Activity 1 - Welcome!

Hello World...

Hi and welcome to my applied practice module blog. My name is Herman Fourie and I am a teacher at Gisborne Intermediate School (GisInt). This will be my 9th year teaching at GisInt as a classroom teacher. Most of my time has been spent teaching year 7 students.

Digital and Collaborative...

I have always had an interest in technology; instilled by my father's love of computers, and tinkering in the shed to solve problems. This passion has been handy in learning/teaching 21st century learning skills. I feel connected to the idea of using digital and collaborative tools to improve my 'teaching' ability.


Too many tabs...
One of the biggest challenges I have faced this year is managing 'too many tabs' in my life. My wife and I have 3 kids and our 4th is due mid October. It's amazing how aware I have become of the impact 'teaching' will have on my children - my oldest starts school in Term 4. 


Questions for me to consider:

• What do I think a successful education will look, sound and feel like for my kids? 
• How do I support them in not attaining a 'standard'? 
• What are the skills that I want her to gain for a successful future? 

So many questions, so many tabs!

Processes and Tradition...

I believe that I have always known about the need for learning to be relevant, realistic and challenging. The biggest problem now seems that my understandings of learning in the 21st century do not always match up with the 'processes and tradition' within our school environment.

My Role...

At this stage I am the Co-Leader of ICT at GisInt. I opted to work collaboratively with a colleague on the same journey as me. My initial appointment as ICT Leader was for the sole purpose of 'Web Site' maintenance, and 'App Suggestion'. This is now not the case! My role has changed considerably with the incorporation of more devices across the school and with my input into some future decisions now being considered. Our school community is vibrant and unique. We make for a good team, but will need to keep working together to progress our school into the 21st Century.

My Class...

The mighty Ruma Rima Rhino are my class for 2015. It consists of a groups of students who range from level 1 to level 5 in core subjects, 50/50 split for boys and girls, and 44% Maori. We are at 32 students (which gets challenging at times...) and we are blessed with the support of most Whanau, in making our classroom amazing! We are known for thinking differently and by the way we tend to ask a lot of questions. Our school tries to match teachers and students' personalities. This must mean that my students are creative, inquisitive, innovative, risk takers, and a little bit on the crazy side of things! ;)


Thank you for reading my first post on this blog!