Wednesday 30 September 2015

Blogging Legend?

Can we claim to be legends in such an ephemeral environment as the internet?

What defines legend?

Etymology Online gives us the origin:
legend (n.) early 14c., "narrative dealing with a happening or an event," from Old French legende (12c., Modern French légende) and directly from Medieval Latin legenda"legend, story," literally "(things) to be read," on certain days in church, etc., from Latin legendus, neuter plural gerundive of legere "to read, gather, select".

Used originally of saints' lives; extended sense of "nonhistorical or mythical story" first recorded late 14c. Meaning "writing or inscription" (especially on a coin or medal) is from 1610s; on a map, illustration, etc., from 1903.

Merriam-Webster gives us a definition:
: a story from the past that is believed by many people but cannot be proved to be true
: a famous or important person who is known for doing something extremely well
: a list that explains the symbols on a map

Are we "famous or important"? Well, I'm not. And I don't do anything "extremely well," so I don't qualify there, either. 

I'll settle for the 1840's version of myth. That's me.

Tuesday 29 September 2015

Digital Storytelling #cenz15

My Fishy Tail Tale (opens in new window) #cenz15

and this: Connected Me #cenz15

The Benefits of Social Bookmarking

Personal applications of using Bundlr (or similar sites/apps like del.icio.us)?

  • Sharing related content as I find it, with students and peers
  • collecting my 'thoughts' as I go (a patch for my terrible short-term memory)
  • tagging to link/connect/bundle content
  • connecting with peers with shared interests/links

Monday 28 September 2015

Oh, now it's on!

Blogging legend


  1. Check out the #edblognz blogroll as often as possible and comment on as many posts as you can to help encourage a critical and supportive NZ edu-blogging community.
  2. Write a blog post about why you blog professionally and some of the things you blog about. Share it using the #EdBlogNZ hashtag so the newbies can get further ideas to blog about.
  3. Write a blog post about your favourite movie/song/piece of art including how it relates to your life as an educator.

    2. I blog professionally, when I remember and when I can, to help me reflect on my practice. It also helps sometimes to write down how I feel about the challenges and triumphs of my day. I hope to be able to look back on these posts and see how far I've come as a professional and as a person. 

    3. My favourite movie/song/piece of art? I have too many to list, so perhaps that's my post... 
    I have an eclectic taste in all things and that's part of my teaching philosophy too. It takes many approaches to suit the many learners I have in my care. 
    Music? I listen to all sorts - classical, R&B, Alt. Rock, D&B, Trance/Rave/Ambient, Dubstep, Dub, Country, Pop... it all depends on my mood. Just as my approach in the classroom depends on my mood, the learners, their moods, the topic, the lesson, the learning objectives. It's a moveable feast and I have to be ready to move with it. Be adaptable and flexible. It's not my way or the highway. It's whatever way we need to take to get to the destination (and the destination can change too!)
    Movies? I have MANY favourites - Bladerunner, Dune, Gallipoli, The Dam Busters, Notting Hill (there, I wrote it), LOTR/Hobbit, Aliens, Good Will Hunting, The Good Shepherd, About Time, Twilight - Breaking Dawn (yes, I wrote that one down, too!) ... the list continues. Again, it depends on my mood and how long it's been since I last saw it. Unlike my music, I can't really revisit a movie too soon after first seeing it (usually). So it is with my teaching. Or so it is becoming. I have less tolerance for the 'tried and true' and often go off-script now. You guessed it - it all depends on the learners and the moment.
    Art? The same applies here - Impressionist, cubist, gothic, abstract, realist, graffiti, modernist. Turner, Van Gogh, Dali, da Vinci, Picasso, Renoir, Warhol, Chagall, Banksy. Any and all, depending on my mood and the moment.


    Sunday 27 September 2015

    More Tools


    Further thoughts on the tools I use:
    • An interactive whiteboard that is really nothing more than a glorified projector screen because I didn't have the time, energy or support to learn how to use the software effectively as a PRT
    • An iPad that I use occasionally when at a student's desk to explore/share online resources and as a partial replacement to my Planner/Diary
    • An SMS that I am only beginning to gain confidence in using to enter and retrieve data as evidence of learning and the effectiveness of some strategies I try in class


    Connected Educators #EdBlogNZ Challenge - Week 1

    I'm up for anything, so here goes:

    http://edblognz.blogspot.co.nz/2015/09/connected-educators-edblognz-challenge.html

    Casual blogger

    1. Think about your teaching practice. How has it evolved over time? What are you currently working on developing in your practice? What tools have you used during this inquiry time?
    2. Who are some legendary bloggers, educators, inspiring leaders that help you to dream bigger?
    3. Encourage a colleague/friend to begin blogging and help them to set up their own blog.

    1. My teaching practice: This is Year 7 and my practice has changed/adapted/grown over the years from "Newbie wondering what the hell I'm doing" to "Less of a Newbie, still wondering what the hell I'm doing but with slightly more of a clue than I had before." I have become less concerned with following the prescribed list of topics and more interested in going off-reservation in terms of topic choice. I want to help the students I have in front of me become more connected, more engaged, more excited about their journey than they were coming in. I am on fire for priority learners, particularly Maori students, and desperately want them to (re)connect with their identity, as individuals and as part of a community, with their turangawaewae, with their whakapapa.
    Know thyself. Be strong in your sense of self and belonging and you can navigate any water, just as your tupuna did.
    Whatever topics and methods I can explore, test and evaluate, I am becoming more ready to do. A bit less timid in trying new things in my learning space. The tools? I am using GAFE in as many ways as possible (and trying to learn more). That's it for now. More to follow later, perhaps.

    2. Ken Robinson. Mark Osborne. Tony Cairns.
    3. I'm working on it... :)

    Here we go...

    Well, here we are again. Another day, another blog.
    I realised today that I need more blogs in my life. Not blog posts. Just blogs. One can never have enough blogs. They're a bit like... oh, I don't know, cat videos. You can never have too many of those either.
    So here's another one (blog) for me. At work. Hence the @Work bit in the blog title.