Creativity. Excitement. Skill.

It's the end of the year- probably not really the right time to be starting an educational blog right? With the academic year winding down it seems the freedom to take risks in the classroom is more available than ever! So while I was checking out some educational blogs, I came across Project PLN which was seeking schools from all over the world to get students redesigning their learning spaces, based on what they perceive as their learning needs. "What a great end-of-year challenge," thinks Miss Lizzio. And thus began Project PLN with my Year 8 Extension English class.

Let it firstly be said that our school is already exceptionally well-resourced in terms of technology, learning spaces and facilities for staff and students. We've been a 1to1 Macbook school since 2010 and the kids love them. As a teacher passionate about technology, I saw this as a great opportunity to get the kids using their Macbooks to show off their technological skills and gain some new ones as well. The excitement grew in all of us when we realised we were the only school from outside the USA that was taking part!

We broke into 4 committees:

• Facilities- gym, pool, bathrooms & change rooms, common rooms, lockers
• Landscape- grassy areas, sporting fields etc
• Classroom Redesign
• Indoor/ Outdoor Areas

Within those committees I let them go. No joke. They were completely self-monitoring. Sure, I looked over their shoulders and gave guidance; we discussed what our school already does well and what's not worth altering. But basically, what they devised was 100% their own original ideas. They chose which technological tools best suited them in order to present these ideas- and in some cases, these were coloured pens, paper and a scanner. Some used iMovie, Garageband, Adobe Acrobat Pro, Photobooth... all apps they're highly skilled in. But they also experimented with Web 2.0 technologies that I wasn't familiar with, such as Sketchpad and some Architect design suites which they found on the net.

The outcome? A thoroughly interested and engaged class for the last 5 periods of Year 8 in 2011. They finished everything yesterday and today, I had a thorough look over what they created. I could not be prouder.

The lesson? Goddamn these kids get it. Technology gives my girls the opportunity to show their creativity, be excited by what their doing, and become highly skilled in using the tools they'll need throughout their schooling.

Attached is a short video the girls made of themselves working on Project PLN. We're all pretty excited about it being published on the Project PLN website later in December so look out for us!