Dreams come true - in the CFC!

This time last year  this was only a dream. Today it's a reality. The Croatian Future Classroom was officially opened last week.

It all started with my visit to the Future Classroom Lab at the European Schoolnet in Brussels and a course I attended there. The FCL is a "living lab  for how ICT can be implemented in schools and where policy makers, ICT suppliers, teachers and educational researchers come together to reshape the use of technolgy in education and to develop new models of teaching and learning with technology. It was developed by European Schoolnet, its 30 supporting Ministries of Education and leading educational technology providers."

(No, the Croatian Ministry is still not a member, but hopefully it will become one soon - that'll be another dream of mine come true) 

The opening ceremony was grand.... it was just like a dream! So many good, positive, inspiring vibes! Sonja showcased the use of Samsung Smart School with students so successfully and effectively as only she can! My school's choir and our guest choir from Koprivnica were brilliant. We were joined by teachers from South Africa, Italy, Portugal, Brazil and the UK on the Adobe Connect Pro Meeting platform. There were many VIPs from the European Schoolnet, the  MoE, the City of Zagreb, CARNet, Samsung, Teacher Education & Training Agency, lots of memebers of the press - we gave so many interviews and felt like rock stars. 

Bart Verswijvel, the official representative of the European Schoolnet gave a memorable speech that I will never, ever forget. Among other things, he said:

I am quite sure that Arjana Blazic and her colleagues will make the Croatian Future Classroom into a lighthouse, a lighthouse for innovative education, a lighthouse that has an impact on the school but also on the rest of the country.

You can read more about it in Bart's blog post Croatian Future Classroom.

The icing on the cake was Karaoke night! Yes, I did sing!

On the day after the opening ceremony, Sonja recieved the official confirmation that our school, IX. gimnazija was selected to take part in European Schoolnet's project InGenious.

We're looking forward to more projects like this!

 

iBook Author at the Future Classroom Lab in Brussels

Two weeks ago I  received an invite to take part in the course on how to create interactive textbooks with iBook Author. Even though I have no experience with Apple products and even though my school doesn't have the money to invest in iPads and even though the people at the Croatian Ministry of education still don't see the necessity of teaching with technology, I accepted the offer wholeheartedly and flew to Belgium on Sunday to attend the course. As a true lifelong learner I enjoyed every minute of this intensive learning opportunity at the Future Classroom Lab in Brussels.

The course was led by Kurt Klynen, a teacher and Apple Distinguished Educator, whose expertise, friendliness and support helped me get the hang of Apple products. Actually, I didn't only get the hang of Apple! Apple really took my fancy and I do, really do honestly, truly hope that one day .... soon... I'll be able to use iPads with my students...(hopefully this post will be read by a good soul who wants to donate iPads to my school or otherwise I doubt I'll teach with iPads in the near future)

The course was held in the Future Classroom Lab, a reconfigurable teaching and learning space developed by the European Schoolnet and its partners. I've seen the FCL in videos, presentations and photos so many times, but I was still very impressed when I arrived there. The FCL is the perfect place for learning.