' -.
J:: DtAChilOI'.j lEe HNO 1-0(,,/ ~ 0 J.- (A T?(jNS Affl~(f\Ay
1oio
EDITOR'S L ETTER
A number of years ago while attending an On this site, one finds a wealth of highly
educationtechnologyconference inVictoriQ, relevant and useful educational chats. Take
I had the pleasure of chairing a session w ith for example, EdChat which occurs every
about 30 teachers. The session was more of a Tuesday a nd is an incredible coliobOfative
focus group aimed at helping us (Education tool for educators to d ebate and eva!uate
TechnOIO~JY Sofufions Magazine) better solutions to various p roblems through Twitter.
understand how we could more effecnvely Over 500 educators and administrators have
seNlee the education technology market. contributed to the EdChot d iscussions from
On the subject of edito rial. specifically the vorious countries around the wortd.
kinds of editorial that educotlon professionals Other c hats indude Parentelic. an interoctive
wanted to see in the magazine. the discussion on Twitter between parents and
overwhelming mqjorrty of attendees stated educatOfS from around the world; SmChet,
that they really wanted to know what other where educators discuss fundamental
schools where doing. Not Just In one's own changes taking place os a result of new
state or territory, but across the country and social media technologies and how these
even around the world. technologies con be used more effecttvely
Since then. we have had the opportunity to in the classroom; and MuseEdChot, a
attendagreotmanyeventsondconferences discussion beiween music educators from all
and engage in similar discussions with over the world c bout relevcnt mUSiC topics
educa tion professionals from around the in educC-:~ ~.
worid, and this desire to know what other As Australia's leading educoiion techno!cgy
instttutions are doing is a recurring theme publication, our role is to prOVIde information
across most of our conversations. for education professionals that wiH help
Of course, given the frequency w ith them be more effective in their role. As SUCh,
which we encounter this request, I find I implore readers to take some time and
myself wondering. how many education explore the depth and breodthofprofessional
technologists actually practice what development resources available on the
they preach? Internet. Much of the content one finds is
Podcost. Vodcasts (Video podcasts). biogs more than just useful, rt is downright inspiring.
and wikis - the list goes 00. These are not just Explore, learn and please, shore with us the
technologies about v..rnich students should omazing things you find a long the way
be taught they are valuable tools w hich
can be of significCYlt benefit to education
professionals in their own professional
development. Toke, for example, tweets. In John Bigelow - Editex
recent years. Twitter has become infamous
for being the platform from which uninspiring
individuals with an overly inflated sense of
setf-worth espouse [Link] drivel about
nonsenstcal rubbish which no sone person
could ever possibly c are about. This is
largely due to certain Hollywood celebrities
abusing t()()ls like Twitter fcx their own self
aggrandrsement and inadvertently giving
what is otherwise avery usefulcommunication
tool a poor reputation.
Howevet a quick online search reveals a
significant number of sites through which one
can engage in very meanllrgful and useful
dialogue with other education professionals
using Twitter. My personal favourite is Cybrary
Mon's EducatiOnal Web Sites found at
[Link]/[Link].
