Educational Discourse

Chris Lehmann has asked that those of us on Twitter post about the upcoming Educon 2.0 conference.

For complete information see the Educon 2.o wiki. Cliotech also has a very thorough blog post on the conference.

Here is the vital information:

Educon 2.0 — January 25-27, 2008

Science Leadership Academy

Philadelphia, PA

EduCon 2.0 is both a conversation and a conference.

And it is not a technology conference. It is an education conference. It is a School 2.0 conference. It is, hopefully, an innovation conference where we want to come together, both in person and virtually, to discuss the future of schools. We are looking for people to present ideas, facilitate conversations, and share best practice.

The Axioms / Guiding Principles of EduCon 2.0:

1) Our schools must be inquiry-driven, thoughtful and empowering for all members.
2) Our schools must be about co-creating — together with our students — the 21st Century Citizen
3) Technology must serve pedagogy, not the other way around.
4) Technology must enable students to research, create, communicate and collaborate
5) Learning can — and must — be networked.

Cost: $50 ($80 after January 16th) — Payable to the Science Leadership Academy

Register TODAY At http://educon20.eventbrite.com

Now, I’d be willing to say that this will be a top notch conference. Chris is one of the great web2.0 voices and is very informed about the importance of sound teaching surrounding the use of any tools.

A few days ago I posted about the whole “walled garden” idea and how not being allowed to access any number of sites is very frustrating for both learners and teachers. Durff over at Durff’s blog picked this up and continued the conversation. I’d like to further add to her point that

Learners’ today have expensive phones and/or iPods with them 24/7. They can connect to the internet instantly outside of the school’s control. They can listen to podcasts of whatever they downloaded outside of the school’s control.
Tightening control is not going to work. The IT departments have already lost control. So where do we go from here?

The whole idea that somehow we will be able to continue to limit what students have access to is unrealistic. In fact, we may soon be unable with such things as linking through plugins and other such actions. What we really need to focus upon is not how do we keep them from accessing particular subjects or keep them safe but how do we teach them about the impact of accessing particular sites and how do they keep themselves safe.

I realize that many IT departments are trying to provide the best options that they can but they just do not have the resources to do it all. I would rather see them focus on making sure that networks are operational and in working order, machines are replaced in a timely manner, the internal system of the school division or district is not compromised and teachers have access to a variety of tools that they can use when teaching. I see this as being the next move in the evolution of schools as we move from trying to filter everything and watch everyone to accepting the connectivity of society and planning to harness that in a way that it will enhance the learning opportunities for students in a number of ways beyond what we are doing now.

What has your district or school board done in regard to connectivity? Have things improved or grown tighter?