Task 2A and 2B - Keeping a Journal

Keeping a journal…….

Well this is something that I have never done successfully before. On reading that I had to start a journal, initial panic set in. I always feel that by the time I get home from school, get things sorted in the house (Dog, tea, cleaning, washing etc etc) that I will have forgotten about what I have done during the day. My thoughts on what I should do didn't materialise until about day four, more on that later.

I started by following the ‘list’ set out in the BAPP Handbook, I started on Day 1 with Method 1 ‘Description’, followed by Day 2 with Method 2 ‘Initial Reflection’ and so on and so forth.

Here are some quick thoughts on the various methods.

Description

This I found easy to do. Writing about one, two or several events that happened during my day, I found the events easy to recall and easy to write about.

Initial Reflection

This method I found a little more difficult. Trying to recall at my feelings, thoughts, mood and if anything unexpected happened at the end of the day was a harder task for me. I did manage this but it took longer than day 1’s task.

List

Making lists is something that I love to do, however this list would prove to be the longest list I have ever written, and by far the most complicated. My list became very complicate because as I write it I added bit here and there, then added some more, and then maybe another bit here…! Oh good lord, it looked a right mess with arrows and circles round different sections, and far too difficult to follow! It looked more like an extract from the Graph and Chart day coming up. An epic fail on my behalf.

Graph, Chart and Diagram

After yesterday’s list disaster, I decided to try these methods next. I found this a real challenge as making a graph or diagram is something that does not come easily to me. I started by writing my thoughts down and trying to think about how I would relate them to my thoughts from yesterday.  I chose three aspects of my day and compared my stress levels on these three different occasions.  It wasn't as successful as I would have liked.

Evaluation

This came easy to me, as I have to evaluate every lesson/group/performance of my day. I generally find this an easy task, and I must say that this method was by far my favourite one.

What if…….?

Good lord, this one went on a bit. After choosing an particular difficult incident of my day to this section, I did find that I rambled on and on and on, and then on a bit more….! The outcome was totally unrealistic and I got far too carried away.

Another View

I pondered this for a day before choosing an object that was with me for the whole working day, saw everything that I did and was something that was a little ‘off the wall’. I chose The Whiteboard. Didn't work very well, partly because I felt silly writing about my day from the perspective of a Whiteboard, and partly because I couldn't think of what the Whiteboard would have seen from myself and others in the room. All in all not very successful.

As I said earlier, I did have a slight light bulb moment about day four. Why don’t I amalgamate two or three of the styles of writing my journal that I find the easiest to write and that I feel will suit my day best. I decided to blend the styles of Description and Evaluation together.

                This work so much better for me. My journal is easier to follow, I can update with short bursts during my day and the elaborate later in the evening. I found it easy to write lots about one or two incidents during the day and also include feeling in these. Feelings are something that I do not normally write about in my daily evaluations and this took a little more thought and patience than I expected, but once I got going it became almost a second nature when writing my daily journal. 

Task 1D -2D Images

Here is the address for my Instagram  www.instagram.com/oliverhajba1985

There not very exciting images....... but there relevant to me today :)

Reader 1. Task 1B

Task 1B – Reader 1.

“WHAT?! Oliver, what on earth are you doing? You have no idea what this is all about so stop it right now”…… is what the little voices in my head were saying after reading through Reader 1 for the first time.

This really was a challenge as I have never done any form of written Uni work before and I didn’t know where to start. I remember a conversation with Paula going something like “you can all learn from each other”, so let’s see how the others are getting on. WOW guys, after reading your blogs you really did put me at ease; it wasn’t just me that was blown away with Reader 1. Taking my time to re-analyse Reader 1, watching recommended YouTube videos and making a mind map of my Web2.0 usage was where I needed to start.

So my day begins with a regular visit to Twitter or Facebook. These sites are ‘a must’ for me in the morning, as I don’t get time to really watch/listen to the news much. I like to check these sites for ‘what’s going on’ in the world, as well as celebrity gossip and also ‘what did my sister/friends/colleagues get up to last night?’  On seeing a status or tweet from a fellow Web2.0 user, I will comment, like or even re-tweet, letting all my Web2.0 followers know that I have interacted with someone whom I would otherwise not communicate with at such an unearthly hour in the morning. After my morning exercise (consisting of a dog walk, cup of coffee and several cigarettes) I will normally post/tweet something about my day ahead/the weather/the news or what antics Frankie (that’s the dog) got up to on our ‘walkies’, thus again interacting with a few hundred followers from not only the UK, but worldwide, and again with whom I would not normally call/text/email or write to daily, telling them that my dog has just found the world’s biggest stick! Is such Web2.0 usage normal? And what on earth did we do pre-2007? Where would I be now without Web2.0? Would I still be in touch with past friends who no longer reside in the same country as me? Who knows – the answers are entirely based on ‘what is’.

Next comes my best buddy ‘Google’. (As I am writing this I am asking myself, ‘Oliver, where would you be without Web 2.0’?) On setting up my classroom for the day, I will log onto my school laptop and ponder for a moment what I should do with the kiddywinks in registration time. Will I google a ‘talking’ topic/discussion question, find some interesting pictures/sayings/phrases/questions for us to talk/write about. Google helps me have these resources at my fingertips, but more importantly, other Web2.0 users have left their comments on how well the session/registration/discussion or quick write went for them. AWESOME! I can use Web2.0 to actually help me decide on what to select.

Now I can see just how I use Web2.0, it might be easier to explain my new found ‘knowledge’ of what I know about Web2.0.

On a daily basis I use Web2.0 to communicate with others that I would not usually communicate with. I would not send a text to my entire phone book to tell them that I have just read a newspaper article about some teaching idea and I think that they might be interested in reading it too. This is not the way in which the world works anymore, instead I ‘share’ or ‘retweet’ the link, in the hope that someone who follows me will find it interesting. I also find that the discussions around things shared/liked by using Web2.0 can bring up fantastic and stimulating conversations with colleagues/family and friends. It can open up a whole new adventure, ‘let’s try eating there’ or ‘‘let’s try making/doing this’ places that you would not normally think of eating at or things that you would not normally make/do. It’s just reminded me of a quote from one of my favourite authors,

“Oh the more that you read, the more things you will know. Oh the more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”

― Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!(1978)

Work and Web 2.0

On a daily basis, be it morning or evening, I will use Web2.0 to access the views of others for their ideas and feedback on what they think is good/bad/ugly about a certain ‘thing’ been used for a lesson. In this example I will use a discussion based registration class of Year 3 and 4 students. On searching the WWW on what is a good/relevant discussion to have on this particularly cold February morning. I will, without knowing, enlist the help of other Web2:0 users. Selecting google as my search engine, I type in “Discussions for year KS2 about ‘is telling a white lie always OK?”.  First I glance through the top few results, glancing over what other Web2.0 users have written, select the one I wish to read further into, and there you have it. A whole discussion on what worked, what went well/not so well. What they would do differently, or how they would enhance the discussion.

I guess that the title Web2.0 did make my heart sink a little as I really did not have a clue what Web2.0 was, however look at me now…… without even knowing it, I am a frequent and somewhat knowledgeable (if I do say so myself) user of Web2.0 , ‘Oh the places you’ll go’……..!

Until next time,

Adios Amigos

x

I have to go update my status about my blog!!!!!!!