[Yr7-10it] VELS and IT

Fri Jun 16 17:25:35 EST 2006

Yes, although more an issue when a web site isnt compliant with W3
consortium standards.

Imagine the chaos if groups were left to their own devices to decide
on a suitable communication protocol such as TCP/IP or USB2, expensive
hex keys that only assembled some furniture, taps that turned
clockwise for a brand of water and anti-clockwise for others, web
browsers that .... :-)

Regards Roland

On 15/06/06, Mclean, Rachelle L <Mclean.Rachelle.L at edumail.vic.gov.au> wrote:
>
>
>
>
> Like, the SSMS site that handles applications for examiners that only will
> work with Internet Explorer.  What about those who haven't sold their souls
> to Microsoft?
>
>
>
> Rachelle McLean
>
>
>
>  ________________________________
>
>
> From: yr7-10it-bounces at edulists.com.au
> [mailto:yr7-10it-bounces at edulists.com.au] On Behalf Of
> Roland Gesthuizen
>  Sent: Monday, 12 June 2006 2:00 PM
>
>  To: Year 7 - 10 Information Technology Teachers' Mailing List
>  Subject: Re: [Yr7-10it] VELS and IT
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Last year, futurist Dr Damian Conway gave a good talk at a Monash Alumni
> breakfast about some of these technological changes and the convergence that
> is happening. The MP3 download of the one hour presentation is 28 Mb but
> worth listening to with a good summary by Bill here.
>
>  It is sad that many schools ignore these 'disruptive technologies', the
> benefits of Open Source software, the challenges of the Web2 or a
> "read-write" Internet, rejecting good ideas behind a small suite of
> shink-wrap software and corporate licences.  Whilst they are playing safe by
> firewalling themselves from the world outside the school, they could become
> irrelevant, sugar-coated centers of learning that are stuck in the
> technological dark ages.
>
>  It is hard to engage students and be an agent of change with your head
> firmly cemented in the sandpit.
>
>  Regards Roland
>
>
>
> On 12/06/06, Bill Kerr <billkerr at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> As well as the skills - taught through both conceptual understandings which
> hopefully will be developed at Paul's wiki and immersion (great discussion
> b/w Paul and Tony about this at Paul's wiki)
>  http://pdchandler.wikispaces.com/computing_concepts
>
>  I've been thinking that attitudes (perhaps stemming in part from beliefs)
> and environments are also v. important
>
>  Some users have the attitude of mastering the machine, of looking behind
> the screen, of exploring it more deeply. One tiny example, I've noticed how
> much more proficient those who learn and become fluent with keyboard
> shortcuts are over those who just rely on the mouse. (but of course there is
> far more to it than that)
>
>  Environment is so important IMO. Brian Harvey used to give his students the
> key to the computer lab. The trend increasingly on my patch is to lock
> everything down and to restrict options rather than expand them.
>
>  1. Censor-ware
>  2. MS Agreement is bad in a number of ways. The MS UI is dumbing down (eg.
> hide file extensions), also the agreement restricts the uptake of Open
> Source, which is far more compatible with an educational philosophy (sharing
> stuff)
>  3. Copyright Law (now out of date due to technological advances)
>  4. DRM (restrict ability to copy to prop up ageing business models)
>  5. Locally many schools are obsessed with security (perhaps for good
> reasons)
>
>  I call these things the instruments of torture, analogous to the
> instruments of torture shown to Galileo to restrict his freedom of thought.
>
>  Taken as a group: skills, attitudes, environment - how are we going in
> schools at the moment?
>
>  Not very well, I would suggest.
>
>
>
>  --
>  Bill Kerr
>  http://billkerr.blogspot.com/
>  http://beam.to/billkerr
>  skype: billkerr2006
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 6/11/06, Dr Paul Chandler < paul.chandler at yvg.vic.edu.au> wrote:
>
>
> In an earlier post, I suggested that what we need, first of all, some
> vigorous discussion, some postulates, of what are some conceptual
> understandings which 'really matter' - those that 'the better' computer
> users have that 'the strugglers' don't yet have.
>
>  In this context, Tony Forster observed:
>
>  > Imagine that its 1986, you are learning Wordstar on DOS or CPM. With the
>  > wisdom of hindsight, what are the generalised, higher order skills which
>  > will  still be useful in 2006? More importantly, how would you have
>  > recognised them back in 1986? If you can answer that, then you are on the
>  > way to knowing what is important to teach now.
>
>  Thanks, Tony.  Interesting stuff to think about ... my thoughts for the
> moment ...
>
>  Not everyone on the list will be able to date themselves back to Wordstar
> in 1986 (I can only just do so).  The things that were true then which seem
> to be true now are:
>  - the document and program you are working in, exists within an 'external
> context' (hardware, operating system and filing system).  So that, if you
> turn off your computer before saving your work, it's gone; if you type long
> enough, you'll make a document too big for the computer to handle, and
> you'll probably lose it; if you don't have your printer turned on and
> plugged in, printing will be either lost or be in jibberish; etc etc
>  - if you select chunks of text they can be manipulated in various ways;
> these 'various ways' include its location in the document and format
>
>  Anymore contributions, anyone?
>
>
> Now, I'm not sure that we need to back-track into history all the time to
> identify 'key concepts', but sometimes it might sharpen our thinking.  For
> instance, in the early days of the Macintosh, the word processor MacWrite
> had a concept of 'inserting a ruler' and certain formatting applied from
> that ruler until the next ruler encountered.  MS Word (and possibly
> wordperfect before it) gave us the idea of a paragraph as a 'grouping' of
> certain formatting options.  The fact that the MacWrite idea has largely
> gone by the board does not change the fact that 'the ruler' was a vital
> concept for those who were using it at that the time.  I don't think the
> 'important concepts' have to have extreme longevity, but they need to be
> applicable t! o how we are worki! ng now.
>
>
>
>
>
>  -----Original Message-----
>  From: yr7-10it-bounces at edulists.com.au on behalf of Tony
> Forster
>  Sent: Sat 6/10/2006 11:09 PM
>  To: Year 7 - 10 Information Technology Teachers' Mailing List
>  Subject: Re: [Yr7-10it] VELS and IT
>
>  > I'm teaching "about IT", I find it _really_ hard to move beyond
> knowledge.
>  > To do things such as summarize, describe, interpret, apply, demonstrate,
>  > calculate, analyze, separate, order, explain, connect, classify, combine,
>  > integrate, modify, rearrange, substitute, assess, decide, rank, grade,
>  > test,
>  > measure, or recommend ... All the "higher order" skills is just so hard.
>  > I'd suggest that this is because we are too bothered with ensuring that
>  > the
>  > students have "the skills" rather than "the concepts".  If we were
>  > orientated towards "concepts", then then higher order stuff would come
>  > easier.
>
>  Imagine that its 1986, you are learning Wordstar on DOS or CPM. With the
>  wisdom of hindsight, what are the generalised, higher order skills which
>  will  still be useful in 2006? More importantly, how would you have
>  recognised them back in 1986? If you can answer that, then you are on the
>  way to knowing what is important to teach now.
>
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>  --
>  Roland Gesthuizen - ICT Coordinator - Westall Secondary College
>  http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au
>
>  "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
> change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret
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-- 
Roland Gesthuizen - ICT Coordinator - Westall Secondary College
http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has."
--Margaret Mead