Meet me at the wine bar.

Despite my earlier promises to myself, I've not kept up with this blog at all. I have, however, decided to return to my Battblush blog, so if you're following me here, then hop on over there.

Oh, and I got another HD this semester, for Understanding Teachers Work.

Let's not talk about science. I passed with something more than a P. I did not get an HD.

Staring down the barrel of Semester Two and looking back on Semester One

High Distinctions!

I got HDs for both units and yes, I deserved them. I worked hard, I gave it my all and I got the marks to justify my efforts. And yes, I'm proud of the letter I got from the Dean congratulating me on my efforts.

I've raised an extremely high bar for Semester Two and I'm terrified.

Exam muddle

So, I'm sitting in the uni library studying and feeling my way into the exam. Again.

On the whole I've really enjoyed this unit. I've found it engaging, particularly with the hands on stuff.

However...

And but...

Now it's exam time and everything's about to get theoretical. It's one thing to design a web page and to write a blog (my strongest point) but it's quite another to go into an exam and write about the theory of authentic learning when applied to solar panels etc.

And I'm not the only one panicking. I've just come from the discussion boards and a lot of people are talking about the work that has gone into EDN113 and the overwhelmed feeling they're having going into exams. I have to be honest and say that I'd love to say "Waaah! Waaah! Somebody call a wambulance!" except, well, I feel rather overwhelmed myself. This is my second year of doing semester one of this course and I have to say that this unit is the most time-expensive one yet. I expect to put in at least 10 hours a week on each unit. I put in that and more which is why I get the good marks. Only, this unit expects way more than that if you want to just get a credit. I put in about 20-25 hours a week on 2A and got a credit. Now, realistically my time should have been shared with two other people and it really wasn't. I'm not going to whinge. I'm not, but...well... you know. Somebody had to do it.

But, anyway, exams are nearly here. There are hours of theory to research and prepare and I just don't feel anywhere near ready. I know I'm one of their good students and if I'm feeling like I'm drowning in information I can only imagine how others are feeling. I'm trying to re-listen to the lectures and am getting some stuff for my notes, but in general it's hard going. In the end what I'm trying to do is find the generic links between all the questions then try to extrapolate the rest. It's not fool-proof but it's the best I can come up with. I think researching information for 8 questions is a fool's errand so I have to find the best way to deal with it and that's it. It may work. It may not. My exam mark may pull my overall mark down further, but in the end I have to do what is right.

And at the end of the day I still feel that I've got some good stuff for the future in my teaching tool-box just from this unit alone, so it's a win either way.

Later edit: I've just read through this post and, my, there's a lot of 'ends' aren't there? :)Well, I guess I'll be glad when, at the 'end' of the day, I'm at the 'end' of this unit because I'm already at the 'end' of my tether :))

Nearly there

It's just a little tiny bit over a week until exams and now my focus has turned to the questions. I have quite a few to study for and I'm a bit nervous because there's a lot to catch up on.

This is my plan:

Monday (today) listen to one lecture, answer one EDN 113 question.

Tuesday listen to one lecture, answer one question from both units.

Wednesday and onwards repeat above.

That's the plan. I hope I can stick to it.

Edited later: I've now listened to the Week Two lecture and have been able to take notes during it for both Qs 1 and 7, plus I've added to the discussion board about my experience with Twitter as a Teaching Resource.

Done

Assignment 2B is submitted.

It hasn't been an easy semester. I missed this week's lecture and tutorial thanks to Aiden having to be rushed to hospital for an emergency appendisectomy and now Connor is vomiting. I've had a lot on my plate that I've had to deal with, but finally, it's all done. I only have to deliver my reading log for FDN102 and then it's all about exams. I'll start on that on Monday. After the awful time I've had with child-health, I'm taking the weekend off to relax, read and vege out.

I have loved this unit, though, and I'll probably keep this blog going as I continue my journey through my degree. I've leant a lot over the past 14 weeks, both from a unit POV and about myself.

In short, I rock!

And, what's more, I have a full command of correct apostrophe use.

I like to celebrate my little victories by focussing on other people's creations...

My song-of-the-week, Valley Girl by Moon Unit Zappa.

Barf me out gag me with a spoon. Love it!

Phew...

It has taken all day, but it is finished. My resource is up.

Am I happy with it? Well, yes, I am, thank you.

However, I am very unhappy with the hosting site itself. No matter how many times I've deleted the spaces between the paragraphs, they just won't stay deleted. I've gone back time and again, but next time I look at the site, there they are, great swathes of space between paragraphs. It's darn annoying.

But but but. I'm still happy with the assignment itself. My Twitter resource rocks the grannie's panties. I'm proud of it because it was totally my own idea and I hope to use it one day in a proper teaching situation. I'm happy enough with the Interactive Whiteboard resource that I put into a lesson plan, but that was someone else's idea. Twitter was mine. I went into Assignment 2A being told that an idea had been chosen, I just had to make it happen. 2B is my idea and I'm happy.

I'd squee, but that's a little beneath me.