Working life in photos

So like i finished this about a month ago, but am just trying out a new feature of embedding vimeo videos into wordpress. You may not have seen this video before as i did not post it directly on FirstClass. The description is held on the main page of the video page on vimeo and is also in HD if you go to the site!

Enjoy!

Organisation Skills

One thing that i had under estimated about the very concept of Higher Education is how organised you need to be. My main problem at the moment is keeping everything in order, not only with my work, but with things in my mind. I am using a notebook to try and stay on top of this even with the use of different coloured pens! But its still a task! The ILP and Gantt charts do help with this, but its just trying to keep on top of every little idea and task.

A well earned break

The glory and satisfaction of a two week holiday is something that i have looked forward to for weeks and now its here! I have a whole 14 days where coursework deadlines, detentions, assemblies and form groups do not exist. A well earned break i think. I’m looking forward to these two weeks so that i can get around to doing some reading from my reading list. I have just finished reading “The Learning Revolution” and all i can say is that its a fantastic read, some great pointers in there that should spur on anyone to challenge the existing methodologies of education.

Hope to do some more blogging too over my break, as i can feel it becoming a bit addictive.

Apples

I have been a mac user for about 5 years casually and have been using a Mac as my main system for about 4 months. I have always preferred them, but never taken the full leap. For some of my IOCT module i have had to use Windows (through VMWare) and it has really made me realise. If i had to go back to windows as my sole computing experience, i think i would have to throw myself under a train!

I think the pic below sums it up fairly accuratley;

If anyone is on the fence with this one, BUY MAC!!! you wont regret it. They have just refreshed their MacBook and MacBook Pro lines, beautiful machines!

What system do you use?

Added value again!

Have just delivered a Y12 lesson on diversifying the AS/A2 pathway. Nay on everything i have learnt from my course has been applied to the lesson from project management, to learning style analysis and the then on application of that information to their individual subjects. They have also learnt the value of keeping a portfolio of their work whether it is a requirement of the course or not and how that is usefull after the course has come to a close in later life.

Open Source

When doing any work these days, there is invariably a heavy use of software. Software is expensive, cumbersome and difficult to use / learn in many instances. In an attempt to lessen these negatives, i would suggest a trip over to http://www.osalt.com/ to see how the open source community can help you.

Simply type in a piece of software you are going to buy, or even one you already own, and see what the open source (free) alternatives are. You may be pleasantly surprised!

Reaping already.

So, not only am i doing a qualification that will allow me to climb to the top of my profession, that i am finding truly interesting and engaging and also receiving financial backing for from my organisation, but now am a member of the NUS card scheme.

Okay, so maybe that was a little over the top, but i have seen others see the bene£its of having one of these little beauties before and now its my turn!

Also a big thankyou ro the Angia Ruskin SU for being so very helpfull and sending it to me special delivery on a Saturday! Kudos…

Did you know

Of all the media i have ever seen, there is one that has stuck with me. For every new class i take on, not matter what the key stage, i show them this video. Its truly captivating and is simply excellent.

Its a little outdated now, but it still has terrific impact. It also sums up perfectly what my mission is in education and the mission statement of my department.

I hope you enjoy it as much as i did.

Check out the website at the end of the video on how to download higher resolution copies of the video and to find out more about it.

p.s. i think YouTube is over used and there are many better video sharing sites out there such as vimeo, but wordpress was having none of it, so back to old faithfull i went.

Two down.

Okay, so i know it sounds like i have a countdown timer for my graduation, but i have just submitted my final drafts of the first two weeks work. Its the first real milestone i have come up with, and im glad to have met the deadline. To be honest, i did the majority of it all in the first few days of getting the brief, but have added and altered it since then.

Another part of the degree i find interesting is the reading. My girlfriend attends Goldsmiths College in London and i have set her on her way to get me some books from the library, but until then, i have found Google Book Search incredibly useful. Not only that many books are actually there in full, but the ones that are there as registered copyrighted content can still be read almost in their entirety.

I would have gone on about this in FirstClass, but for now at least, i will leave it as a goodie for you kindly finding time to read my blog.

The conventional approach?

I feel i am well into this now and starting to draft my first essay for my IOCT module. Throughout the course you are always encouraged to use alternative media to convey the deliverable of a particular topic, but I would like to include a fair few essays in my portfolio. I know essays are all a bit old school, but I seem to get a good feeling about them. I rarely get the chance to apply essay techniques, so this something I am keen to do.

I write this blog entry using wordpress for iPhone from a very remote location. Gotta love technology really havent you!!!