The Accidental Teacher

I was never really happy at school until my final year in Year 11. At the age of 16 I joined the Royal Air Force and spent the next 7 years working in a variety of roles with the RAF and Army in the UK, Europe and Hong Kong. I left the RAF in 1991 in Hong Kong and studied A level Geography so as to attend university as a mature student. I passed after 3 months self study and enrolled at Staffordshire University UK, graduating with a BA (Hons) 2:1 in Geography in 1995. I returned to Hong Kong and studied Cantonese for 3 months before securing a job as a Transport Planner. Following promotion, I worked on a variety of projects in Hong Kong and Bangkok. During this time, I studied part time gaining a Diploma and, later, a Master of Arts in Transport.
My company began to downsize and I enrolled on a teacher training course at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), graduating a year later. My teaching practice was at King George V School (KGV) teaching Geography and SEN. The Principal, Mr Denis Cocks, then offered me a job teaching Geography, EAL and ICT Support. Subsequently, I initiated the introduction of Learning Technology to my department and was promoted to Second in Department.
In 2005, the English Schools Foundation (ESF) that oversees KGV launched a learning platform. I was appointed Assistant Manager helping to introduce and evaluate it and develop teaching and learning skills. In 2006, following my completion of an MSc in Information Technology, I was promoted to Learning Platform / Hub Manager, responsible for developing and evaluating the platform. My responsibility was then widened to include learning technology development for teachers at KGV. I was also seconded to the governing foundation advising and training staff in the use of technology. During this secondment I presented workshops about mobile technology to the Hong Kong ICT Symposium, as a guest speaker at Hong Kong University, the IBAP Learning Technology Conference in Singapore and at the Web 2.0 Conference, Shanghai all in 2007.
My pilot study into the use of hand held technology for learning out of the classroom in conjunction with HKU and Hewlett-Packard, successfully ran a "technology" field trip to Northern Thailand for Y12 students. The study continued this year with a group of students and HKU lecturers developing learning objects specific to the PDAs in addition to developing the use of a mobile WLAN and Moodle based learning platform for use in the field. It was a great success and demonstrated the benefits of learning technology but also the ease of using technology in a remote field location.

Additionally, I ran a pilot study evaluating a Moodle platform for teaching Geography at KGV which I expanded to the wider foundation using my secondment role as a vehicle. Last year I piloted MS Outlook in my school to evaluate the application in terms of a combined email and teacher planner. I developed this further in 2008 following my school’s purchase of a MS Exchange server.

In 2008 , I sat on a committee to evaluate the incorporation of a smart card system that offers the school electronic registration, door entry, food payment and public transport payment for students and staff. I was responsible for evaluating the various bids and recommending a suitable provider based on utility and cost.

In Sep 07, I was appointed as the School's Learning Technology coordinator and Learning Technology Secondee for the English School's Foundation. I have organized and run workshops and technology training for all ability levels and actively promoted the use of technology in the classroom at my school. I initiated a school CPD day entitled "Using I.T.!" for the whole school involving in house training workshops and external workshops in May 08 in conjunction with the HK ICT Symposium. Guest speakers included Jamie Mackenzie and Mark Treadwell..

As Academic Director for the Senior School at EISP, I am responsible for leading the development of the curriculum and its delivery. Introducing and enhancing technology strategies to achieve this have been key to this post and to this end, I have formed a Technology Steering Group that guides the use of technology and the hardware necessary to support its use for learning.

Part of this has been the formulation of a proposal for a learning platform that has been positively received by the school and its parent company. This will ultimately lead to an onsite WLAN and student laptop policy for the school. I have also successfully set up a group in the Primary Section that is using Skype and a website http://czechsing.ning.com to allow students from EISP, Eton House School in Singapore and German Swiss International School in Hong Kong to communicate with each other from mid Jan 09.

I have thoroughly enjoyed developing, organizing and integrating the use of technology as a tool to enhance learning for both students and staff. This is an aspect that I wish to purse and develop in any school in which I teach as it is based on my belief that technology is a critical tool for our students' futures and it is our challenge to embrace it and enable our students in the use of it for the benefit of them and us.

 

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