Welcome to the Future ...Today

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to be invited to speak to the staff at Hennessy College and afterwards the civic leaders (Principals from nearby schools, Parents and Friends, local business leaders and student leaders) of Young, NSW. The Prezi below is an amalgamation of those two (very similar) 'Professional Conversations'.

The title 'Welcome to the Future ...Today' was trying to highlight the fact that many of these 'futuristic' activities are already happening in society and in the classroom. The main topics covered were Augmented Reality, Mobile Learning and Game-Based Learning (all highlighted in the 2011 Horizon Report) plus Collaboration. In Collaboration the emphasis was on the ability for students (and teachers) to work together anytime, anywhere using tools like Google Docs. In particular, for teacher collaboration, the power of Twitter and the PLN plus TeachMeets were emphasised (all covered in previous blog posts, follow the links).

Much inspiration was drawn from Dr Peter Webster and the fantastic staff and students at Hennessy College plus the work of Justin Hodges and as ever Tom Barrett. When the students say "This is what we want!" you know you're doing something right.

The big message is how important it is for teachers to connect. As Peter put it "geographical remoteness is no longer a reason or excuse for teachers or students to learn in isolation".

Welcome to the Future ...Today on Prezi