Posts tagged education
OMG! There’s an entrepreneur on campus
Jul 11th
By Francis Moran and Leo Valiquette
Recently we have explored where and how government can facilitate the process of commercialization to help technology entrepreneurs get their products to market. Throughout this series, we have talked about the entrepreneurial right stuff and the value of those soft skills collectively referred to as emotional intelligence.
But where does good old-fashioned formal education fit into all of this? What role does, and should, a person’s alma mater play in the formation of the next generation of entrepreneurs? Read the rest of this entry »
P21 Canada: Partnership for 21st Century learning and innovation
Jun 7th
Companies and education organizations attending a meeting in Toronto on May 11th agreed to take the next step in the establishment of P21 Canada.
John Kershaw
P21 Canada: Partnership for 21st Century Learning and Innovation is a private sector led coalition of private and public sector organizations advocating for and supporting 21st Century models of learning in Canada.
The attendees to the meeting share the view that 21st Century models of learning are urgently required in public education to position students and Canada for success in the knowledge and digital age. Participants at the meeting are well briefed on international calls for transformation of learning systems to meet the new realities of the knowledge and digital era, as well as Canada’s need to position itself for the future. Read the rest of this entry »
Nerds deserve glory too
Jun 3rd
When Paul Henderson scored the victorious goal against the Soviet Union in 1972 to clinch victory in the Summit Series, Canada burst into spontaneous celebration.
Brian Jackson, associate editor, ITBusiness.ca
In what is now known as “the goal of the century” and has been commemorated on a stamp and coin from the Royal Mint, Canada’s dominance in a sport we hold so dear was cemented. In the Cold War era, the fact that it came against the USSR made it even sweeter.
Inclusive ICT rich education needs to expand coverage
Jan 6th
New Brunswick is well known for its inclusive education system. The province’s ongoing effort to successfully integrate children with disabilities into the regular classroom is to be lauded and emulated.
John Kershaw
Unfortunately, some pundits believe incorrectly that inclusive education is solely about ensuring children with disabilities receive the accommodations they need to be successful in the classroom. This thinking is both erroneous and dangerous. Read the rest of this entry »
Canada should to follow U.S. 21st Century skills program
Nov 11th
In the United States, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) has emerged as a coalition determined to advance 21st Century learning agenda in that country. The P21 website states that: The Partnership for 21st Century Skills is a national organization that advocates for 21st century readiness for every student. As the United States continues to compete in a global economy that demands innovation, P21 and its members provide tools and resources to help the U.S. education system keep up by fusing the three Rs and four Cs (critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation). While leading districts and schools are already doing this, P21 advocates for local, state and federal policies that support this approach for every school.P21 consists of federal and state agencies, private sector businesses and non-government agencies that all recognize the need to advance 21st Century learning in the United States.
John Kershaw
Canada would do well to emulate P21 and create a coalition of Canadians and Canadian organizations devoted to advancing 21st Century learning in this country. The Ministers of Education in Canada have taken an important step in declaring their commitment to work together; it is time for others to join the movement in this country and create a “coalition of advocates” for 21st Century learning.
Provincial and Territorial Ministers of Education in Canada recently committed themselves to explore the global 21st Century learning movement and its potential impact on public education systems. The Ministers met in Winnipeg on September 23/24th , 2010 to advance their Learn Canada 2020 agenda. Read the rest of this entry »
ICT central to three new 21st century agreements in New Brunswick
Aug 24th
New Brunswick’s journey toward creating a 21st Century model of public education took three significant steps forward recently, with ICT being a central element in all three instances.
John Kershaw
On June 3rd the New Brunswick Department of Education (Anglophone Sector) entered into new agreements with three New Brunswick universities regarding pre-service teacher training.
The agreements represent a bold and exciting step forward by the universities in supporting New Brunswick’s 21st Century learning agenda. The agreements commit each of the three universities’ Faculties of Education to adopt new 21st Century oriented standards for beginning teacher training.
The process of reaching the agreements was highly collaborative, and included a team of representatives from the three Faculties of Education, the Departments of Education and Post Secondary, Education, Training and Labour, and the New Brunswick Teacher’s Association. The new teaching standards relate to the integration of ICT with pedagogy, and a commitment by the universities to adopt within three years a 1:1 student-computer model within their Faculties of Education, reflecting the province’s intent to adopt a 1:1 student-computer model in its upper grades in the years ahead.
New Brunswick releases 21st century learning plan
Jun 8th
On May 14th the Anglophone sector of the New Brunswick Department of Education released its proposal on how to shift our public education system to a 21st Century learning model. The plan was developed using a co-leadership model with principals and district leaders, and the consultation document will now be used to engage our teachers.
John Kershaw
As New Brunswick teachers were each allocated a notebook computer, for the first time in history we were able to forward a copy of a draft learning strategy to every teacher, for their advice and counsel.
The plan, entitled 21st Century Learning (NB3-21C) is available for review at our departmental website: http://www.gnb.ca/0000/index-e.asp.
While the three year plan is quite comprehensive, four key elements are emerging as critical pillars to success. Let’s call them the CRT2 formula, where C is Creativity, R is Relevance; the first T is Time and the second, Technology. Read the rest of this entry »
The Coolest Stuff in Digital Media: Checking Out Ryerson’s Digital Media Zone
May 5th
I’m often asked at IDC what the coolest technology is that I’m seeing in Canada from tech startups. In the Digital Media space, and in Toronto specifically, a good place to source out hot new digital media technology is at Ryerson’s new Digital Media Zone (DMZ), which officially opened on April 7, 2010 (http://www.ryerson.ca/dmz/).
Located on the 5th floor overlooking Yonge-Dundas Square, the DMZ connects Ryerson students, graduates and alumni from different disciplines to take digitally inspired concepts and make them real solutions and marketable products. Ryerson’s President Sheldon Levy explained that Ryerson does not take a stake in the technology being developed; instead it provides the space and equipment for students to test and try their ideas in a safe environment supported and funded by the school.
The result? Some pretty cool and marketable technology. Examples include: Read the rest of this entry »
Videos spark 21st Century learning discussion
Apr 13th
A video created to stimulate discussion on a new 21st Century model of public education in New Brunswick was uploaded onto Youtube last week. (http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=new+brunswick+education&aq=f)
The video was originally targeted at an internal audience of education leaders in the province’s Anglophone sector as a means to foster debate. However, the video was so warmly received Youtube was seen as the best vehicle to share its message further afield.
In previous articles for ITBusiness I have shared ideas on 21st Century learning and the role of ICT. The video’s overall message is that life and business are now moving at the speed of the internet, and New Brunswick wants its students out in front leading the way. The brainchild of the video is Bill Kierstead, a former principal and now key member of the department’s leadership team. He wanted to show how rapid advancements in ICT are transforming the world and that these transformations are precipitating the need for new approaches to knowledge acquisition and instructional practices. Read the rest of this entry »
New and exciting models of learning in New Brunswick
Mar 24th
To date we have advised readers of New Brunswick’s efforts to shift our public education system to a 21st Century learning model. We have explored the nature of 21st Century competencies and how 1:1 notebook models empower students and foster 21st Century learning. In our last article we began identifying current ICT applications within our system to illustrate our current state of readiness to go even further (School District 16-Drupal). In this article we provide two new examples of how ICT rich environments are changing the nature learning in New Brunswick’s public education system.
1. James M. Hill Memorial School’s Broadcast Journalism:
Imagine a real television studio, a sound recording booth, HDTV cameras, video and audio mixing consoles, professional lighting, green screens, special effects software and virtual sets in a public school. These are some of the tools used by students in Broadcast Journalism at James M. Hill Memorial School in New Brunswick. This course is also being offered at four additional schools. Web applications such as Bridgit software and Moodle allow the students to participate in real time, regardless of where they are located. Read the rest of this entry »
