Educon 2.0

I like the sound of their principles for 21st Century Education...

The Axioms

Guiding Principles of EduCon 2.0:
1) Our schools must be inquiry-driven, thoughtful and empowering for all members
2) Our schools must be about co-creating -- together with our students -- the 21st Century Citizen
3) Technology must serve pedagogy, not the other way around.
4) Technology must enable students to research, create, communicate and collaborate
5) Learning can -- and must -- be networked.

Globalisation and Peace

Hey kids - how important do you think world peace is for Globalisation?
I just read this morning that US soldiers and Apache attack helicopters just wasted some supposedly civilian buildings in Syria - no doubt the military knew more about the intended purpose of those buildings as potential points of operation for some potential terrorist activities [or something like that].
This raises my tricky question: Is violence and small scale military activity justifiable in order to help contain greater threats ? Or is that just an excuse for certain countries to do what they need to do to protect their own interests and keep themselves at the top of the pile? [- think about America's outrageous attack on Iraq against United Nations advice...]
The reason I find this interesting is because I once went an international relations lecture by Doctor Lou Fretz at the University of Waikato. I found it incredibly interesting to hear about the history of military intervention in different countries in order to maintain overall peace. There is a concept known as "The Balance of Power" which is worth trying to understand.
The threat of nuclear war was a very real fear that hung over us as people growing up in the 70's and 80's. Some claimed that that very real threat meant peace was assured as no one would dare to risk war with nuclear weapons. Globalisation was well and truly underway then. It is firmly entrenched now and means the world needs to develop new ways of interacting.
What are our moral reponsibilities in a globalised world? First we need to try to understand how the world works. That isn't easy and it also depends on who you ask. Hence I try to help you to become independent, self-reliant, critical-thinking, open-minded, curious people who are keen to learn.
Here is a peace for kids site that may have interesting stuff in it.
Tell me what you think about peace.
How about fair trade?
Have you considered your moral responsibility in terms of your "carbon footprint"? [calculate yours here]
What else is relevant to this discussion?

PE at the "Wonderschool"

Kerli made a comment about more PE but of a specific kind - she hasn't elaborated yet but will hopefully do so here. Please add your two cents worth....

My fave PE thing this year has been teaching scrummaging, rucking, mauling, passing and kicking for rugby. Cece was my most inspirational learner cos she was right into the rough stuff due to her dad having been a prop once upon a time.  Very cool. 

At my new school PE would be based around achieving the skills and fitness levels necessary to achieve cool goals like walking a gnarly tramping track, or sailing, kayaking, fishing, tenting, fire making, etc to be able to manage ones own needs on a long distance over night trip somewhere. Bush survival skills. Navigating. Trying something different like a range of martial arts. Snorkelling and then SCUBA diving when old enough. Building things. Making and racing fast things.  Entering a school team in something with tournaments far afield.   

Quidditch? [i guess that's stretching it, as i really am serious about the other stuff]

   

Enjoy your Camp

:-)
I hope you all have a really cool time on camp.
Please don't break yourselves or annoy your adults.
Remember you are representing Peachgrove.
Be positive, try new things and push yourself out of your usual comfort zone.
Come back to Room5 safe and sound after next week with loads of stories to tell.
:-)

This post is only for people who want to be involved with the new school thing...

okay?

and what do you imagine?


[p.s. you can't be wrong]

Twitter question

post your questions here and Room5ians may answer them.

or not. it's an experiment really...

what would you really like to find out about ???

"FindOut RedOUbt"

From Twitter:

mrw00dy i find asking questions is a good way to find things out - let's try an experiment... http://peachgroveroom5.blog... less than 5 seconds ago from web

can we hold back the future? Actually it's already here [for teachers]

Are you a visionary, an early adopter, a blocker, or something in between?
What are your fears/hopes/dreams? Do you have ideas on how to move forward with the meaningful integration of ICT into learning so we can engage our students in their world, with their future in mind?
Please feel free to share here, and don't be afraid of the fact that my students will be reading this - it affects them too, so they may as well be part of the debate. It's their learning afterall...even if they don't always get it [- do you Room5ians!!!] ;-)
I have been inspired by "Tonitones" [eFellow of Twitter fame and insightful blogger] to work towards a positive goal, rather than being held back and disheartened.
Hold on to your passion. Find solutions. Be positive. Set some achieveable goals and work towards. Share and celebrate your achievements - don't be shy. Take a risk - you may inspire someone else.
It's a pretty cool challenge actually - almost like being a learning activist - LoL :-)
Hooray for Tonitones!!! A young woman with much wisdom.

[- get the feeling I'm talking to myself here? C'est la blog vie ;-) ]