Derek’s Blog, launched in 2003, serves as a platform for sharing thoughts and reflections related to his work. It offers over 20 years of searchable posts, categorized by the tags below. Feel free to comment, as your feedback contributes to ongoing reflection and future posts.
July 6, 2024
“On average across OECD countries, students were less likely to report getting distracted using digital devices when the use of cell phones on school premises is banned. (OECD, 2024) Recently I’ve been engaged in conversations in a number of schools and meetings of educators where the topic of mobile phone bans has been raised in discussion. […]
Read more...April 5, 2024
“Your greatest danger is letting the urgent things crowd out the important” Charles E. Hummel, the author of “Tyranny of the Urgent” A visiting academic from the US who is staying with me at the moment had a message from his wife yesterday to let him know that the hospital where she works in San […]
Read more...January 20, 2014
As we prepare for the return of students to our classrooms, many teachers and schools will be considering the implications of their BYOD programmes and increased wireless access meaning more kids using digital devices in school. With such privilege comes responsibility, and a key focus for teachers, leaders and school policy makers must be on […]
Read more...November 5, 2012
I've just been browsing a report recently published by Ofcom titled "Children and parents: Media use and attitudes report." [PDF]. Much of my work in schools and with teachers involves discussions about the sorts of skills and dispositions young people need to be considered 'literate' in an increasingly digital world. The research carried out by […]
Read more...November 5, 2012
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXw55E2JbPE%5D The use of YouTube by students is a hot topic in many schools I visit and work in. I am the parent of a couple of young people still at school who regularly use YouTube clips as a source of entertainment, information and education (my son taught himself how to program in JAVA […]
Read more...November 2, 2012
We often hear complaints about what students say and do online, but we often neglect to look into educators helping them manage their online reputation. With the rise of use of social media among teachers, both personally and professionally, there is a growing need for educators to be engaging in thinking about the implications for […]
Read more...October 14, 2012
On the Thursday evening at ULearn I attended the launch of the Teachers and Social Media website, developed by the NZ Teachers Council. Illustrated at right are Alison McAlpine (Chair of the Teachers Council) addressing the group, and TC director, Dr Peter Lind. I've had the privilege of working with this group over the past […]
Read more...October 13, 2012
On Wednesday afternoon at ULearn I had the privilege of attending the launch of a set of guidelines for teachers on Digital Citizenship. The launch was held, very appropriately, at the National Library's Auckland Service Centre, a wonderfully 'future-focused' building reflecting how libraries and learning should be approaching the 21st century! The story of how […]
Read more...January 19, 2012
It's always useful to find resources that can be used to promote a combination of critical thinking, cyber-citizenship, research and history (to name a few). The following resource came to me via Learning Times, and provides some material that I'm sure could be used very creatively in classrooms: Conspiracy Theories in Aerospace History A lesson […]
Read more...July 21, 2010
I’m always interested in some of the trends and perspectives shared by those who are researching the characteristics of the emerging generations – amid the positioning and argument, there are areas of agreement that the youngsters of today are growing up in quite a different world to what existed for my generation, and as a […]
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