7 Things Meme
I was tagged by LDumicich about 2 weeks ago. I was really excited to finally be tagged, but now that I’m here, it’s much harder than I thought. What do I tell people about me, that won’t make them think I’m odd (I’m not).
Participants in the online community affectionately known as the “Eduverse” have begun “tagging” fellow members to invite them to post a list of “7 Little-Known Facts” about themselves to their blog. On sites such as Twitter and Plurk, members of the Eduverse PLN (professional learning network or personal learning network) are reaching out to each other to go deeper than the ordinary, professional issues to reveal more personal information. link
1. All my schooling was done at government schools. At Uni we were told we wouldn’t get jobs when we finished because there was an oversupply of teachers. I applied anywhere that was advertised and ended up with my first teaching job being at an exclusive private school in Geelong. I had no idea what a private school was like and it was a huge culture shock. It seems so unfair, but I know where I’d rather send my children.
2. I have a rather addictive (obsessive) personality and have to work hard each day to control them. I try not to start new hobbies as I do go a bit far at times (eg running or alternate music recordings). At times I even make myself put all the coffee mugs randomly in the cupboard.
3. At the end of Grade 2 I was put into Grade 4, due to the change in the schooling system when moving from Victoria to SA. I have never forgiven them for this – it took 9 years to catch up with my older peers.
4. I am passionate about music and although I have a diverse collection (classical, pop, hard rock, folk) I mainly listen to either Neil Young or The Beatles. Recently I fullfilled a lifetime aim of getting to see Neil Young live. At 63, he was absolutely amazing.
5. I love teaching (but like holidays better) but only chose it as a career because I copied my best friend’s idea when filling in the Tertiary admissions Form – I couldn’t think of anything else. My second choice was journalsim and I would have really sucked at that. I wish there were courses in technology in 1979.
6. I love stop motion animation (clay animation) and look forward to the day when I have enough space to get obsessive about it (see 2.). One of the children will need to leave home for this to happen.
7. I am not shy, quiet or reserved (I am quite adventurous), I just reserve the right not to talk about every single thought that comes into my head. 
I tag Penny Ryder, Keri-Lee Beasley, Pam Thompson, Mrs Kemp, Mr Robbo, Tony Richards.
Photo: source Some rights reserved
6 Comments »
Filed under: meme
February 7th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Great to find out more about you Colin. My children had the opposite experience coming from the UK. They just about repeated a year which for them was a waste as they were more than capable students. I must get into clay animation – hard to believe but not tried it yet.
February 7th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Hi Pam, It’s not the best system, is it. They should take a little bit of time and see how the student is coping. Age can help, but also looking at school report and the curriculum they have experienced. It takes ages doing Clay Animation with kids as they frequently aim to high. I like starting off with paper cut outs for stop motion, or using lego.
February 10th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Hey Colin,
Thanks for letting us know a little bit more about you. All very interesting! It’s funny what you find out. Like the clay-mation thing – where should I start? What authentic context would it be good for? What programme do you use? So many questions!
Stoked you tagged me – I needed something to blog about (especially as I’m working with the staff next week on blogging!).
Will let you know when I’m done!
K-L
February 11th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Hi K-L,
Thanks for reading. I’m actually a much better person than the 7 things indicate – quite normal, really.
Where to start with claymation? Great question.
I actually find it easier and quicker to start with paper animation – a little like the Common Craft show. Last time I gave my students a background picture of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and a small cut-out of a beach ball. They had to animate the ball dropping from the tower. Some had it bouncing, some had it spiralling around the tower. The main aim was to get them used to the steps of take a picture, move an object a small amount, take a picture etc. and also checking with ‘onion-skinning how far they had moved it. Once they had the process right, then they could use it for their own purposes. In RAVE, the teacher had them make a small claymation about the crusades (well, a part of the crusades). Another teacher had them short scripts that they could animate (open choice – being boys, most of them had fighting or violence.) Perhaps this could be a good blog post topic for the future.
Looking forward to reading your 7 things!
February 19th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Colin I have just spent some time reading your guest blog post at Free Technology For Teachers.
Thanks for spelling out the ways in which you are using edmodo and I found the maths blog to be very useful as it pointed to some great Maths activities.
I am sure to use some of the in the near future while working with classes as a Relieving Teacher.
February 20th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
Hi Neville, I was really excited to be a guest blogger on FreeTech4Teachers and I’m glad that you found my post useful.
The maths blog is very much a labor of love – it is taking considerable time to manage, but I think it is worth it for what the students and other teachers are getting from it. And, I’m sure I’ll be able to use it again the following year.
I must keep a closer eye on your blog as you have some great links, also.