The DEECD is running an Innovative Learning Environments Design Conference for educators and architects at Docklands on Monday 19 October. Six of the face-to-face presentations will be streamed online simultaneously via Elluminate.

The conference features educators who have successfully incorporated innovative practice into new learning environments. Architectural experts team up with educators to present a program featuring innovative learning environments, successful change stories and new approaches to teaching and learning.

The online sessions are outlined below. There is no cost to attend the online sessions, however you need to sign up first. Registered participants will be sent the link to the Elluminate room for their session(s). To register, visit:
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/researchinnovation/lpd/forum.htm

Keynotes
9.05am – 10.05am Futurevation: Looking to the future
2.25pm – 3.25pm Designing for purpose – but which purpose? OECD 21C innovative learning environments

Session 1: Panel - Successful change stories: what worked and why?
11.05am – 11.50am Dandenong High School
11.05am – 11.50am Bentleigh West Primary School

Session 2  Innovative Learning - adopting a student centred approach
12.00pm – 12.45pm Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College
12.00pm – 12.45pm Point Lonsdale Primary School

Session 3  Learning Environment Designs
1.30pm – 2.15pm Internal learning spaces
1.30pm – 2.15pm Creating effective age and stage appropriate external learning environments

Three Australian education networks are now publishing on iTunesU.  Catholic schools in Australia, WA Dept. of Education and Scotch College/PLC (Perth) are all now publishing content accessible to all the world’s iTunes users.

Greg Whitby summarises the benefits like this:

As with everything on iTunes U, the new audio,­­ video and text files from Catholic schools are free to anyone visiting the iTunes Store.  Students, teachers and lifelong learners can download items of interest including tutorials, demonstrations, lectures and learning objects on range of subjects and educational issues.

As well as providing a platform for teachers to publish learning materials for their students, iTunes U will automatically publish the content worldwide.

Obviously I’m delighted with this development.  Apple has up to 80% market share in the portable media device market and their hold on the smart phone market is growing, so this will be incredibly useful for a raft of students and teachers already connected to the iTunes market. 

I understand that Victoria’s DEECD was also offered this opportunity but has this stage declined.  However with Ultranet to be rolled in 2010 I am confident that it will succeed iTunes as the portal of choice for students accessing podcasts, online content and e-learning resources. 

To register your school, teachers can either refer to the registration pack that came with the circular titled S384-2008 SuperClubsPLUS Australia – registrations now open…

or they can just email superclubs.plus@edumail.vic.gov.au (I would definitely choose this option)!

I visited an extremely innovative school today. It features trasnformed teaching spaces and a broad range of subject areas. Independent thinking and inquiry are both encouraged. Its results are quite low in all the major data indicators that DEECD measures.

I also heard about another school (not far from the first) that has a very narrow academic focus. Its results are outstanding in all the major data indicators that DEECD measures.

So which is the better school. Which approach should other leaders see as the preferred model? I suggest that we should not have to choose. Surely we don’t need to choose one or the other.

When it comes to teaching and learning we need to follow Batman’s lead. He always had his utility belt ready. On it was range of tools to use in a range of situations. The more strategies we use the more students we engage. This encourages academic rigour across the breadth and depth of the curriculum. So get your utility belt on when you step into the classroom and engage all your kids across a range of subjects with deep levels of thinking.