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Support for Innovation in Schools

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I recently attended the Microsoft TechEd 2008 conference in the HKCEC in Wan Chai where I sat in on a presentation to do with capturing innovation  in an organisation.

It struck me how relevant this presentation could be to education. Whilst part of the agenda of the talk was to convince attendees that MS Sharepoint server and its add ons would be the best for any enterprise, it was also a look at why companies need to innovative and why they should support and capture the dialogue about innovation.

Digital Work and Digital Lifestyles

The presentation clearly identified changes on the horizon and mentioned the digital lifestyles and workplaces that were becoming commonplace today. Once again, I could not help wishing that some regional educational leadership were present to hear this.

Joseph will sort your studies out!I know that it is a message that some of their parent community passes onto them but in this city where exams are as common as hot dinners for kids and rote learning tutors are treated like rock stars and adorn bus backs with huge trendy pics, it takes a courage not often displayed in HK Educational leadership to go against the trend.

I am fearful that the schools who do not encourge innovation and 21st century learning at least partially will really struggle when businesses screaming for creative innovators start to demand it of all schools. Interesting that the parents of kids here are not more demanding of the schools to embrace innovation and 21st Century Learning now.  I think a part of it is a bit of a smoke screen. I know a lot of schools who say that they have introduced the International Baccalaurette Programme due to its emphasis on globalisation and “inquiry-based learning”. Interesting that today’s South China Morning Post contained a report from parents who were dismayed at the amount of very structured content-based homework that their children were coming home with in preparation for the IB Diploma Assessments. Interesting too that the Regional Conference for the IBO in Beijing was a little light on for this style of presentation, especially directed at the diploma level course.

I really do not see the IB as the answer to ensure that schools become supportive of the use of tools that support innovation, collaboration, communicatoin, creativity etc as shown in this model of support for innovation.

The Innovation Approach

It is cold comfort to note that I am not the only one saying the same thing about Schools putting WAY too much emphasis on exam results. Inserted below is an article from this morning’s education section of the South China Morning Post. exam-cultureGiven that the ESF school system is reported as having 43 percent of its students from the local Hong Kong population, it is little wonder that there is a flow on effect to the ESF and other international schools about th fear and mistrust of the unknown digital world and the certainty of an exam system.

The excellent debate raging on the Brittanica Blog and begun by Steve Hargadon of the classroom 2.0 ning is also bringing the issues of trying to make a more relevant education system into focus. For me, a lot of dissenters are using the argument that the kids in front of them do not know how to use the tools appropriately. I couldn’t agree more! Problem is, if their K-12 teachers are not modelling the great eductional uses of the technology, how on earth are they going to know about them, especially in a media and marketing driven world. McDonalds is NOT going to show them Voicethread!

As always, interested in comments.

Images from the MIcrosoft Presentation are from this website.


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