I find myself in my eight year of teaching English at a comprehensive public high school. Having completed my B.A at Sydney University in 2003 and being the mother of a vibrant 18 month old son, I chose to complete a Dip. Education via distance education at University of New England. In 2004, whilst working towards my teaching qualification in English and Drama, my husband and I welcomed into the world our second son. In 2005 I was fortunate enough to begin working fulltime at my current school.
Whilst the years flew by with many varied teaching experiences, I can only really say that I feel that I have become a ‘true’ teacher having established a twitter PLN in August 2009. Since the introduction of DER my edu world has expanded before my eyes and I now engage in daily discussions about education and learning.
PS: The ideas I express in this blog are mine entirely and do not reflect those of my employer. OK? 
Hi Bianca –
I work for Ogilvy PR and am helping with the Microsoft Office 2010 launch in Australia.
To celebrate the launch, Microsoft is hosting the world’s first “Office Mayor Meetup” on Tuesday 15 June. I wanted to invite you to the event. Here are the details:
What: The Office Mayor Meetup 2010
Who: The Foursquare ‘mayor’ of your office (it can be your home office, cafe where you work, or anyplace where you conduct your daily business)
Why: The chance to get a copy of Office Home and Business 2010
When: Tuesday, 15 June at 12:10pm – 1:10pm
Where: Martin Place, Amphitheatre area, Sydney CBD
How will it work? The first 110 mayors to ‘check-in’ on Foursquare at the Office Mayor Meetup in Martin Place will be able to win a copy of Office Home and Business 2010, valued at AU$379. The 110 winners will have a chance to get Office Professional 2010, valued at AU$849.
We’ll also have T-shirts to give away, light refreshments and a chance for you to mingle with “mayors” as part of this social networking first.
Want more info? Go to Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Office-Mayor-Meetup-2010/133862756624348
Hope to see you there!
Cheers,
Annie
PS Follow us on Twitter #OfficeMayor
Dear Ms. Hewes:
I enjoy reading your blog, and was wondering if you would like to do a link exchange. My book blog’s url is educationanddeconstruction.com. Every week, I make a nonfiction book recommendation in the topic areas of education, history, technology, biography and/or humor. I have already put up your link. Please reply if you would like to do a link exchange. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Sally Friedman
Hi Sally,
Sounds great! Love blogs that are about books and education – even better when they focus on technology and its role in education in the 21st century.
Goodluck with your blog!
Bianca :0)
Hi Bianca,
Great passion and enthusiasm in your blog. I love it! I would also like to inform you of http://Enterthegroup.com a free resource for managing group projects and creating virtual classrooms. It’s something you can use as a supplement to Edmodo.
Hi Bianca,
I just came across your site and loved what I saw. I love anything to do with self-education and especially English. I have just published an interactive ebook entitled: Vocabulous You! An Interactive Guide to Building Vocabulary for Standardized Tests, College, On the Job and Everyday Life. I’m writing to see if you might be interested in reviewing this new title.
As a college professor, author, and former test-prep instructor, I know first-hand how much older teens (juniors and seniors in high school) and college students need to build their vocabulary. It’s required to pass all of the major standardized exams for schooling and even to get into the military – not to mention that a lot of students just don’t understand what their teachers are saying! Working professionals – and those who seek to join the workforce – are also in great need of boosting their verbal and writing skills. Excellent skills and experience will not do much for you in an interview if you can’t deftly communicate all of your assets to a potential employer.
For years, I’ve seen the need for a book like this. And now that the ebook format has become so prevalent, I’ve finally developed a way to write a vocabulary guide that makes sense, is interactive, and takes full advantage of what an e-reader can do. I’ve developed files for Kindle, Nook, iBook, and other readers that support .epub and .mobi files. I also have an interactive PDF for those who prefer to work on a PC without an e-reader.
I would be happy to send you a copy of the book in your preferred format for review.Please feel free to contact me with any questions. Thank you!
Best,
Robin Kavanagh
robin@socialsuirecreative.com
Bianca,
I am also an English teacher, and my school is moving towards PBL for next year. Of course the English teachers are the hardest ones to get on board. They don’t think that you can teach all the skills the students need just doing projects. It doesn’t help that all the sample projects out there are mostly geared towards math and science classrooms.
Since you and other English teachers at your school have embraced PBL, I was wondering if you would be willing to share some projects with us? Having some working English PBL projects might be just the thing to get the other English teachers here on board. I would really appreciate any help. Thank you!
- Amanda Brantley
Hey Amanda
Of course I am happy to share what I have done. I will post up all of my project outlines and some student products for you to see as an example. Just a bit flat-out at the moment with some writing. But very happy to share!!
Bianca
Hi Bianca,
Thanks for sharing. I am moving toward PBL and launching fully in September with the start of the new academic year. I thought a good way in might be to do a ‘What is PBL?’ PBL unit if you get what I mean. As you’ve already experienced the pitfalls as well as the successes, I was wondering if you’d be willing to give me some advice on this?
I’ve got material from the BIE site including the intro video which is great but having your input would be very reassuring.
If you are willing, please let me know; my email is submitted.
Cheers!
Abena
Hi Bianca,
I listened to your presentation on EdmodoCon about PBL. It was excellent. You might be interested in a new product that provides a number of tools for educators and students, including blogging, media albums, canvases, resource kits etc. Here are links to some examples:
http://learnweaver.com/Canvas/Weave/C88822 (built by a 9 year old)
http://learnweaver.com/Canvas/Weave/C49294 (showcases the tools capabilities)
http://learnweaver.com/FeaturedAlbums (media capability)
Hi Bianca,
I really enjoyed visiting your site. It’s great! Self-education is now becoming a great mission..
I’d like to know if you’d be interested in a Guest Post. How about something like these topics?
1. 5 Top Ways To Have A Virtual Classroom
2. Tips To Have A Great English Class To Non Native Speakers
What do you think about these?
For your information, all of our articles are custom written by our writers for your blog, and are absolutely FREE.
If you are interested, I am happy to get something written up and sent over to you – or if you have another topic you’d like to see covered, please do let me know.
Thanks and I look forward to your response.
Dana B.
—
Guest Post U
“The University of Great Content”
http://www.guestpostu.com
Hi Bianca
I am a Grad Dip student. I have to do a classroom management plan and would like to use your ideas and pictures of your classroom for the section on class arrangement. I will credit you of course. I read your article in Metaphor and googled you. I love your waterhole/campfire/cave design and concept. Regards Margo Fleiser
Go for it Margo – good luck with the assignment and thanks for the kind words
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Hi Bianca
I stumbled on your blog and am now really interested in the idea of PBL. I teach English and History at a school for disengaged learners and am very interested in how PBL may help to engage my students. I’ll continue to search your site but in the meantime i’m really curious about your thesis and what final conclusions you drew about PBL and new technologies in the classroom.
Cheers
Inga
p.s I know you’re busy (who isn’t?!) but I’d love to communicate more with you about this.