Room5ians Rule!

We had a baby!

2011-12-30T20:10:00.000+13:00

Hooray! After years of waiting Sasha and I have finally had a wee baby boy. He was born Christmas eve, 9:25pm, and is absolutely perfect :-)
He is Charlie Robert Claude and I couldn't be more pleased.

chicken coup designs

2011-11-22T13:27:00.000+13:00

i HAVE AN AWESOME CHOOK HOUSE AT HOME. But there's no need for me to shout about it.

Leave links here to online plans for chicken houses or sites that have info about raising free range, organic chickens or sustainable backyard setups.

Did you think the greenhouse area was a good site for us to start our venture?

Have fun!

I took these photos at the public Permaculture Garden at Hamilton Gardens. Here is a link to their website so you can contact them for more information about permaculture:

http://www.permaham.boo.co.nz/3103/html/prepage.html

Cool Experiments with your Food!

2011-11-12T18:02:00.000+13:00

Try this out - you need to watch a Youtube video to see how to make your milk come alive....

Go All Blacks!

2011-10-10T15:15:00.000+13:00

I hope the All Blacks can sort their form out and take out those Wallabies this weekend. We must crush them mercilessly at Fortress Eden!

Pirongia and Peachgrove rule

2011-08-16T14:31:00.002+12:00

Today's computer tech classes were all good, but Pirongia Yr 8s were the best behaved, quietly settling and getting on with their work.

At lunchtime I was on the field with Mr Cocks dishing out gold cards for good behaviour when I noticed how lovely the native gardens were looking around the perimeter of the field. Well done Peachgrove for looking after your amazing native garden! I bet there are lots of native birds visiting to eat berries and nectar from flowers.

[This photo was taken by J. Carter at the Waikato University in Hamilton and shared on Flickr]

My own local waxeyes are in a short video I took. Click on the red words above for the link - [it may not work as it's on FaceBook]

The Good Guys did it again!

2011-08-07T13:06:00.000+12:00

Hooray for the mighty All Blacks who once again retained the Bledisloe cup with a great victory over the sniveling Aussies at Eden Park last night.
Well done lads!

Ritchie McCaw and Brad Thorn are two absolute legends of All Blacks rugby.

Quelle Disaster!

2011-06-23T17:41:00.001+12:00

What a disaster!
So many places seem to be afflicted by natural disasters at the moment. Leave your comments here to direct me to your own research about natural disasters, such as the quakes in Christchurch or the tornadoes and floods in America.

My own interest at present is more to do with the human caused disasters, like oil spills, environmental devastation and mass extinctions. Right now people are hacking down the Amazon Rain forest like there's no tomorrow! America is currently poisoning it's own underground water supplies in an effort to extract natural gas for energy use.
The really sick thing is that Dick Cheney, whilst Vice President of the USA, changed environmental laws so his own company [Halliburton] could pollute the environment to make profits.
How evil.
Find out all about it by watching the movie Gasland.

Teaching Dispositions for Learning with I.T.

2011-06-21T18:02:00.000+12:00

This may be of interest to those utlising ICT in the classroom:

Ngutunui Enviro School is super digital!

2011-06-20T11:25:00.000+12:00

Wow - this is a beautiful country school on the way to Kawhia where my wife and I love to holiday. We always pass it and I think... what a wonderful place that woudl be to work. As it turns out, there is a job going there and I've had a snoop online.
The junior class's wiki is amazing! The flashest wiki I've ever seen - I am so impressed.
The senior class have been thinking of others and doing work on their wiki and their excellent class blog to help the Christchurch quake victims. They also share their work online for others to enjoy and give feedback on.
Ka pai!
I think what I love best is the commitment to Enviroschool values.
That sure is an 'onto it' school :-)

Fun with woodwork and taniwha

2011-06-13T18:51:00.000+12:00

When I was 13 I go to do woodwork at HBHS. It was the only time I got to do practical tech subjects, apart from tech drawing in the same year. I enjoyed both but was guided away to other stuff. That year, I made a taniwha carving which I was really proud of. My grandad hung it on his shed wall and my whole life I got to see it there and feel special. Now I have it back.
On Friday at Peachygrove, I got to be MrWebster the Hard Material Teacher for a day. I was supposed to make the poor children do worksheets but I couldn't stomach that and we made some stuff instead. The kids from the bi-lingual class liked my stories about taniwha in the Waikato river near where I live so we made some taniwha out of wood.
It is great to work with kids who are into learning, creating, sharing and celebrating - kia kaha!

:-)

The Montessori Way

2011-05-21T18:03:00.001+12:00

I am interested in Montessori education in NZ.
A Montessori classroom sounds like a blissfully calm, creative, safe learning place where children can learn at their own pace and discover things naturally with guidance and whilst being skillfully observed. Children can work together, collaboratively, with cleverly designed learning materials suitable to their stage of development.
Check out these links to discover more of the world of child-centred, caring, observational, educational guidance that is the Montessori way:

Eight Stages of Observation

Four stages of Classroom Management

Montessori in NZ

A Kiwi Montessori Classroom

What kind of skills do you think you need?

2011-05-11T10:17:00.000+12:00

Students... What do YOU think you need to learn about relating to ICT?
List the skills here.

Bear and Edwin

2011-05-03T13:40:00.000+12:00

Two friends waiting for baby Blast to arrive :-)

Tricks to make your blog successful

2011-04-19T08:55:00.000+12:00

Number 1 - You MUST set up email verification so that you know where, when and from whom comments arrive on your posts.
You can find this in your settings. Add your own email address that you check most regularly, then you will be alerted whenever a comment arrives. You only have to click on the link in the email and you will be taken directly to your new comment.
This feature is crucial when you have used your blog for a while and have gazillions of posts. Without it you would never know if someone had commented on one of your old posts.

Trirama magnificence

2011-04-14T04:43:00.000+12:00

This terrific trirama was made by the Great Erlando!
Well done for managing your time and taking pride in your finished product.

From someone special

2011-04-13T12:59:00.000+12:00

I was very lucky to receive this lovely, thoughtful card today from The Kostonator! B-)

My cute pet elephant

2011-04-12T14:51:00.000+12:00

Let me know if you have a picture of your cute pet on your blog B-)

Room 14

2011-04-11T17:40:00.000+12:00

Hi Room 14 - I hope your own blogs are gogin well. IF you leave me comments here I will respond on your blog.
I have a prize for the best blogber of the week.

Are you good at putting pictures on your blog posts?
Maybe we could have a cute pet photo competition...

Let's Go Giants supporters video

2011-03-29T20:46:00.000+13:00

These kids learned to FEAR THE BEARD!

[ahem - sideways...]

Giants supporter mobile blogging pic

2011-03-29T09:58:00.001+13:00

This Giants fan was caught on my mobile phone and sent from there directly to this blog it is called mobile blogging :-)

Go Giants!

2011-03-29T08:28:00.012+13:00

When i was in San Francisco last year i met a remarkably generous man who introduced me to the world of The Giants and the thrills of World Series baseball. I was previously dismissive of baseball as a boring sport, but, like so many things, once you get to know what's going on it becomes fascinating!
The regular season is about to begin so ...Let's go Giants! Let's go Giants!

FEAR THE BEARD!

Sir Ken does it again

2011-03-09T15:45:00.000+13:00

More brilliance from Sir Ken Robinson regarding the education system

action kids, mountainbikers and movie makers

2011-03-09T14:24:00.000+13:00

If you are one of the above, follow the link and watch on...

http://www.zefrank.com/zesblog/archives/2011/03/chilean_bike_ra.html

Enjoy! Take [calculated] risks - be alive!
I was thrilled to hear from one of my students from 2006 who is pursuing a career in film making after being inspired by one of our class projects way back then - Go Ernesto!!!

First day back teaching in 2011 is at ...

2011-02-11T09:17:00.000+13:00

St Andrews! Yay! I was hoping to get back at the end of last year to see all the cool kids I got to know over 2010. I hope you are all still there to say hi.
:-)

Thomas Edison

2011-02-11T09:15:00.000+13:00

If you're interested in incredible people who achieved amazing things through perseverance and intelligence, check out Thomas Edison. It's his birthday today :-) [although he has long since passed away]
Who knows what he invented?

Best Wishes for 2011

2011-01-14T08:52:00.000+13:00

I send out my best wishes to all the former Room5ians and their whanau.
Best wishes too, to the teachers who help school be a decent place for so many kids.
Here's hoping everyone has a fantastic, creative, successful year in 2011... especially the All Blacks!

Awesome year 2010

2010-12-02T08:02:00.000+13:00

Yay! What a great year 2010 has been.
Thanks to all the Peachgrove, St Andrews, Knighton, Vardon and Matangi kids who made my year a pleasure. It has been great keeping in touch with wonderful young people through my relieving as well as enjoying more freedom and happiness doing my own creative ventures with my darling wife Sasha.
Manny, Lionel and the chooks all say woof, meow and sqwawk to wish you a very merry xmas and all the best for the coming year !

[please god let the All Blacks win the world cup in 2011]

!!!Hasta la victoria siempre!!!

Film making and digital storytelling

2010-10-06T09:04:00.000+13:00

Hi team, I'm loving these hols with all the good weather, a chance to get in my garden and having time to film and edit an interesting project or three.
How are you all using your school holidays?
It's time to get out and plant your vege gardens too.
Enjoy! :-)

[p.s. I'm planning a covert trip to Marseilles to steal back this lovely taonga from the Frogs.]

Room 3...

2010-08-06T19:20:00.000+12:00

I have just noticed that after two weeks work [nearly] no kids from Room 3 have bothered to post a comment on any of the last few blog posts, despite being in a digital class...
Oh well

Teaching Fractions

2010-08-06T19:16:00.002+12:00

If at first you don't succeed, draw all over a kids face ;-)

Well done this man :-)

Brilliant Mask Making :-)

2010-08-05T20:36:00.001+12:00

Well done Team Room 3! I was very impressed with your Japanese mask making expertise.
Here are some of the marvellous creations.

Don't give up on your narrative about being whisked away to Japan -I will keep helping if you keep writing!
Sorry - I won't be back on Friday as I'm working somewhere else.
Write your day one experience up on your own blog then comment on my blog so I can go and read it. I will then add information about day two and what happened after the ninja attack!

Make a mask

2010-08-05T10:38:00.001+12:00

You are stuck in Japan, having been kidnapped by your evil reliever. You need to disguise yourself so you can blend in to the traditional Japanese land you have found yourself in.
Create a Japanese styled mask to hide behind...

During the night of our imprisonment...

2010-08-04T22:25:00.000+12:00

You survived a shocking days events to find yourselves imprisoned in a massive Japanese castle.
As you slept uneasily upon your single tatami, you sensed creeping in the halls... then violence erupted!

What do you do!

Osaka Dialect

2010-08-04T11:57:00.000+12:00

Learn to speak the dialect of the Osaka people in Japan:

maido - hello [any time of day]

okini - thank you

o genski desu ka? - how are you?

genki ya ta - and you?

honma? - really?

aho chau? - are you stupid?

genki yata - how are you?

majide? - seriously?

hai, maji maji - yes, seriously

ja matane - bye

ho na - bye bye

Day One Fujiyama

2010-08-04T11:50:00.001+12:00

Mr Woody arranged a troop carrying ex-aircraft plane to take us to Mount Fuji in Japan.
we experienced the flight, a landing on a wildeness airstrip, a trip overland in a troop carrying vehicle, entry to a majestic Japanese castle, a traditional greeting ceremony and being surrounded by tradional samurai warriors. It's almost as thought we have gone back in time...
After a delicious meal of traditional food and tea, we slept in separate rooms with shoji walls, tatami mat floors and uncomfortable wooden pillows.

You need to write up your day one experience with descriptive lanaguage, your feelings, reactions and predictions.

Look out for unexpected adventures on day two...

Room 3 Fujiyama trip

2010-08-04T11:11:00.002+12:00

Your crazy billionaire reliever Mr Woody has kidnapped you and taken you to Japan on a survival field trip to practice Japanese, learn martial arts and survival skills.
You need to make a post on your blog stating what you will take to survive on a tramping trip. No modern electrical appliances will be useful and no modern weapons are allowed. You can take knives, hatchets, etc. No guns.
List your 12 items. Your pack is a freebie and you have to take a sleeping bag as one of your items.
Remember you need water, food, shelter, heat to survive in the outdoors. You need to be self sufficeient or working in pairs to cover all your needs.

Room 3 Fraction Maths

2010-08-04T09:39:00.000+12:00

Hi squiddlers - try out these digital learning objects from NZmaths:

http://digistore.tki.org.nz/ec/viewMetadata.action?id=L2801

http://digistore.tki.org.nz/ec/viewMetadata.action?id=L2801

http://digistore.tki.org.nz/ec/viewMetadata.action?id=L2804

http://digistore.tki.org.nz/ec/viewMetadata.action?id=L2805

http://digistore.tki.org.nz/ec/viewMetadata.action?id=L2806

Beaut Mid Winter Weather to Make a Lizard House

2010-07-14T14:03:00.000+12:00

This lovely sunny weather has invigorated me and i am dealing with my garden, and noticing lots of wildlife around town - bats, tui, bellbirds, etc.
I love our native flora and fauna and would like to keep chipping away at my impact on the earth and it's resources so as not to contribute to the destruction of more habitat and species. Afterall, there is only one earth and we need to look after it - especially as our consumption and population growth spiral out of control.
Check out this website for practical advice on how to live more sustainably.

Learn how to attract lizards to your home - but beware of your cat!

Matariki Mysteries

2010-06-24T10:31:00.000+12:00

Mr Woody wants to know more about Matariki. Which school will be the best at informing him?
Today St Andrews have a head start. Can anyone beat them?
Answer my questions on your own blogs and leave me a comment here telling me something you've learned. I will then visit your blog and check out what you have discovered for me. Please create a quality post on your blog with information written in your own words to answer my questions. Also include anything interesting you find out. Then put the url's of your internet sources after each fact you include.
I bet no one can achieve this!
Who will be best? Peachgrove? St Andrews? Tahaaroa?

Questions:

1. What is Matariki and what are all its other names?
2. How did Maori use it in more traditional times, like when they were travelling the Pacific or trying to survive in early Aotearoa hundreds of years ago before Pakeha came here?
3. What significance does it have in other cultures from history?

Ask your teachers for help to understand these questions if you need to.

Good luck!

Marmite or Vegemite?

2010-06-22T12:02:00.000+12:00

Do you like Marmite or Vegemite?
How about crunchy or smooth peanut butter?
Jam or marmalade?
Lakes, rivers, or beaches?
Mountains or forests?
Water skiing or snow skiing?
Movies or music?
Union or league?
Cricket or softball?
Kayaks or dinghys?
Meat or veges?
War or peace?
Conservation or consumption?
Battery farms or free range?
Wood fires or gas heaters?
Rice or pasta?

Opportunity to Learn about Digital Story Telling from the experts

2010-06-17T18:35:00.000+12:00

Hi everyone - teachers especially!

We are running Digital StoryTelling workshops for educators.
Our next workshop is:

14–16 JULY 2010
WED (5-8pm)
THURS/FRI (9-5pm)

MediaArena
University of Waikato
Hamilton

Art and Learning through NZ History

2010-06-15T19:13:00.002+12:00

Hi Squiddlers! I am very excited ...

I am buying this painting by Scotsman, artist and Kiwi, Liam Barr and am going to read more about the character portrayed by searching online. Liam's art is amazing! Check out his website

Free e-book online about John Rutherford here

Government information site, Te Ara, has more here

What are you learning about in your spare time? Our best learning is fired by our interests, needs and passions...

Peachgrove Yr 7 Bilingual cool dudes

2010-06-01T11:46:00.002+12:00

I had the pleasure of hanging out with my good friend Whaea Mana's class today. They are very interesting young people. We discussed maori and pakeha culture as well as some geography from around Aotearoa.
One of my favourite parts of NZ is the East Coast from Te Kaha to Gisborne. My wife and I fell in love on a road trip around that region and we found the Ngati Porou people to be very welcoming.
I later got to know a teacher from Rangitukia called Tepu Houia. He gifted me a special carving which I have looked after for several years. Today I discovered that his nephew is in this class so I have gifted it to Whaea Manawaroa and her students to look after.
Their job now is to find out about the history of the clock carving. Tepu's nephew, Aiorangi is in the class so they should be able to find out all about the carving. They can post comments here explaining what they learn.
Also, I would like to introduce the Big T Surfers from Tahaaroa to the Peachgrove Bi-lingual class, Room 24. Please get to know each other and share your differences and the experiences of living in town, country and coastal areas.
Ka kite ano

Foreign spammers leave us alone

2010-05-06T21:58:00.002+12:00

We are trying to educate children here - please do not interfere with your phishing. We welcome any genuine bloggers but don't need people trying to trick us into going to sites with viruses or anything like that.
Thank you. Please do contact us in English if you would like to learn with us and you have content on your blog so we can see who you are.

Taharoa School Centennary Video Challenge

2010-05-05T15:23:00.000+12:00

Your fine school is going to turn 100 next year. I think you should get used to making videos and blogging about it. Try making a 20 second Flip video now about something unique about your school. Post it on your blog and leave me a comment here. I will judge it and name the ultimate winner!

Taharoa Tips

2010-05-05T14:12:00.000+12:00

Hi Taharoa,
I had another great day atyour cool school.
If you get stuck with your blogging setup, try this online tutorial ...

How to Blog

Have fun!

My wicked friend

2010-04-27T19:46:00.000+12:00

My wicked friend lurks and does not comment.
My wicked friend pontificates and does not contribute.
My wicked friend judges from her safe, private world.
My wicked friend is reading this and knows who she is.
My wicked friend is a good friend...
:-)
I hope she's laughing.
Too bad if she's not!

Rewengay!

Cybersafety, Games and Social Bookmarking

2010-04-02T10:50:00.000+13:00

Thanks to my Diigo account, which allows me to save my bookmarks online instead of just one computer, I also share resources with others online. today I received an email update that includes resources for learning cybersafety through games. The lady who shared it is helping others simply by saving her bookmarks online. Her community of followers then receive notice of what she has saved in case they want to share some of her findings.

Check it out here

Hooray for the gardener!

2010-03-30T14:23:00.001+13:00

Wow - Mrs Barham must have saved the day by getting the gardener to mow down the yucky weeds that were/are strangling parts of the potentially fabulous Peachgrove native bush gardens.
These latest pics show an elite band of keen eco-warriors who are keen to help look after the native gardens.

Wow - it's so lovely to see the plants again now that the weeds are mostly gone. Now tese kauri have a chance to grow up tall and strong like mighty Tane Mahuta.
I'm sure the rest is soon to follow. Once it is down to mulched up weeds and grass who will maintain it? Surely the Peachgrove students could. Many hands make light work.
Well done Mrs Barham.
:-)

Below: Head and shoulder height knightshades still to be dealt to...

Pork = Cruelty

2010-03-26T08:43:00.002+13:00

Sadly, despite it being delicious, pork products like ham and bacon almost invariably come from a reality that would be horrifying to most people if they actually witnessed it.
Pigs in the majority of farms in NZ and abroad are treated with extreme and unnecessary cruelty. They are treated in ways that no reasonable person would treat any animal, yet they are as sensitive, sentient and intelligent as dogs [who are also often treated with absolute cruelty by many evil and ignorant people].
I say young people should be educated about what really goes on in the production of the meat they eat so they can make an informed decision about whether or not to actively support the torture of thinking, feeling creatures like pigs.
Would any of you take Babe [from the movie], put him in a cage that he couldn't turn around in and leave him in the dark to suffer for his entire life before then lining him up with his neighbours to be killed one by one as the next one in line watches?

Check out the SAFE site to see how you can help and to read about how Mike King turned from promoting pork to promoting animal welfare once he visited a pig farm in NZ.

Mike King's 45-minute ordeal of pig horror included seeing:

• a dead female pig inside a sow stall

• lame, crippled pigs and others that could barely stand

• pigs either extremely depressed or highly distressed

• bar biting, scars and injuries

• pigs excessively frothing at the mouth

• a lack of clean drinking water and food.

Can you identify which pigs are happy and which pigs are suffering needlessly so you can have bacon, pork chops, ham, etc?

It's difficult to face unpleasant facts that inconvenience you, but can you continue to encourage such cruelty to continue by buying and eating inhumane pork products?
If you simply can't give up pork, try encouraging your family to buy kindly farmed pork products like from Freedom Farms

Coolest school in the world!?

2010-03-24T15:42:00.000+13:00

Wow! I went to Tahaaroa school on Friday and it was sooooooo lovely. Great kids, onto it staff, everyone friendly. The school is well resourced and the kids are ready to learn. The staff are big-hearted, warm, friendly, relaxed, open, and hungry to learn and lead their community in to a bright future for their whanau/tamariki.
I can't wait to go back!
Check out their new blog at The Big T Surfers!!!

Aroha mai

Peachgrove Garden Travesty

2010-03-24T15:29:00.002+13:00

Peachgrove Learnscapes committee and EnviroAgents spent years planning and fundraising to get an amazing native garden designed and planted around the otherwise empty back field. The gardens are something to be proud of and to nurture so they will live for many generations to come.
Sadly the school is neglecting the gardens and they are being over taken by noxious weeds such as knightshades and strangling vines. To my horror I found one corner was particularly bad and all the young kauri trees were almost dead from neglect. I fixed the problem in five minutes, so the story that no one has time to do it is rubbish. I think the school should be ashamed and should get organised to allow the students to weed their own patch and protect what is a wonderful example of something environmentally positive.
I know most of the staff have no interest in environmental issues [the exceptions being Mrs New and one or two others to my knowledge] but this garden should be something precious to Peachgrove and the loud negative voices should be silenced. At the very least the $40,000 [I think that's about right] investment should be saved.

Stand up Peachgrove and do the right thing!

The photos below show some before and after shots of two weed entangled kauri and an astelia. One struggling young kauri was even bent over to the ground!
These two thoughtful students gave their time willingly to rectify the problem. It's the staff who need to get on board. Maybe some of you keen young citizens should take a leadership role and make a positive difference.

Vivaldi was born...

2010-03-04T11:25:00.000+13:00

There is some great music you should know about. One of the great composers is Vivaldi. He created "The Four Seasons" - music that you may well recognize if you hear it. It is very popular classical music.
Today is Vivaldi's birthday so maybe you would like to find out more about him...

Hi Room 3

2010-02-18T14:01:00.000+13:00

I have put a post on my Woodmonstas blog for you. It includes the instructions for your blogging assignment.
As far as my interests are concerned, I enjoy studying animals and nature. Fo rmany years I had an active involvement in the life of several frogs...

This is an image by my favourite cartoonist, Jim Woodring :-) I also enjoy drawing.

Thoughts for St Andrews Middle School yr7/8 Digital class

2010-02-10T21:37:00.000+13:00

Wow - how cool to teach for a week in my first ever digital classroom. Mr McKay will be looking after his new baby and family so we can prepare for a week of thinking and investigation...
What shall we do???
Some of your term concepts include forces and motion, geometry and responsible web2.0 use.
:-)

ICT Citizenship at Peachgrove

2010-02-08T18:30:00.006+13:00

Here are some links to resources for learning about Citizenship at Peachgrove:

http://education.citizenship.govt.nz/

http://education.citizenship.govt.nz/primary/teachers

http://www.blogger.com/goog_1265605989915

Opinions about citizenship

responsible citizenship - an opinion

Digital Citizenship with Hector

So, what is Citizenship? Why should we think about it? How does it affect us?

Work in groups of two or three to develop a PowerPoint presentation or an online equivalent
[e.g. Google Document, blog, wiki*] to state your case for the importance of being a responsible citizen.

If working online you also need to include digital citizenship as a theme.

* Please check first for permission.

N.B. Please use internet information properly by re-writing it in your own words and putting a reference after your statement saying where you got the info from.

e.g. Citizenship is about belonging to a country and being legally allowed to vote in that country's elections. - http://www.citizenship.com/

The concept of the Citizen was very important in ancient Rome.

Fig Rig filming project

2010-01-26T21:28:00.003+13:00

This week in stead of starting school I am out planning and doing some filming for a project we are doing. It relates to mental health training and we are filming a homeless guy surviving on the streets of Hamilton this Friday. I have been loaded a Fig Rig today - it's a kind of steadycam device. The inventor, Mike Figgis has come up with a simple, cheap, effective way to mimic steadycam operation so we can film smoothly as we follow our character around from place to place as he goes about his business.
Maybe some of you will design innovative solutions to problems you com eup against in your creative endeavours :-)

2010

2010-01-05T13:10:00.003+13:00

What does 2010 hold for all former Room5ians? I will always remember my wonderful Room5ians, even as i quit full time classroom teaching to try something else...
:-)
Tell us here what your aspirations and plans are - I hope to do more illustration, photography, film production work with our business and whatever else comes my way that tickles my fancy.
The world is our oyster!
Keep in touch :-)

Who would like their blog showcased?

2009-10-05T18:44:00.007+13:00

At Ulearn09 I will be running a workshop on how to get people like you [squiddlers, kidlets, students, Room5ians - whatever it is you're called] to write brilliantly online through blogging :-)
I need some quality bloggers to volunteer to have their blogs showcased. You can even recommend one of your peers if you like.
Let's see if you guys have superior blogs to the Woodmonstas...
:-)

And guess what - the poor Woodmonsta kids haven't had a chance to do something like the Kakepuku Catastrophe! Poor them!

Of course you may all be at the beach or off skiing...

How about Hamiltron or Rosiegal or Kittymilo or Nei-Nei-NeinaMarie! or Roo or Mojo?
And, of course, we must check out the glorious student who gave us our name:
Im a Room5ian :-)

Where does the responsibility start and end?

2009-08-11T13:28:00.004+12:00

When sharing online learning with young people, like Room5ians, how far should the school go to make sure no one sees anything "dodgy", like advertisements aimed at adults...?
Do we stop young people from watching tv, reading, newspapers, walking down the main street? All of these places have mild adult content everywhere.
Does learning in the real world environment allow teachers to help students understand safe ways to cope with things they will be bombarded with anyway, outside of school?
It's like the cyberbullying issue. We ban phones to avoid txt bullying and worry about kids bullying online, but most if not all bullying happens face to face or in whispers around the playground. Do we ban access to the playground?
What do you think? Kids? Anyone?
Just wondering... :-)

Check this out

2009-08-04T22:45:00.002+12:00

Check this out, Room5ians :-)

http://smalltalkwitht.wordpress.com/category/room5ians/

Well done Mr Jones and Rocking former Room5ians!

2009-08-03T18:52:00.003+12:00

Does anyone know what I'm talking about? Please ask him to clarify and send him my congratulations :-)
Also big ups to former Room5ians who were going for it at the Band competition on Friday :-)
I see the defection of Mrs MacKenzie has meant that Fairfield has won this time, just like you won last time with her help. She must be great! You must be great!
:-)

Room5ians Rule

2009-06-07T19:18:00.002+12:00

Roooom5iaaaaans ruuuule!!!!
there is no one like a Room5ian.
:-)
I have some new kids in my current class who would make excellent Room5ians.
I would love to hear from you. Any tales of life at PeachyGrove?
Big hugs to you all [- ask Mojo] ;-)

Soccer/Football Quizzes

2009-05-15T09:58:00.002+12:00

Try these quizzes if you're into football :-)

http://www.soyouthinkyouknowfootball.com

http://www.triv.net

http://www.homeofsport.com

http://www.soccernerd.com/

http://www.learnenglish.org.uk

Test moblog

2009-05-12T16:27:00.000+12:00

Finally!!!

Dog Walking along the Mighty Waikato

2009-05-06T11:24:00.007+12:00

The lovely Waikato river on a morning walk [Flip Video test]
Lack of zoom is noticeable outdoors, but no prob when in class.
The sound is good too.
:-)
I want one because it is sooooo easy to use.

ICT PD Day at Smiley's Lovely School

2009-05-06T10:22:00.004+12:00

What a powerhouse group!

Samuel Morse's birthday

2009-04-27T07:16:00.005+12:00

Morse Code - can you use it? I challenge the inventor centre types to make a morse code machine with an audible, electronically generated signal.
Then you have to learn Morse code and demonstrate your ability to say, "Ha ha, Mr Woody - See? I did it!"
:-)

Freaky

2009-04-26T17:38:00.003+12:00

Wow - there have been about 300 hits on this blog in the last fortnight...which is interesting only because I don't actually use this blog anymore... maybe i should though... Any former Room5ians out there still peeking?
Remember to check out the current incarnation of this called "Woodmonstas!"
:-)

Allanah King's dancing breakout

2009-02-26T11:27:00.002+13:00

We broke into a practice session of "Matt's Dance" [you know - that happy guy on Youtube] in preparation for a flashmob warmup for Wes Fryer's keynote tomorrow.
Poor Wes... ;-)

New blog = "Woodmonstas"

2009-02-10T12:06:00.002+13:00

My new class blog is called "Woodmonstas" and is at http://woodmonstas.blogspot.com/
Come and join us there :-)

New Blog

2009-02-10T10:10:00.002+13:00

I am going to create a new blog for us to share called "Woodmonstas!"
It is possibly going to have all of the content of Room5ians Rule transferred onto it. I am unsure at this stage how that will affect our audience as the URL will change....

So, prepare to Google "Woodmonstas! if you wish to stay in touch :-)

Cyber Safety reminders

2009-02-09T20:29:00.003+13:00

Hi kids - Room5ians, meet some Room 18 "Woodmonstas". They will soon have their own class blog [Gaboose will laugh - we have had no internet at school until today so blog plans have been slightly delayed] and will be becoming world famous just like you guys ... although, I believe they need some guidance from the experienced Room5ians to help them shoot to e-learning excellence.

Of course, another major requirement of successfully using e-learning in a positive way is to remain cybersafe. That means protecting your identity and avoiding trouble from cyberbullies.
Room5ians were so mature that we never suffered from any problems on our blog. We had 3 years of trouble free blogging with all the wonders of sharing our learning with people all over the planet.
If anyone had broken the rules, all children would suffer because schools and caregivers would make it harder to use the internet and to learn as connected, creative, responsible, self-directed, 21st century learning citizens of the world - just as the new NZ curriculum says we should be.

So, here are some internet safety resources online to share with parents who are concerned. Please also engage in dialogue with each other to share your experiences and knowledge. Remember the world is watching and hoping to learn along side you.

Enjoy!

http://www.netsmartz.org/index.aspx

Your holidays through poetry

2009-02-09T13:12:00.002+13:00

Are you a reluctant writer? Or do you love the power of words?
Here is a starter to help you write more expressively about your holidays... And as a bonus, you need less words too ;-)

New Zealand has several famous writers and poets. James K. Baxter is one of them. He writes thus:

"The town was usual enough; it had
A creek, a bridge, a beach, a sky
Over it, and even a small tin church
I never went to. My brother, my cousins and I
Did what boys do - dozed in the hot
Schoolroom, made bows and arrows, dodged the mad
Boatbuilder, crept like rabbits through the black
Under-runners with a weak torch,
Burnt dry rushes, wrestled or swam
Doing nothing important"

- James K. Baxter

Re-write the poem, filling in your own details, using strong verbs, interesting nouns, and appealing adjectives, yet maintaining the same rhythm. Post it on your own blog or as a comment here.

Mihi

2009-02-01T15:13:00.005+13:00

oh my goodness... i have to do a mihi and sing a waiata in front of about 900 people tomorrow morning as a "welcome"or powhiri at my new school. It's a cool thing to experience, but it's also scary when you don't quite know what to do.
Oh well. When faced with difficult expectations one is better to face them and get them over and done with rather than worry and try to avoid them. In fact, now that i have received some assistance from the fabulous Miss Freeman and Heheboy I am actually feeling like it will be a cool thing to do.
I will take my Peachgrove waka huia to explain how we are bringing experience and knowledge with us and expecting to receive more knowledge and experience from the new school community.
Here is some of my mihi. Please offer advice or correction where you think necessary.

Tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa.
Ko David Woodcock toku ingoa.
Ko Susan Tucker toku mama.
Ko Eric Woodcock toku papa.
Ko Pirongia te maunga.
Ko Waikato te awa.
No Kirikiriroa ahau.

Then I will use the waka huia as a metaphor for our new beginning at Fairfield and the sharing of our collective knowledge, skills and wisdom [the last being debatable of course].
To finish I may share the words of the the Second Maori King, Matutaera Te Wherowhero Tawhiao:

"Kia hora te marino
Kia whakapapa pounamu te moana
Kia tere te Karohirohi
I mua I too huarahi"

May peace be widespread
May the sea glisten like greenstone
May the shimmer of light guide you on your way."

Tena koutou tena koutou katoa

New School

2009-01-31T15:34:00.007+13:00

Hooray! I have had 8 marvellous years [mostly] at Peachgrove and have made firm friends there. It really is a special place.
Now I get to start again in a wonderful new school with loads of nice people and interesting students.
I'm a bit freaked out by Monday morning's powhiri where four of us need to sing a waiata in front of 900 people and I apparently have to speak on behalf of the newbies in response to the tangata whenua.
I met most of the new yr 7's on Friday and they all seemed cool. I even met a few of the returning yr 8's who also seemed lovely. There were MacLayne, Madison and Micaela - all the M names!?
I hope we have a really amazing class like my dear Room5ians. I know it will be different than an online school, lots of great interactions. It will definitely not be anything like a college class either. It's a shame that some silly people have tried to cause negative problems before we even started, but I know that the mature people will all cope with getting a new teacher and we should have as much of a good time as we did at Peachgrove.
Some of the exciting things we have at Fairfield are a tv studio, a radio station, flash rooms with loads of ICT stuff and a full time technician who is able to allow us access to anything educational that we need to be 21st Century learners.
I can't wait!
Have a great year all you bloggers out there in cyberland.
I shall create a new room 18 blog soon and provide a link to it here.

Small World

2009-01-19T08:35:00.003+13:00

Appreciate what you have... watch this video to see why. It's about imagining the population of the planet as being only 100 people and showing the proportions of ethnicity, wealth, etc. as they are today.

You will need flash and broadband... [approximately only 3% of the world's population can achieve that]

Miniature Earth

sage advice from former teacher

2009-01-16T09:01:00.002+13:00

If you think back to what you learned from me, you will almost certainly remember that you shouldn't eat nails [especially rusty ones], glass, and skyscrapers...
Well! As it turns out, somebody agrees with me.
I enjoy POkestuff's art as seen on Flickr :-) There is lots of cool art on Flickr if you go searching.
[Safe Search only Please]

http://www.flickr.com/people/pokedstudio/

Curriculum vitae

2009-01-15T09:30:00.003+13:00

I need an updated c.v. for the job I just won and for potential future opportunities.
KittyKat wrote me a lovely reference [see post below], as have several other students and parents. I am hoping interested people might leave a comment here that I may use for reference purposes. I can then place a link to this post in any online c.v.'s I might construct.
Being specific about just how marvellous I am would be useful.
Also, if anyone has access to worthwhile c.v. resources, a push in the right direction would be appreciated as I haven't written a c.v. for over 8 years :-)

Sour snakes for anyone who leaves a useful comment ;-)

Dog Monster

2009-01-14T15:57:00.006+13:00

I love my dog, Manolo Guevara - Manny for short.
We love to go on adventures. I stretch the boundaries of what we should get up to by letting him off the lead a lot. He gets to run and chase bunnies and swim in the river and sometimes dig tunnels into rabbit burrows in the side of banks along the Waikato River [as pictured above]. He's an energetic boy and every day he gets out for at least two walks - walks that include a lot of running, sniffing, and usually some chasing. But don't worry, he doesn't hurt any bunnies or ducks he might happen to catch. He seems to have some sort of retrieving instinct that means he doesn't hurt them. Most interesting...
His heritage is a mystery to us except that he is a staffie cross and he was left to starve to death in a cage by his evil former owners. Scum like that should be locked in cages to starve i reckon.
I meet interesting dog owners on the river walks that suggest he is part boxer, part lab, part pitbull, etc. All I know is he's all lovely. I hate it when snooty people pull their dogs away from him as he goes for a bum sniff. Or people who won't answer a cheery "hello" except with a scowl. Those people are ignorant and rude and the media hasn't helped. The media shows stories of dogs like Manny hurting people, but they never show stories of labs biting people - and labs bite more people than any other breed in NZ.
Staffies are beautiful dogs with a friendly, loving nature. They are smart, energetic and fun.

I love my boy :-)

Thank you god of schools

2009-01-14T14:52:00.001+13:00

Kitty Kat said...: hey mr woody,

i figure you'll probably get this through your email so i just decided to write on this post because it seemed to make sense.

i'm writing this to say good luck for next year (at fairfield?) and the rest of forever. i had an amazing year last year (well 2007) and that was mainly thanks to you.

i've figured out what made you such a good teacher...as well as teaching me how to teach myself and things, you taught me people skills. you created a fun and happy place where i could learn and enjoy myself. and that suited me really well. you made school something which i enjoyed rather than something which was...boring? so far you are (over all) the best teacher i have ever had. and i think i'll remember that year forever.

i didn't really talk to you last year but by the sounds of your blog you had a good year.

sorry i didn't get to come and see you on the last day and say this in person but i was a bit teary and not thinking straight.

thanks so much mr woody. i hope your having a good holiday. mum and dad say hi.

from kate.

MeMe ! 7 things you may not have known about me...

2009-01-13T09:28:00.012+13:00

I am reluctant to do this in some ways, but on the other hand, why not? The "science" of memetics has been studied and discussed in relation to our societal evolution. I find this interesting enough to stick my oar in...

So, by sharing 7 "interesting" [supposedly unknown] things about myself then tagging 7 friends [no obligation of course] I am engaging in the development of my PLN friendships :-)

1. When i was a baby I hung out with chooks and i apparently I ate their poo. This could be why I now have four hens in my backyard... [I do not enagage in the fecal freakishness anymore].
We lived in Hamilheaven/Hamiltron, City of the Future, but my father was originally a farm lad who became a shearer and along with his elder brother Dawson and my grandad Jack Woodcock, they became the Woodcock gang. This unnerved my other beloved grandfather, Claude Tucker, who thought they were a real gang and felt this was inappropriate for his eldest daughter, my mother Susan, to marry into. But she did and here I am.

2. I've been doing various martial arts since i was 15 [with breaks], including tae kwan do, philipino stick fighting, kick boxing, aikido and now kendo, which many of you know from my ramblings. However, the embarrassing part is that as a teen, I wanted to be a ninja! I even went to Togakure Ryu Ninjitsu school in Australia to visit and see what they were up to. It turns out they were whackjobs and I thought i might be better off becoming a wildlfife documentary maker like David Attenborough. A close call....

3. I've been diversely employed in my time... from accounts clerk, to water bed installer, to futon bed shop manager, to govt property valuer, to systems auditing consultant in London, to ostrich pimp. There's more but you get the picture. Teaching is the first job I've done for more than a year and i spent the first 8 at the same school.
When I was young I wanted to be a David Attenborough type. Now I want to make weird graphic novels, digital stories and short films, work in conservation and be independently wealthy so i don't have to be a wage slave.

4. When I was 20 I snapped my anterior cruciate ligament and tore my knee cartilage. Ten years later, and after many unpleasant experiences where people had to help me put my leg back into order so i could stand up, John Sullivan [surgeon, R.I.P.] did what my first useless surgeon refused to and fixed it by drilling holes in various leg bones, cutting out patella tendon and screwing it into place with titanium screws to replace the torn ligamant. Works nicely thanks John! Now, ten or so years later again, I am visiting John Sullivan House to deal with another irksome medical issue. Coincidence? Or is John Sullivan my medical guardian angel hmmm...

5. One of my favourite NZ experiences has been staying and working on Little Barrier Island for two weeks when I was at uni studying biology. It is a wonderland of bird life. It's a shame we have ravaged so much of our land that our unique native fauna is virtually non-existent by comparison. Having breakfast with kaka sitting on your head and shoulders is quite a nifty experience.

6. I draw comic type doodles and have a draft version of a graphic novel based around the idea that a genetic code was sent here by a dying race from Sirius. The dna "virus" infected life on Earth at an early stage, influencing evolutionary trends, ultimately leading to the development of what we now see as human beings and all their strange ways. This all comes inpart from my grandfather Claude who is convinced of this due to his discoveries whilst in Egypt during WW2 as a member of the 5th Field Ambulance.

7. I find religion reeeeally really fascinating. I have been raised completely irreligiously, which i take as a great boon. I generally consider religious people to interesting because I find it difficult to understand why people believe in things that are so far-fetched and based on such out of date ideas that are contrary to modern understandings of the world - especially if they deny science or take ancient religious texts literally.
I went to uni in 1988 with the goal of discovering how the world works through the study of earth sciences, biology, paleontology, etc. I also took religious studies - you know, studying the history of and practice of religion from an academic perspective. I graduated many moons later after a study, work and travel [20 countries in all] cycle, with a B.A. in religious studies and Biology mainly, with a little politics, philosophy, sociology and Spanish thrown in.
I found I became more tolerant in some ways and less in others. I continue to struggle with my critical dismissal of some of the more outlandish beliefs held by some religious folk whilst harbouring a tendency to want to believe in some peculiar and foolish things myself - I guess these both count as ways in which humans attempt to make sense of the world; understand life, the universe and everything.
As an answer to the life's mysteries 42 doesn't quite do it for me ;-) although i do respect Douglas Adams' perspective more than most.

So, who [or is it whom?] should i tag???
I think some of the people I would pick have either done it or would mock me for sending it through.... but i'll pick them anyway plus some others

efreeman
barbs1
suzievesper
heymilly
Amanda! [cos I know she's reading without participating and she has to upskill in ICT this year]
eT
Mr Teehan

why do we blog?

2009-01-12T17:38:00.003+13:00

Some teachery perspectives on why we blog with our students, the benefits, etc....
Thanks to "Her Majesty" for passing this on :-)

http://thenjournal.org/feature/175/

who versus whom

2009-01-11T12:39:00.000+13:00

grammar issues explained :-)

http://grammarvideos.wikispaces.com/

Cold Fusion

2009-01-09T10:02:00.006+13:00

I saw a cool t-shirt with this on it so i looked it up. It has little to do with t-shirts, but MEchboy might enjoy the post anyway :-)

So, Wikipedia says cold fusion is:

"In the broadest sense, cold fusion is any type of nuclear fusion accomplished without the high temperatures (millions of degrees Celsius) required for thermonuclear fusion. In common usage, "cold fusion" refers more narrowly to a postulated fusion process of unknown mechanism offered to explain a group of experimental results first reported by electrochemists Stanley Pons of the University of Utah and Martin Fleischmann of the University of Southampton."

[thanks to AgentK and various other Twitterites who have recently mentioned the t-shirt, hence my interest]

freedom of speech doesn't exist

2009-01-08T22:42:00.003+13:00

I found out this week that you can't ask rational, reasonable questions if it relates to certain groups of people... Like asking if Israel is committing human rights abuses against Palestinians. You can't ask that, apparently, without being anti-semitic.
That strikes me as uncool.
I didn't even share an opinion about it [as i don't know enough to have an informed one yet]. I merely asked a question.
Another question is, could the USA be considered the world's largest terrorist organisation for violating international law to invade Iraq, along with every other atrocity they've been behind in the name of democracy [or should i say, Western capitalism?]. - See Chomksy to see where i get my indoctrination from.

I was delighted this year when a student asked me to stop promoting cocoa products as this was supported by child slavery in West Africa. I tried to get them to think further on the subject by teasing them about how that might be a good way to avoid child unemployment, and i found that some of them were as indoctrinated and unwilling to think beyond their curently held, overheard, half-truth version of events as many adults are. Others were prepared to step aside from existing ideas and think for themselves before slamming my ridiculous thought provoker.
There is hope.

note to self...

2009-01-08T22:36:00.003+13:00

Don't blog when grumpy

One for the teachers...

2009-01-08T21:49:00.005+13:00

Of course, i suspect my blessed Room5ians will chip in with their two cents worth [no connection intended, David Warlick], but this is a thought for teachers....

Is anyone else starting to think that their might be a massive [perhaps not intentional] charade going on? I'm kinda happy to take part in it too, to some extent, and I have/do. However, something has occurred to me...

It all started by me spending the last three years going to the cool educational conferences.
I felt privileged to attend. I loved it! I got paid to go away, meet cool people, get excited, and come back to school full of enthusiasm and feeling as though all those things you knew, but didn't know you knew, had been illuminated for you by "experts"- people who really know what's going on and are prepared to tell you. . . [get where I'm heading yet?]
I would then, of course, be brought back down to earth by the mundane requirements of school and the ever so important details of the attendance register, the before school, during school and after school meetings to discuss all the dreadfully important things that teachers need to dicsuss [like whether or not to arrange a bike shed monitor for after school, or how to come up with the five magic words that represent the values of the school, or to go over what was said at the previous meeting about how to reduce the amount of time spent in meetings, etc.]
Those conferences became the highlight of my year. No meaningless assessment tasks to satisfy administrators, no duty, lot's of socialising - you get the picture. At them, experts would fly in from abroad to tell us what they thought. Or locals who had heard it before somewhere else would repeat the same message in a different way, in smaller sessions. If you were a really on-to-it teacher, you would be able to rework other peoples' theories and present them to people who hadn't heard them before, thus joining the elite club of those who know...
Sadly, the poor people not chosen to attend would then be in the dark. We enlightened ones would find snippets from Youtube, Twitter, TED, and so forth. We'd chuck together a wiki, or reveal some new and incredibly helpful techno thingy that would revolutionise teaching and voila - suddently we appear to know more than them, so long as we quoted Prensky or some other luminary and had a good joke or cartoon to start with.
Once hooked on the dizzying rush of academic advancement, we would spend our days and nights meeting together, twittering in online hoardes, sharing these esoteric gems so that we would know more and be more effective and, most importantly, know more than everyone else, all the while, never coming up with anything original or in anyway actually meaningful to the day to day lives of school children, but ever so effective at making us appear clever, because plenty of others don't know what we're on about. [agreed, i'm not very good at it yet so i'm bitter] ;-)
But in all seriousness, I do wonder if most of us aren't just repeating the same buzzwords, just trying to keep up with the most current trend, or be amongst the first to know about the next fleetingly "important" thing, because it makes us feel good and seem as though we are initiates into some higher echelon of educators.
But who really thinks that reworking Blooms taxonomy makes any difference to a child's love of learning and ability to do so effectively. Conversely, who thinks being a good actor and story teller makes more of a difference to children's engagement? What about being flexible enough to actually findout whats childrens needs and intersts are then cater to them - that's why i think it's BS that class sizes don't make a difference. How can you cater to individual needs effectively when you've got 30 plus of the little blighters?
I think I really got suspicious when two more of these experts actually got paid tens of thousands of dollars to come to our school to teach us how to brainstorm so we could work out how to construct our perfect school... Yes, you read correctly. To make it real, we then had to form research groups that worked hard after school each week for a couple of years to work out how to do what it was we thought we wanted to do.
After much stress and unnecessary extra work, we discovered that
A. Most of us didn't know very much about anything and certainly didn't agree on what we did know, and
B. Our school needed to have values, like respect, passion, etc.
Nothing changed of course, except that the experts got to drink more expensive whiskey as they chortled all the way home and we got five words to stick on our walls.
You can imagine the rest. They had at least fifty other schools paying them for this brilliant scheme. They had mastered the art of the conference presentation and made it a more profitable beast by delivering it directly to the multitudes. I think the key was to start by telling us a few things we really wanted to hear - like, homework is pointless and marking everything is unrealistic - they had me there!
I think I want to do what they do.
Anyway, I don't mean to offend. It's just something I've been wondering about. And I certainly don't know what i'm talking about.

Zooborns

2009-01-07T09:53:00.001+13:00

Maybe even "Mr Cynical" [guess who i mean] will like this one...

http://www.zooborns.com/

Hone your computer skills

2009-01-06T22:58:00.002+13:00

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/on-line.htm

try this site out for modules designed for kids your age [supposedly] to learn the skills involved in using several everyday computer applications like Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc.
Let me know if you think they would be useful for kids with limited experience of these things.

:-)

Left or Right Brain?

2009-01-06T10:36:00.004+13:00

There are theories about how our brains work and how we use them. One such theory relates to being left or right brained [- something which has no doubt been countered in recent times, but which is still interesting].
I looked at the spinning image in the linked article and saw the figure going a certain direction. That apparently indicates that i am right brained. I read the descriptions of left versus right brained people and yes, it described me accurately.
Which are you - left or right? And do you think the result and description match your way of thinking?

http://lateralaction.com/articles/left-brain-or-right/

the science of candy

2009-01-06T10:28:00.002+13:00

How to make science irresistable??? Well, it should be anyway, but a little sugar seems to help :-)

Making Candy

Motivating Creative People

2009-01-06T09:13:00.003+13:00

Yes, you little critters from Room5 are in fact people too. You are also creative [many of you]. Here is an online e-book to skim over regarding how to motivate creative people. If you're not interested, maybe your parents will be.
Check it out... if you can be bothered ;-)

http://lateralaction.com/articles/motivate-creative-people/

Science for kids

2009-01-04T13:44:00.005+13:00

Science is great because it helps you make sense of the world around you - it is a way to unravel mysteries [without switching off your brain and turning to ancient superstitions].
For example, how did life start on Earth? Did meteors have something to do with it perhaps?

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org

Why would we turn to bronze age, pre-scientific, explanations of our world when we know so much more now?

Cool Clustermap update

2009-01-04T12:49:00.002+13:00

Check out our visitor numbers by country via clustrmap :-)

Finally we can find out exactly which countries we are "famous" in.

TED and interesting human stuff

2009-01-04T12:38:00.005+13:00

Here is a link to a video clip with a dude chatting about some interesting human bits n bobs:

During part of it, you may recall what I told you about Protestantism, schisms within the Christian church, the significance of a monk named Martin Luther and the invention of the printing press. Interestingly, you guys had a more in-depth discussion about it than these educated adults do, but it is an entertainment "lecture" rather than a discussion - enjoyable though :-)

There are also references to space travel, meteorites and the energy required to read this post.

[Thanks to MrsBanjer from my Twitter community for the link.]

ePortfolios

2009-01-03T09:08:00.003+13:00

what is an eportfolio? how have you used them? what are the benefits or drawbacks?
In Room5 last year many of our books ended up being pretty lame as we did alot of work on things like blogs and wikis. Most parents never saw this wok for one reason or another. Yet i suspect the work online counted as an eportfolio of some kind. what do you think?

Coping with a 2 yr composite class

2009-01-02T11:27:00.004+13:00

I've always thought composite classes seemed weird. Who has been in one and what was your experience like? Can you give me any tips for success or describe things about working with y0unger or older kids in the same class that worked well for you? Can you advise me on aspects to try to avoid?
Also, please provide me with a list of skills, attitudes and values you think are important to learn and refine over a two year period.
:-)

funny voice from the past

2008-12-30T11:42:00.003+13:00

Today i got a message from a former student saying she knew one of the people in this year's class - she asked if that person had given me much trouble. that made me laugh. funnily enough it was someone who caused a few unsavoury issues ... but nothing too bad. sadly there was some nastiness from their parent but we expect that in our job [- and don't assume you know who it is please, but the person wrote a nasty letter to the principal about me]. there is always someone who has their own problems and tries to cause trouble at school. naturally this makes teaching a harder profession for people to stick with. fortunately the overwhelming majority of parents find me a decent teacher/person who genuinely cares for and tries to foster creativity and thinking skills in students. i reeeeeally appreciated the heartfelt messages from kids and parents alike at the end of this year. i could finish teaching now and look back fondly with pride having heard truly lovely words from the likes of Mojo and Roo's mums who came to see me in the last week. it was also cool to receive thanks and farewells from former students and their parents. Also the sincere affection and gratitude from the likes of DreamHuntress and Roo. It warmed the cockles of my heart to be invited to become a family friend of awesomo4000. How could i forget the battle with logon for the hand of my wife. and of course, i treasure the gift of tears when shed in parting. I will remember the love many of you shared for gardening. the way you discussed such big concepts like globalisation. the incredible projects produced by the likes of Gaboose, NeinaMarie and Mudpies. The awesome determination and successes of Kittymilo. your class connections with Mr TEehan's class in New Jersey. Hamiltron's fantastic general knoweldge about world events. your world fame via this blog. the partnership with the HCC and the youth council. mechboy's encoragemtn to read the Bill Bryson book [i have it by me now, Mechboy] your work with Microsoft Partners in Learning. Savvy's personal assistance. Snowy's undying commtiment to our class. Hilzy's fame in public. Ellabella's potatohead and forgetfulness. being called mum and mr woodcock sir and mr woodcock ma'am. your awesome cheerful greetings. hugs. playfights. french cricket. asian dub foundation [even though they left]! and so much more!
I find it reassuring that you kids avoided nastiness this year. in fact all of you were really good considering how things normally end up with people fighting in term four.
i did think it was pretty stink to have someone trying to record me in class with their cell phone with the idea of getting me in trouble. i suspect the aforementioned parent at home didn't help that situation. sadly it's behaviour like that that spoils trust and openness and risk taking in education. it also makes prinicipals ban cell phones from school. if everyone used technology responsibly it would be much easier to promote its uninhibited use in schools. students must remember that most teachers are less techno savvy than them and are afraid of what they don't understand. so, to allow teachers to step outside their comfort zone everything needs to be SAFE for everyone. to make it riskier for schools by doing silly things holds us all back. thankfully your exceptional use of this blog has been exemplary and allowed us to continue in an open way. one or two people posted some naughty things this year but i got rid of them quickly before others saw them. i know who did it and i am not surprised. [remember, everything you put on the internet is traceable and there forever...]
anyhow, Room5ians definitely RULE! there will never be another bunch like you guys. well done and arohanui!

pop up books

2008-12-29T19:30:00.006+13:00

Here's a holiday project for you arty farty Room5ians...

Create a pop up cartoon/drawing/illustration/collage/painting book like JimWoodring has. See more of his interesting examples on his blog by clicking the link in red.

And if you're wondering what a moleskin[e] is [apart from the outer covering of a mole] it is an expensive visual diary made famous by various artists, writers, etc.: