….there's always room for one more….
Ever since I started PE teaching I think I’ve tinkered with a way to make practical skills observation authentic and manageable. I always seemed to end up with reams of paper and time intensive teacher centered activity as the result. With the advent of mobile technology, I’d hoped that the solution would be closer, but … Read more
I had a bit of a set back today. On reflection, I can pin it to a few things. Me, thinking that something like a school sport afternoon would be easy to plan for and carry off. I planned activities and decided to follow a routine that normally sees me through most practical PE lessons … Read more
“An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force”(That pretty much sums up my view on teaching – every now and then we need some unbalancing to shift us out of our inertia as … Read more
I wrote the majority this from the back seat of our family car, returning home after our annual trip north to visit friends at Crescent Head. I’m in the backseat because both my sons have wanted to sit in the driving seat on the way home – Dom is a “P” plater, and Matt is … Read more
I’ve had a interesting week. A proposed change in whole school focus, hosting a TeachMeet, taking a group of Year 10 students on a camp and managing a whole school voice survey. An extraordinary week, actually, and I still had my day job of leading a high school PDHPE faculty of 5. So today, when I … Read more
I enjoyed my work today. I had two lessons where I did something a little bit unconventional and the kids and I had fun. I even had a few “thank you sir” as students left the room. I ended the week on a buzz and it gave me confidence to take a few more chances … Read more
Wow – two posts in less than a week! I want to go back to the original purpose of this space – to share what I do, and the tools that I use to hopefully make my teaching engaging and meaningful for the kids, and fun for me as well. I mean, if you’re not … Read more
I was reflecting this afternoon on the hackneyed term “21st Century Skills/Learning”, after having had an awesome time with my 9 PASS (Physical Activity and Sport Studies) elective class. I worked with some 21st Century Learners and it blew me away. Let me set the scene. It was Period 5 (the last lesson of our day). … Read more
I’m working on a local regional project called Cloud School. The idea is that we offer on-line courses for kids that may want extension help in some subjects (Maths and Chemistry) or a chance to some interest based learning (Visual Design and Games Design) that their school doesn’t offer. I’m delivering on the Games Design course. … Read more
There’s a lot of talk about the “maker movement” and “maker culture” at the present time. In a nutshell, it’s about using technology to learn as you create solutions to problems, or design blue sky projects. Think Arduino, Raspberry Pi, 3D printers, electronics and robotics. There doesn’t really seem to be a solid bridge between the maker … Read more