Welcoming the Dragon was not as noisy an affair as other years as the government had done a crackdown on where the fireworks were allowed to be set off. Actually, all that meant was that the incredible fireworks display did not start early and actually did not spread completely across the entire city as it did last year but the closer we got to midnight the excitement really began. The video I took is quite long and was right during the midnight time. All of the video is of fireworks that are exploding right on the street in front of me and the houses right across the street. I could feel the heat and as I took the video. I am bless to have an amazing 180 degree view of the city from my window. By the way, the temperature was -10 degrees celsius and I was freezing as I wasn’t wearing any gloves. Enjoy. Xin Nian Kuai Le.
Electronic Village Online Course
January 13th, 2012 · No Comments · ELECTRONIC VILLAGE ONLINE
I have begun the EVO course – Digital Tools in the Classroom. It is very interesting so far as well as challenging. I am using a page on my blog to record my learning.The first thing we had to do was create an introduction. I decided to use Animoto as I am able to make longer videos.
Hi, I am Heather
Double check under the page Digital Tools for the Classroom to see what I have been sandboxing. At the moment the most interesting one has been the Technology Integration Matrix. Well worth a look and a think. That is what I am doing as I spend time analyzing it.
Tags:Digital Tools·edmodo·EVO
Happy Birthday to Me
January 13th, 2012 · 3 Comments · MORE PERSONAL
Today, January 13th and I am 61 years old. That really seems impossible as I don’t feel a day older than 43 though my bad knee makes me feel 85 often.
Why am I writing a post to celebrate my own birthday? Because so much good stuff has happened during this past year and 365 days ago I was very depressed about the future and what it might hold. Now I am excited about the future and all the possibilities. I know where I am going to be working next year and am thrilled at the opportunity to learn a new culture, meet new people and possibly learn a new language. (I have not been very successful on that previously with French and Chinese but I live in hope that my language learning gene will suddenly kick in).
Celebrating my birthday with my great class
Tags:birthday
I love learning new things
January 8th, 2012 · No Comments · MORE THOUGHTS
A wonderful discovery last night was found on Flipboard. It is called Dear Photograph. From what I can figure out from the wonderful pictures is that you take one of your old photographs and return to the location where the picture was taken. Then you take a new photograph that includes the old photograph. It is hard to explain but it is fascinating and in many ways quite moving.A wonderful discovery last night was found on Flipboard. It is called Dear Photograph. From what I can figure out from the wonderful pictures is that you take one of your old photographs and return to the location where the picture was taken. Then you take a new photograph that includes the old photograph. It is hard to explain but it is fascinating and in many ways quite moving.
A Great Photo from Dear Photograph
Tags:Dear Photograph
Happy New Year for the first time
January 5th, 2012 · 2 Comments · MORE THOUGHTS
One of the advantages of living in China, and there are many, is the fact that if the New Year doesn’t quite begin the way you would like it to you can always do a do-over with Chinese New Year. This year Chinese New Year is January 23rd, very early, which means that we are back to school after Christmas but only have to teach for 13 days before we are off for another week’s holiday. It is nice though it is turning out to be a bit of a struggle to figure out what to teach my little darlings during this time as a number of families choose not to return until after Chinese New Year.
I decided to focus a bit more on blogging. Up to this point a student could only earn a blog if they met a certain set of standards but the problem with this was that I was driving myself insane trying to stay up to date with what is going on and who did what etc. Yesterday, when I only had eight students in my regular Literacy class because the rest were either away or in EAL, I decided to take them to the IT lab and gave all of them their own blogs. They were so excited. The great part about it was that once I started setting them up the two students who are part of the original blogging group moved around the class to support the new bloggers. It was great to see.
What I have learned so far in the past three months with my four bloggers is that it really works. They are becoming more comfortable writing and are starting to spread their wings in what they write about. At first I was, again, the control freak and insisted they write about school but that got old really fast so we decided as a group to expand the parameters and let them write about what they chose to write about but we also discussed what was acceptable and what was not acceptable. They are amazing at policing themselves.
The rest of the class has been hard at work writing good comments and I have been so happy with the results that I am seeing. They really do work hard to make sure that it is good grammar and correct spelling. the part that is a bit difficult is with my EAL students that want to participate and most of them do leave comments but often their English is lacking in certain areas. How hard on them do I need to be to have acceptable comments without making them feel like a failure because I won’t approve anything they write or they have to continually rewrite comments which as it happens hardly ever happens. Lately, I have been letting some comments go through that have weak English but I consider who has written the comment, usually my lower EAL students and weight it against the advantages they are receiving with seeing their comments published. Does anyone have any great suggestions?
Anyway, the experiment that began with trepidation has been overall a success and I am glad that I am going to have some real life experience to take with me to my next job. I can tell teachers legitimately that blogging really works.
One of the nice things that has happened is with one of my students Abi. She was part of the original group and not only is she developing into a great blogger but she has a real eye for the camera and is taking great pictures to go with her posts. This was a side benefit I didn’t expect. Emily, who is an amazing girl has created a very personal and authentic site that is exactly who she is in real life. Maja and Leo and also experimenting with their writing but do not contribute quite as much as the other two. Regardless, they would all love for you to visit their blogs.
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The wonderful sound of laughter
December 6th, 2011 · 2 Comments · MORE THOUGHTS
Today during our regular Tuesday IT time we talked about what makes a computers brain different from a person’s brain. We had a lot of fun as Damia and Michelle demonstrated the difference. Damia was a person and could think on her own. She was given the instructions to walk forward to the wall and go out the door. Michelle was the computer brain and did a great job of only doing what she was told to do. Very quickly the students made the connections that Damia got to the wall and made a decision on her own to turn and walk across the classroom and out the door. It was great to see the eyes light up and the laughter that burst out.
Then we talked about programming a computer and how even really young people are learning to programme. Finally we looked at the wonderful programming app called Scratch that was created at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for young children to learn how programming works. Oh what fun….. The laughter and excitement that filled the lab was great. Sprites (the initial figure on the screen – actually a cat) were running in circles, planes were flying frontwards and backwards and everything in between was happening. There were weird backgrounds appearing. Suddenly the room was abuzz with loud voices exclaiming over discoveries, sharing with each other and my name being shouted over and over so I would come and see what they had designed.
What is amazing is how quickly they all adapted to the challenge. Andy was a great help as he shared what he had learned previously and the whole class was “Wow!!” This got everyone working harder.I learned a lot.
I was first introduced to Scratch about two years ago but it wasn’t until last year that I really began to incorporate it into the classroom when we got the program but on our lab computers. What a great program
The best part of the whole lesson was the learning that happened while the room was filled with laughter and excitement. That is real learning.
Maybe somewhere in the class I have a young girl or boy who is the next Thomas Suarez. I hope I can open their hearts and ideas.
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Today must be the day for learning
December 3rd, 2011 · No Comments · MORE THOUGHTS
I have spent a good portion of today learning more about Edublogs, the plugins and widgets. What is amazing about this platform is the tremendous support there is for the user. I really appreciate it especially all the information Sue Waters writes.
I also had a small exciting thing happen today. I got a mention in a blog that I had nominated. I really like Kim Caise’s blog and the things she shares. It was cool this morning to wake up and have a ping back – actually my first one…. In fact I had to go online and look up what a ping back was. Live and learn. Today I certainly have…..
http://kimcaise.com/blogging/welcome-to-my-new-blog/
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Things, they are a’changin’!!!
December 3rd, 2011 · 8 Comments · MORE THOUGHTS, THINGS ARE CHANGING
Well, other than the fact that the English in the title is absolutely terrible it is my new reality. I have been in a classroom in one way or another since I was five years old. It has been the centre of my school days and professional life with the exception of a ten year break when I worked in an office (that is a story for another time or maybe one best forgotten).
So it was a bit of a shock the other morning when I woke and was thinking about the future and what I would be doing in my classroom for the day and realized that next year I would no longer be in the classroom full-time. In actuality I still have to work through that process.
Don’t get me wrong, I am very excited about the prospects at my new job. I fell in love with all things Web 2.0 especially in the educational context a number of years ago. I have eagerly applied so many thing I have discovered to my own students. At the back of my mind was always the dream that I would someday be able to focus on my new passion full-time. That is now a reality or will soon be a reality next school year.
What also struck me is that it is time to get down to learning what my new job as an Integrating Technology Specialist really involves. I don’t mean just for my new school but what it means to classroom teachers who work with one and to the Specialists themselves. I want to understand all of the different levels of collaboration, working with teachers, working with students, suggestions, understanding curriculum and providing professional development. How does an IT Specialist fit into the overall picture?
Last night when I was having difficulty sleeping I decided to start to read the new White Paper that has been published by ISTE entitled Technology, Coaching and Community. While this may seem like an unusual choice and by some could be viewed in the same light as counting sheep or drinking hot milk to sleep, that is not what happened. It fact my brain began to come alive with thoughts, possibilities and most of all with excitement. The future is indeed exciting….and it is going to be a great change.
Any suggestions or ideas? I want to hear from everyone.
Tags:ISTE
Edublog Awards Nominations
December 2nd, 2011 · 4 Comments · MORE THOUGHTS, ONLINE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
This is actually the third year that I have been part of this process though just the second in being part of the nominating. Here are my suggestions:
Best Individual Blog – Langwitches Blog – The Magic of Learning
Best Class Blog – Mrs. Yollis Class Blog
Best Student Blog – Abi’s School Blog
Best teacher blog E Journey
Best Ed Tech/Resource Sharing Blog – Kim’s Technology Treasure Chest
Best Free Web Tool – Edmodo
Best educational use of audio/visual/video/podcast – K12 Online Conference
Best open PD/unconference/webinar series – Global Education Conference
Best Educational Use of a social network – Classroom 2.0 Ning
Lifetime Achievement - Vicki Davis – Cool Cat Teacher
I certainly didn’t enter a choice for every category as there are some where I have no idea and others like Twitter that I am unable to use. It will be interesting to see how this all works out. I do like the fact, though, that every year I become more comfortable with my choices and don’t have to go hunting for what other people have said or might think to get ideas.
As they say in Aussie land “Good on ya’ Heath.”
I am totally blown away….
November 30th, 2011 · No Comments · K 12 ONLINE CONFERENCE 2011
The K12 Online Conference totally rocks. I have enjoyed all of the sessions so far. Three of them have stood out for me or at least parts of them.
1) The Pre-conference Keynote by Angela Maiers was just a great way to kick off the conference. I listened to it a few days after it was posted and so I didn’t have that long wait for the conference to begin. Using her understanding of children at play she set the stage and gave all of us permission to start to play again. While the videos of the little guys playing was good and cute I did feel that maybe a little bit older children included in another video would also have been great. But, of course, that is just me…… It was also great to see the beautiful sunshine and blue skies behind her during her presentation especially while sitting in cold Beijing. Her continually recurring theme of “You Matter” was a great reminder to me especially as my life seems to be going through a bit of change….Job hunting can sometimes be a difficult task with the uncertainties and the questions of whether your value will be of value to someone else. The reminder that I Matter was a great encouragement.
(PS – since I wrote this I have accepted a position for next year – apparently I do matter.)
2. George Couros (a favourite of mine since we are Canadians) talked about many things but the one that stood out the most was the idea of what would happen if we spent 100 hours learning something we didn’t know. It should be different from our day job and something we have always wanted to learn or never really thought we ever could learn. For some it may be an instrument. For others it may be a language and learning to run a marathon…who knows. Anyway, the point was made that if we took up this challenge and also were transparent about our learning and the struggles what a terrific example would it be for our students, families or just people that we come in contact with us. How fantastic would it be for our students to see us learning something new….
I was able to do that to a certain extent when I shared my work with my students when I was working on my Masters program. While they probably didn’t really understand what I was doing they thought it was incredibly cool that I was going to school at the same time they were and having to do homework.
I can't even count the strokes.
3. The one I just watched is a MUST WATCH for everyone. The Black Line Mystery – a story about the most complicated chinese character known to mankind and its community I am not going to spend a lot of time talking about it because I cannot emphasize enough the excitement of watching this presentation – it makes me wish I was Agent 42 or even Charlie. (you have to watch it to understand). What brilliant work educators are doing around the world. It is amazing how one idea can turn into this project that just continues on. It reminds me of the Around the World with 80 Schools project that start a few years ago and is still going though the creator is now doing something else. Teachers from all over are discovering it for the first time and getting involved.
Note: I have also just discovered that the Black Line Mystery was presented at the Global Education Conference. Check it out.
Another example was given at the Global Education Conference called The Global Read Aloud – how one idea connected 4,000 students created by Pernille Ripp 5th grade teacher West Middleton Elementary. It is an honest account of how an idea starts in a teacher’s mind and grows and grows.
My amazement continues to grow at the ingenuity of educators around the world and what happens when we are given a voice. While there are cries that education has not changed in 100 years all things considered I prefer the possibilities that we have now…. I wonder what we will think of next.
Tags:angela makers·Around the World in 80 Schools·george couros·global education conference·Global Read Aloud Project·K12 Online Conference·Sandbox·The Black Line Mystery
