Well, we've been back at school for nearly 2 weeks now, and I am keen to get my boys in a lab to try some things, though this will likely have to wait until the seniors go on study leave. I've used my nifty little video camera a LOT, and I can't tell you how much nicer it is for that process to be so much simpler! Before, I had to 1. finalise video 2. upload to converter 3. convert 4. drop into shared folder 5. unfinalise video 6. format video. Now all I have to do is 1. upload directly from camera usb to shared folder! The boys couldn't believe it either: that they could go make a fast video and be editing it not only on the same day, but within moments!
As promised to the participants at my breakout session, the powerpoint has been uploaded to the ulearn site at Core-Ed. There are detailed speaker notes you can follow along if you print, but beware of the page numbers - you may wish to tell your printer to use B&W only.
Cheers,
Kelly
Showing posts with label ulearn09. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ulearn09. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
uLearn09 - Day 3
Wow! I'm sitting here with my feet up while my husband watches Australian Idol, suffering from something close to jet lag or culture shock. I can't believe I'm back at home after the wonderful time I had at ulearn09. Between meeting tweeple, learning about new uses in IT, and just plain having fun, I'm rather sorry to be home!
Last night about 35 of us waited outside the Southern Comfort Motel for the expected pick-up bus to the conference dinner. By 7.30 we decided it wasn't coming, so someone called a cab and they sent 10 to pick us up immediately. We'd missed the free bubbly, but our places were waiting at our tables, and we were ready to let our hair down. Dinner was well served and enjoyed, and so was the evening's entertainment. I pulled out my new toy (a mini video cam with a built-in USB. downloads straight to your computer as .avi. excellent investment of $255!) and made a wee video to show you here:
This morning the motelier asked me where we'd all been hiding, as the bus showed up there to pick us up for the dinner, 2 blocks away from the designated area! He then loaned me an umbrella and I ran off to catch Release the Edupunk in You with Glen Davies. We discussed the difficulties of meeting the needs of the students and the new curriculum with the administrative stranglehold a lot of teachers labour under. You can see some of what we discussed on Glen's wiki site.
Sadly, I had to catch a noon flight out of Christchurch, so I had to run away before they even had morning tea out. However, I have a lot of great memories, new friends, and a whole lot of ideas to trial in Term 4! I hope you had as much fun as I did!
Kelly
Last night about 35 of us waited outside the Southern Comfort Motel for the expected pick-up bus to the conference dinner. By 7.30 we decided it wasn't coming, so someone called a cab and they sent 10 to pick us up immediately. We'd missed the free bubbly, but our places were waiting at our tables, and we were ready to let our hair down. Dinner was well served and enjoyed, and so was the evening's entertainment. I pulled out my new toy (a mini video cam with a built-in USB. downloads straight to your computer as .avi. excellent investment of $255!) and made a wee video to show you here:
This morning the motelier asked me where we'd all been hiding, as the bus showed up there to pick us up for the dinner, 2 blocks away from the designated area! He then loaned me an umbrella and I ran off to catch Release the Edupunk in You with Glen Davies. We discussed the difficulties of meeting the needs of the students and the new curriculum with the administrative stranglehold a lot of teachers labour under. You can see some of what we discussed on Glen's wiki site.
Sadly, I had to catch a noon flight out of Christchurch, so I had to run away before they even had morning tea out. However, I have a lot of great memories, new friends, and a whole lot of ideas to trial in Term 4! I hope you had as much fun as I did!
Kelly
Thursday, October 8, 2009
uLearn09 - Day 2
Another amazing day at uLearn. You know, it's not just the wonderful speakers and presenters and vendors with cool toys; it's meeting up with other teachers who are all doing inspirational things with their students that is so much ... I'm at a loss for words here!
I had such a great day today, and the weather was grand, again! Went on a lovely walk through Catherdral Square and the river/park area and just relaxed for a bit before gearing up for breakouts.
Google Docs Innovate & Collaborate with Mark Callagher was informative (and he's got a great blog, too, check it out), and I enjoyed seeing what Mark's students are doing with it. I have used Google Docs myself, but mostly for my own creation/backup and also planning, but not really for collaborating. I have encouraged my students to use it for their work-in-progress and to get away from emailing files and bringing in virus-ridden flashdrives. Many of them don't know about it! Now I'll be able to lead by example. The last thing I did at school was have my Year 9s upload their Google Doodles to a Google Docs PPT. When they are all in, I'll share that with you. One aspect I really liked was how Mark's students have full access to his planning, and can book themselves in on presentation days. No more names in a hat & grumbling!
The second breakout was my own: Why Wait? Start Using Blogs and Wikis Now! (resources coming soon on uLearn site). Jo Fothergill (@KiwiJoe90) came by and helped me out, as I was in a Mac lab, and it was great to have her target the primary teachers, who use blogging a little differently from secondary teachers. The participants were just fantastic, and I am keen to see and share their work when they are ready to go! We also gave WikiEd a little push for the wiki training :O)
Resting up now for the conference dinner...and looking forward to another great day tomorrow before racing to catch the tin can home to Napier. Before I go, I'd like to congratulate Emma Sharland for becoming the new HOD of English at Napier Boys' High School! Congratulations Em! I've got a few invoices from the conference...
I'll see the rest of you tonight!
Kelly
Google Docs Innovate & Collaborate with Mark Callagher was informative (and he's got a great blog, too, check it out), and I enjoyed seeing what Mark's students are doing with it. I have used Google Docs myself, but mostly for my own creation/backup and also planning, but not really for collaborating. I have encouraged my students to use it for their work-in-progress and to get away from emailing files and bringing in virus-ridden flashdrives. Many of them don't know about it! Now I'll be able to lead by example. The last thing I did at school was have my Year 9s upload their Google Doodles to a Google Docs PPT. When they are all in, I'll share that with you. One aspect I really liked was how Mark's students have full access to his planning, and can book themselves in on presentation days. No more names in a hat & grumbling!
The second breakout was my own: Why Wait? Start Using Blogs and Wikis Now! (resources coming soon on uLearn site). Jo Fothergill (@KiwiJoe90) came by and helped me out, as I was in a Mac lab, and it was great to have her target the primary teachers, who use blogging a little differently from secondary teachers. The participants were just fantastic, and I am keen to see and share their work when they are ready to go! We also gave WikiEd a little push for the wiki training :O)
Resting up now for the conference dinner...and looking forward to another great day tomorrow before racing to catch the tin can home to Napier. Before I go, I'd like to congratulate Emma Sharland for becoming the new HOD of English at Napier Boys' High School! Congratulations Em! I've got a few invoices from the conference...
I'll see the rest of you tonight!
Kelly
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
uLearn09 - Day 1
It's been a full day here in Christchurch, and there are about 2000 people here! The vendors room has been jammed, and I had a great chat today with Ian from Toshiba. He told me which laptop to ask for (demand!) for next year :O)
This morning Anne Tolley, Education Minister, gave an exceedingly ho-hum (with no technology whatsoever, hello irony!) talk about how teachers "MUST" integrate technology into education. She did not give any indication how to do that with the massive cut in funding she has given us, so I guess we will struggle on as usual!
Following Ms Tolley's speech, Gary Stager from The Constructivist Consortium in the USA spoke about the 10 best things to do with a computer. The link is to collaborative notes in etherpad.
I've been to three breakout sessions today:
Podcasting Made Easy (using GarageBand) with Phil Callil. I possibly wouldn't have gone to this seeing how GarageBand is a Mac programme, but it was easy, and I think I can translate those ideas to PC with not too much pain, especially with help from my PLN on twitter ;-)
The e-portfolio with Lenva Shearing was an informative session on how to integrate the e-portfolio into the new curriculum. As we are overhauling our junior curriculum out of unit work and into themes, portfolios will fit in nicely, and I personally like the idea of efolios.
Blogging: Beyond the Basics with Dorothy Burt emphasised the importance of not just reading blogs, but commenting and creating conversation, as well as creating and maintaining one's digital footprint.
It's 5.20 pm now, and we're all still here, a little punch drunk with the wealth of information we've been given in 1 short day with 2 more to go, but full of eagerness and inventiveness. While I dread the walk back to my motel in my heels, I'm excited about my own presentation tomorrow: Why Wait? Start Using Blogs and Wikis Now! Narrated .ppt coming soon!
Enjoy the conference, and I'll see you at the conference dinner tomorrow night!
Kelly
This morning Anne Tolley, Education Minister, gave an exceedingly ho-hum (with no technology whatsoever, hello irony!) talk about how teachers "MUST" integrate technology into education. She did not give any indication how to do that with the massive cut in funding she has given us, so I guess we will struggle on as usual!
Following Ms Tolley's speech, Gary Stager from The Constructivist Consortium in the USA spoke about the 10 best things to do with a computer. The link is to collaborative notes in etherpad.
I've been to three breakout sessions today:
Podcasting Made Easy (using GarageBand) with Phil Callil. I possibly wouldn't have gone to this seeing how GarageBand is a Mac programme, but it was easy, and I think I can translate those ideas to PC with not too much pain, especially with help from my PLN on twitter ;-)
The e-portfolio with Lenva Shearing was an informative session on how to integrate the e-portfolio into the new curriculum. As we are overhauling our junior curriculum out of unit work and into themes, portfolios will fit in nicely, and I personally like the idea of efolios.
Blogging: Beyond the Basics with Dorothy Burt emphasised the importance of not just reading blogs, but commenting and creating conversation, as well as creating and maintaining one's digital footprint.
It's 5.20 pm now, and we're all still here, a little punch drunk with the wealth of information we've been given in 1 short day with 2 more to go, but full of eagerness and inventiveness. While I dread the walk back to my motel in my heels, I'm excited about my own presentation tomorrow: Why Wait? Start Using Blogs and Wikis Now! Narrated .ppt coming soon!
Enjoy the conference, and I'll see you at the conference dinner tomorrow night!
Kelly
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
uLearn09 - Live!
Here I sit in downtown Christchurch. The conference hasn't even officially started yet, and I'm already having a great time!
I flew out this afternoon, leaving a freezing cold and bloody windy Napier behind. The Christchurch sun warmed me through the airplane window even before disembarking. The shuttle was quick, and in it I met another Hawke's Bay teacher (Onekawa Primary)! Small world, isn't it?
Once at the lovely motel (Country Glen Lodge - spacious rooms, wifi, and sky tv, and very friendly staff - perfect!) I raced down to the convention centre for the 4.30 pm registration. It was already packed, and one nice lady was handing out free copies of Interface Magazine. If you haven't read Interface, I highly recommend it. Lots of tricks & tips for classroom use, and they make lesson plans too!
I then was able to catch up with a wonderful teacher here in Chch, Pauline Henderson, who attended my NZATE workshop. I am so happy to hear about her progress with technology at her school. We had a cuppa and a cake (excellent carrot cake) at the cafe round the corner and chatted until 6.30! Once back at the motel, I popped down the block to yummy Keo Thai - highly recommended! (Yes, I'm a foodie!.)
I am now ensconced in my motel room, surfing the net, checking my notes for my presentation: Why Wait? Start Using Blogs and Wikis Now!, and preparing to watch the season finale of Outrageous Fortune. More on uLearn09 from the bloggers' cafe tomorrow!
Kelly
I flew out this afternoon, leaving a freezing cold and bloody windy Napier behind. The Christchurch sun warmed me through the airplane window even before disembarking. The shuttle was quick, and in it I met another Hawke's Bay teacher (Onekawa Primary)! Small world, isn't it?
Once at the lovely motel (Country Glen Lodge - spacious rooms, wifi, and sky tv, and very friendly staff - perfect!) I raced down to the convention centre for the 4.30 pm registration. It was already packed, and one nice lady was handing out free copies of Interface Magazine. If you haven't read Interface, I highly recommend it. Lots of tricks & tips for classroom use, and they make lesson plans too!
I then was able to catch up with a wonderful teacher here in Chch, Pauline Henderson, who attended my NZATE workshop. I am so happy to hear about her progress with technology at her school. We had a cuppa and a cake (excellent carrot cake) at the cafe round the corner and chatted until 6.30! Once back at the motel, I popped down the block to yummy Keo Thai - highly recommended! (Yes, I'm a foodie!.)
I am now ensconced in my motel room, surfing the net, checking my notes for my presentation: Why Wait? Start Using Blogs and Wikis Now!, and preparing to watch the season finale of Outrageous Fortune. More on uLearn09 from the bloggers' cafe tomorrow!
Kelly
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