Year 12’s First Impressions of Twitter.

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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:

“Wow, do you really have your own website?”

“This makes it so much easier.”

“If I don’t know what to do at home, I can just go to your blog, yeah? Cool.”

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

refer to what is going on in class without having to ask me
to catch up on work missed while away
to use the blog posts for their class as a checklist to make sure they have completed all work
to re-read any explanations they didn’t quite understand when I introduced the lesson

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?

7 Things You Don’t Need…

…to know about me, but might be interesting anyway!

Having been tagged by Graham Wegner and reading a few of these posts over the past couple of weeks, I decided that whilst sitting here in the shade in a nice breeze I might just join in the game.

1. Nick and I are living at my Mum’s at the moment. We are building a house about 20 minutes north of here in a suburb called Doreen (of all the ridiculous names for a suburb!). We are hoping the house is ready by the end of March, but not too sure.

2. In our wedding vows Nick promised to laugh with me and AT me, and I promised to be patient when he wants to buy expensive toys.

3. I cannot eat hot and spicy food no matter how hard I try or how good it smells. It’s just not in me.

4. I have wanted a Cocker Spaniel puppy since I was 7 and this year will be the year I get one! Hopefully Fred, the Jack Russell I have, will appreciate the company.

5. I used to play classical flute. Really loved it at school, and was going to try out for the Conservatorium at Melb Uni but changed my mind. Haven’t played for two years now.

6. I once worked at a Bingo hall calling back the numbers when someone said ‘Bingo!’ People were allowed to smoke inside. It was feral.

7. I love watching crappy romantic comedies and sometimes reading chick lit books because it requires absolutely no brain power whatsoever and that can be a relief sometimes.

Ah, now the time has come to tag others with this meme….<she delves into her Google Reader for ideas>…and so I tag (and apologies if they have been tagged before!):

I’m A Mechanic Apparently

He he, found this little website via a link on Twitter – run your blog through Typealyzer and it will tell you what sort of blog writer you are. The note at the top does say “writing style on a blog may have little or nothing to do with a person´s self-percieved personality.”

The text say: The independent and problem-solving type. They are especially attuned to the demands of the moment are masters of responding to challenges that arise spontaneously. They generally prefer to think things out for themselves and often avoid inter-personal conflicts.

The Mechanics enjoy working together with other independent and highly skilled people and often like seek fun and action both in their work and personal life. They enjoy adventure and risk such as in driving race cars or working as policemen and firefighters.

Race cars and firefighting! Who’d've thunk it?!

The Middle of Everything

Over the past couple of years I have blogged and podcasted and wiki-ed, if that is even a word. Mainly I’ve blogged at technoLanguages as a LOTE (Language Other Than English) teacher, but next year I won’t be teaching Chinese, I’ll be teaching Politics and History (my other majors at Uni). So, the reason I’m resurrecting this blog is because it is for me as a teacher – not as a teacher of anything specific like technoLanguages, but just as a teacher. It’s also proving to be a good central point from where I can link to all the other things I’ve done and am part of.

I started this blog at the start of 2008 when I was having my online identity crisis based around the same thing I just mentioned – wanting to blog as an educator in general, not related to a specific subject. Then, that got a bit much so I just focused on technoLanguages. Now I’m back here, which must be confusing for some! I’m going to try to keep all the balls in the air – and see how I go with that!

Also, I was trying to think of a fancy name for this blog, but you can see I’ve just gone with my name. My interests may change and the reason for me to blog may change, but my name won’t so I’m just going to stick with that. I’ve got links at the side to all the different things I’ve done and am doing, and my most important and used profiles on the web.

Welcome to my thoughts. Thanks for stopping by