Matt Richards quotes Stephen Heppell “It’s a very exciting time for learning. It’s the death of education, but the dawn of learning.” . Matt goes on to speak of the changing role of the teacher:
Being a ‘facilitator’ can sound a little empty after ‘expert’. Teachers who were previously deemed experts in a certain field can now find themselves little fish in a much larger pond. This can be a frightening or inspiring experience depending on the teacher. Sir Ken Robinson’s quote “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original” seems to speak to this issue. Being a lifelong learner is a handy attribute these days. With contemporary tools constantly changing and ‘upgrading’, a capacity for change perhaps is the greatest skill of all.
Another colleague recently wrote:
I feel the tidal wave of change in education, which occurs every 10-15 years in my experience, is faster and higher than ever before. It feels like there is only one way to go…fast and altogether!!! @maggiewi
It appears the common thread is that teaching is changing (again) and that we need support and guidance on the way – both with the big picture and the day to day realities. I have been noticing how many opportunities we have to extend our learning as teachers (just in my local environment of Melbourne) – to continue our on-going learning, to keep up with the changes and challenges. Every day I spot tweets alerting to new possibilities. Here a few that I have spotted in the past few days:
TeachMeet
Teachmeet Melbourne (my favourite) – A wonderful informal opportunity for teachers to gather and share with each other.
Quantum Victoria – Free – June 16 (and more to come)
Charles Leadbetter
Is education about innovation? An evening with Charles Leadbeater
State Library of Victoria – Free – June 26
Will Richardson, Professor Stephen Dinham OAM and Jenny Luca
TEDX – Educational Leadership – Booked Out
State Library of Victoria – Free – July 19
Slide2Learn Conference
Slide2Learn – $ – July 2-3
VITTA – Annual Conference and Expo
Caulfield Racecourse – $ – August 6 & 7
ELH
Lorne – $ – August
There are also often wonderful programs being offered by the State Library – Professional Learning , as well as the obvious (well, to many of us) wonderful resource available through Twitter – 24/7 professional learning.
Matt concluded,
Let us make school a place where the innovators, collaborators and leaders of this brave new world are supported and inspired.
It would appear to me that there are opportunities in the wider community. Do our schools provide the same opportunity?