About
My name is Chris Betcher, and I’m a teacher.
As someone who has been in (and occasionally out of) education for over 20 years, I guess I have a few opinions on how I’d like it to work. And mostly it doesn’t work the way I’d like. I am particularly interested in thinking about how schools need to change to accommodate 21st century learners, how technology can be used to make learning more interesting, relevant, fun and engaging, and how technology should be used to support people, not drive them crazy.
I also have a wide range of interests, based on everything in general and nothing in particular… if it’s funny, interesting, curious or just plain bizarre, I will probably find it of interest. If I was a cat, I’d be dead.
I currently teach at a school in Croydon, Sydney, in Australia. I originally trained as an art teacher, but thanks to an interest in graphics and design I have drifted away from that role and into a variety of technology related areas including the teaching of computing and multimedia, professional development of staff in ICT, network administration and ICT coordination, and even some private consulting in educational ICT.
I have taken part in a number of online initiatives and global collaborative projects, and also spoken at various conferences and workshops around Australia on a wide range of ICT-related topics, including Interactive Whiteboards and Web2.0 technologies. I also produce a regular podcast called The Virtual Staffroom which looks at issues of relevance to teachers working with technology.
Feel free to drop me a comment or say hello…
Chris
PS: It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that the thoughts and opinions expressed on these pages are mine and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of anyone else, including my employer. If you take issue with anything I’ve said here, you’ll have to deal with me. Fair enough?
August 30th, 2008 at 9:30 am
[...] Chris Betcha is next to come on down and say a few words. Betchablog is just good on so many levels and should be compulsory reading for all teachers. Thought Provoking, well researched, passionate about moving learning forward, so generous with his shared resources and at times refreshingly controversial, because change needs leaders like Chris. [...]
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January 8th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
[...] other day Chris Betcher shared a range of views on this debate that echo my sentiments exactly. Beautifully. Please head [...]
July 17th, 2009 at 2:47 am
[...] conferences on the web–what a great concept! I chose Chris Betcher’s session entitled “I Like Delicious Things: An Introduction to Tagging and [...]
October 16th, 2009 at 11:29 am
[...] Below is a quick tutorial on voicethread created by Australian educator Chris Betcher: [...]