The Teacher Toolbox

After a long day I was just having a little play with my Oddfellows , my new Digital Camera &  Comic Life

The computer is the most powerful learning tool ever created. So why are the majority of my professional dialogues centred around strategies for getting teachers to turn them on?

Teachers should be the epitome of what it is to be a learner. They should model self directed learning. They should model life long learning, critical thinking and insight. Teachers should possess insight that extends far beyond the capabilities of the hardware into the realm of learning & creativity. It is not a matter of ‘making the time to learn this stuff’, it is what we do by definition!

Embrace these disruptive tools people and use them to transform and educate!

Mr 10 (Samuel) will be co-presenting with me at Expanding Learning Horizons next week and today he has been working flat out on his parts of the workshop. Amongst other things he will be taking a group of teachers outside with their laptops, a flip video and a couple of puppets.

Last week one of his mates came over and they filmed this little gem. Do drop by Samuel’s blog and leave him a little ‘comment love’ – Hints, tips & tricks appreciated.

cheers

Adrian

I was cleaning up some files today and came across this gem. Shame to leave it on my hard drive. Well done lads it still brings a chuckle!!!

Two stories led me to creating this Stressbuster.

Story 1.

After just one year of teaching, a very talented music teacher friend of mine tossed it all in and went off to do ‘other things’. At his farewell morning tea I had a quiet word to him and inquired, ‘So mate, what led you to make this call?’

‘Look around this room Adrian,’ he whispered, ‘look at their faces, there is not a happy soul among them and I feel like I’m turning into one of them. I don’t want that for myself or my family.’

I must agree, I felt pretty much the same as him at the time.

Story 2.

A couple of months back I had dinner with a couple of second year Uni students after they had just finished their prac experience. As the wine flowed they recounted their experiences in staffrooms and how they found them such depressing places.

So are you one of the people who contribute to a toxic workplace, or are you one of the few who make the work environment a great place to educate and celebrate learning?

More Stressbusters

My latest Stressbuster takes its inspiration from the fact that we all need to have a whinge occasionally. But in my experience there are those that need to whinge a lot more than others and they often never offer any solutions. They continue around and around and around on the same treadmill. It gets tiring but we listen politely.

I’m sure you know someone you can print this cartoon out for.

hehehehehe

cheers

Adrian

PS Know full well I composed it ‘just for you’!

I find the funniest thing about this Stressbuster is that it actually happened. Every year one of the schools I  worked at took the kids to sing to the elderly. This one year we noticed that this one elderly guy had his very own minder. When he’d ask questions he was very, very loud and the kids had a bit of a laugh but rose to the occasion.

Feel free to check out more of my Stressbusters

cheers

Adrian

After a momentary lapse in reason Mr Jones realised he had been teaching too long.

I’m not sure about you guys, but I know sometimes I wonder if ‘they’ might really have an ‘a’ in it?

cheers

Adrian

Today I finally finished a homepage for my Stressbuster Cartoons. If you need a chuckle as term is getting a little stressful then this is the place to be. You might even find something to print out or email to your workmates.

cheers

Adrian

Over the last few months these guys have been great discussion starters. I love having them sit on the desk, not only for inspiration, but also to get students asking questions about the lads and their work.

Recently my three year old daughter has taken to playing with the characters in her doll house. I’m finding it strangely good fun to see Freud and Dora the Explorer sharing a kitchen or bathroom

There are heaps of these guys to choose from. I think I’ll get  The Artist Collection for a art teacher friend of mine as it has Dali, Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Warhol & Van Gogh in it. A history teacher friend of mine is getting the Revolutionaries Pack for his desk as he feels that, ‘History teachers just can’t have enough revolutionaries in their lives’. I also have an English teacher friend who is getting the  Writers Collection for her desk.

Now it needs to be noted that I had a few dramas in getting these guys shipped to Australia. Firstly I tried the official Jailbreak Toys Website where the prices were very reasonable and there was an excellent variety of figures, but due to a shipping anomaly it was going to cost $57 US (almost $100 Oz) to ship my order. Needless to say I didn’t go with this option.

I then tried Amazon but they don’t ship these figures to Australia but would be a good option for my American readers.

After that I turned to Ebay and Salvador today arrived just in time for my birthday tomorrow.

cheers

Adrian

NB This is not a paid blog post, I just find these guys a wonderful addition to my desk