A day at home to soak up the magic of my late spring, early summer garden...

I cannot believe how the daffodils of spring have so quickly been replaced by the magic of the rhododendron season...

I am really looking forward to being in Taranaki for the garden festival next week!

Oh so proud of my incredible daughter...

I collected the local paper out of the mailbox to see my daughter!  Soooo proud of all that she is and all that she does...

After Ulearn Magic...

The last day… day for a sleep in, but oh no, we are up and ready for action early.   Off we go – final destination, Auckland.  

Magic wee stop at Tirau for a little bit of retail therapy.  Stop in Cambridge at my sister’s shop and a coffee for the journey.  A couple of random stops along the way were the race way at Hampton downs and the dragway at Meremere.  

We found an awesome cache with a Welsh geocoin, a real highlight of our caching.  A stop at Pokeno for a refuel, then Auckland Bound for some more retail therapy at Westfield.  Finally we checked into our very nice motel, dropped our bags and heading for the waterfront… TRUE MAGIC…  The whole week has been amazing, and this really is the icing on a delectable #Ulearn cake.  We soaked up the atmosphere on the waterfront visiting the fan zone, the cloud, 10 shed, the rugby ball, the entertainment, busking… 

Loving that I have really been on the soil, at Ground Zero.  Can’t wait for the final tonight… Go the Abs.  Back across town with a stop for a bite at Denny’s.  After a bit of an online catchup, I think we got lights of by 12.30am.  What a shock it was to hear the alarm at 5.15am, and what an adventure it was to find the rental car return and get checked into flight NZ671 bound for Dunedin.  Claire and I really maximised our 4square opportunities, even checking into the TARMAC… Struggling to keep ,my eyes open, I chewed on my All Black jet plane lollies and we chatted about the magic of the Ulearn experience.  

Day 3 Ulearn

Friday was up and away to our Google Masterchef session with our Google gals, Fiona, Tania, Tara and Helen.    This session got me all googly and I see google apps as a real turning point in my collaborative learning journey.  Thanks for a magic session girls.

Ulearn11 concluded with a keynote from Simon Breakspear and before we were prepared for it Ulearn11 drew to a close.  Reluctant to leave the friends, the atmosphere, the fun, we successfully conquered a very challenging geocache and headed for a last lunch together at Lime. 

After dropping Jo and Lynda back to their motel Claire and I again became tourists and headed up to the blue and green lakes.  

This trip really has been a magic blend of work and play, learning and socialising, and soaking up the atmosphere of Rotorua. 

A truly magical experience…

Thanks to Core Education, #Ulearn11 is blazing the fire within me… 

My takeaways are:      

• He Tangata, he tangata, he tangata (quoting @TarncNZ), it really is all about the people, connecting and relating;
• Online is fantastic, preparing, supporting and enabling so much more in the offline world (quoting @kmelhuish)
•  Meet, connect, socialise, interact with anyone and everyone,
• Fully engage in the experience,
• Googly is good – (quoting the Google Gals) – I truly can’t wait to develop google sites to support my blended learning environment for 2012;
•  Collaborate – by sharing google docs we have a wealth of resource material,
• Pace yourself…
• Reflect on each session – what does this mean for me, for my learners, how can I adapt or apply this,
• Discuss your thoughts with others to really heighten your opportunities to synthesize learning.

Day two Ulearn

Up early AGAIN, this time for a breakfast workshop with Stephen Heppell.  The whole concept of a breakfast meeting is MAGIC.  You get to eat, sit around a table, listen, chat and learn.  I just loved listening to Stephen.  I am in awe of the magic of learning spaces he shared and remain committed to revolutionising my class learning space for 2012.  I hung on his every word about collaboration and need to research further and talk further about aspects of collaborative classroom work.  I am committed to a fully collaborative, blended learning environment for next year with a school in Wellington.  Stephen talked about collaboration between 3+ classes, 3+ teachers.  I am wondering if we need to expand our vision for 2012.  Having been a part of facebook research with Stephen’s relative, I felt a connection and am keen to follow his projects and grow and learn.

Directly after this was the keynote presentation by Jan Herrington.  We stayed in the overflow room for this keynote and it was interesting again to be in a more spacious venue, with tables.  We need to continually be aware of the needs of our learners and encourage them to reflect and work out which is best for them, for specific sessions.

Off to the Rydges next for Using ICT to improve student learning in literacy with Simon Turnbull.  HUGE range of literacy links requiring a real thorough investigation...

Next up Leading Innnovation with Simon Breakspear.  The conference dinner was a very social occasion and an awesome spectacular with nearly a black out of costuming.  The pre-dinner entertainment was hilarious with a ‘rugby’ show.  Great meal, great times….

serendipitous word of the day

Word of the day from Newswordy

Netizen - A user of the internet, esp. a habitual or avid one

Day one of Ulearn11

Wednesday began with breakfast at Lime with a great bunch of friends then it was off for a final tweek to our presentation, then the magic of the conference beginning.  I am totally in awe of the number of teachers in one place at one time.   I am also in awe of the venue, the organisation, the people, but above all, I am in awe of the hype of learning.  This is MAGIC. 

9am Conference opening and welcome. 

9.30 Keynote by Jack Bacon 

10.45 Break and off we go in a taxi to Novotel for our presentation - A tweet for a teacher...

Claire and I began with our presentation but within minutes it became apparent that the internet was not coping.  Flexibility and adaptability became key as we worked around intermittent connections.  We were able to survey all learners with our google form and share some of the magic of setting up forms and looking at results. Social media survey summary!

Sharing our passion for using the online environment to connect, collaborate, share with an authentic audience followed with links for delegates to check at their leisure.  A number of new tweets were welcomed to the twitisphere.  We shared how we use quad-blogging, mascots, skype, and twitter for authentic learning connections with our learners.   We shared the benefits of a PLN for us as educators.  The intermittent internet access did impact on our presentation, but the true highlight for us was seeing new tweets working alongside our established PLN, collaboratively adding to google docs for keynotes, and contributing tweets.  Our collaborative project continues with HOPO about to launch off on an adventure.    Thanks to the Albatross colony for their generous support with our costumes.  
Next up I had an amazing session 'iPad Apps in the classroom' with the amazing Amanda Signal.  The whole session was amazing... I learnt so much.  The highlight for me is definitely the power of apps to allow learners to create and collaborate.  

Back to the Events Centre for a keynote with Graeme Aitken.  

This was followed by a reception and social time in the Trades Hall.  Ulearn is definitely about the people and the connections for me.  I met so many people face to face for the first time, people I have followed for ever so long on Twitter.  Harking back to Karen Melhuish Pecka Kucha talk, online is fantastic, but offline and meeting face to face is what it is all about.  I relished the opportunity to talk to Derek Wenmouth.  I have quoted Derek’s Ten Top Trends from Core for my assignments this year and it was great to discuss my journey with him in person.  We also chatted through our collaboration ideas for 2012 and he organised an interview for the next day to talk about our Collaborative Classroom project at the ‘imagining stage’.  This is a valuable starting point, a reference, and a tangible record of the journey we are about to embark upon. 

After the reception it was back up to the house to kit up in our Otago outfits and head to Seismic for the Twitter dinner.  Another magic celebration with very special people.  I got an offer for a swap or sell of my Otago jersey by a Frenchman but declined.  However we did settle for a few quick photos…..

Rotorua magic

Tuesday began with a very emotional Powhiri, truly magical.  

Claire and I tweeked our presentation then set off for a visit to Hell’s Gate. 

I really don't think you'd litter if this would be the consequence....

Mud, mud, glorious bubbling mud...

Sooo soothing....

Really magical natural wonder.  Loving being a tourist.  Even time for two geocaches on the way back from Hell's Gate.  

Back to the Rotorua Events Centre for the beginning of #Ulearn11 with the Pecha Kucha.  This was an amazing networking time.  So amazing to meet educators from all around New Zealand, all gathered together for a very exciting learning journey.  The Pecha Kucha is a fast paced sharing time with presenters sharing 20 slides in 6 minutes.   Wonderfully quick learning opportunities.  Inspiring thoughts from DK – the magic of social media, Charles Newton – ten , Karen Melhuish – face to face, Derek Wenmouth - gutenberg to zuchenberg - Literacy developing, democratization..., Stephen Heppell – the anatomy of change,  Janette Murphy @jeanettem1  -  inspirational slideshare  (as blogged by @AllanahK) 

This wonderful evening was completed with a dinner at Fatdog.  Such magic to catch up with some very special people…. @heymilly, @erinsawyer, @heheboy, @allanah, @barbs1, @marama and friends, @keamac, @AllanahK, @Barbs1

The magic of this day: amazing first ever North Island Powhiri, first ever Pecha Kucha, and magic dinner with friends.  

The little 'holiday' before Ulearn

Two magic days with family.  I don't get to see my niece and nephew very often so to spend two days with them on the way to Ulearn is magic.  When I was up visiting in July they 'fell in love' with my ipad.  Now, they have saved almost $600 towards their own to share.  I am in awe of their determination and persistence.  They have worked tirelessly for this and saved all pocket money and not even thought about spending any.  At 7 and 9 the ipad really is the window to the world....

On Monday we headed off to Ohaupo to meet up with Barbs and Allanah and the adventures began.  We had the most amazing giggle filled ‘quick’ journey across from Cambridge to Rotorua…. Taking a mere 7 hours with 9 successful geochaches, lunch and shopping.  What an awesome day.  

We arrived at Rotorua and found our house on the hill.  A quick trip down town and we were all set up.  This is my first ever visit to Rotorua and I am loving it already.... 

The Ulearn adventure begins…

Woohoo, Claire and I headed off on our adventure today.  We flew to Auckland with Air NZ on the day of the first semi-final, between Wales and France.   Our air host was very entertaining and plied us with All Black treats... and we even got to sit with two of the All Blacks! 

We arrived in Auckland and collected our rental car.  We struck up a conversation with a couple from Canada and a couple from Wales who were travelling to Taupo in their rental van.  They had pages of Google map directions… and we had a GPS so of course we offered to help them on their way.  Only one slight mistake… In our careful marking of the rental address, to enable an easy return next week, somehow or other we marked a waypoint on the GPS and set off on our adventure, chatting away, excitedly looking forward to our drive.  Only after about ten minutes driving on some very ‘back’ roads did we realise that we had gone in a circle back to our starting poi nt.  When we stopped and apologised to our followers, I have an inkling they thought we were playing games… Hmmm, slightly funny and slightly embarrassed.  Eventually we got on the ‘real way’ out of town and heading down to Hamilton.  

Lessons from today... 

Life is good, very very good:

Celebrate with the All Blacks, 
Never miss an opportunity to help visitors from overseas......

Learn the difference between way point and final destination on GPS!

Lessons from my hunter...

Lessons in teaching….

My son has been a passionate hunter from a very young age.  He has progressed through various stages on the journey.  On Saturday he shot his first deer.  With the help of his mate he carried it/dragged it out of the hills.  With the help of a book and the internet my son hung it and skinned it.  The next day an acquaintance came around and this is where I was in awe.  I witnessed the ultimate teaching experience.  I saw a young adult model one cut as they proceeded to prepare the venison.  After C. had demonstrated, J. experimented with his side.  Together they prepared the deer. 

What you say, is the lesson in that?

1.       With Passion and perseverance you can achieve your goal;

2.       Purchasing and reading a book can support your hobby/goal/passion;

3.       The world wide web has support for any venture – in this case – a hunting forum;

4.       An acquaintance who supports you is invaluable;

5.       Some people are born to teach – C. modelled, encouraged, and gave time for J. to practice;

The lesson I took away from this is how important it is to allow the learner to learn.  Give opportunities for self discovery and experimentation.  Allow modelling and practise of new learning.  Encourage everyone to pursue their dream…

Graduation

7 October 2011 Sydney Convention Centre
What a MAGIC day.  The celebration began early in the day and carried on way into the night.  All dressed up, wearing jandals, carrying heels (unlike those I saw hobbling on heels all day) we set off for the Convention centre.  To say we were treated royally is an understatement.  Like clockwork we were welcomed, kitted out in our academic regalia and had professional photographs taken.
Then it was off for an adventure around Darling Harbour.  First stop, of course, was the carousel!  I reflected earlier in the week that my leadership model was a circus tent so how could this be anymore appropriate?

Then it was time to celebrate with my friends who I have journeyed through the study with...

Darling Harbour was buzzing!  Granduands everywhere with family and friends.  Truly magical...

We were so fortunate to have our gorgeous men with us for the day.  They were saints, patiently supporting us and celebrating with us.

The formal celebration was at 2pm with 600 graduands across the Science, Business, Education and Nursing Faculties...We were welcomed with a wonderful speech by Senator Jacinta Collins.  She was entertaining and thought provoking.  Then the formal graduation began...
Magic is the only word to describe it....

Then the party continued with refreshments and photos on the deck...

...and a very well earned refreshment session on the waterfront!

Dinner was an amazing celebration at PUZA - The Meat and Wine Co,  a gorgeous South African restaurant on the water with exquisite food....great company... MAGIC

We followed this up with a magical walk right around Darling Harbour, then dessert and coffee...

MAGIC MAGIC MAGIC...

My Masters Journey...

4 October 2011 On board Flight QF150 heading for Sydney... time to reflect on the journey and look back to where it all began..
Midway through 2008 our principal asked me if I would consider the position of Acting Deputy Principal for 2009. After some consideration, discussion and reflection I accepted. Simultaneously Jan mentioned the value of further study for me… knowing that I loved College and loved learning. She suggested studying for my Masters of Educational Leadership, which I immediately rejected. She persisted and sent me the information pack and convinced me to enrol immediately and join the 2008 intake for a 3 year journey. For this Jan, I am eternally grateful.

On Monday the 5th of January I flew to Wellington for two week contact time with the 2008 cohort of 27 teachers from around New Zealand. The whole journey started in an amazing way when Kevin (who I went to school with) upgraded me to business class and I sat beside Wendy (who I played squash with in 1986). She took me directly to the CBD and so began a journey of learning, connecting, discovering, growing and above all fun.

My first paper was The Study of Organisations with Dr Michael Cash. Immediately I became aware of the value of learning and growing into my leadership role. I discovered the structural framework, the human resource framework, the political framework and the symbolic framework. My first major assignment was planning, implementing and evaluating a “Smartboard Showcase” run by the learners, for the extended school community to showcase the recent expenditure in IWBs throughout the school. This was an incredibly successful venture resulting in 85 percent of our families participating, unheard of in the past.

Paper Two was Authentic Leadership with Dr Dennis McLaughlin. This paper really lit my leadership learning fire. We were continually challenged to reflect on our strengths and weaknesses and develop strategies. We learnt about moving from self awareness to self mastery to interpersonal connection to authentic leadership. Dennis reignited my love of literature and so began the journey of reading for learning all over again. For this assignment I wrote to leadership essays around the idea of “Lead to Succeed” from the book of the same title by Chris Lewis. “Reflecting, learning from experience and seeking feedback are at the pinnacle of great leadership. To successfully lead others, one must first seek knowledge about oneself, with this knowledge being at the cornerstone of kaizen (‘continuous improvement’). (Lewis Pg 275)

Paper Three was Shared Leadership in Semester 2 of 2009. I was two days away from flying to Wellington when Mum suddenly became very ill. That was the beginning of a nine week time of touch and go, with 3 hospitalisations, blood transfusions, a stent and a long recovery. I did not make it to Wellington and completed the paper distance out of Brisbane with Dr Chris Branson. This was a very stressful time for me with daily visits to the hospital and caring for Mum. Despite the odds Mum made a full recovery and has been an incredible support throughout my study. I struggled with the concept of fully distance learning and found it a very lonely journey. I really missed my fellow students. I completed the paper with distinction and am very grateful for all the support I received. My assignments for this paper consisted of developing a shared culture of leadership at our school, followed by a reflection on my ability to lead with a stint as Acting Principal.

In January 2009 I returned to Wellington for the contact time for paper four and five. Paper four was our research project with Dr Michael Cash again. I focussed on using the online learning environment to enhance the home/school partnership in numeracy. This enquiry practicum was as challenging as it was rewarding. Seldom do we have the privilege of relaxed time to interview fellow staff members and students to really reflect on the value of our programmes. I found the ethics committee’s expectations very challenging but was delighted to complete such a wonderful learning journey. I presented the findings of my research at the Otago Numeracy Symposium and at the North Otago Principal’s conference.

Paper Five was Leading Educational Change with Dr Gayle Spry. This paper was the first rigid ‘academic’ pedantic paper. Our first assignment was “Why is educational change an issue in contemporary education?” Followed by a second assignment, what is a meaningful conceptualisation of leading educational change? And how should we go about leading educational change? Alongside this we had to develop a conceptual framework for our leadership. It will come as no surprise to those of you who know me well, that I chose a circus tent! I was delighted with this, but alas, my tutor was not so delighted at all. Me thinks she did not understand me...

In July of 2010 I returned to Wellington for Ethical Leadership with Dr John Kleinsman. This paper was challenging with in depth look at moral and ethical issues and dilemmas. For my assignment I chose to reflect on the learning needs of senior student s and families at our school. This is in response to the increasing popularity of exiting our school at year 6 to attend colleges when we offer full primary education right to year 8. I chose to use this assignment to work with our students and families to really delve into the ethical issues of leadership at St Mary’s. I chose the movie Nemo because of its universal appeal and its social-emotional-moral-ethical leadership examples. This was a wonderful learning journey but alas we continue to struggle to keep all of our Year 6 learners.

Paper 7 was in January 2011. I have now received a Study Scholarship thanks to TeachNZ and life is much more balanced. There is only so long you can teach fulltime, lead and study! This paper was Leadership Spirituality with Dr Denis McLaughlin. This was another awesome opportunity to learn and share and grow in the spiritual nature of our leadership. Paper 7 comes with some flexibility of assessment and I was extremely fortunate to be granted permission for a passion project. For this I looked at my place within 3 generations of females and leadership from the past and looking to the future. Furthermore I was granted choice of presentation method. The result was a movie reflecting on aspects of leadership throughout my Mum’s life, my life, and my daughter’s life. This was an absolute joy to create, and receive feedback on. I now have a treasure, an absolute Taonga, a rare and precious gem to view and share. Thank you Denis for that privilege.

The final paper in my Master’s journey was Developing Inspired Leadership. This paper was one of the many highlights on my journey. I t was a synthesis of all the papers to date with a view to firmly establishing and living our unique leadership role. My assignment for this was He Korowai Rangitiratanga –
The Cloak of Leadership! I found this paper the most challenging of all to really define my leadership stance. I struggled to limit my concepts but eventually developed a cloak of leadership that I am proud to live daily.

What a journey. I feel very privileged to have not only embarked upon, but indeed thrived upon the experiences, the learning, the connections, the reflection, the self discovery…
As I sit on the plane today I am aware of how extremely fortunate I am. I have so many people to thank for this incredible opportunity. First and foremost, to my wonderful family who have stood by me through thick and thin, essay deadlines, assignment despair and sooo much time away from home. I was away from home for my son’s birthday in 2009 which was probably harder on me than on him. Thank you, thank you wonderful family. I am so lucky to have Grant here beside me on the way to my graduation and I know that my children and Mum are with me in spirit.
I have to thank Jan for challenging, inspiring and believing in me. To my fellow staff members, thank you for your care, support and encouragement. To all the learners in my classes over the past 3 years, thank you for the challenge, the interaction and the fun.
To all my fellow students, thanks for the collaboration, the friendship, the conversations, the laughter and all of the precious Wellington memories.
To all my fellow educators, especially those in my Twitter PLN, thanks a million.

This year of study leave saw me develop the concept of a Twitter Tour. This has really seen me living the dream. I have travelled from Paihia in the North to Bluff in the South and made numerous stops along the way. I have loved every minute of the journey, meeting face e-to-face, travelling with facilitators, school visits, fun and laughter in classrooms, conferences, geocaching, tweet-meets, educamps, 4square, but above all, meeting new fabulous friends all around New Zealand. I always say, ‘the world is full of friends I am waiting to meet!’ Well, I have met a lot of you this year and I am eternally grateful for the opportunity. I really am living the dream.

I know that I will find the return to the routine of the classroom incredibly challenging after a year in a bubble. I am so excited about my learning, my passion for education, my enthusiasm for new and innovative opportunities, my collaborative classroom opportunities and my learning space visions. I am exuberant about the beginning of 2012 and also incredibly nervous that I will stumble and fall. I know that I will need each and every one of you to support me and guide me and encourage me to ‘get back up’! After a year ‘on the road’, I really will be challenged to keep my feet on the ground…

What a journey! Roll on GRADUATION!

Core ed breakfast with DK - YAY - it really is okay to PLAY

On Wednesday the 28th of September I went to another awesome Core Ed Breakfast. This session was with DK on Social Media. What an awesome, entertaining session this was. We started with a look at social media versus social networking then ventured forth on an entertaining timeline… Sometimes it is hard to grasp how much has changed in our lifetimes… (Oops, that sounds very grown up now doesn’t it?)

We reflected on consumers vs. producers vs. aggregators! Recently, I have been reading about the term prosumers – a lovely blend of producing consumers or consuming producers…

We giggled our way through the non-blinking zefrank at http://www.zefrank.com/ Hi s videos are well worth checking out!

We reflected on the six spaces of Social media – secret, group, publishing, performing, participation, watching with awesome examples from DK!

How can we apply these to the six spaces of social learning? A real challenge issued to us there!

When DK said educate yourself before you educate anyone else… I thought YES! That is why I am so driven to learn…. We looked at opportunities to leverage technology in learning and DK provided me with immediate practical use. I have a Year 7 reluctant writer I have been working with on the blog. He is more passionate about the Rugby World Cup than anything I have ever seen him excited about. For the past 3 weeks he has been blogging reviews of the week that has been. This has received great comments and feedback and he is greatly inspired to write more. I only see him for about half an hour a week and DK made the next session doable by triggering my mind to allowing him to podcast his predictions and discussions. What a hit this was. Thanks to a wonderful comment by @NZWaikato, my learner is now predicting and reflecting. OH the power of twitter…..

I was further inspired when DK talked about contacting speakers, interviewing them, skyping them, blogging the learning.

If we are indeed creating and consuming more media than the media, let’s make it quality and let’s share it with an authentic audience. I love the concept of my blog as an intersection where people pass through!

DK through out the challenge of using the ideas from facebook to enhance our learning environments... I really must investigate SuperClubsPlus again to see if this would be an opportunity for my learners.

We touched on Gamefication – in education, and looked at play as a learning strategy! I often say that I became a teacher so I didn’t have to grow old, and have an excuse to play. I sure do have fun with my learners and intend to use more games based learning in my programmes when I am back in the classroom. Games offer the opportunity for independent learning, problem solving, collaboration and fun – go games!

The challenge for us is to use our existing networks to share and enhance learning!

And to finish with the words of DK (or who ever said them first...) - Go teach, go fill their brains… and follow your desire path, and let the learners follow theirs….

AWESOME session, thanks DK!