George at Work

George here again.  Sorry for that brief interruption, but I was in a workshop learning about some interesting iPad Apps for Education and was just trying out some things.  While much of this trip has been family vacation, it has been more of a “work-cation” for me and I thought I’d spend a little time talking about what I’ve been doing.

When I visited New Zealand two years ago to visit schools, our trip was sponsored by a New Zealand education organization called CORE, based here in Christchurch.  I hoped the trip would spur on some ideas for a sabbatical project, and it eventually did after of the Feb. 2011 earthquake.  What I’m looking at is the use of technology by schools in the aftermath of disasters (specifically earthquakes here)  When I get back to the US, I hope to talk with other schools who have dealt with similar situations (tornado, hurricane, etc.)

When the earthquake hit in Feb. 2011, the building housing CORE’s headquarters was badly damaged and has since been torn down, so they’ve been operating out of a house well out of town.   

The CORE offices in the June 6 snow

Much of my time here has been spent at this house talking to folks, making phone contacts, and staying connected to the Internet.  Members of the research team at CORE wrote a report for the Ministry of Education on “Co-Located” schools, those who were forced to share building space in the aftermath of the February 2011 Earthquake.  This report helped me figure out what happened during the 2011 school year (Feb.-December) and gave me some ideas for people to contact.

So from June 6- June 8 and June 19-today, I’ve been interviewing principals and other leaders from a variety of schools across Christchurch to see how technology has helped them through this difficult time.  (10 interviews total) I got a little sidetracked with snow two weeks ago, but I’m still happy with the work I’ve done. I’ve got lots of analyzing to do, but hopefully I’ll be able to share some ideas through articles, conference presentations, etc. Today, I went to the South Learning Centre where many teachers came to get up to speed with technology in the weeks after the quake, especially those in schools where students didn’t arrive until 1:00 in the afternoon (high schools) I talked to the eLearning director there and got a professional development session in at the same time.  I missed skiing with Laura and the boys, but I negotiated the Christchurch bus routes, and made it back to the hotel fine.

But tomorrow will be my last “work” day and I’m excited about spending more time exploring the country.  More to come!