Last week there was in Hong Kong the 8th Annual 21st Century Learning Conference at the Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai. A lot of experts especially centered on different pedagogies and new trends in Education were there. Law Ting Pong Secondary School, as a school that is always open and interested on new educational strategies, sent some teachers to learn and share experiences.
The teachers were: Mr. Patten Wong (Humanities), Mr. Paul Marriott (ICT), Ms. June Pun (Maths), Mr. Patrick So and Ms. Mariona Anglada (Spanish). Here is some of the feedback and impressions that they shared:
The topic of the Pre-Conference workshop was called “The Creative iPad Classroom” which introduced a lot of differents apps that may help the kids learning. And the good news was many of the apps are free. The speaker was an art educator so most of the apps are focused on visual arts. For example: Wordfoto, Typedrawing, Art Set, Picto Boldo, Let’s Create!, Pottery HD Lite, etc. But if you are not a VA teacher, don’t worry about it, they still had some apps focused on photography, like iMotion HD, iMovie, Funny Movie Maker, Chatterpix Kids, MegaPhoto, Mirrored, Replay, etc. Those of them are suitable for all teachers and students.
Ms. Pun
One of the major things I learned from the conference is self-directed learning. This is a global trend which allows students to have self-motivation to learn. As a teacher, we need to ‘’let go’’, it doesn’t mean that we don’t offer any helps. By keeping our hands off, students can take the ownership of learning and set their own learning outcomes with structured framework. Students are able to choose the ways of achieving learning outcomes at the same time. It is believed that self-directed learning would enable students to regain their interest and confidence in learning.
Mr. Wong
I attended some of the sessions about Self-directed learning and Gamification. It seems clear that it is necessary, not to introduce but to use regularly technology inside and outside the classrooms. The traditional method of teaching and learning is already obsolete; and there is more a more interest from Tertiary Education Centers (i.e. Universities) to focus on skills and the proficiency on switching and combining strategies when solving problems. There was a lot of interest on “Motivation”, it is hard to learn without motivation, and it is hard to be motivated if the contents or activities are not appealing, hence the Gamification. There has been a lot of studies that show that the “game” approach works, not only with kids but also with adults (we just need to look around at the MRT and see how many adult people are playing with their mobile phones or tablets). The world of the information is changing, so should the way we approach to it, and how we learn about it.
Ms. Mariona
I have been a regular attendee of the 21st Century Learning HK Conference since 2008. Each year is an opportunity for us to learn and collaborate with as many passionate, informative and skilled educators across Asia (if not the world) on the growing trends and requirements of today’s learning. The conference is not just about the “use of technology” per se, but rather, it’s about HOW we learn on a wider scale.
This year, Patrick Ko and I had the golden opportunity to present at the conference on our experience with LTV (Campus TV) and Campus Media, and how this initiative has shaped the learning and leadership paradigm in our students. Prior to our presentation, we had an opportunity to meet and collaborate with representatives of Concordia International School Shanghai, who just so happen to have a similar Digital Media set-up to LTV / Campus Media at LTPSS. Getting in touch with them, as well as others, was an absolute joy and pleasure.
Overall, the conference was a blast, and we look forward to the next one in March 2017!
Mr. Marriot
