24 thoughts on “”

  1. Bee, you pinpointed the essence of the teaching profession when you said you feel “more of a gardener, trying to sow the seeds of change in some cases or just raise the awareness that there is a variety of different plants and environements around.” And that learning and autonomy “…are part of a life-long cyclical process.” How true!

    The roles we play and the voices we form are complex, you’re right. And intertwined, I’d say. Being what I am defines not only me as a person but also me as a teacher, a colleague, a mom, a partner, etc.

    However, I’m not sure we can discuss the various voices we have without the ones who form dialogues with them – the ones on the other side of the dialogue. When we’re writing posts in our teacher’s blog, we’re thinking of our students, we form a dialogue with them. When we’re posting in a community blog, we’re thinking of the other community members. Our readers/listeners are part of the package. By thinking of them our choice of where to post becomes less difficult. As regards complexities in our voices and overlapping areas – as a reader/listener I admire those who are capable of them.

    And congratulations, Bee, for the concept of the workshop. I admire your ability to create opportunities for learning. Cheers.

  2. So nice to read you here on this new blog of mine, Sarolta. And yes, complex identities with fuzzy borders. I wonder whether our parents and grandparents had the same questions and such a diversity of roles. Is this something that belongs to our times?

  4. Hi Barbara,
    Your story was great! Isn’t the internet fantastic? I used to live in Rio de Janeiro and now that I live in England I had the opportunity to meet you online!
    Since your topic is about stories, here is mine:
    I studied Biology (Licenciatura) at the Rio de Janeiro State University and did my MSc in Zoology at the National Museum in Rio. Just before finishing the masters, I decided to change my career and got a job as an IT translator (English-Portuguese). During this time I became more aware of the internet and the technology related to it. Before that all I was interested in was Bird Anatomy and research.
    A few years later I met my husband (online)…..and now I am here in England.
    In the beginning it was very hard. No family or friends.
    After the birth of my son, Joshua, I decided to go back to an educational establishment. I started an ESOL course at the local college and this is where I work now as an ESOL/CALL tutor and as the E-learning champion for my department.
    My professional development has started again in 2002/3 with more teaching qualification courses and in September I am starting the CELTA (level 4 – ESOL). I am even thinking of a second masters degree. This time in education (e-learning and ESOL).

  5. Impressed. Touched. I was brought up bilingually/biculturally so I can relate somewhat to your multi-cultural upbringing. Also, as I’m the wrong side of 40, I can also relate to “…20 years went by…!” Thanks for putting this up. I t hink it is very brave of you, and it inspires me to do the same. (Have been wanting to experiment with Photo Story but not had the time yet.)

    Also like Word Press. I will also experiment with it in the next few weeks. This looks good, Bee!

    Bonsoir,
    Marco.

  6. Nice to meet you Frieda and thanks for sharing your story with me. Do you have a blog or website?

    Marco…this is just the surface of the iceberg…there are many other stories I can tell. As for WordPress, I am happy with it for the time being 🙂
    I have been following your ideas with interest and must blog them, but have not yet found the time. When things quieten down a bit here, when I have a little time to think, I´ll try to post.

  8. This is the first blog I have ever visited and straight away I was involved in the discussion about creating blogs. Frankly at the moment I cannot come up with any suggestions apart from saying that what you are doing in your blog is very important for those teachers who are just the beginners at using blogs.

  9. Bee
    I loved your story- especially the patterns near the end- I think my life has patterns, too. I also really liked your use of Bob Dylan- the Times they are a-changing as background music. But I´m one of those peculiar people who doesn’t REALLY like background music- so I foregrounded it and missed out on a lot of what you were saying at that poit because the music meant so much to me!

    Perhaps you´re what I want to be when I grow up- a real multimedia person.

    Two questions:
    1. Can I post big photo albums on the blog site? I have photos from Alexandre, Eleonor, Gilmara (lots) and 8 files of my own. My son proposes a ling to my onw website, but the blog site would be better.

    2. How do I create a category? For the project group working on poems, I wanted to make a POEMS category, but seem to have failed.
    Love (and thanks)
    Sara

  10. Bee,

    first: great to see you use Worpress. Looks like a powerful (and elegant) tool to me as well, I quite like experimenting with it.

    What you say when reflecting upon your possible roles and perspectives in using tools like that in teaching is interesting to read. Plus: IMHO, it really is important to clarify those thing. All to quickly we get carried away by the technicalities of these new ways of enhancing teaching and learning, too rarely do we reflect upon the effects it will have on our traditional teaching (and learning) strategies.
    Thanks for the stimulus,
    Uwe

  11. So I follow your tracks to explore conversations…. I like it !

    while witnessing my discomfort with buzzwords…. the being “autonomous”, the impulse to collaborate… and the separation of self into roles…. autnomous for what? I rather be co-dependent…

    I say, stay centered into your voice and address the experiences in the continuum of your wonderful self… and while relating to us build the most amazing chain of co-dependent links among us wanting to hug into a bright codependent agape of learning.

    thanks for the link to the article…. where is the RSS feed to this blog?

    Cheers!

  12. What a great story! and a wonderfull way to put it together. I’m still learning from you, and hope some day do for my students the same things you’ve done. Thanks for sharing

    Nahir Aparicio.
    HSS06

  13. Sara and Nahir…the possibilities these new technologies give us are mind-boggling. It is important to understand the nature of each tool, what it allows you to do and what it is meant for so that we do not eat soup with a knife or transform the “filet mignon” into a rubber sole. Just like in cooking, the blending of ingredients and how you serve them is the secret to success. Remain open to change, experiment, and reflect in and on action. Share it all by blogging about it.

  14. Bee–you’re just the right person to get the Brazil SIG going and with you at the helm, I’ll wager that Brazil will be in the forefront of online interactive education. The logo is nice too!……..Jane

  15. Dear Bee,

    You can count on me. I’ve told Shaun that Erika and I will be part of the national committee and will be local representatives. We really want to help you to get all this started. The moment is this! We are going to have Thomas’ In-service next week. What do you think of spreading the word among our teachers? There may be a few intereste. I loved the logo. Clean and clear!

    So let’s get started? Where should we begin?

    Carla

  16. Carla, thanks for the support. You are more than welcome to spread the word among your teachers and if they are interested in joining the EduTech SIG they should be members of Braz-Tesol and then ask to join the Yahoo Group.

  19. As always Bee I enjoyed immensely your personal narrative. THANK YOU.

    We have a lot in common…. well, some. My mother’s background in Polish— Eucranian, actually… and was born and raised in Puerto Rico thanks to my father. The only Belgian influence in my life is FOXY (the Belgian Sheepdog) , whose father is still there… small world.

  20. Impressive work, Bee! It’s truly inspirational. Your story is very touching and motivational. Do you mind if I share your video with my Language and Culture students? We’re doing Bicultural identity and we will be moving on to achieving self potential. I believe that your story captures all the lessons that I want my students to learn. Your achievements in life are worth sharing and they’re something that would give my students a new sense of self awareness and motivation to improve their language skills while at the same time keeping a strong hold of their true identities. [Aiden claps hands.] Bravo, Bee- and thanks for sharing your story.

  22. Thanks, Bea!

    Your story is indeed inspiring! I just read Aiden’s idea of using your photostory with her students. Now it seems obvious, so why didn’t I think of it!

  23. Hi Barbara. I’m Dan Bassill. I’ve connected with you in the past via the Tutor/Mentor Leadership Conferences in which Web Heads participated. I found the http://youngcaucasus.neweurasia.net/?page_id=13 in a Google search today.

    I was not aware of this. Is it still going on? I’d love to connect it with the Tutor/Mentor Connection and our May and November Conferences. Can you tell me more?

    My blog is http://tutormentor.blogspot.com. You can introduce this there, or in the forums at http://www.tutormentorconnection.org. If you’d like, please add the link to the Young Caucaus Mentor blog in the Links section of the T/MC site.

    I hope we can connect.

    Dan Bassill
    Tutor/Mentor Connection
    Chicago

Comments are closed.