Why am I still here.......

The simple answer is I find teaching here so good. (That and the small matter of I am contracted till 27th of June of course)

Its Wednesday and short periods but the kids put a lot of effort in and it was nice to see a few good ideas coming to fruition. BUT there is so much I am doing here that is "not wrong" but no where near as "good" as it should be. Partly its due to the limitations we work with and as such it has been an incredible learning curve from the point of view of how I would like to change things next year.

The department I am taking over next year is according to my teaching colleague and MYP CoOrd who has just visited, "a blank canvas" which is perfect, a blank "MODERN STATE OF THE ART" canvas is just what I need.

So what would I do differently given the resources and the knowledge I have now to this time last year.

Point 1
Here in Bogota we do Folio work individually on A4 paper creating a variety of pages over the length of the project... BUT we don't have anywhere to keep them truly neat, we do have cardboard A3 folders but they are a pain to use take up too much space and are hardly used, the cardboard looks untidy after only a few uses by the kids.

My thoughts for the next job is that I do away with paper in 90% of its usage as seen here in Bogota. All folio work will be created on PC using powerpoint and saved both to the local network but also to a "Class USB drive" which I will keep for grading and marking purposes, each group of 2 pupils having their own folder. Seperate from this and used in conjunction will be the "Diary come Process Journal come Design Ideas Book". This way the kids notes on all projects through the year will be kept in one place ideas and sketches will be in situ with the work they are doing and each lesson they will start by putting down the date and the expected work to be done during that lesson including proposed learning outcomes, this I expect to take up the first 15 minutes of each lesson, since I have 1 hour 40 minute lessons it is viable and will prove invaluable.

The benefits are multi-layered. For a start I will reduce printing and ink wastage where 1 picture is printed 10 times, and no more running to fix paperjams. Each lesson will have a defined start point where the kids will know what they are expected to cover and in the process each lesson will naturally begin with a 15 minute calming down period from where ever they have been previously!

The Process Journal is an integral part of MYP but developing it further allows for a more consolidated and fuller approach.

Point 2.
Here we have 2 classrooms one set up as a workshop with tools one set as a workshop without tools so my colleague and I end up trying to juggle the time we are in the different classes.

My intention on arriving in Jordan is to have signs put up in the department over 3 of the rooms, one saying "Manufacture" (workshop) the other 2saying "Planning & Design" (graphics). Each project will start and finish with a defined period in the "Planning and Design Room" and only once everyone has achieved a level suitable to advance will they then move to the "Manufacturing" room.. this again ties in very well with the MYP requirement of teaching Technology using the Design Cycle of Research, Plan, Manufacture and Evaluate.

Finally here we have 3 Notice Boards where we display work.

In the new school I want to use an Online teaching system for notes and information about the course and projects, and some allocated web space to display the pupils work. I had tried to do that here but the problem of interacting with an ICT staff who have been in post almost as long as the school has been in existence makes it almost impossible to impliment changes .. having ICT under my remit in Jordan means I can in effect organise everything to meet my needs as well as that of the other subject areas.

The only draw back with everything I have thought of here is the work load involved. It will be a tremendous task to set it all up and have it ready to run from day 1 BUT the benefits would make my life and the life of the kids hopefully much easier (Bearing in mind I will be teaching the ICT skills they will need to know)

So what does this mean... for me its the start of a challenge that could be rewarding on so many levels. For the kids hopefully a highly creative fun environment to explore technology in, and for the school a department that will stand out from the standard academic side by being innovative , proactive and fun.

Thats tonights thoughts....