Tag: YouTube

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School’s out Friday

You’re probably one of the nine and a half million people who’ve seen this parody of the BP Oil Spill disaster. I used it with my students this week (and yes, I muted the last words from ‘Kevin Costner’) and they found it very funny. But not only that, after watching it, they were able to articulate their understanding of the real life crisis that’s been unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico over the last three months. It was a great way of beginning a lesson with a giggle, but then moving into complex discussion and analysis of a world event. Thank goodness, news reports today indicate that their efforts to cap the leaking pipe have been successful (at this stage, anyway!).

Working with my students has helped lift the heavy feeling I was experiencing on Monday. First lesson of Year 9 saw one of my students begin the lesson saying very loudly and enthusiastically,

“Mrs. Luca. Great book!”

as she held aloft her copy of ‘The Running Man‘. Plenty of others then joined in to echo her sentiments. How wonderful to hear students say this was the best book they’d read that had been set as a class text. Better still, 90% of them had done as I asked and read it over the school holidays in preparation for this term’s unit of study in English. (The other 10% were well on their way to completion). If that doesn’t help lighten a teacher’s load, then I don’t know what does! I’m very lucky; I teach wonderful kids.

I’ve been on a bit of a health kick this week, so I actually feel pretty good heading into the weekend. Not a skerrick of chocolate or sliver of a potato chip have crossed my lips! Amazing, considering both are my worst vices. I even clocked up 3km on the treadmill tonight. I hope you’re feeling energised and can make the most of the the time we get for family and friends.

Have a great weekend. : )

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School’s out Friday

My school is steeped in tradition. I like it. A lot.

Surprisingly, really.

It’s surprising to me, anyway, because I didn’t attend a private school when I was a kid. I went to a high school in a lower demographic area and then went on to teach at that same school for well over a decade all up, give or take a few years out when I had my kids and taught at a couple of other schools. The school was not steeped in tradition, but it was a supportive community for the students and the teachers there were a unified group. Sadly, the original school no longer exists. A victim of the Kennett years of Government here in Victoria, when forced amalgamations saw some very good schools go by the wayside. I was a staunch supporter of public education, and still am. I swore I would never teach at a private school, but here I am, doing just that and feeling very connected to the community I belong to. I no longer beat myself up about this; I know very well that I wouldn’t be doing the things I’m doing now had I not made this career change. I’m very grateful that I work in a school that supports my professional development and allows me to explore new ways of doing things.

But back to tradition. House activities are high on the agenda at my school and one of these is House Music. In house groups, the students all sing a set song, and then they have Madrigal performances when smaller groups represent their house and sing a song of their choice. This year, one of the groups sang Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Landslide‘. It was simply beautiful. I was immersed in the moment as they sang and haven’t been able to let the song go ever since. On days like that, I can feel the school’s traditions wafting over me. And I like it. A lot.

I don’t know why, but the song has been with me today. So I thought I’d share it with you too. I hope you enjoy it.

Have a great weekend. School resumes here on Monday, so I intend to make the most of the time left before the engine starts up again.

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School’s out Friday

Yes, it’s late, but my excuse is that I’m still running on a US time zone, only just having returned from a long haul flight back to Australia. Once again, the improveverywhere crew are providing some amusement for us this week, as they divide a New York street into ‘New Yorkers’ and ‘Tourists’ and spend a morning channeling people into their designated walking zone. Sometimes, I think it’s the tourists who are the faster walkers – I know I was as I ran to make connections at LAX and Sydney airport yesterday!

Having just returned from ISTE 2010, it’s time for me to process the week that was and write a response. I intend to do that this weekend, and then impose on myself a week’s hiatus from online work. I need some downtime, and my kids need their Mother’s full attention. That, I intend to give to them this week. I’ll probably put up a School’s out Friday next week, but I’m going to lay off the Twitter and clear the headspace!

The jet lag is nowhere near as bad as the New York/Philly trip in January, so the weekend ahead looks pretty normal. Surprisingly, I’m looking forward to the Germany vs Argentina match tonight in the World Cup. Have I finally become an ardent Soccer fan? Looks like it!

Enjoy the weekend – and if you’re watching the World Cup, soak up the sound of all those vuvuzelas. I saw someone tweet the other day that they thought the supporters had become more practised over the course of the World Cup and were almost carrying a tune!

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School’s out Friday

Yes, it is Saturday now back in Melbourne, but I’m in Denver, Colorado right now and it’s still Friday here!

Pixar have been flooding the social networks with advertising for Toy Story 3. This mosaic video is a nice way to get the message out. They don’t have to work so hard to get my attention on this one. I loved the first two and will definitely be lining up for number three. I remember taking my daughter to see the first Toy Story movie and having to take her back for a second viewing, all because I wanted to laugh and empathise with characters that had as much appeal and relevance for adults as they did for children. Belonging, friendship and tolerance – all important life lessons that were the messages imparted from this film. Hmmnn…makes me think it might just make a good film as text study.

I had a lovely dinner with the ever helpful Sue Waters and finally got to meet Frances, (@developit on Twitter) along with other Twitter folk. This is the first time I’ve attended an ISTE Conference and tomorrow is Edubloggercon. To be honest with you, the scale of this conference intimidates me. Apparently over 18,000 people attend. I can’t even begin to imagine what that looks like. How do you find anyone you know? There is a Blogger’s Cafe, so I suppose that will act as a magnet attracting like souls. No doubt it’s going to be a very interesting and, hopefully, enlightening experience. I’ll do my best to get a couple of blog posts out if I can while I’m here.

If you’re back home in Australia, rug up in your winter woollies. T-shirt weather here  – 34 degrees celcius tomorrow!

Enjoy your weekend. : )

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School’s out Friday

If you live in a soccer charged household like I do, then you’ll be immersed in World Cup fever right now. And that means you’ll be dealing with the unceasing drone of the the Vuvuzela, an instrument I’d never heard of until last week. The above video, a parody of a scene from the movie Der Untergang (there are plenty of these of YouTube for all sorts of circumstances –it’s a meme that has gained something of a cult following) raised a smile from me, largely because I find the noise a constant distraction as I try to watch the games.It’s like having a swarm of bees in your lounge room.

Busy weekend ahead as I prepare to leave for the United States on Tuesday. I’ll be presenting to Teacher-Librarians in Missouri next Thursday and then heading to the ISTE Conference in Denver where I’ll be presenting the following Wednesday.  Lots to do before I get on that plane, and I have a wedding to attend tomorrow! It’ll be head down on Sunday, after my son’s soccer match -a game to be enjoyed. Haven’t sighted a Vuvuzela at one of those matches yet!

Enjoy your weekend, whatever comes your way. : )

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School’s out Friday

I saw this video featured on a morning television show this week. I’d seen it quite awhile ago, and was very happy to be reminded of it. It’s one of those videos that always raises a smile, particularly for those of us of the female persuasion. Dealing with a man cold can be hard work. And that can be trifling compared with the hurty knee mentioned in the latter part of this sketch!!

We’re feeling the winter weather here in Melbourne at the moment. Our temporary library at school is cosy warm and is a bit of a magnet for the students in their breaks. We’ve heard a few sniffles around the place as winter colds take hold. I’ll be heading for a season change shortly; in eleven days I’ll be heading to St. Louis and Denver in the United States. Got a lot to do before then; better get cracking this weekend. Thank goodness it’s a long weekend here in the majority of Australian States. We’re celebrating the Queen’s Birthday, Constitutional Monarchy that we are!

Hope your weekend treats you well – rug up if you’re in the colder climes. : )

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School’s out Friday

If you haven’t yet come across this I’m sure you’ll find it amusing. This is the students and faculty from the University of Washington’s Information School and their ‘Librarians do Gaga‘ effort. I’m sure Lady Gaga would approve!

I love the line, ‘Don’t forget the databases’. Hopefully our databases will no longer be overlooked now that we have them available for searching within our library catalogue. We have moved over to a new system this year and it enables Federated Searching. This means that any site that is Z39.50 compliant can have their information fed though our library catalogue. Search results come up with whatever selections you have chosen. For example, you could select the search areas of Toorak College database, World Book Encylopedia, Facts on File databases and EDNA resources. Your search return would concurrently  list results from each of these resources.  When you visit a result you leap directly into the database. Brilliant. No longer is there a need for students to leave our library OPAC for a database search. We demonstrated it to our staff last night and could hear their favourable reaction to the search results that appeared on the screen. Next step is getting our students familiar with the system. Hopefully we will see greater use of the databases we subscribe to as a result. Let’s face it, they are great resources and ensure authoritative search returns, but they cost a bomb and need to justify their purchase.

Correction and report writing this weekend. Yippee! Hopefully some time will be available for a bit of light relief too!

Enjoy whatever comes your way. : )

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School’s out Friday

Thanks go the wonderful John Pearce for sending me the link to this video and suggesting it for School’s out Friday. I love it. It’s from Denmark, and Mukhtar, a bus driver, had a birthday I’m sure he will never forget.

Humanity at its finest, if you ask me.

I’m about to spend a night sleeping over at school celebrating humanity at its finest with Yr 10 girls, who are fundraising to support Daraja Academy in Kenya. We are skyping late in the evening with Mark Lukach, who lives in San Francisco and is a spokesperson for Daraja Academy. This is the second year of holding Sleepout for Schools in support of Daraja. I am very proud of this fine group of young women who think beyond themselves and do what they can to support those in need. I am very lucky to know them and have the privilege of being one of their teachers.

Why don’t we all perform a random act of kindness for someone else this weekend. There’s something we can do to celebrate humanity.

Enjoy.

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School’s out Friday

This brought a smile to my face and caught my interest at the same time. It’s the improveverywhere crew reliving the opening scene of Ghostbusters in the New York City Library.

What’s interesting is that improveverywhere were approached by the New York City Library to stage a mission within their building. The Library is facing a 37 million dollar cut to their budget and they were hoping that the exposure they could get from an improveverywhere mission would help remind people how great the Library is. Considering the video has been viewed 1,277,169 times since May 17th I’d say they’ve got plenty of exposure.

It’s great to see the NYC Library being seriously smart in their approach to raising public awareness. I bet it’s because all of the Librarians who work there are right up there with their social media knowledge. It can certainly work for you if you know how to work it the right way. Let’s hope it works for them. I visited the NYC Library in January and it certainly is an impressive building that was getting a lot of use on the day I was there.

You’ve gotta love this close up of what the ghost was searching for on his computer screen!!

Have a great weekend. Spend time with people you love and have a few laughs. I intend to do just that.

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School’s out Friday

Right now, I’m hoping that my cat Bonnie has found herself a hot spot somewhere and is enjoying herself before she makes the journey home. She’s been missing since last night and I’m worried. Honestly, my animals have caused me headaches this year! Bonnie’s not a cuddly cat, but she likes to be around you. The weather’s pretty miserable here right now so it’s highly unusual for her to not be curled up in a warm basket inside.

*Update – not a hot spot. Cold spot under a distant neighbours shrub after being attacked by what we think was a fox. Thank goodness for the microchip that identified her when she was handed into a local vet. She’s recovering. Being suitably pampered at home.

Enjoy your weekend. I’ll enjoy mine if she makes an appearance!