Archive for December, 2010

I got the one with the bigger gee-bees!

Posted by kmcg2375 in personal, technology on December 22, 2010

Remember this video that was going around awhile ago?

“It has an app that will build you an island…”

“…It’s 3G, and has the Wi-Fi’s”

Well when I eventually did get my hands on a really cool iPod touch to play with on the wi-fis, I got to really wanting to upgrade my phone.  I will always love my Sony Ericsson c902, it took some great pictures for me, and even survived being whisked out of a moving car window onto a highway near Yass while I was taking snapshots of a duststorm.

(this was after the worst/best of the storm…the phone survived, alas the memory card did not…)

After playing around on new touchy-screen phone technology though, it’s just a bit weird going ‘back’ to ‘just a phone’.  With my portable device and all my wi-fis, I can read the internet and still hang out with my family instead of being cooped up in my study. That’s what sold me.

So after a long, long time of waiting, and of being jealous of OPP (other people’s phones) today, as a Happy Birthday to me present from my lovely husband, I went to pick up my new toy: a HTC Desire HD

I’m still in the swooshing-the-screen-around phase, but I already feel 10 times more organised with all this calendar and emailage at my fingertips.  Now to get it travel ready, with my music and things…isn’t out-of-the-box day the best? 😀

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JJJ Hottest 100

Posted by kmcg2375 in personal, random on December 21, 2010

This year my votes in the Triple J Hottest 100 went to:

  • Birds Of Tokyo – Plans
  • Bliss N Eso – Addicted
  • Children Collide – My Eagle
  • Children Collide – Jellylegs
  • British India – Avalanche
  • Evil Eddie – Queensland
  • Girl Talk – Down For The Count
  • Girl Talk – Steady Shock
  • Tame Impala – Solitude Is Bliss
  • Tame Impala – Expectation

I’ve loved Children Collide’s album this year especially, and so my early pick for Number 1 is My Eagle:

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The HSC again. and again.

Posted by kmcg2375 in education, HSC, reflections, school on December 16, 2010

In NSW yesterday Year 12 school leavers got their HSC results back.  And again, we reflect.

so-and-so got x amount of Band 6s this year…should I teach more like them?

my kids didn’t go as well as they had hoped…did I fail them?

there were some great successes at our school…what pressures will this bring next year?

The dizzying heights…the devastating lows.

I’m sure this post / these tweets should have some ‘IMHO’s peppered through them, but stuff it – the HSC is an evil device.

I’m so proud of every HSC student who got through the year, and was beyond excited for my ex-students who got the results they sought (I always will be).  Motivation, goals, mastery, achievement, I believe in them all.  But the HSC provides them too sparingly, for students and their teachers.

And now it’s time for recovery. again.

Congratulations one and all – bring on 2011…

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IFTE Conference Seminar 2011

Posted by kmcg2375 in conferences, education, english, university on December 2, 2010

In April 2011 the International Federation for the Teaching of English is holding its triennial conference in Auckland, New Zealand.

I’ve proposed the following seminar – fingers crossed it’s something they want to see!

The English teacher-practitioner: Re-writing our role

This seminar will weave together two strands of reflection on the nature of English teachers’ work.  On one hand the nature of assessment in English will be considered, with a critical exploration of the relationship between standardised assessment and teachers’ capacity to positively engage in providing formative feedback.  A central question that participants will be asked to reflect on is ‘how can we reconceptualise our role as a co-practitioner in the classroom and consequently find more enjoyment in the marking process?’  The second line of reflection will be a recount of my own journey to seek an antidote to the processes of ‘school writing’ and recommendations for avenues that other English teachers can explore to stimulate their own creativity and willingness to see themselves as a practitioner as well as a teacher of others.

English teachers: would you want to come to this?  If you came along, what would you be expecting/hoping to hear about?


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