My Reading Experience

Back to my blog after leaving it unattended for some time, but there was a good reason, I spent a considerable amount of time reading, but not in the usual way, reading digitally, which proved to be a brand new and enjoyable experience to me.

I had neglected my reading, but luckily, I could get back to it, and I managed to read two incredible stories which will be part of The Global Read Aloud 2015, Fish by L. S. Matthews, and Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hun. Both stories have been so powerful with their incredible messsages that I keep thinking about them, and in the ways in which my students can  profit from the connections we will be establishing with classes around the world.

Making global connections... this challenge is drawing near. Trying out new tools is waiting for me, too. What with Google Hangouts, Mystery Skypes, and Voxer. I've already set up my Kidblog spaces. 

Looking forward to great new experiences.

My Learning Trip

Half a year has gone by...

And here I am, making a balance of what has happened so far. I have had a number of meaningful learning experiences both as a student and as a teacher, and I'm looking forward to getting even more.

Back in May, I had my coloquio at Flacso, and I had the chance to meet my virtual friends. It was awesome to share experiences with other educators, belonging to different areas of specialization. It then continued at school, reading The Diary of a Young Girl, learning further about WW2, and taking part in #Freedom2me, asking the kids to reflect on the concept of Freedom, in the 70th anniversary of the end of WW2. Thinking about GRA15, too, why not Quadblogging, Mystery Skype, and maybe some other new things.

Another part of my learning has to do with the love I've developed for e-books, so amazing, and back to my own studies, this time picturing what a future project I could add to my professional practice can be like.

But the best is yet to come...

Going Global

The Importance of Making Connections

Here I am, facing a great challenge, that of going global. It's a bit scary, but I believe it's worth it. There are many reasons that make it worthwhile. Starting with the possibility of learning from colleagues that teach in other parts of the globe, getting to know other realities, cultures.

The Global Read Aloud will be my second project that involves going global since the first one was Quadblogging. I wonder if the latter will take place this year, too.

I'm determined to take the plunge although it may prove to be time-consuming, above all, for the benefit of my kids, but I wonder what will happen with the rest of my colleagues. Why is it that people find it so difficult to realise that they cannot continue doing the same things they've always done? Why is it that they are reluctant to change? How about the skills that we have to teach our 21st century learners? If we don't start by setting the example, this will never happen.

So much to think about, so much to reflect upon.

In order to emulate what I'll soon expect from my kids, I'm about to start my own Personal Learning Route, or Ruta Personal de Aprendizaje, which appears to be a valuable tool for Learning to Learn.

Here I am, ready to go! 

Education

What kinds of Education can we talk about?

Having left my blog unattended for a long time, I've committed myself to feeding it from now on as often as possible since this is a meaningful space I have to reflect on my teaching, and also, on my learning.

Right now, I'm studying a Specialization in Education and New Technologies at Flacso. I feel really grateful for continuing with my Professional Development and, in this way, avoid falling behind when it comes to providing my students with the best I can as an educator, and enjoying my practices, too.

What I would like to reflect on in this blog post has to do with something new in Education, something that is being referred to as On line Education, or in Spanish, Educación en Línea. You may think it is a variey of Distance Education or Educación a Distancia, but you are in the wrong. On line Education comes as a new actor in the Educational scenario. This is the kind of learning that takes place after the right pedagogy has been thought of.

On line learning uses technology as the fuel needed to make teaching and learning meaninful. In today's society, there's the need to share, interact, discuss, construct knowledge in a collaborative way. The learner should be the centre, the educator simply a facilitator.

Going global makes today's learning worthwile, and this is my next challenge. I'll be getting involved in Freedom2Me, sharing through social networds what freedom means to us after 70 years of the end of WW2. The other project I'll be embarking on is Global Read Aloud 2015.

I'm really looking forward to these challenges.