Torie



**Space for Reflection:**

Now that the end of Learning 2.011 is almost here, my mind is sloshing about with a murky concoction of ideas, contradictions, frustrations and plenty of inspiration. My digital identity and my previous conception of it has definitely gone topsy-turvey in the last 48 hours. While it's likely that latent "Big Brother" issues will raise their ugly head from time to time, my confidence to step up and claim a part of the digital world is greater than ever before. I am a teacher, and a mother and a daughter, an employee, an overly-analytical thinker, a food junkie, water lover, and a resilient traveler with several dozen countries under my belt, among other things. I am proud of my accomplishments and endeavors and have learned from mistakes before, and I know I have so much more to learn. All of this justifies why I should take more risks and share in the 2.0 world. This change is perspective is welcome and refreshing.

Ironically, I will be taking a reflective journey of my own "identitity" just as I ask of my students, as it is our current theme in Humanities. Several months back when doing some summer planning, I thought it was an apt concept for 8th grade, and it seemed to fit in well with the political and economic theories of the Enlightenment that we are studying; little did I anticipate what it would mean for me. So, the students may not always find my blog posts exciting, though I hope that my writing and my own explorations can be an example for them. The nice thing about being human and being conscious is that we have the ability to reflect and change. A former colleague signed off on his e-mail with this quote from the French painter, Francis Picaba, "Our heads are round so our thoughts can change directions." Amen.

The internal reflection also seems to stem from external chaos. Bangkok is a kick, I absolutely adore my students, and most of the time I like the school where I teach. After many years of being on auto-pilot, the school does have some serious updating to do, and every administrator on the campus is new within the last 14 months. So change is afoot - everything, at once - or so it seems. As an indefatigable teacher-leader and Head of Department, a lot gets heaped onto my plate, of course without direction. "That's where you come in," I'm told. So, I need help from not-yet-discovered and not-yet-friended friends. Time to get out there, and satisfy my (professional and personal) soul.

Picnik will be a great venue for continuing a conversation with my students about design and presentation, while having fun at the same time. This is my first time on a wiki, humbly trying to not mess the whole page up while simultaneously diving in.

**Ideas and Takeaways:**


 * Questions:**


 * Contacts**
 * ~ **Name** ||~ **School** ||~ **Email** ||~ **Twitter** ||
 * Torie Leinbach || Ruamrudee International School || teachertorie@gmail.com ||  ||