Surprised to be back in the news

I was surprised last night as I was reading the latest edition of Education Review to find myself quoted in a article titled ICT doesn’t have to be a headache:

University of Southern Queensland associate profession (sic) Peter Albion says, “the stuff that works best is the stuff that comes naturally”. He believes that everyday experience is a great motivator of ITC learning.

“My 80-year-old mother is not averse to using e-mail and online chat with her grandchildren, because it’s a good way of staying in touch,” he says.

Albion, who has researched self-efficacy in ICT education, says confidence with the technology will come from practice, and overcoming the problem of getting started is made easier by seeing people you can identify with using ICT.

I don’t recall talking to a journalist recently in a context that could have generated the quotes. I do have a vague recollection of talking with somebody a few months ago. Perhaps that was it and it’s taken that long to make it into print.

The springboard for the piece is a new book, Change: Transformation in Education, by Marg Lloyd and Nicola Yelland. The issue is the continuing challenge to encourage teachers to use ICT in their classrooms, especially in ways that are meaningful for Generation Y students who are so familiar with it. In part, at least, I think it does come down to encouraging teachers to regard ICT as a natural part of their lives and work.