Pushing boundaries

I can't believe the last two weeks have gone so fast. We are nearly at the end of term one and I'm holding on by my fingernails. Last week was so crazy I didn't get to blog however I am back on track this week. 

Have had some small wins with all of my classes this week and I am taking them. Had a wonderful time with my older learners who were totally engaged in creating a Podcast. They worked wonderfully as a big team and they were really happy with the end result. This week saw them tackling Twitter and really having a go at understanding this new wave of technology. They really are a very inspiring bunch and I learn so many things from them also. 


Have been thinking about pushing boundaries for all my students. Have seen a real improvement in motivation with several of my classes and I have been reflecting on what I have changed. When teaching adult learners there is certainly more to consider than school students. They have less time as many of them have home responsibilities. However a few weeks ago I gave them all a motivational talk. I asked them to write down all the things in their past that had held them back from learning and succeeding. After about 15 min they scrunched it up or tore it up and chucked it in the bin. From this point on there has been a shift in attitude and motivation. 


In the last few weeks I have been pondering on this change. It has enabled me to set the bar a little higher in class because they are getting through the work. The discussion is improving, the group work and collaboration has been very beneficial and their marks are improving too. I was having a chat with one of my good friends and she pointed out to me that they had given themselves permission to succeed and so had I. The past is behind them and they are on this new journey. 


How wonderfully freeing it can be when we can put the past behind and enjoy the present.  

Adobe Captivate

Had a great day today learning about Adobe Captivate. I can see it has many good points but it is a very complicated piece of software. Would take a fair amount of playing to really get to know how it works. Time unfortunately I don't have at the moment. 


Tracey has come back with her first logo idea for the business but I am still thinking on it. I will share as soon as I have decided. I must make up my mind soon or else things will never get going. 


I have had a lovely time surfing the net off late and have come across a few interesting sites:-

27 Twitter Tools To Help You Find And Manage Followers

 

Essay Map

 

Protagonize lets you explore your hidden writing talent.


(If you click on the image and the link doesn't work please let me know.)


Until next week,
K

So many questions????

Ever since you can talk you are questioning what goes on in the world. It is a skill that is honed and developed over many years. Some questions are simple and require little explanation but others provoke deep, thoughtful and long term changes in people's lives. So can you teach critical thinking? Where and when is it appropriate to ask questions and ponder what might be? There have been great people in our history who have dared challenge the status quo and bring humanity to its knees before real positive change can affect the many. William Wilberforce sort to abolish the slave trade, Alexander Fleming examined and questioned the use of penicillin to save people's lives and Eddy Mabo challenged land rights for Australian Aboriginals. These people were driven by conviction and passion to provide alternative answers and to the right the wrongs for many.

Not all our students will become famous for their leadership of a generation but influence begins with asking the right questions. Critical thinking asks the student to 'take it up a notch' and go beyond what they can basically see. Inference and judgments can be used when they are exploring texts and images. Students must be allowed to ask the hard questions. Many students struggle to ask questions because of a fear of failure but this fear can be funneled to good purpose to allow the student to grow. True growth may be stifled and their answers become generic and familiar without the chance to take a risk. Creating platforms for students to engage in discussion has been taking place in schools since they began however it is not until life is lived that one realises how important these skills are in the adult world. Learning to walk and talk it fundamental to our growth but our ability to question and articulate our arguments are equally important. To have a voice that can be expressed clearly is one skill we hold onto for the rest of our lives. Confidence in asking good questions begins with trust in the classroom, with parents, friends and colleagues. A class that begins to debate and engage in critical thinking will benefit well beyond the school years. 

Such are my ramblings and thoughts for this week.


This week all the assessments were handed in and so I have spent much extra time marking and not as much time tweeting and blogging. I have begun to talk to some teachers about hosting a Teach Meet and there seems to be a good reaction so far. I am hoping this week find a venue for it and then a date. Must talk to Mesterman on Twitter who assisted organising  Teach Meet Sydney.

Here are my favorite links for the week,
Thinking tools:
http://www.cap.nsw.edu.au/thinking-tools


Teaching resources:
http://www.tes.co.uk/english-secondary-teaching-resources/


Blended learning:
http://www.cap.nsw.edu.au/blended-learning


Keep asking questions and seeking answer. 


Until next week,
K

You are what you share

What a great week. So many highlights. I am finding myself reflecting that God has been really good to me. 


Had the most wonderful lesson my with mature adult learners this week. I introduced them to the joys of Google Docs. All of them were able to make an account and create a document which they shared with me. I was able to comment on the their docs and then they were able to fix what needed correction. They had a real sense of achievement of not only completing a task by themselves but also in gaining a skill in using Google Docs. Many of them were going home to share with their families what they had learnt and had a real sense of pride about what they had achieved. I love to see the spark that pride gives learners and a sense of worth and achievement.



The highlight of the week was definitely Teach Meet. Twitter went crazy on Friday night with 300 teachers in Sydney. I had spoken on Twitter with many of these teachers in the past but were meeting them for the first time in person. Was so pleased to meet up with Vivien (@vivmat78) who started #ozengchat. So many other fabulous teachers to mention them all.  I am sure there will be many a blog this week commenting on what a wonderful night it was. 


The concept of Teach Meet arose from an Edinburgh pub. Teachers meeting together informally to share what was happening in their classes. The ideology of sharing knowledge free for the sole benefit of improving teaching and student learning is powerful and highly contagious. The basic format of the evening was listening to a series of presenters who spoke for either 7 min or 2 min about a range of topics. This went for about 3/4 hour and then there was a 15 minute break to chat and then on with the next lot talks. The range of topics was great; Google Docs, technology in the classroom, ipads, mobile phones for learning, twitter,  learning through gaming, fear of failure, resilience, motivation, enthusiasm, creativity... and the list goes on. My brain was buzzing with ideas at the end of the night and I am still processing all that went on. I am absolutely determined to get one going on the Coast. It won't be that huge but I will start with some of my teaching colleagues. 


Reflecting on the last week and the many conversation that were had I see that respect from students and staff comes not from your credentials but rather what is shared. Knowledge and life experience are both equally valuable in ones journey through life. The richness of this sharing determines both the quality outcome for both the teacher and the learner. Passion, heart and vulnerability can drive change that benefits all. Sharing with no strings attached allows freedom of thought and drives change. Keeping knowledge and experience to yourself can only impact the students that you see. How rich our teaching can be when we share with each other. Two heads are better than one is a good place to start. 


You are what you share. 


So talking about sharing here are my sites for the week:
Fabulous story for those who are studying Belonging for HSC
http://www.ted.com/talks/tan_le_my_immigration_story.html?source=twitter#.T1Kh6Fb5Iss.twitter
Have revisited Storify this week to show students web based media
http://storify.com/
Some excellent links from #ozengchat
http://paper.li/vivimat78/1326755129
Some writing prompts for creative writing
http://www.slideshare.net/jpinnuck/banksy-pictures


Keep sharing your passion and ideas. Until next week,
K

Imagination exploration

Well what a week. For the first time this term I have found a work life balance and have managed to leave work at work. Yeah for me. I feel this week I am getting into my teaching groove. 

I had a bit of a reality check this week when some of my lessons didn't quite go to plan. I am finding that adjusting to teaching adults is taking some time. At times I have assumed that they have skills when in reality they haven't used those skills in quite some years and they are a little rusty. So adjusting lessons to allow extra time for these things has been important. Managed to get one of my classes onto Google Docs. Really glad there weren't too many log in problems. They were writing a creative writing piece for me and I can see they were really getting into it. Some of them had written pages and came back during extra time to keep working on it! I decided while they were writing I should have a go to. I just wrote a short section. The picture I gave them was.... 

She gasped with excitement and shouted over the noise of the helicopter. "The islands in the sky are real!" 

Here is my first crack at it. Still needs some work....

Through the grey mist the sun streaked through the haze and the trees glistened as though covered in jewels. Rocky outcrops covered the island and goats grazed on coarse grasses barely noticing her arrival. Fleeting shadows darted between the rocks and they quickly melted back to where they came. The vines covered the trees in the lower canopy of the island and the jungle below was green and dense. As the helicopter hovered she took in the strange surrounds.  After the helicopter had left she was alone, excited and yet full of wonder and intrigue at such beauty. In the quiet of the moment she listened to the strange and eerie birds calls, water falls and insects. The scent was sweet and damp reminding her of an early morning deep in the jungle. The floating island was steady and one would have easily thought they were on an island back home. Now the islands had been found the Legend of Hsi Shu Wu had to be true too and the treasure beyond compare was now in her reach.......

Have had some more interest in my business and may have some potential work running training session for TAFE teachers in the future. Hoping to get my logo in a few weeks and then I can really get things moving. I can then get the website going.  Can then start doing some consulting whilst I finish getting my courses accredited by the Teachers Institute. Have also had some primary school teachers approach me for training. Not sure about this one but will get back to them soon. 

This week I need to really find some strategies to help some of my students gain confidence in creative writing. I also need to work on my class websites and have them ready to go as I am hoping to get my login at TAFE this week. I feel as though I am detached from the umbilical chord having no access to the internet at work!

Some of my favorite sites for the week are:

Visual literacy and film techniques:

http://futurestates.tv/uploads/lesson_plans/visual_grammar_of_film_lesson_plan.pdf

http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/short/gramtv.html

Nice Scoopit on Imagination exploration:

http://www.scoop.it/t/ukedchat-17-nov-2011

Some thought provoking ideas for critical thinking:

http://farr-integratingit.net/Theory/CriticalThinking/revisedcog-creating.htm

Hope you have a great week ahead. 

Until next week,

K

Inequality and Technology

During the course of this week I have really had to come to terms with the inequality in access to technology afforded to some people in our community. So much of what drives and excites me about teaching is this new wave of technology and I have been challenged and frustrated by the lack of access that some people have. I have really had to be creative to make sure that my students have access to technology. I feel very supported in my work to allow students to access technology however sometimes computers are just not available. 

There has been much money poured into schools to ensure there are Smartboards or Interactive Whiteboards are in classrooms but the same cannot be said for adult education. I have discovered that up until this term there are people who have no computer skills or have any regular access to technology. I have had to adjust lessons to accommodate those who need a little more time to learn using technology. I have taken my access to technology for granted and have really only begun to see how much those who do not have regular access to computers or competent skills suffer for their lack of education and training. 

Access to computers and technology is everywhere we look. Each week there are specials in the junk mail, advertising on the tv and billboards when we drive around. There seems to be an assumption that we are all connected either through computers, mobile phones or tablets. I have discovered this is not the case. I'm not sure what to do with this realisation but there clearly needs to be more access and training for all adults. For some students computers had not been invented when they were at school but for others they were always too expensive and so there was never a need to learn. How excited they are when they discover what potential lies in their gaining new skills and knowledge to use technology.


Will really have to think on this some more........


Have not had time to surf this week. Only a few ideas to share:
Some great ideas for poetry
http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/portrait.html


Some teaching ideas
http://www.theteacherbuzz.com/

Until next week,
K

Living the dream

It has been a great week but an exhausting one. Have met my students and they are great. They are such a diverse group of people. I didn't know that teaching adults could be so much fun. I can't believe they pay me to have such a great time. 


Was conscious off the fact that I was going to try and have a work/ life balance. Didn't go so well. Brought home work two nights. (Worked until 11 and got up at 5). Finding lots of distraction at work but feel I need to be there. First week is always crazy so I am hoping this week will settle down a bit. My work colleagues have been so helpful and I even had the opportunity to share some of my techno ideas with them. They are quite open to learning new things which is great. I feel like I am really getting a handle on what I need to teach and not feeling so stressed things. (Except for Tuesday morning when I was about to throttle the photocopier!!)


Have been taking a few more steps towards getting my business underway. Have set up the PayPal option for my website (when I actually make it). I saw Tracy from LPF -Level Playing Field Graphic Design to help design my new logo for my company. I want to do this right so I seeking help from those in the know. Taking one step at a time. 

I have finished the week feeling very blessed. I feel very excited about my future. I am loving my new job at TAFE and yet I am still very excited about the prospect of training teachers to use technology in the classroom. I really have felt like this week I am one step closer to living my dream. 

Now for this week's favorite links:
Had a little time this morning to surf the net. I enjoyed a reading 'The Magic Carpet' from this collection of short stories.



Thought this clip was so touching.



Cybraryman has spent much time collating education sites on the internet. This is quite an amazing resource for teachers. (Thanks for the tweet @vivimat78)
http://cybraryman.com/0_teachers1.htm


Needing inspiration for creative writing. Devianart is a great place to start. (Thanks for the tweet 7Mrsjames)
http://www.deviantart.com/


Hope you are living your dreams,
K

What is a work / life balance?

For me to be a day late on my blog post is rather unusual. I just couldn't squeeze in any time or had the energy at 9:30pm when I got home. I guess my work life balance is something I have to work on. I really enjoy writing my blog now and it is a part of the week that forces me to reflect and look forward to my goals for the new week. I am going to try and leave work at work as much as possible and not bring too much home. I found at the end of the week I was very tired but I didn't bring home mountains of work and was able to wind down a bit at night. Sometimes I struggle to sleep because I have ideas racing around my head at 2am in the morning but this week I was so tired insomnia stayed away. Getting the balance right is one of my goals this week. 


It has become clearer to me that my learning styles have changed over the years. I always new I was a visual learner but it really only came to my attention off late that I am someone who does not intrinsically motivate myself. I need encouragement and clear goals before I venture into the unknown. I am not a learner who gets a task and internally motivates themselves to complete the task. As I have been writing my programs this week my awareness has been heightened to consider all different types of learners and I have been thinking about how I can support learners like myself who at times lack confidence to get started. Let me give you an example... I was reading on the English Teacher's Association website that they were asking for submissions to run workshops at the annual conference. As you all know by now I love using technology and I thought I would be able to run a workshop on blogging and tweeting. I emailed my good friend Sally for her advice as she is a guru on these two things and she advised me to jump in the deep end and apply. So I have. Now I wait and see. If I was intrinsically motivated I may not have bothered with this step. A little extra encouragement goes a long way. It's not to say that I am looking for someone to stroke my ego I just need a little push to get moving.

Had a great day on Thursday helping out with the HSC enrollments. Was really great to meet the students and hear some of their stories. Have finalised my program and feel like I'm ready for next week. Have to finish writing a few other programs but all will be ready for classes this week. 

I need to get onto the Teacher's Institute this week and see what date I need to have my courses in for accreditation. I have finished writing the courses now and hope by next week to get them in. Must get my logo organised this week too. Working Mon, Tue, Wed so that leaves Thur and Fri to get back to my business. Wonder if I can get the work/ life balance this week. We'll see. 

Haven't had much time to surf the net but here's a few things I found this week:

Interesting blog about student engagement.

http://promotingstudentengagement.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/students-transformative-work.html?spref=tw

Great assessment task on 'Belonging' for those doing NSW HSC (thanks BiancaH80 on twitter)

http://www.scribd.com/doc/71680412/Belonging-2012-Assessment-Final

Those who are doing the Shoe Horn Sonata for NSW HSC there is a live production 

http://www.emuheightsproductions.com.au/productions_shoehorn.html

Keep finding the balance, until next week,

K