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The little things…

Neglected.

I believe that’s the word you’d use to describe this blog of late. Aside from the regular School’s out Friday posts (my saving grace, really), it’s been a barren wasteland for the last month or so. I shouldn’t beat myself up, because starting in a new position, even when it’s at the school you’ve taught at for years, is fraught with finding your feet and trying to establish credibility for yourself amongst your peers.

Me, I’m my own greatest critic. If I’m not moving mountains then I think I’m falling short. I’d love to say I’ve single handedly transformed peoples’ approaches to using technology in their classrooms within weeks, but you’d know I was lying. I’m trying hard not to beat myself up or place undue pressure on myself, but it’s proving difficult. What I have to do is tackle things in a systemised way, make some things a priority, and take heart from the fact that I’m doing what I can with the hours there are in a day.

A little thing I’ve done that I think might be a good start to building a learning community is to create a hashtag for our school and start curating Tweets in a Paper.li (it’s like a online newspaper). The hashtag is #tcplc (Toorak College Professional Learning Community) and the Paper.li created I send out in an email daily to staff. To help them determine if there’s anything there of import, I provide a brief summary of some of the posts/articles that have been curated. I’m very lucky to have a couple of other teachers at my school who are Twitter users, and they are helping with the curation. Hopefully we’ll start to see more teachers become aware of the wonderful professional learning opportunities available from the Twitter community and maybe, just maybe, some will sign up and become part of the curation process to benefit all of us.

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It’s a little thing, but it does take time and effort to curate those links. I’m an avid Twitter user (all my best learning happens or begins from there)  so it’s a great way to make that learning transfer to others who aren’t Twitter users.

Little things go on to become big things. I’ll try and keep this Chinese proverb in mind as the year unfolds,

“It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward.”

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School’s out Friday

I don’t know about you, but if I was driving while a meteorite broke through the atmosphere and caused an enormous flash in the sky accompanied by a booming sound, then I’d be stopping the car and surveying my surroundings. Well, in Russia it seems, you just keep driving, maybe fast enough to get home and upload the dashboard camera footage to Youtube to share it with the world! According to a post in ‘The New York Times‘, dashboard cameras “are commonplace in Russia partly because of the dangerous driving conditions that lead to so many accidents, and with an unreliable police force such cameras can provide valuable evidence following a crash.”

This happened a few hours ago in Chelyabinsk, 930 miles (1,500 km) east of Moscow, in Russia’s Ural Mountains. Here’s another dashboard camera video.

And here’s the view taken by traffic cameras at a busy intersection. Again, no-one stops their cars!!

Considering there was no indication that something like this was going to happen, I’m feeling less comfortable about the close call with the 45-meter-wide asteroid 2012 DA14 that’s going to pass Earth at a distance of 27,000km tomorrow. Apparently, Australia will have a grandstand view according to this article. You need  to be up at 4.30am, so guess who’s setting the alarm? Binoculars or a telescope are necessary, but I’ll take a chance with the naked eye.

This is my fourth* School’s out Friday in a row with no intervening posts. Busy? You bet I am. But some good things are happening, so I’ll try and find time over the weekend to write about them. Hopefully we’ll all still be here!!

*correction – fifth. Not feeling good about that at all.

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School’s out Friday

OK, I’m a sucker for a story that tugs at the heartstrings. And Landslide, the soundtrack, is my favourite song. Given that, this has to be my favourite Superbowl ad of the season.

It featured in one of my lessons this week for a new subject called ‘The Language of our Times’. The start to this year has been kind of manic, but walking into that class was just wonderful. I love teaching – I love the connections you make with young people and the thrill of sharing ideas. This class is something I’m heavily invested in because it’s something I believe in – I want our students to understand new methods of communication and the power of making connections via the Internet. I want to make it work and I feel like the young people I’m teaching want to explore what is possible. I’ve got an exciting year ahead.

I hope you have too. We have a tough gig. Teaching is becoming more accountable, and sometimes it seems like the focus is on measurement and data all the time. It’s when we walk into those classrooms and have the privilege of being a part of the lives of young people that we realise it’s so much more than numbers on a page. It’s about connecting with people and hopefully having a positive impact on their thinking. It’s the best part of my job and it’s what gives me the energy to do the work I do.

Just right now, I need to replenish those energy levels with a good night’s sleep. Night all, and best wishes for a restful weekend ahead. 🙂

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School’s out Friday

Is John Green making sense to you here? Because he’s making a lot of sense to me.

Copyright laws are vexed, but so is creating work and sharing it, only to receive no compensation other than the satisfaction that comes from helping others. That works for awhile, but the reality of most people’s existence is that they need to earn money to feed themselves and their family.  What John Green is doing for his nerdfighters is truly admirable. We need more people with attitudes like this – people prepared to make the effort to seek out creators and share profits from work they have remixed or modified from an original source.

My son showed me the Sweet Brown video last night, and it got me thinking. Take a look here.

Sweet Brown has been the subject of Internet memes, and the catchy remix is now available for purchase on iTunes. Who is benefiting from remixing content like this? Sweet Brown, or the owners of the YouTube channels who are hosting advertisements while they rack up 16 million views poking fun at someone’s speech inflections? I note that she seems to have a website (if it is run by people associated with her) and you can buy tshirts and book her for appearances. I certainly hope she’s making some money out of this, because you can bet other people are making money from her.

One day, I will write something other than a School’s out Friday post. Cameron Paterson sent me this tweet tonight:

“You are too busy. Come back to us, please…Hope the new job is fun and challenging.”

My new job is fun and challenging. I’ve been learning a lot about managing a school network, and am indebted to the wonderful IT team at my school who have worked so hard these last few weeks rolling out a new printing solution for our school and getting everything ready for the start of the year. I’ve got a heck of a lot to do, but haven’t we all?

Right now, what I’m looking forward to is sleeping in tomorrow. I hope you get to enjoy the same luxury. Have a relaxing weekend – find some time for you. 🙂

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School’s out Friday

Sylvia Martinez shared this video on Twitter this week. It was perfect for this week’s School’s out Friday post. I hope it makes you smile.

School resumes for most teachers here in Australia next week. In my new role, I’ve been back already for the last fortnight. We’re rolling out a new printing solution throughout the school and this week has been occupied with the finite details that need ticking off to ensure all goes smoothly next week. I’ve been consumed with that, and with the thought processes necessary for the new subject I’m teaching this year. I’m knocking out the final details for this semester’s coursework  – it’s called ‘The Language of our Times’ and its focus is on the communication methods we use in today’s world. There’s a real opportunity to create a learning community using new tools and sites. Part of the course will see us looking closely at ‘The Fault in our Stars‘ and how its author John Green is changing up the way authors interact with their audiences. I’m really excited to have the opportunity to do something very different with this course and hopefully I’ll be able to share our learning here.

I’ve plenty to do before next Tuesday still. I hope you’re enjoying the last days of the holiday break if you’re here in Australia. Best of luck with the 2013 school year on your return. 🙂

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School’s out Friday

This video is one I really must find a way of integrating into some teachable moment this year. I’ve no doubt there will be a myriad of opportunities that will present themselves. Teachable moments aren’t restricted to school – last night I took great delight in responding to my son’s complaints with the ‘First world problem’ retort. I love that look you get when they realise you’ve adopted the language they use, especially when it’s so pertinent to the pettiness of whatever it is they’re going on about!

The link to the video was shared in the Twitter stream coming out from the Google Apps for Education summit (GAFE summit) that was held at MLC in Sydney over the last couple of days. There were some very useful tips shared that you can find by searching #gafesummit on Twitter. The educators who presented have very generously shared their presentations and they can be accessed from this link. Yet another example of the sharing nature of educators who have learning at the forefront of their thinking and want to make sure that others can benefit, even if they weren’t present. I very much appreciate your efforts. 🙂

I returned to work this week as part of my new role at my school. It was a bit of a shock to the system, but I’m back in the swing of things now and looking forward to a sleep in tomorrow morning. The weather’s looking good, so I’ll be finding some time to relax in the sun. I hope you find some time to do the same. 🙂

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Five years in….

On a camping holiday in January, 2008, an idea occupied my thinking. Maybe I could start a blog and write about technology and its impact on education? Two weeks at the beach, with no Internet and plenty of thinking time, cemented the idea. I tossed around what I would call it. I told my husband I wanted to intercept things that were happening in the Web and share them with people. He drove off to work later that morning, but rang soon after and said, “What about Lucacept?” I had the name. I just had to start the thing.

Come January 12th 2008, we returned home from our camping holiday and I sat down and created a blog in WordPress. I called it Lucacept – intercepting the Web, and I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I knew how to hyperlink, but had no clue how to embed content or what I was going to write about. I was nervous, wondering if it would be read and how it might be received. I worried about whether or not my school would be comfortable with me potentially sharing things that happened in my working day. I wondered if I was starting something that might peter out after a few months.

Five years later I’m still at it. My life has changed as a result of this little bit of Web real estate. I’ve written fairly consistently, sometimes about not much of consequence, but other times about things that matter. I’ve shared my personal life and occasionally felt nervous about pressing the publish button. Opportunities have come my way and I’ve traveled extensively presenting my thinking at conferences here in Australia and overseas. My passion for and commitment to my profession is focused – moreso now than at any other time in my 25 years as a Secondary School educator. This year, I’m taking on a new role at my school as Director of ICT and eLearning – a role I can perform thanks to the learning that began in part with the first time I penned a post in this WordPress editor, five years ago today.

Seth Godin refers to those of us who use the Web to transmit ideas as artists. Here’s some of his thinking from one of his latest posts.

I don’t think the shortage of artists has much to do with the innate ability to create or initiate. I think it has to do with believing that it’s possible and acceptable for you to do it. We’ve only had these particular doors open wide for a decade or so, and most people have been brainwashed into believing that their job is to copyedit the world, not to design it.

That used to be your job. It’s not, not anymore. You go first.

 

I never used to think of myself as a creative person, but I do now. And that’s because I’ve chosen to believe that it is possible to initiate change with words and the resultant action that comes from wanting to make those words reality. I don’t know what the next five years hold, but hopefully this little bit of Web real estate will be holding its own. Heck, it may have even gone up in value – time will tell.

Would I still be writing if I had no readership? Probably not. I’m forever grateful to all of you, whoever you may be, who either purposefully read or maybe stumble over this blog. Knowing that what you’re writing has the potential to be read is a motivating force. I hope my words have added a modicum of value to your life. Your presence has certainly added so much more value to mine.

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School’s out Friday

Take a look at Colin Stokes‘ very interesting TEDx talk, where he dissects the movie industry in an amusing, but highly relevant fashion.  His focus is the way male and female roles are depicted and the messages being sent to our children as a result. I found it very interesting and would be keen of finding a way of weaving this into curriculum next year. Media Studies teachers- it might be a good one for you to use.

One thing I found very interesting was his reference to ‘The Bechdel Test’ as a means of identifying gender bias in films. Here’s some info from the Bechdel Test site:

The Bechdel Test, sometimes called the Mo Movie Measure or Bechdel Rule is a simple test which names the following three criteria: (1) it has to have at least two women in it, who (2) who talk to each other, about (3) something besides a man. The test was popularized by Alison Bechdel‘s comic Dykes to Watch Out For, in a 1985 strip called The Rule.

Here’s a visual explanation:

I am never going to be able to view a film the same way again.

On a very hot Melbourne afternoon, I’m just about to leave to see Les Miserables. Bechdel test will be applied.

 

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SAMR explained, by Ruben Puentedura no less.

Modification
Modification (Photo credit: ianguest)

Ruben Puentedura, creator of the SAMR model, has shared the above video he created for the Kalmarsunds Gymnasieförbund (a school in Sweden) on his blog. In it he explains his model but also discusses the TPACK model, and an idea he has for how teachers should approach the integration of 21st century skills into their classroom teaching. When you look at that 21st century skills model, couch it in terms of the General Capabilities of the Australian Curriculum – I’m sure you will see the parallels. I like his approach here – it’s a good way of getting a discussion started with your staff.

Ruben finds ways to generously share his thinking in a way that educators can access and use in their planning. I know that I’ll be referring to this video for my new role this year. The reality for all of us though is that it can’t just be words  – we need to see these ideas echoed in the reality of classroom practice, and moving the many is no easy task. But hey, someone has to do it, right? Might as well be us.

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School’s out Friday

I love this, from ‘The New York Times.’ If you’re a Twitter user, you’ll understand what he means when he says hashtags are like ‘jazzhands’. We all know jazzhands should be used sparingly, and so should hashtags. Be warned, hashtag offenders. #jazzhands may come to haunt you!