Month: February 2010

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Post on my iPhone

This is my first post using my iPhone and it is pretty neat. I can turn the phone on it’s side and type two handed as the keyboard goes into landscape mode. This way I should be able to use it in class quite easily. The wonders of technology never fail to amaze me.

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Team Work – a GPS activity

One of the activities I used for building teamwork was to introduce the class to something most of them would not have done before. And that was to use a handheld GPS unit to find hidden scrabble letters. And when they had collected all the letters they had to make a word.


This was my first ever attempt at doing an informational video. Next time I won’t get too close to the object…sorry for the blurry footage.

Proved to be a very successful activity with a good result…they all successfully completed it and they were highly engaged.

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Getting to know you – early days

The big emphasis for the class in the first month or so is for me to get to know the students and them to get to know each other.

On the first day I had each of them pair up with someone they did not know and go for a walk. The rules were that one person would speak (about their interests, history etc) for 5 minutes while the other listened. After that the other person spoke. When they returned they had to tell the class about their partner. Many commented that it was hard not to say anything and just listen.

During the first week the class was so quiet. They hardly said boo and it was difficult to get them to share about anything.

I am sure that will change…there were signs in the second week that they were opening up and getting more comfortable.

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The fun begins

Well, one week with the new Big Picture PreCAL class has sure been interesting. There have been highs and lows already with me being constantly reminded of the Big Picture mantra…One student at a time!

Overall the class has settled very well with a good mix of students – academic ability, male and female, range of ages and interests/passions.

The interests/passions include:

Brittany – panel beating and spray painting cars
Thaniel – farming and sound mixing
Daryl – cars
Nathan – Car audio
Madison – travel agent
Aaron – plumbing
Sean – Bricklaying
Zara – Forensic science
Okkan – engineering
Justin – engineering
Zac – building
Tye – not sure
Aimee – child care
Makala – not sure
Bonnie – photography and sign writing
Kelly – photography and writing

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Donation to Big Picture PreCAL class

I had a great talk today with Jennifer, who is the CEO of Goulburn Murray LLEN (Language Literacy and Employment Network). We talked in depth about the need for alternative education opportunities for the growing number of students not suiting traditional education settings.

She was very impressed with the model for our GOTAFE PreCAL course which employs Big Picture principles. So much so she has become our first sponsor with a donation of $2,000 and 2 bright red couches.We will use the money for equipment and materials such as digital cameras, art materials and display features that will encourage their active participation in learning.

A great result ready for day one of the class in 4 days time.

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Shannon Jukes – Outstanding Student Award

Shannon Jukes was my star student last year. His passion was Aboriginal art and he achieved so much with the help of the Big Picture approach and support of BP Australia.

To cap off his great year, he won the GOTAFE Outstanding Student Award for the Learning Skills Unit.

Here is the presentation of his award.

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Student Selection

We have had a great deal of interest in the PreCAL course. There were 24 interviews booked and my class will have 16 students. Over the two days of interviews we had 20 people turn up. There we mum and dads with their children, young people on their own and also some teenagers with their case workers. Two of the girls are estranged from their parents and seeking accommodation.

It is now really hard selecting my 16 students as I would like to have them all. But 4 will miss out and go into the next class. Hopefully the other class will get a full complement of students and start soon. Many parents commented that they knew of other young people who were having trouble with high school and how they thought this course would be good for them.

Many of the young people had strong interests/passions such as: cars, motorbikes, XBox, farming, photography, computers, plumbing, sports etc. There were a number who did not really have any real interests that would be their focus at the moment. Looks like interest exploration will be some of the main activities for the first few months.

This week will be preparing the room and trying to get more tables and chairs and set up my new desk on the same campus.

I will be also setting up all the units we need to cover and link them with assessment tasks.