In A Damn Good Mood Cause I Said No

Ah, well, finally this morning I started taking a bit more control on what has turned out to be a crazy term! On the way to school I actually got a couple of audio blog posts done, and so now I just want to write on my blog all day! There really is nothing like a good bit of reflection to get me grounded and keep me a bit more realistic. One of my biggest faults I think is that I set ridiculously high standards for myself and what I am going to get done, and then of course there is the disappointment when those standards are not reached. I find that just sitting and reflecting really helps me to get a grip on what is more realistic and it’s also time to realise that while not all of my lessons are perfect, I am doing a pretty good job most of the time. 

So, I’m in a damn good mood because today I feel as though I have a grip on things! Woo hoo! I’ve still got a lot of work to do, but just being able to write and talk about the frustrations I’m having has made me feel so much better. I have done something this year that I have never been good at before….saying NO! OMG. A rather amazing feeling. I have knocked back two offers for paying gigs on IWBs, have not signed up to present at any conferences yet (way too many of them last year! Great fun to present, but so much time needed to prepare…), and have removed myself from a few networks to which I was contributing nothing anyway. Oh, the honesty, but the relief when I sit back and think that I don’t have to worry about doing this or that. It is just enough to have the workload I have (which with 4 new subjects, 3 of which are VCE) and get through that. It is OK to be human and not be part of every single thing that is going on – as nice as that would be. I just know that I have to do the best by my students and if that means I don’t have time to:

then so be it. I do have to make time for reflection, cause that seems to be the thing that is going to take me forward at the moment. So, again, I’m in a damn good and relaxed mood cause I am reflecting, being realistic and saying no.
How are you feeling?

Image is reflections (A)

Back Into The Swing – Again

Mobile post sent by jessmcculloch using Utterli. reply-count Replies.

Lesson Planning on a Blog

Earlier this week I established my classroom blog which I use for all of my four classes. The students just select the category for their class to see the posts relevant to them. Apart from kids forgetting the URL and needing to ask too many times, it has worked really well. If I run out of time in class, or if kids forget what the homework is I just tell them to find it on the blog. A few comments from students have been:

I’ve told my students that they are expected to use the blog to

I’m using the blog as my lesson planning tool as well. I don’t use a big heavy teacher’s planner. I usually nut things out with a pen and paper (in very messy and fast handwriting), formulate it into some sort of organised list and then write up a coherent post about it for the students. I have also got on the blog Unit outlines for my Year 12 classes (with my Year 11 and 10 ones to come soon).

I will often get my students to respon to questions by leaving comments on the blog, which I have already done once for this activity which asked students ‘What Is Technology?’

I’m hoping also that my classroom blog will show my development as a teacher in how I plan my lessons and what sort of activities I get my students to complete. The real reflections on all of that will happen here on this blog, but the examples will probably all be there. My students won’t be writing on the blog, but I’m planning that at least one class will have their own individual blogs, and maybe two classes will be involved on a ning network. See what develops there.

Have you got a classroom blog? How are you using it?

A New School and New Goals

This year I started at Coburg Senior High School as a History and Politics Teacher, a far cry from Hawkesdale P12 College in South West Victoria where I spent the last three years teaching Chinese. Hawkesdale is a very small predominantly Anglo-Saxon farming community. There are around 240 students at the school from Prep to 12 and I taught all year levels. At Coburg, there are about 220 kids, but only from Years 10-12. I’m not teaching any Chinese, and the students come from an amazing range of ethnic backgrounds. Coburg Senior has been open for two years and is really trying to make a different approach to learning work. Some great things about Coburg:

The staff and students are also highly respectful of each other and the students love that they are treated like adults. The Year 10s, who are new this year, might take a little while to settle in to how things are done but they are a good bunch and will ‘get it’ soon enough.

Both staff and students are expected to keep a digital portfolio of the development of their learning. I intend to use this blog as a basis for that so hopefully I can get some external thoughts and comments helping me along my way.

I haven’t really thought about it enough to set them in stone, but my goals for this year are (apart from getting my kids through their VCE courses which are brand new to me too!):

The subjects I’m teaching are:

So, assessment, thinking, choice, independent learning and self-directed learning are what I want to make sure I’ve got sorted. Of course I have many other technology realted goals such as learning how to use GarageBand properly as well as a whole host of other Mac programs, but I’ll manage them fine.

If you know any classes doing the same or similar things I would really like to get in touch with them. Please pass on my details!

What are your teaching and learning goals for this year? How will you go about achieving them? Advice,  suggestions and resources to help me with mine are very welcome :-)

Technology Through The Ages Assignment – Suggestions Wanted!

At Year 10 I teach a subject called ‘Race Around The World’ which is a cross of history/geography/whatever else all tied together by an essential question. I am working with another teacher and this term we are creating a unit on technology. The reason for this is that the school we are at, Coburg Senior High School, has a great emphasis on using technology discerningly to create and extend learning opportunities for the students. There is lots of computer access – both iMacs (desktops) and MacBooks (laptops) – open plan learning areas, nothing is blocked (well, almost nothing and working through the new firewall restrictions!), and all staff are encouraged to create podcasts to deliver lessons, keep a digital portfolio, and use as much technology as possible (but questioning what is good use and what is just unnecessary).

For this unit on technology, our ‘Engage’ phase this past week has seen us get the kids to create a Wordle on their definiton of technology, take photos with their phones of the technology they find around the school and bluetooth the images to me, and to complete a survey on what technology is, what they own, what they want to own etc. You can see the results of the survey here:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pcCGhlERvyQ7Ud2QZc3XcLA

This week, after we do a bit on what their definitions of technology were and what answers were given in the survey, we are going to give them an assignment to find out about technology through the ages. This work will involve the kids working in groups of 3 to research 3 different and significant developments in technology in a given era. Here is the assignment. I would really appreciate some feedback on how I can take it all just that step or two deeper. This was originally written last year by another teacher, but I have changed it slightly to suit our class.

technology-through-the-ages

Technology Through The Ages

AIM – The aim of this assignment is for you to explore how technology has developed over time. This may challenge or confirm your current understanding of what technology is or isn’t, and this assignment will give you the change to reflect on that. By completing it you should be able to discuss what you understand the meaning of technology to be and give some relevant examples.

In groups of 3 you are required to research the major technological developments of one of the following eras:

➢    Cavemen to 800s
➢    800s to 1500s
➢    1500s to 1800s
➢    1800s to 1900s
➢    20th century
➢    21st century so far
You need to include the following information for 3 significant items created in your era:

•    Describe what the invention is
•    When was it invented
•    Why it is so important (in other words, justify why you feel it is one of the most significant inventions)
•    What it meant for the world as we know it today

•    In your presentation you also need to include a definition of technology. You can use the Wordle you created if you like. After you have completed your research, think about whether or not your understanding of technology has changed. Comment on this somewhere in your presentation.

You must use a minimum of 2 websites for your research on each item. Don’t just rely on the information you find on one site. Make sure you note the website you source material from on the bottom of the keynote slide. Directly after the website write the date accessed, for example:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inventions accessed 8/02/09

Format: Use Keynote to put your presentation together. Your presentation needs to include a voiceover – and all of the voices in your group need to be heard. Then export the presentation from Keynote to Quicktime, creating a movie file.

Submission: Your completed presentation is due by the end of our last class for this week. You need to upload it to the RATW folder on StudyWiz. Your final presentations will be uploaded to TeacherTube and YouTube. Students and teachers from around the world will be invited to comment on your work. You will also be asked to view and comment on your classmates work.

NOTE: Please DO NOT use your surnames on your work. First names only because they are being uploaded to the internet.