This week I went to the Wise Kids conference on E-safety. (You could enjoy live feed throughout; Young People in a Digital World 2010 - Preparing, Supporting and Inspiring. This was an interesting aspect and one that has been refined since last year.) The only disappointment was the keynote speaker Dr Tanya Bryron was unable to attend, instead she provided a recorded interview. This turned out to be exceptional in my view and the highlight of the conference. An inspirational, intelligent, interesting woman that looks at today’s technological world with realistic eyes and an open mind. She considers the whole picture, something I have always thought many educational critiques fail to do. She announced that she is now reviewing her 2007 review, which should be another interesting read.
The most interesting and encouraging aspect to come out of the conference this year was the simple fact that we are now moving on from Internet lockdown in education. Recommendations for internet use in schools across Wales have been close to lockdown for many years. With Byron’s recommendations, it is has been a slow progress, but it is clear that education for safety is key. It is great to see and now maybe we can really utilise Web 2.0 technologies in our classrooms. I am looking forward to monitoring my new primary teachers as they enter the world of teaching to see if these new initiatives have had any influence on their practice.
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