Judy OConnell

Leadership for Global Learning A reflection on Higher Education

Experiences in Australia.

Judy OConnell is an education professor and Program Director for the School of Information
Studies at Charles Stuart University. Judy has experience in graduate classes, undergraduate
classes, education classes, information programs, elementary, secondary and tertiary
education. Judy has a strong focus in technology in education. Judy previously worked at St.
Josephs College as the head librarian and at the Catholic Education Office as an Education
Consultant. Judy is a passionate teacher who uses social media to share knowledge to an online
learning community with various levels of education.

My Journey
Judy started teaching later in life and because of this she was presented with opportunities to
take on leadership roles as a new teacher. When she first started computers were not as
common as they are today and she only had access to one computer. This computer was used
by Judy to implement technology into her classroom to support the curious and inquisitive
minds of her students. Judy feels that it is because of her vast technology interest and practice
with computers that she moved disciplines to information science and then on to a librarian.
Towards the end of Judys career, she is starting teaching in a college environment. She was a
professor for undergrad and graduate studies as well as a course director. She focused her
courses with the idea of global education integrated into the program because it is so beneficial
for those within education.

What Does Being a Global Educator Mean to You?

Judy tells us that, to her, being a global educator is all about how to stay connected. Whether it
be to people, ideas, and passion. As a global educator, it is important to be cognizant of
cultural, socio-economic, religion, country, and regions of the people or ideas we are working
with. This mindset does not happen in just a moment or automatically in an education setting.
Although we must be careful and respectful of the values and beliefs of those around us, it is
much easier in this age to be connected to other people in so many ways. It does not take a
specialist to develop a global focus in his or her classroom, it is open and easily accessible by
any educator. One of the most important things we can take away from a global education is
the connections we make with ideas and especially with other people. These interactions help
us to empathize with one another and to remain respectful of other cultures and ideas.
Global Connected Learning
Information is the key to the future and the crutch to the present. It helps with creation of the
web and its other forms of engagement. Global connected learning gives students a basis to
break out of the normal learning environment. Students will learn beyond the classroom and
community. The students may also use social networks to connect with others around the
globe. Communication is so much easier and more accessible through technology. This
technology helps us to gather information to build up our knowledge systems. There are two
sides to technology with one being that we can communicate and share ideas in an easier way.
With every good side usually comes a bad side, the divisiveness of technology. Now that we
have so much technology that we use in every day culture we often fail to hold actual
conversations with those immediately around us. We need to carefully balance technology and
human interaction. Global connected learning must include various technologies, data, ways to
share and retrieve information, and communication. Judy tells us that normal projects and
collaborations may not be as beneficial as those with global interactions. With an education
focus, it is instrumental step to join international organizations to educate yourself and because
of Judys affiliation with an organization called ISTE she had the opportunity to take a group of
students from Australia to ISTE. She could take the students to visit classrooms in New Zealand,
Google, and Apple. Judy says that, because of her involvement in different organizations such
as the International Association of School Librarianship, she could visit many countries and
make connections with different people of different cultures and that has been the most
humbling experience for her.

My Daily Workflow
Judy works daily to connect in participatory environments and yearly to participate in global
discussions of projects. In 2009 Judy wrote some sort of journal that depicted what she did
every day and how she was still globally active. She reached out and connected to someone
outside of the school in some sort of way. She remarked that in 2015 her day looks completely
different than when she first started or even from just a few years ago although her global
connectedness has not really changed other than being more connected online. Daily Judy uses
her mobile devices such as: MacBook, iPad, iPhone, and others to connect online. Since she has
such movement in her job she uses tools that are online so that way she can access them from
anywhere. The tools she uses are: google apps, diigo, dropbox, SlideShare, Twitter, Facebook,
etc. It is hard as a global educator to be able to keep up if you are not using these on the go and
ever changing online tools.

Challenges of Global Connected Learning

One struggle for education is that it is hard to introduce new ideas to people who are set in
their ways or people who already have preconceived ideas. Students need to take learning into
their own hands and learn to think critically, create connections, and work with others. The
knowledge they discover can be shared with other global educators via social media and
various other collaboration methods.

Teacher Education in Australia Today

Australia has a large range of undergraduate and graduate programs for those who want to be
a teacher. They have face-to-face classes in the large cities in Australia. Australia also offers an
online portion of the classes but they must meet Australias quality specifications. Since these
classes are monitored for high quality students can be confident in their preparation. Education
classes are ever changing because they are all based on current events and legislations. The
classes are designed to prepare the student for the classroom by allowing them to have hands
on experience. Teachers want to transform the learning that occurs for the student. In the
college programs the student is responsible to be the best teacher they can but also to be a
professional. In today society technology runs our knowledge base system. Technology has
changed the way we think, see, and do things. It allows us to communicate with one another
more proficiently. This technology requires us to be able to adapt and work with one another as
we consider each others differences. Judy created a new degree program that is given in the
online format and allows students to understand the concepts of the core classes as well as
using the technology. The program is made to be able to add to your professional networks as
well.

My Goals
Judy says that we as educators should have open ideas and be ready to cover anything. We are
to collaborate with one another to make great global educations. Judy says that there are not
many technologies that she hasnt been able to use yet and these are things she has used to
speak to employers with.