some more 21st Century Education in NZ...

[For my ICT PD group...]

Here is an example in Wellington... At least, they seem to be heading in the right direction by integrating ICTs into their learning in a fluid and natural manner. It remains to be seen how they approach the context of their learning, but by being in partnership with Te Papa, it sounds like they too are trying to break down the barriers and get kids out of the classroom. I like the way they mentioned allowing kids to choose how they presented work and were using tools like Google Sketchup to model projects 3Dimensionally.
Notice they said computers, etc, are just tools that are part of their learning. They don't go off to "do ICT". The Internet is a normal and necessary part of their learning world and allows them to develop critical thinking and to become discerning "filterers" [my word] of information.
Today alone our learning was restricted by lack of access to Google tools [Google calendar to plan our week with M3 couldn't be done because we can't access gmail], Youtube [to support our research into Globalisation, deforestation, palm oil production and Orangutan extinction] is blocked, and of course, we still can't make posts on our blogs after three years of trying. Instead we went to the library where the kids discovered 25 yr old text books that had outdated information. Mind you, we were able to then compare and contrast, think critically, learn referencing techniques, etc. So libraries are still VERY important. And of course everyone loves Mrs Kneebone and her amazing wealth of knowledge and willingness to help people out by finding resources.
Anyway, here is the Wellington school that has taken the initiative:

21st-century-education at Brooklyn School in Wellington - in conjunction with Hewlett Packard and The Ministry of Education.