Try this quick quiz, dead easy it is.

To date, which scenario has had more impact on DET NSW connected learning? 

a) “Extrinsically imposed employer/political pressure because web2.0 connected learning is coming via massive and never seen before financial investment, “ready, fire, aim” style.”

OR

b) “Intrinsically lets engage because I actually want to personally take deep individual ownership and walk the walk in my learning and leadership life?”

I am seriously curious as to the main motivations and attitudes behind the current positive DET shift we are seeing. 

The answer will have an enduring impact on the up take and embed rate of any transformational change DET expects.

If teachers understand why? with real purpose, learning will stick bottom up b) style but if its DET mandated and imposed from above, learning will be reduced to box ticking a) style.

ICT has been in schools since before I arrived in 1985 so it sure isn’t new. With this massive injection of edrev largesse we need to do something fundamentally different this time so we see transformation for kid’s futures. If I was cynical, web2.0 tools are not new or difficult skills to learn, I’d be leaning to a) above. Luckily I’m not.

There is a palpable sense of major urgency within DET, almost panicky misalignment, amongst higher up DET bureaucrats charged with specific fields of the wide gambit of connected learning responsibilties.

Elements of ICT rollouts still have elements of “left hand/right hand” as different DET departments push their connected learning project barrows as if riding the carnival dodgems at side show alley.

Whoops, sorry L4L, didn’t see you coming so soon, you must have got some real super polly fuel to get here so quick.

Hey CCP get outa my way you old timer, I’ve got a modern web2.0 tool suite to deliver but L4L has just cut me off, again!

Oy! shut up down the back there and stop running off course, none of you will have anything if we don’t get my paradoxically improved bandwidth and restrictive filters in place” 

As Sharon Strzelecki says, “Play noicer, please, guys”.

 

 

If leaders themselves have no metacognition of or deep personal engagement with the changes they are pushing, then teachers will quickly sense the superficial lip service. 

Can’t blame them, but hey guys this web2.0 stuff is NOT new and maybe we should have been playing the web2.0 game a tad longer than just now?

 Playing connected learning catch up may lead to enduring pain if all the components do not align. We don’t want our dodgems spinning wildy in circles as DET jumps on the back to spin our wheel and get us going again.

Idealistically scenario two is my personal carrot response.

It’s the one I’m trying to promote at my place through DIDOW. Trying hard to create the individual need of why transformative participative learning (web2.0 if we must!) is stronger by raising awareness and changing attitudes, in baby incremental steps.

Early days but so far I think its working. I’d rather teachers know the why and build their own PLNs so they can feel the networked learning difference themselves.

This is what all school leaders at all levels should be doing now. PLN’s only take a technical day or less to set up. Even our most tech shy participant was heard to comment “RSS feeds of my delicious links into netvibes was really easy” Language unheard of only weeks ago. They also understand how their own PLN will organically grow if they contribute, share and teach others.

No one wants another DET mandated brick in the wall on connected learning initiatives. Groans heard at previous School Development Days (SDDs) has been loud as top down mandated attitude adjustments wrapped as “policy” has been force fed on the troops. It is so obviously just DET ticking DET boxes for DET motives and no real professional learning ever occurs.

Stop it DET and start trusting us to professionally learn for ourselves, just give us some time to engage. A place to authentically share our professional learning via eportfolios will be welcome too. Carrot or the stick? It’s your call DET NSW. I know which way my kids respond.

L4L are planning teacher think tanks, the blinkers are off and learning barriers are coming down. Laptops for Learning (L4L) bulletin 3 was again informative clbulletin03 and may answer more questions. At least I found it more easily than edition 2 in the DET NSW intranet, someone must be listening at DET HQ?

Now if only the counter intuitive web1.0 portal, excessive DET filters and lack of RSS feeds can be sorted, I’d be a happy camper indeed. 

There is critical infrastructure work to be tackled on these issues if DET is to be taken seriously as a web2.0 player. That’s what worries me in the longer term about transforming our Public Schools ICT and connected learning initiatives. I still can’t sense the bigger picture alignment as earnest project managers furiously micro manage their little boxes of a far larger picture.

Wish you well in your local and/or general attitude adjustment missions.

Ours is on track and staff are asking, doing, engaging and experimenting with all that we’ve been given so far. Some of the tools we are learning are posted below.

  RSS in Plain English via Commoncraft

  Social Bookmarking eg Del.icio.us in Plain English via Commoncraft.

Independent learners may prefer this online Time4 module. It is one of the best and simplest self tutorials and covers all the topics you need to establish your own Personal Learning Network (PLN).

Sue Waters, the edublogger, also has PLN starter advice with great links to all the basic tools.

Feeling a little torn between “yay” and “oh dear!” today.

Did we just belly flop in the shallow end or have we launched a 10 metre 3.9 degree of difficulty, with pike? Quality learning style that is.

Sitting here on Saturday and reflecting on the past 48 hours of Quality Teaching and Professional Learning, I have mixed feelings on the experience. It was mostly positive of course, but I also sense the lost opportunities when my employer still delivers 20th century PD almost a decade into the 21st.

The 70:20:10 rule is also still alive and well but I sense our leaders are aware of, if not yet on top of, the dilemna this causes. One of my concerns is articulated by a valuable presenter we had the pleasure to work with. Tony Ryan says;

Many annual conferences are designed predominately as an entertainment and social function. Naturally, this is an important focus for that vital time-out every year.
Unfortunately, the quality of learning that takes place is often much less effective. Delegates regularly leave the venue and remember little of the necessary information that has been shared with them.

Tony Ryan has some thought provoking ideas on future learning when he says;

who we are as educators will be more important than what we teach.”

Energisers, ethicists, entrepreneurs and environmentalists”

You’d think I’d be as happy as a pig in the proverbial having just spent 2 days here, with 500 colleagues from NCR schools, all fabulous teachers I’m sure, doing amazing stuff with students.

The venue, social do, collegial conversations and food were all first class. But I still feel flat, as if I wanted more.

The distinct lack of authentic and meaningful cross delegate connectivity, even in face to face seminars, let alone any back channel amplification of our learning was probably what disappointed me the most.

The cliques of schools and colleagues who siloed without expanding their professional learning horizons was an opportunity lost. The convenors could expedite these connections, even if it is contrived.

The chance to experience and learn from others is what excites me about conferences, not the “hired gun” keynoters or experts dished up the front. As gifted as they may be, their impact is fleeting, my 500 colleagues are here to stay and do their great stuff in regional classrooms from every Monday.

It is these people who will help me become a better teacher, not some handout or website or fantriffic kit or book for sale at key note prices. PLN growth, developing real human connections and expanding our authentic local and global networks should be seen as critical learning at such f2f conferences.

A simple 20 minute formalised meet and greet was needed. Sure it is contrived but to connect face to face with fellow emailers, twitterers,bloggers or users of web2.0 or like minded curriculum collaborators or subject specialists or uses of IWB’s or connected classrooms would have established many diverse future conversations and added to our PLN’s substantially.

If I’d stated my professional interests on the conference enrollment, connection lists could be publically viewed over coffee as a 30 minute ice breaker. I would have immediately made connections with those with similiar educational goals allowing us the time to discuss ideas during the conference. Sure I eventually spoke to others and found some likemindedness, but I’m still thinking I missed more opportunities than I found.

It would be so easy to ensure NOT one possible face to face connection was missed by posting like mindedness on a pre conference wiki. This resembles the back wards planning, one of the QTL dimensions covered.

Face to face like mindedness would be established from the conference start; email, blog, connected classroom or twitter contacts could then be shared and deeper professional networks established for future reference. It would also be less embarrassing than me walking around with a sign saying ‘I Twitter, Do you?” a la the chauffeur airport greeters.

Of course I still inefficiently sought out people I know have regional responsibilities aligned with my interests.

A senior regional director, responding to individual connection requests, acted as maitre d’ at most morning teas, introducing like minded people. It was not a good look as he sprinted from each individual introduction to the next, highly wasteful of his talents and yet it would be so easy to improve and overcome.

Don’t get me wrong, I really appreciated the connection help and received answers to now follow up on, but witnessing senior leaders being used as the proverbial blue arsed fly was not a great use of human capital. This old school networking should by now have changed. A lost opportunity.

My colleagues could also have been introduced to fabulous English, Science and LOTE teachers in our regional schools who have similar professional interests to them. Their PLN would have grown substantially. This would take 15 minutes on day one to do. Another lost opportunity.

Instead we got the traditional sardine tin approach. 500 sit down, listen to lectures compliantly, turn off phones and watch the range of key note performances from engaging, adept and amusing to boring, boastful and almost belligerant.

The excellent fonts at the front, demonstrating their own mastery of QTL, even provided mild break outs for a “2 minute speed chat” or a kinesthetic “stand up sit down” game, if we were lucky. The best of the best gifted presenters who know their stuff are still great, but it’s now NOT enough. I wanted more bang for our DET learning buck and connected learning should be delivering it by now.

Unfortunatley I saw few laptops in use, phones were verboten, switched off and disconnected so twittering was minimal at best and not mentioned, let alone encouraged. The one lonely lady capturing video, I assume to podcast later, looked mighty lost most of the time and was not the example of core powerful learning visuals should be.

The 21st Century reality, when all seminars, all keynoters, all tutorials are captured and live streamed should by now be used at Regional level of NSW DET. They should set and show the connected learning agenda for others to follow.

All participants should be encouraged to connect via the new tools of learning and back channel chat should be encouraged, not forbidden. The quality of the content should be utilised by a far larger audience than the 500 physically present.

21st century learning opportunities, such as this QTL conference, should explicity demonstrate connected learning at Regional level. The 500 teachers present should have been shown our regional priority of connected learning, in action.

This slideshare shows us the power of humans, especially slide 45.

Technology is NOT, or should not be, the principle focus of connected learning futures. In places that deeply understand the changes facing networked learning, technology does not habitate the same pedastal DET NSW elevates it to. To place connected learning under a regional ICT umbrella, does the power of future human networks a grave disservice.

Connected learning should equal integrated mandatory learning. It is not an ICT appendix that learners, leaders and others then chop out if they feel a pain or they do not engage in it themselves. Of course if the current ICT appendix turns septic and explodes in our system due to ignorance, we will all face a far more major problem.

Imagine the ripple effect that would have back in their schools?

Participative use of modern tools should be integrated at all learning levels, starting with lead learning at conferences such as these. Imagine these 500 teachers, wirelessly connected, twittering, and networking in real time with each other and their remote colleagues. Some say disruptive, I say powerful collaboration.

All 500 report back in real time on what they are being shown and taught by their own lead learners on exactly what a 21st Century networked teacher is. Don’t dare say it’s an ICT/technology responsibility for that defeats any understanding of what the future of connected learning holds.

Maybe next year our key Quality Teaching and Learning conference will be substantially different. I hope so for it is always good, it just needs to lead by example. Shanghai08 and BECTA may be two such conferences we can learn from and model on.

Hope to see you at Coffs Harbour for Regional QTL in 2010. These 25 tools might be a common language we share by then.

1. be kept up to date
2. save time whilst looking for quality resources
3. learn from a whole world of educators, literally
4. have fun
5. be challenged in your thoughts
6. ask for help, guidance or suggestions
7. vent, rant and argue (140 limit! yee ha)
8. have interesting links delivered to you
9. break free from the educational echo chamber AND
10. find out how others teach and learn

then twitter is the application for you.

After a tentative tweeting start, I am now seeing the enormous quality and professional value of twitter.

Thanks tweetees, you know who you are, so does everyone else now!

As I say goodbye Year of the Rat and hello Ox, I’ll leave a fullstop on my previous 7 months of ’new’ learning. For those who may be new to SB, this time 12 months ago I barely used ICT at all, well maybe ebay and read the papers, but little else and certainly not professionally. So now I’d like to puntuate my learning journey and leave 2008 with a few thoughts.

It’s been full on and fun but that curve of learn has seen a rank unfit trudger start a personal Himalayean incline, onwards and upwards with many Tenzings all aiding his Big Enlightenment.  

Now with the minor Sliced Bread base camp reached, whilst sucking copius O2, my dizzy head still tries to sort the figjam noise from those who matter. Not so easy ah master san, Why Is It So?

As my about page says a bit more about this journey, my employer offered 200 regional chalkies the chance to hear ‘What’s The Plan Stan’ and attend a North Coast Region Technology Forum waaaay back in May.

Reluctantly, due to State of Origin time of year if the truth be known, I said “Okie dokey Boss” providing this is a BS free zone that doesn’t waste my time or our schools scarce TPL budgets.

I went, I listened, I absorbed, I liked. Yee hah, this little shin dig was a goodun’, especially Tim Anderson, a man with his hand firmly on it, the vision of ICT in DET NSW that is. Calm reassurance of out future ICT directions.

Maybe DET NSW is not cutting edge innovative, and nor can they be, but never the less they are very committed as the world’s second largest Public School system with 1.4million users on the DET network.

I’m happy with our future directions, more so now the stupid political funding fights are behind us to some degree.

Long story short now, I embarked on what was suggested to us by the conference gurus.

“Get amongst the web2.0. Go home jump in the web2.0 mud pit, splash around get down and dirty, and experiment with what it all means”.

Well that’s NOT what they said BUT it’s what I heard. My type of learning. Independent, fast but deep and real choices.

After all this web2.0 mumbo jumbo is only modern tools to help already great teachers aid improved classroom engagement, learning, creativity, depth and connectivity. Sounds good hey and it is finally a regional priority, albeit at no6 but they are all important.

Pretty powerful stuff this web2.0 I’ve since discovered, in spades.

So with nary a thought I decided the best way to learn is to do.  

My attempts to learn the fundamentals of web2.0 are now in place to refine further in 09. Thanks to all who helped (as I have said repeatedly if they really follow my blog, TaMuchly)

• Wiki, blog, and RSS TICK,
• home page aggregator, Skype, social bookmarking, TICK TICK,  
• PLN, twitter and CCP

all ticked, understood and used to some degree. Anywho, enough to share this new world or learning with interested colleagues in 2009.

Shlock horror I can almost feel a New Years resolution coming on.

No fear not gentle readers, we all know the crevaces those silly things crash down and become, but a focus for my restless brain in 2009 is still needed.

Ok my 2009 focus will be;

• DET NSW Tools project, (in conjunction with wireless laptops and CCP, when we get ours)
• Drop in Drop Out Wednesdays to Introduce our fantrifficfabulicious staff to essential Web2.0 Tools.
• Just in Time Learning Team to aid and abet our Campus/College ICT plan 2009 to 2011
• Promethean Activstudio to Beauchamp’s stage 4 level
• Involvement in our new DET provided School Webpages (sorry no link, walled garden DET NSW only)
• Strengthen my own PLN and pursuade DET NSW to officially recognise this as QTL & TPL  

Ahhh I feel better now, now my mini resting 2008 full stop punctuation has been left, see there it is   .  

I can now happily engage in some festivities to see the Ox rise and the Rat set. Base camp Two further up the Everest of Web2.0 awaits for ‘MyAlign09′

Happy New Year and a massive TaMuchly for 2008.  

If you want to join a quality Australian PLN for educators in all sectors, I recommend me.edu.au. Thanks to Kerrie for alerting me to it.

This promotional video for me.edu.au, featuring me.edu.au users Simon Brown, Jess McCulloch and Martin Pluss, provides an overview of the free me.edu.au professional networking site for Australian educators managed by Education.au on behalf of DEEWR.

If you still want more have a browse through this resource, I did and liked it.

I’m always up for a bit of irreverency so after eduguru and helper to the hoards Sue Waters tagged me for next in, whilst on holidays no less, well who was I to disappoint?

Here are my ‘7 things you really don’t need to know about me.’

1.  Adora Rum Truffles are ace numero uno. Yummy in the extreme, shelf life = minimal.
2. My trusty steed is a 05Dakar650, my ADV nickname is FSOD an Adora prize awaits the 1st codebreaker
3. Luceat Lux Vestra was my high school motto. Wish they had of practiced what they preached.
4. VH1971 770 4 speed 265ci sky blue Valiant Charger was my BEST car ever owned. Oh sweet hemi + 600 Holley music.
5. 2007 ANU award was the best teaching recognition ever, scary but good. Thanks Ben. (Your ‘esky’ aka the museum, awaits a grand opening in 2009, It’s where all the cool history stuff goes my students tell me).
6. Spent 7 years as an APC driver with 12/16th HRL B Squadron, Chauvel Depot Muswellbrook. Loved every minute of it.
7. A single malt tour of the British Isles finest distilleries is a planned retirement indulgence. Thank my sister for dreaming that one up. 

 I’ll pass the meme baton on ’7 things you really don’t need to know about me’ to

1 Darcy Moore

2 John Larkin

3 Graham Wegner

4 Anne Mirtschin

5 Elaine Talbert

6 Chris Betcher

7 Jess McCulloch

Have fun, tag 7 more, share 7 things and see if this meme survives unmutated.

Everyones getting into the warm fuzzies what with Crunchies and Eddies and way too much Christmas cheer me thinks, so I say jump on the band wagon and get myself a piece of it. Award fever that is.

My mush (sic) awaited, eagerly anticipated, long heralded (all lies) “Ta Muchly” Awards have been fascistitly (sic too) nominated and decided on by an esteemed selection panel of one, me.

To collect your Ta Muchly08 you simply recognise yourself on my Netvibes PLN screenshot above, give yourself a pay rise, leave a PF irreverent (or just fun knee) comment below and you’re a winner. Simple hey?

Viral it and spread the word through your channels because there is a catch.

Last blogger to comment gets the Wally Gong, the Most Disconnected Tortoose (sic again) award 2008. No one wants to be last weeks news in the esteemed eyes of the blogeratti. Comments accepted up to and including last mail on 31st December 2008 so get working boys and girls.

If you’re a friendly compassionate type of blogger you’ll tip off your friends, if not lets wait and see who will be last person in. I always did like the movie It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, now we have an Aussie equivalent in a race to claim a non existent silly prize, just for the heck of it. Lets see who is game to play. 

A happy and safe Christmas to all

and very very seriously Ta Muchly.

Now for the slightly less silly disclaimer.

The above list are the bloggers (read real, dedicated teachers & learners, not just some online chat show) who have helped me grow professionally, both willingly on a regular basis or from afar without consciously knowing it, these last 6 months.

I jumped in blindly, wildly into the great mudpit that is the semantic/read/write web2.0 world of learning last May, almost drowned a few times, got down and dirty with the fellow mud chuckers and generally had an all round blast learning new stuff.

For the great unwashed, this place is a fantastic place to reflect, share, connect and learn. I’ve learnt plenty with heaps to go in 2009. Bring on SL and Jokaydia, I think I’m ready, Thank God You’re Here style.

Now schools out, for the Aussies at least, lets finish the year with some fun.