Change is the opportunity to do something amazing ... #IMMOOC Week 1.

It has taken me a bit to get my head around - this IMMOOC set up by George Couros that enables amazing conversations around innovative education on a global scale. It is somewhat daunting and soo connected that I am a little overwhelmed. However after spending time lurking and enjoying the conversations I have decided that my entry level will be to catch up with the blogging, face book and twitter conversations. Through my reading on week one of the IMMOOC I have discovered the wonderful 'inoreader', an organisational tool that has the potential to change my life! My bookmarks folders need not be overloaded any longer!

In my school context, change is here and now and we have the opportunity to do something amazing. We are a new school as of February 2016. Our school has come out of the closure of two schools post Christchurch 2011 Earthquake. We have beautiful new innovative learning spaces and a school culture to build from scratch. We are very excited by the opportunity that change can bring us. The biggest challenge right now is leading change in a way that enables our school community to come along with us without feeling overwhelmed by the change. We want our children and teachers to feel more connected to their learning. We want our students to have a voice, be creative, be inquisitive, be collaborative and be critical thinkers while developing citizenship and good character. We know that the world that our students are engaging with now and even more so will be experiencing as they leave school, requires a very different approach to learning than the one that we have traditionally had. When we introduce 1:1 computers next year, we want to be sure that our students are ready to be innovative and creative with the technology in ways that they could not be without it. We are at the crossroads now where we can choose to take the opportunity to do something amazing.