Making Connections

Before 2009 I’m going to spend a couple of days trying a couple of new eTools. This morning it’s the lifecast app for the touch. Is this a way for me to liveblog?

Posted with LifeCast

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well, this is cool! I’m on the lounge with my brand new iPod touch. I’m having fun putting it through it’s paces. Can’t wait to really play with the school potential of it!

I wake up this morning to find people tagging each other for “7 Things You Don’t Need to Know About Me” across the twitter and blog spheres and I really enjoyed reading members of my PLN’s responses, it really is a way of getting to know more about each other and deepen the connections. It was great reading Rodd Lucier’s (thecleversheep) responses and Jarrod’s (MrRobbo) over on their blogs and I knew it would only be a matter of time before I found myself tagged. So, my thanks to Jarrod and here’s my responses:

1. I am the only girl in my family – two full brothers and a half brother. I’m also the eldest, there’s 10 years between my youngest full brother and 19 between me and our half brother (he was born a month after I moved out of home). Growing up in a male dominant house means I’m well trained at dealing with “boys” and am a bit of a tomboy myself.
2. I did ballet until I was about 12…when my teacher told me I had thighs like a footballer. I never went back.
3. I am a self-taught knitter. I got bored one christmas holidays from uni and picked up needles, yarn and a book. By no means am I perfect knitter and my mother-in-law leaves me for dead, but I enjoy making things.
4. I was commissioned to write a play for a local community I lived in a couple of years ago.
5. I was “gifted and talented” at school and went to the Univeristy of New South Wales’ Scientia program over summer a few times. I have always been a nerd…
6. I am training to make an attempt at Black Belt in Rhee Taekwondo sometime in 2009
7. I failed maths in high school…I used to read my novel during class…on the other hand I was a model English student.

Wow, that was actually harder than I thought it would be. Now…seven people to tag…

Beth Still

Simon Brown

Dean Groom

Rob De Lorenzo

Naomi Harm

Liz Davis

Jeff Utecht

I love to read, I always have. My father used to get so frustrated by my ability to curl up in a corner and literally read all day for the entire weekend. Even now that I’m all growed up and often am too busy to read as much as I would like it’s rare to find me without a book of some kind in my hand/bag/car. One of the beautiful things about being an English teacher is that I get to indulge my reading habit and cal it work.

It’s been a big year and as tomorrow is the last day of the 2008 school year for my system it seems a good time to reflect on what has been achieved and what opportunities are opening.

Hubby and I moved schools at the start of this year, as I’ve blogged about before, and honestly when I first arrived our new school intimidated me – it’s at least twice the student population of our last placement, it’s brand new, and it’s determined to be the best.

Surprisingly I didn’t die as I predicted when hubby and I did our first drive by scope of the place. Instead this school has been amazing for both of us professionally, we seem to have found our feet and we’ve both experienced major professional growth here. I’ve been lucky enough to have found leaders who have trusted me enough to follow my passion for eLearning and believed in my abilities to do what’s best for the students – not just something that looks good.

Without the leadership and support of these people I would never have:

• nominated for the Smart Classroom Awards (and been counted as one of the 12 winners from across the state)
• gained my ICT Pedagogical License
• established online learning spaces in all of my subject areas and in both our senior and middle schools
• began speaking and running workshops
• applied for an acting position
• began buying and reading educational textbooks – and actually enjoying them!

It’s been a big year professionally for me…and admittedly there have been moments when I wasn’t sure I was going to make it – gosh I’m glad I have though! What a wonderful ride!

And now as we wrap up for 2008 we’re beginning to look to 2009 and wondering just what may lay in store for us then…especially because for the first six months I’ll be taking on a very different role within the school, temporarily replacing someone who is stepping up to another role.

I never thought I’d end my year on this note. I’m scared, nervous, excited and rearing to have a go…really I’m ending the year standing on the edge of a cliff. Will I fly or flounder? I guess 2009 and reveal all.

Picture by: welcometomyisland @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/16923212@N08/1877501979

The truth of the statement, “It’s not about the technology, it’s about the pedagogy”, has become clearer and clearer to me over the last 12 months.

After spending the last few days working on a presentation for a conference and trying to present my argument for a shift in our teaching approaches in a way which is (hopefully) not too confrontational I’ve really come to realise that it’s true.

At the end of the day does my classroom need technology in it to be innovative, to be 21st Century? In short the answer is no…despite my belief that technology used well can enhance a class’s learning environment, making it more flexible, more personalised, more open. At the end of the day though teaching (and more importantly, Learning) will not be stopped in a room without technology.

So, if technology’s not the key to kids learning, what is?

It’s us…the teachers.

It doesn’t matter if we’re a graduate, a veteran with 30 years experience, a part-timer, a specialist…whatever, if we’re doing our job we’re:

• Engaging students
• Providing them with a variety of independent and collaborative projects to enrich their learning experiences
• Facilitating their growth towards independent, life-long learning
• Supporting them

As a technology enthusiast I have caught myself occassionally thinking poorly of a colleague who doesn’t use technology in their classrooms. There’s a lot of misunderstanding between those of us converted to technology and those teachers who as of yet haven’t jumped on the bandwagon – and we really need to make sure that that misunderstanding doesn’t evolve into an us and them attitude.

Those of us who are already converts need to understand that everyone’s experience and engagement with technology is different and we can’t expect those people with fear/confusion/hesitation to take a giant leap forward and jump up next to us. Some people will take YEARS to see that what we’re achieving is valid, while others need to be shown once and then the next time we look around they’re way out in front of us.

For me, from now on, I’m going to stay very aware that it’s not about the technology, it’s about the pedagogy and instead of judging those not yet on the technology wagon I’m going to try understanding where they’re at in their journey.

I’ve got a feeling it’s likely to get more of a response than “You must integrate technology to be a 21st Century teacher.”

Through my Twitter network tonight I stumbled upon yet another blog of high interest for me. Shanetechteach over at My Journey with Digital Pedagogy works in the same system as me and it turns out he’s one of the Advanced Pedagogical License holders (I achieved License level June this year) – so he’s definitely one I’ll be watching keenly from now on

1. Blooms Taxonomy Revised
2. An analysis of the essential 21st Century Skills
3. and this great image I came across through my blog surfing a few weeks ago:

Thanks, Shane for making me think a bit more about this and connect some of the dots that have been eluding me all week!

Imagine my horror at a colleague’s proud boast, “I don’t have a mobile phone, and I can’t see why anyone would want one.”

This came up during the lunch break for the PD session I was given the opportunity to facilitate (which I first mentioned here). I felt like I was talking to people who didn’t get my technology addiction and who had very little idea about the depth of technology’s integration with our society these days.

How do we encrouage people like this to see technology as a positive and not some sort of evil “ruin” to society?