Whilst looking for a new photo to use for one of my avatars, i came across a way to blog from Flickr straight to my blog.
Just for fun I have decided to use a photo of my dog. He is cute, naughty, hairy but very lovable. I swear he thinks he is human, or is it that I treat him like a human (child)!!
Anyway, thought I would test this out and perhaps use it in a different way next time.
1 comment September 18, 2009
In a couple of weeks time it will be one whole year since we (WMR Ultranet Coaches) organised and held the NOW Online Conference. It was a great event and we had some wonderful presenters talking about three main themes – CREATE, COLLABORATE and COMMUNICATE.
NOW 2008
These themes are still strong ones that are being explored in schools and educational forums. Earlier this evening I was looking through recent tweets on Twitter and came across one from klbeasley and it made me think back to these three themes.
The three Cs
So what has happened over the last 12 months? How have we moved on and helped our students become creators of new knowledge, communicate their ideas and understandings, and collaborate with others at school and beyond school?
Even though I am no longer an Ultranet Coach, I have seen and heard of some gains within my region, although still feel that there are many competing priorities for schools that often it is difficult to make the big gains.
Now that I am working within one school I have been able to watch some of these themes being explored by our teachers. Like other schools, we too have had many priorities, one of which is starting everything from scratch. Being a greenfields school there was a lot to establish – curriculum, policies, vision, uniform, and so on. However, I am pleased that with time and the right understanding of how ICT can be used to leverage learning, we are moving forward.
Our 5/6s have just recently made links with an International School in Bangkok, whilst our Year 7 have just recently live blogged with Anne Mirtschin’s Year 7s at Hawkesdale P-12. We are hopeful these links will be developed over the next term.
We are still learning and still experimenting with these themes and technologies but it is happening 
1 comment Tagged: Bangkok, collaborate, communicate, create, murcha, Year 5/6, Year 7 September 18, 2009
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.
We done Lynbrook PS. A great conference.
Add comment Tagged: conference, ICT, Lynbrook, Marco_Torres May 10, 2009
What a year!
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
2 comments May 2, 2009
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.
Now it is my job to tag 7 others. So here it goes…
1. Sylvia Martinez
2. Frank
3. Drew Buddie
4. Frances Manning
5. Missi Baker
6. Orunner
7. Suz Arnott
5 comments January 1, 2009
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! -
6 comments Tagged: youtube ad December 25, 2008
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.
1 comment Tagged: Classroom2.0, Diigo, Edublogs, learning, network, PLN, twitter, Ultranet, VITTA December 2, 2008
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.
Find more videos like this on Classroom 2.0
Add comment Tagged: classroom, ENPS, ePotential, ICT, learning spaces, Renee Hoareau, VITTA November 25, 2008
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 -
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.
A new chapter begins…
8 comments Tagged: AP, ICT, job, learning, role, Ultranet November 20, 2008
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.
3 comments Tagged: ACEC2008, learning, LizMurphy, online, video_conferencing September 29, 2008
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