A desire to share the theory behind Montessori schooling with fellow teachers and to promote the unique education method is what drove Steven Arnold to undertake postgraduate study. Since January, Arnold has been juggling a PhD at the University of ...
More »Getting out and about
Year 9 can be a tough time. Teenage hormones have kicked in, interest in school can diminish with a growing social life and academic achievement suffers. To help Year 9 students stay focused, Toorak College, an independent school on the ...
More »Middle of the road
This year, the newly constructed Darwin Middle School is welcoming its very first intake into Year 9, with Years 7 and 8 students having begun at the school in 2008. On a state-of-the-art, purpose-built campus, students are taught by dedicated ...
More »Learning at the chalkface
For some time there has been concern about the quality of teacher education courses,” says Professor Louise Watson of the University of Canberra. “Most of the recent reviews on the subject have suggested that university education departments are out of ...
More »Pathways, policy and ICTs
I recently came across an extraordinary finding – there already exists a cross-sectoral committee that includes the schools, VET and higher education sectors, and its purpose is to provide advice to Australian education and training ministers on the effective utilisation ...
More »Web of intrigue
He has been working to develop the literacies, core skills and strategies needed to deal with the internet, network media and network communications. Wall-Smith and his colleagues have been exploring how web 2.0 tools can be harnessed by educators. “At ...
More »Put to the test
Within the first few days of being issued with governmentsponsored laptops, NSW schoolchildren were muttering darkly about the fact that while lessons would be online, their exams would not. University students meanwhile report of having to visit physiotherapists after the ...
More »Embrace the revolution
Traditional approaches to teaching practice remain largely unchanged, with a new report claiming just a third of teachers use technology effectively in their teaching practice. ‘Teacher professional learning: planning for change’ from education.au, the government body that promotes IT use ...
More »Technologies to watch out for
Since 2002, a US group called the New Media Consortium has published its predictions for the most significant emerging technologies likely to have an impact on teaching, learning or creative inquiry. Called the Horizon Reports, this fascinating publication identifies the ...
More »Real experience in an unreal world
Alert to the opportunities offered by virtual environments, education has been one of the fastest sectors to embrace the concept, with hundreds of universities and schools either setting up their own islands in Second Life, or delivering course content in ...
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