Teaching on Tuesday - Using iPads

Ipads are becoming more and more common in the classroom.  There are some amazing apps out there that just make teaching so much easier.

Recently I attended a professional development day based around using the ipad in classrooms.  Slide2Learn is worth attending.  They hold a conference each year and this year it was in Perth.

It was held at the Sienna Centre in Perth which is owned and run by the Catholic Church.  

I did feel better that the Bishop popped in to bless the buildings.

Apps that I cannot survive teaching without include .....

Teacher's Pick

App designed to randomly pick students names.

and of course

Teachers Kit

This App is incredible - place to take roll call, record your marks, arrange seating plans.

and

An App that students can use to do tests and quizzes on that have been made up by the teacher.  The results arrive in the teachers email account.

This is like giving your students a slide show but it is right in front of them on the iPad.  They can contribute to the lesson by responding to polls, answering questions and quizzes and even drawing responses.  The teacher can then 

What is your favourite App?


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Lusine

I just joined in with 52 other people from around the world, all of us complete strangers, our aim to achieve a dream/goal for someone else.  We have all put in $25 to make this happen. Our goal to help a teacher in Armenia through KIVA.

This is Lusine and she works as a English Teacher at the local University.  She also tutors at home after hours to help students preparing for university entry.   However she does her job without a computer or internet from home, whilst I sit here and abuse my internet connection for being slow. A computer and internet connection will make lesson planning, her personal learning and timetables so much easier.  So now she is on her way of achieving this.

I want to thank all of the people who have purchased a secondhand book from me on eBay over the past month, you have made this happen.  Thank you.

I often put up posts about Kiva.  Why?   Just to let the world know how amazing this site actually is.   You can withdraw your money from here after a loan has been paid back or you can choose to loan it to someone else.  I have never not had a loan paid back.

My portfolio in KIVA has nearly 750 dollars in it now. All raised through secondhand books sales. Every penny is currently loaned. This money has assisted 54 people so far from all corners of the world.

If you would like to have a free try at Kiva - leave me an email and I will arrange this for you.

Would you like an extended warranty with that?

There has been articles written in finance magazines/posts lately about people buying extended warranties with new goods they are purchasing.  

Consensus states that people are feeling pressured into purchasing this extended warranty by sales people.  I can understand why they offer it with nearly 35% of people saying yes and buying it.

Basically I find it to be a complete waste of money.  When you purchase something in Australia you are immediately covered by the the Australian Consumers Laws.    

Firstly ........   New goods come with a manufacturers warranty that covers the item, usually for a certain/limited period of time.  This is often found in the back of the instruction booklet or as a separate piece of paper. 

Secondly .... if something goes wrong with your item outside of the warranty that is no fault of yours or is not from general wear and tear then you are covered by the Federal Trade Practices Act.

 I see it basically as a money making scheme.

I have even heard of extended warranties that match the manufacturers warranty period ??!!@@!!


If you are being pressured into purchasing an extended warranty by a sales person .....  then here is the perfect question to ask .....

What does this extended warranty give me that I am not already covered by as a consumer and by the Australian Consumers Laws?

Their response will be  .......   nothing.      


So save your pennies and say no to purchasing an extended warranty.

Here is the link to the consumers rights website.

Linking in today with

Totally Thursday

It is so nice when someone says thank you or you are doing great at your job.   On this day ......Totally Thursday .... it happened to me.

I received an email today informing me I was nominated for the Positive Teacher's Award for 2013.  There where 750 teachers nominated throughout Australia.  I didn't win anything, but just to be nominated has put me on a high.

So in celebration of my nomination I thought I would let a teacher some where else in the world know that she is also appreciated.

Juana has been a pre school teacher for 23 years in Nicaragua.  I have assisted this teacher to pay for her daughters university fees through KIVA.   

Education = choices in life and women deserve to have a choice.

Have you ever had someone say thanks or you are doing a great job?

In The Olden Days

As a teacher it is normal my school holidays are spent preparing lessons.  Right now I am trying to focus on lessons about the environment and recycling.

  

Are we becoming more environmentally friendly or not? 

We are such a disposable society.   
Australian's are the second largest producers of waste in the world ( we are just behind America).  
800 million nappies a year in Australia go to landfill.
Australian's buy 7 million mobile phones a year, how many of these I wonder make it to landfill.
1750 Plastic bags into landfill every minute - yes every minute.




Looking back .....

Do you remember getting milk in bottles at school?

Source

I use to take Quick to school to add to the milk.

The bottles were collected and recycled after cleaning.

Do you remember the milkman coming to your home?

Source

He would leave the full bottles and take the empties.  The empties would be wash and cleaned and refilled.

Do you remember getting the groceries in the brown paper bag?

Then getting your school books covered from these paper bags.  Adding pictures from magazines to jazz up the cover.   Or do you remember using the brown paper bags to wrap up parcels to post.

Do you remember your sandwiches for school being wrapped in paper?

source

Do you remember collecting glass cool-drink bottles and cashing them in for lolly money?  

Do you remember paper straws?

Were you raised in cloth nappies?  

source

Then came plastic for everyday use .....

This few minute video is beyond comprehension.

What do you remember about recycling or reusing when you were a child?

Wordless Wednesday

I am so grateful that I live in the south west.
I now remember what I hate in the big smoke........

Guess if gives me the chance to sing my heart out, with the windows up of course.

What do you do with your time whilst waiting in traffic jams?

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and

Sjogrens

I am grateful that I have two arms, two legs, two eyes etc.   The only thing wrong is that I have Sjogrens Syndrome. Sjorgens effects mainly women.  It usually starts to rear its head when you hit around 40 to 50 years of age.  

Sjogrens is a basically an autoimmune disease in which the immune cells attack and destroy the exocrine glands.  Basically in layman terms Sjogrens drys everything up in your body.

So my normal body fluids need to be added to my body via a bottle, such as my tears.  

Tears - they come in a bottle.

My eyes have been slowly deteriorating and I now have to wear glasses as the lack of fluid makes if difficult for my eyes to adjust from close ups to far away.

My knees and hips hurt from time to time as the fluid sack that is around these joints is basically drying up.

My skin is going down hill very fast due to lack of moisture.  I just have to knock myself now or scratch myself and I end up with blood marks under the skin.  

This is what my skin looks like after scratching an itch.

Part of Sjorgens is that your saliva dries up. I live with a constant dry mouth which takes it toll on my teeth.  Gums shrink and teeth fall out.  I cannot replace these with a denture as that takes saliva to keep the denture from being painful.  

So the answer is implants.  I have already had two implants which are just amazing.  It involves getting a metal based posted drilled into your jaw and then a crown put onto the end of it.  Last week I had to have my third implant which I was fine about until I was told there was not enough bone density to put it in. Bonus there was a solution, a bone graft. The specialist couldn't get enough bone from my jaw so he used bone supplied from what I was told was bovine.  In other words a cow.  I am just hoping I don't start to produce milk!

That happened last Wednesday. By Saturday I found myself in hospital on a drip as my face was about four times the size and infection was setting in.  I was prepared to do anything to make sure my body didn't reject this implant.  Even if this meant sitting in a place full of really sick people on a drip for a for the night.

The last two implants had been in the bottom jaw and were a piece of cake but this one is in the upper jaw and just below my sinuses.  Hence it was difficult to insert and the chances of reject are high.

Right now I am still in pain which is to be expected apparently. I am over pain relief, it makes me feel nauseated. I am also peeved that I have a face that looks like I have done five rounds with Mike Tyson. People are asking what has bitten me.   

I just keep telling myself that it will only be a few more days and I will look normal again.  Then comes the wait for 6 weeks for the implant to settle and the bone to form a secure base for it, one more trip to the big smoke for the specialist to check and then the false tooth/crown will go on to the post.  

Do you know anyone with Sjogren's Syndrome?



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Marriage

Feel free to leave abuse, agree or disagree with me as I am just going to put my thoughts out there.   

I have just finished watching the news and had to listen to that dreadful verbal twang as our Prime Minister spoke.  I just wish that our first female Prime Minster had class, wasn't an atheist and had some dress sense and a great speaking voice.    Now I am getting off track.

It is obvious that Julia is not going to be elected back in, so I fail to understand why she doesn't leave behind something that she will be remembered for   .........  something brilliant.

    Why not legalise gay marriage?    

   

I fail to understand why in this day and age you cannot marry someone you love in this country.

What do you think marriage is?

Types of Travellers

I always considered people to be either globe trotters, grey nomads, backpackers or home bodies.  

Yesterday I was reading an article were research companies classify travellers into 5 categories.

True Traveller - craves adventure and authenticity of a place.  Classic backpacker.  Travel warning ensure the crowds have gone.  

Pampadour - Travels a lot to places to indulge and do nothing in luxury digs.  Its all about the new and latest spa treatments. 

Compatriot - its all about the family trip to the same place over and over again.  

Young at Heart - loves to travel in a pack of friends. Likes such things as Contiki tours.  

Wanderer - what I would call the grey nomad.  Retired empty nesters with time to travel.  Take leisurely road trips and does self catering.

What type of traveller are you?

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Glib

Glib = readily fluent but often superficially or insincerely so. Artfully persuasive in nature.

Putting GLIB into a sentence ......

The car salesman was so glib that the customers failed to notice the car didn't have an engine.

Have you ever expereinced a glib person?
I am sure at some stage we all have.

Linking in today

Red Shoes

I recall as a teenager seeing a lady in bright red shoes walking past where I was sitting with a relative.  My relative tutted, made a face like she had just sucked on a lemon and informed me that wearing red shoes is an indication you are a lady of the night.

Over the years I heard so many old wives tales about women in red shoes.  Even that they indicate you are not wearing panties.

So when wearing red shoes actually became the norm I still had difficulty selecting a pair of red shoes to wear with all of the old fashioned comments swirling around in my head.   

Recently I decided that life is too short not to own a pair of red shoes.

If I was brave and comfortable with wearing bright red shoes I would be selecting something like these ....

So shiny they would be able to see in the reflection if I was wearing panties I guess!

As I am still coming to terms with wearing red shoes I have opted instead for a cheap pair of flats.

Weird how other peoples comments have stopped me from doing something as simple as wearing bright red shoes.


So on this day .....TOTALLY THURSDAY.....what colour are your shoes?

Gel Socks

I decided to give Gel Socks a try. 

They are meant to moisturise your feet and assist with such things as callouses and dry heels.  Also recommend for people who spend hours on their feet.  

Brought this pair from eBay.

They have tread on the bottom.  

However I still felt a little unstable in them on tiles as your feet move inside them against the gel coating.

This is what they look like inside.  

They smell fabulous as the gel is infused with all types of moisturising essential oils.  My feet felt fantastic after using them.  


Have you tried Gel Socks yet?  


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