As we prepare to say farewell to one of our amazing coaches, Keri-Lee, let’s pause to be grateful for what will remain.
1. A stunning sense of design.
Keri-Lee has become synonymous with CARP. UWCSEA East has a lot of beautiful design thanks in part to the tremendous work KLB has done here.
2. A trail of to-be font geeks.
Keri-Lee has left a series trail of bread-crumbs behind for anyone even thinking (don’t!) of using comic sans. See here or here.
3. An awareness that technology can uncover empathy.
Use your tech for good. Here’s one of the ways KLB does just that.
4. A call to build better networks.
A school is all about the people. Keri-Lee has done so much to construct intentional networks. If you are one of the very few people who haven’t seen her exemplify just that, you are in luck, she has a fab resource compilation here.
5. An inspired cohort of student-authors.
Keri-Lee never ceases to see the potential in her students. Technology isn’t about gadgetry, it is about engendering opportunity. Her remarkable text here will inspire you to do the same.
I'm so lucky to have worked with this lady for so long! And I'm even luckier to call her my friend (for even longer). I have too many #Keri-Lee-Legacies to type in this tiny box, but here are a few highlights:
1- traveling to Cambodia to train teachers using iPads, watching her magic at work as she deftly turned mathematics learning into OOHs and AHHs for the deaf teachers with whom we worked.
2- teaching me tips and tricks galore in using Google Slides in Google Sites — she knows every move there is, I guarantee it!
3- taking time to make sure that as a team, we know each other and appreciate how each of us works — she is skilled at this and makes sure we all care, dammit. Thanks for keeping it fun, real, and forever memorable. <3 <3 <3 You will be missed more than you know. Big. Gaping. HOLE.
Everyone and his dog will always be grateful to KL for her impeccable attention to detail (dare I say OCD?) and this applies not only to design but to videos, posters, presentations and the list goes on. She is so fastidious that it cannot help but rub off one you! It delighted me to throw some of her own advice back at her only a week ago! Design Secrets has got to have been the biggest impact on students and teachers alike. Not so secret now though!
KLB, it's hard to put into words how much you have taught me. From the very first day when you spent your lunch break showing me how to use Google Calendar to now, where I find it hard to fathom going a day without my students using technology to enhance their learning. Thank you for always believing in me, for always being willing to try new things and sharing great ideas. You'll be missed dearly, but your legacy lives on. So much of what I do is directly because of you.
Thank you doesn't seem like a big enough to cover it all. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for changing the way I teach and for shaping my future as an educator.
Always,
Laura
#Keri-Lee-Legacy My Keynote presentations have never been the same since klb infused her wisdom and sense of design in them. I still cringe when I see someone who hasn't had the fortune of learning from her. Thank you klb, forever in my Keynotes…and my heart.
I still remember when presented to the Board years ago with KLB and we were super nervous. We were still making the slides an hour before but there were amazing and we got some great comments !! style + substance #Keri-Lee-Legacy
Keri-Lee you are perfectly designed. 😘🎨📱✌️
You've helped so many children in your own class and way beyond.
Your brand of sharing truly is caring, and so many educators have benifited from your practical advice. You may be leaving one place, but your classroom walls have always extended way beyond any single campus, and I can't wait to keep sharing that journey with you xxx
I am so grateful for having worked with Keri-Lee the past year…though she has been digitally mentoring me since 2013! I was first introduced to Keri-Lee's amazing "Design Secrets Revealed" ebook several years ago and it changed the way I published with kids, coached teachers, and inspired my final Coetail project. I also appreciate everything she has shared with the #uwclearn, #edtech and #ade community as she pushes me to stay current, relevant and always think about the purpose behind tech use. Thanks for being a friend, teacher and coach!
Oh wow, I remember that vividly! We both survived to tell the tale. I think I talked to them about Google Wave! So ahead of our time! Thank you Andrew for being such a wonderful colleague.
CARPtastic, Rox! What can I say? You are a keynote master now. Thanks for being an amazing friend and colleague for all these years.
Jeez, woman, are you trying to make me cry?! Thank you for your fabulous positivity, enthusiasm for life generally, and technology specifically. You are someone who I would happily work alongside anytime, anywhere.
Thank you so much for your warm words. I always feel better being around you – such a positive presence in so many lives. We love you Nicki!
Before I met Keri-Lee, I saw her present effortlessly in front of an audience of a few thousand people at an ADE conference. Her keynotes were amazing, and her message was simple, design matters! Later I discovered that she is an amazing person to work with – caring, knowledgeable, generous, rebellious and hilarious. She has been a disruptive influence in the best possible way and has forced us all to rethink how we work. Good luck and please stay in touch! xx
So good with the words, as always, Adrienne! We have had a lot of great times here at UWC, haven't we? I mean, the #GeekSquad Amazing Race for one, and our time in Cambodia together of course. I think our DLC meetings are some of the highlights in my week. Thanks for being such a big part of it.
Cathy! My ADE Buddy! Will never forget that moment our iPads met across the room at the Institute in Bali! I'm so grateful that you are only a tweet away. Can't wait to see you soon in Melbourne. Thank you for being so lovely, as ever.
Thank you for being someone who puts up with me walking into your classroom at any given time! Your open door policy has been such a lifeline for me. I have had a place to try out my mad ideas, get some much-needed perspective and a dose of Jocelyn-calmness! I will miss having you just up the stairs, but I know you're never far away online. x
Ken, thank you so much for your sweet words. You have been such a positive addition to our team. I'm going to miss your wonderful accent, your incredible comp-sci genius, but most of all, your kind heart. All the best for another maniacal year next year!
KL
Everything techy I have learned from you! Thank you for being the most amazing mentor and friend. I have loved the opportunities we have had together to team teach. I will always think of you when I see comic sans in use or a presentation full of text. Thank you for inspiring me and sharing all of your amazing ideas. Thank you for always being on call 24/7 for all of those little techy emergencies that crop up every now and then. So grateful that the digital world will keep us close together. xo
I feel like I know you through the GLOWING comments from Tricia and Nikki about your work and I greedily hoard everything that you so generously share. I look forward to following you and your work as you take on Europe – just in time for me to leave! It is a new dynamic to Asia and I am looking forward to the massive impact you will have here!
Bahahaha! You were the one who taught me how to use Facebook! Do you remember? Belinda, it's always a pleasure working with you – even more so being your friend. I might even get you tweeting again! xx
Aren't you the best friend I've never met?! Can't believe you're leaving Europe now! Either way, I know you will continue to inspire me through your sharing online. Thank you for your generous words – they mean a great deal!
I have been incredibly lucky to have Keri-Lee as a colleague and mentor for the last few years. I honestly feel like I have learned something from her every single day. It has always been really easy to work with her as she is so knowledgeable about everything related to technology. I could ask her about a situation and she could tell me about the latest research and find something she had saved in her Diigo list. Her passion for using technology to support learning shines through in everything she does.
Like many other people have mentioned, my understanding for design has hugely benefited from working with Keri-Lee. My presentations, books and blog posts have never looked so good. You know you have been influenced by Keri-Lee when you can’t stand the default Arial font in a Google Doc and you just have to move the images so they line up perfectly.
She was also the person who encouraged me to join Instagram. I felt Instagram was a place where people put filters on bad photos to try to make them into something. Her advice was to make Instagram the space that I want it to be. I knew I wanted it to be a place for people to see that one could capture amazing images with the phone they had in their pocket and that is what I tried to do. Her advice rings true for so many online spaces – don't worry about what others are doing, make that space what you want it to be.
Keri-Lee has shown the patience of a saint teaching me all about the tech world at UWC. I really don't think I go one hour without using something she's taught me. Let me see: using a Mac, understanding Google Drive, engaging with Twitter (because if we don't tell the story, who will?), manipulating conditional formatting, presenting with Keynote, considering CARP, managing my phone settings, creating a CV…
Ah, the list could go on. However, what is most impressive? Keri-Lee manages to do it all with a splendid sense of style, poise and humour.
I met Keri-Lee at the ADE institute in Bali. You were my inspiration to get started in international teaching. Love the endless positive enthusiasm you bring to all that you do KLB. Hope to see you in Europe some time.
Mmmm. Where do I begin. Is it at Berkley where Bruce and I began this crazy educational journey or is it here at UWCSEA where I am now wiser and admit that all those times we politely disagreed, that she was probably right? The Keri-Lee-Legacy will live on in my teaching. Bruce has helped shape me into the teacher I wanted to become. Her continued support of all things DL and her enthusiasm for teaching an old dog new tricks, has been very much welcomed. Thanks to KLB, I will always feel a little sick on the inside when I spot a student using a rainbow coloured background. The 3-colour-rule alarm bell rings loudly in anything I now touch. As a colleague, I will certainly miss her inspiration when I am lacking in ideas and direction. As a friend, I will miss her more than she realises. I still can't believe this day is here. For those that are lucky enough to have her as a coach, mentor, colleague and friend in the future, they need to consider themselves blessed! All the best for the next chapter Bruce.
Thanks for your kind words Dave. It's going to be a big change not having a team of people to work with, but I will take away a lot of learning from you. My photography has never looked so good! I appreciate your attention to detail and attention to light. Thank you for being so easy to work with and such a positive person to be around.
Let's not get carried away, Steve! We both see more shades of grey (mostly in your hair, it's true) than we did back in our youth! Thanks for the warmth of your words, laced with humour (and a wicked, wicked laugh). I will miss you (and Katy) terribly, but will keep pushing for a visit in the Summer. xx
As a super-traveller, I know you will come and visit me sometime soon! At least, I'm counting on it! I will keep on being inspired by your incredible sharing online. Thanks for being a great friend.
Hey undercover movie star – you are my style icon! Thanks for the super-kind words, and for making me cry twice in one day! I so appreciate and value all the learning I have done from you. Most importantly, always presume positive intent. Thank you and enjoy your holiday!
Keri-Lee has empowered me to teach kids (and teachers) of all ages about design and how less is more when it comes to anything. Her books, blog posts and workshops have been an invaluable resources. Her feedback to students when I show them what KL said about their improved designs has made kids faces light up. Thanks for everything especially CARP and good luck for the future
Thanks for your kind words and for championing the cause, Geoff! I love it when kids "get it". Will keep looking for you in my Twitter feed!