Monday 11 August 2014

EdChatNZ Blogging Meme

If you get included in the blogging meme: copy/paste the questions and instructions into your own blog then fill out your own answers. Share on twitter tagging 5 friends. Make sure you send your answers back to whoever tagged you too.

1. How did you attend the #Edchatnz Conference? (Face 2 Face, followed online or didn’t)
I was there at HPSS for both days of the conference, but did spend a lot of time online, trying to follow all the workshops that were going on at the same time.

2. How many others attended from your school or organisation?
Besides myself there were 2 others from Hurupaki Primary School in Whangarei - Tania Macdonald (@tarnzs2014) and Shelley Muston (@cassie091). The 3 of us have been tasked with implementing some significant change at our school, and the #edchatnz conference has given us considerable food-for-thought as we continue down the road we are taking.

3. How many #Edchatnz challenges did you complete?
I did have a look at the challenges before I left, but to be honest, I couldn't remember most of them. Looking at the list again now, I did do a few of them. I did shout out a few 'rhetorical questions' to Maggie Barry, but didn't get any pics - selfie's are near impossible as my iphone 3gs only has a rear facing camera may be time to upgrade...). I forgot about the food sculpture, and reckon I could have done a good job with that one. 

4. Who are 3 people that you connected with and what did you learn from them?
It was great to meet so many educators that I knew only through twitter - some of them looked completely different to what I expected.
Reid Walker (@ReidHns1) is a real kiwi bloke and a guy I have a lot in common with. We meet in the foyer just before the start of the first keynote, and we bumped into each many times during the two days, both in workshops and in the breaks. We talked about various issues and ideas we had, and his enthusiasm was pretty infectious.
Bridget Compton-Moen (@bridgetLCM) and I had a conversation during the summer holidays (on twitter, of course) about reading. She recommended some books by Donalyn Miller (@donalynbooks) that have since transformed the way I view and teach reading in my class. I was really glad that I was able to thank her for that, even if we only spoke for a very short time.
Annemarie Hyde (@mrs_hyde) is always amazing, giving so much, and is another real kiwi character. I never get tired of her, and I know she has helped so many teachers around the country (and the world...) with her caring and sharing attitude. 
 
5. What session are you gutted that you missed?
There were actually quite a few workshops that I missed out on, but just like Steve Mouldey (@GeoMouldey) I would have liked to have heard Pam Hook (@arti_choke) speak. I will admit that I'm not a huge fan of the SOLO Taxonomy, but by all account she was amazing - maybe she could have converted me. I also wanted to hear Ros MacEachern (@rosmaceachern) speak about her day/life at Hpss.
 
6. Who is one person that you would like to have taken to Edchatnz and what key thing would they have learned? 
I would love to have taken all of the staff from our school, but although she is supportive in allowing us to attend professional development opportunities like this, I would like my principal to attend herself. I feel that if she were to experience an event like this and, in particular, see a school like Hpps in action with her own eyes, she may be more open to making the kinds of changes I would like to see made in our school.
 
7. Is there a person you didn’t get to meet/chat with (F2F/online) that you wished you had? Why
There were a few... I attended Steve Mouldey's (@GeoMouldey) workshop on creativity and found it really interesting ("not a team sport"). In particular, I liked his approach to helping students generate questions, which I sometimes struggle with. Ros MacEachern (@rosmaceachern) is another tweep that I would have liked to have meet. Also Danielle (@MissDtheTeacher) was really busy (imagine that...) but would love to really talk with her in the future.
To be honest, I ended up coming away from this conference increasing the number of people I wanted to meet rather than meeting all the ones I wanted to (if you know what I mean....).

8. What is the next book you are going to read and why? 
The principal at Hpps (I've forgotten his name) recommended a book - I'm struggling to find it in my 'notes' but I think it was "Hidden Lives of Learners" by Graham Nuthall. If this was it, then I'll give it a go.
 
9. What is one thing you plan to do to continue the Education Revolution you learnt about at #Edchatnz?
I have had a few false starts with blogging - writing doesn't seem to come naturally for me, and often feels more like a chore than a pleasurable and/or effective process. A structure like this makes it much easier for me. Usually I just feel that I don't have that much to offer.
Something I do want to do in my classroom is change the environment even more. I want to use different furniture, create spaces and give students more choice in where and how they learn.

10. Will you take a risk and hand your students a blank canvas?
I know this is something I need to do more in my class. This will be my endeavour - watch this space...

Who do will I tag with this meme:
I wouldn't be surprised if every one of these people have been tagged already, but what the heck...
Bridget Compton-Moen (@bridgetLCM)
Ros MacEachern (@rosmaceachern)
Raewyn Donnell (@RaewynDonnell)
Mary Robinson (@MaryWomble)
Philippa Isom (@PhilippaIsom)