MoodleMahara Meet Up 2013

About a month ago, I received, via twitter,  a kind nudge by Allison Miller ( ePortfolio Australia) to invite me to present about ePortfolio in NZ schools at MoodleMahara MeetUp
So that happened yesterday, and I presented online, live, to a real audience of online people and people in a breakout room, for the first time.

The tool was Blackboard Collaborate, I chose to use flat slides, since transitions and pop ups don't import on BbC. I intended to show and tell some live myPortfolio pages from my browser, but the trial run I had with  Carole McCulloch (who was convening, managing and recording the webinars ) put me off it: navigation was too slow and the screen appeared really pixellated in the room.
It was a 20 min presentation.
I talked being a MyPortfolio trainer, delivering Taster Sessions, working with Language teachers and a range of secondary schools. I drew links to the NZC, and teaching and learning, and the people I have met, and hopefully the participants could get a picture of what had been activated to implement an eportfolio system on this scale!

Preparing for this made me realise a few things:
- the taster sessions were a jolly good idea! ( I knew but not how good!)
- that a follow up plan post taster sessions should have been drawn from the outset and not just rely on MyPortfolio users to just go ahead and do it (Prior to MyPortfolio, I dont think that there was another shared online space, I think the VLN started at about the same time, but that was a professional space, not one where students and teachers would be alongside. And creating/sharing online is so new for quite a few teachers still... )
- that my understanding of the NZC intent etc has deepened ten fold since engaging with MyPortfolio, my articulating of what Learning is about has sharpened greatly, my appreciation of the role of Thinking and Reflecting has blossomed equally. Where had I been all these years one might say? ;-)
- so if it has worked for me, surely it will work for all those who chose to look into it.
- and many are, I can see this every day through the shared pages.  This type of modelling is oh so potent, it would need to be highlighted a bit more prominently that is all!


And I need to add (edit 11/05): upon listening to Thornsten Gross presenting his students' use of Mahara in a German school I learnt from him that the Hessen state in Germany were looking at having a shared Mahara instance for their schools also. I am interested in following this development and learn more about it.