Beginning the study of Modern History at the University of Sydney, years ago, I was abruptly made aware of the radical difference between what was then taught in NSW secondary schools as history, and the reality of contemporary historical scholarship. School history, in those days, was taught from the text book. Any sense of differences … Continue reading Digital archives transforming the study of history
Tag: DER
Swimming with Maslow in the digiverse
Whenever I start to think about the digiverse I'm drawn to the analogy of water and swimming. Learning to swim is something children will do naturally, particularly if the element of fear is reduced or eliminated. Some believe that children should learn to swim while still infants. Certainly, in utero they had an affinity with … Continue reading Swimming with Maslow in the digiverse
Sydney Urban Growth and Decline 2011: Student observations updated
Last November I published the first of these wordles, by way of summarising the language used by my students who had written reports on a field study project conducted earlier in the year. My students completed a field study around the Sydney Harbour foreshore from Darling Harbour to Circular Quay. This was part of a … Continue reading Sydney Urban Growth and Decline 2011: Student observations updated
Reflecting on #Pedagogical Implications of Technology and the #Digiverse
Imagining the future in the 1960s Back when I completed my Diploma in Education our lecturers invited us to think about the knowledge and skill sets embedded in current curricula. We were asked to reflect on just how appropriate they might be for the schools that we were about to enter and the children who … Continue reading Reflecting on #Pedagogical Implications of Technology and the #Digiverse
A small digital initiative in teaching School Certificate Geography
In the hurly burly of media driven assessment of education these days, the general public is often deprived of basic information about some of the success stories in Australian schools. My own state, NSW, in particular has a rigorous and contemporary approach to teaching and learning, combining the best of traditional and contemporary strategies. One … Continue reading A small digital initiative in teaching School Certificate Geography
Gathering Images of #Urban zones in #Sydney for a #DERNSW Project
Preparing learning materials frequently involves issues of copyright particularly if the plan is to make them available beyond the classroom. In my experience most copyright holders, unless they're specifically trying to make a dollar out of education, are only too obliging when it comes to allowing use of their materials. Recently I was puzzling over … Continue reading Gathering Images of #Urban zones in #Sydney for a #DERNSW Project
Student reactions to DER
Writing a small piece for the school newsletter about the progress of the DER roll-out and the use of laptops amongst students, led me to the conclusion that in many respects the results speak for themselves. The levels of student engagement are very high. Students have readily taken to programs like OneNote particularly where they've … Continue reading Student reactions to DER
Surfing the DER Laptop Roll Out
Tomorrow we’ll take a delivery of the Lenovo IdeaPad S10e at my school. Stage 1 of the fast wireless network is in place. More optical fibre is currently going in so that we're ready for stage 2 of the roll out when the entire school will be awash with access. What follows immediately is the … Continue reading Surfing the DER Laptop Roll Out
Russell Darnley Blog 