THE DANGER OF EMBEDDED LINKS :-(Has now been resolved - See Above 8^)

Has anyone else come across any problems or potential dangers in uploading slideshows using slideshare and the like into class blogs? We use classblogmeister because we like the safety features for our classes. Nothing is posted on the site unless it has teacher approval. We felt comfortable in using this as a tool for our students as it provided such a safe environment.

We have just discovered a danger in doing this.

Uploading a presentation to slideshare of a junior class maths activity that our class was so proud seemed great. We copied and pasted the link provided by slideshare into our class blog. Looked pretty good we thought. It wasn't until another teacher viewed it sometime later that we realised our folly. At the end of the slideshow, the slideshare web site links your presentation to others that are similar - and that is where the problem occurs. We didn't expect there to be any inappropriate links at all, no inappropriate maths links - in fact we didn't even think about it - but there definitely are. Phew! We are so glad we found this before any of our children - or their families.

Has anyone had a similar experience? Perhaps we could share here some of the dangers involved in what we are doing and the sites we are linking into our class blogs? This has come as an awful shock. To think that we could have exposed our 5 year olds to such material!

I would be interested in hearing from more experienced users.. and others who share a similar concern.

MORENA 8^>

Easter and a much needed rest in Hobbiton, having left Martz at 5.30am for the long drive South. Downloaded a series of podcasts last night in preparation which I must say have given the trip flow. A real mix – Peter Kay and episodes of The Clithero Kid transported me back into an almost forgotten world – and what fun it was to be back there. Laugh out loud stuff while queuing with the early work traffic on Auckland/s harbour bridge. Great for the nostalgic mind. The Virtual Staffroom and Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat stood out to stimulate the thought processes.

Then some quiet reflection. Where am I with my blog? Why haven’t I been hitting into this more? I love the reflection time so why the gap? It isn’t as though I am not moving on. Perhaps more that I am moving too quickly. Difficult too when partner and kids complain because I’m “not on that thing again”. Hmm am I becoming addicted? Obsessed?

In the past after times of intensity I usually question myself. Why have I put so much into working? I should have taken the time off to paint, create, read, relax, walk, cruise. Yet there is still so much to explore…. How do people find time to twitter? Do they have a life beyond school or have their boundaries become completely blurred too?

This Easter I was going to….. not work, not tap those keys, not take the lappy away… Hmmm didn’t work. Why should I justify it? Am I going to live with the regret?

If it is on my mind I just have to get it off. I can. And where there is an empty gap, it gets filled again very quickly.

I have just listened to Jane Nicholls, Allanah King and co talking about twitter. Do I need it? Am I going to get in too deep? I know I just need to take the plunge, to experience the connectivity but networking takes more energy and the stimulation more desires to deepen my learning. Can my family hack it?

And all this on dial up! Providers can’t supply us with broadband. Life would be simple if they could. Perhaps that needs to be my resolve. Broadband or bust!

SLANZA - WAIKATO & BAY of PLENTY

Great! – Just had a morning with 20 School Librarians at Hillcrest High. Linda had organised me to present a SLANZA workshop for the Waikato and Bay of Plenty members. 20 people gave up their Saturday morning, quite a few travelling from as far as Auckland and Tauranga to join in. I tis always good to see familiar faces in such an environment and to catch up with Anne from Katikati College was a treat. We had worked some of the GDITE papers together a few years back. Always a bit nerve wracking running workshops for people you don’t know and whose experience is also unknown but Fiona an dLinda made me feel very comfortable. I am always so very aware that people give up a lot of their busy lives to attend sessions like this and I am so conscious that this investment needs to be well rewarded.

The focus for these sessions was on “Library 1.0 meet Web 2.0” and then Traveling Together into Inquiry. It was to be the first of three sessions. A basic inquiry structure, tools to explore and hands-on activities helped wit the presentation to get people thinking. A realisation gathered as to the impact not only into our library and inquiry practices – but into our very lives. Tools like lulu.com, library thing, google docs and so on. Way too many to mention.

There is often a rush by some to pick up tools, especially if they are free. Our face to face interaction and our question and answer session provided further stimulation and more questions. Are the moneymakers now from non Web 2.0 tools going to sit back and let this 'no cost' environment happen? Is there really no cost? Who will be most effected from these changes? Could we become dependent on tools and then held to ransom? How can we possibly monitor ownership and copyright in this environment? Are our thoughts really original? Will computers need software? Can we really monitor use and protect our kids? Can we any longer keep ahead of them? .... Do we need to teach differently?

A celebration of our new understandings and the links to inquiry provided more great discussion. Everyone contributed and motivated our outcomes. I loved it and went away encouraged and with a much fuller kete. Thank you!

The wiki which I set up to support our session which has been well responded to, more hits than I expected and people now gathering on site. It is so exciting to see this develop as quickly as it has and it is great to have tools than can be adapted so quickly and easily to respond to user needs. With talented and passionate people like this involved in our libraries and online, we are certainly in for some great things ahead.

Our next session is to explore in more depth the use of blogging as a tool in connecting our libraries. Participants will be creating their own blog, incorporating the tools explored in the previous session and again stimulating each others’ actions with new triggers. The last in the afternoon will take on a similar course with wiki.

A lot of time in setting it up, researching the tools and synthesising the possibilities but hey, it has been worth it. I am so glad that 15 years ago I took on the challenge of the school library. It has and continues to be a passion, a source of great enjoyment, networking and learning. Thank you to Linda and Fiona for the help in facilitating the session and thank you to all the passionate and talented people I met. Your input has added to mine and we have all become richer in doing so.

WIRELESS BROADBAND / SATELLITE NEEDED

For over five years now I have been waiting. Telecom have said its coming and I have been patient, waiting and waiting, regularly checking in, exploring other possibilities to no avail and now I am desperate! I hunger to visit those who have it and those who offer it freely. A bit like a brothel really, I am willing to pay! I can't wait any longer. Who will help me score? What ISP will get me what I need? It will have to be wireless – satellite probably….. but I need the fix! Recommendations and suggestions needed.

THE PERFUME:

This was emailed to me. I think it is a lovely story and worth sharing. Although I have tried to find out, I am sorry to say I have no idea of the source ...

As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children an untruth. Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same.

However, that was impossible, because there in thefront row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy.

Mrs Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he did not play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. In addition, Teddy could be unpleasant.

It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting a big "F" at the top of his papers.

At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's past records and she put Teddy's off until last. However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.

Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a brightchild with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners... he is a joy to be around."

His second grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle."

His third grade teacher wrote, "His mother's death hasbeen hard on him He tries to do his best, but his father doesn't show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken."

Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class."

By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except forTeddy's.

His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a grocery bag.

Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle ofthe other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of perfume. But she stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist. Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, "Mrs.Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to."

After the children left, she cried for at least an hour.

On that very day, she quit teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children. Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her "teacher's pets."

A year later, she found a note under her door, fromTeddy, telling her that she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.
Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.
Four years after that, she got another letter, sayingthat while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he had ever had in his whole life.
Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had but now his name was a little longer....The letter was signed, Theodore F.Stoddard , MD.

The story does not end there. You see, there was yet another letter that Spring. Teddy said he had met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit at the wedding in the place that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom.

Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. Moreover, she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together. They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear, "Thank you Mrs. Thompson for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference."

Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, "Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you."

TEACHING FOR CREATIVITY:

Tom Chopin performs this song in response to the education landscape in America where, he believes, there is a heavy focus on teaching to the test. This has come at a cost to the Arts, Music, Thinking and Creativity.

http://www.notonthetest.com/

He writes: “It’s no secret that American industry has outsourced most factory jobs to other countries to take advantage of cheaper labor costs. So why are we putting so much effort into a form of education in which there is no creativity? This is the time that our youth should be taught to think ”out of the box,” not be put into a tighter one!”

Reminds me of the Socrates quote “Wisdom begins In Wonder”

BACK INTO MY BLOG -

I have been zapped back into of my own blog and today made it happen! Day 2 at Learning At School has been inspirational. The day started with a good chuckle or three with Allanah King and a brief conversation with Rachel Boyd at the Bloggers Cafe. I seem to be trailing Rachel today! We have just attended an e-portfolio session with a dynamic duo from Bucklands Beach. Lenva and Gail are inspirational in their passion for a learning dimension which truly engages our children's reality. E-portfolios in their hands are alive and hosted via an ever growing range of tools (web 2.0). Check out http://eportfolios.weebly.com E-portfolios which are rich real and relevant and add new dimensions to learning for all stakeholders. Building these records upon Web 2.0 foundations supports manouverability of data, multiple ways of knowing, and multimedia pathways for expressing what we know. Paper seems so redundant. Wikis, blogs, podcasts, vidcasts combine with voice thread, sketchcast, ToonDoo voki ,slide and a vast and ever growing array of web tools have so much to offer. (Fancygens for headings). Exciting times and a great way to start a new cluster. Check out Ellen's portfolio and other's.

CLASSROOM BLOGS & THE HOME SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP

Classroom blogs are revolutionising the way teachers (and schools) communicate with parents, their community, how parents can interact with their childrens' class activities, allowing more people to be involved in their student's learning and discussion.

Room 10 at Pongakawa School recently posted some work on their blog that they were doing using Tony Ryan's thinkers keys. You can imagine their delight when Tony popped into their blog and added a comment.

Parents of students at Te Ranga are regularly visiting the junior class blog even though they are away overseas to keep up with their child's exciting learning developments.

Students themselves who are absent for a variety of reasons (overseas, holiday, illness) are still checking in to see what they are missing and to comment on what is currently being learned.

Often this type of sharing does not occur until the end of term report, parent interviews or the next visit tot he school. Classroom blogs now allow this interaction to occur. Parents and students alike are able to read, feed in comments, stimulate discussion, and keep up with the play.

And the children's community is growing. No longer are they confined to their immediate geographical location. The new neighbourhood i.e. the student's learning community is global. Blogs facilitate this development. Interaction is able to occur between classes and individuals, community groups and experts.

Is there any research out there in this area into the impact of blogs into the school community partnership? Perhaps it would be a worthwhile area for someone interested in an E-fellowship...

Aha you might say - this means that perhaps a negative factor exists as well. And there may well be. I'd love to hear of these. From my own experience, that's why I really like classblogmeister (yep I'll say it again and again Thank you for introducing me to it, Tom and Jody). Classblogmeister allows the teacher to filter all comments.

If you have had any specific feedback or concerns about class blogs and their impact on School home partnerships, I would love to hear them.

These are just some of the wonderful blogs I have come across:

http://room9nelsoncentral.blogspot.com/

http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=1337

http://www.classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=1638

http://www.classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=83975

INSPIRING CLASSROOMS

Tony Ryan returned with us from Ulearn on Friday night and facilitated a workshop in "Inspiring Classrooms" the next day. 85 from our cluster - and from our neighbouring areas joined us in this calm but fast paced experience which saw us look at ourselves, our futures, our own goals and our practice. Tony's presentation, his handouts and his support material are up on the cluster wiki.

Check out the Inspiring Classrooms on the cluster wiki at http://ngatiiroa2007.wikispaces.com/Inspiring+Classrooms

Comment Needed:

Have you used any of his suggestions already? How has attending this workshop inspired you? What difference has attending made to you or others around you?

It would be great if we could share these reflections and practices. How about telling us your story? You can do this simply by reply in the posting box, adding your name at the bottom of your posting and then clicking on the radio button beside Anonymous, before you click on Publish Post.

How about it?

BLOGGING & HOME SCHOOL RELATIONSHIPS

Hi - Back from holiday, Back from Ulearn, Back from a cluster teacher only day with Tony Ryan last Saturday and on to the next thing ---

I have a presentation to do which focuses on the impact of blogging on home school relationships. I would love to include a range of responses from other teachers, students, parents who use classroom blogs. I know there is a wealth of experiences out there and such a wonderful generosity in sharing and it would be superb to have your thoughts.

Something to comment on? How about...

... What tangible differences has classroom blogging made to the interconnectivity between the home, community and - students - teacher

... What feedback have you/the the school received from your parent community on this involvement?

... What are some of the issues to consider?

--- Any other relevant comments would also be appreciated.

You will get full credit for your comments and if you would like to have participants check out your blog during the session, please send me the addy.

Thank you,
Lorraine

Implementing IWBs and the Lessons Learnt - Flaxmere and Peterhead Schools

"It's all about relationships" a catch phrase of this conference heard repeatedly in the workshops so far. This is the final workshop for the day and I am interested in seeing how these tools are being used to make a difference to student learning and in this, what impact they are having on teacher practice. I like the way this project began as an inquiry and involved research - about 6 months of it before the decisions were made. The focus for the research was towards their vision for learning. Decisions made and the local licencing trust was approached resulting in funding towards the project for the five schools involved. The schools made a financial commitment too and the trust has been well looked after by the schools, given a high profile, are kept fully informed, receive feedback, and are invited to be involved in the school activities. This has resulted in the trust "roll out" of future funding. A win win situation for all. For more info check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactive_whiteboard
F2F Discussion time now ... be back soon

ULEARN WORKSHOPS:

A team of 16 from our cluster with 10 of us presenting workshops. Not bad for our cluster eh? I am involved in facilitating two workshops this afternoon with an awesome group of people...


ICT INFUSED INQUIRY

ICT Infused Inquiry with Gail Cochrane from National Library. Gail and I will be sharing the work we have done with our Nga tii Roa Learning cluster in defining the what, why and how of inquiry, examining the skills needed and the integration of ICTs, trialing and practicing in the classroom - an excitng journey which has evolved over the last 15years, with the last 3 in our cluster. While Carol isn't able to attend the conference, we have captured her junior school inquiry where she and her Room 3 class transformed the school sandpit. Mark Boyle, DP of Paengaroa School, will be sharing how his school adapted the common features we found in the inquiry process and incorporated them into their own school model, alongsid etheir school logo - The Fantail. Now called "The Fantail Takes Flight" Mark describes at as a journey from stationery to flutter to flight - and still they have the soaring to look forward to...

LEADING LEARNING

I am supporting Bruce Lendrem and Bruce Jepsen as we share what we have been doing in leading learning within their schools and within the cluster during the ICTPD contract time.

We have done things differently to many other clusters and it has been good to have this time to reflect on what we have done, where it has led and what we have learnt. We believe our cluster has been really successful. Things like making our Principals the lead teachers from the start, having motivators in a range of areas rather than defining set lead teachers, working with all cluster staff (ancillary, board members etc) and having sessions open to anyone who is interested rather than an exclusive group has all had its rewards. It has certainly been a privilege working with such an awesome and inspired cluster. This will be a good time to celebrate some of those success.

ULEARN 07

Am in the opening stages of Ulearn. Welcome, Minister's address, 1st keynote.... Have been blogging, pondering thorughout. Yep the concentration seems to be wandering. What do I want to get out of Ulearn? Have a become a newbie junkie? I want to learn new things. Surely in this world of rapid change, this will be easily achievable.

I struggle to get excited by the what I have already done. Watching videos and animations created by children has a limited lustre especially when treated as new exciting learning technologies. Five year olds were doing that four years ago. Web 2.0 tools, flickr, blogs, wiki, two years now.

I want to be challenged. I look forward to learning things that will impact into my practices. What new things will inspire me?

PODCAST WORKSHOP

Here I am at Ulearn, still waiting for my head to arrive back from the other side of the world. Hmmm, in the whole 7 weeks we have been away we've had about an hour and ten minutes of rain. Yesterday in a short walk from the hotel to Queen Street fully equipped with a rain jacket etc, I got drenched. The rain bucketed down and it is still pouring on down. See? This is what I do. My mind strays. I am getting here. I think I am still in yesterday...

Yesterday I attended a podcasting workshop run by Jane Nicholls. We created and published a vidcast on podomatic. It was a bit rushed to do it justice so we (Pauline and I) posted our result under an alias. Yep pondered back into my holiday... Since our trip, I am still struggling with ideas about clothing - and the role it has plays in our societies. We began this as our podcasting topic but it became deeper than we had time for. Loved the conversation though Pauline. Thank you. We ended up doing a podcast on toilets and managed a vidcast on "Toilet Travel Tips aka Pissoires of the World".

How do vidcasts published on podomtic any different to videos uploaded to youtube etc.? Is there any differnece anymore? There seems to be a division in our thinking between these types of technologies but I am wondering if this difference has disappeared? Have these two types of technology now become blended, blurred together, merged?

Italy & Shangai

Again I want to post some thoughts captured in my travel notebook, so wil be back in to do this soon.

Eastern Europe

Will be back later and will add details of this trip to my blog

Amsterdam for the last four days has been interesting. Certainly a place where people can really explore their own boundaries rather those imposed upon them. :Liberated, tolerant society. A visit to Anne Franks house was sobering, the Red Light area interesting as were the side lines from it. Canal ride was beautiful, zig zagging thru, water ways. An amzing number of bikes as people mish mash their ways trough streets with cars pedestrains all going in different directions. Didn´t know that the houses used the hoists seen on each one to move their furniture in and out. Took bus to Delft, the Hague and Rotterdam. Now in Berlin. Arrived here this morning and here for next four days. Been out for an explore already. Off agian soon. Catch you laters....

TRAVEL NEWS

Hi there,

We are heading off to Covent Garden shortly to see the Lion King but before then I have access to this slightly dodgy computer – and hopefully I will get time to finish off a few lines. Hope you are well and enjoying some fine weather. We are! Blue skies and sunshine in London today J

I think I could become a fulltime holidayer. Aren’t they grand, holidays? We are having such an interesting time and have been blown away with how nice people have been and how smoothly everything has been going for us.

Ken and I arrived back in London at mid-day today after hiring a car and travelling North for the last few days. Dreaded the thought of driving in and out of London but it was much easier than we expected. 4 days, no accidents, 100 mile an hour driving and not one argument! We are feeling quite chuffed.

We left London Tuesday morning. Ken needed to get out and see how beautiful the country really is. The grime and bustle of London certainly wasn’t doing it justice. We headed up through the midlands, stumbled upon castles and quaint villages, houses with thatched roofs, winding narrow lanes which were incidentally major roadways, and were reminded of TV programmes like Heartbeat and Ermedale Farm (a programme I have only glimpsed). We seemed to be in a time warp. We visited Whisstledon, near Oakham, the area that the Watchorns came from which is near Leicester. A cousin of Ken’s (Jeff Watchorn, who lives at Grange Farm which is 700 years old) took us for a drive to the old family farmland and homestead, to the family church and grave yard etc. Saw plenty of Watchorn headstones – all related to Ken. We past by Rockingham Castle which took our breath away. Still lived in today, it was built by William the Conqueror, and is an amazing site. Like the imaginary Norman castles of old. Henry VIII stayed there as did Charles Dickens. Owned now by the Watsons, the family is plagued with a genetic illness which kills their people in their early adult years.

Headed then on up towards York and across to Manchester where I met up with my brother and his two beautiful daughters. They had travelled up from Bristol for the day. Oh it was so good to see them again and they were all looking so good. We visited the cemetery where my Grandparents and father lie. I contacted a man I had corresponded via email with, a son of an old friend’s of Dad’s. We met and he took Mike and I around to visit his Dad, so a couple of hours of reminiscing followed. Paul (the son) then rang into his work and took the next three hours off to show us around. He was so good to us. A very nice man, about our age. He drove us to where my grandparents had lived, where my father was born, where Dad had gone to school etc. Such amazing generosity. At one point as we were standing outside my grandparent’s home, an old man walked past. He wandered back in the opposite direction a short time later. Not sure of the area, Mike my brother, quietly approached the man and asked if he had lived here long. He was in his 80s and had lived here all his life. Did he know of the Preeces? (my maiden name). “Oooh yes, my mother was a Preece”. We all nearly fell backwards! He was happy to share what he knew but being rather frail and in the hot summer sun (yes – no exaggeration – blue sky, not a breath of wind, sunshine and heat in the middle of Salford!) any way with him being frail’n like, we didn’t want to tire him, so reluctantly released him to go on his merry way. Mike’s girls and Ken all remarked on the similarity in appearance between this grey haired old fellow and my brother Mike.

Having to make our way back towards London as much as possible that night, Mike offered to take us on a journey through Wales, travelling to Welshpool, and Montgomery where the Preeces originated from before they hit Manchester. What beautiful countryside. There must have been a lot of money to be made up North in the 1860s to entice the family away from such a beautiful area. Travelling from there alongside the River Wye, past TinTern Abbey showed Wales in its glory. How beautiful it is – and such a reason for every Welsh voice to rise up in song about their home country. I would be singing now – if I was Welsh – and if I could sing.

Leaving Mike and the girls at Bristol was sad but we needed to head on. Neither Ken nor I relished the thought of returning the car to its rental yards right in the heart on Kings Cross, with its no go areas, one way areas, unfamiliar streets and busy London traffic. We’d had a long day, and needed a good night’s sleep. A few stiff gins to steady the nerves may have been needed but we decided to tackle it with the full fear of the toughest Disneyland horror ride. Despite a detour, buses blocking out the essential road signs and a bad accident which threatened to get us hopelessly lost, we made it. Someone has been looking out for us every inch of the way on our trip. Not even one scratch on the car, no irate drivers yelling abuse at us – in fact just the opposite. People could not have been more pleasant or courteous.

And now? Hmm we have just had lunch and Ken’s fallen asleep on the couch in Renee’s lounge.

RECAP:

Just to recap – L. A. was fantastic. So clean, the weather was amazing – a bit too hot perhaps and just right for the compulsory siestas. We did the LA tour – Hollywood, the Oscars theatre, theside walk stars, Paris Hilton’s jail right in the middle of downtown LA, OJ’s one close by – drove by his house. Also Aaron Spellings 128 bedroomed hillside mansion. Most notable for me was the homes in an ordinary suburb with jail bars on the windows – to keep the good people safe inside. Not all of the houses had these but in some suburbs they did seem to. Spent a day atUniversal Studios. Felt ill after the “Mummy Ride” and wouldn’t recommend it. Double Yuk! The tour through the studios was very interesting. Learnt how they do some of the high speed chases, and special effects in movies. Didn’t see anyone famous – however there are so many famous and we are so out of touch now that we wouldn’t even recognise one if we came up close and personal. Went to a farmers market and played on the new i-phones. Hmmm can see these really taking off! I’ll have to wait for the cheaper versions though. Met a nice couple at a Mexican restaurant where we went for lunch. Invited us to their home in Santa Monica for dinner. Went to to Santa Monica beach and paddled in the Pacific Ocean – just as we do at Pikowai. On to Venice Beach with its aging 70s and 80 hippies and recovering population.

Glad we had two days to do the Disney Parks. We certainly needed that time to do it justice. Some favourite rides? Pirates of the Carribean, The Nemo Submarine and The Haunted House.

Flights have been OK. Air NZ superb. A bit of a bumpy ride from LA to Frankfurt, made a little more tense by a very nervous Polish man in the next seat to me. Frankfurt very warm. Weather has been great – although v little blue sky in London and the height of summer is certainly disguised here. Out of London though it has been superb.

We had a brilliant day in Windsor. Went through the castle, walked the streets of Eaton and listened to the posh accents. Finished the day off in Richmond where we met Renee’s friends for a dinner. A Sunday roast at a local pub which was very very nice. Ken shouldn’t really mix cider and beer though. The next night was a good one too – with Ken doing quite nicely on warm and flat pub ales. I cooked “a good down home” roast lamb dinner complete with broccoli cheese, carrots parsnips and parsley etc finished off with strawberries and chocolate icecream. A couple of the flatties were going out that night. When they spied what was on top of the oven, they changed their plans and were at home all evening ;-). We did have such a good night. Renee has such great flat mates. They have accommodated our stay extremely well and have gone out of their way to be helpful. Sooo very nice.

Not sure what we have planned for the weekend. Renee has something organised for us tomorrow (a surprise) and we thought we may head down to Brighton on Sunday. We leave for Amsterdam and Europe on Monday.

Meant to mention too that we have done the tourist sites – the Palace, 10 Downing Street, Westminster, big Ben, St Pauls etc. Went to Harrods. Looking at the jewellery there was like glimpsing the Tower’s jewels. Wow! Such massive gems. I was gobsmacked. Just stood there drooling. A very nice gentleman walked over and asked if he could help me – he thought I was a customer. Just about hugged him – did he really I was in that league?! I smiled and thanked him very much for making my day!

Well I had better get myself organised. This computer has been interesting. I never know quite where the cursor is going to jump to and several times it seems to have disappeared altogether during my typing – so not sure where the letters have ended up. Without the time to proofread, I hope it all makes sense.


Hey, take care

With best wishes

Lorraine

PS The Lion King was superb – such creative genious. Off to the soccer now – Arsenal playing Manchester. Hmmm think I will go with Manchester!

WHY BLOG?

Our cluster journey continues to explore the realm of blogging with a session at Pongakawa School this afternoon.

• Why blog?
• What are the advantages?
• What are your concerns?
• How could blogging cater for the diversity of the learners in our classrooms?

THINKING MAPS & ORGANISERS

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/graphicorganizers/

http://www.nhcs.k12.nc.us/htree/Curriculum/ThinkingMaps.html#CM

http://www.lifestreamcenter.net/DrB/Lessons/thinking_maps.htm

http://www.niles-hs.k12.il.us/west/skills/skills/thinkingmaps.pdf

http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/

http://www.graphic.org/goindex.html