Connections

I am in the process of writing up an application for an overseas cultural connections experience.  It has gotten me thinking about how much becoming connected has bettered the way I teach the, the way I reflect and the way I want to move forward.

One of the first (NZ wide) connections that I joined when first teaching was (as it was called then) the English List Serve via TKI .  Soon after this followed the Literacy and Social Studies List Servc.  These groups provided (and still provides) an email based system where you can 'post' to the group and other teachers nationally (and several international) in your teaching area and respond, support and challenge your thoughts.    A HUGE thank you to the moderators of these lists!!  It is amazing to see teachers supporting teachers and sharing resources as and where able.

Both further national and international connections have been made by becoming more confident and engaging with educators over Twitter (follow me @askawenga if you are keen!).  I take part (as and where able given the tamariki in the morning) in #BFC30NZ as much as I can - to me this is such an inspirational fifteen minutes.  It gives us wee thoughtful challenges along with the opportunity to afi one another in an environment that is willing to challenge each other but always remains positive!

Source

Another key connection are the #EDBlogNZ bloggers (some linked in side bar).  These educators take the time to write about their practice, their purpose, their highs and lows, their pedagogy and their passion.  It is these experiences that can inspire you on a blue day, reignite the fire on a low day and remind you that we are all in this for the love the students and their learning.


This year I am taking part in #NZreadaloud4 - a chance to focus in my inquiry about whether increased reading aloud (even at Y10) is going to improve my students reading and writing.  This is something that I am thinking might be a possibility to connect even further if I had a chance to go on this overseas experience.


A personal international connection is my sister-in-law in Holland.  She is taking an Bachelor of Arts in Literacy and Social Sciences, so I am privileged to be able to read her university work, and this year she has been studying some NZ authors as part of her Masters thesis studies.  Skype plays a big part in this connection.  The Skype programme will also play a part in connecting my students - I am hoping to skype with speakers this year to help students learning become more meaningful and personal.  If we can't all travel three hours (cost and time factors) and speakers cannot come to small area schools easily - perhaps we can overcome that by organising Skype sessions with speakers and particular authors (hopng we can connect with Karen Healey @kehealey author of our novel study this year).   This connecting will again make the learning more personal and purposeful.

So ... leave me a note here or on Twitter ... lets see how many more connections we can make!