For Connected Educator Month, October 16 2014, I was invited by Core Education Ltd, New Zealand to be a lead panelist. The theme Student Agency, was one of the global themes for this month.You will find the recording of the webinar here: Working together to reimagine student agency Guests also included Linda Ojala and Tim Gander who also shared their experiences on '...how they have redesigned learning that genuinely positions learning at the heart, enabled by digital technologies.'I was delighted to hear how Linda and Tim (at the elementary and high school levels respectively) are nurturing student independence of thinking and learning and fostering skills that will support them in future local and global collaborations. You can find more webinar recordings on the NZ VLN portal. Screenshot of the opening to the webinar with hosts Nathaniel Louwrens and Karen Melhuish Spencer sharing a Maori greeting. I assume this is a common or standard way they do their webinars. Enhanced cultural awareness from the start!  My slides - Flat Students - Global Learning shared ideas for student taking control of their own learning, finding their own PLNs and PLCs and engaging in collaborations that are meaningful and authentic, locally and more importantly on a global scale.I also did a soft launch of my Google Teacher Academy 'moonshot' (from 3 weeks ago). 'Learning Collaboratives' - still in the 'empathy' and 'define' stages, but I am looking to run a pilot starting February 2015.Stay connected to this vibrant and dynamic and dedicated educators in New Zealand for the remainder of October - and beyond! Lots happening over there that we should sit up and take notice of.@ConnectEduNZ  Hashtag: #cenz14Addendum: This blog post came through my Twitter this afternoon 'A story of agency, collaboration, music and love' Thanks Ginnie from Christchurch!Innovation, Leadership, Creativity, Collaboration

Using Facebook in the Classroom tags: digitalcitizenship Facebook education Educational Technology and Mobile Learning: 10 Great Digital Citizenship Lessons from Google tags: digitalcitizenship education TeachMeetNZ - Prescott_helen Helne Prescott talks about SAMR and the relevance to education and educators with a focus on New Zealand as part of a #teachmeetnz hangout tags: education SAMR teachmeet CORE Education's Ten Trends 2014 | CORE Education tags: trends education educationaltechnology future Trend 8: Global connectedness | CORE Education @virtuallykaren shares enlightened ideas about global connectedness from the New Zealand perspective. This is one of TEN trends impacting education. See all ten linked from here: http://www.core-ed.org/thought-leadership/ten-trends tags: globalawareness globalcollaboration education connected_learning flatconnectionsproject Flat Students - Global Learning - CEM2014 - Flat Connections Connected Educator month New Zealand - my presentation on Flat Students - Global Learning tags: education cem flatconnections 4 Keys to Designing the Classroom of the Future -- THE Journal tags: education future classroom desig FocalPoint Focal Point Global is an international educational nonprofit that was founded by the Blake sisters in 2010. Since its inception it has connected over 80 youths in three different countries. tags: globalcollaboration globaleducation education Are boys and girls ready for the digital age? Digital and print reading statistics from 2012. tags: research pisa education The Internet Is Not Harming You. Here's What's Harmful: Fearmongering About The Internet | Fast Company | Business + Innovation tags: education Internet change :: Verdentum :: A non-profit social network, connecting the world for a better tomorrow This new non-profit social network launches on October 24. Excellent focus and goals - to join students across the world to share global issues and solve them together. tags: social_entrepreneurship education communityservice socialnetworking OpenIDEO - Fighting Ebola tags: education designthinking social_entrepreneurship Get This Pair of Free Digital Books from iPad Educators! — Learning in Hand tags: ipad free books education Canada 2015 - Join Flat Connections Live! - Flat Connections Join educators from across the globe April 30-May 2 in Winnipeg, Canada for Flat Connections Live! tags: education Canada flatconnectionslive A Wonderful Chart of Educational Web Tools to Use in Class ~ Educational Technology and Mobile Learning tags: Web2.0 education tools 7 Tips to Effectively Use Google Scholar ~ Educational Technology and Mobile Learning tags: googlescholar education Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.Innovation, Leadership, Creativity, Collaboration

About a month ago I was privileged to be chosen to attend the Google Teacher Academy in Sydney. Based at the Google offices in Pyrmont, Sydney, about 50 of us as well as a team of organisers came together to explore, connect, discuss, and come up with NEW ideas and approaches 'moonshots' for improving teaching and learning.The application video that was my bridge for #gtasyd: What I really liked about this experience is the opportunity it gave everyone to extend themselves and to think once again, even more and positively 'out of the box' of everyday situations to really envisage what might be possible in the future.I am already an Apple Distinguished Educator (class of 2010, Singapore) and have had many exciting professional development experiences over the years. I knew this academy was going to be another step for me along the pathway of realisation of what is possible and to move closer to making it happen. When it was announced No Tosh would be leading the academy I was doubly excited, having connected with both Ewan McIntosh and Tom Barrett in the past I knew the quality work they were doing around the world. Hamish Curry, another No Tosh team member was in Sydney with Tom as well.The Google Teacher Academy grouped us into teams and we met online for about three weeks before gathering in Sydney. Hats off to our 'Giant Leap' (our team name) leader, Matt Ives from New Zealand who worked hard at bringing us together and supporting our ideas and dreams. What was great???? I loved the fact our team was so diverse - in how long we had been teaching (shout out to Kim Sutton, a very young and exuberant teacher!), our areas of interest and expertise, and our ideas for making the change we all need to see in education. I loved the fact we worked hard as a team for a large part of the academy, sharing ideas for feedback, re-developing, re-sharing and getting more and more excited as more concrete plans emerged by Day 2.I loved the use of Design Thinking to mold our ideas - and even though I have been using this in the workshops I run myself more recently and have a working knowledge of how to apply this - when you actually use it yourself for your own ideas it takes on a whole new meaning! I loved the fact we now all have a new network of educators to share ideas with and know these fragile thoughts will be welcomed for what they are......brave ideas in a confusing world, ready to be further tested, reshaped and eventually launchedMy MoonshotI want to start a virtual school.....but I do not like the term 'virtual school' and the connotations it has with set curriculum and exam-focused learning. So.......in line with the work I have done with Flat Classroom/Flat Connections in the past 10 years, I want to create what I am calling 'Learning Collaboratives' and put the responsibility onto the students to join these (in conjunction with teachers, or not) and become engaged and motivated through the socialisation of learning, networking and community that build collaborative learning.Planning - using 'hexagons'My hexagon after team brainstormingPlanning - the next stageMy moonshot - further planningMy Moonshot - The 'sentence'What I plan to do is pilot 'Learning Collaboratives' in 2015. These will be different to the usual global collaborative projects I run. I am putting together details on this Learning Collaboratives doc and hope to have concrete objectives available by the end of October to share and encourage brave teachers and students to come and join.Right now I am planning a 'Social Entrepreneurship Collaborative' (as on the doc.) I am also considering a 'Language Learning Collaborative' with a focus on Chinese. If you have any interest in being part of this please connect with me at any time!Team 'Giant Leap' working hard!Team 'Giant Leap' - stars of the event!The whole group - #gtasyd A little blurry - but here I am as a Google Certified Teacher!Thanks Google and  no Tosh and all organisers. This was a very worthwhile and progressive experience for me and for all involved I believe. Well done!Innovation, Leadership, Creativity, Collaboration

Why is bilingual education ‘good’ for rich kids but ‘bad’ for poor, immigrant students? - The Washington Post " If you follow the public debate about bilingual education, you know that there are two basic opposing views. As Claire Bowern, the author of the following post, writes, To put it bluntly, bilingualism is often seen as "good" when it’s rich English speakers adding a language as a hobby or another international language, but "bad when it involves poor, minority, or indigenous groups adding English to their first language, even when the same two languages are involved. Here is a piece about the value of bilingualism for all students. Bowern is an associate professor of linguistics at Yale University and a fellow in The OpEd Project’s Public Voices project who has been researching topics s related to language and society, including bilingualism, for 15 years. She also works as an advisor to Native American and Australian indigenous groups on language reclamation, maintenance, and bilingual education issues." tags: education language How to Make Rainbow Pasta,,http://funbase-zonefree.rhcloud.com/?p=1276 - post by siliya johns TeachMeetNZ - Lindsay_Julie My presentation for the #TeachMeetNZ October 25, 2014 tags: education jul collaboration connection How Standing Desks Can Help Students Focus in the Classroom | MindShift This is an important topic - standing or sitting while learning - what is best? Applies to adults as well! tags: learning education Are Cell Phone Bans Worth the Trouble? -- THE Journal Discussion about the use of cell phones across schools and supporting research on distraction while learning. tags: digitalcitizenship education mobiles phones The 10 Best Kid-Friendly Minecraft Channels on YouTube | Common Sense Media tags: games gaming minecraft education commonsensemedia Use Google Sheets as a Multilingual Chat Translator I love this! tags: Google translator education Virtual learning as an impetus for educational change Whitepaper produced by CORE New Zealand tags: education digitalcitizenship change leadership planning strategicplanning Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.Innovation, Leadership, Creativity, Collaboration

CENZ14 - Reflection blog post Sonya https://twitter.com/vanschaijik tags: education cenz14 cem2014 globalcollaboration Landmark Games | Science math language school project classroom dialog cyberpal tags: globalproject globalcollaboration education 2014 WISE Summit Provisional Program | www.wise-qatar.org Excited to be heading to WISE 2014 and now moderating this debate on 'Exploring the learning experience through cognitive science' tags: jul education WISE2014 How to Tell a Powerful Story with Data Visualization tags: education infographic visualization data ViewPure / Videos Without Clutter Watch YouTube videos without comments, adds or distractions. tags: education youtube video How Brain Myths Could Hurt Kids - NYTimes.com tags: cognitivescience education brain TeachMeetNZ Julie Lindsay - YouTube Beyond Global Connectedness - What's next? tags: jul education teachmeet Neuroscience and education: myths and messages : Nature Reviews Neuroscience : Nature Publishing Group tags: cognitivescience education Independence : Independence Vol 39 No 2 Oct 2014, Page 1 tags: jul education publishing flatconnections How to Create Interactive YouTube Videos - YouTube Excellent live tutorial from EdTech team tags: youtube education video create Launch your own online school, create your online courses in minutes, and it is FREE! tags: onlinelearning education distancelearning elearning Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.Innovation, Leadership, Creativity, Collaboration

NMC Horizon Report Toolkit > 2014 K-12 - NMC ACADEMY This short course is designed around the New Media Consortium Horizon Report and prepares teachers to understand the report and how to implement learning artifacts with their students. tags: horizonreport education toolkit CSER Digital Technologies - Foundations to 6 - Course Online course starting February 2015 specifically addressing the Australian Digital Technologies curriculum (Foundation-6). tags: education computationalthinking digitaltechnologies Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.Innovation, Leadership, Creativity, Collaboration

The Global Education Conference is next week, November 17-21, 2014. Right now (less then 3 days before starting) we have:250 general sessions 33 keynotes, or maybe 34 now20,347 members in the educational community!Not sure about you, but I am planning to attend as much as I can - and learn from as many as I can. This conference is TOTALLY ONLINE, TOTALLY FREE and runs 24/7 for FIVE DAYS. There is something for everyone! The focus is on global education, global learning, global collaboration and how teachers and all learners are shifting the educational paradigm to embrace change through global connections that are often embedded into the curriculum (at all levels).The Global Education Conference (now in its 5th year!) is a special event as it highlights innovation and cutting edge pedagogy, often with the use of new and emerging technologies. It provides inspiration to many educators globally as they hear and interact with teachers and leaders who are already out there connecting themselves and their students to the world. If you are a teacher or a leader (at any level) who wants to learn how to connect with the world in meaningful ways you MUST join some sessions and learn more.A word about the sessions - each session runs for ONE HOUR - and presenters usually build in discussion and interaction activities. Being virtual it is easy to come in and out of the presentation rooms - and each time slot has at least 3 choices - so you can find the presentation that aligns with your needs and settle in to enjoy! The Student Strand this year has grown and I wish to send a special thank you in advance to all teachers and students willing to step up and design a presentation that shares your global learning. We have a Student Presenters and Presentations group - everyone is welcome to join, especially students and teachers involved in the student strand presentations. Share your resources and links to your presentation material there well.Here is the list of Student-led presentations (if I have missed any, please let me know!)BTW - this list is in GMT+11 (my time here in Australia). Find YOUR time zone HERE.Those highlighted in yellow are from Flat Connections teachers and students - Flat Connections is a sponsor of GEC 2014.Tuesday 3pmA Virtual Trip to AsiaParamita Roy and students in Gr 6 and 8 (Julie to moderate)http://www.globaleducationconference.com/forum/topics/a-virtual-trip-to-asia Wednesday 2amService Learning for Highs School StudentsMax Bone - Studenthttp://www.globaleducationconference.com/forum/topics/service-learning-for-high-school-students Wednesday 4amStudents as Tech SupportKern KelleyThursday 2amFlippingPD - Pre-Service Teachers Teaching Teachers GloballyEva BrownThis session features students at the university level!http://www.globaleducationconference.com/forum/topics/flippingpd-pre-service-teachers-teaching-teachers-globally Thursday 12pmA Student-Led Virtual Technology Conference? A New Model for Collaboration!Marymount School of New York - Studentshttp://www.globaleducationconference.com/forum/topics/a-student-led-virtual-technology-conference-a-new-model-for Thursday 11pmGlobal Collaboration - The Student PerspectiveAmy Jambor & Sheri Williams and students from Berea District, Ohio (Julie moderating)http://www.globaleducationconference.com/forum/topics/global-collaboration-the-student-perspective Thursday 12pmA Student-Led Virtual Technology Conference? A New Model for Collaboration!Student Technology Leadership Team Marymount School of New Yorkhttp://www.globaleducationconference.com/forum/topics/a-student-led-virtual-technology-conference-a-new-model-for Friday 3amStudents Presenting A Week in the Life - Environmental IssuesToni Olivieri-Barton, Laura Israelsen, Cindy Nickodam and studentsFriday 9amDigiteen/Digitween - Global Digital Citizenship ProjectTheresa Allen and Helen McConaghy and students (Julie moderating)http://www.globaleducationconference.com/forum/topics/digiteen-digitween-digital-citizenship-project Friday 12pmThe World is Our ClassroomAnne Mirtschin and Grade 7 students (Julie moderating)http://www.globaleducationconference.com/forum/topics/the-world-is-our-classroom Friday 9pmSocial Entrepreneurship: The Student Voice Sharon Brown-Peters and studentshttp://www.globaleducationconference.com/forum/topics/social-entrepreneurship-the-student-voice Saturday 3amStudent Stories in a Solar Cooking ProjectKathy Bosiak and students Lincolnton High Schoolhttp://www.globaleducationconference.com/forum/topics/student-stories-in-a-solar-cooking-projectSee also my selected list of not only student presentations, but personal selections for GEC - it may help you CHOOSE where to be! Don't forget to tweet about the conference and add the hashtag for International Education Week #IEW14 in addition to #globaled14. The GEC handle is @globaledconSee you online in a session next week!Innovation, Leadership, Creativity, Collaboration

E-Learning Journeys: Students present on global learning and more! - Global Education Conference 2014 tags: globaleducationconference education Global Education Conference 2014 | iEARN USA List of iEARN presentations during #globaled14 tags: globaleducationconference globaled14 iearn education LumenEd | Home LumenEd has a unique approach to connecting students across the world - take a look! tags: globalcollaboration epals education Digital as a Second Language - Flat Connections A unique perspective shared by Flat Connections educator Julie Carey on how learning how to be digital is like learning a second language/ tags: education fcge14-2 digitalcitizenship Developing Your PLN and PLC Essential Steps for Educators - Flat Connections tags: fcge14-2 PLN PLC education Global Digital Citizenship A 'MUST READ' blog post from @vanschaijik tags: digitalcitizenship globaldigitalcitizen education fcge14-2 ISSUU - Global Digital Citizenship by Sonya Van Schaijik Great resource to help explain the 'Areas of awareness' and 'Rays of understanding' in the Enlightened digital citizenship model created by Lindsay and Davis, in the book Flattening classrooms, engaging minds. tags: digitalcitizenship education globaldigitalcitizen fcge14-2 Student Technology Conference Put January 31 on your calendar now. A student-led online and free conference to do with technology and learning! tags: education student technology Hey Teacher — Leverage Twitter — Medium tags: Twitter education PLN networking GEC Welcome Video - YouTube Thanks to Chris Deason for this comprehensive video on how to access and participate in the Global Education Conference starting November 17, 2014 tags: globaleducationconference education For Educators | Global Lives ProjectGlobal Lives Project Download the free 'Unheard stories: Building empathy through the global lives project' tags: globaleducation education curriculum Leveraging Digital Tools for Guided Inquiry tags: inquiry digital education Web2.0 collaboration A New Acoustic Instrument That Creates Sounds like a Digital Synthesizer | Colossal tags: music digital education Global Competence | Education | Asia Society Great resources from the Asia Society in USA, including rubrics. "Learning about and with the world occurs within and outside of school, and it is the work of a lifetime. Globally competent students are life long learners. They are able to adapt and contribute knowledge and understanding to a world that is constantly, rapidly evolving. Global competence is a crucial shift in our understanding of the purpose of education in a changing world. Students everywhere deserve the opportunity to succeed in the global innovation age. We must fashion a more creative and visionary educational response to the interconnected world of the 21st century, starting now." tags: globalcompetence education globallearning The Possibility Post | Developing A Global Approach to Learning tags: fcge14-2 globalcitizen globallearning education FCGE- Connecting - YouTube Ann talks about becoming a connected educator as she completes the Flat Connections Global Educator course. See http://flatconnection.com tags: connected education fcge14-2 PLN Student Lesson Reflection With Debrief Circles (Deeper Learning) tags: collaboration education reflection Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.Innovation, Leadership, Creativity, Collaboration

Citizenship An exploration of citizenship and global digital citizenship as it relates to learning. tags: education digitalcitizenship globaldigitalcitizen ISSUU - #EdBookNZ by Sonya Van Schaijik You must read this collaborative eBook produced by educators that highlights trends and important conversations in teaching and learning. tags: ebook education learning Join the largest learning event in history, Dec 8-14, 2014 tags: education code Making It Real: 3D Printing as a Library Service (EDUCAUSE Review) | EDUCAUSE.edu tags: 3dprinting education library INF405 Picture books for visually impaired kids go 3-D -- ScienceDaily tags: 3dprinting education library INF405 Big Ol' List of Educational Conferences - Google Sheets tags: conference educationaltechnology education World Museum Project GEC Presentation Links November 2014 tags: globalproject globalcollaboration scratch education Global Citizenship, Contemporary Education, and the Cosmopolitan World View tags: globalcitizen education globaleducationconference 1World-Kids A guide to climate change & people, place & planet tags: global education globalcollaboration Face Smash Fail,,http://funbase-zonefree.rhcloud.com/?p=2565 - post by siya1cool What is Mystery Skype? 7 steps to get started! | Mr Kemp tags: skype education techintegration globalawareness Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.Innovation, Leadership, Creativity, Collaboration

State of the Commons — Creative Commons Read this - an update on the status of CC. tags: creativecommons education Creative Commons licensing flowchart tags: education creativecommons aitsl---learning-through-doing---introduction-to-design-thinking_v4.pdf tags: designthinking education aitsl insights-and-ideas-issue-2 Learning Frontiers LEARNING FRONTIERSIS A COLLABORATIVE INITIATIVE CREATED TO TRANSFORM TEACHING AND LEARNING SO THAT EVERY STUDENT SUCCEEDS IN AN EDUCATION WORTH HAVING. The initiative brings together clusters of schools and other interested parties - ‘design hubs’ - to explore professional practices that increase student engagement in learning. Design hubs explore teaching, learning and assessment practices that are built upon four design principles for engaging learning tags: learningfrontiers education aitsl The International Baccalaureate’s Career-related Programme (CP) is launched as a standalone programme tags: ibo education career Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.Innovation, Leadership, Creativity, Collaboration