Maybe it is okay to show some emotion

My last post was partly a pondering about whether I am sometimes too enthusiastic about the things that are available on the web and the way it is changing the way we deliver, receive, interpret and think about education.
Comments to that post seemed to indicate that it's worth just showing a little bit of excitement and enthusiasm for what you do.
To top it all off I received a lovely email from Meron Drummond who is the Innovation and Excellence educator for the Cresswell Cluster in Victoria.

Hi Anne
My feet have just hit the ground for the first time since last Monday’s LiNum21.con event.
I wanted to take the first opportunity I could to let you know that I thought you did an absolutely FAB job last Monday.
Your session was short, sharp, informative and inspiring.
It also made it quite clear that there is heaps I don’t know!! But it pointed me in the right direction for some more ICT learning! I would just LOVE to know how you do what you do, but I intend to find out! At the moment, Podcasting, Skype, wikis, blogs - make my head spin, but in such a good way. I crave to know more.
Thanks
Now all I need is time! LOL

Meron Drummond

Gresswell Cluster Educator

Meron also has a lovely quote in the signature of her email credited to Jamie McKenzie

‘…the conscious personal commitment to building one's repertoire is central to the model of quality teaching…. Quality teaching amounts to a lifetime journey of exploration, practice and discovery.’

ã Jamie McKenzie, 2004

And I think that sums it up pretty well.

Enjoy your head spinning....it's lots of fun. :)

Is it all too much? The LINUM 21 Conference

Today I presented a session at the LINUM 21 Literacy and Numeracy conference for the Northern Metropolitan Region in Melbourne, Victoria. My session was entitled Teaching with Technology and was designed to showcase the Intel Education Teach Thinking with Technology Tools as well as tell a little of the story of the work we are doing at Wedderburn. In the second half of the hour long session I also planned to demonstrate the Teach with Technology wiki that I currently use to document my work at Wedderburn and the blogs and Wedderburn P12 wiki that I have been using with the students at Wedderburn College as well as mention and demonstrate some other tools such as Skype, podcasts, rss etc. I was hoping to excite and enthuse teachers to have a go at some of the thinking tools and the Web 2.0 applications that are freely available on the web.
As I began the session I simply said to people that if they wanted any information about any of the work that I was showing that they simply needed to write down the url of my blog (this blog) and they would be able to get all the information they needed and more.
I think that I probably demonstrated my personal enthusiasm for the potential of the internet and the power and engagement value of discovering ways that can create and relate the curriculum in a meaningful way to our students. But I'm not sure that was a good thing.
I fear that I may have lost a few people along the way by being too enthusiastic and assuming that participants were more aware of the Web 2.0 apps. There were people there who weren't familiar with blogs and wikis and although I tried to explain and demonstrate in the time that I had I'm not sure that I was too successful.
So if any of you have been brave enough to come visit this post, and check out this blog, tell me what you think.
Would it have been better to just look at one thing..I have this terrible tendency to get excited about things and want to share them with everyone else assuming that you will all love them and see the educational potential as much as I do.
Anyway if you do make it maybe just have a go at one thing...
try a blog, or try a wiki or download Skype

anyway post a comment. I'd love to hear from you.