Excitedly I counted down to the Ellerslie Flower show. Having read the mixed reviews in the Press I was keen to get there to see for myself. It was exciting to arrive to no queues but sad for the organisers. As I share this, I ask you to think about the MAGIC that is Ellerslie and consider travelling to Christchurch for the show in 2014. It really is an incredible show, with something for everyone. Enough said... sit back and enjoy! (I did take a few photos... so it is quite a long clip... just over ten minutes...)
Monday, March 11, 2013
MAGIC MAGIC day part two
I have to start this post with the MAGIC of this...
I am still in awe of the privilege of yesterday... No matter how many edtalks I have watched, reflected on or workshops or keynotes I have had with Kevin, the real MAGIC was in being alongside the engaging with the student learner... The power of the connection, passion and MAGIC in the room was tangible...
I was privileged to view the varying levels of engagement... those uber keen to be upfront, those wanting to hang around the upfront kids, those hanging back and those firmly staying in the audience... The real MAGIC was in the ultimate respect for each learner to be where they were with the challenge and welcome to engage and push themselves. To see what is really possible when you reach your learners is what I miss now that I am not in class. The opportunity to walk with your learner...
How do we make sure all our learners have the opportunity to share their talents? This kid is oozing talent. Imagine the inspiration he can be for others... Imagine what is possible building a culture of performance...
For me, now is the time to walk in the path of adult learners... I am very excited about this opportunity. I am inspired to ensure I do all in my power to listen to the educators I work with, and ensure they have their chance to shine and share! I really feel this clip can never be shared too often...
What a privilege to work with Kevin. Check out his website here and look out for his return visit to New Zealand in June!
What a privilege to meet Joanne in Christchurch at the weekend and hear the buzz from the session with Kevin. Then to catch up with Karen and feel the vision and the opportunities.
A HUGE thank you to Karen for letting me celebrate the journey. I am in awe of the learners.
I am still in awe of the privilege of yesterday... No matter how many edtalks I have watched, reflected on or workshops or keynotes I have had with Kevin, the real MAGIC was in being alongside the engaging with the student learner... The power of the connection, passion and MAGIC in the room was tangible...
I was privileged to view the varying levels of engagement... those uber keen to be upfront, those wanting to hang around the upfront kids, those hanging back and those firmly staying in the audience... The real MAGIC was in the ultimate respect for each learner to be where they were with the challenge and welcome to engage and push themselves. To see what is really possible when you reach your learners is what I miss now that I am not in class. The opportunity to walk with your learner...
How do we make sure all our learners have the opportunity to share their talents? This kid is oozing talent. Imagine the inspiration he can be for others... Imagine what is possible building a culture of performance...
For me, now is the time to walk in the path of adult learners... I am very excited about this opportunity. I am inspired to ensure I do all in my power to listen to the educators I work with, and ensure they have their chance to shine and share! I really feel this clip can never be shared too often...
What a privilege to work with Kevin. Check out his website here and look out for his return visit to New Zealand in June!
What a privilege to meet Joanne in Christchurch at the weekend and hear the buzz from the session with Kevin. Then to catch up with Karen and feel the vision and the opportunities.
A HUGE thank you to Karen for letting me celebrate the journey. I am in awe of the learners.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
MAGIC MAGIC day
Not sure how I can do today justice....
I kept a bucket load of notes in the wonderful evernote only to be let down with it disappearing when I did the required change of password...
So I have MAGICal memories as opposed to notes...
The day began at a high school in Christchurch with Kevin Honeycutt! Session one was with an auditorium packed full of year 11-13s. I was in the unique position of being able to sit on the side and watch the faces, the expressions, the body language of the learners as they engaged with Kevin and climbed onboard his story. I saw the pain in their connections and the joy, I saw the learners seeing themselves in Kevin's story. I felt the buzz, the connection, the celebration and acknowledgement of their potential....
Starting the day with the message "want to be great, then make no excuses, work hard and make a better song"! What a powerful message. We all have MAGIC inside - we must choose how to use it, how to maximise our potential...
What opportunities do we give our learners, or do we take ourselves to share our voice? Why not try lulu.com? The power of this is revolutionary...
The seniors were mesmerised...
The session peaked with learners taking the stage to play the drums on the ipad, to collaborate and make music...
At the end of the hour they did not want to leave.... How often does that happen I wonder? What does it take to hook and engage our learners? How can we use these tools as onramps for all our learners?
The juniors arrived and again I watched them arrive, eyes widening viewing the 'tools' on display on stage...
For me, as a primary teacher, it was fascinating to view the distinct differences between the senior and the junior group! I am in awe of Kevin's was to 'read' and engage with the audience... The juniors laughing and learning and engaging with the challenge "how do you want to spend your heartbeats?"
I am feeling the realisation of the learners, identifying themselves in the story... as the question is asked - do we take the time to think before we post online? I love the chance to view this story....
Are we teaching our learners to think before we put our finger back in the danger zone? Are we teaching them to think before they post or txt?
Are we challenging our learners to identify their legacy?
Are we being what our learners need?
Are we there for them?
Are we rewindable?
Are we free of judgement?
A jamming session with the juniors ending with woof whistles and cheers and a reluctance to leave the auditorium by this next bunch....
The third session of the day was incredibly powerful! A group of music and drama students came together for a much more intimate, hands on session... Ohhhh truly a goosebump session! There were really three groups within the session: the singers and band, the backers and dancers, the audience... Each group had its ultimate respect and together the auditorium rocked out an incredibly powerful, extremely emotional version of 'Stand by me'!
I will link this later...
I love the learning of iteration - a new version of a new version of a new version! The learners are so engaged in this message... "What is my potential?"
"Park next to excellent until you're excellent."
... part two tomorrow...
I kept a bucket load of notes in the wonderful evernote only to be let down with it disappearing when I did the required change of password...
So I have MAGICal memories as opposed to notes...
The day began at a high school in Christchurch with Kevin Honeycutt! Session one was with an auditorium packed full of year 11-13s. I was in the unique position of being able to sit on the side and watch the faces, the expressions, the body language of the learners as they engaged with Kevin and climbed onboard his story. I saw the pain in their connections and the joy, I saw the learners seeing themselves in Kevin's story. I felt the buzz, the connection, the celebration and acknowledgement of their potential....
Starting the day with the message "want to be great, then make no excuses, work hard and make a better song"! What a powerful message. We all have MAGIC inside - we must choose how to use it, how to maximise our potential...
What opportunities do we give our learners, or do we take ourselves to share our voice? Why not try lulu.com? The power of this is revolutionary...
The seniors were mesmerised...
The session peaked with learners taking the stage to play the drums on the ipad, to collaborate and make music...
At the end of the hour they did not want to leave.... How often does that happen I wonder? What does it take to hook and engage our learners? How can we use these tools as onramps for all our learners?
The juniors arrived and again I watched them arrive, eyes widening viewing the 'tools' on display on stage...
For me, as a primary teacher, it was fascinating to view the distinct differences between the senior and the junior group! I am in awe of Kevin's was to 'read' and engage with the audience... The juniors laughing and learning and engaging with the challenge "how do you want to spend your heartbeats?"
I am feeling the realisation of the learners, identifying themselves in the story... as the question is asked - do we take the time to think before we post online? I love the chance to view this story....
Are we challenging our learners to identify their legacy?
Are we being what our learners need?
Are we there for them?
Are we rewindable?
Are we free of judgement?
A jamming session with the juniors ending with woof whistles and cheers and a reluctance to leave the auditorium by this next bunch....
The third session of the day was incredibly powerful! A group of music and drama students came together for a much more intimate, hands on session... Ohhhh truly a goosebump session! There were really three groups within the session: the singers and band, the backers and dancers, the audience... Each group had its ultimate respect and together the auditorium rocked out an incredibly powerful, extremely emotional version of 'Stand by me'!
I will link this later...
I love the learning of iteration - a new version of a new version of a new version! The learners are so engaged in this message... "What is my potential?"
"Park next to excellent until you're excellent."
... part two tomorrow...
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Learning, growing, sharing, connecting and paying it forward...
The beginning….
I really want to share a little of the story of a new
beginning…
When I accepted this chance as facilitator I believed it to
be a dream come true and I eagerly anticipated a steep learning curb and a
challenging adventure.
I hoped for support and guidance along the way but I could
never have imagined how amazing it would feel to join this team…
I want to share a little of what I have learnt that I will
take with me wherever I go in the hope that sharing it will embed it in my
practice and in the hope that someone, somewhere will pick up something useful…
·
I do not feel as if I have been employed or
offered a job, I feel as if I have been adopted into a family. Taking this into a class setting, what can
we do to make sure all our learners feel this way?
·
I have been immersed in new learning,
discoveries and challenges with the caring, gentle support of team members and
leaders. How can we use the expertise
within our school communities to ensure that we support new members?
·
I have been given the chance to tell my story,
to share my passions, hopes and dreams, to celebrate who I am and what I have
to offer. How do we make sure every learner
tells their story and shares their passions?
·
I have been privileged to hear the stories of
others, to share their journey and get to know them as a person as well as an
educator. How do we really reach our
learners, before we teach our learners?
How do we encourage them to share and listen and dig deeper to get to
know others?
·
I have been supported by buddies who mentor me,
model practice for me, walk my journey and support me, but also let me be
me. How do we walk with our learners but really
let them be who they are to be the best they can be?
·
I have felt an overwhelming ‘tender loving care’
for me as a person in my new role. How
do we create a ‘tender loving caring’ environment for ALL our learners?
·
I am privileged to be operating in an extremely
high trust environment. How
do we ensure our learners are challenged with high expectations and high trust
to be the ‘best they can be’?
·
I feel as if I am plugged into a direct source
of professional learning and development. I am loving the learning
journey. How do we ensure our learners
‘learn to love to learn’ to quote the famous Kevin Honeycutt?
·
I am hearing, feeling and learning the story of
our priority learners. How
do we sensitively reach our priority learners and strive to provide on-ramps to
learning success for them?
·
I am aware of the extreme privilege of my
journey. I am in awe of the
opportunities around me, and before me.
I am living the dream… How
do we create a classroom environment where all our learners live the dream?
As I journey into this role I am in awe of the opportunity I
have to facilitate, learn, share, grow, connect, network, be…
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all of you who are
supporting, encouraging, challenging, nurturing me in my new role... I will pay it forward!
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Engaging with a blog....
In response to recent discussions on Twitter I would love to share some ideas that worked for us with our blogs...
"A blog without comments is like a day without sunshine" and I believe a blog is to be interacted with...
So here goes, sharing of ideas I have read, heard about, tried, thought about....
The absolute guru of blogging and comments for learners is Linda Yollis. I have used so many of her wonderful ideas with great success...
How to comment
Learning how to comment
How to compose a quality comment
For me, it has been really essential to spend time with the class looking at how, why, when, where and what to comment on and interact with. I have started the year by looking at a blogpost and modelling commenting, replying to a comment and continuing interaction.
Celebrate each post, each comment, each view. Load your blog up with widgets to enable you to see your visits, where they are from, etc with: statcounter, Clustrmaps, flag counters, feedjit. None of these will increase your visits or comments, but they make interesting viewing and can really encourage your learners and families to interact.
Writing tasks for independent time are reading blog posts and comments, adding comments and responding to comments. I have found it invaluable to look back on comments and posts and continue to model commenting.
Family sessions are essential. We must allow time for learners to teach their extended families how to view and interact with blogs. We found it invaluable to have the learners run the session, working with their families in class.
Learners can wear a lanyard or bracelet home to notify their families that they have a blog post that needs viewing and commenting on that night.
Notices on the class blog can alert families to special posts, or better still families can all subscribe to the blog and receive updates automatically.
Grandparents and extended families overseas can be encouraged to subscribe and interact.
Communicating with experts in any learning journey can allow opportunities for linking to the blog.
Speakpipe is a great way to allow families to record their message. It is great to listen to a response to a post. We found it valuable to experiment with recording messages in class also.
As part of the process of 'earning' their own blogs, learners were encouraged to read posts and comment on a given number each day. Not only did this ensure that the posts were read, it also ensures that learners are regularly commenting at school, which makes it easier for them to support their families at home.
Use labelling carefully. Encourage every learner to tag every post with their name and subject making it all easily searchable within the tag cloud.
Check out our last year's class blog to see some of these ideas. Check out the side bar and the links we use.
It is not easy to get comments because everyone is busy. I think he key for us was to ensure all comments were read and responded to when necessary. Learners love receiving comments and are very open and honest commenting on each other's posts.
Quadblogging has been invaluable for us to have an authentic interactive audience for our blog. It is also incredibly valuable to have a buddy class within your school environment. Not only can this strengthen relationships it sets a benchmark and challenges others to interact. I like to think of it as an upward spiral of interaction.
Given that we are wanting people to interact with our blog, the challenge is on us to share interesting posts. We must share, reflect on our work and encourage others to interact with our learning journey... We must seize the opportunities to share our learning journey with our families when they are not present. Best examples of this are class outings, camps, beach trips, swimming lessons, athletics... the list is endless. Every experience we have is an opportunity for learners to 'record' and share with a wider audience. Once parents begin to see their learner's life through the blog you are well on the way. Remember, it does not come easily... You have to work at it, persevere, encourage, engage, connect, collaborate and continue to publish to your blogs.
Another fabulous forum is sharing links to blog posts on twitter. Your PLN are your best audience and you will find that people are only to happy to engage with your blog. The key is that blog commenting is a two way street. To expect comments, you must be prepared to post comments. Using the hashtag #commentsforkids is a really useful way to encourage comments.
I guess, for us, our blog is a way to connect with each other, to create, collaborate and share, to comment and interact with our audience. It is a place to showcase and reflect on our work. It is a way of taking down our classroom walls and inviting an authentic audience to engage and interact.
I remember attending a CORE breakfast listening to DK talk about a blog as an intersection, a crossroad, a meeting place... Your blog can be all this and more...
Good luck with making your blog MAGIC!
"A blog without comments is like a day without sunshine" and I believe a blog is to be interacted with...
So here goes, sharing of ideas I have read, heard about, tried, thought about....
The absolute guru of blogging and comments for learners is Linda Yollis. I have used so many of her wonderful ideas with great success...
How to comment
Learning how to comment
How to compose a quality comment
For me, it has been really essential to spend time with the class looking at how, why, when, where and what to comment on and interact with. I have started the year by looking at a blogpost and modelling commenting, replying to a comment and continuing interaction.
Celebrate each post, each comment, each view. Load your blog up with widgets to enable you to see your visits, where they are from, etc with: statcounter, Clustrmaps, flag counters, feedjit. None of these will increase your visits or comments, but they make interesting viewing and can really encourage your learners and families to interact.
Writing tasks for independent time are reading blog posts and comments, adding comments and responding to comments. I have found it invaluable to look back on comments and posts and continue to model commenting.
Family sessions are essential. We must allow time for learners to teach their extended families how to view and interact with blogs. We found it invaluable to have the learners run the session, working with their families in class.
Learners can wear a lanyard or bracelet home to notify their families that they have a blog post that needs viewing and commenting on that night.
Notices on the class blog can alert families to special posts, or better still families can all subscribe to the blog and receive updates automatically.
Grandparents and extended families overseas can be encouraged to subscribe and interact.
Communicating with experts in any learning journey can allow opportunities for linking to the blog.
Speakpipe is a great way to allow families to record their message. It is great to listen to a response to a post. We found it valuable to experiment with recording messages in class also.
As part of the process of 'earning' their own blogs, learners were encouraged to read posts and comment on a given number each day. Not only did this ensure that the posts were read, it also ensures that learners are regularly commenting at school, which makes it easier for them to support their families at home.
Use labelling carefully. Encourage every learner to tag every post with their name and subject making it all easily searchable within the tag cloud.
Check out our last year's class blog to see some of these ideas. Check out the side bar and the links we use.
It is not easy to get comments because everyone is busy. I think he key for us was to ensure all comments were read and responded to when necessary. Learners love receiving comments and are very open and honest commenting on each other's posts.
Quadblogging has been invaluable for us to have an authentic interactive audience for our blog. It is also incredibly valuable to have a buddy class within your school environment. Not only can this strengthen relationships it sets a benchmark and challenges others to interact. I like to think of it as an upward spiral of interaction.
Given that we are wanting people to interact with our blog, the challenge is on us to share interesting posts. We must share, reflect on our work and encourage others to interact with our learning journey... We must seize the opportunities to share our learning journey with our families when they are not present. Best examples of this are class outings, camps, beach trips, swimming lessons, athletics... the list is endless. Every experience we have is an opportunity for learners to 'record' and share with a wider audience. Once parents begin to see their learner's life through the blog you are well on the way. Remember, it does not come easily... You have to work at it, persevere, encourage, engage, connect, collaborate and continue to publish to your blogs.
Another fabulous forum is sharing links to blog posts on twitter. Your PLN are your best audience and you will find that people are only to happy to engage with your blog. The key is that blog commenting is a two way street. To expect comments, you must be prepared to post comments. Using the hashtag #commentsforkids is a really useful way to encourage comments.
I guess, for us, our blog is a way to connect with each other, to create, collaborate and share, to comment and interact with our audience. It is a place to showcase and reflect on our work. It is a way of taking down our classroom walls and inviting an authentic audience to engage and interact.
I remember attending a CORE breakfast listening to DK talk about a blog as an intersection, a crossroad, a meeting place... Your blog can be all this and more...
Good luck with making your blog MAGIC!
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...
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...
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
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!
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
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
“@dukelyer: @AnnaGerrit Magictivity- the acts and deeds of@annekenn in the real and cyber world. #dictionarydefinitions” 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…
· 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…
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.
How do I begin to reflect on
the last two days?
Days filled with:
· 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
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
|
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…
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!
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Monday, January 28, 2013
A new chapter...
Today - no more count down... The day is here! No more sleeps... As of today I am a member of the CORE family! Yet again I woke up and had to pinch myself, is it real? Yes it really is...
What better way to start the day than meeting Jane at the Chinese gardens for a run! 5km around the water front! I can't say I enjoyed it because it was so incredibly hard to get back into it after a nine day break... But we managed it and good old run keeper congratulated me on a personal best in time! Then off I went to the Hot Salt Water pool where I swam 1 km! A truly MAGICal start to the day! Home I went to pack, download ERO reports, clear emails and read! Grant came home for a coffee and Katie came over for lunch and took me to the airport! I had an hour til my flight so I took the time to sit in the sun and catch up on my diary entries... The week of ICOT did not allow spare time to think, nor enough time to sleep so there certainly wasn't time for writing... All caught up now though! Now here I am on a plane bound for Christchurch! I have tonight for a MAGICal catchup with Pauline then tomorrow our first Bel day and Wednesday is CORE induction! It really is real!
So, what then are my hopes and dreams for 2013?
Learning - I eagerly anticipate more professional learning and development than I have imagined possible!
Networking - firstly, within my new CORE family, secondly within my Bel team, and thirdly within my new schools and teams...
Challenge - I expect to be challenged, shaken out of my comfort zone on a regular basis, and really stretched to best meet the needs of all I come into contact with...
Time management - one of my main goals for this year is to have a life as well as work! I want to manage my workflow so I have more time for my wonderful family and friends!
Fitness - healthy mind, healthy body... I really want to increase my fitness... I am competing in the stadium to surf 10km run and I want to find many more fitness challenges...
Travel - already I know that 2013 is going to be along the lines of my dream year "twitter tour 2011" with many flights booked already... I want to use each and every trip to connect with new people and create new networking, new learning, new MAGIC
Storytelling - I want to continue the scrapbook story of my ancestors and my life.... Telling our story...
Mum's story - I want to film mum and tell her story - memories too precious not to be recorded...
iPad use - I want to extensively develop my use of and innovation with my iPad...
Apple user - my new apple laptop brings a whole new challenge to my year...
PD - I want to present my best ever presentation - e-literacy at L@S
Reflection - continue to reflect and develop my reflection
SHARE - I want to share and collaborate whenever, whenever, however...
Yay - 2013 - a beautiful year...
Saturday, January 19, 2013
2013 - a new chapter...
17 January 2013 and here I am on first flight for the year…
bound for Wellington. Time to reflect on
what has been in my life since my last post…
2012 was an incredible year.
I was back in the class travelling an amazing journey with my learners…
We designed our own learning spaces, we brought in our own devices, we learnt
face to face, and online. We had fun
learning together throughout the year.
We operated in an environment of respect and protect, (thanks Andrew
Churches) respecting and protecting ourselves, others and intellectual
property. Within these boundaries it
wasn’t really necessary for rules.
My e-fellowship took me on an amazing journey, collaborating
with four amazing educators, imagining possibilities and innovating. Travel to our Master Classes, conferences and
educamps were real highlights in my year.
My NAPP journey gave me a real leadership boost and opened
the world of principalship up as I had not seen before. Early in the journey I realised that
principalship was not something I would actively pursue at the moment.
Late in the year I began imagining possibilities and my
quest for a new challenge began. This
dream became a reality when I won a role as Blended e-learning facilitator with
CORE education. I am still pinching
myself to make sure it is real… I liken it to holding the pot of gold at the
end of the rainbow! My role officially
commences on 28 January 2013 and I am counting down the days. I am in awe of the opportunity to
collaborate, share, learn and grow into and through this new chapter in my
learning journey.
So here I am, on a flight at 6.50am bound for
Wellington. In store is a weekend
adventure with Liz. I am really excited
to returning to Wellington, a city I have spent so much time in during my
Master’s study. I have so many fun
memories and so many favourite haunts to revisit. There will be sightseeing and shopping,
laughter and fun…
Then Monday I reconnect with the marvellous e-fellows. We have five days together in an apartment on
the terrace with an amazing ICOT experience in store. I am very excited about this International
Conference of Thinking. Life is a great
big marvellous learning adventure…
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