Well it's not often I can say that!
I was very pleased today to find out that service can be great if you order from the right places. My USB microphone and web-cam arrived this afternoon and I was very impressed, as they had only been ordered on Friday! I collected them and eagerly took them upstairs to show them off to my waiting Year 9 class. I decided that, rather than wait for our over-worked technician to intall them, I'd plug them in and see what happened. Imagine my (and my class's) delight when they worked. We had great fun with me recording them making too much noise and filming them doing no work! I then started to tell them the sad tale of my wireless keyboard and mouse, puchased at Christmas and still sitting sad and unloved in a dusty office. They suggested that I might be able to just plug them in too. So I dispatched one of them to get said keyboard and mouse and what do you know it worked! How chuffed am I? (I know it's really sad but I actually feel a bit like a naughty school-girl not waiting to have them intalled - but that would take until sometime next year). The web-cam does have some features that do need installing via the CD but they can wait...the important thing is that I can now video-conference from the comfort of my own desk and also get classes involved too (you can just about make out the class it you put the camera at the front of the room)!!
In addition to this, I'm beginning to think about new eTwinning projects for the coming year. We're apparently going to launch head-long into planning a Comenius Project and I have been charged with finding a Polish school to work with...all very well and good but how do I turn down the other 3 Polish schools, 2 Romanian schools, Spanish school and Swedish school who also want to work with us? (I'm not good at saying "no") ...although Sweden sounds interesting. In addition, a very interesting German project was being advertised and I couldn't help myself...oh and of course there's the French school that would like to blog with us too... The more the merrier I say! I wouldn't be put off at the thought of having a different project for every class I teach it's so important for kids to see that what they're learning can have a real and immediate impact on their lives.
No wonder my Head of Area made the comment that I'm "up for anything" (in the nicest possible way, of course).
I was very pleased today to find out that service can be great if you order from the right places. My USB microphone and web-cam arrived this afternoon and I was very impressed, as they had only been ordered on Friday! I collected them and eagerly took them upstairs to show them off to my waiting Year 9 class. I decided that, rather than wait for our over-worked technician to intall them, I'd plug them in and see what happened. Imagine my (and my class's) delight when they worked. We had great fun with me recording them making too much noise and filming them doing no work! I then started to tell them the sad tale of my wireless keyboard and mouse, puchased at Christmas and still sitting sad and unloved in a dusty office. They suggested that I might be able to just plug them in too. So I dispatched one of them to get said keyboard and mouse and what do you know it worked! How chuffed am I? (I know it's really sad but I actually feel a bit like a naughty school-girl not waiting to have them intalled - but that would take until sometime next year). The web-cam does have some features that do need installing via the CD but they can wait...the important thing is that I can now video-conference from the comfort of my own desk and also get classes involved too (you can just about make out the class it you put the camera at the front of the room)!!
In addition to this, I'm beginning to think about new eTwinning projects for the coming year. We're apparently going to launch head-long into planning a Comenius Project and I have been charged with finding a Polish school to work with...all very well and good but how do I turn down the other 3 Polish schools, 2 Romanian schools, Spanish school and Swedish school who also want to work with us? (I'm not good at saying "no") ...although Sweden sounds interesting. In addition, a very interesting German project was being advertised and I couldn't help myself...oh and of course there's the French school that would like to blog with us too... The more the merrier I say! I wouldn't be put off at the thought of having a different project for every class I teach it's so important for kids to see that what they're learning can have a real and immediate impact on their lives.
No wonder my Head of Area made the comment that I'm "up for anything" (in the nicest possible way, of course).
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