“You actually bring about real change by working with … people. Not by demonstrating, but by working alongside them and getting into the core of what it is. To really bring about change, you’ve got to get an understanding about what that person is about and what drives that person. You can’t just do it to people; you have to be with people” (p. 16)
This quotation, from Robertson and Murihy (2006) drives to the heart of the session that I am planning (and planning and planning and sweating over and planning some more) for my series of CORE Breakfasts this year. The first one kicks off this week in Auckland.
I’m setting out to explore how our educational professional learning might be transformed in an era where information and networks are ubiquitous but also in which who we are, what we bring, and where we are from is as important as what we can do and who we know.
It is tempting to see technologies/digital tools as the silver bullet to sustainable PD. I’ll be exploring how, actually, the vision for an inclusive model of professional learning, that has a clear line of sight to the school’s community learning vision, should drive the conversation around how we use technologies to support adult learners.
Technologies might be able to
- enable shared learning and reflection through the careful capture and curation of evidence and commentary
- provide a pivot for a sustained record, over time, of learning and inquiry that can be used for appraisal and attestation against Teacher registration Criteria
- connect and enable spaces for collaboration, even critique within creative, challenging learning communities.
But without the vision, our values and our voices in the driving seat, schools can get caught up in digital activity traps or fail to grasp the potential to create meaningful dialogue, in inclusive ways, focused on our students.
More of that at my Breakfasts. Join me if you can. Did I mention they’ve been VERY planned?;)
And watch out for the top hat and re-enactment of a 1950s telepathy experiment…
[Image source1; image source2]
karen spencer 
Thanks, Karen, as usual you are very eloquently expressing thoughts that I can very much relate to. Even those of us that live and breath online, are forever (my way of saying ubiquitously) connected to 1, 2, 3 or more devices at any on time, are craving the actual human interaction. How many tweets did I read after educamps or conferences last year, stating we have finally truly met our PLN?
Relationships is what all successful learning should be founded on, and a solely online environment is very limiting in this regard.
Relationships in my humble opinion is what we need as the background to place on our WHY, HOW and WHAT – in fact once we have established a relationship, it is much easier to sort out the WHY and HOW, with the WHAT falling into place almost by itself.
Any chance you’ll run a breakfast up here, or an opportunity to join it virtually? After all we have met, and I think our WHYs and HOWs are pretty much sorted…
Thanks for another post that makes me think – not that I would have expected anything else from you 🙂
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Thanks for your lovely comments:) I think it is easy to get focused on the technologies and forget about the important models of what is effective for learning – and those models usually have the individual (their background, culture, needs, strengths) at the heart of the theory that informs them.
And I am looking to see what might be managed north of Auckland so its definitely on my radar:) Watch this space!
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