Friday, March 28, 2008
March 08 News In Brief
Our monthly summary of news items and links related to personalisation.
Children’s love of reading is on the increase
The NFER have been conducting a survey of attitudes to reading among 9-11 year olds every three years since 1998 and the results of the 2007 survey have just been published. Click here to find out more.
Take the classroom out of teaching
With all secondary schools in England and Wales receiving at least some attention to their design and building structure as part of the BSF or Primary Capital programme people are beginning to radically re-think how our schools should operate. Anyone who has seen one of the flagship new schools will see open, often unstructured spaces which facilitate a range of teaching and learning styles and settings. ‘Teaching outside the classroom’ is a new website collaboration between the Arts Council, Futurelab and the DCSF which puts trainee teachers in touch with very detailed guidance on how to evaluate the placements.
World’s first cyber university
Many Universities provide supportive and supplementary materials online including pod-casts of seminars and lectures and online discussion but they are usually supporting or supported by face to face or correspondence courses. The newly opened Cyber University in Japan is unique because the university only exists online; all classes are only available online. It is approved by the government to grant Bachelors Degrees and has attracted over 1,000 students. The Cyber University downloads lectures either to pc s or mobile phones. Visit its website here.
England is a low spender on primary education.
Four reports have been published by the Primary Review team evaluating evidence on funding, governance and inspection patterns in English education reform of the last twenty years. Read the latest primary review publications here.
Byron Review on Children and New Technology published.
In September 2007, the government commissioned Dr Tanya Byron to conduct a review of the use of new technology by children in the UK. After a substantial literature review, consultations and a call for evidence from adults and children, her final report was published yesterday.
The report divides into the use and safety of the internet and the use of digital technology games. The report calls for a new, robust, consistent and clear classification system for Games combined with an education campaign directed at parents to understand the exact nature of the games and their content. Evidence from the report indicates that many parents view the games as "toys" and are therefore more willing to allow their children to use them when they may be recommended for an older age group, when they would not allow their children to view a film of the same age classification.
In terms of safe use of the internet, the report argues for a UK National Council on Child Internet Safety to be set up to organise and monitor both the regulation and the support and advice services provided by the government.
The report embraces the presence and value of the new technologies in the lives and lifestyles of young people, with a clear focus on how to equip children and adults with the skills to enjoy the benefits and manage the risks.
"We need to consider what does the child bring to the technology as much as what does the technology bring to the child" Dr Tanya Byron, 27th March,2008
There is a separate report for children, which is very useful for schools in reviewing their own advice and practice. Click here to read both reports.