Laurie O’Donnell

I spent a couple of days in Dublin this week with former Becta Chief Executive Owen Lynch. Owen is working with LTS to benchmark what we are doing with ICT in Scotland against the policy and strategy of other countries across the world.

The Irish Government’s Department of Education and Science recently published two reports the first ‘ICT in Schools’ is a very thorough description and evaluation from the schools inspectorate.  The second ‘Investing Effectively’ is the report from the ministerial strategy group which suggests that Ireland’s 7 priorities for  investment 2008-13 should be:
1. Continuing professional development
2. Software and digital content for learning and teaching
3. ICT equipment – additional and replacement
4. Schools broadband and services
5. Technical support and maintenance
6. Implementation structures and supports
7. Innovative practice and research

We met with senior staff from the Government’s ICT Strategy Unit, Schools Inspectorate and National Centre for Technology in Education (NCTE) and took the opportunity to share ideas and challenges. There was much interest in what we are doing with Glow.

MIT used to have a presence in Dublin and we visited their former home at The Digital Hub for an extended conversation with two members of the Ministerial Strategy Group, Michael Hallissy (Director of The Digital Hub Development Agency) and Dr Conor Galvin of the School of Education and Lifelong Learning at UCD.

Ireland has a thriving business cluster around ‘e-learning’ and we spent a morning with Brendan O’Sulivan CEO of Third Force and his senior staff. This company has developed from start-up to having a $40m turnover in 5 years with over 2,000 online courses and a growing capacity in assessment. I really don’t like the term ‘e-learning’ but was intrigued by the business model and how the company is responding to and seeking to develop the market in online professional/skills development. Lots to learn here for the world of education and the future development of Glow.

Anyway enough travelling for a few weeks. Next week it’s The Scottish Learning Festival and the world comes to Glasgow.

We came across the updated Framework for 21st Century Learning when we were in the US.  Nine of States have live projects exploring the model and there seems to be a growing movement of educationalists, politicians and employers happy to sign-up to what amounts to a radical departure from normal practice in US schools.

The mission statement (see below) makes for interesting reading. Need to explore it much further to see how it compares with the rationale for Curriculum for Excellence. One thing for sure is that even in the US there is a recognition that a curriculum designed for an industrial age falls short of what our young people will need to thrive in the 21st Century.

MISSION STATEMENT
Serve as a catalyst to position 21st century skills at the center of US K-12 education by building collaborative partnerships among education, business, community and government leaders

TWENTY FIRST CENTURY CHILDREN
Every child in America needs 21st century knowledge and skills to succeed as effective citizens, workers and leaders in the 21st century.

There is a profound gap between the knowledge and skills most students learn in school and the knowledge and skills they need in typical 21st century communities and workplaces.

To successfully face rigorous higher education coursework, career challenges and a globally competitive workforce, U.S. schools must align classroom environments with real world environments by infusing 21st century skills.

This skills set includes:

• Information and communication skills (information and media literacy skills; communication skills)
• Thinking and problem-solving (critical thinking and systems thinking; problem identification, formulation and solution; creativity and intellectual curiosity)
• Interpersonal and self-direction skills (interpersonal and collaborative skills; self-direction; accountability and adaptability; social responsibility)
• Global awareness
• Financial, economic and business literacy, and developing entrepreneurial skills to enhance workplace productivity and career options
• Civic literacy