Margaret Meijers is a classroom teacher and Manager of ICT Learning at Taroona High School, a government school for students in grades 7 - 10 in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.  In 2010 Margaret is teaching Computing to students in grades 9 & 10.  She is also teaching online classes in Game Making to gifted grade 5, 6, 7 & 8 students from schools around Tasmania  through the Tasmanian Department of Education CELO Online extension program.

 
Margaret uses a constructionist heutagogical approach to teach through game development and other new and emerging real-world applications that bring learning to life for students.  She believes in using technology to create powerful learning environments where ICT tools are used for collaboration, to enhance thinking skills, engage students and help those with special needs to learn.  To deliver and support her teaching Margaret develops extensive web-based resources and these are used extensively in classrooms around the world.

2006 World Microsoft Award

In 2005 Margaret was selected as one of two Tasmanian representatives to attend the Microsoft Asia Pacific Innovative Teachers Conference in Seoul.  From there, Margaret was selected, together with Matt Hardy from Adelaide, to vie for the worldwide Microsoft Innovative Teacher Awards in Philadelphia in November 2006. 

There she was one of just four teachers from around the world who were singled out for special recognition for their innovative teaching practice. 

 

Teaching Australia Award

Margaret was the 2006 winner of the prestigious Teaching Australia Best National Achievement by a Teacher.

Hardie Fellowship

In 2007 Margaret was awarded a Hardie Fellowship, which allowed her to further increase her knowledge by undertaking an 8 week study tour in the United States.  On this tour Margaret studied uses of ICT that would promote student engagement and help develop higher order thinking skills.

2007 Tasite Educator of the Year and ACCE/ACS National Educator of the Year

Margaret is the 2007 Tasmanian Society for IT in Education (Tasite) Educator of the Year, and has been further recognised as the Australian Council for Computers in Education (ACCE) and Australian Computer Society (ACS) National Educator of the Year for 2007.