L+at+S+comments

 **Margaret Whittington** I enjoyed this conference more than last years - I think I knew what to expect and had more of an idea of what I wanted out of it. Also, we knew each other better and there were more of us. As you said Jenny - a lot of questions, but not really many answers. Is that called ownership? I suppose so. I got a lot out of Cheryl Doig's Learning Walks double session. It is something that I had been thinking about doing, not only for me but also as a staff and for teachers with each other. Focussed 5 minute visits with feedback. Nothing to do with appraisal. I also enjoyed the 2 Habits of Mind sessions and got more of a sense of direction there. It was good having more than just me from Tisbury at these sessions as there are now 2 of us to take the ideas back. The Tool Box for Lead Teachers was one I hadn't read about carefully enough so was a bit surprised at what I got, but I did get ideas to pass on to Kate who is our Lead Teacher. Last but not least was the breakout run by Carolyn Stewart, Principal of Tawa Intermediate, on 'But I've always done it like this'. I thought it would be based on teachers resistant to embracing ICT, but it was on people who are resistant to anything new and the three types of resistors and strategies to deal with them. The big message was not to think, How can I change that person's behaviour, but how can I change my behaviour. Interesting, and emminently sensible. At the end of last years conference my thought was that I didn't think I would enjoy the next one, but it just goes to show how wrong we can be. I found the conference overwhelming because of the size. I expected to go to workshops on computers, but ended up only going to one about the Literacy Website. I thought I would come back with more skills. The Habits of Minds workshops were great!! **Jenny Craig** I found the keynote speakers (the two I heard) were entertaining, yet their message reaffirmed the purpose and intent of our ICTPD contract. Wes Fryer presented a workshop around Web2.0 tools. He displayed some of the possibilities that a few of these tools could achieve. Tony Ryan and Jamie McKenzie's workshops posed a lot of questions to the participants, but nothing in the way of answers, we spoke with the people attending the workshops with us, and used their ideas, but this really wasn't why I went. I had the questions, I was looking for answers. Trevor Bond's workshop around the competencies was very practical, with him offering some ideas as to how to simplify them into a user friendly form. ** Sheree Keenan ** As an older teacher coming back into teaching I found it really exciting to have the chance to learn about some of the really new tools that teachers are now using to inspire the children and enhance their learning. I also really felt challenged by the keynote speakers. I found the presentation by a school of their inquiry model most imteresting. The key note speakers reinforced the 'new' pedagogy involved in teching in todays schools. **Tim Marriott** I thought the conference was better than last year. The keynote speakers were entertaining and I really liked the Solo Taxonomy session. I got to see Tony Ryan again and felt really enthused. I thought from a Principal's perspective it was fantastic to have as many people from my school at the conference, it was great to be able to talk to each other throughout the day and reflect on what changes we can implement at Gorge Road School. I am looking forward to closing the school for a few days and sending my whole staff next year. My breakouts were great especially the session with Kim Scott in Inquiry. I found that the opportunity to attend this conference was very rewarding. Not only have I come back with a range of new ideas and strategies to implement in the classroom with small groups of children but I have also come back with a more positive outlook on the integration of a variety of ICT resources. Some of the highlights for me include breakouts on: - Interactive whiteboards- with this breakout I was able to see the huge range of resources available on the net to help enhance Literacy and Numeracy. -Alive and Humming in the Junior classroom- Again this breakout demonstrated a range of internet resources available but also a range of teaching strategies to motivate young children in Literacy using Thinkers Keys. -Photos Galore- This breakout focused on how photos can enhance the literacy programme. I left this breakout with many great ideas that were simple but could be very effective in particular with ESOL students and new entrants. - Tony Ryan: Transformational Teachers- This breakout was very inspirational. Tony spoke on quality classroom practices and on how to get the best out the students you work with. He was a very motivational speaker and I left feeling very enthusiastic and very aware of why I enjoy working with children so much. Very worthwhile!  I really enjoyed the conference and came away with many new ideas for my classroom. It was great to be able to talk to others in the profession and share ideas, knowledge and experiences. I found the keynote speakers inspiring although the initial session was rather long to be sitting. The trade hall was enjoyable to browse through and see all the amazing equipment that is available. Overall I enjoyed all of the breakouts and found the Newsmaker session especially enjoyable. It was unfortunate that the whole experience was dampened by the dis-organised shambles of the meal on Thursday night. Other than that I enjoyed the experience. The best thing I took from the conference was a sense of renewed inspiration. Meeting other teachers from throughout the country, sharing ideas, thoughts, and experiences was great. I have returned to school with a lot of new tricks and ideas to implement into the classroom because of these conversations. I particularly enjoyed the keynote speakers however, we were sitting there for a long time on that first day! I attended 2 breakouts about inquiry, the first by Trevor Bond who I found cut through all of the fog that I have currently surrounding inquiry, and given me a direction to head in. My other breakout on inquiry with Kim Scott was a great follow up to Trevor Bond's where she showed us how to implement our plans in a meaningful way for students. I had a right fizzer of a breakout with the Wii but that is a learning experience for me lol and not something I would choose again. Great in theory but the presenter and his material were shocking. Over all a wonderful inspiring experience and I hope that my teaching practise is the better for it :-) **Tina Shaw** I really enjoyed the conference this year mainly because I knew what to expect and what I wanted to gain from the breakouts. Having the opportunity to take another staff member was very useful because it meant that we were able to discuss issues raised from the breakouts and keynotes while they were still fresh and make plans for implementation. This year I chose the breakouts much more carefully and as a result got a lot more from each one. I certainly gained new knowledge but also confirmation and renewed inspiration . I felt that this year the keynotes were very interesting and really made me think about a variety of issues relating to management and teaching styles. I feel privileged to have attended this conference. The experience of getting to know more of our cluster was a great plus, especially our gatherings at night to discuss the days happenings. Most of my breakouts were very worthwhile and I have used knowledge and activities in the classroom since my return. I did however have one breakout that was really just a hard sell from an exhibitor - I would never go to an exhibitors breakout again. I look at my Nokia phone with new eyes after Andy Hargreaves keynote "Bad news must travel fast". Found breakout on Virtual Learning Network in NZ interesting, appreciated their cottage industry type approach, making it up and solving problems as they go. It's got possibilities as a way forward. Faye Le Cren's "Curriculum Development and Implementation" complemented Julia Atkin's work on Learning Areas, and will be helpful as we plan ahead. Allanah King was a hoot and helpful, talking about free adobe programmes- Did you know if you go to google, sign in and click Gmail, you can store all your work, photos, video etc safely, and when you move schools you can take all your stuff with you? Google docs is a good place for 2+ people working on a document together while in different places. Go to delicious/manzana@nz for free stuff. Good to hear Pam Hook in action. Nice play with HyperStudio- very creative possibilities. **Cathi Knowles** Despite my reluctance I found the conference very rewarding for our school. It was great in our small school to be able to have all teaching staff getting the same curriculum messages. We needed a clearer direction for where to go to next with implementing the revised currciulum and I certainly got that from the conference. Trevor Bond was the speaker who had the greatest impact on my thinking. Since returning to school I have used his information and presentation notes many times for many different reasons. Mostly though I have used this information for reporting to and consulting with our community. I did find the Sunday morning session a tad confusing. I thought I was taking part in a session where I could learn heaps - didn't happen. This seemed to be a waste of time due to the lack of participation by others. It is really pleasing that what I have learned from the conference I am using, not putting more notes on a dusty shelf. Our teacher only day when we returned helped us set up an action plan and it' s full steam ahead. I set off to ICT conference with some trepidation that things would be well over my head, expecting lots of hand on techy things to do BUT to my pleasure it was about the big picture of learning and where ICT fits in naturally. It was a great opportunity to put the new curriculum in perspective with the KC's and values, and I really enjoyed Trevor Bond's workshop on this. I went to several workshops lead by classroom teachers re inquiry learning and values and they gave me lots of practical ideas to come back and use ( and I have!) Being together as an ICTPD team was great and I feel this will make us a better working unit, the wine and cheese PD sessions were as valuable as the workshops! As a part-timer I feel priveleged to have had this opportunity!
 * Anita Brown**
 * Corrina Marriott **
 * Sharon Evans **
 * <span style="font-size: 110%; color: rgb(255,0,0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Nicci Muir ** <span style="font-size: 110%; color: rgb(255,0,0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: 110%; color: rgb(255,0,0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">  <span style="font-size: 110%; color: rgb(255,0,0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
 * Mary Haworth**
 * <span style="color: rgb(0,128,128);">Shirley Pratt **<span style="color: rgb(196,8,8);"><span style="color: rgb(0,128,128);">
 * Karen Stirling**