Are you a smartboard user or any other IWB user for that matter? Looking for a challenge?  Do you feel like you’re getting the most out of your Interactive Whiteboard?   Want to breathe some pizzaz into using an IWB with students in the classroom?  Or do you just want to use your IWB better? Smarter?

Then look no further!

The amazing Jess McCulloch has created the Whiteboard Challenge. She’s also got a stunning line up of Task Masters, (Check out who),  just waiting to bring us our next challenges.

It’s only just started with Challenge #1 – making mp3 recordings and adding them to the gallery.

Not only has Jess created a wikispace, there’s a diigo group, and she’s even provided participants with astep-by-step video on how to complete Challenge #1

I’ve been an Interwrite IWB user for several years now (I miss my Interwrite Board back in NZ). Now I am finding my way around the smartboard and notebook application. This challenge is perfect way to get me up to speed!

Way to go Jess! Fabulous challenge, fabulous resource that will definitely help a lot of IWB users out there!

So what are you waiting for? Let’s begin!

My good friend AllanahK just posted about an excellent find called Virtual Highway.  It’s a Google mash-up of a Google map of New Zealand and video of what the drive actually looks like. As the video plays a little car moves along the highway keeping in synch with the video.

Like AllanahK, I couldn’t resist having a tinker especially since I thought it would be a great way to share a little bit of my home country with my Grade 5 class tomorrow.  (Love the little car that drives along the map as the video runs!)

At the moment my class is exploring classroom blogs from all over the world (with a bit of a bias towards New Zealand blogs ……) because we’ve started our own class blog.  We’re looking at what other classes have on their blog to decide what we would like on ours.  If you and your class currently blog, we would love you to leave a comment and a URL on our class blog so that we can visit your classroom blog to take a look around.

We’re especially interested in any “must-haves” you think we should include on our blog.

For those of you that I didn’t get a chance to tell personally or you didn’t catch my twitter ….

Yes, I’ve moved from Napier, New Zealand, across the seas to Bangkok, Thailand

It’s farewell to my very supportive principal and fellow colleagues for the last four years at TIS and hello to a fabulous new principal, deputy principal, some amazing new colleagues in Elementary School, fellow ex-pats, and without a doubt, some serious fellow-bloggers such as my wonderful friend Ms Cofino and Jeff Utecht.  I’m absolutely thrilled to be working the International School of Bangkok whose commitment to 21st Century Digital Literacy makes it an inspiring place to be involved in.

I’ve just completed my first week at ISB and even though it’s still early days when the shine of excitement still remains, I have to say I’m impressed.  For such a big school (and I’ve come from roll of 580 to a roll of 700 in just the Elementary School) I don’t feel too lost, I certainly feel very welcome, and it definitely feels right to be here.  I love my surroundings, I love my new apartment, I love my class and classroom and I love the fact that on Day 5 of being at a new school, my students and I began our own class blog!

Ye-ah! I live and work in Bangkok!  Contrary to popular suggestions (thanks Brian) I will not be changing to bkchrissy on twitter – Once a Kiwi, always a Kiwi – so nzchrissy remains!  Watch this space!

A few weeks ago, Emily, the co-ordinator “Inquiry Guru-ess” for TIS introduced me to Blabberize. This is such a cool tool!  I could imagine using Blabberize to demonstrate learning and understanding before, during and after an Inquiry Learning Unit or any other curriculum area for that matter.  When you take a look at it, please, please click on the llama on the home page – he’s hilarious!

It was fairly easy to use.  The hardest part for students would be getting the mouth setting right, and as I discovered, Blabberize’s advice on using a frontal image is a definite must for ease of creation.
I had a bit of trouble embedding the flash file.  I’m not sure if it’s Edublogs or the Blabberize code.
Check out my first attempt below or if that’s not working,  click on this link

Here’s how it’s done in 7 easy steps:

Step 1:  Sign up for a free account

Step 2: Make a Blabber, upload a picture

Step 3:  Allow permission for your microphone

Step 4: Select the mouth with control points (this is the hardest part)

Step 5: Click on the Microphone button to begin recording your message

Step 6: Preview and Save

Step 7: Share your blabber

Blabberize is full of examples (some great, some not some great – discretion advised) and full of tips to get a good result.

Why not give it a try?

I’d love to watch your creations so don’t forget to let me know what you come up with!

I love my NikonD40. It was extremely valuable piece of equipment to record my travels on the way home from Argentina recently. I’m am convinced that when you know you have a good camera in your hands, you tend to take better pictures. Well, subconsciously I think you do anyway.

I was kinda “chuffed” then, when I got this email from Schmap Guides

Hi teachingsagittarian,

I am writing to let you know that one of your photos with a Creative Commons license has been short-listed for inclusion in the fifth edition of our Schmap Auckland Guide, to be published at the end of this month.

www.schmap.com/shortlist/p=10747684N00/c=SH51013676

Clicking this link will take you to a page where you can:
i) See which of your photos has been short-listed.
ii) Submit or withdraw your photo from our final selection phase.
iii) Learn how we credit photos in our Schmap Guides.
iv) Browse online or download the fourth edition of our Schmap Auckland Guide.

Our submission deadline is Sunday, July 13. If you happen to be reading this message after this date, please still click on the link above (our Schmap Guides are updated frequently – photos submitted after this deadline will be considered for later releases).

Best regards,

Emma Williams,
Managing Editor, Schmap Guides

After thinking about it for a couple of days I did eventually click on the submit the day of the deadline.

Today, when uploading some new photos to flickr I saw an email from Emma Williams congratulating me on the selection of my photo and details of how it looks in the Schmap Auckland Guide. It also gives me credit for the photo.

And it’s even got an iPhone view!

If you’re interested in taking a closer look at the actual photo you can find it here.

I’m off to learn how to use the Manual mode a bit more!