Hi Everyone,
My name is Chris Murphy. I live in Mt Somers - a sleepy village nestled in the Mid Canterbury foothills of the Southern Alps - depending on traffic (of both the four legged and four wheeled variety) it is just over an hours drive from Christchurch.
While I live in Mt Somers, I travel to work in Methven where I am the principal of the local state primary school. Methven Primary has a roll of about 250 children, with about half of the children coming off farms in the local area and the other half coming from the Methven township itself.
While i have used blogging sites before to share information with others, this will be the first time i have actually created a blog that i plan to keep updated. This is my last paper in the Post Grad Dip Ed (endorsed in E Learning) qualification, so i have become used to the sharing and feedback component in each of the papers - but i still find it difficult as it doesn't come naturally. Passing my undergraduate course was a matter of turning up to lectures, passively receiving information and then regurgitating that information at the end of the semester for exams.
I chose Blogger as we are using Google applications more and more at our school, - so there was a natural fit. The process of creating the blog was relatively easy as it is similar to many of the other 'build your own' websites out there at the moment. I enjoyed discovering the various ways of individualising my page, which, I guess, gives me a greater sense of ownership and authorship.
My manly ethic and attitude prevented me from looking at the instructions and how-to guides when constructing my blog but I can see now that I probably spent too long faffing about with things when I probably could have found the answer readily on one of the You Tube videos.
The EDEM 630 course notes provided a helpful work-through and checklist (link) that meant i was able to create something that i thought was pretty good in a relatively short amount of time.
I am really looking forward to the rest of the course and what it has to offer, although I must admit to being a bit daunted by the assessment schedule when i first looked at it.
Kia ora Chris,
ReplyDeleteWelcome aboard! Coincidentally, I drove past Methven last week back to Dunners after visiting family in Christchurch -- there was still a fair amount of snow on the ground. Had a chuckle - I'm also a "learn by doing" individual when it comes to technology and tend to read instructions as a last resort.
Keen to learn more about how you're using Google apps in your school - perhaps this could be the focus of your research topic?
Wow! Your last paper in the Grad Dip. You're nearly past the finish line.
Hi Chris,
ReplyDeleteLovely to read your honest musings about setting up the blog. I tend to 'faff' around a lot as well and spent hours just changing the skins; I am still not a hundred % satisfied but it will have to do.
I know a lovely family that moved from Methven and spoke of it as an idyllic place.
I hope you enjoy using the Google apps and incorporating them into the classroom learning. I used a lot of the Google Sites and even had started using Google Circles with a reading group. I must admit though it was so much easier using Moodle so I shifted to that ultimately.
Looking forward to interacting with you during the course.