#edchatnz Blogging Meme

#edchatnz Blogging Meme

Thank you Janna Brewster (@jannabrewsterNZ) for the tag in the #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 by tagging 5 friends and using #edchatnz. Make sure you send your answers back to whomever tagged you, too!

1. How did you attend the #edchatnz Conference? (Face 2 Face, followed online or didn't)

I attend only the Saturday face 2 face, I had to teach on the Friday so I followed online when I was free. Loved the Saturday especailly meeting everyone F2F, it was like catching up with old friends again, really funny when we had never meet in person or only briefly meet before. 

2. How many others attended from your school or organisation?

I was the only one. I am my schools lone nut and I am dancing loud and proud and ruffling a few feathers in the process. Senior management respect what I am doing, they kind of understand what I am trying to achieve and support me from the shadows. The parents don't like or understand what I am doing or why I am doing it. The students do, and it is getting results so I will keep on dancing!!!

3.How many #edchatnz challenges did you complete?

 Sadly none, I forgot about them in all the excitement.

4. Who are 3 people that you connected with and what did you learn from them?

Meeting Cath from Science Learning Hub. Such a pleasure to meet and chat with her, got some really cool ideas and to continue to persevere with what I am trying to do. Catching up again with chasingalyx. I love this girl, her ideas inspire me and make me think of news ways to put the students first and to work with there strengths and weakness. Finally Pam Hook. OMG with woman blew my mind, I am in love with SOLO taxonomy and has inspired me to make it fit and work with the Cambridge syllabus that I teach. I am going to use the hexagons as a review activity with my Year 8 and 10. So inspire and I am in awe.

5. What session are you gutted that you missed?

Friday, as a whole. I would i love to go to any of those sessions especially the debate #3moreyears. 

6. Who is one person that you would like to have taken to #edchatnz and what key thing would they have learned? 

That is a really hard question, to be honest I would of loved to take our Business studies teacher Alva. She would of loved it as much as me probably would of really enjoyed the SOLO session and most likely taken ideas from that and she would use them in amazing ways with her students.  I am going to break the rules and say  maybe even our DP just to open up his mind to the possibilities and how awesome 21st century learning is. 

7. Is there a person you didn't get to meet/chat with (F2F/online) that you wished you had? Why?

I would of loved to have a really good chat with Matt Nicoll from StAC. He is such a swtiched on guy and I have a lot of respect for what he is doing and I feel I could learn alot from himl,

8. What is the next book you are going to read and why? 

I am not a big reader of non fiction or education books. But I am keen to follow the lead of #nzbookchat and give some of them a read. I am interested in reading about SOLO taxonomy and why and how to use it with my students. That will have to wait till I finish the 2 novels I am currently reading.

9. What is one thing you plan to do to continue the Education Revolution you learned about at #edchatnz?

As a lone nut dancing in a environment that seems to have a severe nut allergy I will continue to take very small steps with implementing the ideas of SOLO and making my lessons more student focussed. It is an uphill battle but I am willing too keep up the good fight because I know it is making a difference for my students and keeping juniors engaged and excited about science is key to me and is one of the main reasons I became a teacher.

10. Will you take a risk and hand your students a blank canvas?

 I have already tried this with my year 10s and it went down like a lead balloon. As a result I modified it slight and my year 8 lapped it up and there were know complaints. I teach in a very traditional environment so blank canvases are from upon by everyone. I see the benefits of doing it both for me as a teaching and assessing prior knowledge but also for the students to establish what they know and how much they do know. They are awesome resources that need to be tapped into more often. I just need to find the right ways to approach it in my classes.

I tag
@tcliffin
@ariaporo22
@Lasampsonator
@aannekenn
@eMPOWERedNZ