Lunar New Year

Living in Asia has afforded me many opportunities to participate in and learn about cultural traditions and celebrations. One of the major ones has been Lunar New Year. I have been lucky enough to celebrate the Lunar New Year here in Korea as well as in Beijing, and this year we will travel to Taipei for the New Year break.

This really is a wonderful celebration and it is a great time to see how the different Asian nations celebrate this special event. Two things that I always associate with this time of year are the color red and the smell of firecracker smoke. These cultural experiences are one of the true highlights of being an international educator.

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21st Century Educators

21st Century is a term that is used a lot, particularly in education. Along with this term there is often debate and conversation revolving around exactly what this means. Kim Cofino's article, 5 Tips to Becoming a 21st Century Educator, highlights the importance of not just doing things differently in the classroom, but also outside of the classroom.

Being a 21st century educator means utilizing the available technology to engage and collaborate with professionals from around the world, not just the ones within your school walls. Learning with and from colleagues who are dedicated to educational best practice is stimulating and inspiring - your professional learning network (PLN) may just turn out to be the best professional development you have participated in for a long while. I justify this statement with 3 reasons:

1. It's ongoing - your PLN is not a 2 day conference that invigorates you for a week or two, it invigorates, inspires, and challenges everyday!
2. It's ready when you are - the PLN is ongoing and does not require you to miss classes or school days to participate (it doesn't even penalize you if you miss a couple of days)
   
3. It's Just In Time (JIT) - when you have a specific question that needs to be answered, or some help with a particular issue or problem, your PLN is there ready to offer advice, answers, and solutions

Being a 21st century educator isn't about technology, it's about being connected and engaged with professionals from all over the world. Today's technology simply makes it a lot easier to do this.

A Great Time to be in Education!

With Dr Penland, Mr Petrey, and Mr Wendling currently in Canada and the US for recruiting, my meeting schedule has lightened somewhat. This has enabled me to spend more time in the classrooms - in the last two days I have been in 20 different middle school classes. I have observed so much learning and so much enjoyment and engagement in these classes! Here's some of what I have observed:

• Grade 8 students creating stop animation movies in Design Tech - displaying real inquiry
• Grade 6 students writing short stories and sharing these with their peers - examples of great thinkers and communicators
• Grade 7 and 8 students learning the finer points of volleyball - a great example of being balanced
• Grade 6 students performing in a guitar ensemble - another example of balance and also of being knowledgeable and taking risks
• Grade 6 students participating in drama activities involving lots of movement and risk taking
• Grade 7 students researching the countries of South America - demonstrating very open-minded attitudes
• Grade 6, 7, and 8 students studying the language and cultures of Korea, China, and Spanish speaking nations in their world language classes - students have been taking risks, communicating, inquiring, open-minded and principled
• Students enjoying the stories of the Bible and learning the value of prayer - thinking students who are balanced and caring
• Grade 7 students engaging with books and taking their online AR quizzes - communicating their knowledge
• Grade 7 students taking a Science test, while the grade 6 students were learning all about heat and conduction - students being knowledgeable, inquirers, and risk-takers
• Grade 8 boys working an interdisciplinary assessment that involves researching North Korea in Humanities and writing the report in their English class - this has really challenged the students to be inquirers, open-minded, caring, principled, and balanced in their views and preconceptions

After a visit to each class I have the same thought - Wow! Our students are learning so much and in so many different and exciting ways. Whether you are a student, a teacher, or an administrator, this really is a wonderful time to be involved in education!

Increasing Global Awareness Through KIVA

In 2008 I was fortunate enough to attend some presentations by Alan November at the EARCOS Administrators' Conference. During one of his presentations he stated that KIVA.org was justification enough that the internet is a good thing.

At that stage I had a personal KIVA account (which I still have) but I had not considered how this micro finance website could be used in education. This year I have been working with our Student Life Minister, Ms Choe to increase our students' global awareness by lending money through KIVA.

Each student contributed 3000 won (roughly $3 USD) that enabled us to create an account that each Home room could use to lend $25 USD to an entrepreneur of their choice. Interacting with the KIVA website and researching the profiles on the site has enabled our students to learn a great deal about developing countries around the world, as well as gaining an awareness of the plight of individuals who need a helping hand in the form of a loan to get their business idea off the ground, or to expand a business that is already running. The monthly updates keep the students engaged with their chosen entrepreneur, and helps them to feel connected as they see the loan being repaid.

This is proving to be a great way for our students to develop a more caring attitude and to engage in an authentic and meaningful way on an ongoing basis. I hope this initiative prompts some of our students and families to look for other ways that they can make a difference.

Differentiate with Twitter

Early in 2009 our MYP Coordinator, Mr Fambro introduced me to Twitter. I signed up for an account and played around with it for a while, but in the beginning I didn't really understand the point of it. During last year's EARCOS Administrators' Conference I began 'following' some colleagues and found that this really improved my connectedness to what was happening at the conference, and also to online resources related to conference topics.

Since then I have started following a network of educators, technology specialists, and people who are devote to infusing technology into education. Following these people has given me access to a professional learning network (PLN) that provides resources, advice, and answers beyond what's available to me within the walls of GSIS. The most exciting part about my Twitter PLN is that the resources are there for me to access when I am ready - these resources are much more valuable and relevant to me when I have a practical for need for them.

In the latest Educational Leadership journal William Ferriter writes about Why Teachers Should Try Twitter. In his article he writes:

What lessons have I learned from Twitter? First, I finally understand how much differentiated learning matters. My own motivation levels have skyrocketed, I'm accessing ideas connected to my professional interests, and I've taken ownership of my own learning.

This is certainly true for me as well. I feel that I am now connected and part of a global team of educators committed to sharing and promoting best educational practice. With the teacher's role now being one of facilitator and learning coach it is increasingly important that we assist our students in developing their own professional learning networks. Twitter may just be one of the tools that we can use for this purpose.

Source: Ferriter, M. (2010) "Why Teachers Should Try Twitter." Educational Leadership, Vol. 67, No. 5, pp 73-74.

50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Education

The Apple iPad

I am not what you would call an 'early adopter' of new technology, that is if by technology you mean gadgets and tools - I don't have an iPhone....in fact I have never owned an iPod. I am very interested in the latest technology - I have been listening to music in MP3 format since 1999, that's probably why I prefer a simple MP3 player over an iPod.

I have read (with great interest) all about the Apple iPad that was unveiled today and it sounds pretty cool. I must admit that for a few moments I even thought, "I should get one of those." That was until I started to read a little more about it and came across this article:

What's Missing from the Apple iPad

The questions I have now are:

• Is it just an oversized iPhone?
• Is a touch screen/tablet computer?
• Is it a Kindle/Nook with a lot more features?

If the answer to the last question is yes, then the people at Apple are simply brilliant. It certainly tops other ebook readers in terms of features and it will be a great companion for the iBook store, just like the Kindle is for Amazon.

Now I begin to wonder.....do I "need" an iPhone, an iPad, and a MacBook? I have little doubt that MS students around the world will be telling their parents that they deifinitely need an iPad. This is a great opportunity to research this product together and weigh up its pros and cons, while at the same time strengthening the parent/child relationship. Your kids may be impressed that you even know what an iPad is!

Happy Australia Day!

One of the great things about living and working in an international community is that you get to share in a wide variety of celebrations and holidays from the many different nations and cultures that make up an international school.

January 26 is a big day of celebration in Australia as we commemorate the day back in 1788 that the first fleet arrived in Sydney Cove and raised the Union Jack. I am taking great pride today in celebrating Australia Day with my fellow Aussies here in Korea, as well as sharing with our colleagues from other nations a little about Australia's history and beginnings.

Happy Australia Day!