ULearn, UThink, UChange, UTeach better!

One of the most live changing experiences for me was the cross sector conversations and exposure to ideas and experts at ULearn in 2009. I had never even heard of the conference, until my work with CORE in the ECE ICT PL Programme. Click here to check out the team's brilliant spotlights on ECE ICT Innovations from the programme 2006-2009 on the iLead website.

Honestly if the project hadn't sponsored spaces for Early Childhood Teachers to attend and present I think I, along with my early childhood colleagues, would easily misinterpret ULearn as just another primary conference, but we would be so wrong. I was so inspired and challenged by it. My mind buzzed for nights there, its a wonder I slept at all!. ULearn is the largest technology in Education conference in New Zealand, hosted by CORE and in Christchurch every October.

I am hopeful I will be there next year, I want to take my small team of teachers. I remember meeting a principal on the bus back to the main arena after a breakout at ULearn '09 who told me she brings her whole school! 14 teachers, from Auckland...

"It is the only way we can all be on the same page together, if only one or two go, it takes too long for change to ripple through our school."

The fabulous team at CORE on the 5th-9th October, will provide another outstanding conference for Teachers across all sectors, and I hope that this post may prompt or generate interest in attending from readers, go ahead! its worth it!

To find out more about this amazing educational cross sector conference and to registration go to http://www.core-ed.org/ulearn/10

$645 + GST

Keynote:Gary Stager, ULearn'09...Answer tough questions!

Gary provoked me to be brave, to be real and affirmed an experience in my classroom many years ago...

" If a nuclear bomb was set off next to the classroom would it interrupt curriculum?". He asked.

I remember working in a school that completely ignored 911. We sat in tears in the staffroom and then proceeded back to our classrooms to supposedly do maths!?!.

I could not be an ostrich if I tried with my children telling me "It's the beginning of World War III Miss Durno!"

We walked to the service station and brought the newspapers of the day and made our own captions for images. We analyzed George's Bush's comments "He is angry because bad people crashed the planes into the firemen in the buildings." ... the destruction and emotions of people in the newspapers took over all dialogue for the entire day...


We set about to create our own newspaper of the catastrophic event because we wanted to share how we felt about 911 with other children in our words. When I shared this with the principal, excited about the depth of understanding and empathy of children for those killed in 911 she refused to have this newspaper in the school library "It's morbid, we only talk about the happy stuff with children." I took it back to the classroom and this incredible Newspaper still makes my eyes steam up and fell a knot in my throat, but I'm not afraid of that.

If I went back to that school again now I would have more courage to not only answer the 'tough questions' but to ensure my colleagues and and the leaders around me see the worth in this. Gary's strong message to me was to get excited about the real things that are challenging children's thinking, to do this grab the 'teachable moment'...