2010 Microsoft Worldwide Innovative Education Forum

Every year the Microsoft Worldwide Innovative Education Forum takes place in a different country – and this year Cape Town, South Africa was the proud host to 600 delegates from more than 70 countries. Highlights of the event included an opening reception at Groot Constantia and a gala dinner at Kirstenbosch Gardens, as well as an impressive line up of international speakers who exposed delegates to some of the latest developments in integrating technology into education. As part of the event, SchoolNet SA organised bus tours to 12 different schools – with each bus of teachers experiencing two schools as well as a picnic lunch in a scenic spot. For many delegates, the opportunity to see schools and to interact with South African teachers and learners was a highlight of the event.

The Innovative Education event consisted of two tracks – Innovative Teachers and Innovative Schools. Eunice High School of Bloemfontein was announced as a Mentor School – as having previously been a very successful Innovative Pathfinder School, they were considered up to the challenge of coaching schools that are new to the Innovative Schools programme. St Cyprians, a school for girls in Cape Town was announced as a Pathfinder School for 2010 – 2011. During visits to this beautiful school it was easy for delegates to see why they had been chosen – the enthusiastic learners, dedicated teachers and innovative uses of world-class facilities show that St Cyprians is an exceptional school.

Southern Africa was well represented in the Innovative Schools category. Chris Gatsi of General Smuts High in Vereeniging presented his “Zero Tolerance for Bribery Campaign” and Warren Sparrow of Rondebosch Boys Preparatory in Cape Town presented his “Who wants to be a millionaire?” project. A group of four teachers from Bloemfontein, Sunia Dokter, Shireen Persens, Ngaka Ralekoala and Lehentse Seekoei proudly presented their “Children who care” project which was very well received. Linda Bradfield of St John’s College was recognised as a finalist for her “Trash-to-Treasure” project, as was Lilian Ofori-Asare of Phethahatso Primary School in Lesotho for her “Amazing Maize” project. At the gala dinner, Peter de Lisle of Hilton College was announced as the second runner up in the Innovation in Content category. To be judged as one of twelve winners from such an impressive field of teachers from around the world is a great achievement and we are very proud of Peter and his “Biodiversity: Creatures and Contexts” project. All the Southern African participants agreed that the opportunity to spend four days networking with such a diverse group of interesting teachers who are doing exciting projects with their learners was a highlight of their professional careers and that they will return to their classrooms fired up with fresh ideas and with a wealth of contact details for future collaborative projects.

Next November, the Worldwide Innovative Education Form will be taking place in Washington, DC in the United States of America. If you would like an opportunity to attend this exciting event, to meet teachers from around the world to share best practices, start thinking of an innovative project that will incorporate ICT in a novel and engaging way NOW! To attend a Worldwide Innovative Education Forum, a teacher first needs to win a national event and then he or she needs to place at a Regional Innovative Education Forum. Look out for details related to 2011 South African Innovative Education Forum on www.schoolnet.org.za or write to megan@schoolnet.org.za for more information or to sign up for an Innovation Workshop. Innovation Workshops are not a prerequisite for entering the Innovative Teachers Forum – but of this year’s winners all but one teacher had had some prior experience of an Innovation Workshop. Next year you could be representing South Africa with your exciting project!

To read more about the event, please visit:
http://www.microsoft.com/emea/presscentre/pressreleases/1010_IEF_25102010.mspx

To see the projects submitted by teachers for the Innovative Teacher event, sign in to the Partners in Learning Network and visit here.