I’ve just arrived back from a visit to the West Coast of the South Island, working there with principals from the various secondary schools that are part of the WestNet cluster. Schools over there have had a bit of a pasting recently from ERO, but these guys are determined to bounce back and look for innovative ways of resolving some of the issues that have been identified.

I have to mention the facilitator of the WestNet cluster – Vicki Smith. This woman is amazing – not just because of the miles she clocks up travelling around all the schools in the region, but also because of her other online interest. Vicki is part of a small, international group of online artists known as Avitar Body Collision .

They use a product called UpStage , a new medium for online performance, theatre and storytelling. It is a web-based venue and tool for artists to compile different digital media for textual and audiovisual communication into a live performance, in real time, for online audiences.

Vicki and her team have organised events involving students from the West Coast schools using UpStage – read about these on the Avitar Body Collision Website.