This report demonstrates that failure to provide appropriately for gifted students in the school environment can have severe and devastating consequences," it warns. "Understimulated gifted students may be bored and frustrated at school. They may exhibit behavioural problems or even disengage from education entirely. A concerning number of gifted students dumb themselves down to fit in at school, while those who don't may experience social isolation or even bullying."
