Brain Dump

I’ve had a very difficult time with dictation software. I thought what I was doing was getting some software that I could use to transcribe audio files. That’s not what happened.

I bought MacSpeech Dictate, hoping that I could, well believing that I could, simply add a transcription pack to it. It turns out that the transcription pack sold by MacSpeech doesn’t work with their new Dictate software. The transcription packed requires iListen 1.7.

It turns out the iListen 1.7 is no longer sold by MacSpeech. They are obliged under their agreement with a home on other software company, to not sell iListen. So I have spent several frustrating hours, trawling the Internet for a copy of iListen 1.7. Finally I have had to buy a CD version from an Australian company and have it shipped. It will take another week to get here.

It’s nice that I am able to use dictation software, I am using it now, however this is really just a bit of the gadget because I could be typing this. It is quicker than typing that’s for sure. However the real need is to make good use of the time that I spent spend driving and sitting for the sake of getting to work and for my children’s sport.

Eventually I hope that I will be able to use a record (I have an Evirol R-09) device to record my voice and then transcribe into whatever when I get home. Then I will be able to make productive use of what is now unproductive time, several hours a day, and be a much happier man.

I’m working full time this term to help cover for a fellow staff member who is on long service leave.

I’m so tired.

Principal is insisting that I take two days off to get on top of marking and have a breather.

This is why I am on the payroll as a part time teacher but work full time. For me teaching is not a job. It is a passion. I fully pour my soul, heart and mind into it. Therefore the load of a full time teacher crushes me.

Actually the system sux. No wonder there is no flexibility, no room for genuine creativity or inovation. Everyone is doing all they can to simply survive. The system has frozen.

Damn it! Where is the reboot button?

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I am furious!

The bloody federal government in it wisdom has decided to inflict a national numeracy  assessment  on our poor Year 7s and 9s.  Some bunch of politicians and bureaucrats have got together and formed this national testing regime.

Its called NAPLAN and you can find more information about it here.

My biggest bug bear is that the difficulty levels have been set in line with current New South Wales levels. Due to several reasons we are about 12 months behind them. Changes in our school admission procedures will close this gap but we are not there yet.

So.. my poor Year 7 students are going to be hit with a test that contains many concepts that they normally would not encounter until year 8 and many at the end of Year 8.

I too crave reform but his kind of bull dozer approach will result in nothing but resentment, teaching to the test and further dishonesty and corruption.

Damn. I’m furious!

Teaching full time sux.

Its just full on day after day. With part time teaching I’d go flat out and then I would  have day or so to catch up and innovate. With full time there is none of that. Its just go go go

Our head of department has taken long service leave. So us part timers have picked up extra classes to fill in.

People say: “Wow, think of the money”. Money has nothing to do with it. I am doing this to support the learning community of which I am part. It is for one term and then I will return to part time and to sanity.

PD day today.

We were looking at Curriculum Council’s new courses of study. Refer to the maths course and the the maths specialist course documents on the Curriculum Council website.

I was there for two reasons.

1. I am taking a Year 11 class this term to help cover for a staff member who is on long service leave. So going to a Senior School PD helps embed me in the context.
2. It is important for me to have a clear picture in my mind about what options my middle school maths students have as they move into senior school.

On a different but related point: I realised today that the Year 11 “Maths in Practice” class that I will be taking this term will provide me with the first real opportunity to use a wiki in my teaching practices.

The first “project” that we will be doing is planning a trip around Australia. A wiki would be a perfect tool for that. See Wikis in Plain English