by I can’t wait to return to my “second home” in Melbourne to keynote the 2010 Australian Conference on Educational
Computing Conference, April 6-9, 2010.
2010 marks an important anniversary for me. It represents twenty years of working in schools across Australia. I recently reflected on my the experience of leading professional development at the world’s first two “laptop schools” Downunder in 1990, in Hard and Easy: Reflections on my ancient history in 1:1 computing. That early work was also documented in the book, Never Mind the Laptops…
In 1992, I delivered my first keynote address at the biennial Australian Computers in Education Conference in my beloved Melbourne. That’s why it’s so exciting to be a keynote speaker at this year’s ACEC, April 6-9, 2010 in Melbourne, Australia! I will be presenting a brand new keynote designed specifically for the Australian audience entitled, “You Say You Want a Revolution?”
Sylvia Martinez and Alan November are two of the other keynote speakers.
I will also lead a Q&A session following my keynote and participate in a panel discussion, Diverse Tales from the Digital Crypt – What Effective Computer-Using Educators Know about Teaching: An International Perspective.
Tuesday morning I will host a ticketed breakfast session on creativity, computing and leadership.
The following is the abstract for my new keynote address:
You Say You Want a Revolution?
This keynote will explore the notion of the digital learning revolution and its assumptions while addressing such questions as, “What happened to the last digital revolution in Australia?” Were there lessons learned? If not, why not?Who are the combatants in this latest revolution? Will children, democracy and creativity be the first casualties.
Gary Stager will reflect upon his experiences of working in Australian schools for the past twenty years and insights gained from similar top-down “reform” efforts being imposed across the United States.
Gary will remind ACEC attendees why he is still excited by the potential of computers in education as intellectual laboratories and vehicles for self-expression and challenge the audience to raise their game in order to realize the opportunities computing affords learners. This of course will be accomplished with humour, candor and provocative examples of student learning.
Resources related to my upcoming keynote address:
- Gary Stager’s blog
- Gary Stager’s web site
- Recommended books & resources
- Constructing Modern Knowledge Institute
- Gary Stager’s article in Crikey about Australian education politics
- Are you Smarter than a Deputy Prime Minister?
- Computing and the Internet in Schools: An International Perspective on Developments and Directions.(1996) by Gary Stager
- School Wars magazine article by Gary Stager
- Articles by Gary Stager
Veteran educator Gary Stager, Ph.D. is the author of Twenty Things to Do with a Computer – Forward 50, co-author of Invent To Learn — Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom, publisher at Constructing Modern Knowledge Press, and the founder of the Constructing Modern Knowledge summer institute. He led professional development in the world’s first 1:1 laptop schools thirty years ago and designed one of the oldest online graduate school programs. Gary is also the curator of The Seymour Papert archives at DailyPapert.com. Learn more about Gary here.