Dust Echoes

Hi there,

Today we looked at some aboriginal dream time stories on the website:

http://www.abc.net.au/dustechoes

The website has study guides attached to each of the stories, as well as possible classroom activities. This ties into the art adn the literacy domains.

We were asked to go through one of the stories on this website and determine the most significnat images and create a mind-map on Inspiration 8.0.

I chose the story called Morning Star, which was about the first death in the camp. The images that I had chosen was (a) the discovery of the first death, (b) burning the body (c) creating a circle to put the body onto display (d) dancing to send the spirit off to the next life, (e) bathing themselves and (f) the birth of a new member of the camp and the start of the new day.

This was such an entertaining exercise. I loved looking at all of the classroom activities and lessons. I value the multi-dimensional aspects of these activities.

The next activitiy that we completed was graphing the colour of M&M's in a small box. First we recorded a tally of the results on Microsoft Excel. This tally had the columns Colour and Number. Using this table, we created a graph of the results. I found this to be a very entertaining experience. We then went onto the M&M's website and saw that there was a ratio for the number of different colours in each packet. I feel that this would be a wonderful lesson for students from grade 2 onwards.

I am off to my second practicum, so I will not be posting for a little while. I will write a few comments about practicum after I have completed it. I am nervous but excited at the same time.

Talk soon.

Ann

QUIA

Hi again,

In this class we did a number of activities. The first of which, "How to make a Frog Jump". In this activity we were to design a method of making a frog jump using the following resources:

• sticky tape
• cardboard
• rubber band
• frog image
• scissors
• student knowedge
  

When completing this task Justine and I created a frog jumper by folding the cardboard in half, stickytaping the frog to one side of the cardboard, poking two holes in each side of the cardboard and threading the elastic band through each of the holes and tying the rubber band together. This was a very effective method of getting the frog to jump.

This project was great to do as it allowed students to be creative, and incorporated science into the lesson. As Greg suggested, Science is not something to be shyed away from.

Our other activities involved the website www.quia.com. This is such an amazing website, and i'm so thrilled to have a 30 day trial of the program.

First, we created a quiz with multiple choice answers on a topic of our choice. I chose to complete a quiz on the main characters of classic literature. I love literature, as you would be able to tell. Books are a huge part of my identity. Please find the link to my quiz below:

http://www.quia.com/quiz/2514040.html

Second, we created a game on a topic of our choice. I chose to complete a millionaire game on the characters of Harry Potter. Please find the link to my quiz below:

http://www.quia.com/rr/650526.html

This program is fantastic. When Greg mentioned that what was seen on our trial was only a portion of what was available, I was thrilled and excited. I would be happy to complete lessons using this program. It would be an interesting, engaging and fun way of children to learn. It is also important to understand that this can be used as a form of both formative and summative assessment.

As I have worked through all of the programs in this subject, I have come to understand that knowledge of Information Technology is very important when you are a primary school teacher. Students are not engaged by the same things that we were when we were at school. I was never one for IT until I was in year 5. At my first placement school, all of the prep students were learning blends on Essential Phonics and on other programs that would help in their learning.

Teachers need to learn about new technologies in order to keep up with the children.

A valuable lesson today. I loved it.

See you next week

Ann
xxx

Applying for jobs and applying publisher

Hi again everyone, Ann here

Today we had an excellent discussion about the process of applying for jobs. It is so nice to know that other people had the same questions that I do. We discussed the interview process, the application process, and other key pieces of information that would be necessary when applying for jobs.

One of the key things that I took from this was that application anxiety is completely natural. I do have a current plan regarding next year. I plan to do CRT for the first year. I did not have a good experience in my first placement, and as a result I feel that I need to gain my confidence and hone my skills in classroom management.

It was also nice to get some insight as to what to do to get your foot in the door with relief teaching. This includes, providing a covering letter and a resume to the school and to provide details of availablility.

I also found the interview process was explained very well. I never realised that excessive perfume would be such an issue. I truly appreciated the good humour in which Greg Powell explained about applications and interview processes. It was also reiterated, that it is nesessary to be prepared, calm and in control of your nerves.


Following this we moved on to the program Microsoft Publisher. We firstly created a brochure on our destination of choice. Hawaii is my destination of choice for my honeymoon at the end of this year. I got married on ANZAC day this year. My husband and I are waiting for the best time to take our holiday.







The last activity that we completed during this lesson was starting our minor assignment. We were to create a website on Microsoft Publisher, and learnt the basic functions of the program.



I found todays workshop so helpful. I found it to be infomative, interesting and engaging. I am looking forward to the next one.

Signing off

Ann xxxx