PonderingsinCyberspace

Out of China at last

2010-02-21T13:21:00.004+10:00

Needless to say you can't use blogs or Utube or Facebook in China and thus the silence.
I am back in Thailand visiting my son and my new grandson.

I have only been here one week and it's all flooded back - the long hours, the crying, the lack of sleep and you begin to wonder why people do it; then that gorgeous smile, the cooing, the progression through all the baby steps! Voila we are all hooked again. Richard has three adults running in circles for him. Does this impress him? No. Poor boy doesn't realise that this is the best time of his life. Never again will he be the centre of so much unadulterated attention.

Can't Believe It's Been So Long

2009-06-02T11:31:00.006+10:00

I can't believe that it's almost a year since I posted anything.

I actually returned to Australia mid October 2008 with the idea of finding work near home as the isolation in Jeju was getting to me. I didn't have a solid social network and found myself spending way too much time reading or staring at the walls of my apartment. The odd dinner with my Korean friends turned out to be insufficient to maintain my equilibrium. Thus after ten ever increasingly long months I had enough. In hindsight going back to a place I had taught twice before was a mistake. The island of Jeju is very small and there was nothing left of any interest that I hadn't seen at least twice. So for sanity's sake I returned home. I thought I would be happy doing anything provided I was in my little house in Fernvale and even tried a stint at two or three different jobs in totally different streams of employment. Now almost 8 months later it would appear I am off overseas again. It does look like I don't know what I want doesn't it. You may well be right. I do love teaching ESL though and there is nothing within commutable distance for me here. So this time I am off to China near Guangzhou.

I will be back doing what I like to do best, preparing students for university entry. At this stage I'm only committed to two semesters so that I am not tied up for the full year if it turns out to be too unpalatable. The weather is definitely more to my liking than Jeju, as it is sub-tropical. Thailand was too humid for my taste, so hopefully Liujong, which is about one hour's bus drive north east of Guanzhou in Guangdong province, will be closer in climate to home. We shall see. I am due to start work mid July which would bring me home towards the end of Feb 2010. Let's hope teaching trip number 5 will be more enjoyable than trip 4. At least I will have a cousin and approximately 14 other English speaking colleagues on campus. This has to be a great leap forward to being totally isolated.

Extraction or Distraction

2008-06-13T09:58:00.005+10:00

Is that mortal or moral decay you say?

Well it's been a bit of a nasty week with the much avoided trip to the dentist followed by a harrowing molar extraction. A totally new cultural experience. It would seem Korean dentists are not big on 'gentleness'. I felt my mouth had been invaded by some tantrum throwing two year old. Then we he started banging about my mouth with 'demolition equipment' I remembered all the reasons why I hate the dentist. I was pounded and ground to submission - all with a much used green face cloth on to hide my grimaces from the staff. Ten minutes later when I dared to look around I found the offending tooth in four pieces lying totally exhausted on the utensils table. I knew exactly how it felt and almost apologised to it until I remembered the months of pain it had caused me which had eventually brought us both to this bloody conclusion. It's pain was over. Mine however was only just beginning.

The dreaded 'dry socket' was the inevitable outcome... only because they don't seem to know how to treat it here and I can't buy any dry socket dressings at the chemist... tylenol is not really doing anything, neither is soju... I will be glad when the two weeks is over and my mouth will have healed... hopefully. Saline solutions etc are all I have to keep the area as clean as possible.

These only occur if you don't bleed like a stuck pig and thus have a nice thick blood clot to keep the air and whatever else wants to get into the gaping hole in your mouth and grind against the bone and nerve endings! Suffice it to say that it might be a while before I venture back though there are about four fillings needed... some how I think I'll opt for total knock out next time with a first class dental surgeon - if there is such a beast.

Aaaaaagh Nearly Half of 2008 Consumed

2008-05-27T12:06:00.005+10:00

I can't believe it's nearly mid 2008 already. It took a comment from an old mentor to make me realise I hadn't even posted anything since Easter!

My teaching schedule is still heavy but bearable now that I have Sundays to myself.

Can't say I've done anything spectacular in my free time though as I managed to trip over on a raised drain hole in the middle of my street 3 Saturday nights ago and cut my right hand in 6 places - the one on my middle finger being over half an inch long and almost to the bone. In true Australian style I opted for self-doctoring and quietly bled my way to the bathroom sink, finally staunching the flow after a half an hour... very disappointing too as the blood was red not blue!

There was one small problem though. I had no first aid gear. Fortunately I was able to cut up a sterile white handkerchief and glued it all together with bright green ducting tape. Not the best look but effective nonetheless. Since then I have managed to find some fresh Aloe Vera leaf which I am using to reduce the scarring. Admittedly the middle finger will never look the same but I was never going to win a 'hand beauty' contest anyway.

Back to why I am really here... I am thoroughly enjoying teaching English in Jeju again. I like the hogwan situation best because of the variety of students I am able to teach from the very young beginners to adults who want to enter a Western university. It's very challenging and stimulating. I have to confess I haven't started my formal research as yet... just observing a lot and making copious mental notes. Because I was so dreadfully ill with chronic bronchial infections for the first four months here, I determined I would start piecing things together when I return from my R & R at the end of July.

I still think the project is worth the effort; just don't intend to kill myself in the process.

Easter for Vou Workster for Moi

2008-03-22T22:22:00.007+10:00

Hmmm...

I was so glad to find that the Easter Bunny finally got what was coming to the little sh.. especially as I have had to work Good Friday, Easter Sat... and will be working Sun and Mon... Okay, so it's just a mindset, but you'd be surprised how much you feel that the four-day break is a 'right of passage'. I shall very much enjoy posting when it's Chuseok though that is quite a hop away.

To all of my family and friends who are drinking, funning, sunning or just plain lounging around on this most holy occasion... GET TO CHURCH!

That's what the holiday is for!

Okay so enjoy your holiday anyway! (Moi am truly truly green!)

Travel I've Done but Blogging None

2008-03-20T10:33:00.008+10:00

I can't believe it's been almost 5 months since I've updated this blog.
SO THIS IS A QUICK UPDATE!!!!

I was frantically busy before heading overseas on Jan 18th sorting, amongst other things my garden... why you ask did you do your garden when you intend to be away 2 to 3 years... call it my "I still love you" farewell to my garden.

These are my grandchildren at my goodbye bonfire.

My week in Thailand was great though as I was able to see my brand new niece up close and personal.

This is Marissa and my brother Mark a couple of weeks ago. She was born on Jan 22 this year just 2 days after my 57th birthday!

I came down with the much dreaded bronchitis almost upon arrival in Korea and spent the first 3 weeks teaching to a 'killer' schedule that thankfully has subsided to the rather normal, yet still insane 'split shift' which is almost tolerable save that the split keeps shifting... yes you guessed it from day to day my teaching schedule changes... something I have endured before but not quite like this... talk about the 'shifting sands of time'!

Here it is the day before Easter when I'd be breathing a sigh of relief in Australia and looking forward to longest weekend we get over there. I hope everyone enjoys and gives me a passing thought as I will be working on each and every day. Easter is not officially recognised in Korea.

So while my family in Australia is having fun in the sun and my brother in Thailand is enjoying the weekend... moi will be plodding on teacher as per... but it's okay as I actually love teaching and it's not as if the way things are in South Korea is a 'first time' shock as this is my third stint here.

Well now that I have the Internet in my apartment and have once again 'plogged' back in
I will use this site for generic info rather than those all encompassing emails which seem to offend the sensibilities of those who want something a leetle more poisonal... point taken and noted family... roger wilko etc etc

Itchy Feet Syndrome Strikes Again

2007-10-27T08:32:00.001+10:00

Or perhaps I've just been bitten by the insidious travel bug. Either way, subject to my blood tests etc etc being good, ie, not dying of anything more serious than life, I am off to South Korea in January.

I must say I am looking forward to it in many ways. Actually I am going out of financial necessity; because teaching ESL in Brisbane is more like a subsidized volunteer effort.

I love teaching my students but I am not getting any younger - 57 next January - don't have any Super to speak of and just cleaned out my savings doing and extension at home.

So it's Hi Ho Hi Ho off to Jeju I go once again. The upside is that I have decided to finish my Masters. Can't re-enrol straight away because the cost per unit at QUT is absolutely overpriced. I will have to work for at least 6 months to get some money together to continue. However, that doesn't stop me commencing my research... :)

Well must go, I am assisting my brother with his website... This will complete his Masters... diligent little fellow... of course he's not paying up front so there you go.

A Distant Light

2007-08-06T13:37:00.000+10:00

Thanks to Debra's comment, left on my blog over the weekend, I feel there is a faint glimmer of direction out there.

I've been rather slothful lately using all my free time to indulge in a reading orgy... all pure escapism of course. However, I will give Debra's comment some structured thought. As reading is my preferred option, at the best or worst of times, I'll start with a smorgasborde of readings. There is so much out there on TESOL, ESL, EFL etc etc that I am bound to find something of interest that will hopefully prod me into action regarding some definitive and worthwhile research.

Anyone stumbling on this blog who has read something recently that really enervated them feel free to leave the info in my comments section. [err something related to ESL preferably :)] My blog automatically notifies me if someone places a comment there.

A good result but what now?

2007-07-18T13:26:00.000+10:00

Finally got my mark for this subject and was very pleased that all my hard work produced such a pleasing result.

Initially I was looking forward to the break from study but now that it's mid July the euphoria has faded and I'm left asking "What now?"...

Perhaps I will go ahead and get my Masters in TESOL after all... but I'm giving myself until Christmas to decide. The thing is I'd like to do some useful research rather than simply work my way through another four set units. I just don't feel excited enough about any aspect of TESOL to want to do detailed research on it. Let's hope this changes before December...

Blogging is less daunting than before ...

2007-06-28T06:09:00.000+10:00

I have decided to make blogging a compulsory weekly event in my combined class, i.e., the afternoon when I must teach both the IELTS and SSPP class together. My hope is that they will eventually fly solo with this concept and generate their own discussions - although a cyber bulletin board might work better. I'll have to give that one some more thought.

For the moment I am posting tasks to the class blog that I moderate and getting the students to follow the instructions re postings etc from it. Half of my class are not comfortable with computers which is a huge surprise for me as the majority of them are teenagers. So much for the concept of the young running ahead of us in the techno-stakes.

Perhaps there is such a thing as tech-overload with our younger users after all.

Traffic might not be the death of me but it certainly may be the death of my career...

2007-06-19T09:57:00.000+10:00

It would appear that there is a major accident on the Ipswich motorway between Fernvale and Gailes at least once a fortnight. No big deal as long as you are not in the subsequent traffic gridlock. Today was my best effort. I heard the traffic report; opted for an arduous trip through Ipswich central and out to Blackstone Rd... Half hour wasted as it was gridlocked. Doubled back to Dinmore only to find that I could have come straight down the highway and cut out at Dinmore... did my usual back way only to find that it is no longer a secret... 40 minutes where I usually take 10... I nearly rang in and resigned... The dole is looking good... or a job in the local bakery... cleaner at the local school.... teachers aid... road sign nazi!!! The options are endless.

Moving On

2007-06-15T07:20:00.000+10:00

In some ways it's very nice to be moving on but in others there's always that feeling of loss. Now that I have my weekends back I feel slightly rudderless.

However, some good news on the techno-ESL front - This week I introduced my new IELTs class to Blogs and blogging. I hope to encourage them to generate their own discussions via their individual blogs. At the same time I was pleased to see that my SSPP class has moved to the next level in blogging with all students now cross-commenting on the various group blogs.

One small step for woman etc...

Trial by Fire...

2007-06-08T07:36:00.001+10:00

Yesterday, ten of my SSPP students engaged in a reasonably successful sortie with my Health and Nutrition page. I'm happy to say casualties were low. They had been forearmed with two previous 'face-to-face' lessons on Health and Nutrition - "Dietary Guidelines for Australians" and "How to Prevent excess Weight Gain". These lessons were based on the information published in the "Dietary Guidelines for Australians - A Guide to Healthy Eating" put out by the Australian Government.

As this was simply the first skirmish in a protracted campaign (i.e. 6 computer periods of approximately 1.4 hour duration) no definitive results are yet available.

After their foray, the students were debriefed. They were asked to give their impression of the two activities they had time to trial. The feedback was both verbal and in writing. [Individual student comments are attached to this posting] Nine out of the ten students managed to attempt two activities in the limited time frame. All ten students successfully completed activity one which was a reading comprehension exercise on "Enjoying a Wide Variety of Foods Every Day". Four of the remaining nine completed the Crossword. We had to return to base earlier than planned to allow others time on the battlefield. [A study tour group teacher asked me to give up part of my allotted computer room time so that her homesick students could contact friends and family. Owing to the fact that I felt it politic, at that particular juncture, to re-establish my reputation as a benevolent despot I acquiesced.]

We had some serious technical hiccups that clouded the trial. All of the students' computers are linked to the same server on the same line and therefore are abominably slow... and for some unaccountable reason they were even slower yesterday; much slower than the staff computers which aren't as fast as they could be either... the page took too long to download.

Because I am going to be using this teaching resource quite often at this particular (though unsatisfactory) location, I will have to forego some of the fancier elements like 'flash buttons' for basic hyperlinks in order to speed up access. Just as well I haven't loaded this page to my public website. I'd like to iron out a few more kinks before taking that particular plunge.

Also, some students tended to rush ahead without thoroughly reading the instructions which I feel is detrimental to the learning process. I am going to have to include a few more checks and balances on the way through. It's fine if there is a teacher present at all times but if for some reason this material was to be used in a 'distance education' capacity, i.e. most of the work being done online, this could cause unnecessary frustration on the part of the learner and be a demotivating factor in the learning process.

Interestingly some students felt the comprehension questions were easier than those they had done in class and perhaps they were. Because this was the first activity in the series and the whole concept of doing this type of work on the computer is so new to my students I didn't want to make their first attempt too daunting. I'll monitor this with future students and make any necessary adjustments when I have a little more feedback.

A couple of students had problems finding their place on the page when clicking through to answer the questions. Perhaps a split screen activity might be more workable or a few more sub-headings in the text.

I was relieved, though a little surprised, to find that all of the students who attempted the crossword enjoyed the process, despite the fact that they found it very difficult to do. Also, none of them pressed the solve button for the quick answer. Despite this pleasing outcome I think that I will rebuild the crosswords with some easier hints in them; probably some hyperlinks or pictures would be the best option because the object of the exercise is to build or reinforce vocabulary. I don't want them to be tempted to go the easy fix and just press the solve button in order to finish the exercise.

Watching the students work through the exercises I realized I needed to add a hyperlink to an online dictionary/thesaurus which I will now do.

The above hiccups/technical glitches notwithstanding, I am pleased with the webpage and excited at the prospect of refining it to improve students' learning outcomes.

Back from Paradise...

2007-06-05T05:41:00.000+10:00

North Queensland was a lovely break. All that green was a bit depressing... My partner was going to take a photo of the lush grass just so we could all remember what it looks like but I dissuaded him. :) It rained on and off for the entire time we were there! Coming back to clear blue skies after promises of rain on the forecast was very depressing. Let's hope they get it right for later this week.

The Whitsundays are lovely but I have to say you really can't beat South East Queensland for the variety. We've got it all... well we usually have it all and will again once the drought breaks. Our beaches are lovely. Our hinterland is exquisite. Our holiday accommodation is much more affordable and a lot more up you go than up North. They really need to check a dictionary to find out what 'deluxe' is supposed to mean. :|

Went to Bowen... hmmm was underwhelmed. Saw the movie set whilst I was there. They just blocked off a small section of one city street, covered the asphalt with dirt and plopped a few WWII army vehicles there. I was amazed how authentic it looked.

Still it was nice to take a break for a couple of days. Leaves one reluctant to return to the classroom but I am sure once I see my students' expectant faces I'll be right back into it.

Drawing to a close...

2007-05-31T09:47:00.000+10:00

Fortunately for me I am not a 'true' obsessive compulsive; therefore I can leave my final draft alone... as the final draft even... instead of the semi final draft...

Perhaps the fact that I have to dye my hair, handwater the garden, pack my bag, go to the doctor etc before I get on that plane tomorrow morning may have a leeeetle bit to do with this newfound strength of character.

Free At Last ... Free At Last... Almost...

2007-05-27T15:01:00.000+10:00

Okay so it hasn't been 28 years since I began this project but if a 'thousand years is but a day unto the Lord'... reverse that and you get my drift!

I am excrutiatingly happy to say that I have finally finished my first draft of the Rationale!

As prescribed by all writing gurus, I shall now leave it for a full 24 hours before reading it again!

Now to more serious matters...

2007-05-26T11:51:00.000+10:00

I'm sick of reading!!! I've consumed the entire of Egbert, Hanson-Smith's "CALL Environments" +++ reams of downloads from the CLN618 site and don't feel any closer to putting my 'Rationale' together for the final assignment. Well that's not quite true.

I'm okay with most of it... It's the 'reference to literature that's bogging me down. I know why I do what I do. I know why it works in my classes. It's finding the recognised experts to quote that I find a tad wearying. Oops I think I just joined Ruthie again... Triple that Tad, add expletive pain in the wherever, plus multiple yawns and why not throw in those steak knives while you're at it.

On the flip side... there is so much more I want to do with the second assignment... but time doesn't permit, so it will have to wait until after this unit is over. As I fully intend to use this Health and Nutrition online work in the teaching module I'm putting together, I know that what is assessed will not actually be the final product that my students will be using... That's why I intend to keep this blog going long after this unit is over... as a true reflection on the final product.

Yet another week has flown by...

2007-05-26T11:19:00.000+10:00

... and what a week it's been. Four full days teaching, a student birthday celebration followed smartly by my grandson's 4th birthday celebration. I can't believe it took me nearly two hours to buy his birthday gifts; which ended up being 3 boxes of leggo - which he loved,
a Times table book with a singalong CD - which my daughter thought was highly inappropro - hmmm
and Thomas the Tank Engine sliding number cards - another gift which underwhelmed my daughter... hmmm

Actually Conor (Mr now 4) is very interested in his numbers, always wanting to join in when his big sister is doing her homework... this will,hopefully, rearrange the power ratio as the Times Table book and the Thomas the Tank Engine number cards are HIS!

You know you're a Cyborg when...

2007-05-20T05:49:00.000+10:00

... your computer doesn't boot up and you feel you've lost a vital organ!

Which is just what happened yesterday... My very young... only 14 months since it was built... computer turned into a tin box yesterday when upon poking and prodding at the start AND reboot buttons no blue or red lights came on! What fun... finding a computer mechanic on a Saturday who would even look at it! Fortunately for me an old friend of a friend said... "Bring it over and I'll take a look at it." The fact that I live miles from anywhere gives "bring it over" a whole new look and feel! However, one frantic car ride later I was a much happier cy - bee...

Double fortunately he had a spare power box lying around his workshop that actually worked... (They usually have all these discarded bits from old computers that should have been thrown out years ago.) Triple fortunately it fitted my computer and in two shakes of a mini screwdriver the lights came back on in my not so little 'black box' (I knew it was ominous that my new computer's shell was black - just asking for a major crash for sure!)

Being of a curious bent my computer saviour and I pulled the old power box apart and sure enough it had blown a capacitor! So here's hoping the new one can take the workload I impose upon it.

The sad news is I lost a vital day so my schedule is

Can't Believe It's Friday AGAIN!!!

2007-05-18T10:50:00.000+10:00

The past week has whizzed by. I've been adding, editing and fiddling with my second assignment before and after work... This morning I spent 3 hours trying to work out why the pop up feedback messages on one of my quizzes remained transparent. Finally fixed it but still don't understand why it happened in the first place which is very annoying. Also, everytime I adjusted the wretched thing it erased any changes I made in Dreamweaver... it's the HotPotatoes software... Imagine the joy of continually adding 'Flash Buttons' - uploading them and then doing it again... Okay so some days I am very slow on the uptake.

That said, I still think it was worth it because I also sorted out the problem with the images not showing once I had transferred the file... I do hope my students appreciate all these little nuances when they are doing the exercises... :(

Sorry no piccies today... maybe next time.

Zee good news is...

2007-05-11T15:45:00.000+10:00

That I have uploaded my entire website onto the QUT H Drive... though it's still a work in progress. Being such a huge file it took 50 minutes to load... but there it is and I am sooooooooooooooooooooo relieved.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaagh

2007-05-11T14:55:00.000+10:00

Just tore my finger nail whilst trying to put the magnetic insert into my woollen underblanket. It's really been that kind of a day...

An Expensive Lesson

2007-05-11T14:32:00.000+10:00

It turns out that not only did the dreaded zipfile not go anywhere... it kept trying to upload all night. It would get half way and then crash... then automatically try again... Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh! When I got up the next morning I found it still trying to load... when I got to work I got 3 emails from Telstra telling me that I was progressively eating up all my allotted usage for the month... by email three I had gone 136megabytes over... and this only the first week of the current month. Never again will I try to send such a huge file and especially never through Outlook!

They are ONLY a bunch of machines connected by wires and optic fibre cables after all...

2007-05-09T21:35:00.000+10:00

Well after working most of the weekend on adjusting my Quest as well as working on assignment 2 and then getting home from a full day's teaching last night to spend another 3 hours at it... plus rising before the Kookaburras this morning... zipping my file and emailing my lecturer with my new you beaut updated version of the WebQuest before heading off to another full days teaching - I get home to find that the email hasn't gone and in fact is still trying to go this minute as I type... errr the file, though zipped, is huge... because the WebQuest is now attached to the new website I'm building and all the other things I'm putting together for the second assignment. No wonder Debra didn't answer my email... she hasn't got it yet... Oh well they are only machines after all ... connected by a tissue of optic fibres... what do we expect?

Zorba Lives

2007-05-07T12:51:00.000+10:00

As does his dilemma. Experimenting is time consuming ...

and then... if you don't experiment how will you learn new things... and then if you do experiment how then will you get everything done... but then if you don't you may end up with something very ordinary...

What the hey ... Let's dance...

Dizzy but Delighted

2007-05-07T10:04:00.000+10:00

I really can't believe how long I spent at the computer yesterday. At 8:45pm I decided to close it all down. It's the size of the task I have set myself that is the problem. But I really can't downsize now as it would defeat the initial purpose.

However having spent a mere 5 hours tidying up a friend's Quest I realize just how complicated mine is. I really won't know how effective it is until I trial it in the classroom and I don't want to pre-empt that just to fit into the time frame of this subject. I have planned that the WebQuest will be the major task in my Health and Nutrition module that I am currently writing to use at UIL. I don't want to spoil my current students' learning outcomes just to appease other goals.

Well needs must away as I have a full days work to do on my own assignment and it is now after 10am.

The Pilgrim Progresses

2007-05-06T09:43:00.000+10:00

A little progress in Dreamweaver... hence the size of the type... Embarrassing as it is to admit - I didn't know how to load a Word file into Dreamweaver. After battling with the Dreamweaver Help menus off an on for the past hour I decided to simply save the Word document as a Web Page into the relevant Dreamweaver folder and make a link...

Well must get back to it... a woman's etc ....

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaggghhhhhh

2007-05-06T07:27:00.000+10:00

I'd like to say that after that display of frustration I felt better but it's just not that simple. Have been up since dawn trying to sort out my Hot Potatoes exercises to put into my new module.

After spending hours last weekend creating a couple of half way decent and also pedagogically reasonable exercises in the Old Hot Potatoes program because the New one doesn't work well unless you have the latest in Java... and not everyone will right? That was another couple of hours wasted but we won't go there right now... BACK to the grumble at hand... I put in these lovely little images that I had painstakingly doctored in Photoshop so that they would load quickly and they wont show once I drop the file into Dreamweaver and load it with the rest of my files.

I even went into the html codes and rejigged them... still no go. So I thought I'll just delete and reload the images from the folder I have for the entire site... and still no go. The URLs work but not my little piccies... I am miffed I can tell you as I hate anything to beat me. But I really have to stop wasting time on this or I will never get it all done. I shall just have to come back to it another time and fly without pictures for now. It's not as if they are essential after all. It's only for us visual learners who just LOVE pictures in everything. We'll just have to be satisfied with all the nice piccies on the websites we click to from my Quizzes.

Leaving Now...

Into The Valley

2007-05-05T05:41:00.000+10:00

Today is our last Workshop. I hope I can absorb all the necessary data to come away from this suitably enlightened and prepared for the final assignment.

There is so much scope in this unit that one often feels like a child on Christmas morning wondering which present to open first... or worse a child in a lolly shop with limited funds.

There is simply not enough time to do this subject justice. My concern is that when the time frame is lifted so will the urgency of accumulating new knowledge. I guess that's why we do formalised study rather than plodding on in splendid isolation.

Must away and get ready for the battle...

Looks Like I'll Have to Practice On Myself

2007-05-04T12:34:00.000+10:00

Oh Dear... I think that First Aid course has hoo dooed me. I am so ill... migraine nausea the works!
Alas today is my study day and I can no longer sit at the computer to read. I have an all day workshop tomorrow and having missed the last one must go to this one dead or alive. I would have preferred to have gone all read up and ready to go.

However, I think I had better just rest in a dark room so that I can go at all! What a pill. I am truly sick of being sick this year... enough grumbling ... am off to try and get rid of this headache.

It's Okay To Pass Out Near Me Now .... Maybe

2007-05-04T06:50:00.000+10:00

Well let's say it's a lot safer than it was before. This week 8 of our staff did a First Aid Cert course. For some it was a mere refresher. For others like myself who have not done anything even similar for over 20 years one could hardly call if a refresher; more like a resuscitation.

Amazingly I blitzed the final test... hmmm maybe that says more about the test level rather than my first aid knowledge. I really think multiple choice questions are not an accurate assessment of your knowledge but they are an easy out for those who must mark them. I took the opportunity of passing this observation on in the "Do you have any comments?" section.

Anyway, the good news is that I am up to date on CPR. They've changed it! It's now 30 firm presses to the chest and 2 breaths which you have to do 5 times in 2 minutes. Boy aren't you glad they made it more simple?

However did they save anyone before!?!

Another Week Has Flown By

2007-04-28T16:04:00.002+10:00

I can't believe another week has gone. I just can't seem to get everything done I'd like to with this subject. I have spent a deal of computer time working on my Hot Potatoes quizzes for my next Task. But like Moon I am feeling pressured to get some subject specific reading done. Trouble is there's just so much of it out there.

You could get swallowed up by this stuff if you're not careful.

On that note I am going to shut down this computer and do some recreational reading for the rest of the day.

Onwards Into the Valley of...

2007-04-22T16:21:00.000+10:00

After my 'drop-in' session on Friday I was inspired to tackle Hot Potatoes BUT not Friday night as I wanted to watch the Australia vs NZ rugby league match. Poor New Zealand what a drubbing! I found myself praying they'd get one try so that they didn't go home a bunch of zeros.

Anyway Saturday morning early but not so bright I downloaded the latest Hot Potatoes and commenced teaching myself how to use the various portions of the program only to be stopped mid type by the fact that I hadn't registered. I have sent several emails trying to get them to waive the fee because I will be using it for education purposes only with no commercial gain... still no joy just another confusing email. I did manage a couple of mini quizzes which I dutifully saved as html docs as well as the other.

Today I loaded them into my new website in Dreamweaver. They worked well as did a crossword I built with another program I bought a while back. I tried to link my Webquest to the new site and had no joy... In the end I binned it all. I'll think about it for a few days and have another go. I really need to rest now as it is nearly 5pm and I must look fresh tomorrow for my poor students. Can't go in suffering from Compu-lag can I? I feel I have achieved quite a bit this weekend but realize I have loads of work to do this coming week. Thank goodness it's Anzac Day on Wednesday. I'll be able to do a bit more in Dreamweaver and also start catching up on my readings.

That's it for now.

The Saga Continues

2007-04-19T11:14:00.000+10:00

It's all been a bit of fun really, costly fun admittedly but fun none-the-less. I have actually learnt a lot of new skills that I probably would have avoided if everything had gone as smooth as glass like last time. Last time refers to 5 or so years ago when I built a website as part of an undergrad course for which I received a 7. :) If I recall the uploading of the site was a guided one and you really didn't learn anything about the actual uploading. The object of the exercise back then was to write an excellent website brief for your 'client' and then build the website in Photoshop would you believe in a million little nightmarish slices; create a template and build your site from there. The architecture of the site was the key. If your informational architecture was right then you had a great user-friendly website.

I tried to keep all this in mind when I built this Quest in Dreamweaver. Time will tell how user-friendly my Quest is when my students actually use it.

Not much of short story is it?

I've uploaded my Quest to my new BigPond webspace. I will be using this space later for my English To Go website; however for now it has my Quest on it. I have also trialled different FTP software called Ipswitch... bit of an omen as I live near Ipswich! It works like a dream with the BigPond site. The beauty of my BigPond site is that I can keep tweaking it... well why not as I am paying for the privelege... not that I'm not paying through the nose at QUT but there it seems you get to load it once and pity help you if you stuff it up because you can't touch it again.

Several STD calls later I found this out though it was pretty obvious to me this at 6am this morning when all I seemed to be able to do was add more folders without correcting a darn thing. Anyway I've had a chat with the powers that be at CSO and a very well spoken fellow whose name I have forgotten cleared the lot and saved it to a new folder for me - [in case there is anything there I may need later]. Now I am free to upload again from scratch but somehow I don't think I'll bother as it all seems rather pointless if you can't go in and change something... like what happens when a link changes and the one you have in your file is no longer valid?

That aside I feel relieved to be able to go somewhere on the web even if I had to pay for the domain space and find my Quest... now my students will actually be able to use it... when I write the rest of the program that is.

That's it for now.

Thought It Was All Too Easy

2007-04-18T19:10:00.000+10:00

I took a look at my Quest today on the computers at work and oh dear some glitches showed that didn't at home. Rushed home after my visit to the hairdresser to tidy up the files and reload them to the site... hmm can't get on to the sight can I... temporarily unavailable for the past 2 hours or more... naturally it is bothering me. I'd like to work out why my changes didn't take last night when I did them. And there are one or two things I still need to add to the Quest namely the references and credits... groan... another sleepless night I see! I hope I have better news tomorrow.

Draft 1 of My Webquest Is UP at Last

2007-04-17T15:52:00.000+10:00

I thought building the WebQuest was an onerous task until I tried to load the #*!$#* thing. After a couple of hours of 'INTUTWITT'

I phoned the experts in the IT section of QUT only to find out that 'They Who Should Know' don't even try to load via Dreamweaver. The lovely young person... can't reveal gender due to political correctness... oops I suppose 'lovely' and 'young' are discriminatory terms too... well the IT guy put me on to File Zilla... and I loaded it all at several clicks of a black neutered mouse feeling oh so clever... Of course it didn't work did it. I kept typing in the URL from the How To Do It sheet I'd downloaded from the CLN618 site.

In my usual... 'this is the only time I have to do this and I will do it one way or the other' style I googled where can I load my webquest free? After an hour or so trialling a few sights I decided to throw cash to the wind and buy some webspace off BigPond... too bad they take 24 hours to set up my web space. Oh well I guess I can load my web pages there AND my WebQuest at a later date.

This post is actually taking me hours as I have been fiddling around with my WebQuest. There are a couple of changes that simply wont TAKE and it's driving me insane. I have literally deleted and reloaded the entire Webquest 4 times today... I think I'll live with the niggly errors for now and take a fresh look on Friday. I have actually been home dying of some obscure virus all day and of course didn't rest but worked on this wretched thing... now I shall be just as ill at work tomorrow... not happy Jan... and neither will my colleagues be when I drag my weary self in on the morrow.

Oh yes and by the way I finally found where it was on the QUT website. Just a couple more slashes and dashes and whaaaalaaaah I found it...

It's Working!

2007-04-10T06:31:00.000+10:00

When you introduce a new concept to your students and they start to use it on their own there's nothing quite like it. This morning I read one of my student's journals and was pleased to see that she had given me the link to her new blog. It is in English and Vietnamese as she wants to use it with all her friends. When I think of how cautiously she approached the idea of setting up a group blog in class I am extremely pleased to see that just two weeks later she's setting up her own individual blog. This is what makes teaching so rewarding for me at least.

Blogs in Practice

2007-03-31T09:27:00.000+10:00

This week I had my SSPP class create group blogs. They divided themselves into groups of 4 to 6, and were required to work as a team deciding on blog names, user names, passwords, templates, themes etc.

Initially there was a deal of confusion and hesitation. However, they eventually settled to the task and I was very pleased with the result. As part of the exercise I set up a class blog where I required them to individually rather than as a team leave comments on my postings. This is going to be an ongoing exercise and I will use it as both a teaching and reflection tool for the students.

The last posting I placed on Wednesday afternoon focused on the Rights of the Child - Child Soldiers. I've asked the students to read the linked article and comment on it. I already have my students send me an electronic journal on a weekly basis. I think these blogs add an extra dimension to this type of communication.

I am looking forward to seeing how this exercise unfolds over the next few weeks. I foresee some difficulties as we have a high student turnover with students coming and going on a regular basis. It can be very frustrating as nothing is really long term.

Well that's it for now.

Web Page Design Dilemma

2007-03-23T08:10:00.000+10:00

Talk about a magic carpet ride! I have spent the past couple of hours reading up on building a better website. I found an excellent website called eFUSE which covers all the basics and more. Unfortunately they build their websites with a software program called Net Objects Fusion. It looks great but as I have a reasonably new version of Dreamweaver I am loathe to spend money on another web design package. That aside this website is well worth a visit as it has a very user-friendly interface and great ideas on how to build yourself a website that people will enjoy browsing through.

My dilemma is do I build a website that I want to use in the future or do I just do what most of the other students have done and build one as a learning exercise for this subject... To build a 'real' website will involve an ongoing financial commitment... which gives one pause... but more so the setup time will be huge followed smartly by a continued time commitment for the sites upkeep.

I shall have to give it some serious thought this weekend...

That's More Like It

2007-03-18T13:53:00.000+10:00

If at first you don't...

Today has been a plodding exercise. I've been plodding through websites, html codes, Wikis, Blogs etc. I've uploaded images, changed font colours... and wasn't that a challenge on the QUT Wiki site... Anyway I did it and that's very satisfying. I even ploughed through old student Wikis and checked out their recommended sites... compiled them on this semester's Help Content page for other easy reference. If you need some good links re how to put together a pedagogically sound WebQuest; or perhaps you're about to build a WebPage you can access the page I was referring to HERE.

Now comes the daunting parts... a) What will be the focus of my Web Page for the upcoming assignment. b) Now that I have decided on a topic for my WebQuest. How do I make it pedagogically sound and... c) How do I sound like I know what I am talking about.

A Little Progress

2007-03-17T14:34:00.000+10:00

I'm happy to say that there has been a little progress since this morning! I unearthed a copy of Dreamweaver MX ... only a year or so behind the latest version... and have been building a webpage with it... nothing too adventurous... a few background images, a couple of linked pages, some text or images linked to external sites, some rollover images (which by the way should be the same size as each other or one of your images will distort!) using tables not frames as frames really annoy me when I am surfing the web, and previewing it in a browser. Can't link you to it which is a shame but I haven't uploaded it as I am still debating on whether or not I'll buy some webspace through Big Pond.

No Time to be a Student

2007-03-17T09:54:00.000+10:00

What a frantic week. I've been so busy being a teacher that I haven't had much time or energy to be a student. However I must make the time to learn my craft. I am convinced that as educators we need to be in the forefront of new technology not dragging our heels at the back of the queue. I have been wanting to design a WebQuest for some time and now that I have the opportunity I find myself daunted by the task; especially after looking at that fabulous WebQuest "Learning About Dinosaurs" by Robee Najarro BAJAR. It is very impressive. I would like to design a quest on health and nutrition as I feel it is an area that my students need to look at more closely, and it wouldn't hurt me to focus on it either. If anyone out there has some interesting ideas on this topic I would appreciate your suggestions.

One thing is for sure this is definitely not a good look!

What a Pain

2007-03-09T18:05:00.000+10:00

Well haven't I had some fun this evening. First I get stuck in the mother of all traffic jams. When I finally get back home I try to open my blog to add a new posting and whammo... I can't access it. I am that nervous about signing out in case I can't get back in again!

Friday March 9

2007-03-09T11:32:00.000+10:00

Well why am I not surprised that my first attempt to login to my newly created blog would be fraught with difficulty. In hindsight it would have been wiser to attempt this last Sunday when all was new and fresh. Point taken and noted for future entries. As today is my first free day after a busy working week I had planned to spend it boning up on Webquests, CALL, CELL, etc etc.

As it turns out I have spent hours playing with my wiki page and attempting to feel comfortable with it. To see what I've been upt to just click the following link: http://teaching.ed.qut.edu.au/cln618/wiki.1-07/index.php/User:N2347229

Day One In Orbit

2007-03-03T10:56:00.001+10:00

With a little trepidation I venture into the public transmission of my ponderings.