About

Who I am, what I do, and why:

Welcome to connect. create. question. My name is Adrienne Michetti and I’m an international educator. Currently, I am an ICT and Learning Coach at the Australian International School in Singapore. Prior to that, I was in New York doing my M.A. in Educational Communication and Technology at NYU and had the pleasure of working with the talents at iEARN-USA and Teaching Matters.

For a long while, I also lived in cool places like Hanoi, Doha, and London where I taught English A and Drama in established IB MYP and DP schools. I’m also an MYP Workshop Leader and have done some commission work for a handful of MYP documents.

I’ve been in international education since 2001 (always IB) and I have lived in six countries since my career began in 1998. I’ve taught nearly every subject and grade level at some point in my career! I’m very fortunate.

I like to talk, write, and do things about learning, technology, music, writing, yoga, philosophy, and new ways of thinking, particularly in terms of applying creativity and problem-solving. My philosophy of education and learning has changed immensely over the years, and it continues to evolve through my interactions and experiences with others, both on- and off-line. Of late, I find myself feeling that most of today’s schools are out-dated and not doing enough to prepare students for the connected, inter-cultural, and problem-riddled world they inhabit. Change needs to happen in education and I am doing my utmost to be that change!

I have several research interests and they are subject to evolution, too. 🙂 One is the intersection of literacy and technology, particularly the instruction of writing. I continue to search for supported social environments in which adolescent learners can grow as writers; I’m at the point where I think I may have to build it myself. Another area I am interested in is how and why (or if) MYP schools implement technology integration on a whole-school level. I would like to see it addressed as a widespread instructional strategy or learning environment. Change is happening, but we still have a long road to implementation. The final research area I’m passionate about is Communities of Practice for teacher learning, and how digital environments can facilitate them. My thesis was this, and more and more I am thinking I may be designing and building something to support this in the coming months and years. It could easily be my life’s work.

My digital life is in many places; you can visit most of them via the links on the right. This blog is a (mostly) professional space for me. The complete picture of me is spread around the interwebz.

Blog purpose:

I choose to blog mainly to connect with others who want to engage in intellectual dialogue and push learning. I am not a political blogger, so please don’t come here for those conversations. You’ve been warned. [Disclaimer: my purpose may change at any given time, considering the evolutionary nature of blogs and all things educationally based!]

The blog title has to do with my core beliefs about education in the 21st century:

• We must connect — with each other, with the planet, or maybe just the dots.
• We must create — to solve problems, to express emotions, to build communities.
• We must question — because without asking questions, we risk working only with what we have, instead of what could be.

I also contribute to a blog at Triple A Learning, though admittedly I don’t post often enough there.

Connecting here:

Yes, this is my blog.  BUT, in the spirit of my purpose and philosophy, your ideas are very welcome here. 🙂  Without them, I’d have nothing to say! Please comment on anything that strikes your fancy. I have only one real rule: Please be respectful. If you wouldn’t say it to someone’s face, please don’t say it here. Although I believe in freedom of expression, I also believe in respectful and accurate communication. I will delete any comments I feel violate this rule.

Oh, and it’s always nice when you leave your URL with your comment. That way I (and others) can expand my learning network and see what great thoughts you are sharing, too! Rest assured that although e-mail addresses are needed for comments, they are never published or shared, though I may reply to you directly if need be.

Important Notes:

The views expressed on this site’s blog posts and pages are my own and do not represent those of my employer, my school, nor anyone else for that matter.  Ideas expressed in comments represent the views of the comment poster.  For more information, please read my complete Disclosure Policy.

All materials on this site other than images are currently licensed under a Creative Commons 3.0 license.  This includes comments, so please do not on this site post comments that you do not want licensed in the same manner.  Images are licensed under individual licenses posted with the images, as they vary from image to image.  (If not stated, please assume they are licensed as indicated when clicking on their owner’s hyperlink.)

Contact:

If you’d like to contact me outside of this space, please Tweet me, Skype me (adrienne_am), or send me an old-fashioned electronic mail: adrienne [dot] michetti [at] gmail [dot] com.