Mr McAlpine has used this already with his classes and so now is Mr Arthur, so I have decided to follow suit!
I have created forums for Higher Business Management, Higher Administration and Standard Grade Administration.
I will get you to create accounts in classtime, and then it gives you an interactive forum to ask questions and actually study together online!
I know I do not have to tell you guys but obviously you know you have to behave accordingly.
It is a brilliant resource and I implore you to use it.
Friday, 30 January 2009
Rich Task CPD
Last night I attended a CPD event run by former Hamilton Grammar staff member and now Head of English at Hamilton College, Paul Mason.
Paul introduced the concept of the Rich Task - having pupils work independently on a project that involves cross-curricular themes.
The one Hamilton Grammar did was on Planetary Colonisation and had Primary kids who were coming up to the big school plan everything to do with starting out on a new world. It involved Science, Maths, Geography and English.
The Rich Task idea came from Queensland and is now very much part of the CfE!
It got me thinking that the two S1 units myself and Mr Robbie Alexander introduced into the S1 IT curriculum last year were in fact mini Rich Tasks.
Rather than just teaching pupils powerpoint we created African Adventure - which not only had pupils working in teams but having to touch on many different subject bases (Geography, Modern Studies, Languages, Business) as they investigated, researched and presented their findings to a class final and then through to the Year final. Our project was a success and seems to be going well again this year. It was mainly based on the idea of Citizenship and getting pupils to think about the wider world.
The other unit was a mock Dragons Den whereby the skills they had learned through the year were brought together to create a final product. They had to send emails, use graphics to draw prototypes, type up letters, create posters, scan in images, and research competitors. It was basically to introduce some Enterpreneurial spirit into our S1!!!
So while our ideas did not come under the Rich Task banner, I do feel there is some commonailty and perhaps writing a proper Rich Task could be the next step. As Paul explained there are ways to write the planning sheet which I actually quite like.
One final thing though which I have to point out to Paul... our S1 African Adventure DID have Presentation Assessment criteria! That was one of the main ideas behind it. It was not just the actual powerpoint skills that were being assessed but also the content and the delivery. I like teachers to add value and if we can teach pupils presentation and communication skills at an early age then that helps every subject and pupil in the long run!
Paul did a great job and I look forward to seeing what new Rich Tasks he will conjure up in the future.
Paul introduced the concept of the Rich Task - having pupils work independently on a project that involves cross-curricular themes.
The one Hamilton Grammar did was on Planetary Colonisation and had Primary kids who were coming up to the big school plan everything to do with starting out on a new world. It involved Science, Maths, Geography and English.
The Rich Task idea came from Queensland and is now very much part of the CfE!
It got me thinking that the two S1 units myself and Mr Robbie Alexander introduced into the S1 IT curriculum last year were in fact mini Rich Tasks.
Rather than just teaching pupils powerpoint we created African Adventure - which not only had pupils working in teams but having to touch on many different subject bases (Geography, Modern Studies, Languages, Business) as they investigated, researched and presented their findings to a class final and then through to the Year final. Our project was a success and seems to be going well again this year. It was mainly based on the idea of Citizenship and getting pupils to think about the wider world.
The other unit was a mock Dragons Den whereby the skills they had learned through the year were brought together to create a final product. They had to send emails, use graphics to draw prototypes, type up letters, create posters, scan in images, and research competitors. It was basically to introduce some Enterpreneurial spirit into our S1!!!
So while our ideas did not come under the Rich Task banner, I do feel there is some commonailty and perhaps writing a proper Rich Task could be the next step. As Paul explained there are ways to write the planning sheet which I actually quite like.
One final thing though which I have to point out to Paul... our S1 African Adventure DID have Presentation Assessment criteria! That was one of the main ideas behind it. It was not just the actual powerpoint skills that were being assessed but also the content and the delivery. I like teachers to add value and if we can teach pupils presentation and communication skills at an early age then that helps every subject and pupil in the long run!
Paul did a great job and I look forward to seeing what new Rich Tasks he will conjure up in the future.
Saturday, 24 January 2009
Big Chef takes on Little Chef
Here was a programme that if the swearing was edited out (like Kitchen Nightmare's) would be a great resource for Business Management pupils.
Celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal who runs the Fat Duck pub in Bray is famous for hsi scientific approach to food.
Little Chef, the British roadside icon asked him to help rejuvinate the dying brand. Heston did so... to an extent.
He encountered marketing problems, including conducting his own market research as well as designing/developing the product (the menu) and even had HR issues such as training up the Little Chef staff and turn them from microwave heater-uppers into cooks.
A very interesting and entertaining programme, a bit stage managed though, but I guess that is TV.
Perhaps we could write to Heston and ask him some questions about his experiences?
Celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal who runs the Fat Duck pub in Bray is famous for hsi scientific approach to food.
Little Chef, the British roadside icon asked him to help rejuvinate the dying brand. Heston did so... to an extent.
He encountered marketing problems, including conducting his own market research as well as designing/developing the product (the menu) and even had HR issues such as training up the Little Chef staff and turn them from microwave heater-uppers into cooks.
A very interesting and entertaining programme, a bit stage managed though, but I guess that is TV.
Perhaps we could write to Heston and ask him some questions about his experiences?
Vozme - From Text to Speech
While taking a look around Douglas Semple's ICT Maverick blog I found his post on another blogger's page, Jane Knight.
It centred around what is called Vozme and can be found here
It turns text into speech, so I think we will give that a try for revision!
Perhaps even all my long winded notes can be uploaded and then turned into speech for download to your iPod or mp3 player.
Worth a go anyway!
It centred around what is called Vozme and can be found here
It turns text into speech, so I think we will give that a try for revision!
Perhaps even all my long winded notes can be uploaded and then turned into speech for download to your iPod or mp3 player.
Worth a go anyway!
Monday, 19 January 2009
In the News...
JAPANESE OUTPUT FALLS
Industrial output in Japan dropped 8.5% in November compared with the previous month, larger than initially estimated.
The drop represents the biggest fall since records of such output statistics began in 1953.
Compared with a year earlier, the country's industrial output fell 16.6%, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said.
KPMG OFFER SHORTER WEEK TO STAFF
Staff at accounting and consulting giant KPMG have been told they can save their jobs by working a four-day week or taking a short break on 30% pay.
The firm is attempting to stave off redundancies among its 11,000 strong workforce.
A spokesman said it was impossible to rule out job cuts in the future but the offer was on a voluntary basis.
IRISH BANK TO BE NATIONALISED
The Irish government has said it is to nationalise the Anglo Irish Bank after its funding problems continued.
The state had planned on pumping 1.5bn euros (£1.4bn) into the bank, but has decided that recapitalisation is not the way to secure its future.
Anglo Irish has about 100bn euros on its books, but there was no need for customers to act, the state said.
HERTZ SLASH WORKFORCE
Car rental firm Hertz is to cut more than 4,000 jobs as it makes further cost savings amid slowing demand.
Hertz has already cut its workforce by 22% in the last two years. The new cuts mean the firm has trimmed its staff numbers by 32% since August 2006.
The firm, which has about 29,350 workers in 144 countries, said the cuts would occur across all regions.
Sources: BBC Business News
Industrial output in Japan dropped 8.5% in November compared with the previous month, larger than initially estimated.
The drop represents the biggest fall since records of such output statistics began in 1953.
Compared with a year earlier, the country's industrial output fell 16.6%, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said.
KPMG OFFER SHORTER WEEK TO STAFF
Staff at accounting and consulting giant KPMG have been told they can save their jobs by working a four-day week or taking a short break on 30% pay.
The firm is attempting to stave off redundancies among its 11,000 strong workforce.
A spokesman said it was impossible to rule out job cuts in the future but the offer was on a voluntary basis.
IRISH BANK TO BE NATIONALISED
The Irish government has said it is to nationalise the Anglo Irish Bank after its funding problems continued.
The state had planned on pumping 1.5bn euros (£1.4bn) into the bank, but has decided that recapitalisation is not the way to secure its future.
Anglo Irish has about 100bn euros on its books, but there was no need for customers to act, the state said.
HERTZ SLASH WORKFORCE
Car rental firm Hertz is to cut more than 4,000 jobs as it makes further cost savings amid slowing demand.
Hertz has already cut its workforce by 22% in the last two years. The new cuts mean the firm has trimmed its staff numbers by 32% since August 2006.
The firm, which has about 29,350 workers in 144 countries, said the cuts would occur across all regions.
Sources: BBC Business News
Sunday, 18 January 2009
My Great Scot - Adam Smith
With all this hoo-hah over the 250th anniversary of the birth of our nation's favourite poet, Mr Rabbie Burns, I thought I'd just present a case for my own personal favourite, Adam Smith.
Sadly many people do not know who he is, but he is "the Father of Modern Economics" and while that may not sound that impressive, trust me it is.
Adam Smith's views on Trade could be found in his famous book published in 1776: "The Wealth of Nations". I am working on a slideshow about Adam Smith and intend to make a video also.
Perhaps this could be a job for Weh TV or HGS Digital?
Anyway back to Adam Smith, who I admit I hadn't really heard much about until I did Economics at University.
He basically is an advocate of laissez-faire or 'hands off' meaning that the Government should not interfere with the nation's economy and let businesses run themselves for profit and thereby creating jobs and providing goods and services. He believed in free trade, free enterprise and free economy.
This is obviously good for the entrepreneur, but it can lead to ethical considerations. Employees have interests that have to be satisfied, with safety obviously being the first port of call. Would Adam Smith approve of firms cutting corners to profiteer? Adam Smith believed that by creating jobs and making a profit the wealthy would put back into society and therefore it would lead to social good. Yet, if we think of Gordon Gecko's infamous line in Wall Street: 'Greed is good'.
He coined the phrase The Invisible Hand, which means that the market guides itself. In other words what we need and want and consume will eventually be found out by firms who will then produce the items needed to satisfy customers/consumers.
He also was an advocate of the division of labour, in other words dividing a product into small stages that workers can work on and then finally assemble the finished product, a bit like the modern assembly line. Again, what would he think of Linn Products and the employee-technician who makes the entire sound system from scratch? Naturally the advantage of division of labour is that you can produce more quantity and volume, which was what was needed back at the onset of the Industrial Revolution.
Linn Products of course are a highly skilled company and aim for a very exclusive niche in the market. High volume products do not, they target a far wider market.
Adam Smith would not have approved for the National Minimum Wage either!
He did however not believe in monopolies which are naturally bad for customers as a monopoly can set their own prices.
I wonder what Adam Smith would make of the recent Government funding of so many failing banks?
So I leave you again with Adam Smith as my Great Scot because without him the world would be very different!
Wednesday, 14 January 2009
Weh TV Update
Our first rehearsal (sans Greenscreen!) went well on Monday. Now for the real thing on Thursday!
Mr Ferguson and his team of pupils have done a great job in creating an intro for us.
Stuart (Eco Group) will be our first interviewee and Ramis will perform music for our closing section.
Once we get our greenscreen we will be onto a winner.
Also congratulations to Dunoon Grammar and their successful launch of DGS TV. They did get permission from Snow Patrol to use the track Open Your Eyes, so we need to get our thinking hats on.
To view DGS TV's intro click here
And we need to think of how we can make our show that little bit different!
Mr Ferguson and his team of pupils have done a great job in creating an intro for us.
Stuart (Eco Group) will be our first interviewee and Ramis will perform music for our closing section.
Once we get our greenscreen we will be onto a winner.
Also congratulations to Dunoon Grammar and their successful launch of DGS TV. They did get permission from Snow Patrol to use the track Open Your Eyes, so we need to get our thinking hats on.
To view DGS TV's intro click here
And we need to think of how we can make our show that little bit different!
Tuesday, 13 January 2009
Audacity and Blogger guides
Tuesday, 6 January 2009
Hamilton produces a Champion!
Congratulations to one of the S6 Higher Business Management pupils, Fraser Porteous. Fraser won £100 of vouchers from the SQA for being one of the best game players for the Sport4Life Business Game.
Fraser is also the Managing Director of Pinnacle, our Young Enterprise Group, so I hope he can be as successful when it comes to real life!
Fraser is also the Managing Director of Pinnacle, our Young Enterprise Group, so I hope he can be as successful when it comes to real life!
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