What is an 'Unconference'?

This afternoon I had the opportunity to present in an 'unconference' webinar organised by Tessa Gray from CORE education. It was a great experience and I really enjoyed the other presenters, as well as the chance to share some of the things we have been trying at GBHS. An 'unconference' is an informal meeting that aims to collect ideas from across the country and share them in real time with the opportunity for questions and input from everyone involved. This particular event was concerned with 'inspirational e-learning examples and top tips'!

I was really impressed by the other presenters, especially looking into the collaborative work that Gaye Bloomfield had been doing with her senior psychology classes and her amazing website and blogs - you can find more information about how her blog came into existence here as well as other links to her blogs and learning sites - definitely gives me something to aim towards.

Anne Kennealy inspired me with her approach to teaching the class where the students designed the learning space and decided what was taught each day. There was emphasis on ubiquity and BYOB to encourage and engage the learners - hopefully there will be more classes like this in the near future, I hope to be able to try some of these approaches with my PE classes!

Here are the slides that I used which summarise some of the blog posts that I wrote about social responsibility and google drive. Overall the 'unconference' experience was brilliant, and it gives teachers an opportunity to be involved in professional learning without the boundaries of time and cost involved with transport and accommodation - for me being on the East coast of NZ this is great because I get to feed my mind with wonderful ideas without leaving Wainui beach!!!

Here is a link to the Virtual Learning Network site - it is an amazing place to learn and find others opinions about being a connected teacher and learner in New Zealand - come and join in!! You can also find a link to the original recording of the webinar.

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