Not sure what is involved just yet, but I thought it might be a way to collaborate across the classes.

http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/stripedpyjamas

Introduced students to CELTX this week. It is fantastic for media preproduction – scripts, schedules, storyboards etc. AND IT’S FREE and cross platform soI am not penalised for being a Mac Lover Used it in Media for films and Drama for their plays.

This week I am loving ETHERPAD.

What I love about it?No having to open and resave word docs from students to support them with drafting
Real time collaboration
Watching their writing – and being able toc heck for plagarism easily.

TIP: To create a url you remember type in www.etherpadcom/ a name you will remember then it will prompt you to create that pad.

Here is one of my students timelines.

Drama students are finding Penzu useful and easy to use. They can log on at school and home, type in their journal entry and email it in.  

This post reminds me that a few people need to be checked on but for the most part the system is working well.

Lazy already.  I know.  Life just gets in the way.

I have now realised my year 10′s can not summarise.  I assumed and am therefore an Ass on this occasions.

Going to do a series of lessons on summarising, including getting them to translate a paragraph into text speak A bit of fun.  Then we will mess around with Words Auto summarise tool.  Then do a word limit summary activity on key points etc.

The basics are an issue across the board.  Capitals, Full stops, Spelling.  Is this because of technology? Is this because we have gotten lazy in insisting on the basics.  

I am going to start blogging with year 10′s as well but the choice of where is difficult.  My NING is built as it is a base for all classes so perhaps I should start the year 10′s a separate one.  Or should I go the edublogs route??  I do not know, there is just so much to choose from.

I am loving Ning.  LOVING it!!  I have just created my only little ning, a place to call my own .  The intention is for it to have just one member (me) but should my fellow teachers want to look at my resources it will be available.

I have created a page for every subject I teach (a group) Then I will have rough term plans and discussions on every specific topic .. Soldier on the Hill – Characters.

It’s just so wonderful to have it all there.  I could build a web page but then I need a domain name and hosting, all costly.  But this is there forever and I can just keep uploading worksheets and the like.

Week in reflection.

Year 12 Drama are doing a mini ensemble task.  

3 mins. Topic: Bliss

Elements of Brect and Poor Theatre

Must feature: Transformation of Character

Theatre STudies kids are still researching their roles and selecting scens to perform.

Year 8 Drama are loving the idea of the ‘Live’ Children’s show.

All English Classes are going well.  Year 10′s are responding to the Ning and enjoying ‘Touch Me’.

Anyway that’s my week in review – enjoy influencing the minds of the young

I am redesigning my blog. I have created a ning that will serve the purpose as a central meeting place for students, so this will be my place. A place of reflection. To share things I like as a teacher, ideas and the like. Resources I find useful.

First to reflect on my first full week of 2009.

VCE Drama/Theatre Studies: Finding teaching both at the same time … challenging. Students are eager and keen which you would assume at year 12. Looking forward to staging a theater night later in the year as part of their outcomes.

Year 8 Drama: We are going to be paperless. I am utilising Penzu for tehir jounals and the students lapped it up. They email me when they update, it’s great. We will work towards creating a play to show at the primary school next door.

Year seven english: Students are so eager it is delightful. They apologise straight away if they have forgotten something (to be expected first week) I love when people have ownership of their mistakes.
I hope I can continue this personal skill as part of their learning.

Year eight english: A lovely class, they listen. Again I hope it is not just because it is the first week but they seem to be great kids. We started SOLDIER IN THE HILL. I am reading it to them, will find other ways to assess their reading at this stage. Perhaps as their confidence grows they will read.

Year 10 English: Just learning names really with circle time. Did some work in English Essentials. Their spelling seems quite low.

5 elements of a short story

I’m not very arty – so I need all the help I can get.  I love this website because it helps me do what I find to be fascinating drawings.

Here’s one I did to represent the Year 9 text ‘Guitar Highway Rose’.

You could use it to add pictures to reports or presentations or cover pages, whatever.