There are other blog posts brewing that need a few images and tidying up but I thought I’d finish this week with a couple of things I have learned this week:
1. Google has a very interesting public data service where you can retrieve figures on a large number of subjects (many are US but some Europe trends available). It will come in handy for the data visualisation lesson I have planned for next week.
2. I honestly didnt know that MS Access 2003 had a chart wizard for creating simple visualisations of information in it’s database. Using it in the same lesson described above.
3. I learned that our school has still not shared details of an extra in-service day with staff, parents or pupils! Other schools in the authority had circulated this by the end of week 2. It is in 3 weeks. How is this exemplifying good communication between school and home?!
4. There is a scarcity of jobs available at the moment. This isnt news but Ive learned that simply wanting and waiting will not make change happen. To move on I may have to create my own role, especially if my bosses subscribe to my blog!!
5. I learned that hard work does sometimes pay off. Last year’s exam results were a huge improvement for our department and this was achieved with a staff shortage and a brilliant, if overworked, team. Basically, we did ace (oh yes and the pupils) and I want to share that, thanks.
6. I’ve learned that I am to be given management time despite not being a Principal Teacher. The extra time is welcome but I now want to learn what is expected from this time. Job for next week.
7. Cpd course providers may be finding it tough at the moment, especially if other authorities also revoke travel expenses. The alternative is to share and enhance the profile of free CPD in your school or local cluster, or to pay your own way if the course is worth it. This week I’ve been advertising #ukedchat and Twitter to school colleagues as well as applying for meaningful courses and calculating the cost.
8. Pupils have amazing ideas when they are engaged and when you remove the possibility of failure. My S2 class came up with so many ideas for a school tour (P7 transition resource) I filled every gap on my smartboard!
