Adventures Online

http://www.netagency.co.uk/keyedin2/adventure.html

Had a little play tonight and found this great math website while I was researching area and perimeter. There are so many great resources online that I hadn't been aware of.

Holiday Highs and the AEU Conference

I must say it is hard to not enjoy this small sabbatical from the hectic pressures of the final practicum round, with the endless lesson planning and skipped lunches... although how much of a break it really is with pending assignments and teacher conferences to attend is debatable :-D

Today I attended the AEU conference and an ICT session run by Michael Miller, a teacher who specialises in it. He talked about the fantastic ways he has incorporated ICT into his school and showed us a clip of the daily news service that his students research and then present for others at the school.

The session focused on teaching us how to create a “Digital Picture Story Book, in which students write and then edit a story for publication; and guided us through the process. He explained how with the use of Microsoft powerpoint, a student can type up their story, and then scan and insert their illustrations to create a picture book. He introduced "Flip" video recorders, (which I had not seen before)and which plug into the computer via a usb port.Students can use these to record their voices and add it, so that each page can be read out loud. I thought it was a wonderful idea and will definitely have to track one of these flips down for myself.

It was wonderful to see how easy it is to incorporate ICT in the class and inspired me to think of ways to follow ideas like this through and not be the teacher who just doesn't make time or thinks it too hard...

Practicum - The Pressures and the Pleasures

Practicum ... that final test for us all ... and I guess, the chance, for us to make sure that this calling is one where our hearts lie (for the moment anyway). I mean, after all, isn't teaching supposed to be a path as of the sun through the heavens? An uplifting experience in which our successes make a difference, touch people, change people. One can not argue that practicum is designed to test our strengths and reveal our weaknesses; to challenge the way we cope with this crazy, busy, tricky, loud, exciting and rewarding journey of educating the young minds of the future.

I must say, it is hard to look at the six computers in my room and not hear Greg's voice telling me to turn them on as I enter each morning. As it is not my classroom, I leave them switched off and keep quiet at the missed opportunities during the day for even a quick interaction with them. It's not that they aren't used - they are, but only for the inane and unstimulating tasks of publishing a finished piece of work, that has finally met the high standards required to do so. It would seem that even a totally dedicated mentor teacher, like the one I have now, doesn't realise the opportunities they could bring to his teaching. It shouldn't frustrate me I know, but it does. It makes me realise how many missed chances there are to teach... and reminds me to not forget that.

And so, when it comes time for me to give a lesson ... the computers go on, and I have students google a phrase or a word we aren't quite sure of the meaning of ... I challenge them to not only come up with their own two word anagrams but also to find the best anagrams on the internet. I set up the data projector and share images and powerpoints to help them understand ideas of the explanation texts we are studying, to bring context to the content of what it is I am trying to teach.



Here are some of the images that formed part of the powerpoint I used to teach them about the explanation text on The Jurassic Period ...


I know it is just a start, but at the very least it is that. When I have my own room, my own students ... I envision it will be different... that daily blogging and web based learning will be an integral part of the way in which I teach. For now, that is enough...