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ICT news and other trends

Why technologists are limiting their families’ screen time

Michelle Simmons, physicist and 2018 Australian of the Year, does not allow her teenage children to use smartphones or social media. She sees benefits in doing something else with a spare half hour, rather than using a smartphone. In December 2018, the ACCC completed an investigation into Google and Facebook, warning of the danger of ‘filter bubbles’ in public discourse. A final report is due this year. In the UK, a parliamentary committee recommended regulation of big tech companies and making them legally liable for content shared on their websites. Sean Parker, Facebook’s first president, says the company is exploiting vulnerabilities in human minds and children’s brains.

https://www.smh.com.au/technology/why-technologists-are-limiting-their-families-screen-time-20190226-p510bh.html

https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/competition-watchdog-suggests-new-ombudsman-to-handle-google-and-facebook-20181210-p50l80.html

 

Teens ‘not damaged by screen time’

An Oxford University study found there is little evidence of a link between the amount of time teenagers spend on devices and their general wellbeing. Data was used from 17,000 adolescents in the UK, US and Ireland via self-reporting and time-diary techniques.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-47825826

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0956797619830329

 

Fortnite: Is Prince Harry right to want game banned?

Prince Harry believes the game is ‘created to addict’. He added that social media was “more addictive than alcohol and drugs”. China’s tech giant Tencent has tightened checks on the age of people playing online games – checking identities and ages against a police database. Children under 12 are only able to play for an hour a day. Older children can play for up to two hours, but not during a night-time curfew.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-47813894

 

‘Major distraction’: school dumps iPads, returns to paper textbooks

Reddam House primary and lower secondary classes have used e-textbooks on iPads for 5 years, but students have consistently said that they preferred pages to screens. Teachers found that the iPads distracted students and now the school is reverting to print textbooks. Students in Year 11 and 12 always had print textbooks.

https://www.smh.com.au/education/major-distraction-school-dumps-ipads-returns-to-paper-textbooks-20190329-p5191r.html

 

Trends shaping education – Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills OECD

1.Higher expectations of education: Within the next 10 years, the majority of the world’s population will be middle class, with high expectations (China and India will make up 90% of the entrants to the middle class). 2. Digitalisation: A dilemma for education is that the kinds of things that are easy to teach and test have also become easy to digitise, automate and outsource. Students will need skills to navigate the uncertainty of the gig economy. ‘Education has won the race with technology throughout history, but there is no guarantee it will do so in the future. The future is about pairing the artificial intelligence of computers with the cognitive, social, and emotional skills and values of human beings. It will be our imagination, our awareness and our sense of responsibility that will enable us to harness digitalisation to shape the world for the better.’ (Schleicher). 3. The need for continuous learning: Students will need to think for themselves, work with empathy and also collaborate. They will need to understand other cultures and how others think. They must learn to sort fact from fiction. Longer working lives bring changing skill demands. ‘For those with the right knowledge and skills, digitalisation and globalisation have been liberating and exciting; but for those who are insufficiently prepared, they can mean vulnerable and insecure work, and a life without prospects.’ (Schleicher)

https://www.teachermagazine.com.au/columnists/andreas-schleicher/trends-shaping-education?utm_source=CM&utm_medium=bulletin&utm_content=March5

 

A whole school approach to inquiry learning

Mother Teresa Primary in Westmead NSW use an inquiry-based approach in all areas of teaching and learning. Students work through 3 phases of learning: the Explore Phase, the Investigate Phase and the Building Phase, where students test, play and create possibilities. ‘Inquiry learning allows students to develop their skills in communication, collaboration, creativity, reflection and critical thinking.’ (AP Katherine Stennett). Staff also use the approach in their learning. The learning program itself is not written in advance, it is co-written with students as they journey through the learning. The inquiry-based approach allows teachers to understand exactly where their students are at in their learning.

https://www.teachermagazine.com.au/articles/a-whole-school-approach-to-inquiry-learning

 

Drones now delivering in Canberra

Google’s drone company Wing is launching this week in Canberra, with drones delivering coffee, bread, ice cream, pharmacy items and other things. This is a world-first permanent operation after trials across Canberra. There has been some concern about drone noise and a quieter model has been unveiled. Drone deliveries could inject up to $40 million into the ACT economy.

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6011496/drone-delivery-service-gets-the-green-light/

 

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ed tech future human rights internet popular culture sociology websites

30 years of the World Wide Web

The web….where would we be without it?

The World Wide Web is 30 years old (12 March) and Tim Berners-Lee wants to help us fix it

In his open letter of 12 March 2019, he describes 3 sources of dysfunction affecting the web:

  1. ‘Deliberate, malicious intent, such as state-sponsored hacking and attacks, criminal behaviour, and online harassment.
  2. System design that creates perverse incentives where user value is sacrificed, such as ad-based revenue models that commercially reward clickbait and the viral spread of misinformation.
  3. Unintended negative consequences of benevolent design, such as the outraged and polarised tone and quality of online discourse.’

Berners-Lee believes laws and codes can be developed to minimize malicious intent and systems can be redesigned to change incentives. Existing flawed systems can also be changed.

His letter: https://webfoundation.org/2019/03/web-birthday-30/

https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/internet/2019/03/tim-berners-lee-wants-help-us-fix-internet-even-possible

 

A new Contract for the Web

Half the world is now online and the Web Foundation is working with governments, companies and citizens to build a new Contract for the Web, with clear norms, laws and standards. Results will be made available later in 2019. Berners-Lee: ‘Most important of all, citizens must hold companies and governments accountable for the commitments they make, and demand that both respect the web as a global community with citizens at its heart.’ He also stresses that the half of the world who are not online must not be left behind and that everyone should contribute to ‘a web that drives equality, opportunity and creativity.’ The Contract for the Web will not be a list of quick fixes, but a ‘journey from digital adolescence to a more mature, responsible and inclusive future.’

https://webfoundation.org/2019/03/web-birthday-30/

 

#ForTheWeb

The independent World Wide Web Foundation was set up by Tim Berners-Lee and exists to advance his vision of a web for everyone. ‘The free and open web faces real challenges. More than half the world’s population still can’t get online. For the other half, the web’s benefits come with too many risks: to our privacy, our democracy, our rights.’

https://webfoundation.org/

 

The Case for the Web Report

Examines what the web has allowed humanity to accomplish, examines current trends that threaten its future and outlines actions to ensure the web remains free and open for everyone. ‘Over half the world’s population is still offline, and the growth of people coming online is slowing dramatically. The distributed power of the web has shifted to lay in the hands of just a few, online abuse is on the rise, and the content we see is increasingly susceptible to manipulation. Over 1.2 billion internet users live in countries where net neutrality is not protected, and more than 1.5 billion people live in countries with no comprehensive law on personal data protection, leaving them particularly vulnerable to increasingly common incidents involving breaches of personal data.’

https://webfoundation.org/research/the-case-for-the-web/

 

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books censorship ed tech future Games and gaming Google human rights internet literature Mental health mobile phones popular culture Science resources sociology websites

Social credit in China, ICT and book news

Social credit in China

You may have seen the intriguing Foreign Correspondent program on ABC 18 Sept. China is undertaking the most ambitious social engineering program the world has ever seen. Their ‘social credit’ system is designed to engineer better individual behaviour. By 2020 China’s 1.4 billion citizens will get a personal digital scorecard, with good behaviour rewarded and bad behaviour punished. Some say it is the world’s first digital dictatorship.

Excellent article with video. Looks at a young woman with a good social credit score and a journalist who lost his social credit and had his access to various services disabled: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-18/china-social-credit-a-model-citizen-in-a-digital-dictatorship/10200278

Foreign Correspondent ABC 18 Sept: https://iview.abc.net.au/show/foreign-correspondent

Black Mirror in China?: https://www.newstatesman.com/world/asia/2018/04/no-china-isn-t-black-mirror-social-credit-scores-are-more-complex-and-sinister

 

Women in physics

The new HSC physics syllabus for NSW will contain no mention of the contributions of female physicists to the field. The syllabus has 25 scientists mentioned 56 times and focuses completely on male physicists and their work. It is also believed that the gender gap in the science workforce will persist for generations, particularly in surgery, computer science, physics and maths. The gender gap was measured using data on 36 million authors of 10 million articles in 6000 scientific journals published since 2003. Globally in science and medicine, women make up 40% of the workforce, but some fields will take many years before the gender gap disappears.

https://theconversation.com/year-11-and-12-students-in-nsw-will-no-longer-learn-about-womens-contributions-to-physics-102988

https://theconversation.com/new-study-says-the-gender-gap-in-science-could-take-generations-to-fix-95150

 

URLs – is it time for something new?

Internet pioneer Tim Berners-Lee regrets developing the double slash after ‘http’. A growing group now think the URL is increasingly complicated and too easily compromised. Google said they are rethinking URLs as they are hard to read and hard to know if they can be trusted. Even the ‘https with a padlock symbol’ doesn’t mean much as both good and bad sites can be encrypted.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-09-16/google-time-to-reinvent-the-url-web-browser/10238296

 

Phenomenal success of Fortnite

Launched in Sept 2017, the online video game Fortnite now has over 125 million players and has made $1.6 billion for Epic Games. It has also been linked to 200 divorces. Fortnite’s success is due to 3 principles: accessibility (it’s free with in-app purchases, on all platforms and simple to play); sociality (players can express themselves and play with others) and spectacle (failure is fun and a spectator sport). Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins, a gamer on YouTube and Twitch, has made up to $500 000 a month streaming Fortnite sessions from his bedroom.

https://theconversation.com/stay-alive-and-if-something-moves-shoot-it-one-year-of-phenomenal-success-for-fortnite-103528

Could playing Fortnite lead to ‘gaming disorder’ (video game addiction)? The World Health Organisation says yes, others disagree.

https://theconversation.com/could-playing-fortnite-lead-to-video-game-addiction-the-world-health-organisation-says-yes-but-others-disagree-98458

 

3 things we can learn from people who don’t use smartphones or social media

They spent more face-to-face time with others – connecting, talking, touching and supporting. They know that switching off is not missing out – it is exhausting to sustain numerous online connections, endless exchanges of trivial information and keep up with the overwhelming flow of information and tasks. They enjoyed new-found vitality because they connected with the world around them, helping them to reset and relax. They also had more free time.

https://theconversation.com/three-things-we-can-all-learn-from-people-who-dont-use-smartphones-or-social-media-103468

 

Man Booker Prize Shortlist 2018

Winner announced 16 Oct 2018. Includes previous winners.

https://www.bookdepository.com/Man-Booker-Prize?utm_source=NL-Body&utm_medium=email-Newsletter&utm_term=button&utm_content=MANBOOKER&utm_campaign=20180920_MANBOOKER_SHORTLIST

 

Man Booker Prize – best of the rest

The bestselling shortlisted titles that didn’t win from 50 years of the Booker Prize. Includes The handmaid’s tale; A fine balance; Cloud atlas; The secret river; Atonement; Empire of the sun; Dirt music; Notes on a scandal….

https://www.bookdepository.com/dealsAndOffers/promo/id/1876

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future pedagogy popular culture robots and drones sociology

ICT news – trends, robots, A.I., the singularity

Top 20 Trends Report

These will shape the next decade. 1. Artificial Intelligence 2. Empowered consumers 3. Nanotechnology 4. Blockchain 5. Autonomous cars 6.  Rise of the robots 7. 3D printing 8. Environmental change 9. Emerging generations 10. Shifting economic power….and 10 more.

https://michaelmcqueen.net/images/Reports/Top-20-Trends-Report.pdf

 

The morality of robots: Genevieve Bell’s predictions for the future of A.I.

A good one to listen to in the holidays – Conversations with Richard Fidler on ABC Listen app etc. Bell spent 14 years working in futurist research at Intel in Silicon Valley and believes predictions about the AI-driven future are far too apocalyptic.

http://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/conversations/conversations-genevieve-bell/9173822

 

Genevieve Bell Boyer Lectures 2017 – Fast, smart and connected: What is it to be human, and Australian, in a digital world?

Bell is now back in Australia and has delivered a series of Boyer Lectures.

  1. Where it all began: Australia’s role in building our current digital world.
  2. Dealing lightning with both hands: How personal computers and the internet have reshaped our lives.
  3. All technology has a history (and a country): New technologies change life, but rarely in the ways we anticipate.
  4. How to build our digital future: What should Australia plan?

Bonus: Your hopes and fears for where technology is heading.

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/boyerlectures/

 

The singularity will happen by 2045

Ray Kurzweil, futurist and Google’s Director of Engineering has an 86% success rate with his predictions coming to fruition (eg. fall of Soviet Union; ubiquitous wifi).  He believes that Artificial Intelligence will achieve human levels by 2029 and by 2045, machines will be smarter than humans (the ‘singularity’). Kurzweil is not fearful of the singularity, but sees it as an opportunity for humankind to improve. By the 2030s, he believes we will connect our neocortex (the thinking brain) to the cloud, making us smarter with better memories!

https://futurism.com/kurzweil-claims-that-the-singularity-will-happen-by-2045/

More predictions: https://futurism.com/ray-kurzweils-most-exciting-predictions-about-the-future-of-humanity/

 

Teachers to police students’ online activity in class

NSW schools are trialling edQuire, an Australian-made program which uses colour codes on the teacher’s laptop to show when a student is on-task or off-task. Research shows when students’ attention strays in class, boys spend 55% of their time gaming, 25% on videos, 15% on sports sites, 5% on music. Girls spend 59% on videos, 19% gaming, 8% music, 7% celebrity news and 7% social media.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/world-first-computer-program-enables-teachers-to-police-students-online-activity-in-class/news-story/606e49a62d9a77d87ce1fe348609634f

 

Net neutrality

The US government is currently debating whether they should continue with net neutrality, where internet service providers treat all internet traffic the same and don’t block or slow down particular websites or services. We wouldn’t want Netflix to be slow, would we?!

https://blog.csiro.au/net-neutrality-bigger-netflix-gifs/

 

48 Critical Thinking Questions For Any Content Area

Critical thinking involves evaluation, critiquing, problem-solving, creativity, questioning, rationalizing..….The Ultimate Cheatsheet for Critical Thinking suggests using 48 questions under the headings Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? eg. Where is there the most need for this? Why has it been this way for so long? What is another perspective? Who is this harmful to? A good summary.

https://www.teachthought.com/critical-thinking/48-critical-thinking-questions-any-content-area/

 

35 psychology-based thinking strategies

You could try spaced repetition, cognitive dissonance, serial vs parallel processing, the method of Loci….

https://www.teachthought.com/critical-thinking/35-psychology-based-critical-thinking-strategies/

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ICT news

Young and eSafe

Portal from the Office of the eSafety Commissioner that empowers young people to make a positive impact in their online world.“ Practical advice by young people, for young people to help challenge the haters and fakers online.” Sections include: I question things; I get back up; I am responsible; I feel for others; I respect differences. Lots of clear information – great for secondary class discussions.

https://esafety.gov.au/youngandesafe/

Excellent primary and secondary classroom resources: https://esafety.gov.au/education-resources/classroom-resources

 

Tim Berners-Lee on the future of the web: ‘The system is failing’

The inventor of the web remains optimistic but has concerns over advertising, net neutrality, fake news, propaganda and the web’s increasing polarisation. The web as an open platform has changed and there are ‘increasingly powerful digital gatekeepers’ who can easily manipulate algorithms and use Artificial Intelligence to distract and target web users. Clickbait, fake news and ad revenue does not promote truth and democracy.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/nov/15/tim-berners-lee-world-wide-web-net-neutrality

 

Google’s push to make the web more secure

Google wants all websites to migrate to using HTTPS and now flags websites as ‘not secure’ that use HTTP. Google states that 64% of Chrome traffic on Android is now protected as well as over 75% of Chrome traffic on ChromeOS and Mac. 66% of Windows Chrome traffic is also protected. 71% of the top 100 websites now use HTTPS by default. Apple and Facebook have also supported the shift to HTTPS.

https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/20/https-is-booming-says-google/

 

Twitter doubles tweet limit to 280 characters

User growth has been slow so you can now use more characters. Tests showed that longer tweets meant more followers, more interactions and more time on the platform. It was also easier to tweet and fit thoughts in. The roll-out includes all languages except Japanese, Korean and Chinese because they can convey double the amount of information in one character compared with many other languages.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-07/brevity-begone-twitter-doubles-tweet-limit-to-280-characters

 

Technology addiction and what you can do about it

Short and sharp facts about children and technology (12 min.) – parents have an important role in appropriate screen use.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0adeZP6aDQw

 

How Netflix sucks you in

Netflix tries to personalise its service, featuring different titles for different customers. It hires taggers around the world who watch every piece of content and tag it eg. storyline, tone etc – yes they get paid! For the hit show Stranger Things, the Netflix algorithm applied 12 tags to capture how people relate to it. Netflix also has 2000 ‘taste communities’ and a popular show can appear in more than one community. It also tailors the images that accompany recommendations for you, to suit what you like to watch.

https://www.cnet.com/news/stranger-things-addict-heres-how-netflix-sucked-you-in/?ftag=CAD1c318f6&bhid=23787909704659446143753669728655

 

Animojis

Animated emojis – only for the iPhone X, which uses its front-facing camera for facial recognition. Using thousands of data points, your facial expressions are turned into an animoji which mimics your movement.

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/getting-started-with-the-iphone-x-animoji-apple/

 

Are you eSports ready?

Professional video game playing is huge – thousands of teams, millions of players, $24m prize pool, $266m in sponsorship, $696m revenue and a global audience of 385 million and growing. Players are usually aged 16-30, with 80% male. Popular eSports include League of Legends and Dota 2. Watch highlights on YouTube or streamed live on Twitch, where you can interact with players and other fans.

https://australiascience.tv/vod/are-you-esports-ready/

http://www.businessinsider.com/esports-market-growth-ready-for-mainstream-2017-3/?r=AU&IR=T

 

Sophia robot granted citizenship to Saudi Arabia

The lifelike robot was granted citizenship at a tech summit. She appeared on stage saying she was very honoured to be the first robot in the world to be granted citizenship. Sophia responded to simple questions about artificial intelligence. She has also visited Australia recently.

https://www.livescience.com/60815-saudi-arabia-citizen-robot.html

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/why-sophia-the-robot-is-not-what-it-seems-20171030-gzbi3p.html

 

Augmented Reality enhanced educational books

Textbooks of the future will probably all be like this….Livit Studios is launching a series of AR books with features including animated 3D models, animated characters and interactive 3D games.

http://www.emergingedtech.com/2017/11/new-electronic-text-augmented-reality-textbook/

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1418527006/imagina-books-human-body-augmented-reality-educati

 

Trust me, I’m an expert

A new monthly podcast for The Conversation. Fascinating stories where the experts “bust the myths, explain the science and put the news headlines into context…in a way we can understand and enjoy”. 2 Nov: Sibling competition and its role in evolution.

https://theconversation.com/au/podcasts/trust-me-podcast

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ed tech future Google internet Mental health mobile phones popular culture robots and drones sociology

ICT news, top tools and tech trends

We need to talk about kids and smartphones

US statistics and a variety of expert opinion..…. but are increasing rates of teenage depression and suicide linked to smartphone use and social media? Since the advent of smartphones in 2007, mental health issues have increased dramatically and anecdotal evidence from Australian schools seems to support this hypothesis. Even if smartphones aren’t the cause of mental health issues, they can fuel teenage angst. With phone use, young people are constantly distracted, less sensitive to the emotions of others, feel disinhibited about saying things and see whitewashed lives that seem perfect. Staring at screens also limits social interaction and its benefits.

http://time.com/4974863/kids-smartphones-depression/

 

Top 200 tools for learning 2017

Compiled by Jane Hart in the 11th annual survey of 2 174 learning professionals from 52 countries. Includes top 100 tools for personal and professional learning, workplace learning and education.

All 3 lists, including new tools with info: http://c4lpt.co.uk/top100tools/

Top 100 tools for education: http://c4lpt.co.uk/top100tools/rankings/

  1. Google Docs/Drive 2. Word 3. PowerPoint 4. YouTube 5. Google Search 6. Excel 7. Wikipedia 8. Prezi 9. Twitter 10. Kahoot. Interesting to see WhatsApp at #13 – great for backchannelling, projecting via web, collecting material, sharing resources, no text limitation. Canva, the very simple and effective graphic design tool, is at #19. http://c4lpt.co.uk/top100tools/canva/

WhatsApp: http://c4lpt.co.uk/top100tools/whatsapp/

Analysis: http://c4lpt.co.uk/top100tools/analysis/

 

Top 10 technology trends 2018

From research firm Gartner – foremost are artificial intelligence and machine learning, used in many areas. Intelligent apps that use AI have the potential to transform the nature of work. Other intelligent ‘things’ such as autonomous vehicles and drones will see rapid growth. Conversational platforms (eg.Siri) will be the main goal for user interaction. Virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality are of high interest but need much more development. Blockchain technologies, a core component of the digital currency BitCoin, are still in their infancy, but will have a huge impact on the future of the internet.

https://www.crn.com.au/gallery/here-are-the-top-10-technology-trends-of-2018-according-to-gartner-474796/page1?eid=61&edate=20171007&utm_source=20171007&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=crnweekly_newsletter

 

Blockchain

Blockchain is a kind of ‘vast, global, distributed ledger running on millions of computers and available to everybody, and where every kind of asset from money to music can be stored, moved, transacted, exchanged and managed all without powerful intermediaries’ (Don Tapscott). Blockchain technologies enable ‘exchange of value without intermediaries acting as arbiters of money or information’. They will enable excluded people to enter the global economy, protect privacy, allow people to monetise their own information and ensure creators are compensated for their intellectual property. Uses of blockchain include cryptocurrencies, online voting, insurance, Internet of Things, medical records, smart contracts, music industry and copyright payments.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockchain

http://au.pcmag.com/amazon-web-services/46389/feature/blockchain-the-invisible-technology-thats-changing-the-world

 

Robots to mark NAPLAN?

From 2018, NAPLAN writing tasks will be marked by an automated essay scoring system and then double-marked by a teacher. Fully automated testing and marking will be introduced by 2020. Some experts believe it is impossible for a robot to score the subjective aspects of writing. Perelman (ex MIT) notes that algorithms tend to reward ‘verbose gibberish’ and give higher marks to essays with complex words and sentences. ‘Assessment of creativity, poetry, irony or other more artistic uses of writing is beyond such systems.’ Rabinowitz (from ACARA) believes automated essay scoring for NAPLAN tasks ‘works as well as human markers.’ Robots vs humans…it’s happening.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-12/us-academics-warn-against-automated-naplan-english-testing/9039408

 

School Library Journal Tech Trends 2017

Free webcasts, available live or on demand. 1. Build a makerspace 2. 60 tools in 60-ish minutes 3. Take the plunge: STREAM (add reading).

https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?target=reg20.jsp&referrer=&eventid=1488038&sessionid=1&key=5AEEB5CADFA4BAD227B0D13CB1C29AE8&regTag=155881&sourcepage=register

 

18 good Chromebook apps for education

Kahoot, Socrative, Canva, PiktoChart, Haiku Deck, Tiki-Toki….

http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2017/10/18-good-educational-chromebook-apps-to.html

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future Games and gaming Mental health pedagogy popular culture sociology

Work, Society, Youth and Education

Some interesting social info…..

 

The New Work Smarts: thriving in the New Work Order

This report from the Foundation for Young Australians notes that the way we work is increasingly affected by three key economic drivers – automation, globalisation and flexibility. The research analysed 20 billion hours of work completed by 12 million Australian workers each year to predict the skills and capabilities that will matter most in 2030. “It is predicted that we will, on average, spend 30% more time per week learning skills on the job; spend double the time at work solving problems, spend 41% more time on critical thinking and judgment, and 77% more time using science and mathematics skills; utilise verbal communication and interpersonal skills for 7 hours a week each (up 17 per cent); and develop an entrepreneurial mindset due to having less management (down 26 per cent), less organisational coordination (down 16 per cent) and less teaching (down 10 per cent).”

https://www.fya.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/FYA_TheNewWorkSmarts_July2017.pdf

https://www.fya.org.au/

Interesting articles: https://www.fya.org.au/category/all-articles/

 

If Australia was a street of 100 households

Interesting stats from the census. 20% baby boomers; 22% Gen Y; 11% Gen Alpha (from 2010). 47% both Aust. born; 34% none Aust. born; 11% one Aust. born. Average house price 11x average full-time earnings.

https://mccrindle.worldsecuresystems.com/blog/2017/07/Australia-Street-2017-McCrindle-DIGITAL.pdf

Australia’s population map and generational profile: https://mccrindle.myportfolio.com/pop-map

Other interesting visuals and infographics from McCrindle social research group: https://mccrindle.myportfolio.com/

 

Generation Next

Generation Next has excellent resources to protect and enhance the mental health of young people. Subscribe to the newsletter.

http://www.generationnext.com.au/

Blog – many interesting articles including: Want to rebound from failure?; When to push a child; Working memory boosters for kids.

http://www.generationnext.com.au/inform/blog/

 

Generation Next YouTube channel:

Videos include: How to support teens in distress; How can we support someone with a gaming addiction? Encouraging boys to be respectful and caring; How resilient are young people today?

https://www.youtube.com/c/GenerationNextCommunity

 

The potential of pro-social media

Generation Next video by Dan Haesler. Social media is not all bad news. What strategies can be used to enhance digital literacy, understanding of the world and even job prospects?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5tPHZVfQKE

 

Schools need to slow down

Australian schools are caught up in the cult of speed, driven by NAPLAN reporting and the evidence of improvement. ‘Slow schooling’ is needed to support learning for all. Teachers and school leaders need time to work together to find effective and creative ways of educating hard-to-reach learners, considering carefully the individual interests and aspirations of students. There should be no pressure for quick responses.  https://theconversation.com/for-long-term-improvements-schools-need-to-slow-down-83222

 

Business of addiction: how the games industry is learning from casinos

Video gaming on mobile devices has led to a massive expansion of the games industry. The industry uses psychologists, neuroscientists and marketing experts to turn customers into addicts. The ‘free to play’ (FTP) model allows the majority of players to play for free, while a few players will become addicted and spend huge amounts on extra content. The latest trend is the creation of ‘whales’ – people so addicted to games that they spend their life savings buying in-game content.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-13/video-game-addiction-how-the-industry-is-learning-from-casinos/8941114

 

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ICT and STEM news

STEM learning

Special edition of STEM articles from Teacher magazine. Includes virtual classrooms for Year 10s, STEM and gender and best practice for primary STEM.

Demystifying the AC Digital Technologies Curriculum P-6

Webinar with Dr Linda McIver; 19 June and 31 July 3.45-5pm.

http://email.acer.edu.au/t/ViewEmail/r/60882C5177B09AF02540EF23F30FEDED/F4AF64F35C0EDFC438A555EB6E97B45B

STEM learning: international best practice: Queensland science teacher Sarah Chapman gathered evidence from around the world. Essential elements include real world experiences, expertise from industry links, mentorships and cross-curricular integration.

https://www.teachermagazine.com.au/article/stem-learning-international-best-practice

Full report: https://cew.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Engaging-the-future-of-STEM.pdf

 

Australian Online Landscape Review (latest: April 2017)

Quarterly report produced by IAB/Nielsen. Top 10 brands: 1.Google 2.Facebook 3.YouTube 4.MSN/Outlook/Bing/Skype 5.Apple 6.eBay 7.Microsoft 8.Wikipedia 9.Instagram 10.Yahoo7.

Top 10 brands for streaming: 1.YouTube 2.Facebook 3.VEVO (music) 4.Vimeo (videos) 5.news.com.au 6.smh.com.au 7.MSN/Outlook/Bing/Skype 8.nine.com.au 9.Yahoo7 10. ABC Online

Smartphones are used more than desktops, which are used more than tablets.

file:///H:/Downloads/Digital%20Landscape%20Report_April%202017.pdf

 

Australians’ viewing habits

There are more screens (6.4 in each home) and most are internet-capable. Viewing is spread across devices but TV remains by far the most-watched screen. 86% of video viewing is on TVs – free-to-air or subscription; live or played back. TVs are also used for other tasks – gaming, DVDs, internet, music streaming, YouTube videos etc

http://www.nielsen.com/au/en/insights/news/2017/how-australians-viewing-habits-have-changed-over-the-past-five-years.html

http://www.oztam.com.au/documents/Other/Q4%202016%20AMSR_release.pdf

 

Australia’s internet speeds

According to the most recent Akamai State of the Internet report we are now 51st in the world for home broadband internet speeds (10.1 Mbps). However, we are well above the global average of 7 Mbps even with a large area to cover. Fastest is South Korea (26.1Mbps) 2. Norway 3. Sweden 4.Hong Kong 5.Switzerland. We are leading the Asia-Pacific region in mobile connectivity speeds (13.8 Mbps).

https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2017/03/australias-internet-speeds-are-a-global-embarrassment/

 

Why do adults think video games are bad?

The excellent news site The Conversation is running a series for children – Curious Kids, where children send in questions they would like an expert to answer. Recent research suggests that playing online games that involve puzzle-solving increases scores in maths, science and reading, whereas using social networking reduces academic achievement.

http://theconversation.com/curious-kids-why-do-adults-think-video-games-are-bad-76699

http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/5586/1742

 

The science for and against video gaming

They can make your brain grow and they make you more self-aware and happier; but they can make you less empathetic and more violent.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/is-video-gaming-bad-for-you-the-science-for-and-against/

 

People could be genetically predisposed to social media use

One to two-thirds of variance in social media use is attributable to genetic traits; unique and shared environmental factors account for the remainder of variance.

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-05/ica-pcb050217.php

 

NASA EarthKAM

“A classroom with the ultimate view” – students enrol in missions on the International Space Station and request images of specific locations on Earth. The program was set up by astronaut Sally Ride in  1995, initially on space shuttle flights. 8000 schools from 78 countries have now participated with over 500 000 students creating a library of 94 000 images.

https://www.earthkam.org/

Search the image gallery: https://www.earthkam.org/ek-images

https://cosmosmagazine.com/geoscience/capturing-the-earth-as-art

 

Google Maps street-view of Uluru

Just launched after 2 years of consultation with traditional owners. The interactive map includes audio stories from the Anangu owners about the significance of Uluru, traditional law and creation stories. Many sacred sections of the rock were not photographed. Viewers can zoom into crevices, walk along trails and view ancient art. Google plans to map other Australian cultural sites, including Kakadu.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-08/google-street-view-allows-visitors-to-experience-uluru/8599050

 

Live interactions with robots increase their perceived human likeness

We need to get used to a future where robots will be part of our everyday lives, but rarely do we see robots face to face. A recent study found that people who watched live interactions with a robot were more likely to consider the robot to have more human-like qualities. Robots presented in virtual reality also scored high in human likeness. Watching a robot on a 2D screen scored lowest. “Many people will have their first encounter with a service robot over the next decade. Service robots are designed to communicate with humans in humanlike ways and assist them in various aspects of their daily routine. Potential areas of application range from hospitals and nursing homes to hotels and the users’ households” (Schreiner).

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-05/ica-liw051017.php

 

The 2017 emoji list: emoji version 5.0

All those cute little emoji have to be approved by the Unicode consortium and will be launched this month. There are 69 new images; 24 have 5 additional skin tones and 10 are non-gendered. New emoji include a genie, an older person, a breastfeeding mum and broccoli. There are now a total of 239 approved emoji.

http://blog.emojipedia.org/final-2017-emoji-list/

Categories
books ebooks ed tech future literature pedagogy

Teen reading habits and 21st century skills

Some interesting reads from Teacher magazine and elsewhere…..

 

Teacher magazine

Excellent online ACER publication with interesting articles and quick reads – Evidence + Insight + Action.

https://www.teachermagazine.com.au/

 

Infographic: Teen reading habits

Early findings from a study by Deakin and Murdoch Universities, exploring the recreational reading habits of Australian teenagers. 70% read at least weekly for pleasure; 50% read for at least 15 minutes daily; 63% preferred paper books or disliked reading on digital devices; 12% preferred ebooks.

https://www.teachermagazine.com.au/article/infographic-teen-reading-habits

 

Global education: 21st century skills

Charles Fadel, 21st Century Skills pioneer, delivered the 2017 Australian Learning Lecture – The New Success on 11 May. Young people are likely to have 17 jobs over 5 different careers in their lifetime. Skills needed: broad and deep education, versatility, entrepreneurship, robotics, wellness, creativity, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, mindfulness, curiosity, courage, resilience, ethics, leadership, reflection, lifelong learning, growth mindsets. Fadel believes 4 dimensions of education are necessary: modernised knowledge, skills, character and meta learning. His 2015 book with Bernie Trilling: Four-dimensional education: the competencies learners need to succeed.

https://www.teachermagazine.com.au/article/global-education-21st-century-skills?utm_source=Campaign%20Monitor&utm_medium=bulletin&utm_content=May%2016%202017

 

Preparing young people for the future of work

Australia’s education system is not preparing students for twenty-first century success. Young Australians are studying for longer than ever before but are disengaged and struggling to find permanent jobs. Young people entering technology-rich, global, competitive job markets need different skill sets to what our education system has traditionally valued. Schools need to broaden learning objectives. The most crucial capabilities for the future include critical thinking, creativity, curiosity and communication skills. It is time Australia made changes to prioritise teaching, assessing and reporting capabilities” (Torii and O’Connell).

http://www.mitchellinstitute.org.au/reports/preparing-young-people-for-the-future-of-work/

 

Education Endowment  Foundation literature reviews

The EEF has conducted literature reviews on Digital Technology, Careers education, Literacy at the transition, English as an Additional Language, Education and neuroscience, Arts education, and Non-cognitive skills.

https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/resources/publications/

 

Evidence for Learning

This independent Australian site helps to build, share and use evidence to improve learning in all schools. Find out about new Australian education approaches and  Australian and global evidence summaries of 34 education approaches. Sign up for the newsletter.

http://evidenceforlearning.org.au/

 

Spaced Learning

Evidence from neuroscience and psychology suggests information is more easily learnt and recalled when it is repeated multiple times and separated by periods of unrelated activity. Neuroscience literature supports the use of shorter spaces between learning (around 10 minutes) and cognitive psychology literature supports longer spaces (around 24 hours). The study found that the most effective approach to spaced learning combined both 24 hour and 10 minute spacing between curriculum content.

https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/our-work/projects/spaced-learning/

 

Switched off students

Student disengagement is a major hidden issue – 40% of Australian students are regularly unproductive, bored and struggling to keep up with their peers. More students are fiddling with their phones, making snide comments and turning up late than are swearing at teachers or threatening classmates. Reasons include boredom, work too hard or not challenging enough, poor quality teaching and problems at home. An education system overhaul is required to deal with this. Recommendations include higher expectations for students; stronger teacher-student relationships based on mutual respect; encouraging active learning; encouragement; praise and not using ‘old-fashioned discipline’.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/feb/05/almost-half-of-australian-school-students-bored-or-struggling-says-grattan-institute

Categories
Facebook future Google media news newspapers popular culture sociology

Fake news and other media news

Fake news

Politicians and the media have created a post-truth world and young people are easily duped. A recent Stanford University study found 80% of middle-school pupils could not tell an online news story apart from a piece of advertising and uni students did little better. The research covered news literacy, as well as students’ ability to judge Facebook and Twitter feeds, comments left in readers’ forums on news sites, blog posts, photographs and other digital messages that shape public opinion. Young people need to be taught digital literacy and learn about source criticism and cognitive bias and learn to mistrust the voice that says something must be right.

https://ed.stanford.edu/news/stanford-researchers-find-students-have-trouble-judging-credibility-information-online

 

News Integrity Initiative – countering fake news

Announced 3 April. Facebook, Mozilla, the Walkley Foundation (Aust.), Jimmy Wales (Wikipedia) and other tech leaders, non-profits and academics  have formed the $14 million consortium to counter fake news. The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism will administer the initiative and plans to make tools to help people be discerning about stories they read online and to increase trust in journalism around the world.

https://www.cnet.com/au/news/facebook-spearheads-14m-consortium-to-counter-fake-news/

 

Fake news, piracy and digital duopoly of Google and Facebook

“Google and Facebook, the 2 most powerful news publishers in human history, have created an ecosystem that is dysfunctional and socially destructive” (Robert Thomson, Chief Executive of News Corp). They do not distinguish between the fake and the real because they make a lot of money from both.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/wall-street-journal/fake-news-piracy-and-digital-duopoly-of-google-and-facebook/news-story/52784483d9650cdbf8624247a590c7f8

 

Google and Facebook should pay for content

Senator Nick Xenophon thinks news organisations, publishers and TV networks should be given the right to charge Facebook and Google a content fee for publishing their stories and videos. He believes protecting traditional media companies is a crucial part of safeguarding democracy and open debate.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/digital/xenophon-bid-to-charge-facebook-and-google-for-content/news-story/d5c5cdf7142b319ad7b8fd7c7bd9fc54

 

2016: the worst year for print

2016 saw decreased revenue from advertising for newspapers and magazines (so much advertising money goes to Google and Facebook). Readership in 2016: Sydney Morning Herald – decreased M-F and Sat; The Australian – increased M-F and decreased Sat; Aust. Geographic – 31% increase; Big Issue – 35.9% increase; New Scientist – 26.8% increase; Time – 18.2% increase; Rolling Stone – 11.5% increase; Frankie – 6.6% increase; Hyper – 6.9% increase.

https://mumbrella.com.au/2016-worst-year-yet-print-industry-new-smi-numbers-reveal-419898

http://www.roymorgan.com/industries/media/readership/newspaper-readership

http://www.roymorgan.com/industries/media/readership/magazine-readership

 

Newspapers – print or digital?

A University of London study reveals that online UK newspapers engage each visitor for less than 30 seconds per day, but readers of print newspapers engage for 40 minutes per day. Time spent reading print and online newspapers doesn’t vary much between countries. In Australia, Fairfax (The Age & SMH) was expected to switch weekday editions to digital only, but is continuing with daily papers ‘for some years yet’.

http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/study-national-press-online-readers-average-30-seconds-per-day-versus-40-minutes-for-print/

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/feb/22/fairfax-media-announces-half-year-profit-and-plan-to-keep-printing-newspapers

 

Digital news takes precedence at ABC

ABC News (the largest news organisation in Australia) is planning a major refocus away from TV and radio to concentrate on expanding its digital news output and this could affect the 7pm flagship news and other current affairs programs. The ABC has a declining and ageing audience for news and current affairs (the 7pm news has 82% of viewers aged over 50). Increasingly, younger viewers watch very little live TV and often don’t watch news programs. To reach younger viewers, the news division will increase production of digital videos and launch a mobile-first story-telling unit.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/digital-news-takes-precedence-at-abc/news-story/fc9f8cc6ced53f9dd5127ab3a6bb6cfa

 

Hilarious! Check this broken link and read comments from many well-known politicians eg. Trump: “Do you believe it? The Australian brought thousands of readers here and there’s nothing. Why? I will study this dumb broken link”. Someone had a lot of time on their hands J

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/fake-news-c hildren-of-the-internet-happy-to-live-a-lie/news-story/0045fccc 0724b8f8e1389202aef82c14