ibpossum

Moving beyond the posters

The beginning of the year always takes me slightly by surprise. There is a lovely calm of prepping classes, touching base with colleagues, course approval, working through class roles, looking over the NCEA reports and thinking about what you can do better, teacher only day information dump …… Really, it isn’t that calm and thereContinue reading “Moving beyond the posters”

There and back again.

So, I’ve finished for the year. An empty, messy classroom is oddly quiet in front of me. I remember standing here at the start of the year thinking alright, you can do this. And I am thinking about the Hobbit movie – so excited, Ollie is going to Grans so we (hubby and me) canContinue reading “There and back again.”

Testing the HP stream as a wondows 8 capable portable device

The lease runs out on over 300 devices at my school next year which means we are currently shopping for replacements. We currently have an HP stream on loan from Cyclone computers to see if it would suit our requirements. The HP stream is a windows 8 alternative to the chromebook in terms of price pointContinue reading “Testing the HP stream as a wondows 8 capable portable device”

Times – they are a changing – slowly but surely…

Since last writing a blog an enormous number of positive changes have occurred and I am again excited about the way teaching and learning is moving forward for my school. I have had lots of excellent questions about using 365 for collaboration between students and staff, staff have started making OneNote documents and a fewContinue reading “Times – they are a changing – slowly but surely…”

Does experience limit creativity? What a coffee cup did….

I had an interesting conversation with the better half last night. I was bemoaning marking and standardised testing, pondering why we do junior exams at all and generally ranting that my time (and the students time) would be much better spent doing real, relevant stuff rather the exams. Or watching the cricket on TV (althoughContinue reading “Does experience limit creativity? What a coffee cup did….”

A month with the surface pro 3

When I was selected into the Microsoft Innovative Educator program, I got a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 to use. I have now had it for 4 weeks and the surface Pro 3 has not disappointed. I have been pulled up a few times of late for trying to use a touch screen on the school pc’s, itContinue reading “A month with the surface pro 3”

Staying connected

So, I have had a really tough week – the wee man got sick, and we spent 3 nights in hospital in an isolation room as he had gastro (an interesting aside – Ollie was in a rotovirus vaccine trial group when he was born, he got sick Thursday, got a call Friday to sayContinue reading “Staying connected”

Playing around with Microsoft OneNote

Microsoft Onenote has become my favourite tool in my digital teaching and learning tool box. I was a little slow on the uptake, but attending ulearn14 and MIEE really opened my eyes to the potential of Onenote. The biggest plus for me is Onenote is just so versatile, easy to add into and visually appealing. UsingContinue reading “Playing around with Microsoft OneNote”

Leaving the front

At my school we are going through a period of change. The Old A block is getting knocked down (it is 85 years old) and some new class rooms are being built – they are about a year away. So it was a good time to go scavenging – with very little trouble and noContinue reading “Leaving the front”

My first go with Microsoft Office Mix

So, I first heard about Microsoft Office Mix at Ulearn 2 weeks ago, and then saw some more at the Microsoft Innovative Educators Expert (MIEE) weekend in Sydney. Office Mix is an add on for Microsoft powerpoint that allows you to easily record, annotate and include quizzes within a powerpoint presentation. It was something IContinue reading “My first go with Microsoft Office Mix”