it's time for me to have time for me

it's that reflective time of the year again

having just been to the brain-melting conference --- subtitle: collaborate. innovate. educate. (i'm gonna add connect + create to those three and call it my own.)

i have decided that it's time to lose those eight sneaky freaky kilos look after myself.

the last three months have been madness

month #1 preparing for ERO visit, ERO in classroom, great review, aftermath.

month #2 massive flood in house, carpet removal, glamping, insistence on house makeover / spring clean.

month #3 co-constructing national standards reports with students / cross-referencing to assessments, compiling student portfolios, student-led conferencing with all but two of my classkids, major crick in neck, writing cv, job interview --- i got the job! = 2 more years teaching at our skool --- secret garden overhaul, garage conversion to studio / rumpus.

all resulting in five o'clock wake-ups + manic house-clean-ups, huge crick in neck, no exercise, and general psycho behaviour.

thank the universe for the skool holidays

highlights:

physio fixing my neck.

danny graduating from university with a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours).

gorgeousness.

 

it seems so long since the apron strings days.

 

writing a poetry unit + jacking up little classroom visits from real live poets.

ulearn conf. gosh i'm so inspired. there are about 150 new ideas i wanna incorporate into the classroom + i neeeeeeed to have a wee prioritise.

very, very excited that what i've been doing these past couple of years seems to be called elearning and it's all about creating collaborative + innovative spaces where we are all teachers and learners. for me, it grew out of homeskooling. who knew others would be doing the same sorta thing? and i can access a huge community at the press of a button. ha, the joke's on me.

i found my bridesmaid that i haven't seen for ten years!!!

starting again with self-care: exercise, water, food

take advantage of the early-morning wake-ups + head to the gym.

mon / wed / fri = bike (with a book) or cross-trainer
tues / thurs = weights class or step class.
drinking water, eating good food.
NO junk food
YES glass of wine at the end of the day
goal = lose five kilos by end of week six + fit my dress again.

continue with paying the kids to do end-of-week-housework rather than giving two thousand a year to a housecleaner. anti-jinx.

get back on twitter + access my PLN / VLN.

think it'll work? it'll take a miracle  #movieline

#ulearn12

half-baked notes to self + links > storing it here in the cloud.

::21st century learning::
education reframed
engage me
collaborative culture
21st century fluency
kids teaching themselves
netsafe + cyber academy
digital legacy
is technology just a tool?

::keynote google docs::
jason ohler, khoa do, kevin honeycutt, glenn capelli

::stuff i love from kevin honeycutt::
kevin's learning tools by category
network 4 learning 'service'
digital citizenship
raising digital kids
charlie goes digital
rescue time
voice band
google alerts

glenn capelli

::breakout #1 year 6 - 8 literacy: collaboration + creation::
the boy in the striped pyjamas wiki
the hunger games wiki
collaborative novels wiki
waiau pa

::breakout #2 OTJs in writing + next steps::
continue to use easTTle writing new rubric + moderation
convo with students + parents

::breakout #3 collaboration::
inspiring learning with fiona's year 13 english class
chats + blogs home
active learning through collaboration
voice thread
wallwisher
students chat themes, plots, setting, characters using shakespearean twitter handles on twitter or twiducate
edmodo
elearning planning framework
answer garden
google drive
 
::breakout #5 blended classroom::
digital classroom tools vs elearning philosophy
elearning wiki
jacqui sharp's wiki
samr
elearning reflection
elearning vid from nayland at tki
 
:maths
sumdog
kenken
khan
mathletics
 
:literacy
oxford owl
pic lits
story jumper
 
:helpful
keep vid
quiet youtube
typing tutor
study ladder
tagxedo word cloud
wordle
reading rewards
prezi
infographics
jump jam
 
::tech savvy::
80 ways to use google forms in the classroom
40 ways to use smartphones in the classroom
educational technology guy
evernote
cool tools for skools
ict help wiki
dropbox
10 ways skools using social media
twitter is the best PD in the world
the power of twitter as part of my PLN
twitter tips for newbies
nz tweeps
tweet-talk
more twitter tips
the guardian on using social media
teachers pro social media
student voice through online discussion
google fest
google lesson plan search
put the internet to work for you
eTV
britannica through national library
global classroom gdoc
EDtalks
 
::breakout #6 collaborative teaching + elearning::
3 teachers, 52 multi-levelled kids. suits dynamic teacher + noisy classroom, strengths/PD in action, reading comp gone thru the roof.. mon+fri learning hub vertical classes, 'learning street', multi-levelling across four year levels, combined teaching using each teacher's strengths on same subject. tues - thurs own core class. classroom spaces: 8 desks, floor.
team teaching
more team teaching
jo's kids
j + j + j's class blog
jo's reflections
jo's EDtalk: icts + reluctant writers 
elearning: what does the 'e' stand for anyway?
elearning first steps + next steps
enabling elearning min ed page
enabling elearning VLN
google docs presentations
james nottingham
 
::THE WAY FORWARD::

• elearning future plan asap
• google drive: docs + presentations
• microsoft one note / video + voice thread
• maths: recreate knowledge  
• fixed groups/buddies for one term (introverts together)?
• eTV, britannica/national library sign-up
• twitter + VLN
• collaborative teaching + classroom spaces