Re: PGDE Students - Thanks!

I asked for help with a PGDE lecture (see New Session, New Students... Old Question!) and got loads of great responses here on the blog, on facebook, Twitter and Google Plus! It was really helpful. This year's lecture was re-built from the ground up, and hopefully improved, as a result of the input. Thank you.

PGDE @ Jordanhill Class of 2011/12
Photo by DavidDMuir

I hope it is OK to ask for your help again. As I have done in the past, I invited the students to text or email questions and comments during the lecture. Their texts and emails are automagically posted to an blog imaginatively titled PGDE Blog. I referred to this blog a couple of times during the lecture and dealt with some of the issues raised as we went along. I have now responded to every comment online but I would value comments from the wider educational community on some of their posts.

There was the usual crop of playful messages (well, perhaps slightly more than usual) but could I ask you to look at and comment on the following:

1. Using Phones in class.
2. Phones in class are distracting.
3. The Digital Divide.
4. Using QR Codes in education.

Thanks in advance

New Session, New Students... Old Question!

I've asked variations of this question before (see ICT: Tell me everything I need to know!, What did they need to know? and Initial Teacher Education and BectaX) but with 550-ish new students starting a PGDE course next week, and with the ever changing nature of technology, it seems it's time to ask it again:

What should I do in a one hour lecture to get new student teachers excited and enthusiastic about ICT in education?

277/366: Drag and drop, a photo by
DavidDMuir on Flickr.

My question is, essentially, how do I avoid this? -->

To set the context, I get one hour to talk to students about ICT in the first week of their PGDE course. This will not be the only thing they hear about ICT during the year, but it might be the first thing they hear and it will be the only time I have the opportunity to see the whole cohort at the same time. Roughly one third of them will be primary students and the rest will be secondary students covering just about every secondary school subject.

So, what do I do? What do I say? What could I get the students to do? How can I get such a large group, with different experiences, different interests and different levels of competence, interested and enthusiastic about ICT in Education?

Looking forward to seeing your suggestions.