Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Hui Whakawhanaunga

Turangawaewae Marae, Ngaruawahia 26 - 27 February 2013

Tupu te toi, ora te toi, whanake te toi, i ahu mai i Hawaiki


"Growth of the treasure,
sustenance of the treasure,
development of the treasure,
the treasure that stems from Hawaiki”

How can I share the MAGIC of the experience that is Turangawaewae?

I can start by telling you how it felt to stand on the banks of the Waikato river last night and reflect on the day.  I can tell you of the emotion of the welcome, the feeling of the Powhiri, the sound of the waiata, the feeling of the sun beating down, the taste of the food that was shared.  I can tell you of the feeling to catch up with 'old' friends and connect with new friends, but mostly I want to share with you the MAGIC of hearing the story, feeling the story, walking the journey of our priority learners...
From Monika in the far north - to me in the far south, BeL facilitators gathered, shared, listened, reflected, connected, challenged....

I have an overwhelming desire to share the stories, and to share my feeling of my growth as an educator, a facilitator.  I know that as a result of the experience of the past two days I will ask different questions, seek differing connections, listen more, and really delve to get the story of the priority learners...

I cannot remain unchanged after feeling the story that is Nga Taiatea Wharekura or Tai Wananga. To sit at Turangawaewae and hear a tribal perspective on education from Dr Sarah-Jane Tiakiwai.

Another layer of change and growth for me is the shared story out of the Kelston Deaf Education Centre.  To hear (orally, and signed) the story of a learner, a teacher, a parent, a principal opened another window for me to delve into the priority of succes for learners with Special Education Needs.

Success for Pasifika is etched forever in my mind by the sharing of the 'Brown Brother' story.  To meet Joshua face to face and hear his story shared with his 'Brown Mother' was a true highlight of the hui for me.




What then will change for me as a result of this amazing experience?

I will listen to more stories...
I will tell more stories...
I will ask more questions, dig deeper, challenge more...

  • tell me your story...
  • tell me more about...
  • so what does this mean for our priority learners?
  • what does this look like for our learners?
  • how are we catering for children with a diverse range of learning needs?
  • how are we including every learner?
  • how are we building on our successes?
  • how are we sharing our successes?
  • how are we shifting our attitudes?
As I travelled home today, I reflected on the different teacher I would be if I walked back into class tomorrow... I now have the privilege to take this into my facilitating role...

A MAGIC journey, a privilege, a challenge...

Tupu te toi, ora te toi, whanake te toi, i ahu mai i Hawaiki

Sunday, February 24, 2013

MAGIC day out in Gibbston Valley....

Absolutely MAGIC adventure! Picked up at dawn and off on an adventure in the coolest bus ever... treated like royalty all day in the corporate tent... sensational sun, sound, friends, fun times.... Loooong right home... Thanks Pete and Theresa for a sensational adventure!
Gibbston Valley - Pat Benatar Slideshow: Anne’s trip to Queenstown was created with TripAdvisor TripWow!

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Some light relief for the lunch hour....

The vln...

If you are an educator who hasn't made the 'jump' to the vln yet, this might be just the 'push' you need... Check out this fabulous clip Tessa Gray made using PowToon...


Thank you...

How do you say "thank you" for sunshine or health... for clear days or gentle rains... for happiness, joy or love? 
You say it by sharing what you have.  You say it by making the world a better place in which to live.
Thomas D Willhite

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Sight and vision...

"The brain gives the heart its sight.  
The heart gives the brain its vision."  
Rob Kall


Wednesday, February 13, 2013

At the coalface...

Today dawned a very special day.  Together in Christchurch we visited the Southern Regional Health School and shared a Blended e-learning hands on day with the South Island staff!

What a buzz...

A room full of enthusiastic, engaged, bubbling educators and a team of Bel facilitators...

My highlights of the day are numerous... I will try and share some of the MAGIC of the day with you!


  • For me, a real buzz was the opportunity to work with my team, to learn alongside such an extraordinary bunch of people...
  • Buddying to share a session!  I had the pleasure to work alongside Ray sharing our passion of mobile devices in education, twitter, blogs, wikis, distance collaboration...
  • Sharing a PD day - starting wide - with a smattering of the smorgasbord... or buffet or e-learning...
  • Recording thoughts, wonderings, reflections and questions after watching the amazing Kevin Honeycutt clip....
  • Working in a very 'unconference' type way with flexibility of sessions...
  • Taking time to reflect along the way - and think about the WHY, the purpose...  
  • Thinking and discussion the innovative opportunities for connecting widely spread, transient clientele of the SRHS - envisioning ways of allowing learners to operate in a blended environment...
  • Realising that I am able to live my story.... "If you learn, teach; if you get, give!"

This truly was a great day of learning, teaching, 
getting and giving!


Slow down...

Slow down and enjoy life.  It's not the scenery you miss by going too fast - you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.  
-Eddie Cantor-

Friday, February 8, 2013

MAGICtivity....

YAY a new word!!! Thanks Luke!  This word is pure MAGIC for today...

So much of today was surreal...

I had a sensational catchup with a very dear Principal friend for lunch.  It is always so amazing to catchup with a good friend you haven't seen for ages and the conversation just flows.... connecting right where you left off!! :)

This afternoon Jane and I went to the opened of the new/relocated St Mary's school.  Not long after getting out of the car I heard one of the new entrants call out - yay its Mrs K.  That sure was a great sound to hear... and it only got better.  As I came up to the gate I heard the class that would have been mine calling out to me.  The highlight was when one gorgeous girl called out "Mrs K, you've bought your daughter"  Jane's looking incredibly young or I've aged significantly.... teehee we laughed and laughed.  Well, the real MAGIC was in connecting with the learners, a chat or a hug with most... it sure was good for my soul....

Gaining the contract with CORE was confirmed after the end of the school year, so I had not had a chance to connect with or tell the learners or the families.  Today felt like my day to share the MAGIC! It really is hard to explain... the new school opening after 6 years in the planning and here I am not teaching in it!  Everything about where I am right now feels so incredibly right... 

Then tonight on twitter I read that I was the first to comment on the Room 6 blog and further along the conversation the word MAGICtivity was born - thanks Luke.... 

MAGIC + connectivity =MAGICtivity


 Magictivity- the acts and deeds of in the real and cyber world. ” LOVE IT

A very appropriate saying for me right now...

Everything comes to us that belongs to us if we create the capacity to receive it.
- Rabindranath Tagore -




Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Reflection on the flight home…

Two days of MAGIC…
How do I begin to reflect on the last two days?
Days filled with:
·         Face to face meeting with people I have ‘worshipped’ from afar,
·         Reconnecting with friends
·         Meeting new educators for the very first time…
·         Time to look at my new role, my potential, understanding my place…
·         Viewing Bel within the greater Te Toi Tupu elpld…
·         Fun, laughter, learning, caring, sharing, inspiration and more…

I will share some of the ‘standouts’ for me at this time…
Time to reflect on the WHY?  Looking at and really delving into the WHY of our role… and where it sits within the how and the what….  Time to see the what as the rational, the how as the feelings and the WHY as the behaviour and the decision making; the WHY as the core of our reason for being. 
The chance to network in a room full of gurus.  I set myself a goal of connecting with everyone in the room.  I did not achieve this goal but met so many amazing people…. I reflected again on the upward spiral of connecting online, then face to face, online…. And so on…..  Each time you meet face to face it makes the online connection easier, then the next face to face is at another level....
The power of storytelling again comes to the fore… Helen’s family story impacted on my greatly as I understand the role of Bel is moving from birth, through infancy into childhood.  I am so excited to be part of an initiative that is in its infancy and I welcome the challenge of the journey…  I also really enjoyed listening to and reflecting on similarities and differences between us all, just as their are similarities and differences in every family.

I am so excited to create a VENN diagram of my journey…. I want to reflect on the start of the year for me as a Bel facilitator and look at how it compares with beginning a teaching year…


Teaching Year
Same
Bel Facilitator
Setting up class
Planning
Collaborating with management and staff
Meeting students and families
Reaching students
Developing routines
Setting up guidelines of ‘respect and protect’
Setting up online environments
Preparing for routine of year


 Flexible learning space

Collaborating

New connections


Routines
Setting up Mosgiel office

Collaborating with South team and National team

Meeting South and National team

Developing self-managing routines for blended learning work

Finding way around online environments…

Barbs, Allanah and I got to hang out and chat and have fun and it is called ‘work’… Bel birds are chirping…
I got an amazing overview of the Bel Role…. I have a far greater understanding of the WHY of my role…
I have a real understanding of Bel birds and the way that will symbolise our journey this year and beyond…
I have a burning desire to be BRAVE, BOLD and INDEPENDENT and to work to facilitate this in others….
I have so many new approaches…
I am in a room full of people who passionately believe in the transformative nature of e-learning to remove barriers and raise student achievement… The power of thinking and innovating in this room is on a whole new level for me…

Closing with 3 key ideas, 2 strategies and 1 action…
Bel facilitating is a way to put an e-learning lens on the key competencies…
My PLN is growing exponentially….
The feeling after two days is overwhelmingly one of being adopted into a family…
We sound beautiful when we sing waiata 
As I reflect on the journey of these two days…

I am going to STOP:
·         Worrying about my role
·         Needing to see the big picture all the time, instead I am going to go with the flow and welcome the challenge and the unexpected…
·         And I am going to work on my work/life balance with a whole lot of focus on family and ME time

I am going to START
·         Believing more in myself and my place in the Bel Team
·         Read and engage more online
·         Be more flexible, with my time, my role, my journey

I am going to CONTINUE
·         Finding the MAGIC
·         Connecting face to face and online whenever and wherever possible
·         Living the dream…
It is hard to explain my current feeling.  At the weekend I met a student I taught five years ago.  He was so interested in my new role and asked me if it was like the year of my “Twitter Tour”.  There are a large number of parallels between my journey in 2011 and my new venture… I am networking, collaborating and innovating with amazing educators all around New Zealand; I am travelling; I am about to experience a diverse range of school and classroom journeys and I have a chance to facilitate.  I have a much clearer idea of the role of facilitating and I love this definition from the NEXUS article…

Facilitator - Someone skilled in group dynamics and learning processes and with access to key sources of expertise and knowledge.  He or she encourages people to participate in network activity and makes it easier for groups of people to work and learn together and for the learning to be shared. 


What do I bring to the role… I bring an enthusiasm;  a passion; a willingness to learn, connect, collaborate, network, share and grow; an insatiable thirst for blended learning opportunities; a burning desire to work with schools to improve outcomes for all, with a particular focus on priority learners.  I also bring a desire to keep my feet firmly placed on the ground, to support others wherever possible and to ask for an accept help and support as I journey along…
So – here I am up in the clouds again, both literally, metaphorically and poetically…
What a journey, what an opportunity, what a privilege, what a challenge….



Tuesday, February 5, 2013

B-el Hui


Up here again…
It seems that some of my best blogging happens way up above New Zealand looking down….
Here I am bound for Auckland for my first ever B-el Hui!  What an exciting time….
I am incredibly fortunate to be travelling with Greg, beginning to learn my role, and as we know, any adventure is fun shared.  I am able to share my thoughts, ask my questions and really be myself.  Thank you Greg for the way you guide me along…
I am sooo excited to connect with all of the B-el team and realise my part in this HUGE endeavour.  It will be a fabulous opportunity for me to reconnect with Allanah and Barbs as well as meeting up with so many other great folks. 
We have two days together and I am looking forward to the networking the story-telling, learning of the role. 
I am very keen to complete a venn diagram around my school role and my new role.  I think this would be a useful exercise to undertake often throughout this year.  I am very keen to reflect on my change this year as I grow into my new role.  Accepting the challenge offered to me at ICOT by a fellow twitter I am going to really reflect on my role within education…..  Undoubtedly I will grow, change and develop personally and professionally.  I am committed to maintaining my enthusiasm and passion for all things that remove barriers, engage learners and improve outcomes.  I am committed to sharing my story, to bringing my experience to the table and growing myself… 
I am ready for a new challenge, a new dream!