On July 07 - 10, 2008, members of Teachers Without Borders conducted a workshop at Fezeka High School, a school situated right in the middle of Guguletu, Cape Town in South Africa. Some of these members are Dave, Konrad, Sharon, John and Noble.
The workshop was mainly about the intergration of ICT to our learning. I have found this workshop to be more interesting and empowering as the outside world is changing on a daily basis in as far as technology is concerned. I wish that the workshop could be an ongoing thing as some of us (participants) still have a lot to learn.
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23 comments:
Its good to know that everyone who attended the course has been able to derive some form of empowerment by the team you already mentioned.
Collegues hopefully we will implement this information to our learners & other teachers who did n't have a chance to attend this interesting workshop
There are ways to keep learning and growing after this event - use twitter, blogs and other tools to hear what others have to say and to share your insights and your questions.
Thank you for posting such a positive reflection. I'm glad that you found the workshop helpful and that it was a positive and empowering experience.
You wrote in your entry:
"I wish that the workshop could be an ongoing thing as some of us (participants) still have a lot to learn."
The wonderful thing about Web 2.0 tools is that we can continue to use them even after the workshop ends. This blog, for example, could become the site of many interactions between you and teachers from all over the world, as well as the TWB team that you have met personally.
I encourage you to keep posting your thoughts here and use this blog as a place to both reflect on your experiences and to connect with other teachers from South Africa and from around the world.
You can give us a very interesting insight into teaching and learning in South Africa. I look forward to reading more of your views and reflections.
- Konrad
Thank you for sharing your initial reactions to the workshop. I find blogging (both reading and writing) a great way to expand my thinking.
One of the great quotes I read today was this: "...in my honest and human act of sharing, any of the pretensions to control, the limitations, or power are revealed as completely collapsed and impotent." Source: Mark Pesce
When you begin reading and blogging, you'll realize that the conversation, the learning goes on. In fact, you'll start to wish for workshops as a way to continue the virtual learning conversation, the sharing of ideas, as a physical place to experience human presence.
Best wishes,
Miguel Guhlin
Around the Corner-MGuhlin.net
http://mguhlin.net
As you begin to connect (as you have here - and as Konrad sent to his network) you will see that the "conference" can be never-ending. You will connect, learn, question, comment, and be overwhelmed at times.
Please continue to reflect here. I look forward to the voices of new people who can teach me.
Peace,
Ric
Greetings to all my colleagues in Cape Town. (Since you are teachers, I feel that you are my colleagues!) It's so great that we can use this blog to communicate with people so far away. I believe that teachers all over the world face the same challenges when it comes to integrating technology with our students.
Best wishes,
Claire Bradin Siskin
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Thembela,
I opened the comments to this post only to find that Konrad has rescued the lines of your post that I wanted to underline.
I also wanted to tell you that learning is an ongoing experience that goes further than a metaphor when you start to read blogs. It is literally ongoing. But Miguel has already told you that.
So let me just add that this is one of the pleasures of blogging: you are not alone. There are those like-minded people who would put into words what you are already beginning to feel -perhaps not yet articulate- as you read a post. And you need to stay close to those people. Read them, let them weave connections in your thoughts. Then you post again.
However, even though we are joined by a mindset, we are so different. So I would like to encourage you to join and post your views on those blogger's conversations that put a spark in your mind. The way you see things from your corner of the world as well as your experience will be unique and necessary to make us participants of a truly global conversation.
Look forward to your inspired thoughts.
Claudia
fceblog
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Thembela, it is ongoing, sort of...you see, once you are publishing on the web (which you are), those in the global community who read your posts are only a comment away. I have met Sharon and Konrad. I can tell you they are the finest-you are learning from some of the world's best teachers. I have not met the others on the team, but I am sure their passion for learning is evident to you.
Thembela,
I hope you will use your blog as an ongoing workshop where not only will you learn from others, they will learn from YOU! It is in the stories and the conversations that we all grow and learn.
Blessings, and regards to my new friend Konrad.
I'm glad to see additional perspectives in the blogosphere. You have begun a remarkable journey. There are many, many web 2.0 tools out there. A good resource of them can be found at http://eduwikius.wikispaces.com/. Click on the resources link on the left. I look forward to learning more as you journey.
Welcome to the conversation. I am glad to be part of it with you, and it will continue through your blog and Twitter. I am alwats amazed at the connections I make through these tools -- I am in the US (Virginia) linking with you thousands of miles away. It's amazing.
How fast the world can connect. Thanks for sharing!
Thembela, I must tell you what a privilege it was to witness and experience the enthusiasm of the teachers here at Fezeka in Gugulethu. We need to hear the educators' voices from Africa. Please continue to share your experiences so we can also learn from you.
We are also longing to hear the voices of your learners. I hope our students can join your students in collaborative ventures very soon in the future!
Sharon Peters
Hi!
warm greetings from a Portuguese in the UK. And welcome to blogsphere. You are in great hands and I am sure you will benefit immensely from this experience. Enjoy blogging and social media in general. I will come back to check your next posts!
Cristina (http://knowmansland.com/learningpath
Greetings from New Zealand. Best wishes with your blogging. Hope you find it as beneficial as I have.
Greetings form the http://emerge2008.net conference where we are looking (in our conencte teachers workshop) how blogs can be used for teaching and learning. You are giving us a good example and I would not ahve known about your efforts if it was not for twitter!!!
Keep going!!
Blogging as a reflective practice while learning is very powerful. Enjoy the learning and "re-learning" that it enables.
Hi Thembela,
I am a Portuguese living in the south of Portugal. As you can see, the workshop can really be an ongoing experience that can reach far beyond the borders of the classroom where it took place. Like Konrad said, be encouraged to keep posting in your blog and in the end this experience will be as rewarding as the one you have just made.
Regards from Portugal
Joao
I hope to enjoy many more blogs that have started at this workshop. As Konrad commented, with the web 2.0 not only can this workshop be ongoing, it can be on GROWING! Please include me in your learning journey.
Thankfully learning never ends so you can connect in a variety of ways with others (phone, email, blogs, wikis, gmail, twitter, etc.)to continue your learning. I get the impression that your connection with Teachers Without Borders is just beginning.
Taking risks (trying new things) is a very important part of teaching and learning. You seem to have already done the most important part--made yourself open to new practices.
Best wishes to you!
A year ago I knew nothing about how the Internet could be used to further learning for students and educators. I've learned a lot since then. I share it with you here; I hope it is helpful.
To start my journey, I attended an online conference and you and your colleagues can too at K12Onlineconference.org. All of the presentations are archived for 2006 and 2007. A very rich resource of information on teaching, learning, and the internet and it is ALL FREE! The next conference is in October 2008. I hope you will attend and please invite your colleagues to attend with you. The more diverse our network is, the more rich our conversation and learning will be.
Then I joined twitter.com (My ID is dennisar if you join and want to follow my comments. Sharon or Konrad can help you with this.). I asked people if I could follow them and many said yes. This has allowed my to develop and tap into a tremendous network of educators from around the world.
I also began a blog like you have done here. You can read what I have written over the last year at innovation3.edublogs.org.
Best wishes for an enriching journey of learning and sharing.
Dennis Richards, Massachusetts, USA
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