Final three days in New Zealand were busy with work meetings and trying to keep up with online teaching and email.  Lots seemed to happen immediately I left which needed sorting out in one way or another.

However we still had time to meet with Sara Archard in the early years team here – lots of synergies and inventive uses of technology. Caroline went to observe Noeline teach and I met with Paul Cowan who took me through the ed-linked site and the various innovations that we need to hear about back at the IOE.  It was really very good stuff with a simple podcast link and upload facility for iTunesU if required.

In the evening we were taken to dinner by the Faculty up in Hamilton at the Victoria Street bistro.  Wonderful food and great atmosphere; we were joined by Garry and Helen and I had a chat with Bronwen Cowie Dean of Research and others.  Hosted by Russell Yates. A nice evening…

Thursday 28^th was also busy – though we thought we’d left time for preparing the Faculty talk for the final afternoon the next day…very hot morning over in the campus with meetings again – I visited Screen Studies Dept and met wit Geoff Leland, known to Cary, Andrew and David and many others. He bought me lunch and we chatted about mutual interests and also about one of his projects looking at Shirley Temple contests; he’s building a website about it and going to California soon to research it on the ground.  I didn’t get to meet Gareth Schott this time but I found his door.

In the afternoon we walked in the heat up into Hamilton from the campus looking for a present to give Garry and Helen to thank them for everything they’ve done for us.  We visited the Art Post (thanks Terry for the tipoff) where there were so many nice things. We got them a glass bowl and Caroline also shopped for home.  Home later for pizza and beer with the family.

The last day was spent in meetings and preparation. We saw Sara Archard again and her partner Simon this time – with some swapping of news of Lee Green first.  They are escapees from SE12.  Good talk and then from there to the library balcony area where we worked on our colloquium presentation for the afternoon.  Seamless hook up to projector and speakers and we were away with Caroline talking about work with CPD and research conducted for BECTA followed by me talking about LKL, MODE and DARE collaborative with examples drawn from two projects I’d been involved with – MMM and Computer Games…

Great talk and wind down in staff room afterwards with lots of great Waikato education people and lovely meal out in the evening with Garry, Helen and Jesse.

We’ve been very very very well looked after here…

The next day: Caroline back to London and me on to Australia…