Saturday, April 02, 2011

The Importance of Affecting Change from Within - ISTE Board Elections - Vote Now!

It often comes as a surprise to people that Australia has compulsory voting in political elections. As a former high school (HSC 1977 Politics) and undergraduate student in politics (minor study) I have always had a great interest in political scenarios globally, and I have always taken great responsibility when voting. The opportunity to vote means taking some time to review candidates, consider their experience and perspective, and to reflect on what position they will potentially take on and how they can contribute to that organisation and become part of the team.  

Be a part of the change you want to see in the world, and as in the message of this blog post, the change you want to see in educational technology, and use your voice and VOTE in the ISTE elections.

The ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) Board elections are an opportunity for all ISTE members to have their say, and to take responsible measures to populate the Board with the best candidates they can. Although not compulsory, it is something that this organisation feels strongly about and encourages everyone to use their voice and vote for the next new Board members.

As a long-standing member of ISTE (must be about 10 years now I think), and as an ISTE Ambassador, I am honored to accept nomination as International representative on the ISTE Board and encourage you to consider voting for me!  In addition, I ask that you also consider voting for Australian colleague, Tony Brandenburg, as an 'At Large' representative on the Board. My friend and Flat Classroom co-founder, Vicki Davis, wrote a humbling blog post, ISTE Members: I am asking you to vote for Julie, that says this is not a vote against anyone else, as all candidates are amazing and highly qualified, but this is a chance to show support for international candidates in particular. 

Only ISTE members can see inside the election ballot and review candidate profiles, however I am reproducing part of mine and part of Tony's here for your consideration. I encourage you also to JOIN ISTE, online membership is about $50! Lots of great resources and online communities to be part of. Voting closes April 11!

Julie Lindsay - Nomination for ISTE Board as International Representative.
Identification of the THREE most salient issues in educational technology:
  1. Leading for change in a flat world: ".....A 21st century leader leverages the technology and learns from a personal learning network that is global, provides immediate feedback and resources, and supports development of an international perspective to maximize learning."
  2. Global (Digital) Citizenship: "We talk about citizenship and attitudes and behaviors to support effective participation in society....we should also be talking about and acting on the need for ......global digital citizenship where responsible, reliable and respectful learning scaffolded by appropriate technology use is a part of all education systems."
  3. Embedded Professional Development: "...A ‘doing’ rather than ‘watching’ approach in conjunction with a higher order thinking ‘create’ approach is needed to transform learning for all and foster the change we need to see in schools" 
Tony Brandenburg - Nomination for ISTE Board Member At Large
Tony is currently a Professional Development manager for the Victorian Institute of Teaching, Australia. He has worked outside of Australia, and has a keen perspective on the needs of education systems to move into the 21st Century.
Identification of the THREE most salient issues in educational technology:
  1. Education funding and ongoing advocacy: "I do believe that passionate persistent advocacy; excellent information and clear goals and objectives are essential when dealing with system and government authorities...... Much time in my past few years has been spent on finding ways to encourage government to invest in their most important asset, the teacher"
  2. Communication: "The challenge for ISTE is to continue to communicate not only with its members but also with the global community in a realistic, informative and non-confronting manner."
  3. Understanding today's learner's and meeting their needs: "One of the issues that confront present day educators is the need to focus on the learning needs of their students and to develop ways to connect with them and to optimize their learning opportunities." 
 Thanks to all readers for their consideration!  Voting closes April 11!

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