Professional learning networks

The teacher describes a teacher exchange she has organised with a New Zealand school to share resources, ideas and programs. The program aims to facilitate professional learning opportunities for staff in both schools. An outcome of the visit by the teachers from the school in Rotorua is an exchange of ideas and experiences about the impact of technologies on traditional school libraries and their use by students for learning. The teachers discuss student blogging and the effect that a blogging program implemented in the New Zealand school has had on student achievement and engagement.

Mount Alvernia College in Brisbane is an independent Catholic school for girls. The school has an enrolment of approximately 700 girls. The teacher is the Coordinator for Teaching and Learning. The Teacher Exchange Program with the school in Rotorua was initiated through the Middle Years of Schooling Association (MYSA) of which the teacher is a member. Planning for the ‘exchange’ involved high level planning for an extended period between both schools.