Charli Wiggill

Born in the South African Bushveld, raised on a game farm and educated at Wits - my name is Charli Wiggill and I am the Operational Head and Head of High School at Curro Heritage House in Durban, South Africa. I manage the high school and advance innovative 21st century thinking skills through professional development of our staff.

Facilitating an international Adobe Youth Voices online course for teachers offers opportunities for meeting educators and understanding many cultures from around the world. This international training also creates opportunities for my pupils. They get to collaborate with teachers and classes from all over the world.

I have been a Microsoft Innovative Teacher finalist three times previously and represented South Africa at the Pan-African round in Mauritius in 2009. A project of mine - 'Pay it Forward for the Blind' - was adjudged to be the most innovative school-based project in South Africa in 2012. I represented South Africa at the Pan African round in Morocco and the project was selected as one of the winners. I was then selected to represent Africa and the Middle East at the Global Forum of the Partners in Learning in Prague in 2012 as a finalist. The project was well received. To date, I have been awarded the status of "Microsoft Expert Educator" for a number of years since 2012.

In South Africa, basic education has an increasingly dubious reputation because of inefficiencies, mismanagement and state bureaucracy. However, I believe that we are on the cusp of the most exciting times in the world of education. The Dickensian classroom which still exists in many parts of the world is being challenged with increasingly sophisticated yet user-friendly gizmos and software that cater to almost every wish and whim any learner or educator may require. What is particularly exciting is that these programmes can be used for genuine education purposes - lessons and projects rooted in rigorous academic principles, not just the stuff of "candy floss".

I am also a dad (and husband), a semi-retired gymnast, a wannabe poet, a sometime pianist, a photographer, an online facilitator and so on - oh, and certainly not a victim. If there is something that drives me crazy, it is victim mentality. I believe we should live this life of ours to the full - grab every opportunity with both hands and devour these precious moments for posterity.