Their Space - Education for a Digital Age

I really enjoyed the following DEMOS reading – Their Space. This reading is the result of an exploration into the real value behind digital interactions. The emphasis is on how young people use new technology and how schools can build on it. Data was collected through conversations with youth . It is full of quotes from children.
Chapter 5 – The World has changed so why haven’t we? sets out some practical ideas for educators. These are some of my favorites:
Users as Designers – Capitalize on children’s expertise in technology – Use pupil voice. Set up a working committee. Contributions could include producing age-appropriate safety of ‘usefulness’ ratings for websites.
Reverse IT lessons – Children share their knowledge with other pupils, their teacher, leaders…
Cool Tools Monitor
Often children are at the cutting edge of finding or even creating tools. Cool tools monitors could explore the potential of tools for learning i.e. Flickr, Delicious…

This reading also explores some common myths and misconceptions, like this one: ‘The internet is too dangerous for children’. This following quote sums up a lot of my feelings towards bulldog levels of internet security in schools: “... frustrations emerged when parents/ educators based their decision –making on media reports or misconceptions rather than any real understanding of what their child was doing…”
Happy Easter