Christmas Break

I'm away for my holidays soon so the blog will be unattended. I hope that you all have a fantastic Christmas and a wonderful new year. You'll see me again in January.

Blood from a Stone

Students are less and less likely to write longhand in class for me these days. It's like trying to get blood out of a stone! When they do pick up a pen the scrawl is a tangled mess - texting and computers have done for hand writing (though in truth I can't talk as my own handwriting is dreadful. I could be a doctor it's so bad). But students need to do writing in class and not just for homework. They need to practice timings, they need to see how long a text is, how long it takes them and learn how to plan it in controlled conditions and they won't get that at home. And they will complain... so teachers, expect a cacophony of moaning. Also tell students to:
* Plan their answer before they write
* Address ALL the points in the task
* Use the widest range of vocab they can - encourage them to show off a bit.
* Write in a consistent register and style
* Finish with a strong final paragraph.

That's if you can get them to pick a pen up in the first place!

Back from the Menders!

Gawd I hate Vista! I've got my computer back from the menders and they've deleted my Ubuntu and reinstalled Vista. I've put Ubuntu back on as a dual boot but wish I had just deleted the Vista because it's been constantly installing updates and been grindingly slow, so much so I've just chucked another Gig of RAM in the machine. Sorry to be a techie bore but ARGH! it's frustrating. I would put Windows 7 on, but resent paying for it, having given Mr Gates money for 3 versions of XP and 2 versions of Vista over the years (one was the wife's computer).
So... Ubuntu. Just do it!