Technology in the home has become normalised and young people today revel in it. However, there can be a disconnect in schools as students using technology are deprived of the autonomy, personalisation and familiarity of their own devices. Our students often hold the link to life-wide learning in their bags, what can schools do to harness it?
Mrs H Boltman, Head of Gibson House The immortal words of the Beatles, ‘You say goodbye and I say hello’ speaks to the feeling of this week, the last week of School for our Year 12s. The girls have now come to the end of their time at Brisbane Girls Grammar. Those fresh-faced girls are now ready to leave us. They have grown and matured into fine young women, ready to face the world and take on the challenges of adulthood. As they take their first steps of independence, we need to look forward and see how we can support them in their futures. As teachers, we have spent many hours preparing them academically, and it is always interesting to note how much of our academic lessons the girls seem to remember years down the line, and how much of the person and the values they remember. I am not suggesting that the academics are…
Mrs M McConaghy – Deputy Principal In this time now, we are remembering – quite simply - those who made sacrifices for the good of humanity. I want to do this today through a story which is personal and I want you to make your own meaning. I particularly want you to consider how seemingly small, unknown people can be great in simple quiet ways. Last year, while on Long Service Leave, with some friends, we drove from Istanbul to Gallipoli and the site at Lone Pine where the ANZACs landed. We walked the beach, swam in the sea and walked around the graves of the Australian and the Turkish soldiers who had fallen. I did not know, but my brother – an historian – emailed to tell me about a relation of our family whose name is on the Lone Pine monument - Lance Corporal George Laurence Murphy. His story of heroism and complete sacrifice…
Mrs M McConaghy, Deputy Principal The technological marvel that drove the first Renaissance was the mechanised phonetic script realised in the Gutenberg printing press. It allowed books to become available to those beyond the Latin-familiar, literate elite. Copies of the Bible and Latin and Greek Classics became available to a wider audience. Theoretically, a broader aspirational class, if not exactly the ‘common man,’ could read arguments and ideas personally and draw personal, rather than officially mediated, conclusions. Today’s nearest exemplar of a comparably revolutionary phenomenon is the Internet. This digital Gutenberg has rendered access to voluminous information and global communications instant — and has done so with more democratic universality than the original. Canadian futurist Donald Tapscott coined the term “disintermediation” in the mid 1990s to describe how new technologies facilitate direct access to the sources of information, services or goods in the same way Gutenberg’s press allowed the ‘masses’ to access scholarly ideas. Tapscott’s ponderous…
Mrs Karen Belbin, School Counsellor Adolescents love to disagree. They love to challenge ideas, beliefs, authority, conventions, and 'rules', especially adult and society rules. There is a good reason for this: dissent, arguing, talking, challenging and questioning are some of the tools adolescents use with friends, family and teachers, to learn more about themselves and others; establish their identity; understand the world they live in; and find their own particular place in society. Without dissent, human beings and society wouldn’t grow or change, create or innovate, but dissent can be difficult, especially – and unsurprisingly – to those whose ideas or beliefs are being challenged. It is important to distinguish between the judicious use of dissent, and the more recent trend to use social media to heckle, ridicule, intimidate, judge, berate and treat others disrespectfully - which is not in any way courageous, admirable or an attempt to find meaning or truth. The focus of this article is not about such cowardly behaviour –…
When values change, the value changes Mr Trent Driver, Dean of Academic Development I am putting the finishing touches to this piece of writing on Tuesday 18 September, knowing that in several days’ time on Friday 21 September 2012 things, for a great many people, will never be the same again. Ever again, apparently, if one is to believe the media hype. This Friday, the iPhone 5 goes on sale in Australia – it will be faster, lighter, shinier and contain a different digit than the previous edition which, on Friday, will be obsolete. It will be so significant that thousands of people will queue overnight outside Apple stores all around the country to be among the first to call it their own. But buying an iPhone is not like buying a book or a beanbag or a packet of chips. From the purchase price, through to the details of a contract with a telecommunications company,…
Not to worry, she may just be experiencing curiosity… Ms Ruth Jans, Mackay Head of House Throughout history, curiosity has not always enjoyed its current status as a valued quality. Although Aristotle attributed it as one of the most important characteristics of humanity, writing that ‘All men by nature desire to know’ (Ross, 2012), throughout the Medieval era, a sense of suspicion prevailed about this concept. It was considered by many that curiosity was a sign of ignorance or of an unhealthy fascination with inappropriate knowledge, and therefore a sin. It wasn’t until the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries that philosophers began to view curiosity as ‘associated with acquisitiveness, an insatiable but laudable desire for knowledge’ (Brown, 2006, p143) and therefore elevate it out of sin and back into virtue. ‘Curiosity may be defined as a desire to know, to see, or to experience, that motivates exploratory behavior directed towards the acquisition of new information….and…
Mr James Seaha, Director of Post-Secondary Planning Where is the ultimate learning space? Is it the classrooms and laboratories of our schools and universities? Perhaps it is the libraries, museums and galleries of the world. If not, then it would certainly be the virtual space accessible in the comfort of our homes, local cafés or in our pockets. Perhaps it is, in fact, not a space at all and the best learning comes to us from life’s experiences. The answer to this apparently simple question could be as varied and complex as the learners themselves, or as simple as the concept of an ultimate learning space. On a recent visit to a French museum, I was reacquainted with the ideas of 18th century educator and philosopher, Jean Jacques Rousseau, whose thinking and writing in the fields of arts, education, politics and music helped to usher in French Romanticism and the French Revolution. I remembered studying his…
Mr Brendon Thomas, Co-Director of Technology Studies Faculty John Seely Brown, co-chair of the Deloitte Center for the Edge, noted in the film titled Digital Media: New Learners of the 21st Century (2011), ‘Probably the most important thing for kids growing up today is the love of embracing change. In a world of rapid change, the need to memorize something is a 20th-Century skill. The need to navigate in a buzz of confusion and to figure out how to trust the information you find, if you can feel confident doing that, the world is yours.’ Technology plays a big part in this buzz of confusion, especially in schooling. Just how much are we investing in our students’ technological readiness for their living, learning and earning futures? (McWilliam, 2012). Over a decade of teaching and parenting has assured me that young people are curious learners; quite happy to navigate this whirlwind of digital confusion. But as they…
Dr Ann Farley, Director of Differentiated Studies Faculty As parents and teachers we take great delight in seeing “our girls” constantly perform beyond our expectations. At each assembly we celebrate the achievements of girls who present insightful reports on activities conducted across the country and the world. At so many special events the students prepare, manage, present and perform with mature and sophisticated aplomb. On Friday night as we experience all the fun and excitement of Open Day the student population assumes the responsibility for showcasing the School to their parents and the broader community. The evening plays a significant role in the leadership development of the Year 11 cohort as they consistently rise to the challenge of organising many aspects of the evening. At this time last year, many of the 2012 Year 8 students were being welcomed to the Grammar community. Now they are the “welcomers”, encouraging our Year 8 students of 2013 to…