Well then....

That's that.....
School is over for the year. We leave Tanzania for good on Sunday, Singapore for 2 days, New Zealand, then off to Bahrain in early August. I'm sitting in my empty office feeling a bit...well...weird really.
But moving on is good. Time to start thinking about 1:1 laptop programs and thin clients.

Testing: Tooble

3 posts in one day…is it obvious that I’m procrastinating?

I downloaded Tooble a while ago, but didn’t get around to installing it until Friday. And, so far, it does exactly what it says on the label. It allows you to download Youtube videos and store them for playback on your computer (in MPEG-4 format). Enter the URL for the video, and away it goes.

Teachers have often asked me about the best way to share Youtube videos, and this is looking like the answer for classes and presentations.

Much more importantly, though, my daughter has taken a liking to The Little Princess, and the creators have kindly put a few snippets on Youtube. They’re now front and center on my desktop. To be honest, they give me a bit of a giggle too.

Recommended. (both Tooble and the Little Princess)

I'm still a Tourist

A friend of mine has a plane. That’s pretty cool. It’s even cooler when you live an hours flight away from the Selous Game Reserve. 2 weeks left in Tanzania, and floating down the Rufiji River amongst hippos and crocodiles as the sun went down is going to be right up there with the many memorable moments from our 3 year stay in this amazing country. The lodge wasn't bad either.

Jan’s plane was nice too.

It some of those excellent silver sun protectors to keep it cool when you’re not flying.

They have really useful instructions on them.

Another Lazy Post

OK, it's another link to a Google video. edit: Obviously this is a Youtube video, but for whatever reason, I wrote Google. It's scary how much that funny little word has taken over. But I'm not sure whether thats scary good or scary bad.

I really should be doing better.
But I really liked this one, shared by Scott McLeod, and I'm pretty sure I'll be using it in my presentations to new staff later this year. This seemed like a pretty good place for me to store and share it.

Wobble

OK, this is pretty cheesy, but the kids might get a kick out of it with the right photo.

For some reason, it reminds me of being in a Chinese takeaway restaurant in North Carolina.

www.watereffect.net

Water Effect

The Ol' Share A Youtube Video Trick

I'm not a particular fan of the "sad face holding up deep and meaningful signs" video that is...well....everywhere at the moment. But I watched this one right through (shared by Simon at Educating the Dragon). It covers much of what I've seen in similar videos (no idea whether it's the innovator or imitator), but I was drawn into it for one reason or another - maybe it's the music.

All you hear is blah blah blah

OK, this is waaaay off-topic, but I’m being self indulgent again.

In the fine tradition of Jabiz Raisdana, I’m going to share some song lyrics that mean a whole lot to me…this song hits me at every line (yeah, I’m a simple soul)…I’ve even managed to take “hard-drive” a lot more literally than it was ever intended. Yes, I know that Jabiz keeps this sort of stuff separate from his edublog, but I’m not even contemplating multiple blogs right now, and I don't think I'm being controversial, just a bit selfish, so you’re stuck with it.

The text doesn’t really do it justice, but anyway: Hard drive, written by Ben Lee, performed by Evan Dando on Baby I’m Bored.

This is the town I’m living in
This is the street I’m walking down
These are the friends I’m visiting
These are the clothes I’m wearing now
This is the house I’m building here
This is the girl I’m marrying
This is the chord I’m strumming now
This is the faith I’m leaning on

This is the child I’m bearing now
This is the love that I've always had
This is the face I make when I’m sad
This is the town I’m living in
This is the hard drive...
This is the ocean
Have you ever felt yourself in motion

Have you ever felt yourself in motion

These are the feet I’m standing on
These are the hands that build a world
This is the bed I’m sleeping in
This is the shirt I’m buttoning
This is the pace I’m moving at
This is the tune I’m humming now
This is the road I’m walking down
These are the lips that form my words

This is the stone that I want to turn
These are the people that I love
These are the eyes that look above
This is the town I’m living in
This is the hard drive...
This is the ocean
Have you ever felt yourself in motion

Have you ever felt yourself in motion

Original image: 'HDR Molo Sanità - Virtual Tour Panorama!'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/85223998@N00/2370890086
by: Giuseppe & Giacomo Parisi