For the last 2 days I have been attending and occasionally assisting in the initial Technology Access Foundation STEM Institute. It has been both informative and a pleasure to interact with my professional peers, many of whom are getting ready to introduce project based learning into their practice for the first time. There will be several opportunities over the course of the next academic year to check in and follow up with participants and I am very excited to see how they and their students will be applying what we have covered this week.

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With all this terrific work going on around me and all that I am learning in the moment, a piece of my mind is meandering and focusing is challenge. In about 24 hours, I will be heading to the airport and Fiji bound where I will be spending the next month touring the islands, visiting friends, and conducting a workshop for rural teachers from a nine district area. While I am in Fiji, I hope to visit several schools, both rural and urban, to gain a greater understanding of the Fijian educational system and what kinds of approaches and methodologies teachers are currently employing. With so much to see and do, I am most excited about meeting the staff and students at Nolotawa School where last year my son Wolfy had the opportunity to deliver music instruction to a group of younger students. The warmth and generosity of the Nolotawa community made a profound and positive impact on my child and  I am grateful that I will be able to thank everyone in person for their kindness.  While I am at the school, I will be delivering several computers as well as other materials and hope to work with staff to design some environmental science investigations and experiments to be done in tandem with the TAFA 7th grade so students on both sides of the Pacific will have a unique opportunity to make personal connections and work via the internet on projects that will involve collaborating, analyzing, comparing, and contrasting their findings.

Big month, big week, big 24 hours – wish me luck!