Jazzperous™

26 · 10

Teachers are educating the future but still not leading into the future

One could describe a teacher as a leader and mentor. A teacher is someone who has knowledge and a wish (hopefully) to share it. I am one of them and I am proud of being one of them. Especially after this evening's TeachMeet conference in Stockholm where 60 or so teachers met up to discuss e-learning and technology in education. A number of great presentations and speeches were held and I left the conference half an hour before the end, quite satisfied and inspired. It is strengthening to spend some time among like-minded, people who believes in technology as a great teaching tool and aid. This is the way it should be.

I am asking myself though if this wish to work more with IT and technology can be applied to a certain kind of teachers. Earlier today I listened to a couple of presentations organized by Dreamhack and the audience were all men, mostly young men like myself. The teachers attending the conference were mostly men as well, which is quite interesting since teaching by tradition is a women's profession. Does this mean we could narrow it all down and state that teachers who want to use technology and IT in the classroom are mostly men? Well, the majority are men but there are also quite few female teachers who are or want to us IT more than they do at the moment, which is great. Also, it seems to be a question of generations. Younger teacher are much more familiarized with technology and obviously more eager to use it compared to older generations.

However, I sense there is a problem in the Swedish schools today and it's not about generations or gender - it's about seeing the value and possibilities and for doing that, it doesn't matter what teacher you are. It would help, though, if you are not afraid of trying new things and willing to spend some time to learn. Apart from that it only takes a bit of effort and a positive attitude, but unfortunately this is where it all fails. Most teachers I have met aren't willing to sacrifice this extra time and energy they think (sic!) they need in order to start teaching with the help of technology and this is by all means sad. To me it's unbelievable that a school that educates people for the future simply lacks the motivation to also be the future and lead the way into the future. In a way teachers today are using the same old methods and pedagogy that was used hundreds of years ago and from what I have come to understand, it is not working as well as it should. Our unwillingness to find and use alternative ways of teaching affects our students negatively - we can't teach students born in the 20th and 21st century while the school and educational system haven't developed their activities since the 19th century!

Ultimately teachers are educating those who will inherit and govern the world in only a few years time. Today technology is such a great part of our daily lives that it can't be ignored forever. Students need to turn elsewhere in order to learn more about these things since school ever so often fail to provide them with the right knowledge. This is not the way to do it and it should be the other way round. Our job is to educate and prepare for a life in the future and we should do whatever we can do also join our students into the future, and also lead the way. In order to succeed doing this we all need to read up, exploring, using, discovering and educate ourselves. It's each and every school's obligation to see that it happens.

It's time to move on. The time of chalkboards are over. Way over.

((tag: Teaching, Education, Technology))

25 · 10

Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers

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via scribd.com

A great guide and list of great tools for all working with education to use in classrooms, with students or for self-management.

E-learning Teaching Web 2.0 Webapps

25 · 10

Start your web 2.0 life - a guide for the noob teacher

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I ran into a wonderful website this morning when doing my daily Interweb hoovering for new e-learning apps. It is basically a web based course for teachers who want to learn more about web 2.0 and social media. Follow the steps, register at the major web 2.0 services and learn more on how to use them. While it is said to be for teachers specifically I would recommend this for everyone who wants to be a part of or learn more about what's hot on the Internet scene at the moment. If you are new to this, follow each step, if you already know your way around these services, double check in case you have missed one.

Check it out at: http://www.artjunction.org/workout.php

E-learning Teaching Web 2.0 Webapps

19 · 10

Chinese should be taught in schools: education minister - The Local

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Chinese should be taught in schools: education minister

Published: 17 Oct 09 09:44 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/22714/20091017/

Dictionary tool Double click on a word to get a translation

A review of language learning in schools is required to meet the demands of the global market climate says Sweden’s education minister Jan Björklund who is advocating Chinese lessons for college students.

Sweden set for stricter teacher credentials (24 Sep 09)

Government reported for English email use (29 Jul 09)

Swedish becomes official 'main language' (1 Jul 09)

Liberal Party leader Björklund adds that children in Sweden should start learning English at a earlier age, in the first grade rather than the third or fourth grade as it is today.
Speaking to Sveriges Radio news, he proposes a language learning reform to be introduced in the next election period and points towards bringing Chinese into the classroom.
“Economic relations with this huge country are going to become more and more important,” he said. “I think it would be advantageous if we have a number of young people who learned Chinese.”
A lack of Chinese teachers means it could take up to 15 years before the language is as widespread as French, German and Spanish in the education system.
The proposal has yet to be approved by parties in the coalition government but Björklund does not foresee any opposition on the matter.

TT/The Local (news@thelocal.se/08 656 6518)

via thelocal.se

I am no fan of our education minister, Jan Björklund. In fact I would if I had the chance, put my right foot in his hairy little ass... But, the idea of making Chinese available to all college students is actually an interesting idea. I like it.

Education News Teaching

23 · 09

Teaching newcommers

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Today I have been visiting our class where newly arrived children go to. These kids have been in Sweden between less than two weeks to six months. Many of them have never been to a school and some are analphabetics. The work the teachers do here is heroic in every way and I am so impressed. I was extremely moved by two paintings a girl made. The first one she painted during her first days in Sweden and the second one just recently. The first one shows a little, sad girl without meaning, hope or future while the second one...well, you can see for yourself below.

This day made me realize a lot about my job and the meaning of my work. And perhaps at some point, the meaning of my existence. To help others. Perhaps that's why I am here - not for myself, but for others. This ought to be a meaning better than any other meanings.

Click here to download:

Teaching_newcommers.zip (59 KB)

Education Teaching

22 · 09

Do we actually need schools anymore concidering the technology and Internet?

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On the train home this afternoon I read a very interesting interview with a famous Swedish blogger and entrepreneur who said that he believed that schools, as they are today, aren't needed. They are a relic from the 19th century and have outplayed themselves when not showing a lot of interest in development and "go with the flow" spirit. I have to agree in a way.

Schools today are basically buildings where we house kids during the days. The reason for having them there has gone from being an educational one to being a day-care institution. While the parents are thinking about their careers and working hard to reach that goal of material happiness, the kids are being watched over by professional teachers. I am close to calling this a total waste of resources and money. There must be better ways to teach and educate the future. In Australia families who live in the middle of nowhere, far from civilization, have had their kids taught by teachers using radio communication. This has been going on longer than the Internet has existed and if we would ask these kids, they will probably say that they had an education as good as any. Perhaps better than the more common school education.

There are schools still practising this but using the Internet. The old radio has been removed and instead they are using VoIP, webcams and chats. There are also many services out there that would make a full Internet based school work as good as, or even better, than the traditional school education. However, I can see many problems and issues and perhaps the most important one is the aspect of social activities. In our curriculum it says loud and clear that we are to teach our students the importance of democracy, moral and ethics and I do think this will be hard to do without social real life meetings. We are also to teach our kids how to be role models by being role models ourselves and I cannot see this working good enough if we only were to see each other via webcam. The social aspect and the eye-to-eye contact teachers and students have, bring more to education and socialization than we might think and are important in our educational system.

However, it is not said that we should leave the idea behind. The Internet is a beautiful instrument and tool for educators all over the world and we should really use it more than we do today. Conservatism has no place in a modern school in a world where our young ones are growing up with technology in a new and different way. School should be about a continuous development and should do what ever it can in order to keep up with the rest of the world. We need to be out there, play on the same court as our students, not forcing them into a 19th century school where teachers still don't know how to turn on a computer.

To put it simple, we need to get our head out of our arses and get the frak on with it!

((tags: E-learning, Education, Teaching, School))

E-learning Educaiton School Teaching

11 · 09

Deep religion discussion with 14 year olds

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What was ment to be a lesson in Swedish for foreigners developed into a 30 minutes discussion about religion. Three muslims, two catholics and I, who concider myself to be more or less without a religion. I was really impressed by these kids who despite their different religions managed to keep the discussion mature. When I told them that I don't have a religion they had hard time grasping what I said. Everyone must believe in something, they said, if not our lives would be without meaning.

I have been thinking about this the entire day. A life without a meaning. Why would that be so bad? Does everything has to have a meaning? Why? When I think about my own life, I get kind of frustrated even thinking that my life would have a meaning and to be honest, I am not sure my life has one. Except from living it, really. Or putting up with it, if you wish. They couldn't understand when I said "I don't really care if I go to hell or heaven, it's not important to me". I was honest. I don't care. I believe I am more likely to turn into ash when I die since I want to be cremated. I believe in destiny and the only one who might have a chance to have any effect on that, is me. I can't see myself leaving that responsibility to someone/something else. Hence, I don't do it.

Religion Teaching Work

Teachers are educating the future but still not leading into the future

Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers

Start your web 2.0 life - a guide for the noob teacher

Chinese should be taught in schools: education minister - The Local

Chinese should be taught in schools: education minister

Teaching newcommers

Do we actually need schools anymore concidering the technology and Internet?

Deep religion discussion with 14 year olds

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