Time flies & the New Year, 2008 is upon us! I thought I'd post for you a photo from my balcony here in Canmore, Alberta taken on Christmas morning - cool, huh?! :-)
I'll be posting much less frequently to this blog now as I've permanently re-located to Canada & am teaching there ...
I've posted a link to my new Canadian blog in the sidebar here & that's where I'll be posting more frequently from now on. And also I've put a link in to my Facebook site where I've got some photos posted. Feel free to have a look & send me some messages there too!
To all my 618 students from Semester 2 2007 - well done on your final projects - I'm sorry I didn't have time to post to each of you individually -but I may find some time over the next few weeks. I hope you were all (mostly) happy with your results?! :-)
So Happy New Year to all my past students & to other colleagues reading this!
Well, it is certainly about time I posted here again! I have settled in to my new home in Canmore (well, temporarily until January, at least) and am enjoying the rather cool weather (so far had one night when it went down to -11C?!). It is a little chillier than I'm used to, but I was expecting that ... in a sort of way ...
I am about to start marking the final projects of my 618 students & I'm looking forward to seeing what you have all put together - & what your "reviewers" have to say about your productions ;-).
It snowed here again on Saturday night and Sunday, turning even the ugliest parts of town (& there aren't many of those) into a winter wonderland. But now it has mostly melted again, ready for the next snowfall which is predicted this Friday, I think. I'll see how long the snow lasts then?!
Such a long time since I've posted??!! I feel blog-deprived :-) Here I am in Canada now - in Edmonton till tomorrow, then I move on to Canmore in the eastern Rockies - where it'll be a bit colder, I fear?!Hope you all are moving along with your projects - I've had email from some & guess you others are just not communicating because you're not making much progress with the project. Don't forget that the wiki is a good place to ask questions & post ideas & help that you've found!I'm putting here a photo I took a couple of days ago here in Edmonton - at sunset ... they are still on daylight saving here, which is rather strange for me, a tropical person, cos the sun doesn't rise till about 7.30am or later, but it doesn't set till about 6.30 ... And it doesn't really move across the sky- I have a view out of my hotel room in one direction & I can see the sun all day?!... Not as serious a dysjunction as Alaska last year though :-)I'm looking forward to seeing the online projects as they get posted - but won't be able to have a look at them for about a week or so. And guess what? It looks like I may be teaching a course collaboratively with University of Iceland?! - how cool is that?? (literally!) 8-}
My last workshop with the Technology & Second Language students went well last Saturday. It was a full, but useful & exciting day, I think ...
So that was my last workshop at QUT?! Mind-boggling! Now I have the (enjoyable, though time-consuming) task of looking through everyone's webquests and giving them a grade. It will be difficult as they have all done such good work!
And this will happen in between having some leave time during the semester break & packing, packing, & more packing ...
Have to remember to breathe & relax from time to time :-D
All the webquests are coming in now & there is just as much creativity and variety this semester as in previous semesters! Even people who thought they would never be able to do it have successfully created interesting & colourful webquests and put them on the web! Once again I am stunned and humbled at the capacity of students to make such learning leaps in such a short time - & in such diverse areas as learning theory, instructional design, and linguistics, as well as various content areas!
Now I am wondering how I'm going to be able to mark them all before I go - as well as do everything else I have to do ...?? At least it will be an interesting task- unlike packing :-}
The second work shop went well last week & every -one seems to be on track to get their Webquests designed & put together. There are some very good ideas being develop -ed & I think most of them are over the first big learning "hump" of what to do, the peda- gogical bases of web- quests & how to put the pieces togeth -er. This week & next will be telling times, I think - when we shall see some amazing progress & some fascinating new projects. I look forward to getting notifications about them as they are posted ... :-)
The day after the workshop, I went up to the mountains with my friend Jane to relax & breathe some good, post-rain rainforest air, listen to the birds & also managed to see a beautiful sunset!
Hah - rain at last!! I saw a rainbow on my way home from work this afternoon & nearly drove off the road - it was so beautiful & it's so long since I've seen one! Sadly, I didn't have my camera, so I couldn't get a photo ...
This Saturday is the second workshop for this semester for technology & second language learning - should be fun! ... hard work, but fun :-) Wonder what food I should bring for morning & afternoon tea (read: energy boosts) this time ...?
