Thanks to Durff and Cheri I have been tagged with this meme. Ok ladies, I will do this as I wait for a video to upload to YouTube.
The rules are: 1) Post these rules before you give your facts 2) List 8 random facts about yourself 3) At the end of your post, choose (tag) 8 people and list their names, linking to them 4) Leave a comment on their blog, letting them know they've been tagged
Here we go, 8 random facts: (in no particular order)
I have been to 8 different countries in the past 12 months
I love roast pork but do not eat the crackling (not much pork available where I am off to next week!)
I have 2 Masters degrees (music and educational technology)
I was born the year Billie Holiday died (jazz vocalist)
My daughter was named after 2 flowers, Violet Rose, because I was into cottage gardening at the time
I love Aussie style BBQs with sausages and tomato sauce
My favourite jazz pianist is Thelonius Monk
I am a city girl but also love wide open spaces along beaches and up mountains
I am not tagging anyone for this meme. If you feel inclined, follow along, it's a bit of fun.
On August 23 we invite EdubBloggers globally to participate in 'Window to the EduBlogger World'. This is the first organised, participatory meetuped eminating from the new social network called EduBlogger World. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing with blogging in education and as an educator here is what we invite you to do to be part of this event:
Contribute your own blog post on this day and tag it edubloggerworldmeetup2007. Check out all of the tagging standards on the EduBlogger World Wiki. In this post share your experiences with blogging. Where do you blog? How often do you blog? What do you blog about? Why is blogging so important to you?
Share a photo of your own blogging area (looking out of a window, your room, your classroom). We want to collect images of EduBloggers around the world and where they blog and/or what they are looking at when they blog. Put this in your blog post and put it on Flickr.com and post it to the Ning.
Participate in a synchronous event (virtual meetup) on August 23 and meet other EduBloggers online.
Sign up to be a Global Greeter: We are inviting members from all locations to step forward and be a Global Greeter. See the wiki page for more details about this. How many countries can we add on August 23?
Also, participate in a live meetup on this day. There will be online events where we invite you to participate in dicussions focusing on how we can best use EduBlogger World to further communication and interaction amongst members. More details coming VERY soon about times for August 23 live events.
Meanwhile, view the introductory video created just last week about EduBlogger World.
I look forward to being part of this 'Window to the EduBlogger World' event next week from my new home in Qatar!
The week before my family and I left Australia to start yet another new life as educators in Qatar we had a meeting with our 'retirement' specialist. We had been avoiding this meeting as we are are always a little embarrassed to go and admit we are a little slow in planning for, thinking about or acknowledging that one day we may have to retire. I suppose one reason for this is that we are having such an interesting and exciting time (read also between the lines exhausting and stressful) as international educators. Anyway, our man behind the desk has lived our international life vicariously for the past ten years and is always pleased to see us and hear our latest adventures. This time he sat back and looked at us with quite a sense of admiration (rather than disturbed alarm as many others do) and said, "You know, you have really lived the dream. You have done something that many others are too afraid or have not had the opportunity to do."
I have been thinking about this statement over the past week as we settle into Qatar. In between unpacking our mouldy 18 cubic metres of shipping sent from Bangladesh (and throwing a great deal of it out, including personal items such as photos and paintings), in between getting to know many new colleagues at Qatar Academy, in between opening a bank account, having our medicals, leasing a car and driving it ourselves along the Doha freeways, in between walking around our new housing compound at dawn (the coolest time of the day now), in between attending new staff orientation sessions and finding our way around the enormous Qatar Foundation Education City campus, in between joining a new jazz band and playing my first gig last night at a sophisticated event at the Pearl (if you know anything about Doha you will understand where this is), in between all of this I have been thinking that opportunities are always there for everyone. It is a matter of knowing when to take them and then having the courage to do so. It is a matter of having confidence and prioritising your life and allowing yourself the luxury of chasing and finding the dream and allowing the journey to be just as important, if not more so, than the dream itself.
I encourage you all to live your dream and be risk takers in life. You never know where it may take you and what you may find. If you are an educator and/or and educational blogger maybe your journey will take you to our EduBlogger World first organised event and virtual meetup on Thursday August 23. I blogged about this before and full details can be found on the EduBlogger World wiki on the Virtual Meetup page.
There will be TWO synchronous events on this day, August 23. These are listed on the airset calendar for EduBlogger World. If you are not familiar with airset.com it is very easy to start a calendar and add events and other calendars. Also, if you set the preferences to your own time zone every event that is posted on any calendar will come up in your time....this is SUCH a great feature!
For the sake of this blog post I am sharing the times of 2 synchronous events in GMT. Here they are: Thursday August 23 at 2am-3am GMT: Hosted by Julie Lindsay (me) Thursday August 23 at 7.30-8.30pm GMT: Hosted by Vicki Davis Don't forget there will be events on Second Life as well....check the Ning and the wiki for these.
Both of these sessions will be in Elluminate so make sure you download the software first and open up the Elluminate room. More details about this will be available on the Ning on Wednesday.
So, live the dream, participate and let's see what sense we can make of this international blogging world. Don't forget to tag your blog posts on this day with edubloggerworldmeetup2007 and to share a photo of where you are and talk about your blogging and online experiences. The world will be waiting to hear from you! I will be sharing more of my experiences in Qatar and some ideas for how we can expand and connect the edublogger community.
As part of the EduBlogger World first ever virtual meetup and unofficial launch day on August 23 this blog post is a brief look into my educational blogging world.
Who am I and why do I blog? I am an international educator who firmly believes the walls of the classroom should be lowered and/or flattened so that all participants in the process of learning can be part of the global community and share their experiences and thoughts as they feel inclined.
These are some of the reasons why I blog:
I blog to share what I am doing with my students and with my own exploration of education and life
I blog to clear my head and document new experiences, with a focus on educational technology
I blog for fun and to be creative
I blog to encourage interaction with other like-minded individuals
I blog to synthesise and evaluate and reflect on my ideas and experiences
Right now I am blogging in Qatar, a country in the middle east found between United Arab Emirates (Dubai) and Bahrain. I have a new position at Qatar Academy, a K-12 international school. It is early in the year and I have not met any of the students yet. I have high expectations of my students including the following:
I will expect all of my students to blog and develop an online learning environment
I will expect them to collaborate and cooperate with other students in their class as well as students and teachers worldwide as the need arises
I will expect them to be professional online and to embrace the new learning opportunities that blogging and other online activities provide them
I will expect them to not only blog but also read alternative blogs (students and others) and to develop expertise in commenting on other blog posts in order to create an online dialogue
My Blogging Window Right now I am blogging at the dining room table as we have been living in this new apartment in Qatar for less than one week. If it was daylight this is the image I would see outside the window I am sitting next to: The wall of our compound and over that the desert with occasional houses. Our Qatar Foundation Education City Housing, like many other places in Qatar, is surrounded by stretches of desert with clumps of houses.
Educational blogging is a valid and worthwhile method of communication and promotes and supports best practice approaches in the classroom as well as higher order thinking skills. Are you an educational blogger? Join us at EduBlogger World. Don't forget the virtual meetups on August 23! Also don't forget we are looking for Global Greeters in every country.
I was delighted to find a variety of educators join together this morning (5am my time in Doha) for the first EduBlogger Virtual meetup. We shared images and ideas and URLs. The opportunity to meet in real time really helps to create a bond between us all. Thank you all for participating!
In my confusion I forgot to record the Elluminate session (!) but here are the screen shots from the whiteboards.
Also, I wish to direct you to Darren Draper's post for 'Window to the EduBlogger World'. I love his picture of the mountains in Utah, such a stark contrast to my desert environment here in Qatar.
I am in Qatar this weekend catching up on blogging about my new life while others, including many of my blogging colleagues are at the Learning 2.0 conference in Shanghai. I just caught this line from Kim Cofino, "Every classroom should be a global communication centre", by Alan November, while checking my Twitter, also Kim has this as a message on her GMail tag, so I saw it in two places! Kim is sitting in a discussion with Alan, I presume, and is twittering and communicating with the world as she is there.
This is conference style 2.0, or as others have called it, including one of the main presenters, the wonderful Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach from 21st Century Collaborative, the 'Unconference'. As Sheryl says on her blog today: "What Does Unconference Mean? Alvin Toffler said, "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." Unlearning is at the heart of unconferences. They are about pushing the boundaries, coming out of our comfort zones and getting use to the unexpected. Realizing it is not business as usual, but business as unusual and that it is O-K-.
Unconference is a term that basically means customizable or organic in design. It is emergent in design. The conversation is facilitated to go in the direction that participants feel it should go. Presenters and attendees share equal responsibility in making the session a success."
I am so impressed with what Jeff Utecht and colleagues from the Shanghai American School and the wider Shanghai community have done to put on this conference. For a start they have not mentioned 'technology' in the title, they are focussing on the learning. There is very much an unconference aim and a setup that is inclusive of non-attendees. For a start there is a comprehensive website (OK, but other conferences have these I hear you say), there is a social networking Ning, (OK, that's a little more on the cutting edge), and there is a Twitter account that you can follow, while Jeff has also set up a TwitterCamp on site for participants to follow (have I lost you yet??). There is also a conference Flickr group and a hitchikr page for all feeds learn2cn07 and learn2cn.
I urge you to follow this event over the next few days. It is going to be big in terms of ideas and passion about new modes of learning. I wish I was there, however I can get the feel and follow the action from here in Qatar because of the tools that are being employed to network and share. This truly is an amazing world we live in!
And yes, I firmly agree with Alan, every classroom should be a global communication centre....is yours???
Here in Qatar I work atQatar Academy, a PreK-12 school now delivering the IBO curriculum across all levels (PYP, MYP and DP) which is located on Education City, a large campus on the outskirts of Doha. However I work forQatar Foundation (QF) for Education, Science and Community Development. QF represents the innovation and creativity of His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar. QF is a non-profit organisation and was founded in 1995, and Education City is their flagship.
Two weeks ago all new staff at Education City were treated to a presentation about QF, then loaded onto buses and shown the around the campus and finally given a sumptuous buffet lunch. Images from the campus can be found on my Flickr group for Qatar.
The vision and commitment to excellence in education here is amazing. The money being spent and the rate of development is staggering. QF is the driving force behind the countries commitment to education and to Qatar becoming one of the most developed knowledge-based societies around the world. To do this they are partnering with international educational institutions, supporting higher research and contributing to community health and development programs. Her Highness, Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned, Consort of His Highness, serves as the chairperson of QF and personally guides the organisation with passion, vision and enthusiasm.
I have not met Sheikha Mozah yet but have heard and read about what she is doing. I am excited to be here working with visionary leaders of a country that is willing to put money into education and to promote reform and freedom of speech within the Middle East.
In the words of Sheikha Mozah herself:
"With good will and a sense of global responsibility we can achieve our objectives: Global education on an educated globe".
"Our goal is to do as our ancestors did before us, who believed in the urgency of meeting other civilisations, but not melting into them. And this is why we believe in the power of education to guide us toward this goal".
So, not only is there Qatar Academy and Education City, QF is also developing the following: Qatar Leadership Academy: Also, IBO and a partnership between QF and Qatar Armed Forces The Learning Centre: Providing individualised instruction in small classes for academically challenged students Academic Bridge Program: Post-secondary preparatory program
As well as International Partnerships:
VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar)
Plans are underway with major building taking place to create an equestrian centre, Al Shaqab. It will be a state-of-the-art venue housing the Emir's stables, international arena, riding academy etc. We visited this as part of our tour and met the Emir's famous black stallion, the one he rode when opening the Asian Games in December 2006. Here are pictures of the plans for the centre and of the Emir's horse:
Also under construction is an enormous convention centre, on the land opposite the main Education City campus. Watch this space as this is going to be BIG. One day soon Qatar will be able to host large regional conferences and become a focal point for meetings of all sorts. Here it is in development:
As part of the QF community outreach program Education City hosts amongst other initiatives the Al Jazeera Children's Channel and the Doha Debates. The latter is a unique forum for dialogue and free speech in Qatar (more about this in a future blog post!)
I still have not covered all of the QF initiatives! Future plans include a central library, another recreation centre etc etc.
In the words of Sheikha Mozah: "Today we plant seeds, tomorrow we open frontiers, tomorrow is rooted here".
Last week on September 5 I went the the Doha Debates in person! Yes, this internationally acclaimed series of debates that are fostering freedom of speech and critical analysis in the Middle East is held on my school campus!!! Here is the Qatar Foundation building where they are held.
The Doha Debates are an initiative of Qatar Foundation (my boss) and aim to foster free speech in the Arab World. They are televised by BBC World and chaired by Tim Sebastian, known as the former presenter of the BBC's flagship HardTalk.
The subject for this debate was: "The House believes it is time to talk to Al Qaeda"
Speakers for: Terry Waite (former hostage and hostage negotiator) and Asad Durrani (Former head of the Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence:ISI) Speakers against the motion: Laith Kubba (Director for the Middle East and North Africa at the national Endowment for Democracy) and Adam Holloway (British MP and member of the House of Commons Defence Committee)
It was exciting being in the same room as all of these people. We were ushered in through security and sat in tiered seats. There were a number of ushers, organisers and cameras. I was sorry I didn't take my camera. Thinking it would be not allowed I left it at home, only to find there were many personal digital cameras being used.
The audience was a mix of western and Arabic. I guessed a large part of the audience were from the educational institutions on Education City. There were also many tertiary students who asked questions.
Each audience member also had an electronic voting device. At the conclusion of the debate Tim asked us to vote for or against. The majority, about 63% voted for the motion that it is time to speak to Al Qaeda.
You can watch the Doha Debates, including this one, as a webcast.
This is a bit of fun. Animato.com allows you to string together images, add music and create a 30 second video for free. You can also pay $30 and create unlimited 10mb videos for a year. This has interesting potential for a Web 2.0 classroom.
Here is a modest example I created with images from Qatar.
I am excited to announce that Vicki and I will be running another Flat Classroom Project this semester. We are continuing to explore and define the parameters of a truly interactive and collaborative global project and invite interested classrooms anywhere in the world to consider being part of this unique experience. We have spent the past two months deliberating as to what format the project will take and how we will preserve the integrity of the past project. Essentially the Flat Classroom Project 2006 is now archived on its own wiki and there is a new wiki for this brand new project in 2007 soon to be announced.
Meanwhile here is the press release about the project:
The Flat Classroom Ning (with private groups for teachers, leaders, student groups, and educators).-- This will be our connection piece that will allow us to make and cement the connections and manage the workgroups.
Participating Classroom: We wish we could take everyone but are looking for several other strategically placed classrooms with the competence to participate. Please contact us!
Sounding Board (Peer review): Perhaps you have a classroom that would like to spend a day reviewing videos. This year's project will heavily rely on digital storytelling. E-mail us as well. We plan to add additional room in Elluminate.
Researchers: We are making the Ning open to researchers, expert advisers, and those who would like to more closely follow the project.
Judge: We are working on this element right now.
Attending a student summit or live Elluminate meeting.
So, do you have a class that is ready and willing? We would love to hear from you!
