So close, yet so far

Just saw Bec’s blog, sums up how my day travelled and my thoughts exactly. She must have read my mind! If you haven’t already check it out, it is a good little read

I cannot wait till tomorrow, well Friday actually as that is when my extension is till. Although the end is near and I will be done before then, it just feel like I am a kid on a swing and my feet just cannot touch the ground and I am doing the running man.

Best of luck to all; those that have finished and to those about to see the light at the end of the tunnel

image curtsey of: daily mail

Bare Classrooms

So I had a thought today while finishing off my reflection for my final assessment piece that majority of the classrooms that I was in, especially those in the new building are very bare. Most of the wall are white, or at the least lack any kind of education material, resources of students work. I found this interesting as such resources can assist with students learning and environment for learning. It was not a case of lack of wall space; the complete opposite actually. With multiply rooms having pin board surface coverings to accommodate materials to be hung.

Have anyone else found or seen such possible changes on placement? With the implementation on more ICTs are our classroom environments seeing less attention, with more focus for eyes to screens

Limited Break – One Semester closes, another one opens!

Much the same as Lindsay I will be relieved at seeing the end of Assignment 3, and looking for at least a week or two’s break before summer school….if I’m lucky.

It will be nice to enjoy a weekend or two, without the laptop (yes it is possible) and without having to read or log on to USQ. Although I fell this may not be a realistic goal for myself as I depart for Borneo during the semester and will need to get on early and see what deal is. Oh the joys of studying and time management.

I am generally pretty good with my time, working 3 jobs with personal and team sporting commitments 5 days a week the only night I am home is Friday; but I have found this book in the past to be a great read

IWBs

Like Clare, I was super excited at the chance to use an interactive white board on my prac just gone, but it for me it wasn’t to be.

While the college had them installed in classrooms around the school, the ones that I happened to be in did not have them. After speaking with my mentor about this, as there was a new building recently installed and none of those rooms had one either; apparently as technology has grown so fast with new apps and programs IWB, for what they can do are deemed to expansive. The school has gone back to projectors on to a white board/wall and or installed TVs on the wall for an HDMI kind of set up.

Hopefully next time round I will meet an IWB and get to have a play.

*image curtsey of: http://www.flickr.com

Prac. Done.

So prac is done and dusted. I hope that everyone had a great time implementing (or at least attempting to implement) ICTs into there lesson plans and classrooms.

While my experience was great and I have added a few bits and pieces to my tool kit I am glad to be back to my routine. It’s prac time that my mind and body remembers how trying and full on life can sometimes be, that we forget to take time out of our busy days to relax and unwind.

Best wishes to those still on prac and/or those that have an extension (yay for me, but not really)….silly public holiday.

Which side of the comma are you?

As a teacher which side of the comma do you sit? Hopefully to the left, helping students change by choice.

We each chose to roll out of bed each day to the profession that we love (hopefully). But as teachers, sometimes it is not about us but about imparting knowledge on the many eyes staring back at us

Week 3 – Appreciation Post

Even though week 3 is right around the corner now, meaning PE is coming to an end. It has been great so see the amount of sharing of resources and materials that are out there to be utlised. While it is daunting walking into a school that has resources you have never used or ones that you are unable to use that you have in the past….our tool belt is growing. At least that is what I would like to think, as there are so many subscriptions to websites and learning materials I would like to think that there would be some continuity among teachers and education systems as to not send us broke. But that’s another story for another day.

Thank you to Judy for sharing your resource and to any others that have to. If anyone has been using videos/YouTube I found this great resource for adding notes. I am yet to use it, but if I cannot find the time over the next few days I will be sure to keep it in mind for next year!

Reflections – ICTs and lesson timeframes

It’s almost hump day of week 2 and it is interesting to read other students Prac blogs. Initially like Lorraine I too was short of time for my first lesson, but this worked in my favour. As the lesson content I was to teach was to be spread across two lessons. It is funny how when planning you look at the timeframes and think ‘WOW’ that is such a long time, I don’t have enough tasks….but sure enough there doesn’t seem to be enough time for the things we want to teach. Upon reflection I can now see why it frustrated teachers when we were late to class back in the day.

It has been interesting implementing different ICTs into the classroom, some days you have a win in finding or developing something for the class; other days you want to pull your hair out. I am currently at a school (like most I assume) where a lot of websites are block and are either not accessible to students period or require the site to be unlocked by IT admin. As such it turns out that this is a plus for my mentor, as I write lessons implementing ICTs that she has lost touch with she can now use these sites/interactive games in the future.

Hope everyone is enjoying themselves 🙂

PE – Week 1 down!

So professional experience has official begun. Week 1 went by in a flash and now week 2 is about to get under way.

Classes are going well, I observed a few in my first week as well as being fortunate enough to spend time exploring unit materials. At the end of the week I taught year 11 Geography – Unit overview, connecting people and places. This class would see the first of my ICT materials implemented….at least that was the plan. It seems that I ran out of time to use/get through all that I wanted, meaning I will actually play the online game tomorrow. Stay tuned for the outcome!

It has actually been nice to start prac at the beginning of term; previously my allocations have been towards the middle and end. Starting the term means being able to see how everything rolls out. As term 4 is a short term for seniors there is a lot to get through in a very short period of time.

Thus far, I have also been lucky enough to attend/assist at an Open Day for junior students and families interested in the school. This was a great experiences as it was the first time I had attended such an event since leaving school. Not only that, it was a great chance for me to tour the school, as all I saw during the week was the path to staff meeting, the staff room and my classroom. With the exception on lunch duty, which was actually the permitter of the staff room.

Here’s to another week 🙂