School of Education and Human Services Interim Dean Bob Barnett Writes from South Africa: Day 1

UM-Flint School of Education and Human Services Interim Dean Bob Barnett, Ph.D. is in South Africa for a conference on education technology. Over the next several days, he will be writing about the topics discussed at the conference, as well as sharing his thoughts about (and photos of) his experiences in South Africa.

Welcome to sunny Durban South Africa, where spring has arrived along with friends and colleagues from around the world who have gathered for a conference on the use of technology in education. Participants in the five day event, hosted by Durban University of Technology, come from China, the United States, the United Kingdom, and provinces throughout South Africa.

In the coming days, we will share our experiences with you and the exciting, innovative collaborations that impact teaching and learning in a global environment. Some of our UM-Flint students have joined us as part of their program requirements in the Educational Technology Program. We will be visiting local K-12 schools, sharing ideas about our own successes in education with the next generation of students, creating poster presentations of student (and student alumni) projects, and presenting to each other on best practices in education technology.

Early this morning, we visited a local school of 1,200 students, learned about the K-12 partnerships that are opening doors for underrepresented populations of students, and toured the facility as students were taking their final exams of the academic year. Two of our current students in UM-Flint's EdTech program will provide their perspective on this visit and send along pictures that will allow you to share in our experience a half a world away.

We look forward to sharing our experiences with you in hopes of inspiring new collaborations that work toward our core mission of fostering excellence in student learning, faculty research and teaching, and in engagement with our local and global communities.

After 32 hours of travel and a full day of intellectual stimulation, we are all ready for a hand cooked African dinner and then some much needed rest. Until then, enjoy the first photos of our journey and check back often as we tally our experiences and share them with you.

Cheers!

Bob Barnett