“Everything’s going to be OK. What do you mean ‘going to be’? This is it. This is as good as it gets… This might be the best moment of your life. How much better do you want it? Not much. So.. enjoy it. Thanks for the tip.” This bit of dialogue is from the rather turgid Being Human - a Robin Williams film from 1994. I only recall this scene, because I jotted it down. It strikes me that in spite of the passage of time, this simple sentiment still applies. ...
In my role as IT/e-learning lead teacher I get lots of queries and requests for help. But two questions put to me this week got me thinking. Q1: “I am getting a lot of can’t send undeliverable messages-have been for over a week. On my class computer under outlook I have a whole lot of unsent because they won’t go. Could you have a look at some stage as my parent emails are not making it at times-even when reply to sender.” ...
Today was the first day running a Barclass. Based on the Barcamp concept, and led by Mark Osborne’s Ignite talk - I had set about trying to replicate some of that powerful spirit of learning in my room. I was also inspired by attending Kiwifoo in Feb of this year, as well as some twitter taunting from @taratj. Tara is also rolling Barclass/camp in her room - make sure you check out her reflections here and here. ...
This term we’re doing a minor unit on climate change. The main resource we’re using is a revised version of Tim Flannery’s book, “The Weather Makers.” He has rewritten it for young adults and titled it “We are the Weather Makers”. It is aimed squarely at those who will be directly affected by global warming and who will bear the impact of the choices we make today. The website* (snapshotted from the WebArchive in 2025) that’s been setup to support teachers and students in studying the resource is quite well equipped. We’ve been given a supporting book, with lesson plans and black master copies as well. ...
Taylor Mali. Keeping it straight.
The cantilever challenge is a problem solving exercise, that requires students to work as a team, design and engineer a simple cantilever beam, work to a short time frame, and solve problems as the arise. All on blu-tack, ice lolly sticks, some tape and a handful of paper clips. It’s a fun use of session, although the cleanup can take a while. The sessions introduced with a wikipedia page and some examples such as Frank Lloyd Wright’s ‘Fallingwater’, Old Trafford and a reference to the Caketin here in Wellington. The discussion wasn’t so much on the engineering details, but the advantages of using a cantilever in a design. Several pointed out that at the Caketin a design using a cantilever allows everyone to see the field without anything blocking the view. ...