The Future Today

'We want our students to be engaged and active participants in their learning and it will be our goal to provide authentic and relevant learning contexts.' So says
Joan Middlemiss, Principal of Mission Heights School.
My visit at 2.30pm on a Friday afternoon was certainly going to test how 'engaged' the pupils were. What I saw was nothing short of astounding. All key competencies were highly visible in the way in which the pupils were going about their learning. Working at individual screens or collaborating in groups around interactive table top technology run through 'e Beam', the atmosphere was calm and productive. Students spoke articulately about the process of learning as well as the content. They were able to express the reasons why they were doing certain things and could articulate what the finished product should look like.
Students benefit from the state of the art facilities and resources but it would have been too easy for Joan and Veena Vohra (Primary Principal)to purchase existing technologies and formats. They have started with a vision of learning and then through energy, tenacity, and an unwillingness to compomise their philosophy, have found the technologies that will support and enhance their ideals. A Linux infrastructure, open source, use of Moodle in a windows free environment has resulted in this being an almost paper free school.
Upon arrival at the school a colleague commented that it 'looked like an airport'.
The analogy was not far from the truth. Everyone had a purpose and a clear direction, they were using the most modern technologies to get there and they were facing the journey with a sense of excitment.

http://tvnz.co.nz/close-up/wired-future-2891200/video