Today's kids have immediate access to information everywhere they turn. They are truly mobile with their technology. (Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach, Keynote address)

Mark Prensky in his writing and in conference appearances, has regaled us to ‘listen to the digital natives’. We may well decide the notion of 'digital natives’ and ‘digital immigrants’ has outlived a useby date. But as educators, many of us are very aware of the power and importance of student voice. If teachers are to engage and motivate young people, if teachers believe that this generation of young people has the talent and creativity to solve complex world issues, then we need also to understand the world that they inhabit.

In fact we need to actively engage with them in that world in a way that we are learners too. We have much to learn from the young people in our classrooms. This section of our online conference is to allow you to hear and see some of the amazing things our students are doing. Engage, listen, be amazed, learn. In eliciting powerful student voice, we have the potential to build real learning communities in our schools.

This workshop includes a number of student voices of all ages. In some presentations, students share how they use technologies and in others they share presentations given at a regional Tech Hui in Wellington for secondary students and their teachers. We welcome and feature:

1. Carey and Aonghas - Rutherford College
2. Daniel - Wellington High School
3. Room 9 (6-7 year olds and teacher Rachel Boyd) - Nelson Central School
4. Phillip, Chris, and Alex with Greg Carroll
5. Tech Angels - Wellington Girls' College
6. Rachel and Kelly - university students, former Tech Angels
7. Palmerston North (PNth): Awatapu College and Freyberg High School

Presentation three - Rachel Boyd and students

Learning, Sharing and Connecting Online with 6 and 7 Year Olds! Bio Rachel Boyd teaches the most wonderful class of year 2/3 students at Nelson Central School in the top of the South Island of New Zealand. She is also a lead ICT teacher for the Nelson City Schools cluster and was a member of the DiscoverIT Tasman ICT Cluster in 2006. Rachel is in her fifth year of teaching and is a self confessed geek who enjoys learning more about Web 2.0 tools and discovering how these can enhance learning and enable her students to connect with others. Rachel's class of 6 and 7 year olds primarily consists of boys. They enjoy sharing their learning and being actively involved in connecting on a worldwide basis with others through their blogs, podcasts, wiki, and more.

Description Take a tour through the digital side of Room 9 at Nelson Central School. Let these 6 and 7 year olds educate you about blogs and blogging and show you what they're doing with podcasting, wikis, blogs and more everyday in their classroom. Also see the effect these "cool" tools have had in enhancing the home/school relationship. These student's may be young, but they're connected worldwide! Share in their learning and experiences. Presentation 1 Learning, Sharing and Connecting Online with 6 and 7 year olds (Video uploaded to TeacherTube) Presentation 2 6 and 7 year olds and Blogs! (Video uploaded to TeacherTube) Supporting links Rachel's professional blog (Where I chronicle my journey, resources, tutorials I've made.) My del.icio.us links Class links Nelson Central's Class Blog Class del.icio.us links Former class blog (2006) Podcasts: Central Kidscast Room 9 Writing Spot Room 9 Wiki Support material Why let our students blog? The benefits and reasons we should have our kids blogging. Contact details Email: Rachel Skype: nz-rach

This presentation was a keynote address at the regional Tech Hui at Wellington College, 23 May 2007 for secondary students. WGC Tech Angels are students who have an interest in ICT and who want to further develop their skills. They come from all year levels in the school and the year 13 students are responsible for running the programme and mentoring staff and younger Tech Angels.

Student voice noticeboard
Invite students to participate on the noticeboard or add quotes from them:

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