Monthly Archives: December 2008

School Year finishes.

Posted on December 21, 2008 by mwalker

As I finish the school year, wind down for Christmas and look forward to a holiday I found this cartoon which puts a premium on dialogue. To all my readers have a Merry Christmas and I will return in the … Continue reading →

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Using video is a cultural shift for us as teachers

Posted on December 18, 2008 by mwalker

Thanks to Judy O’Connell I found Howard Rhiengold’s short video which as Judy says summarises some pretty significant shifts taking place and makes a challenge for teachers. Again this would be a good clip to start some conversations with teachers … Continue reading →

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World Mapper

Posted on December 17, 2008 by mwalker

Thanks to Liz Davis I discovered maps of the world of different data sets. This make instant and visual data that students can interpretate. A really valuable resource.

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Teacher challenges in setting up creative, collaborative and competitive learning spaces in classrooms.

Posted on December 17, 2008 by mwalker

It’s near the end of the school year here in Victoria and the pressure is on to finish the school year [student reports have been distributed, class lists finalised with the transition session tomorrow morning, the roll over of our … Continue reading →

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Start the school year with some inspiration

Posted on December 15, 2008 by mwalker

I found this video which may be of some use to teachers in classrooms looking to inspire students to greater heights. I thought some teachers might want to show it either in a transition program to get students to talk … Continue reading →

Posted in school, Teaching, Video Clips | 2 Comments

Google documents and the growing awareness of web 2.0 means

Posted on December 14, 2008 by mwalker

I have just stumbled upon google documents as a way of sharing in an interactive way student work that can be commented upon by peers and teachers alike and published if that’s the end product. Its easy to enrol and … Continue reading →

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Imagine if……

Posted on December 14, 2008 by mwalker

December 8th marked 28 years since John Lennon’s death. There was a small column in newspaper that attracted my attention and got me thinking. John Lennon wrote a number of songs that I believe still have currency today – “Imagine” being … Continue reading →

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TIMMS test results spark controversy

Posted on December 14, 2008 by mwalker

This past fortnight I have talked about my schools performance on national tests to school council [NAPLAN] and now I’ve seen lots of editorials and responses in newspapers about Australia’s performance in the recent international tests in maths and science for years … Continue reading →

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School is about more than tests

Posted on December 10, 2008 by mwalker

  I have just spent some time this week with school council looking at our year 5 student results for this years national tests [NAPLAN]. I publish the performance data of year 3 and 5 students on these tests each year … Continue reading →

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Parent input into and understandings about school structures and class lists

Posted on December 4, 2008 by mwalker

Each year I invite parents to contribute information into the class list formation for the following year. I have felt that we as teachers do not know everything about students and an opportunity to have additional information was valuable. Of course I … Continue reading →

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Elephants on the Table!

Posted on December 4, 2008 by mwalker

Ever been to a meeting where some “elephants” were raised from under the table?  Well at a recent staff meeting two elephant type issues were raised: student’s repeating classes and teacher roles and how allotment decisions are made.  I have previously made … Continue reading →

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