JDMcDsblog

I am hoping to develop the concept of wikis as part of my focus on international education. We have established a partnership with an English-speaking school in Nitte, India, and are about to embark on a pupil exchange with Goulburn Valley Grammar School, in Shepparton Australia. This summer four of our S4 pupils will be flying out to spend 5 weeks at GVGS. During that time, they will stay with host families, attend classes and get the chance to explore Australia. Later in the year, they will reciprocate, and welcome their hosts to Scotland. I’d like them to keep a blog and a video diary of their experiences, but I’m also keen to set up a wiki, that will allow pupils in each of our partner schools to share idaes by working to produce collaborative web pages. For example, each school could contribute to an article on EcoSchools, or the local environment, or share thoughts on issues that interest and affect young people, be it sport, music, fashion, etc. I have set up a wiki which is only at the experimental stage, but I hope to set some clear goals which we could share with Nitte and GVGS. Have a look at it; http://hutchieinternational.wikispaces.com/ any comments or suggestions about how to develop wikis in the classroom are welcome

Jotter work, S1

Originally uploaded by jmmcdgll

Further example of pupil work, which will form a gallery to showcase work that is well presented and which represents “best practice” for given pieces of work. Here the pupil has made up summary notes for each of the three land use zones in Glasgow,

Amazon Rain Forest

Originally uploaded by BradJ

Recap:

We have looked at the main vegetation zones that make up the Rain Forest:

understorey/shrub layer
canopy
emergents

task In your jotter:

1. Cut and paste the drawing of the Forest Cross Section shown here on to a double page of your jotter

2. . Use the information from your textbook at add the following labelled arrows to the diagram:

Buttress roots; drip tip; lianas (creepers); tree ferns; decomposing leaves; tall slender trunks; 95% of light is filtered; crown has most leaves; 50% of animals; thin humus layer;

3. Give a reason for each of the follwing facts about vegetation in the Rain Forest.

Trees grow incredibly tall
lianas grow around trees
tree trunks are bare, except for the crown of leaves at the top
leaves are waxy and have drip tips
different species of animal tend to be found in different layers of the forest.

4 Look at the photo at the top of this page.

Suggest why the Rain Forest tends to have a sparse population (ie very few people live there)

A while back my sister gave me a copy of “A Dominie’s Log” by AS Neill, the founder of Summerhill School and a guiding light in progressive education. I hadn’t read it in a while, but the reference to “log” appealed as it has a renewed resonance in today’s world of blogging. Introduced by Hugh MacKenzie, a geography teacher (of course) the book traces Neill’s thoughts and reflections on education as a young teacher in Gretna in 1914. A year later he was dismissed. moving south to teach in Hampstead and then Austria, before establishing Summerhill in 1921 in Lyme Regis, (later, Leiston).

Here he is writing before the 1st World War,

” I have resolved to keep a private log of my own..(unlike the official log) in this log I shall write down my thoughts on education. I think they will be mostly original. Tonight.. I sat at my desk and thought. What does it mean? What am I trying to do? ….I shall henceforth try to make my bairns realise. Yes realise is the word. I think I want them to realise what life means..I want to help them to find an attitude; I want these boys and girls to acquire the habit of looking honestly at life”

There is much to be taken from this little book; Summerhill had a reputation for anarchy, and Neill was castigated for his libertarian, progressive approach. Yet much of what he says makes eminent sense;he wanted the best for all children. He believed in self discipline, not the strap; he wants his bairns to be exposed to the greatest of literature. he argues that the best books on citizenship are not written by educationalists, but by Plato, Thomas More, Bacon, HG Wells; he wants them to fire their imagination by letting them read Shelley, Blake, Tolstoy, even Nietzsche; these were men who had ideals and “ideals are creatures of imagination.”

So, the habit and practice of committing thoughts to paper are not new. I think Neill would have been intrigued by web 2.0 and would have embraced formative assessment. I think he would have things to say about A Curriculum for Excellence. I think he would have written a very interesting-and provocative-blog!

Plant Tubs, Hidden Gardens

Originally uploaded by jmmcdgll

Visited the Hidden Gardens at the Tramway today. Came away full of ideas about how we might use this lovely space:

Hold joint Primary/Secondary EcoSchools commitee meeting
Why limit meeting to our school-can we set up an area EcoSchools group?? Meet every term in Tramway?
Seems to be scope for performing spaces or for alternative assemblies.
Can we adopt some iconic ideas for our own “Secret Garden”, eg a wishing tree, to which pupils afix thoughts, wishes, hopes? Do we make full use of our Secret Garden? How do we use our spaces at school?
Tie in with Duke of Edinburgh service or holiday work as volunteer
S2 Media Group project-give something back to the Tramway which they can use?
Attend more Tramway events

S1 Traffic Survey

Originally uploaded by jmmcdgll

Here is one pupil’sgraph on a traffic survey we carried out in the Mechant City, Glasgow. I think Flickr is good for showcasing classwork and letting parents see the general standard and quality of work. It is also ideal for formative assessment and I have added notes to this graph, suggesting some points for next time, ie providing feedback. Please feel free to add helpful comments on this graph.

Storm over the Amazon

Originally uploaded by Greg_S

We are looking at “empty lands” and “crowded lands” in both USA and Brazil. As an example of Empty Lands we shall be studying the Amazon Rain Forest. you can get an idae of the sheer amount of energy released during a storm by looking at this photograph.

Click here for BBC site on the Amazon.
Click here for Wikipedia article on the Amazon
click here for link to BBC File on Brazil
TO LEARN Here are some key words;

confluence
Rain Forest
understorey
canopy
emergent
buttress roots
creeper
torrential
biodiversity

Manaus City – Shantytown, Amazon – Brazil

Originally uploaded by Beto Frota

Here is one picture of 1000s I found when I typed in “Manuas”. Is this a fair choice? What do you think about this image?

Remember that in Brazil they speak Portuguese, not Spanish
Below are some common terms, in bold, followed by pronounciation guide. Have a go!

How are you? (formal) Como está? Komu eshta?

How are you? (informal) Como estás? Komu eshtazh?

I’m OK, thank you. Estou bem, obrigado/aEshtoh baym[ng], Obrigahdu/a –

I am fine Estou óptimo/a Eshtoh ohtimu/a

Not too bad Mais ou menos Myze oh menush – lit. “more or less.”

Pleased to meet you Prazer Prazair (“pleasure.”)