@TeacherToolkit
Ross Morrison McGill founded @TeacherToolkit in 2007, and today, he is one of the 'most followed educators'on social media in the world. In 2015, he was nominated as one of the '500 Most Influential People in Britain' by The Sunday Times as a result of...
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How often is your work recognised outside of your sector?
On Friday 27th November, I left school early – I know, how did I manage it? – at around 5.30pm and attended the Vuelio Blog Awards at The Brewery in Barbican, London. On arrival, there was a glamour feel to the event.
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This event was pitched as an evening to celebrate the UK’s leading blogs; I was delighted to be one of 4 blogs to be shortlisted for education.
Connections and Celebration:
I met up with a colleague, friend and fellow-blogger Mark Anderson, also known as @ICTEvangelist. We had a great night celebrating together; spent much time discussing education, teacher-training and ICT. Mark is a man who knows his stuff and I continue to be in awe of his knowledge and application of ICT. Please follow and read his blog at www.ictevangelist.com. We took a few selfies and started to enjoy the evening once it was announced that no speeches were to be given.
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Education Nominees:
The 5th category of the evening was education.
Nominees included;
The Winner Is:
I won! What a lovely recognition of the hours and hours I have spent reflecting online and sharing the work that I do. It is wonderful to be recognised on behalf of the education sector. There was such a wide range of categories. My particular favourites being;
Speech:
This is roughly what I would have said if I had been given the opportunity to say thank you.
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It is wonderful to receive this award on behalf of the education sector for blogging. I’d just like to say a few simple points. In the room, we all have something in common; everybody here went to school. Everyone here will have an opinion of their own schooling and on education in general. Most of all, everyone will remember a great teacher in their life and be able to recollect the things their teacher inspired them to do; the things they may have made, or some of the conversations that help shape the person who they are today.
We all have a teacher to say thank you to for this … and because of great teachers, our children are receiving the best education in this country that they have ever had. Ever. And now, because of web 2.0, the blogging world is an unknown quantity to all of us and everyone here in the room is starting to see the impact blogging can have on people across the globe. Web 3.0 is yet to be discovered. Blogging – as a teacher – has given me the headspace to reflect online, away from a busy classroom. Teachers need this space because teaching is an incredibly exhausting thing to do. I blog because I like to unwind and share the work of great teaching and our fantastic state-school system. This is now resulted in sharing my work with others widely across the world, sharing best practice and the dispelling a few myths created by policymakers and the inspectorate.
One of the outcomes, is recognition such as this, this evening, But more importantly, for me, is that we can now start to collectively challenge government policy; challenging white papers written by politicians who have never stepped foot in the classroom since they were a child. We now have a voice … It is wonderful that blogs are being recognised nationally and internationally; particularly in the field of education. What is more pleasing, is that all of our blogs can help share best practice; help others in need, and in particular for me, help other schools where it is difficult to get out of the classroom and connect with others. This is what is now helping shape the education landscape; teachers who are in control of their own destiny in the midst of a battering from the media and political claptrap.
Thank you Vuelio and congratulations to my fellow nominees. Keep up the blogs and have a great evening everyone!
Photographs:
Here are some photographs of the event.
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Thank you
Vuelio for a lovely evening, and thank you to all my readers for choosing to read and follow
Te@cher Toolkit.
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CONGRATULATIONS, it is definitely well deserved! So glad to have discovered your blog. I am currently travelling and I can’t wait to implement what I have learned upon my return to the UK! Well done again, please keep posting! Dan
Thank you Dan.
Well done, Ross! Sounds to have been a great event. Glad Mark was there too. Have a great Christmas!
It was an amazing event; topped off by the award. A real eclectic range of categories. Happy Christmas.