How cool is this?

Check this out:

I created this cartoon in less than 5 minutes on Toondoo (I know, I know, it's not the most earth shatteringly wonderful cartoon, but hey...). I insist you check it out!

All the stuff you never knew..

Hi. Well it's been a very busy few weeks for me (I know, what's new about that you ask?). Have spent today presenting the wonders of multimedia to some beginning teachers, despite being one of them myself...oh well, I don't think I upset the apple cart too much! ;o)
Unfortunately it's hard to properly showcase Audacity, Photostory and MovieMaker in 1.5 hours while also giving enough playtime (which I think is super-important in an ICT PD session), but I think it went OK. Hopefully at least one person will go away and try one of them in the classroom. Of course I don't actually use any of them much, seeing as how I have crossed over to Mac, but it's good to know there are some pretty good open source multimedia programs out there. Another message I got from today's discussions was that the Canberra government school system has so many different schools with so many different situations and resources (from a big, top-of-the range school with NO IWBs and NO infrastructure to install them, to a school with up-to-date, quality ICT gear available for all students and staff all of the time). And finally, I was again to hear how hard it is for ALL teachers (not just beginning) to do the great job they're all capable of. If only we all has some more time...

The Conference
Anyway, I guess it's not worth dwelling on. Because I had another, even more exciting experience this last week. I spent the weekend in Melbourne attending the 5th Annual Interactive Whiteboard Conference, which was an amazing experience and very eye opening! (thanks ACTDET and IWBnet!) I thought I was doing OK with ICT in the classroom, but let me tell you, I haven't even begun to scratch the surface! Luckily I was able to sit in with some truly innovative and high-quality educators. Hopefully some of it will rub off! So here are some of the highlights:

John Short was a very engaging speaker who had the whole group talking and interacting. He has created a heap of really cool powerpoint games based on classics such as "Who wants to be a millionaire" and "Memory". I know, I know, it's not that hard, but who has the time? (apart from John of course!). He has a soon-to-be-opened website which will be launched in October. I will share more details about this soon.

Chris Betcher is a well-known ICT educator with lots of great ideas. Check out his blog. The workshop I attended saw Chris showing us a bunch of really cool stuff. So I thought I'd put it up here (thanks Chris - hope you don't mind me passing it along!)

Phun is just about the coolest thing I have seen in a while! It is a free, 2D physics simulator. YOu just put objects on and apply all sorts of physics concepts, such as force, gravity and friction, to them. There are 40+ videos on youtube by people who have created some fun (or should I say Phun) stuff. Here is one:




Google Sketchup is also a great 3Ddrawing and manipulating tool. A little like a CAD program but from what I can see, much more user-friendly. And it's free. Check it out.

And I'd suggest keeping an eye on Chris's blog. There's bound to be much more eye-popping stuff to come.

Wow, that was tiring. I'm gonna have to come back to it because there's so much more to share!

Stay tooned...

I'm such a great blogger!

Well it's back to school tomorrow, so I won't be posting as often. Ha ha. I'm pretty hopeless, aren't I?? Well, I'm a busy lady. Did I mention I have two kids, one of whom is a pre-pubescent young lad full of attitude and the beginnings of testosterone overload; the other being a energetic four year old (we call him Hurricane Oliver) who goes non-stop from dawn until well after dusk.
If I had that kind of energy I'm sure I'd be posting five times a day (as well as cooking 7 course meals every night, marking all my kid's work before I left school, being up to date with all my planning, and of course exercising regularly!)...but I guess some things have to give from time to time (if you think I'm a hit-and-miss blogger, you should see my house!).
Well I was looking for a funny cartoon to sign off with, but they're all copyrighted and blaugh isn't oving me tonight. So I'll depart with a picture of me as a man....

Yes. I know. Scary.

IWBnet

I've just joined IWBnet, which looks to be the 'Facebook'/'Myspace' of interactive whiteboard users. Why not join up and help make it a community!

View my page on IWBNet

I've got a golden ticket...

Well I'm very excited.

I should be writing my reports right now, but I thought I'd pop in and share my news. 

I have been selected as one of four ACT teachers who will travel to Melbourne in August (all expenses paid!) to present at the IWB conference. It's a very cool honour to have bestowed on lil ol' me, so I thought I'd share my excitement. 

Of course, it also means that I will have lots of stuff to post about, as I'm sure there will be some cutting edge stuff going on down there.

More soon, but I must get back to my reports...

I'm sure you're got nothing better to do than look at MORE websites...

Yeah, I know, my posts have dropped off, but it's not like there's lots to write about. Plus the term has started again, so I'm busy busy busy!!

A couple of interesting sites before I drop off the face of the earth again...

Teachers TV is a website chock-full of videos and other stuff. Some good educational programs that you can show on your IWB. And from what I can tell, most videos can be downloaded. A possible downside might be that it's all British, but there are some worthwhile things in there. Have a look!

Oh, and the other day during my course, we looked at Kahootz. I've gotta say that as a first timer, I wasn't as excited as perhaps I could have been. I found it very difficult to position things (spatial awareness is probably not my strongest suit, but more than that, I found it really limiting in terms of what I could do. However, I'd be interested to see how the kids go at it. Mind you, I have enough trouble getting the kids through a lesson using word - with all the different abilities (or lack of them) - Kahootz almost seems like it will be too hard. 

But we also heard about gamemaker, which I have just downloaded, but haven't really tried out yet. Will keep you posted...

Cheers, big ears!

MIA

Yes, I know I am!

Sorry-things have been busy, and I'm not inclined to blog just for the sake of blogging. One shouldn't talk just because one can, after all!

I got my smartboard (kinda) back again. There's no sound or internet (which is seriously crippling some days!), but at least I can do some stuff. Now I know teachers have been teaching without them for centuries, but they're just soooooo great!! I'm amazed at how much more relaxed and confident I am with my IWB. Maybe it's something to do with my disgraceful board writing...

I'm trying to find some time to do more podcasty things. Hopefully another big post soon.

Byeeeeeee