You are part of a rebel alliance...

I valued the opportunity to connect with educators from across Asia Pacific at the Google Educator Groups Summit last week. GEGNZ is unique. As New Zealand's only Google Educator Group its strength is an awesome nationwide community supporting both our GEGNZ events and GEGNZ Study Groups.

Most APAC countries have locally based GEGs with Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines including upwards of 30-40 groups in each country. I especially admired the determination of the GEG leaders in these countries who are championing professional learning in their communities. 

Many face challenges of geography, access and bureaucracy however,  this has not been a barrier to them connecting, learning and importantly challenging the status quo. 

The force has definitely been awakened by educators like +Steven Sutantro and +Gusman Adi. Check out their blog post ... inspiring stuff!

Keynote and GEG program founder, +Carolyn Wendell advocating professional learning choices based on what you want versus what you should do.

My GEG APAC Summit presentation also includes links to additional resources in the speaker notes. 

Shout out to +Philip Tanpoco #GEGAPAC and all the GEG Leaders who contributed to the success of the summit. He aha te mea nui o te ao? What is the most important thing in the world?

He tangata, he tangata, he tangata...It is the people, it is the people, it is the people

We are the FORCE !! @Nyssa76Jones @FionaGrant #GEGAPAC pic.twitter.com/jk2Jwp4b8z

— Steven Sutantro (@Steven_Sutantro) June 8, 2016

Learn. Share. Inspire. Empower.

Great to connect with the #GEGNZ  community today at #gafesummit Auckland with +Justine Driver and +Rob Clarke

Lots of korero around Google Certification and Study Groups, plus sharing ideas about how educators can support events locally.

We're excited about the #SparkshopAKL event at Ormiston Primary School on Saturday 28th and the possibilities for similar events in other locations. Thanks to participants who shared their learning in the GEGNZ G+ Community today.

#GEGNZ  will also be at the Wellington and Christchurch events too!  Check out the slide deck for event information and recources.

GEGNZ at #ulearn15

Tumeke Tamariki! #GEGNZstudent Summit

"Take the people around you with you on the journey" via +Toby Carr, inspiring opening keynote for  the inaugural Google Educator Group NZ Student Summit last Wednesday.

Toby's words resonated with me throughout the day as I observed #GEGNZstudent participants immerse themselves in leading their learning. From the presentations to the hands on sessions students approached the day prepared to make the most of the opportunities offered.

This was also evidenced by how students responded to the unexpected. When double the number of participants arrive at your session or there's a hiccup in the network, how might you respond?  These students were not phased but confident to back themselves and their learning. Shout-out to the team from Alexandra Primary School in Central Otago who shared for the first time via Google Hangout on Air. Their presentation is available on-demand - Managing your Own Learning, Goals & Reflection. Also participants who travelled from as far North as Ohaeawai and the central Waikato to participate.

I valued the opportunity to immerse myself in the learning spaces, observe and listen to the conversations.  While many people contributed to enabling this event its success on the day is attributed to the students and the opportunity to engage in learning that is authentic and empowering.

Quick vox pop captures some of the awesomeness from the summit...Tumeke Tamariki!

"Whāia te iti kahurangi ki te tūohu koe me he maunga teitei"

Further links to explore:
bit.ly/GEGNZstudent Summit Site

Hangouts on Air:
#GEGNZstudent Summit Keynote - +Toby Carr , DeXTech Founder & CEO

#GEGNZstudnet Summit Ambassadors

NZ Student Summit featuring Google for Education

During last Friday's Hangout on Air, The Google Educators Group New Zealand (GEGNZ) were excited to launch the first NZ Student Summit featuring Google for Education.

This was also the first GEGNZ Hangout contributed to by students. If you missed the event the Hangout has been recorded and is definitely worth watching, especially if you're investigating the Maker Culture...lots of useful recommendations, tips and strategies for accessing the NZC.

GEG NZ Spotlight - Maker Culture

We know there are many students exploring innovative ways to create and learn and our hope is that the NZ Student Summit featuring Google for Education will enable students to not only contribute but lead the learning on the day.

Visit the NZ Student Summit site

Students are invited to pitch a proposed presentation, demo or hands on workshop by Friday 22nd May. Pitches also include an option to present via a Google Hangout on Air if located outside of Auckland.

This is a free event and to support the programme we are also planning additional activities including a keynote speaker plus a demo slam competition with prizes.

Head to the event website for more information, dates and contact details and please share with your networks. Please post to the GEGNZ Google+ Community if you have any questions, Tweet @GEG_NZ , tag #GEGNZstudent

Blogging about this event? Please share to the GEGNZ Google+ Community under the NZ Student Summit label.

"Harnessing Your Ecosystems"

I wonder...is my use of social media purely a response to my professional exploits? If I didn't work as a teacher and facilitator would I Tweet?

I created my first wiki in September 2006 and over the following year joined Delicious and Flickr, began blogging and finally at 7:04pm on the 2nd August 2007, posted my first Tweet. There was no looking back. My purpose was to connect and share. At the time I was collaborating with an awesome cluster of five schools with over 80 teachers and email was just not going to cut it.

I quickly realised that Web2.0 was going to provide me with increasingly creative tools to communicate and collaborate and also accelerate my work flow substantially. What I hadn't predicted was the growth of a professional learning network that I rate as one of my most valued assets both professionally and personally. This is where I do some of my best learning and in this rapidly changing world learning for me is at its best when I can connect with like-minded.

I have blogged previously about growing a PLN with links and resources to get started. Investing time utilising social media to not only access resources but also contribute and change practice can be augmented by harnessing the power of a professional learning network.

Described as "the power of pull" by Hagel, Seely Brown and Davison (2010), new technologies are creating platforms that increase our visibility and can help us connect with more people, people that we don't know yet or may even be aware exist.

How are you "harnessing your ecosystems?" How are you scaling up your connectivity and attracting the people and resources you need to find your potential? (Blog Post 10/06/2012) 

If it's a question of time, this is worth the time. You are not alone out there and believe me every time I think I have a new idea or challenge I find I am not the first or the only one…thank goodness!

GoogleFest #uLearn12

This post supports my contribution to GoogleFest at uLearn12.

Kiwis @ Google Teacher Academy Sydney 2011

CyberSmart Curriculum
Exploring how to deliberately teach Digital Citizenship within a context that is relative to students specifically in a 1:1 netbook class. For example all students from year 5-8 with a netbook have a blog. Students learn SmartFoot Print and SmartValues in a context of learning how to write a quality blog comment. These are two of  ten categories we have identified as important to a cybersmart curriculum. 

This Google Doc includes a process we have used to introduce blog commenting to students. Students save a copy of the document in their Google docs. Teachers provide multiple opportunities for students to practise and reflect on their blog commenting. Initially students leave comments on blogs in their school as teachers can monitor these comments through the Teacher Dashboard.

CyberSmart: Private and Personal Information

This Google Doc was used to explore the difference between personal information that is safe to share online and what is private. Students write a personal profile for their blog which is initially posted as a blog post with a link from their blog side bar "About Me" widget.


Using Google Apps for Education (GAFE) to support learning with primary sources
Using primary sources as a context with the aim of demonstrating how I select and organise digital content to support learning using GAFE. It also includes some new thinking that I am exploring around using primary sources to teach Digital Citizenship.

"Getting My Google On" - In this blog post I share my top take-a-ways from GAFEsummit 2012 and my resources from my breakout "Integrating GAFE to support learning with primary sources."

Chrome Apps: Hootsuite
Twitter - some of the best free PD. If you are serious about building your PLN you need to get serious about managing your social networking. With Hootsuite you are able to set up multiple tabs, searches and organise your social media dashboard. Set up on your laptop and when you log in to your iPad/iPhone App, Hootsuite will automatically sync. Enables you to easily follow current events using a #tag or Twitter handle.

Click to zoom

Getting My Google On

I participated in New Zealand's first Goggle Apps for Education (GAFE) Summit yesterday. Masterfully organised by the EdTech Team and our own Dorothy Burt it was a day full of opportunities to learn, valued conversations with my PLN and just the right balance of Google geekiness. My top take-a-ways from the day included:

YouTube in the Classroom: Jim Sill (@mistersill)
YouTube often gets a bad rap but in just 60 minutes Jim was able to skillfully demonstrate how this resource can be a powerful learning and teaching tool. I would recommend exploring Jim's site, especially YouTube for Teachers, which includes some valuable recommendations for finding and organing the best of what YouTube has to offer including TED-Ed Lessons Worth Sharing.

GoogleChrome Breaking the Seal: Tony Richards (@itmadesimple)
I have been skirting around Google Chrome for a while but have found the ability to set up multiple users has made a huge difference to my work flow this year across multiple school sites, GAFE admin accounts and school Blogger accounts. I have created a Screenr to demonstrate and would recommend setting this up even if you are switching between 2-3 accounts during your day.

Tony's Google presentation is a treasure trove of useful tips for managing your setting, apps and extensions and is worth investing the time exploring. It has definitely improved my ability to personalise Chrome for my needs.

Integrating GAFE to support learning with primary sources
In this session we explored integrating GAFE to support learning with primary sources. I used primary sources as a context with the aim of demonstrating how I select and orgainse digital content to support learning using GAFE. This is shared as a Google Presentation which I have also embedded in a GoogleSite as there are links to examples of how content might be organised within an online learning environment. It also includes some new thinking that I am exploring around using primary sources to teach Digital Citizenship.

More presenter resources can be accessed on the GAFEsummit site and also #GAFEsummit on Twitter.

GTASYD11

GTA Team Swan - just received our GCT Certificates

View Doc