Teachers' notes for One red shoe

The Teachers' notes I wrote for Wilkins Farago Publishing are now online. I hope lots of school libraries buy their own copy of the picture book, One red shoe, and get good use out of it!

The notes can be downloaded as a PDF here.

When I was testing the book out with our Stage 3 students, even the Stage 2 students were intrigued, although they only really discussed the red symbolism throughout, not the stronger themes about war/unrest in the Gaza Strip, but they came up with this digital slideshow:

Robbie Rules: My first day at school

This digital story is especially for author Meredith Costain, with many thanks for sending Penrith Public School the signed copy of her wonderful new picture book, My first day at school (Windy Hollow Books, 2013). The book's illustrations are by Michelle Macintosh.

Stage 3 students have recently been working as "buddies" for Kindergarten Orientation, and they enjoyed having Meredith's book read to them in a library session, and then reminiscing, brainstorming, storyboarding, photographing, and suggesting possible text for a joint construction to create a PhotoPeach presentation. We anticipate our incoming Kindergarten students, future buddies and staff and students at other schools to get some useful tips from it.

Special thanks to Ms Stockton, who allowed Robbie Rules - our oldest "student" at Penrith PS, who's never graduated from Stage 1 - to visit the library for the last few weeks of Term 4, 2013.

Robbie Rules: My first day at school

Digital stories for the festive season

And, way back in 2010:

Last year, my ol' pal Jonathan Sequeira asked friends to send him family Christmas pics for a song video by The Elephant Gods - and this was the result. See if you can spot any McLeans:

And just for fun:

And an update from "The Twilight Zone". Doo doo, doo doo, Doo doo, doo doo:

Officially freaked out. I was running for a bus because it was too far to clearly read its route number. Not mine, after all, I realise. The driver was on the phone, so I waited to ask him where my bus left from. He was *describing my appearance* over the phone, and what I was carrying, and he already knew I wanted the 399. I told him *no one* at the station knew where I was heading, and I hadn't asked anyone else anything, but he insisted he was holding up his bus to tell me what I needed to know.

"Technology", he said.

Last time I traveled on this route my mother had just passed away and I made every connection (without looking at the timetable) from Penrith, to Central, Circular Quay, and Malabar Heights, with precision timing, and we joked that Mum organised it. Looks like she's at it again. Merry Christmas, Mum!

Homework for Tristan!

On Monday night, I will be attending the fifth and final night of "Build Your Online Profile", a course presented by author/filmmaker Tristan Bancks, at the Sydney Writers' Centre in Milson's Point.

And we have homework! We are to present "a plan for our online future", by answering three key questions in five minutes.

1. Where do you want your online profile to be? Show us the kind of profile that you want to establish and why. If you like you can show us examples of people/companies who are already there now.

2. How will you get there? Priorities? And when?

3. How have your plans changed or developed since the beginning of the course?








An evolution of my web presence.

My strengths/interests are teacher-librarianship and TV historian. Both present opportunities for imparting knowledge and skills to others, but my current online presence is fragmented across many small sites. My recent 365 Photos project reminded me of the importance of established routines for blogging, to keep things current and fresh, and to bring browsers in for return visits. Site Meter indicates that Google Images searches of photographic material on the World Wide Web continues to be an important drawcard to blogs.

However, since starting this course, I have already:

* Bought a domain name, www.number96.tv.

* Revitalized my Twitter page - and added "Facebook" and "Twitter" buttons to my blog.

* Designed an "umbrella" webpage that will unite all my random web presences.

* Finally signed up as a channel owner on Youtube.

* Created a user profile for Creative Commons music at ccMixter.

* Created my first book trailer on Keynote, added a soundtrack from a Creative Commons site, exported it as a video podcast via iWeb, uploaded it to MobileMe and promoted it on Facebook, Twitter, Yammer, two teacher-librarian listservs and the NSW DET book rap being held to celebrate Book Week 2010.

I still need to:

* Create and upload the umbrella webpage for www.number96.tv. (Time frame: immediately.)

But, as a result of this course, I will also...

* Brainstorm with Andrew Mercado(?) and begin to create a series of podcast fan commentaries for episodes of "Number 96" which could be hosted on iTunes? (Time frame: next twelve months?)

* Create more book trailers to export as video podcasts. Students to be involved in the productions. Closer ties with a range of children's writers and illustrators. A renewed focus for collaborative teaching and learning with Web 2.0 in our (almost completed) school library. (Time frame: next twelve months?)

* Complete new, unrelated, picture book project - which is currently needing to transfer from my brain to paper. Exploit the online possibilities that will arise with publication and promotion of book. (Time frame: ASAP.)


"Mr Chicken goes to Paris" book trailer

Bearly there

I'm deep into storyboarding for digital stories again this week! This time with Stage 1 (Years 1 & 2) students in the area of fairy tales:


A labelled bear ready for the Year 1 students to write their information reports.
School mascot, Robbie Rules, is in bear headgear. 5 May 2010.


The Three Bears commence their morning constitutional
while their porridge cools. 6 May 2010.

Only four more shots left in my 365 Photos project after today. How do I make these last days count? Am I going to be anywhere interesting?