This week I was lucky enough to be invited to present at the Lynbrook PS ICT Conference. This was the second conference of its sort held at the primary school. I didn’t get to attend last year but this year I did as a presenter and a participant.
The day began with a live meet up with Marco Torres from US via iChat. Three main points that Marco made were - Think Big, Think Bold and Think Ahead. There’s a lot to be said about this as often we go gently, gently.
What I liked about this conference was that it was held on a school day. It was lovely to see real teachers (and students) presenting in a school using real examples of student work. From a list of many sessions I was able to attend one on Blogs and Wikis and one on SuperClubPlus. Both were informative and practical. There were many other sessions which also wish I had had the chance to attend. Lucy Barrow has taken some photos of the day here.
When I look back to my blogging efforts last year, I was learning so much so quickly. I could barely take in one exciting new tool or new concept before tackling a new one. This continued for me throughout the year and I was able to learn and grow as an educator through a dedicated network of teachers, mostly who I had met online. Exciting times alright!
This year has certainly taken a different slant. Home and work have certainly dished up some new challenges. For those who follow me on Twitter would know I have changed jobs, so no longer an Ultranet Coach, but now Assistant Principal (ICT & Student Learning) at a brand new P-12 college that has just opened this year. This has been an amazing journey which will no doubt form the basis of many future posts.
Also those who follow me on Twitter will have heard about the trials and tribulations of our house renovation and extension. There are so many wonderful outcomes of the project but there have also been many difficulties. We are still hopeful that these difficulties will be resolved so that we can enjoy our new spaces.
After a full four months of not posting to my blog, I think it is time to return
It’s been a year since I started keeping a blog and I have been tagged on a couple occasions. This time I have been tagged by a fairly new addition to my PLN, mrrobbo, a year long colleague, Anne Mirtschin, and Lee Mowbray, another Australian blogger.
The idea behind this meme is to find out a little more about people in your network. So here are my 7 things you don’t need to know about me!!
1. I love open spaces and the feeling of freedom. That’s why my new extension has the indoor/outdoor feel about it. In fact the outdoors have been flying and slinking their way in the last couple of days - a bird and a lizard have made their way in.
2. I have two sisters, two daughters, three nieces, and two male pets!
3. I won the Minnie Mouse Award in Year 11 because I was so quiet in class. I’m still fairly shy but have pushed myself with the career moves I have made through teaching, presenting at conferences and running adult learning workshops.
4. I won the Outstanding Primary Teacher of the Year Award in 2006, which is something I am very proud of.
5. I used to sell children’s clothing in the 1990s whilst my girls were young. I managed to go on three Club Med trips based on my sales. During one trip to Vanuatu I successfully completed a trapeze upside down swing and catch!! Seriously!!
6. During my college years my friends and I traveled to Tathra, NSW for our end of year vacation. I got to meet Michael Hutchence of INXS in the local newsagency.
7. My hubby and I married in Fiji in 2004. My daughters were the bridesmaids and only guests We were all dressed in white (beige pants for hubby) and in bare feet. The ceremony was in the gardens of the resort and we had the village choir for our background music.
Today is Christmas day and a time to be with the family. As we often do, we went to my parents’ home to celebrate. My parents could be described as typical Macedonian village folk who migrated to Australia in the 1950s. Their home is complemented with a vegie garden and fruit trees in the backyard. They take particular pride in their garden and we, as their children, often reap the benefits with tomatoes, onions, lettuces of different varieties, pumpkins and peppers. Photo of backyard
Being such a major part of their lifestyle, my father has even set up a rig to frighten away birds if they come too close to the garden. It is a rope that stretches across the yard from the kitchen to the back of the yard. He has attached cans, cloths etc to it so when he pulls at it, it creates movement and noise. This scares away the birds from eating the fruit and vegies.
Today I was alerted to an ad on TV for the Woolworths/Safeway campaign that my brother in-law created. And here are my mum and dad recreated! -
Earlier this year I wrote a couple of posts about developing a PLN (Professional Learning Network), and just last week I presented at the VITTA Conference about ‘The Power of the online PLN’. It was very much a reflection of how I had developed my own network over the year as a direct result of me needing to learn more about new technologies and online tools for learning, for my role as an Ultranet Coach.
The talk I gave highlighted four key tools that got me connected -
Now I am moving into a new role, that of Assistant Principal for a new college (currently undergoing a name change) with a focus on ICT and Student Learning for the 21st Century. With this in mind I am planning on developing learning programs that exploit networking tools and new technologies.
Our students are widely connected in their own lives and would benefit from having similar networks cultivated for their learning to become richer and more meaningful.
Only last week a colleague, Stony River, sent me a link to a great video called “The Networked Student”. I think it is great video that will help me promote this style of learning to my staff, students and parents.
Whilst looking through some resources on the ePotential, I came across a video that was made about my classroom (as well as others). It was shot in 2006 and this was the last year I taught at Essendon Nth Primary School. Renee Hoareau, Executive Officer from VITTA was on the production team.
This year has been a wonderful experience for me. I have worked as an Ultranet Coach for the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development within the Western Metropolitan Region. Within this role I have worked with 28 schools and leadership teams, as well as a range a teachers who have participated in the ICT Peer Coaching Training that I have facilitated.
The work has been varied over the year but on a clear goal to support schools in using the Ultranet, an online learning environment that will be released over the next two years.
Some of the work has involved -
building awareness around the Ultranet initiative
introducing schools to the ePotential Survey and Resource
helping leadership teams unpack the data from the survey
guiding eLearning Planning
developing tailor made professional learning for schools
organising school visits for leadership teams to see best practice
planning and facilitating a region based ICT Peer Coaching Program
running hands on workshops on Web 2.0
running hands on workshops with Macs
leading curriculum planning with ICT in schools
embedding ICT across the school and curriculum
planning and running an online conference
presenting at conferences
I feel I have made a difference to these schools - some in slight ways and others as huge turn-around in the attitudes and mindsets of how ICT can be embedded in learning.
I have loved my job and enjoyed meeting so many teachers and leaders in the region. This is the last week that I am in this role and will be moving on to a new role as an Assistant Principal in a brand new school.
Today I have experienced a talk by Liz Murphy from LMGM about using the Internet for communication, collaboration and real life learning, as part of the ACEC2008.
Using video conferencing tools like Elluminate and Centra you can begin to incorporate many real life experiences. Simply by having a laptop, webcam, headset and a wireless card you can bring the real life situation to the classroom.
Normally the way I have used video conferencing is by setting up a virtual space or classroom where there is either one speaker or a few speakers to present or share their content and ideas. An example of this is our own NOW Online Conference scheduled for early October.
However, Liz explained how a teacher or an outside expert can present information that is within the context of the topic and create an online learning environment that is rich and real. In other words being on the ground where the action happens and then streaming back into the classroom. Liz has many examples on her website.
Global events can be captured by having presenters from any area of the world, collaborating on shared topics. The picture below is from Liz’s website demonstrating the locations of the presenters for her collaborative project for the International Year of the Dolphin
Working in this capacity allows for immediacy between experts and participants. Questions are asked and answered and ultimately learning is not just from the experts but also through the conversation and collaboration. The video conference media can be edited and archived for future reference.
Our very first online conference is fast approaching. The WMR Ultranet Team has been sponsored by the Knowledge Bank, DEECD to host an online conference.
The purpose of our conference is to support our teachers and leaders in the Western Metropolitan Region, as well as others from around the state and globe. Our three key themes are Create, Collaborate and Communicate. Our program is designed around these themes with a look at tools such as wikis and blogs, digital stories, mobile technologies, and strategies around thinking, cyber-safety, budgeting and resourcing for effective eLearning.
We have some wonderful presenters lined up with Kym Nadebaum as our keynote presenter. Kym’s session “The Song Remains the Same” is sure to raise as many ICT questions as it answers. Other presenters include Anne Mirtschin, Stephen Palmer, Tony Richards, Peter Davis, Trudy Brentnall, Louise Bowe, Rob Pyers, Colin Schot and Martin Mielimaka and the Ultranet Team.
Our online presentations run between October 7th and 9th. To support these sessions we have also planned hands on workshops between October 21st and 30th. So I guess, it is a hybrid - virtual and f2f.
A full program can be seen on our Ning and on our wiki. You can also join our Ning and create your own profile.
One of the things that I have found in my career is that there is always a stack of ‘reasons’ or ‘excuses’ for not being able to do something or to believe in something. This week was interesting and I found myself listening to the ‘but’ word over and over, and almost felt defeated by it.
I watched Kevin Kelly tonight on TED and what he said very much resonated with me. He said we ‘have to get better at believing the impossible’.
I feel I am an optimistic person, some might think naïve possibly. However, without believing that things can be done we will give up on trying to make them happen. Like with new technologies and new ideas. Why can’t we have laptops in classrooms? I’ve had them in my rooms. Why is this so hard for others to believe this possible? Why can’t we use the web2.0 for learning? Predators, paedophiles? Surely there is more than that out there for our students. Some believers are using blogs and online technologies to the highest advantage for student learning, whilst others ‘are not ready’.
No one else would ever need machines of their own, or would be able to afford to buy them. Thomas J. Watson, American President of IBM (Quote from Wikipedia)
I like to believe in the impossible and to give things a go. I think this is what makes education rich and authentic. And I applaud the teachers who are out there doing what most people say they can’t
