"An den Kindern kann man erkennen wie der gesellschaftliche Charakter der Zukunft aussehen wird" so Wolfgang Bergmann, einer der profiliertesten und bekanntesten Kinderpsychologen und Lerntherapeuten Deutschlands, auf der diesjährigen Microsoft Innovation & Education Konferenz in Wien. Mit seinem Vortrag über die "Schöne Neue Welt der Digital Kids" fesselte Bergmann das Auditorium und öffnete einen Blick hinter die Kulissen heutiger Kindheit und gab kulturpsychologische Erklärungsmuster die helfen, Störungen zu erkennen und zu vermeiden. Laut Bergmann hat unsere Gesellschaft zudem "eine völlig veraltete Vorstellung von Bildung". "Es staut sich die Begabung der Kinder während der Schulzeit. Die Kinder werden zugepflastert mit Informationen" und "für viele Lehrer ist der PC noch immer der Feind Nr.1 der Bildung. Die Schule hat den Sprung ins 21 Jhd. noch nicht geschafft." Alle Teilnehmer erhielten von Bergmann das Buch "Das Drama des modernen Kindes".

Franz Kühmayer (Reflections. Consulting & Research) präsentierte erstmalig einem so großen Lehrerpublikum die kürzlich von ihm veröffentlichte Studie zur Zukunft der Bildung (siehe auch hier im Blog weitere Details). Klare, spannende und verständliche Aussage, wie sich unsere Gesellschaft und unser Bildungssystem dahingehend weiterentwickeln sollte, damit ein "Potentialorientiertes Bildungssystem" möglich wird. "Die Zukunft der Bildung und die Zukunft der Arbeitswelt hängen eng zusammen. Besonderen Stellenwert erlangt demnach die Frage, in welcher Form das Bildungssystem an den Strukturwandel des europäischen Wirtschaftsraums angepasst werden muss, um Beschäftigbarkeit und Wohlstand auch in Zukunft sicherstellen zu können. Die Leitlinien der Bildung dürfen sich aber nicht darauf reduzieren, auf den Arbeitsmarkt vorzubereiten, sondern vielmehr aufeine sich gesamthaft wandelnde Gesellschaft," so Franz Kühmayer.

MR Dr. Dorninger vom bm:ukk gab einen umfangreichen Überblick über e-Education Initiativen in Österreich bekannt. Viele Projekte und Initiativen existieren bereits, die auf vielseitig Art und Weise Impulse geben sollen, zeitgemäßes Lernen in höherbildenden Schulen voranzutreiben. „Die Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien ermöglichen eine Vielzahl an neuartigen, innovativen und kreativen Zugängen in der Zusammenarbeit zwischen Bildungseinrichtungen weltweit. Der Wissenstransfer hinsichtlich der Potentiale und Möglichkeiten die sich hieraus ergeben steht somit an vorderster Stelle. Umso willkommener sind daher Diskussions-Plattformen wie die Microsoft Innovation & Education Konferenz. Mit dieser bereits etablierten Veranstaltung fördert Microsoft Österreich den Informations- und Meinungsaustausch, zwischen Bildungseinrichtungen und der Wirtschaft“ so Herr Dr. Dorninger. Leider konnte er uns noch keine konkreten Neuigkeiten mitteilen zur Zukunft der Bildungspolitik in Österreich.....Wir warten alle gespannt auf die Regierungsbildung ;-)

Raum Magma A/B bei Microsoft (Kapazität ca.140Pax) war randvoll!

Prof. Erich Neuwirth von der Universität Wien präsentierte - mit seinem Apple - ein paar didaktische Beispiele anhand von Excel, wie "Simulationen" und das Lernen in Simulationsumgebungen umgesetzt  werden können.

Dieser Vortrag, und den unzähligen kombinatorischen Möglichkeiten, die sich mit Excel Simulationen realisieren lassen, verwirrte mich jedoch derart, dass ich später selber ein kleines kombinatorisches Problem hatte beim Erklärungsversuch (an die Teilnehmer) welcher Bus ins Hotel fährt mit welchem Gepäck und welcher Bus zu Microsoft fährt (ohne Gepäck), im Anschluss an das Abendprogramm ;-).....

Anmerkung der Redaktion

Apropos Abendprogramm! Es ging mit dem Riesenrad über die luftigen (der Sturm war schon im Anmarsch) Dächer von Wien und anschließend zur kulinarischen Geselligkeit in den Waggon 31. Es war ein schöner fröhlicher Ausklang eines intensiven "Bildungstages".

20.11.2008 (Tag Nr. 2 der Innovation & Education Konferenz 2008)

Wiedermal hieß es früh aufstehen und keine Gelegenheit finden das schöne Buffet in dem wunderbaren Hotel Savoyen zu genießen. Das Dilemma des Organisators ;-) Dafür war im Konferenzzentrum schon jede Menge Süßes aufgebahrt und auch der Kaffee stand schon parat. Schnell ein Technikcheck und schon konnte es losgehen um 08:30. Diesmal allerdings gab es 2 parallele Vortragssäle und Sessions: den frühpädagogischen/frühschulischen Bereich, und den höherbildenden Bereich.

Im frühpädagogischen Bereich ging es gleich flott und musikalisch dahin. Andrea Rittersberger vom Konservatorium Univerisät Wien ließ uns Tanzen und Singen in ihrem Elementaren Musiktheater Vortrag. Im 1. Stock ging es parallel um den Student Lifestyle mit meinem Microsoft Kollegen aus Western Europe: Steven Duggan.

Den ganzen Tag hindurch gab es nun zahlreiche Vorträge über die Schlaumäuse, frühe mathematische Bildung mit Herrn Prof. Preiß von der PH Freiburg, sowie den Einsatz des PCs im Kindergarten. IT Lösungen für den Bildungsbereich, Virtual, Earth und ANTME! waren einige der Themen des Vor- und Nachmittages. Ich hatte dann die Ehre den Abschlußvortrag zu halten zum Thema Innovative Teachers und Innovative Students. Es gab ein paar Erfolge zu feiern gemeinsam mit dem Gymnasium Zell am See (3. Platz beim WWITF - Hong Kong 2008, und game based Learning in der Schule). Mein Dank geht hier an die Lehrkräfte: Gabi Jauck und Peter Wittner, die immer wieder tolle Projekte und großartige Ideen haben und diese an ihrer Schule umsetzen.

Apropos Innovative Students (SchülerInnen): hier gehts zum U19 Freestyle Computing Wettbewerb - Mein Dank geht an Ars Electronica und Frau Windischbauer (Projektleiterin - U19 Freestly Computing Wettbewerb), die es uns ermöglicht haben die Filme und Bilder der jungen österr. Künstler auf der I&E zu präsentieren.

AN ALLE DIE TEILGENOMMEN HABEN - HERZLICHEN DANK!!!

Hier geht es zu den Präsentationen und Photos auf der Microsoft Webseite:

http://www.microsoft.com/austria/events/nevent_listing.mspx

oder hier unter Skydrive:

Über die nächsten 2 Tage hinweg findet zum 5. Mal in Wien die Innvoation & Education Konferenz statt. Heuer werden es so viele TeilnehmerInnen wie noch nie zuvor sein, die sich in 2 Bereiche unterteilen, den frühpädagogischen und frühschulischen Bereich, sowie den höherbildenden und Hochschulbereich. Ein durchaus umfangreiches Programm mit unterschiedlichsten gesellschaftlichen Themen aus Bildung, Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft steht bereit. Und allen Bereichen liegt das Thema Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien, quasi als Querschnittsebene, zugrunde.

Die Agenda und das volle Programm liegen hier auf:

Präsentationen, Photos, Berichte und sonst. Unterlagen werden hier in Kürze hinterlegt.

Es kann losgehen! :-)

Und nun hier der Nachtrag zum Nachtrag (ein wenig spät, aber "better late than never!")

SUMMARY                                                                                                                                                                                                       

The Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum held November 3^rd through November 6^th in Hong Kong, brought together more than 274 participants from more than 64 countries to build global COMMUNITIES of practice, to COLLABORATE with colleagues from around the world, to access and discuss quality CONTENT, to CHALLENGE educators to go beyond where they are now and to CELEBRATE success in integrating 21^st Century technology into teaching and learning practices.

At the Gala Dinner on the final night there were four categories of prizes awarded with a first, second and third place in each category - Innovation in Community, Innovation in Collaboration, Innovation in Content and the Educator’s Choice Award (see appendix for a full list of finalists).

The event was, by all accounts, a huge success. The participation by educators from both the classroom and Ministry level was up from previous years. The number of countries participating was up from previous years. The quality of the projects submitted and the use of technology was of a higher quality than previous years. And the press coverage and the type of coverage (blogs as well as traditional print, radio and television) looks like it will be up from previous years.  An initial review of the conference evaluations shows outstanding scores and remarks (final evaluations will be tallied in the coming weeks). The success of the event was in large part due to the enthusiastic and active participation of the educators involved. These quotes, as well as the above, were culled from the final evaluations. They sum up the forum beautifully –

“This was a fantastic event and a priceless experience. Thank you.”

“Anything is possible. Your school or even country is not the boundary. There is a whole world out there!”

Award winning projects

“Every year these events prove to be something special for teachers and judges. This year’s was no exception.  I looked back on my photos from Singapore, Korea, Cambodia, and Philadelphia and can see how teachers have moved from single use of applications like Word, Excel and PPT to providing a repertoire of collaboration, productivity and creativity apps, devices and environments.  The ICT has started to bed down in schools and become a reliable part of the infrastructure. Schools are changing into places with blurry boundaries of time and space – students are learning anytime from anyone, anywhere.”

Deb Newman – Australia – Judge  Manager Schools Online Curriculum Services Department of Education and Training

As Ms. Newman indicates the qualities of the entries this year continued to grow. The use of technology in the classroom is maturing and the event itself is an important place for understanding these changes. The judges had a difficult time deciding on which projects would be called out as best practices. There were 28 semi-finalists identified and the difference between their scores was the smallest in the events history. 

Announcing the semi-finalists - David Walddon introduces Deirdre Butler (far left) and Jenny Lewis – Co-chairs of the Partners in Learning International Advisory Council

The Worldwide Innovative Teacher Awards were presented in four categories (see above). Each of the 69 projects was initially evaluated online by three of 30 judges (see appendix). Each judge also had 2 hours of in person time with the participants to validate their on-line scores and adjust if necessary. After discussion at the judge’s dinner the top 28 projects were put into appropriate categories and awarded semi-finalist positions (see appendix for a full list of Semi-finalists). Each project was then re-evaluated by a group of judges assigned to each category. The judges rank ordered their first second and third choice in that category. These scores were tallied and the top three in each category determined the winners. The final category awarded was the Educator’s Choice Award. Each country received a ballot with criteria for making their choice from among the entire group of educators. The country worked as a group to decide on their choice for first, second and third. These scores were tallied and the top three in each category determined the winners.

The Worldwide Innovative Teacher Awards were announced at the Gala Dinner on the final evening of the event. The Gala Dinner took place in the middle of Aberdeen harbor at the iconic Jumbo Floating Restaurant, the ultimate Hong Kong experience. The awards were announced by David Walddon, Academic Program Manager, Partners in Learning and were present by Ralph Young, Vice President – WW Public Sector. Each of the 12 winning entries (see appendix) representing 15 countries (we had several cross country collaborative projects) received digital video cameras as a prize.

Overview

“I really gained a lot of knowledge about what students and teachers could achieve by working collaboratively so keep on doing more events as meaningful as this.”

                                                                        Educator Quote taken from the WW IT Forum Evaluation

Collaboration Overview

This year we started with a short meeting to prepare the educators for the collaboration activities they would be working on over the course of the event and beyond. Led by Les Foltos, from Puget Sound Center for Teaching and Learning, and Leslie Conery, from the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) facilitated the collaboration activities. Each educator was put into a group multi-country group of six to work with on a learning project defined and developed collaboratively by the group. They were asked to set some group norms, get to know each other and start to formulate a project plan for their outcomes. They were also introduced to some resources they could use (including the Innovative Teachers Network). These two hours were filled with lively discussion and set the tone of “exciting possibilities and collaboration” for the event. The teachers immediately got to work and formed strong groups that continued to work together throughout the event and are still working together now in the WW Innovative Teachers Forum community on the UK ITN.

Welcome Reception

In the evening, before official activities began, an informal welcome reception for the participants was held in the Langham Hotel. Chinese appetizers and beverages were served and a good time was had by all. This informal, mostly un-structured time, allowed the participants to get to know each other and was a relaxing way to start the three long days of hard work which lay ahead.

Collaboration Activities and Field Trips

The second day of the forum, before the formal opening, the teachers spent time in their small groups at locations in and around Hong Kong. Each group went to a different location that might inform the collaboration work they were preparing. Three Locations were selected for this work – The Po Lin Monastery, the Museum of Coastal Defense and a trip to Old and New Hong Kong. For details about each of these locations see the appendix.

After a late lunch at Victoria peak the groups returned to the Asian World Expo where they had an opportunity to synthesis their field work and start integrating it into a project. 

The work that the teachers produce will be the basis for an online competition that will culminate in judging of Virtual Classroom Tours (VCT) in the April and May time frame. This will allow the teachers time to work together virtually, test some of their learning activities with students in their home countries, involve other educators in their schools and refine their VCTs.

Also from these in person and virtual collaboration activities information about the process of collaboration is being collected by Puget Sound Center. A report on the findings that will be supported by current research will be written and available before the end of the fiscal year. It will join the other forum reports as a tool for educators, by educators, to use. 

Welcome and Opening Remarks

Day three of the forum marked the official opening ceremonies. David Walddon, Partners in Learning WW Academic Program Manager, was the master of ceremonies for the event. He introduced the activities and speakers for each day. 

Our first speaker for the opening ceremony was Herman Lam, General Manager, Microsoft Hong Kong,                                                                     his short welcome speech illuminated the commitment that Microsoft has to education in Hong Kong and throughout the region. The morning continued with a speech from Kenneth Chen Wei-On, JP, Under Secretary for Education with the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. His perspective on Education in Hong Kong and the greater China region was very interesting to the participants and well received. He spoke directly to the challenges that teachers have in the classroom and congratulated Microsoft for the good work that was coming out of Partners in Learning.

We wrapped up the opening ceremonies with a passionate speech on Microsoft’s commitment on education from Ralph Young, Vice President, Worldwide Public Sector, on Microsoft and Education. His clearly articulated message of Microsoft’s vision and commitment to education was well received by the participants. Ralph thoughtfully laid out the challenges we have in this “New World of Learning” and the obligation we have as a corporation and as citizens of the world to help provide a “quality education for everyone”.

Ralph Young speaks with Ikechukwa Idam Chukwu an educator from Nigeria

Project Sharing

The participants were most enthusiastic about the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues from around the world. To share their projects with other educators and to make connections that would enrich their teaching and learning. The forum provided plenty of time for this activity. During the three days there were three formally scheduled times for sharing of teacher projects and many more informal times.  During the first scheduled opportunity for sharing half the educators presented their projects and experiences in a tabletop or poster board session, while the other half learned, listened and asked questions of the first group. During the second scheduled time the groups switched their roles. The other formal opportunity for sharing was during time set aside for the Educator’s Choice Award on the final day of the conference. This time was also an opportunity for the judges to explore the projects in depth and in person. Each project was looked at by three judges, first online in a special community that was set up on the UK Innovative Teachers Network and then again in person at the event. The consensus of the judges was that this was a very difficult task as the quality of the projects were high.

Educators capturing learning during the project sharing time

Keynote address

This year we had a dual keynote address by Deirdre Butler, from St. Patrick’s College in Dublin, Ireland and Ivan Kalas, from Comenius University in the Slovak Republic. Their discussion regarding “Constructivism in Action” gave the teachers a theoretical basis for their collaboration work along with concrete examples of technology use in classrooms. The teachers had an opportunity to ask questions of Ms. Butler and Mr. Kalas and then some time was spent on integrating the learning from the Keynote into their small group work.

Product Demonstrations

Shafeen Charania from Microsoft’s Education Products Group led a session on the second day around Microsoft Products. The demonstration was played in three acts:

• Act I: Educator perspective – Marja Brandon, Founder and Head of the Seattle Girls School will talk about the principles and vision of SGS, the process of setting up the school, the outcomes, and the role of technology therein.
• Act II: Exposition of key Microsoft education technologies, spanning learning systems and infrastructure to teaching tools and resources.
• Act III: Team breakouts focused on developing a strategy for technology-based professional development for educators.

From a brief glance at the forum evaluations the participants rated this session very high and were excited to see some new product offerings as well as some older ones being used in new ways.

Wrap-up

Our final activity, before the Gala Dinner and award ceremony, was to spend some time in structured activities thinking about collaboration. The educators were asked to work together in their small groups and to discuss the barriers to collaboration, the critical elements for good collaboration, strategies to overcome the barriers and to support the effective collaboration. Even though the participants were exhausted by this time the report out session to the whole group was thoughtful and invigorating. This activity will form the basis for the collaboration report.

Finally a few more quotes from participants regarding their experience at the 3^rd Annual Microsoft Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum

“Teaching is such a noble career and I am once again motivated to change the world through education.”

“Brilliant concept – getting better each year.”

Gala Dinner

On the evening of the event a Gala Dinner at the Jumbo Floating Restaurant gave the teachers the ultimate Hong Kong experience. Before sitting down to eat traditional Chinese crafts people (fan makers, calligraphers, caricatures artists and fortune tellers) entertained the participants as they mingled and nibbled on traditional Chinese appetizers. The dinner itself was a nine course Chinese extravaganza that was much enjoyed by the educators. The final activity for the evening was the Innovative Teacher Awards. All the winners were greeted with enthusiastic applause and collegiality that went beyond expectations. A fitting end to a forum that focused on collaboration and community building! 

MEDIA OVERVIEW

Over 20 media representing 12 countries were onsite at this year’s event in Hong Kong – from as far away as El Salvador, Venezuela and South Africa through to media who were closer to home, Malaysia and Indonesia. A number of bloggers attended this year’s event in addition to broadcast crews from Brazil and India who are both expected to run significant pieces. Ralph Young briefed media alongside last year’s winners of the ITF and followed up with 1:1s.

Media materials for subs were provided including an array of digital materials – photos, soundbites from teachers, judges and advisory members shot on flip cam and loaded up to the VPR for bloggers and media to use. A presspass feature went live on Day 1 of the event and a press release distributed during the Awards ceremony. Coverage is expected to start coming in this week.

Video vignettes were captured during the event - view all of the videos here.  Listen to them here: Video: https://cid-e02de89559a4aa5d.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Videos

A produced set of videos with an overview of the event itself and one of each of the semifinalists speaking about their projects is in production and will be finished in the January/February time period.

There were several blog posts about the event. A few are listed here.

http://www.cafepedagogique.net/communautes/LeCafeaHongKong/default.aspx

http://blogs.technet.com/jamesu

http://web.me.com/anniegirard/CE1/Blog_Hong-Kong/Blog_Hong-Kong.html

There are photos and video on the VPR from the event. Please visit http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/events/wwteachersforum/default.mspx.

A  larger collection of photos and video can be found here -

SkyDrive: https://cid-e02de89559a4aa5d.skydrive.live.com/home.aspx

• Photos: https://cid-e02de89559a4aa5d.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Photos
• Video: https://cid-e02de89559a4aa5d.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Videos

For flip video cam interviews with specific teachers click on the links below.

Claudia de Almeida Pires, Brazil, 2008 Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum (1:23)

Caption: Claudia de Almeida Pires, Brazil, describes her project, entered in the 2008 Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum

Link: http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=987bba5e-5e1c-4cf0-ac1b-f471fbb0c280

Ikechukwu Idam Chukwu, Nigeria, 2008 Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum (3:39)

Caption: Ikechukwu Idam Chukwu, Nigeria, describes his project, entered in the 2008 Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum

Link: http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=61d0e6f0-6930-4096-a51c-0b70fcd5dac9

Lazzat and Shukrat, Kazakhstan, 2008 Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum (5:23)

Caption: Lazzat Yessenova and Shukrat Sidikmetov, Kazakhstan, discuss their projects, entered in the 2008 Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum

Sarietjie Musgrave, South Africa, 2008 Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum (4:46)

Link: http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=82f66f8b-ebca-4c75-857b-b9094643e19d

Tom & Ciaran, Northern Ireland, 2008 Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum (3:12)

Caption: Tom Fitzsimmons & Ciaran McLaren, Northern Ireland, discuss their project, entered in the 2008 Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum

Link: http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=67296891-658d-4a91-9158-67b026951248

Nicole Wildisen, Switzerland, 2008 Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum (5:38)

Caption: Nicole Wildisen, Switzerland, discusses her project, entered in the 2008 Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum

Link: http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=9ddfad77-1119-487f-9af8-3ebb29260703

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Eine faszinierende und vielseitige Woche mit Lehrkräften aus aller Welt in Hong Kong liegt nun hinter mir und ein paar letzte Bilder zu dieser Reise stelle ich noch auf den Blog. Im vorherigen Bericht habe ich nun die meisten Projekte verlinkt, mit den entsprechenden VCTs (Virtual Classroom Tours). Ein paar Projekte hatten jedoch so große Dateien in diversen Formaten, dass sie nur über die http://uk.innovativeteachers.com Seite direkt heruntergeladen werden können (Anmeldung erforderlich). Ein Blick in diese Projekte, die vielen unterschiedlichen Ideen und das breite Spektrum an Möglichkeiten wie innovativ Technologie im Schulalltag eingesetzt werden kann, lohnt sich! Ein Blick über den Tellerrand; und wer träumte nicht auch schon mal vom Fliegenden Klassenzimmer ;-)

Hong Kong Island bei Nacht (20h - Beginn der Lasershow)

In der Victoria Bucht, das zukünftig höchste Gebäude in Hong Kong mit knapp 100 Stockwerken.

  Und hier noch eine kleine chinesische Lerneinheit. Was bedeuten diese Zeichen?

  Es hat etwas mit Lernen und Lehren zu tun!

Das Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum Gala Dinner auf dem JUMBO-Floating Restaurant - vor Hong Kong Island - war spektakulär und voller Emotionen! Nach umfangreicher chinesischer Kost (12 Gänge) fand endlich die Siegerehrung statt. Über 250 Lehrkräfte aus 64 Ländern mit rund 100 Projekten warteten gespannt (und schon sehr satt) auf die Auswertung der 30köpfigen Jury.

Jubel und Freude im Team Österreich und Deutschland über den 3. Platz in der Kategorie Innovation in Community. Gabriele Jauck (BRG Zell am See) und Elke Mayer (Gesamtschule Saarbrücken) konnten mit ihrem Gemeinschaftsprojekt "Together in a World of Learning" überzeugen und sich zu den glücklichen weltweiten FinalistInnen und GewinnerInnen zählen. WIR GRATULIEREN!!!

(v.l.r.) Gabriele Jauck, Elke Mayer und Ralph Young (Vice President Public Sector Microsoft)

Details zu dem Gemeinschaftsprojekt können unter  folgenden Links in Form eines "VCT'S" (Virtual Classroom Tour) heruntergeladen werden:

Weitere Bilder zur Preisverleihung und dem Team  Österreich/Deutschland:

Die weiteren Gewinner des Forums teilten sich in jeweils 4 Kategorien auf, bestehend aus:

• Innovation in Collaboration (Zusammenarbeit und Austausch)
• Innovation in Community (Gemeinschaftssinn und -zweck)
• Innovation in Content (Inhalt)
• Educator’s Choice (Wahl der teilnehmenden Lehrkräfte)

Es ist besonders schön zu sehen, dass die Projekte und Gewinner aus allen nur erdenklichen Regionen der Welt stammen und eine wunderbare Streuung von innovativen Ideen im Schul- und Bildungskontext darstellen. Hier nun (auf englisch) die Übersicht und die Pressestimmen: The winners this year are:

Innovation in Collaboration

First place New Zealand -- Nathan Kerr, Collaboration and Digital Learning Projects within a Multi-Cultural School

Second place Uganda -- Ronald Ddungu, Education for Sustainability

Third place Brazil/Portugal -- Emilia Miranda, Marise Brandao and Marli Fiorentin, Flight BPF

Innovation in Community

First place Australia-- Andrew Douch, Anywhere Anytime Biology Class

Second place South Africa -- Sarietje Musgrave, Spread the Sunshine

Third place Germany/Austria -- Elke Mayer, Gabriele Jauck, Together in a World of Learning

Innovation in Content

First place India – Parambir Singh Kathait, Let’s Explore the Universe

Second place Senegal – Ousmane Diouf, Electronic Alarm

Third place = United Kingdom – Dan Roberts, Recharge the Battery

Ireland – Kate O’Connell, Flying High Exploring Aviation

Educator’s Choice

First place El Salvador – Mariella Paz, Business Game

Second place Singapore -- Fong Yin Kuan, Digital Story Telling @ Beacon

Third place Thailand – Pongpanote Phongpanngam, Instructional Games for Kids by Kids

Presspass über das Forum: hier

Media und PR Unterlagen: hier

Bilder und News zum 4th Annual Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum 2008: hier

ITF Factsheet (Presspass Feature): hier

Der 3.  und letzteTag neigt sich seinem Ende zu und die Krönung findet in 1h auf einem Boot - Gala Dinner - in der Hafenbucht von Hong Kong statt.

Eine Sammlung an Bildern (heute) von den Projekten, den Teilnehmern und dieser magischen Stadt habe ich mit Auto Collage (s.u.) zusammengestellt:

Die Nominierung der besten Projekte kann beginnen! bis gleich ...

(made with Microsoft Auto Collage 2008)

Nach dem Akklimatisieren in 32°C und 90% Luftfeuchtigkeit am Sonntag und Montag ist mittlerweile das weltweite Lehrertreffen in Hong Kong offiziell am 2. Tag angelangt.

Der 1. Tag diente der Erkundung der Gegend anhand von diversen Themenblöcken, und dem Besuch eines besonders guten thailändischen Restaurants, während der 2. Tag (heute) im Zeichen des Austausch der Ideen und Projekte stand. Ein hohes Maß an Energie und Enthusiasmus - noch dazu in dieser spannenden geographischen Region - ist spürbar. Es sind über 50 Länder vertreten und die Innovationen im Unterricht sind so unterschiedlich wie die verschiedenen Kulturen selbst. Auffallend ist die große Anzahl an Umweltprojekten im Schulbereich, die mittels moderner digitaler Technologien umgesetzt wurden. Details und eine Auflistung derselben hier in Kürze. Das Thema Podcasting und Blogging scheint sich immer größerer Beliebtheit zu erfreuen. Gaming, Blogging, Messaging und Podcasting scheint sehr gut zu funktionieren und überwindet jegliche zeitliche und örtliche Barrieren. Hatte ich da nicht kürzlich immer wieder gehört, dass Lehrer/Custoden dies in der Schule unterbinden, damit nicht "Unsinn" getrieben wird? Scheinbar funktioniert es weltweit auch ganz anders, wenn der Wille und Wunsch da ist. Und sichtlich schließt es das Lernen nicht aus, sondern unterstützt letzteres sogar ;-)

Viele weitere Projekte verdienen eine ausführlichere Beschreibung - leider reicht dafür jetzt nicht die Zeit, aber wer schon Interesse daran hat findet alle Projekte in Form von ppt Präsentationen hier:http://uk.innovativeteachers.com (Registrierung notwendig!)

Der 3. Tag (morgen, hmm eigentlich heute) dient erneut der Vernetzung, dem Austausch und schließlich im Rahmen des Gala Dinners, der Prämierung der besten Projekte. Dazu bald mehr.....sonst wird es tatsächlich noch ein sleepless in Hong Kong geben.....