Posts Tagged ‘seminar’
Old school is no school for me
Posted on: March 28, 2012
Sometimes I get asked to give talks at seminars. I have a standard reply: I try not to give talks because not everyone is ready to listen.
Recently, I was asked to give a talk on game-based learning for an ICT seminar at a local institute. As my schedule was packed, I suggested that they watch my TED talk and we could video conference if needed. The organizers preferred that I be physically present.
I pointed out that the seminar was supposed to be about the power of ICT in education and that we would be using ICT while talking about ICT-mediated strategies. The organizers did not relent, nor did I.
I do not believe in giving only talks about ICT. I prefer workshops where we can uncover the whys, hows, and so whats of ICT, roughly in that order. A seminar is not the best way to do this.
So if any of the organizers read this, know that I said no on principle. And thank you for reminding me why I stick to my guns.
MOE Workplan Seminar
Posted on: September 25, 2008
I attended the MOE Workplan Seminar 2008 this morning. This seminar is held once a year, typically for the Education Minister to reflect on the past year and to shed some light on the path ahead.
You should be able to see a press release or a copy of the speech soon. I had intended to blog the event ‘live’ but met up with a few old friends there and got distracted!
There was lots to be said of course. But one thing struck a chord. The Minister described how he had visited schools to solicit feedback from schools. In summarising one of his findings, he mentioned how some principals and teachers had indicated that they hoped to implement changes so that children would “enjoy coming to school” and “learning by play”. That is a tall order and one that seems to be coming from the sample of schools he visited and not from MOE HQ.
Might this be the “Welcome!” doormat for educational gaming? I’ll take my fingers off the Wiimote for just long enough to keep my fingers crossed!
