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Presentation by Tom Barrett May 30, 2007

Posted by Joseph Papaleo in AGQTP/AISV, Class Activities, Google Earth, PhotoStory, Tom Barrett, blogs, classroom, k12online06.
2 comments

Several months ago, I got in touch with Tom Barrett after we had both started blogging about Google Earth in the classroom. Tom is a Primary teacher in Grade 6 and he has a fantastic blog and his classes are using blogs as well.

I liked what Tom was doing in the classroom and I used his work in my presentation to the k12online conference last year. Then I asked Tom to do a presentation for our Primary teachers as part of the Australian Government Quality Teachers Program. It was 10 months in the making as we couldn’t find a date that we could get all our Primary teachers together. In the end, we thought we’d do one campus at a time.
Tom presented from London last week to semi-rural Melbourne. It was 7:30 am here and 10:30 pm there. Many thanks must go to our Primary staff for actually turning up (in their dressing gowns), but more importantly, Karen Griffiths who supported me throughout this activity.

Most importantly, Tom talked about how he uses Google Earth, blogs, wikis, PhotoStory and Turning Point in his class. It was enthralling to watch and listen to him as well as his captivated audience. I’ve had several comments from our staff, who were quite impressed with his presentation and several have already asked about how they can do some of the same things.

Thanks Tom.

Blogtagged January 1, 2007

Posted by Joseph Papaleo in Colleagues, General, Paul Harrington, Tom Barrett, blogs.
3 comments

I’ve had a complete break from blogging after finishing work for the year. To my surprise, I’ve been blogtagged – twice! By Paul Harrington and Tom Barrett. Thanks!

OK – 5 things about me

  1. I “worked” as a volunteer for 7 years with an organization called Camp Challenge – later renamed Challenge Cancer Support Network many years ago. It was a support group for kids and their siblings with Cancer or hematological diseases. Lost many friends, but made one great friend. My wife Christine. We first met while she was a “camper” and then she returned a few years later as a leader. Many years later, we started going out and what do you know, we got married.
  2. We have 4 children – Jeremy 9, Claire 8, Olivia 4 and Zoe 2. Each is unique and I love them all very much.
  3. For Olivia’s birth, Christine went into a very quick labour. Realising we were not going to get to the hospital in time, I called the ambulance. While on the phone, Christine’s waters broke and I ended up “catching” Olivia in the bathroom. We have a recording of the phone conversation of Olivia’s birth which I’ll play at her 21st Birthday.
  4. I am highly allergic to Nuts and Sesame Seeds. My allergies started with walnuts and Sesame Seeds when I was about 8 years old and as I got older, I became allergic to other nuts. Of course, back then, no-one had any idea and so I continued to eat nuts that I wasn’t allergic to. But then I became allergic to them. Most people allergic to nuts are allergic to peanuts, but I’m not. But to be on the safe side, I’ve been told not to eat them anymore. Oh, how I long to eat Crunchy Nut Breakfast cereal again (remember me Tom next time you indulge!) I now carry an epipen (adrenaline) in case of accidental ingestation – my throat may swell, causing my airway to block – don’t really want to think about it at all.
  5. I love painting walls. Give me a room to paint during the holidays and I’m happy. I actually find it therapeutic – a chance to slow down, a chance to think, time to reflect on life, listen to the radio, etc. The satisfaciton when the job is done is great. And these holidays (we have our 6 weeks off now), I hope to get as much of our renovations done as possible on our newly acquired home.

5 people to tag -

  1. Mario Papaleo (my brother who is new to blogging, so it will give him some time to practice.
  2. Gary Chapman (Work colleague)
  3. Paul Kelly (Work colleague)
  4. Rosa Ochoa (I just discovered her blog – an Australian teacher)
  5. SoulCradler (I just discovered her blog – a new Australian teacher)

k12onlineconference – Follow up November 7, 2006

Posted by Joseph Papaleo in Google Earth, Janine Lim, Paul Harrington, Screencast, Tom Barrett, k12online.
4 comments

Last week, my presentation on “Around the World in 80 Minutes” was uploaded to a server somewhere and was made available to anyone interested. While no comments were left on the k12online confernece site, a few people sent me personal messages to tell me how things went, or I found references to it on other people’s blogs.

Thanks to those people who wrote to me.

Tom Barrett made a reference to the work on his blog and then Paul Harrington made a comment that people mentioned Tom’s work during the closing skypecast. Pity I missed it. I hope Tom gets many more visitors. Qlock

Janine Lim (she’s the master, I’m still an apprentice) Videoconferncing expert, made a reference to my presentation on her blog and stated she learnt about Qlock, a great utility for your desktop showing world times. A very handy feature when trying to work in various time zones.

I hope anyone who watched it learnt something. I certainly learnt heaps while reseraching the presenation and then actually producing and editing it.

Now, I just need to find time to watch/listen to some more presenations.

So, what has Jules Verne got to do with my blog? November 1, 2006

Posted by Joseph Papaleo in General, Google Earth, Janine Lim, Tom Barrett, Video Conference, k12online, k12online06.
comments closed

AroundTheWorldInEightyDaysBookCover.jpg

Jules Verne wrote the book “Around the World in 80 Days” around 1872. Just a few years earlier, he and many others of his time were captivated by technological breakthroughs. These breakthroughs were related to transportation – the Suez Canal opening and the linking of train lines across the US and also in the sub-continent. And what did this technology breakthrough lead to? The rapid circumnavigation of the globe, hence his book.

So, what does this have to do with my blog I hear you ask. Well, in recent times, we too have had various technological breakthroughs that have led to people like me being captivated by the potential in our classrooms. What are these breakthroughs? The advancement of ISDN and now Broadband, the compression of audio and video files are just some. Coupled together, they allow us educators to take our class anywhere we like. I have written before about the possibility of Videoconferencing. And in the last few weeks, I have put together a presenation for the k12onlineconference and it is all about the uses of videoconferencing in the classroom. So, sometime today, my presentation “Around the World in 80 Minutes” will go live at the conference site with tips and where to find resources and the possibilites of videoconferencing, as well as tips on Google Earth. I must also note that I have referenced the work of: Tom Barrett; Janine Lim; ReefEd and National Space Center, UK
Thank you to these people for their blogs which I have been reading with interest for some time or for the services they have provided to me.

Maths in Google Earth October 1, 2006

Posted by Joseph Papaleo in Google Earth, Paul Harrington, Tom Barrett, blogs, mathematics.
comments closed

I just came across Tom Barrett’s blog via Paul Harrington. He is a Primary teacher in the UK and his blog is all about using IT in his classroom. Looking through it, I discovered a great project he has developed for Maths.

It got me thinking about a project I’m planning for my Year 9 Maths classes. I have been nutting my brain out for the last few weeks, trying to put together a real life project for simultaneous equations. And the solution appeared as I looked at Tom’s site.

The project idea goes something like this – and any mathematicians out there, I know the earth is round and the soltuions won’t be exact, but they’ll be close enough for this task.

Bingo, a real life problem solving activity using Simultaneous Equations and Google Earth at the same time. And who said Maths is boring??
I’ll post the actual assignment to this blog and other places for other teachers to use in the near future.