Teacher Education Dialogue Conference 2012

I was a Keynote speaker at the Teacher Education Dialogue Conference last Friday, the 3rd of August. It was a privilege to have been asked to share the past five years of my life that have seen me develop into what I like to term as a Networked Teacher, with an audience of academics who teach pre-service teachers and teachers from local schools in the area. For many of these academics, I’m sure it was the first time they had seen how teachers today are using the tools of the web and social media to construct knowledge and share learning to develop our profession in a networked age. I received quite a bit of positive feedback from conference participants, many of whom said they were inspired to start using social media to share and further their learning. A very positive outcome.

The slides from my presentation can be accessed on my wiki housing my presentations. Without me talking, it’s a little difficult to understand some of the intent behind the slides, but you’ll get the gist. There was much to take from the sessions I attended over the two days of the conference. A common thread was the need for a shared professional language of our profession that would help us all engage in meaningful professional dialogue both within our schools and across school systems. Tina Doe led some interesting sessions where she discussed the Dimensions of Learning Framework (see video below) and I could see how a model like this adopted across a school could go a long way towards establishing a common language and direction for a school community.

Another interesting session called “Pedagogy: Fact or Fiction” will be the springboard for a post of its own I’m thinking. Lots of impassioned dialogue was shared in that session!

Dr. Rick van der Zwan, a Behavioural Scientist, delivered a witty keynote that dispelled some myths that have currency in schools today. To find out what they were, take a look at my Storify (link is below) that contains my twitter stream from the two days.

I’d like to thank the conference organisers for asking me to present, and Deborah Hoiles, who did a marvelous job working behind the scenes to ensure everything flowed smoothly for presenters and attendees.

[View the story “Teacher Education Dialogue Conference 2012” on Storify]