Wednesday, March 31, 2010

What it means to be an ADE: Reflection on ADE Asia Institute 2010

In the middle of March I attended the ADE Asia Institute held in Singapore. Becoming an ADE (Apple Distinguished Educator) was a unique experience, and one of the most useful professional development opportunities I have ever had.

While in the company of
Rebecca Stockley, Joseph Linaschke, Maxx Judd, Adrian Lim, and other Apple representatives, 50 educators from K-12 and tertiary levels worked through a program that involved:
  • Personal branding: the process where people and their careers are marked as brands; the brand of 'YOU' as a professional educator; finding a photo the captures 'YOU'; finding a movie that tells 'YOUR STORY'; Making, Building and Creating!
  • Discussion about moving beyond the 'facilitator role' to 'collaborators in learning'
  • Challenge based learning framework: teacher engaged as collaborators in the learning
  • Challenge based learning assignment: Identify your educational challenge, find like-minded peers, create authentic/rigorous project concept for use in your learning environment, pitch the team concept at presentation session

Madeleine Brookes, ADE Alumni and Julie Lindsay, ADE Graduate

What does it mean to be an ADE?
  • I am now part of a global network of educators who 'get it' in terms of moving learning and collaboration to the next level in 21st century education
  • I have access to a global set of resources created for an by ADE's and others, specifically aimed at improving learning and integration of challenge based learning
  • I have an immediate team of ADE's here in Beijing who are collaborating already on future events and opportunities for colleagues
  • I feel valued as an educator: the championing of us as educators and as ADE's was a special feature of the Institute. It is not always easy in our regular, day-to-day professional lives to be held in high regard in the same way, especially when representing ideas and challenges to administrators and colleagues that will ultimately change the way we teach and learn

Thank you to my team members for your amazing hard work putting together our 'Global Collaboration' presentation: Sabrina, Robin, and Joram

Some other challenge-based team presentation outcomes: In One Place, Culture Ed, Digital Portfolios,

Thank you to Apple Education for having the vision and seeing a way forward and providing the opportunity to connect, collaborate and create.


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1 comment:

Flutey said...

Congratulations Julie, I'm looking forward to Challenge Based Learning taking off in Beijing and everywhere. An apple for the teacher :-)