[Year 12 IT Apps] Edutainment

[Meadows, Roslyn M]

Hi all,

You all put forward interesting and valid arguments - but it is a little
like the mac vs win vs linux argument - everyone has their
beliefs/ideals and few are willing to change!!!

My daughter just said to me - "I am coming to your school for the day on
Tues to play Frisbee" mmm ....  where is the educational value in that I
wonder?

Teamwork, participation, a little bit of physical exercise, catching up
with or make friends from other schools (socialisation?) and dare I say
a chance to have some FUN?? At SCHOOL???

I don't see why a gaming tournament between schools would be of any less
value than a Frisbee tournament - and could possibly nurture some
participation from kids who would perhaps not have a chance to
participate in other school events (eg I teach some asperger's kids who
are fantastic at IT and games, but would never participate in sport,
debating, drama, music or anything else)

Food for thought!!

Cheers
Ros

Roslyn Meadows
Bentleigh Secondary College
9579 1044
0412 614 062	

-----Original Message-----
From: itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au
[mailto:itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au] On Behalf Of Timmer-Arends
Sent: Friday, 10 August 2007 4:56 PM
To: Year 12 IT Applications Teachers' Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Year 12 IT Apps] Edutainment

I don't know that Stephen is arguing some of the things you attribute to
him 
but I'm sure he can defend himself. There is one point, however, that I 
can't let go.

DD>...Surely our main aim is to assist the
> students to adapt to the real world that "they" live in.

If helping students adapt to the real world was all we were trying to do

then we would not have to have schools. Children readily adapt to to
most 
environments without the need for school.

DD>...We have
> evolved to learn by doing, mimicking and acting out.

...and that's the problem. It is exactly the reason school needs to be a

'better place' (I know that's massively value-laden but let's ignore it
for 
now!) than what parts of society present to our students. And if we
allow 
too much of the dross that's part of society into our schools, we will 
legitimate it. In this respect the Internet represents a great magnifier
of 
all aspects of society - the good, the bad and the ugly. Surely there is

enough of the bad and the ugly out there in the 'real world' without 
unnecessarily bringing it into school.

Regards
Robert T-A
Brighton SC 

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