10th International Convention on Students' Quality Control Circles

Dear All,

We, as a team of eight, are going to participate in the 10th International Convention on Students' Quality Control Circles in India. The event will take place at Lucknow City Montessori School (CMS) which is UNESCO 2002 Peace Education Awarded and the biggest school of the world according to the Guinness Records' Book with 33 thousand students. The school also hold the award of the Best user of Technology in Education. We, as the Turkish team, are going there to take over the Convention Flag since Turkey is the hosting country of the 11th Convention. I believe we will have many photos and memories to share with you after our arrival. The photo shows the Ataturk Hall of the school which has 3000 participants' capacity.
One of my web pages http://www.kaliteokullari.com/ cannot be seen due to the problems of the hosting firm. The recent news concerning "2008 QOMER International ICT Seagulls Project" can be obtained from the addresses; http://www.bilisimcimartilar.com/ and http://www.qomer.com/ . If you are interested in my latest book, you can get the necessary info from this web address. On 5th December, at 10.00 o'clock we are mmeting at Moda Promary School concerning our "2010 Istanbul Eurapean Capital City Project: Bigg-İst". On 7th December, all the ICT Seagulls Project circles will be meeting at Microsoft building's Marmara Hall at 5.00 p.m. for the general training of İmece. Please, note into your agenda and register us through e-mails. As you already know, my mails addresses are: hayal@hayalkoksal.com & hayalkoksal@superonline.com .
With our Innovative Teachers and their principals, we are going to start the second step of The Microsoft Innovative Teachers Program. Through a 30-hour training they will finalize their training related to peer-Coaching and Leadership. After the completion of the program, those teachers will be the facilitators of the program for their schools and cities. The first training will be in rize between 11-15 December, and the second one in Erzurum between 25-29 December. In-between we wşll have the Feast of Sacrifice and meanwhile we are supposed to be carrying our house from Istinye to sarıyer. Wow! what a rush!
I hope you have a wonderful week with your family and with your job. Loves and kisses from Istanbul and Lucknow. :)

Hayal KÖKSAL

News of The Last Week

I start my blog by celebrating the Teachers' Day of my colleagues. I hope every single day of the year will be so special and fruitful for them. My another wish is to gain more teacher candidates out of the high school graduates. I hope every year more and more successful young people prefer being a teacher to having being in any other field. Whenever the teaching profession regains its proudful and respectful status when it were during the first years of the Turkish Republic, it is the time that we will not be searching better leaders any more! Our teachers, being the models of the society, should train future leaders.

A very successful Non-Governmental Organization of Turkey: Educational Volunteers (TEGV) has been participating in our ICT Seagulls Project for the third time. Each year more and more circles took part in it. This year 17 circles will be with us. We are very ahppy to be with them. I wish them a very successful project year.
The World Philosophy day was celebrated through a Conference yesterday at the Marmara Hotel. It was admirable to see young philosophers there. On the way of training thoughtful and fruitful new generations, it is essential to guide them to such kind of studies.
The symposium about the "Past, present and Future of Pera / Beyoğlu" took place at the Conference Hall of the Italian consulate. I could participate in the final session only which was directed by Oktay Ekinci. Prof. Dr. Sercan Özgencil Yıldırım and Dr. Doğan Hasol talked about the Future of Beyoğlu. There are many things to be done for the sake of Istanbul. I hope more and more Istanbul-lovers take part in such collaboration from then on.
I wish you a very nice weekend. If you ask me; I will be very busy with the preparations of our journey to India. We are going there as a team of 8 to take over the flag of the coming year's Convention.

Love and peace...

Hayal Koksal

The First Snow of the Season...

Dear Colleagues,

I was at Uludağ (a three-hour away mountain from Istanbul for the skiing-fans) for a two-day holiday and I met the first snow of the session there. Where as our journey to Bursa had started with rain but as we climed up the hill, we witnessed the wonderful view of snow. My photo is from there. I hope it is the sign of a productive winter season.
We feel excited as the days are apprtoaching to go to 10th International Convention on Students' Quality Control Circles in India. Our 8-member team will present 5 papers. I know that wonderyul event will be very beneficial for not only participants but also the organizers. The improtance of this event lies behind the take-over ceremony of the Convention flag by us.
Registration of ICT Seagulls Projects for Turkish teams ended but it is valid until the end of November.
This week there exists a "First Aid" Senminar by BUSOS at Boğaziçi University. On Friday I am going to talk about Village Institutions and Atatürk. This afternoon, we will participate in the Opening Ceremony of Bahçeşehir University's Peace Center. On Mondays, in my course at Boğaziçi University, students' circles present their projects every week. This week, three circles will talk about;
1. Examinations,
2. Memorization and
3. Compulsary education in Turkey.
From the junior classes of Educational Faculty, our students are learning to apply PDCA Mindset. Through this strategy they will created wonders in the near future. I have been proud of them.

Have a good week.
Hayal KÖKSAL

Atatürk and His Reforms

WE LOST HIS BODY ON NOVEMBER 10, 1938. HOWEVER; HE WILL GO ON LIVING WITHIN OUR MINDS AND SOULS WITH HIS REFORMS AND PRINCIPLES FOREVER.

My Final Book: "The Continuous Learner_Me"

Dear Colleagues,
Yesterday I signed my newly published book: The Continuous Learner 'Me' at the Tüyap Book Fair. I would like to appreciate my colleagues and friends who did not leave me alone there, especially Prof.Dr.Seçkin Dindar with whom I collaboratively work for the Association of New Generation Village Insitutioners. I present my deepest gratitude to him for his great support about the printing of it.
The name of the book: The Continuous Learner Me, with the support of the child within me.

Its aim: On the way of training "Quality citizens", to teach some constructivist strategies to children through a language they can easily understand and also to provide a section for the parents who are not well informed about the new curriculum which was prepared for the elementary and secondary schools recently. The Curriculum Academy of QOMER has presented the content of the new curriculum to teachers and administrators for two years but the students and parents seemed to be ignored. I aimed at removing this gap from the educational community.

The income of the first edition will be given to the Association for Continuous Improvement (Sü Ge Der). Its price is 15.00 Turkish Liras. There will be a reduction at the price at collective shopping. The Bank account is provided to those who would like to obtain the book. We are open to proposals about the translation of the book into other languages.

I wish a happy and fruitful week to you. With love and peace...

Dr.Hayal KÖKSAL

Registration for the 5th International ICT Seagulls Projects goes on...

Dear All,
Coming back to our homeland is a wonderful feeling! Although the aim of the trip is sharing and caring, each time we leave our hearts and minds at home.
The photo belongs to the 3rd Microsoft Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum. In Helsinki we were together with more than teachers and experts who were presenting 70 technology-based teaching-learning. The cold weather could not affect the warm feelings of collaboration. The Turkish innovative teachers Ahmet Saim, from Çorum presented his "Virtual Journey" project while the other innovative teacher_Nilufer from Ağrı_was sharing her "Leading Future Leaders via project-based teaching" project. If you are interested in all these projects, please contact with us.
5. International QOMER ICT Seagulls Project registration is going on for more than 10 days. Please write to us if you want to participate in the project competition. You can either send your application forms through e-mail (hayal@hayalkoksal.com) or fax +90 212 276 51 64. The English Broshure is attached. Have a nice weekend.
Hayal Köksal

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