erikdr wrote:
Sorry to hear that, apparently due to your experiences with SES, you've become kind of anti-religious or anti-spiritual.
Heh heh, yeah, too bloody right pal. Couldn't have put it better myself.
afitz wrote:
They have some very good approaches that go against the flow (I speak as a qualified teacher myself) at Junior level - i.e. not teaching or using ICT and waiting until secondary level. The over-reliance on ICT clearly affects students creativity and laziness in research
Sorry, but I take serious issue with that point. I'm sorry but this is just plain wrong, and a sentiment I have heard from St James staff. Why ignore such a valuable resource? Especially at a time when our economy is becoming knowledge-based? I am lucky enough to work in the eLearning industry and am daily excited by the new horizons this technology is opening up. There aren't many high profile resources on the subject, although I'd recommend The Design Of Children's Technology, and Robots for Kids- Exploring New Technologies for Learning, both by Alison Druin, to anyone interested in investigating the subject on a deeper level. A cursory flip through either should make you realise how technology in education can be exciting, fun, and when done properly has the potential to excite and inspire the thinkers and inventors of the future.
Of course, like anything, it has to be done properly. A lot of material produced for schoolkids is cheaply done, to cash in on the eLearning boom, but as with all learning materials it is the educator's responsibility to seek out that which is quality, fun and inspiring. A bit sausage-factory at times, but I'd urge anyone involved in a kid's education to check out Spark Island... http://www.sparkisland.com/
I can't promise you'll find any modules on Meditation, Mozart, Sanskrit or Vedic Maths, but it might open your eyes to where eLearning for kids is going...
You say that using technology to support learning has a negative affect on students' creativity - could you provide evidence to back up this sweeping geralisation?
(you'll discover quite the opposite if you care to seek out the 2 books I mentioned)