CWA New Media: Our Blog

Large numbers can attract the attention.   These figures come from a BBC report, and it advises that this is a 41% growth since last year.    Included in the report was that 117.6 million people accessed the internet using their mobile phones last year, up 133% from 2007.

Students are the main strength of mobile internet users, the study said: 43.5% of them use their mobile phones to read online news, download music, check email and perform a variety of other tasks.

At the end of 2008, the number of net users in China, which has a population of 1.3 billion, was almost the same as the entire population of the United States.

wow!

With 2009 well and truly underway, it’s a jolt to realise that next year is 2010 . No doubt it will be a year of review and future gazing.  Reading up on the NZ Secondary Futures site might provide a head start as this 4-year initiative has been considering the future of learning, and has produced a range of interesting theme-based papers.

The latest ICT in Schools Report is now available and online.

This authoritative 2007 report – the latest in a continuum of reports over the years – presents the latest picture of ICT in our schools. It includes, for example, findings that indicate that, in our schools today, there is likely to be one computer for every four primary school students and one computer per three students in secondary schools.

This research project was implemented by the New Zealand 2020 Communications Trust whose ongoing mission is … “to help ALL New Zealanders benefit from the opportunities of the new digital era – especially from the internet…”.

The buzz of the last 2 years about Second Life is starting to recede, but it still remains a phenomenon within which thousands interact every day. Here’s how a group of educators are exploring it.

ISI – The International Schools Island

Open 5th Feb 2008

Documenting the building of an Island (& community) in Second Life, started on 9 Sept 2007 designed to support educators worldwide (with an emphasis on S.E. Asia)

http://internationalschoolsisland.blogspot.com/

StarLogo is developed by the MIT Teacher Education Program at MIT. Its website says:

“…StarLogo TNG is The Next Generation of StarLogo modeling and simulation software. While this version holds true to the premise of StarLogo as a tool to create and understand simulations of complex systems, it also brings with it several advances. Through TNG we hope to 1. Lower the barrier to entry for programming by making programming easier. 2. Entice more young people into programming through tools that facilitate making games. 3. Create compelling 3D worlds that encompass rich games and simulations.

Source: StarLogo – the Next Generation