User:Rmccrae

Collaborate, Create, Communicate, Contemplate

=My Stuff= My Blog/My Projects/

Professional Background
OK - so I have
 * a BSc in Mathematics from Auckland University


 * a Diploma in Teaching from Auckland College of Education


 * a Certificate in Educational Technology from Unitec


 * half finished Diploma in Business Administration from Massey University (and I'm never going to finish it)

I have taught Mathematics at Macleans College in Auckland,Junior College (now Parnell College) in Auckland and am now the ICT Director at Diocesan School for Girls in Auckland.

I have also worked for various technology companies over the years, setting up my own business (Apple Education) in 1987 which I then sold to (and then worked) for Renaissance Corporation for several years.

Education
I loved school. Still do in fact. I remember well the teachers who inspired me. So I guess Alzheimers isn't an excuse I can use any more.

Early Days
Went to secondary school at St Peter's Collegein Auckland and then attended Auckland University where I graduated with a BSc in Mathematics.

Moved on to the Auckland College of Education to gain my Diploma in Teaching, and several years ago completed a Certificate in Education Technology from UNITEC.

Later Days
You never stop learning, do you? I've just finished working with #1 son on his maths homework. Now, #1 has just turned 12 and is in Year 7. The homework he had was inappropriate, imho, as the reading level was not only well above what I would expect at Year 10, the maths was about Year 9 or 10 leveltoo. Now, #1 is OK with this, he's going to survive in spite of his old man's interference. But what I really wondered was "where is the excitement" in this work? Where is the stuff that will get him animated about his work? What was the point of the homework?

These are questions we're actually revisiting at school at the moment too. It's too easy to fall into the trap of setting work for the sake of setting work. There needs to be a point. A well thought out point.

My Interests

 * 1) Family time - especially when we get away in our motor home.


 * 1) Golf - used to play a lot, haven't played for 20 months now - starting to get the urge again.


 * 1) Fishing - the boat is outside the window as I write this - not much use there - should be in the water.


 * 1) Education - just an awesome thing to be involved in these days


 * 1) ICT - what makes education such an awesome thing to be involved in


 * 1) Any sporting event NZ is taking part in.


 * 1) There's probably a whole lot more I could say too, but at this stage this is probably enough.

BTW - the kid in the vid is #3 (of 4). He has this great laugh which I'd always meant to capture on video and always forgot (you know, never have the video with you when you want it). What I love about this is the way it ends - just what is he trying to tell me???

Professional

 * When I was working in my life with Apple I was lucky enough to visit hundreds of schools around the country and overseas. I had been a secondary teacher for 5 years before I started my journey with Apple, and I met many passionate educators over that time and saw some wonderful classrooms where real learning was clearly taking place. But there was something that I did not necessarily see in secondary schools. I remember when it first occurred to me. "Where can I see the promise of all this technology stuff working?" asked a principal one day. There were individual examples of brilliance in almost every school, but as far as an entire secondary school - I struggled to find one I could recommend. Lorrae Ward authored a paper back in 2002 talking about teaching practice and the lack of integration in NZ secondary schools . She pointed to the "maverick teacher" that was doing great stuff, but did not find that ICT use was widespread.


 * It was Alan Kay who said "the best way to predict the future is to invent it". Well, I'm no Alan Kay, but my mission is to go about trying to make this ICT thing work in secondary schools ... one teacher at a time if this is what it takes.


 * (Interestingly, Lorrae Ward has published a more recent look at the impact of ICT in NZ schools in general - published in the November 2008 issue of Computers in New Zealand Schools- which has made a few more connections for me. She points to the majority (aka "all") of professional development over the past 7 or 8 years having gone into teacher capacity or infrastructure capacity, but little (aka "none") has gone into pedagogy. As Sir Ken Robinson points out, pedagogy is the key!)


 * So for me, I am starting to think that some of the planets are actually starting to line up. The fun time is really about to start. This WE stuff just might be the catalyst for some more work. But I would prefer a rich text editor - I think many teachers would.


 * Thought I might dig out some old footage of Seymour Papert addressing a 2004 crowd in Sydney. I broke the presentation that Papert gave into a series of shorter videos that are now put back together in an order which makes sense to me. He talks about "education" being a complex system and then goes on to talk about the paradox of trying to be visionary when faced with what to do with the class on Monday. He also has some comments about mathematics and computers. (For some reason the .mov files are not playing the video - haven't yet checked if .mov are supported, but the sound is fine and the actual video was pretty much as it looks in the still anyway!! It was also a chance to try Kaitura - it's cool!.

Multimedia
Herewith a selection of what I'm currently using to motivate both myself and anyone else who comes to this page.

Video
 

Images

 * Golf courses to me are artistic. When I get the opportunity to play a "special" course, then I imagine that the feeling I get is similar to someone appreciating a Rembrandt or a van Gogh. Here a few that I have had the privilege of remembering to take my camera to!

Diocesan School NZOER Project
The Diocesan School for Girls NZOER pages on WikiEducator. Over the coming months I hope to bring a few of our staff into this environment and to develop some resources that need developing for our own push into inquiry/project based learning in our Years 7 - 10 environment.

The Dio Horizon Project for 2009
The Horizon Project for 2009 saw students challenged to develop a new school and curriculum for the new Year 1 - 8 school being fast tracked by the NZ Government and being built in the newly developing Stonefields Estate in Auckland. Follow the link as the template for similar projects is shared.

Feedback &amp; Notes from my WikiNeighbours

 * Dear Rob, Welcome back to WikiEducator. Good to see you here. Warm wishes, --Patricia Schlicht 20:02, 28 November 2010 (UTC)


 * Hi Rob - Looks like you have already developed many wiki skills - as has been said before - nice page! Have you anything in particular you want to develop? - Michael (Mverhaart 10:19, 29 November 2010 (UTC))
 * Hi Rob! Your work is inspiring. Looking forward to collaborating and learning from you. Best regards,--Emmanuel Nalumenya 8:43 15 December, 2010.
 * Hi Rob! Your User page is Great! Best wishes! --Teromakotero 15:56, 22 December 2010 (UTC)