2012: A Year of Exploring Possibilities

“Bather’s Beach” – By Michael Graffin (2012)

My blog is very much a reflection of my teaching journey over the past few years …

2010 was very much a year of experimentation, of learning, and finding my feet – as a relief teacher & a connected on-line educator.

2011 was a “Year of Change“, but with the benefit of hindsight, the lessons & outcomes of that painful, tumultuous year have more than compensated for the agony I went through.

So, what were my experiences of 2012?

2012 was “A Year of Exploring Possibilities”

Mr Davo Devil checking out the #globalclassroom scrapbook

This has been an interesting year. I’ve had my ups and downs, but overall it was a positive, meaningful year.

Some significant moments include:

Working with Dr Jenny Lane on the TIPS 2012 iPads in Schools Project
Joining the iEARN Australia Management Team
Establishing the #globalclassroom Twitter chats
Creating the Global Classroom Memento Scrapbook Project
Attending & Co-Presenting at the Australian Computers in Education Conference 2012
Having my story & expertise published in print the first time (see below)

This was a year where my skills and expertise were recognised and appreciated locally, as well as internationally. Working with Jenny on the TIPS2012 project was a rich learning experience, and my involvement with iEARN Australia has thrown up some wonderful opportunities for 2013.

A huge thank you also goes to Nigel Mitchell (my ACEC 2012 co-presenter), Kathryn Edwards of Peach Media, Kesha Busing of RIC Publications, and Mal Lee. You’ve helped shape an amazing year, and I hope we have the opportunity to work with each other in the years to come.

My favourite posts of 2012

This year, I haven’t blogged as often as I’d have liked; however, there are a few posts of which I’m particularly proud.

Thank You Mr P.

Perhaps my most heart-felt, emotional post of the year, which came as a bit of a shock for Mr P.

Life, Language, Laughter, Skype

The Hello Little World Skypers and Global Classroom Skype groups have had a profound impact on my personal and professional life. I treasure the relationships and friendships I’ve formed through these groups, and hope to start meeting some of the members f2f over the years to come.

Teacherpreneurs – Connect, Create & Collaborate

Part of my series of posts from the Flat Classroom Book Club earlier this year, this post was an ‘ah-ha’ moment. My engagement in the book club marked the start of an emerging, and extremely important relationship with Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsay of The Flat Classroom Project.

Publications / Articles / Podcasts

2012 has been a busy year, marking the first time I’ve had my name in print.

Contributions

Collaboration in learning: transcending the classroom walls by Mal Lee and Lorraine Ward

I was lucky enough to contribute to the research underpinning this book, and I look forward to its’ release in early 2013. For some detail on the research, and the findings, please have a read of Mal and Lorraine’s research paper.

The Global Classroom Project – Classroom 2.0 Book Submission

Things have gone quiet about this project; however, the more reads we receive, the more likely we are to be published in the print edition of the Classroom 2.0 Book. Your assistance has been greatly appreciated!

Articles

Teacher Feature

Education Matters – Primary & Secondary Magazine 2012/13

Education Matters Magazine Teacher Feature (2012) (PDF)

Learning, sharing and collaborating globally in the early years: Stories from the Global Classroom Project

Class Ideas K-3 Magazine (Early 2013 Release)

With contributions from #globalclassroom teachers in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, United Kingdom, and Lebanon, this was the first magazine article I’ve ever written, and I can’t wait to see it in print next year. I’ll post a link to the online version when it becomes available.

Podcasts

A World of Difference -The Virtual Staffroom Podcast

This interview with Chris Betcher, Theresa Allen, and Lisa Parisi was a huge confidence booster, and a great way to start the year. I forgot to link to it from my blog at the time; however, I’d highly recommend having a listen. You can find it via the link above, or find it on iTunes. Thanks Chris

Looking Forward to 2013

2013 is going to be an exciting year!

Flickr CC-NC-SA by Lυвαιв

I’ll be presenting at the Science Teachers of Western Australia Conference in May, and travelling to Doha, Qatar for iEARN 2013.

I’m hoping the Qatar trip will be the first of many, as I’d like to do a little travelling & meet a few international friends over the next few years. If that means I relief teach for a few more years, then so be it. It will be worth it.

Let’s see how we go.

Happy New Year.

The Power of Connections & Conversation

It is hard to believe that #ACEC2012 has been and gone. Yet, I will carry its legacy for many years to come.

For me the conference was not about the presentations or the keynotes, although they had their place. It was about the connections, the conversations, … and the food … (only partly kidding!)

Photo by @anouk_ratna, Student Photographer @ #ACEC2012

During the conference, I had the opportunity to meet many wonderful, inspiring educators – some of whom I have known and worked with online for years. Some highlights included meeting @rgesthuizen, @ackygirl, @brettelockyer, @HenriettaMi, @losiath, @murcha, @tasteach, @alupton, @smadsenau, @melcashen, and frankly, the list goes on …

I took a great deal of confidence and affirmation away from #ACEC2012.

Making my presentation debut at Australia’s national ICT conference was a personal milestone, one which I will remember for many years to come. The fact that I had a full house, and received such wonderful feedback on the ‘passion’ of my presentation, was a welcome recognition that my work is valued beyond the emotional roller-coaster of my day-to-day teaching practice.

I knew that my work in global education was respected by educators around the world, but I really appreciated the opportunity to sit down and talk to people whose teaching practice and educational outlook are being transformed through their engagement in the #globalclassroom community.

I’m a teacher. I may not have my own class, but I’m making an impact.

And I’m already looking forward to attending #ACEC2014 in Adelaide!

Skyping with @SAVSchool at #ACEC2012

Presenting at #ACEC2012

Cross Posted at The Global Classroom Project

On Wednesday October 1, 2012, I had the wonderful opportunity to present with Nigel Mitchell (@1nbm) on the topic: “Working in the Global Classroom” at theAustralian Computers in Education Conference.

Despite some initial technical hurdles, including the fact that Skype was blocked at the school, the presentation was a great success.

We managed to Skype with Julie Lindsay, the co-founder of Flat Classroom Projects; and shared our global collaboration stories with a large local audience, and a small group of teachers in Taiwan, India, and the United States via UStream,

I hope you will take some time to explore our slides, and watch our UStream recording.

You can access, and contribute to our presentation notes here.

Working in the Global Classroom: A Guide to Connecting & Collaborating Globally (#ACEC2012) from Michael

Helping Build “The Global One-Room School House”

Logging into Twitter this evening, I came across a fascinating, thought-provoking video entitled “The Global One Room School House“.

Containing excerpts from John Seely Brown’s Keynote at the 2012 Digital Media and Learning conference in San Francisco, it explores the notion of teaching and learning within “a global one-room schoolhouse” based on networks of imagination. (Reference)

The Big Idea

Some of the key themes of this video include the idea that “Entrepreneurial Learners are fundamentally makers and tinkerers”, and that as networked learners, “we need to invent new institutions, new social practices, and new skills to enable us to use technology to enhance and inspire learning.

I believe that teaching and learning is not all about the technology.

As stated in the video, Learning the technology is the easy part. It is about building, and participating within the wider, networked community. The video describes this concept as “entrepreneurial learning”, and I’ve blogged about it before, under my musings on becoming a 21st Century “Teacherpreneur”.

In the video, Brown argues that “we are no longer isolated learners or creators … we are part of a networked community”. This means we are not creating (or teaching) skills and knowledge which are stable and unchanging, but knowledge and skills which are destined to evolve over time and across different social and learning contexts.

He concludes by arguing for the “need to build a global one-room school house”. A community where learners can connect, teach, and learn from each-other; and “play” with new tools and concepts in a supportive, safe learning environment.

Building Educational Change

It is hard to believe that through my work in building and leading The Global Classroom Project, I am helping to make John Brown’s inspiring vision an educational reality.

We are, in effect, building educational change – by creating a network of interconnected learners, and endeavouring to engage and inspire them to participate in, and help us grow a community of 21st Century teaching and learning practice.

We live in exciting times. Who knows where they will take us in the years to come?

Engage, Connect, Inspire: My Teaching Philosophy

Whist preparing a recent job application, I took the opportunity to update my teaching philosophy statement, the ‘reflective ‘manifesto’ which defines my beliefs about 21st Century teaching and learning practices. I’ve posted it here.

What impressed me the most was not that my ideas and approach had necessarily changed over the past 3 years, but how I now have the practical experience and language to describe how I apply these ideas in my professional practice.

And then today, I found this video (via @HonorMoorman), and was lost for words … It seems I’m not the only one who believes in the power of technology to Engage, Connect, and Inspire …

I couldn’t explain why any better myself.

2 Years As A Blogger

Well, it appears that I managed to miss an important anniversary. (Thankfully I’m not married!). I must confess I had other things on my mind at the time …

June 28, 2012 was a special day.

It marked my 2nd blogging anniversary.

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo shared by davidyuweb

Changing with the Times

This all started as a personal project; yet the connections, the learning, and the sharing that has gone on here, in this public archive of my thoughts, trials, and tribulations, have changed the direction of my teaching career.

I am no longer “voiceless”. I am no longer unknown. My thoughts, experience, and expertise have value; they mean something to other people. People I’ve generally never met.

Through this blog, I have made friends all over the world.

Through this blog, I have helped new, and experienced, teachers understand and confront the very real challenges faced by those entering this wonderful profession.

Through this blog, I have helped, in a very small way, make the world a better place.

Who would have thought?

Thank you.

Rock the World! (#flatclass Book Club Reflections – Part 9)

Several months after it began, my #flatclass reflections series has finally come to an end. I really enjoyed attending the official Book Club, and I hope my blogged reflections will help inspire and guide other teachers interested in exploring this amazing field.

Perhaps too, they will help provide some feedback to the book’s amazing authors, who inspired my first steps into the wonderful world of global collaboration.

Chapter 11: Challenge Based Professional Learning

If there is one thing the Flat Classroom community particularly excels, it is their model of challenge-based PD for teachers.

For now at least, my attendance at a Flat Classroom Conference remains a distant dream; however, this chapter provides an impressive overview of #flatclass PD. Frankly, most of the theory and PD framework in this chapter went over my head, but if this area interests you, I’m sure you’ll find it a fascinating read.

Chapter 12: Rock the World

This chapter was short and sweet, and can be simply summarized in a few lines

Make connections which count
Learn YOUR way
Be prepared to help and share
Set some goals – take that first step!
Share your story, and "Rock the World"

This chapter is a fitting conclusion to Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds; and it reflects my own learning journey over the past few years.

Every journey starts with a single step … and its time to "Rock the World". Care to join me?

Designing and Managing a Global Collaborative Project (#flatclass Book Club Reflections–Part 8)

For anyone new to planning and organizing a global project, this chapter is for you. Chapter 10 is an invaluable step-by-step guide to creating a global project; exploring many lessons we learnt the hard way,and providing some useful ideas which will be incorporated into Global Classroom 2012-13.

I was particularly interested in the social media / marketing strategy outlined in this chapter, as the public #globalclassroom project spaces were explicitly built on the Flat Classroom spaces. We just added a few of our own ideas – including our enormously successful Skype IM group, and the monthly #globalclassroom Twitter chats.

As I commented in my (little publicized) Edublogs Fine Focus webinar last week, our project is not the first "global classroom" project in existence, and certainly won’t be the last.

Each project builds on and utilizes the people and technology available at the time. The ideas, dreams, and creative potential already exist – it is just a matter of making the connections and fostering the global conversations.

The Global Classroom Project came to be through our connections, which were made possible by the social media technologies available to us at the time. Our model is about providing the communication and collaboration spaces for interested teachers, and I have no doubt that it will continue to grow, evolve, and change over time.

Pedagogy & Creative Collaboration (#flatclass Book Club – Part 6)

cc licensed ( BY NC SA ) flickr photo shared by jakerome

Thankfully, the #flatclass book club took a break last week due to Mothers’ Day, which gave me a welcome reprieve as I tried to catch up with my blog reflections. This week, I’m going to share my reflections on Chapters 7 & 8 of Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds.

It’s about “Choice” (Chapter 7)

While I struggled to make a contribution to the discussions surrounding Chapter 7, I was able to glean a few useful lessons:

Teachers make instructional choices about technology, curriculum, pedagogy, and classroom learning environments on a daily basis.

Teachers who are willing to learn, experiment, and explore new teaching strategies are more likely to become life-long learners, and successfully engage their students in their learning.

I also liked the ideas for supporting student engagement – enabling students to question, build, invent, connect, find meaning, understand, and excel through the effective application of technology & engagement in global collaborative projects. We are beginning to work towards these goals in the #globalclassroom project, and I look forward to applying these ideas in my own classroom one day.

Creation & Collaboration (Chapter 8 )

I enjoyed chatting about Chapter 8, which explores the topic of “co-creation”. While I prefer to think of this as “creative collaboration”; I was able to draw many parallels to my own professional practice.

As those who have come to know me online over the past year and a half will attest, the development of my online presence (digital footprint) has been a wild ride.

I started out blogging about classroom management, joined Twitter, met my dear friend @clivesir, and presented at my first online conference… A few months later, as I was going through a massive professional transition, I met Deb Frazier, co-founded the Global Classroom, and the rest, as they say, is history …

I now find myself, as a third year relief (substitute) teacher, becoming a voice of change in the global education sphere. By collaborating with experienced teachers online, I’ve led the creation of a new global education community, and learnt a great deal about myself in the process.

So yes, I can only smile as a I read this chapter, and recommend its key lessons to my fellow readers -

Establish your online presence – Its time to share your story
Connect & contribute to your network – your voice IS important
Don’t be afraid to create & collaborate – with your school colleagues, local community, and members of your global Personal Learning Network
When you are ready, start exploring ways to bring this creative collaboration into your classroom – for our students need to learn these skills too …

As the old saying goes, “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”.

It is time to take it.

2011: A Year of Change

2011 marked a time of upheaval, new possibilities, and transformative change in my personal and professional life. As I begin my third year of teaching, I believe I’ve finally found my educational niche, my calling. While I still don’t know where my journey is taking me, I know I’m heading in the right direction.

So, what were the events & experiences that defined my year?

1) The Class “That Never Was”

This traumatic episode at the beginning of my school year is one I have no desire to repeat – ever. Yet, this event turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to me at the time.

The diverse teaching role I took up afterwards proved to be a valuable learning experience; an opportunity to take risks, and develop my skills and expertise within a real-world school environment.

2) My experiences with Personal Learning Networks

My experiences with building, writing about, and presenting on Personal Learning Networks are perhaps the most rewarding of my year.

It is hard to fathom how my early friendship with “Sir Clive” (@clivesir) ultimately had such an incredible impact on my personal and professional life; yet my social networking and engagement with the online education community opened up a whole new world of opportunities, and took me to places I’d never dreamt of.

It feels like forever, but in literally one year after discovering Twitter and PLNs, I’ve:

Found my voice on a global stage, earning the respect of my peers and colleagues around the world.
Presented online at two international global conferences, and written several influential blog posts – which helped me rapidly expand my online network
Made and met new friends whom I would never have met under ‘normal’ circumstances.
Collaborated with teachers across 6 continents, leading the creation of the Global Classroom community
Found a source of inspiration, support, and mentoring like no other.

3) The realisation that I’m not alone.

As a relief teacher, it is hard to develop long-term collegial relationships, and I’ve often struggled to find people who understand and appreciate my work with ICT and global education. Yet, as I’ve blogged on several occasions this year, I no longer feel alone and isolated in my profession.

This year has had its glimmers of hope and opportunity. At the start of the year, I found someone who believed in me; who went out of his way to ensure I could experiment with ICT, and fought on my behalf in the complicated mess that was my contractual situation at the time. Ultimately, he talked me into the situation which enabled my involvement in Global Classroom; an opportunity for which I am extraordinarily grateful.

Now, as my year draws to a close, I no longer feel alone. I may not have my own class, yet I have built rewarding collegial relationships with teachers all over the world. By seizing this year’s opportunities to experiment with ICT, I have changed the way I teach, and the way I learn. I now have contacts all over the world, and I am grateful for their support, inspiration, and appreciation of my work.

In 2012, I will continue my search for a school where I’ll have the opportunity to learn, grow and innovate. I’m confident that I’ll eventually find it. I’ve built an extensive digital footprint showcasing my work, and I’m open to offers.

4) Building Global Classroom

As I look back on the extraordinary events and opportunities afforded by Global Classroom over the past few months, I am still astonished by my integral role in creating what has become a global learning community.

In the space of a few months, we launched a range of #globalclassroom projects, were nominated for an Edublogs Award; and I even found myself skyping with the Indian Finance Minister to co-inaugurate the The Learn English Online Project! But for me, it is the connections and friendships which mean the most.

We’ve created something bigger than ourselves, a community impacting on the lives of teachers and students around the world. I am truly proud of our efforts, and look forward to seeing where it takes us over the months, and maybe years, to come.

A Relief Teacher's Journey

Category Archives: Reflective Practice