WebQuest holy grail!

The webquest we have to create for our assessment is coming up fast - I'm quivering like a jelly at the thought of it - I've taken some small steps but I need to take some huge ones if I am to get anywhere...how am I to find appropriate websites to include in it? How am I to make it interesting to the target group? How am I to manage if my kids fall sick again - one's coughing again tonight..
This evening i've been working on an assignment - unfortunately not mine.. my 7 year olds - he had to draw his family tree. His speed of writing it all down was sooo slow- poor little mite!
Last week it was helping the 9 year old to get her interview of a person from an older generation, together.
And there was the short story and poetry writing competition they entered- were on the computer for hours..
It's hard to get my turn, these days.

Dear anyone-who-reads-this,
I finally managed to get a photo that wasn't copyrighted to insert in my profile. Since it has taken me half the night and half the wee hours of the morning, I've realised that i'm more stupid than most. If only the OLT was working in our uni site I could have referred the free pix for language teachers site that we were told about in class, for my purpose. However, the computer is refusing to cooperate. I'm so thrilled about inserting the photo - all on my little ownsome, that I doubt that I'll sleep the rest of the night - or rather, the morning. As my child is on 8 puffs of ventolin and is only one step away from hospital, insomnia is more beneficial than detrimental at the moment. Sometimes small victories aren't worth the price , I think. Since I haven't achieved much I thought I'll go rainbow with the font -I feel like Anne of Green Gables with the dyed hair - admiring my psychedelic font effect!

WAYS TO GIVE A TEST

I found this poem, written by a Lebanese poet - interesting!

2005 / 06 / 14 - Ways to give a test

My chemistry teacher, who is actually very witty
(He said he's been in Lebanon for three years
But he's taught for five years at the university:
A pleasant sentence that made us laugh to tears,
How could he live abroad and teach here?
I still can't manage to grasb that idea, I fear)
So my wise chemistry teacher gave us an exam
From some forgotten records of year nineteen ninety,
The given questions didn't match the taken program
Something he forgot to check out, oh, calamity!
I wonder how do teachers, like him, put their test
I mean do they find another year's session
And give it as it is, leaving their minds at rest?
Someone's got to take from them a confession!
And who's the bloke who has to suffer and not protest?
That's the student who must answer questions he doesn't know
Just because his teacher lacked time to put a decent test
Since he was watching some stupid television show!

A Poem A Day

From poems.com

Appreciating diversity

I've found out that lots and lots of people don't like diversity - in society, I mean, and would rather stick to their own little sectarian compartments. My experience at uni has been that, happily, this is NOT true of the university milieu - at least, I've never seen it there. I've also realised that there is much to learn from people from backgrounds that differ from your own. It's the individual that counts...

...which takes me to my TAFE class. I'm a volunteer tutor and I'm tutoring adult migrants who are beginner speakers of English. Those classes are little havens for these migrants, a place where they are not looked down upon - where the teachers are so caring of the individual. The teacher whom I assist has my utmost respect.. the way she treats each individual is awesome. She pronounces each ones name correctly, because she takes the time to learn these names. This class is full of refugees, victims of trauma and violence .. and of war. In my quest to become a teacher I want to remember that each individual is special and needs to be treated thus...

Assessment

I'm wondering how I'm to plan my assessment items for CLN 618. If I'm to assess speaking what are the components of speaking I'm going to test? Surely writing would be much easier to test. Yet, in MY context, I think learing to test speaking will be the most useful. Reading "Assessing Speaking" by Sari Luoma has been useful but I need to look at some test models and ask myself some questions such as why am I testing these students? What are their needs? My conclusion is, designing this test is definitely worse than sitting for one!

For the past 2 hours I have been trying to find pictures that are free of copyright. I give up - I don't know how to do this. I also met Basim, Mahsa and Yvonne to try to set up our webquests and we totally failed to get into it. To add insult the injury my 9 year old cut her own hair last night with a paper cutting blunt pair of scissors. The result was that the bottom end of her hair was diagonal! So I had to cut it straight at the bottom and it ended up quite short. Before this disaster, her hair was well below her waist and we had never cut it from the time she was born -only trimmed it. She ended up in a flood of tears - which was continuing today. So life seems to be steadily turning into a nightmare The other day mahsa remarked that we are so busy worrying about the future that we forget to enjoy the present So I"ve decided to remind myself about this and look on all that"s positive for instance i"ve just learnt to post my blog in colour!

WAYS TO TELL CHILDREN THEY ARE IMPORTANT

I've included a poem here that was published in the my children's school newsletter. It's for the parents among us who are juggling uni and running the homefront:

WAYS TO TELL CHILDREN THEY ARE IMPORTANT

Tell them often that you love them for who they are.

Show them that you love them by spending time together, listening to them, giving them lots of hugs and smiles.

Celebrate their achievements , no matter how small.

Praise them for trying, no matter what the outcome.

Keep special reminders of their successes and milestones.

Let them help you do things

Let them know that it is OK to make mistakes;its all part of learning.

Help them to build on their strengths.

Ask their opinions on family matters. It show you care about what they think.

Help them to solve their own problems. Show them that you have faith in them.

Make limits and expectations clear and consistent.

Givew feedback about inappropriate behaiour, but don't criticize your child.

Feedback should aim to teach, not hurt your child.

by Vicki Caldow