Managing behaviour in the digital age

If you ask most teachers, especially newly trained ones, what one of the biggest challenges of teaching is, they would probably say managing student behaviour. Especially as class sizes grow and more students are bringing along potentially distracting digital devices, making sure you are keeping students on task is becoming ever more important. If this is something that concerns you, then read on.

ClassCharts could be the solution to your problem. ClassCharts is a digital management tool which can help you, your students and their parents to track and improve student behaviour across the whole school.

Using ClassCharts you can set up seating charts for every room in your school and create a profile for each student. Teachers can then use ClassCharts to monitor and reward positive behaviour as well as track negative behaviour. As the teacher builds up data across classes they can start to understand how different seating arrangements and student pairing and grouping can impact on behaviour, then generate seating charts for students that group them in ways that help them to work more efficiently and harmoniously.


So how does it work?

Well one of the first things to do is to add seating plans of your rooms. This is easy to do and you can drag the virtual desks around into whatever configuration you have in your classroom.

Then you also need to upload your students. What I really like about ClassCharts is that you can also upload a photograph of each one, and this can be really useful if you have large classes and lots of students names to remember, especially when it comes to writing reports.

You can then either manually assign seats or generate a random seating chart. During the class you can use ClassCharts acknowledge a range of positive and negative behaviours. These behaviours are all customisable so you can create your own or use the default ones.

ClassCharts uses html 5 so should run in any modern browser whether it’s a laptop, iPad or Android tablet, so the teacher can use an tablet during the class to instantly update behaviours.

Either before or during the class the teacher can also shuffle the class seating depending on a number of criteria from things like attainment targets to gender or previous behaviour.

One of the real time-savers of ClassCharts though is when it comes to report writing time. Each students’ behaviour has been tracked through their various classes and teachers can get a detailed report, including dates when different behaviours were recorded.

Both students and parents can also access live reports and monitor progress throughout the term, so students and parents know how they are doing and parents don’t have to wait until the end of term to find out what’s been going on with their child.

This helps to share responsibility and makes it much easier to get parents involved in dealing with any negative behaviour at the earliest possible date.

Although ClassCharts is free and has been designed so that a single teacher can set it up to track their own classes independently, the real power of the platform is its ability to work across the school and track student behaviour in every class. To make this easier ClassCharts also interconnects with a range of other educational management software systems, from simple tools like Edmodo to more complex ones like SIMS and PowerSchool.


What I like about ClassCharts

• I’m really impressed by the fact that such a powerful and well designed tool is free.
• It’s great that a system like this and the data it collects can be applied and shared across a whole school.
• I really like that you can see the student and access a range of information about them from targets, to behaviour and even a little about their background.
• Great to get parents involved and students monitoring their own progress.

What I’m not so sure about

• This is quite a complex tool and creates a lot of data, so I think it’s going to take a bit of getting used to for teachers and perhaps a bit of training too.
• It does produce a lot of data and you can easily get a bit too tied up in this and forget about the person.

Well I hope you find ClassCharts useful and give it a try.

Related links:

• Digital books for teacher development  
• Making lectures and lessons more interactive with mQlicker  
• Evaluating authentic mobile apps for learning
• Publishing 3.0 - A new model for independent educational publishing 
• The Digital Classrooms on Indiegogo
• Digital Classrooms on Facebook
• Digital Classroom on Flipboard

Nik Peachey

Snow Day

Overnight we had a light dusting of snow, and basically the whole city has shut down since. And I don't blame them. I almost died trying to get a couple pictures of the "snow" out on my front driveway this morning. Treacherours conditions, indeed. But no seriously. Be careful this morning, fellow Texans! That ice is slick!

Yesterday I took the day "off" to run errands and drive all over tarnation looking for a chest of drawers to put in my office, only to wind up coming home defeated and empty-handed, and so frustrated that there was still so much stuff strewn about my office floor and nowhere to put it, that I forced Matthew to bring the large Pottery Barn buffet cabinet we'd been keeping in the garage (since we downsized, a lot of our old stuff doesn't fit in the new place) into my office so I could have some storage space already, damn it. So now I am utilizing a rather oddly placed dining room buffet that smells faintly of mold from our flooded Pod, and you know what? It's a place to put shit until further notice, and I literally breathed a sigh of relief to see a my tidy office space this morning. Snow day + clean office + tortilla soup in the crock pot + editing & coffee = my idea of a fairly nice Friday. :)

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend, and I'll see you back here next week!

follow: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin | Pinterest | Photography

Shop Spotlight: Row House 14 for saucy/cute cards

Hey friends! Today I'd like to highlight a shop called Row House 14 just in time for Valentine's Day - if you're looking for a super fun, non-Hallmark card to give your sigO, this shop delivers. Check out their birthday and thank you cards as well (this one is my favorite!). There's a funny/cute card for any occasion over there. :) Use the code MYVALENTINE15 for 15% off your purchase through next Thursday, the 30th!

Have a great day...

follow: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin | Pinterest | Photography

Workaholic

The other day I was accused of being a “workaholic,” and while my first instinct was to react (badly, of course), I chose not to really react at all, and instead just sort of let this accusation marinate a bit. Thought about it, weighed it out, asked myself if this was a good or a bad thing, what it means for people in my life… etc, etc. I’ve been thinking about it ever since, so naturally, I had to blog it out. How does anyone without a blog sort out all their feelings? I have no idea. ;)

Lately I have found myself in this strange quandary where I always feel busy, always feel behind, can never fully enjoy being in the moment because my brain is always ten steps ahead of me, pushing me, propelling me forward, causing me a perpetual sense of anxiety and inability to be fully present in anything. I always feel like the crazed rabbit from Alice In Wonderland… “We’re late, we’re late! For a very important date!” and I’d need more than two hands to count all the times I’ve said to someone in my life lately “I’m so BUSY. I’m so BEHIND on work.” In other words, “I don’t have time for you.” 

AND I HATE THAT. I don’t want to be that person. No one likes that person. I think, after mulling it over a while, I’ve decided that being a workaholic isn’t necessarily a bad thing depending on the context, but in my case, I think it IS a bad thing. I need desperately to learn balance. I think it’s especially hard for a young business owner to find balance when there is ALWAYS more to be done. The future of your business is 100% in YOUR hands. Each and every responsibility that comes with running your business (in my case, marketing, communication with clients, packaging design, shipping, contracts, web design and copy, bookkeeping  [or lack thereof], location scouting, shooting, editing, networking, rebranding, blogging sessions, planning for the future, etc, etc, etc - not including ANYTHING to do with running this blog and creating good content here!) falls entirely into YOUR lap, and no one else’s. It really cannot be delegated, unless you hire an intern. You must simply sit down to your work each day, accomplish as much as you can in order of priority, and when it’s time to clock out at 6:00 o’clock or whenever you decide to call it a day, it’s so important to say to yourself “I did all I could today, and I am proud of my work. My work is not finished, but it will never be. And that’s OK. Tomorrow I will chip away at more, and everything will be OK. But now, NOW I will go be present in my home and in my REAL life with people I love.”

So much easier said than done. But today I’m asking myself for grace. And calm. And peace. I want to ENJOY my work. And then I want to ENJOY my life. At the end of this day, my work will not be finished. I will not be “all caught up.” I don’t think “all caught up” will exist for me anymore. But it IS important to understand when work is done for the day. It IS important to stop using the “busy” language.  YOU create the environment you exist in. You create it with your words and with your actions. With how much work you take on, and the price tag you place on your time. So my project now is to be mindful of creating that serenity I so crave in my life. To choose it and embody it and be it, for myself and those around me.

Amen, and amen. 

follow: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin | Pinterest | Photography

Plastic industry

You will learn about the subject of the plastics industry on all things related to it , such as:

 Plastic industry

Project plastics industry

Ways plastics industry
How plastics industry
Plastics industry in Egypt
The way the industry and the formation of plastic
Introduction to the plastics industry :

Is the plastics industry of vital industries upon which the rights in various areas of life The products plastics industry starting from the pots in the house to the ceilings to cars to airplanes and enter the plastics industry in many other industries Kalsnaat metal , wood and electricity cables , appliances , electronics and packaging industries , and falls under the the plastics industry a lot of industries.
The plastic or so-called " plastic " material is easy configuration consists of different ways chains called polymers .
Still communities experiencing development since the Stone Age and even the age of the black gold ( oil ) , which contributed to the emergence of new industries and many have appeared plastics industry flourished and became today occupies the top of the current industries as a result of frequent use in everyday life , because the plastics industry interference in the composition of things and tools around .
The plastics industry is of the following materials :
Petroleum .
Natural gas .
Coal .

Composition used in the plastics industry :
Plastic consists of ethylene , one of the derivatives of oil, which is used in the manufacture of polythene because it contains the element carbon , which is the most effective in the industry Albolemar , and added to it the properties of a certain gain Kalliona , flexibility and transparency.
Plastics Industry :
Production of plastic - plastic industry
Includes the manufacture of plastic polymers manufacturing stage and then stage the formation of the final product .
Preparation Albolemar :
The petrochemical plants to convert crude oil to the monomers of cracking through the links , and then linking Almonomirat in long chains called Polymer and be completed in standard units .
Industry and the formation of plastic :
Forming plastic product - the plastics industry
During this stage is the formation of the final product after the addition of plasticizers and Kalmqoyat Alakhaddab to improve its properties , and the product is formed by seven major operations :
Stereotyping any industry template as required for casting or casting it.
Casting or molding .
Extrusion .
Telmas or the formation of polished wafers .
The formation of chips or lamination .
Foam .
Thermoforming .
The plastics industry by molding :
The molding process is divided into a set of other processes :
Bloating : This process is used in the manufacture of bottles hollows , and the process is done through the introduction of a tube of molten resin ( Barison ) in the form of compressed air and pushes or steam , which expands to Albarison resin impetus to all aspects of the template.
Injections: a more thermo-plastic molding processes common , and the process is done by dropping tablets from the resin pot oppressive to the template to be made ​​, and after 30 seconds the plastic solidifies , then opens the template and then is ejected product formed by nail expulsion .
Pressure: This is more of molding processes commonly called Almtsaldat thermal , and surgery is performed by pressing the plastic and then put pressure on the configuration template used in the formation of the final product and the products of this process trusses car handles and utensils.
Rotational force : This is done through the template partially filled resin powder , and then heating the mold and engine management problem at a maximum speed centrifugal force .
After that the force called Force to pay the molten resin to the walls of the mold and then keep it in place until harden.
The plastics industry by casting or molding :
Or casting foundries - Project plastics industry
This process is used in the formation of thermo-plastic material , and is the process by pouring the molten resin in a mold and then left to Atsald , and the most important products of this process : the gears and thick panels .
The plastics industry by extrusion :
Extrusion process - the plastics industry

This process is used in the production of pipes and wire rods and caps , with the introduction of solid particles from gases emerging from the plastic pot into a conical cylinder hot.
Formation of polished wafers :
This process is performed put molten plastic Muscolan between a couple of cylinders and hot This process results in elements such as : playing cards with plastic -covered mattresses and used in the tables , and after adding fiber sheets or metal foils .
The formation of chips or lamination :
That Ptchiq piles of fiberglass , wood, paper , then soak the chips in the resin and the process is put on top of each other and then put it under the machine where this machine pressuring until the resin Ptchiq chips with some strong pressure produced from this process compressed wood panels cover the tables .
The plastics industry by thermoforming :
Thermoforming - Project plastics industry
They process the least expensive in terms of money compared to other processes , and are installed plastic sheet over the mold and heated until soft , then suck the air pump chips soft down to cover all of the mold, then it becomes hardened and appear in the forms and templates are different and the most important products bathtubs .
Kinds of plastic :
There are two basic types of plastic are:
Thermoplastic :
Thermal plastic products - plastics industry
He is soften heat and then changed its shape and therefore can be melted down and re- formed , and this type is the most widely used products are : plastic bags , bottles and plastic .
Plastic Allahrara :
Turns this kind of after -machined plastics material is molten , and can not be re- formed and soften when re-heating , and uses this type of plastic in the packaging of electrical wires and handles pots .

How Pepsi-making

Who among us did not taste the taste of Pepsi ! This drink humidifier , which entered into the 
mouths of millions were left without a corner of it was conquered in 195 countries around the planet .
A simple idea started from the head pharmacist was trying to install a medicine for treatment of dyspepsia , and if it detects a drink savory and non- wetted pattern of eating and drinking in the world , and became great by asking small . How come Caleb Pradhan to this discovery ?
Caleb Pradhan was born in 1876 in Naobern in the United States . Forced to leave the university before graduating from the University of Maryland Medical bankrupt when his father and his business failed .
To earn a living turning Caleb Pradhan to education and studied at school - Oakes Smith - in Naobern to be married - Sarah Charity Chridl - . After leaving teaching work in a pharmacy Pollock , which he bought after he became a master of pharmacology .
Began through his work in the pharmacy mixing prescriptions and medical syrups , and hired through his work as his assistant to be able to blend watching mixture of fruit -flavored syrup with soda water .
In the hot, humid summer day in 1898 AD . In Naobern discovered Caleb Pradhan - aged 22 years - drink delicious moisturizer and submit it to the pharmacy customers . To succeed this drink humidifier unexpected success , and is known as - Pepsi Cola - .
Caleb Pradhan was sure that people would come to his pharmacy if gave them something they love and Anachehem in free days . The Khaltth Alzivh composed of extracts from the plant cola , vanilla and rare oils . He knew the name of this drink - drink Brad - relative to Pradhan .
Caleb Pradhan decided to nominate as the featured drink Pepsi -Cola because he was , in his opinion treats disease dyspepsia , which is known as Dyspepsia.
Enjoyed overwhelming popular drink Pepsi . What payment Caleb Pradhan to advertise this drink invader and humidifier . And defending people 's request and sales began to rise to the point with Caleb Pradhan convinced that opens the company to market the drink featured .
20120904-002612.jpg
The foundations of the world in 1902 Pepsi -Cola in the back room of his pharmacy , offering patented his invention to score a brand registered .
Initially, it was mixed drink and sells through machines soda water . But since necessity is the mother of invention Caleb Pradhan decided to sell Pepsi in small bottles so he can drink anyone and anywhere .
The evolution of the work significantly , and in the June 16, 1903 Pepsi -Cola got its brand on the registered office of the recording brands and trademarks in the United States . During the same year he sold Caleb Pradhan 7968 gallons of Pepsi , and the propaganda says : '' refreshing , tonic , and peptic '' .
Then he started to sell the franchise rights for Pepsi Bottling in cans and bottles , and the number rose from 2 in 1905 to 15 in 1906 and to 40 in 1907 , and with the end of the year 1910, the Pepsi-Cola has branches in 24 states .
This was the most important achievement of what he did Caleb Pradhan , and his company's sales increased to 100,000 gallons of wine per year .
Pepsi -Cola 's success reached its peak year in 1909 where he opened a new headquarters Caleb Pradhan and prided itself on its great Naobern City , and placed it on postcards of the city. The year before ( 1908 ) is considered one of the first of his company switched from carriages to cars to transport their wares.
Caleb Pradhan became the owner of a very popular thanks to his sense of thanks and delicate business . Was nominated for the post of governor in his state , and his continued success. Thus, Pepsi -Cola , flew internationally with great success for 17 years , did not know failure, and was successful Pepsi slogan put forward by Caleb Pradhan : '' drink Pepsi -Cola , they are inevitably Strdak '' .
After 17 years of success came World War and the first and relapsed Pepsi influenced by what is happening around them , and sugar prices fluctuated seriously influenced the production of Pepsi -Cola .
Was Caleb Pradhan forced to risk some trades so that he can continue to be forced in the end , is 3 years cumbersome , declare bankruptcy after storage of sugar in huge quantities and dropped its price suddenly , dozens of times , and that was the misfortune of Caleb Pradhan , was left of the Pepsi factories are only two ( in 1921 ) .
Caleb Pradhan returned to his pharmacy and put the name of Pepsi For Sale . And already sold it to - Roy Megargl - and that after a succession of four owners of the name of all failed in the delivery of Pepsi to safety and to fly high , that came to a successful chocolate factory named - Charles Relief - . This was a person as a savior for Pepsi , where the company benefited from his experience and his ideas .
After 15 years of failure from the date of the bankruptcy Caleb Pradhan - who died at the age of fifty-eighth , after about 10 years from the date of bankruptcy - and the company stood on her feet again .
During the Second World War, the company returned to the back and suffered from the recession and the economic situation is tense , and people were not paying 5 cents versus drink moisturizer that doubled the size of the relief Pepsi versus the same price that a competitor companies other refreshments .
Pepsi returned to quit again after World War II with new ideas and new logos and ads , including the famous song publicity Nickel, Nickel -.
Pepsi is the world of the best companies in the world ranking and 21 in the first five hundred companies in the United States .
Restaurants and Pepsi owns Pizza Hut , Kentucky Fried Chicken , Taco Restaurants and smooth and even .
And worked for PepsiCo Global about half a million people in its factories and restaurants owned .
A simple idea and a desire modest discovered drink black reached every corner of the globe , and walked around the black water quantities can be filled rivers.

Soap making his way in the house

The first way ..Amounts HaCans of olive oil .. approximately 16 kgCaustic soda and has several names .. Kaocetk soda or Qtrona or entirely possible and brought from store construction materials .Water - 8 litersWay ..First, you should exercise extreme caution when it is prepared and wear plastic gloves and use toolsPlastic or wood to boil and stir .. must use a pot made ​​of iron rather than aluminumOr Stainless Steel .. Materials because they interact with the soda produces fumes and thick smoke very severe Vigilance Please ..How to prepare ...In a bowl put a plastic soda and water and put Nkhalthm stir well by a long plank .As a result of interaction with soda water mixture becomes very hot ..Continue stirring until melted soda well .. Leave it to cool down a bitThen put oil with constant stirring until well mixed .Then leave for almost ten hours until the fermentation . The best thing at night , processing and leftFor the second day .After that we put in the barrel iron on the backburner and Nhrkha well consistently for an hour and a half or two hours.Then poured into wooden drawers and leave to dry put in place under well-ventilated and relatively cool .After a day or two and go We turn them over to dry completely .And thus be ready for use .. Bath and , God willing, our God

The second method ...Ingredients ..3 kg of olive oil450 g caustic soda (soda Kaocetk )And a half -liter of waterWayMelt the soda in the water well and continue stirring until the temperature is moderate ( tepid )Then put oil with constant stirring and Nhrkha becomes sticky Kalshambo .Then put them in plastic containers or cardboard shoes sight of God after packaging from abroad BallasqPlastic adhesive broad .. .. So do not open when we put the mix.Clear idea .. Means we get a carton ( shoebox ) Nglvha from abroad Baltchiq to become stronger and so as not to spoil the liquid soap .Keep the mixture of soap , of course , we need more than two cartons possible or three depending on the size carton .And put it in a well ventilated place away from sunlight and needs two to three days to dry .After dry soap go every day to its present Nqlbh all to dry completely .It is used ..This second method of course you should pay attention .. the use of plastic containers and wooden stick to move ..Bacon to do them in color on the Green Xue result olive oil and Ptwhit day all day .. I mean when it is fully droughtThe formation of a very beautiful white whiteness . And the formation of a liquid almost to do them and Ptbdo dry slowly .I mean, if Bchowoha liquid do not be afraid be kept dry and you have the finest soap ..

Soap Lavender ..After processing the previous mixture of soap before and poured in a cartonAdd lavender flowers as possible , as well as powdered lavender oil aromatherapy .And pour out to dry and so we have a soap and perfume of lavender flowers .

Soap honey ..Possible Add honey to the mixture and then pour the mixture to dry .

Chamomile SoapChamomile Flowers and prepare well and then Nfrckha Nnkhalha until we have a flower without any dirt or polesThen Nkhaltha soap after processing.

Soap bran .Add bran are clean before pour soap .

Soap smell of jasmineShould be added to the aromatic jasmine oil mixture .

Science and Technology

Science and Technology

Cute neighborhood bakery alert: Crema

Austin, like most big cities, I suppose, has the highest concentration of really cute, trendy restaurants and bakeries downtown, where all the folks who can afford six hundred grand for an adorable 1900 square foot bungalow live.  Those bastard bungalow-livers. (I'm just jealous.)

So those of us who live a little farther out on the outskirts of town are stuck driving deep into Austin for a cute cupcake or some good ambiance, and of course we all (or maybe just me) get inordinately excited when an actual locally-owned restaurant or bakery opens up in our 'hood (vs. chain establishments). I drove past this cute little cafe, Crema, the other day, and in the interest of supporting a business that has the guts to open up and be cute outside of Central Austin, I decided to try it out.  As you can tell from the photos above, it's a really great little spot and the food is yummy, too! Awesome cakes, cake balls, and cupcakes, and surprisingly good breakfast tacos. It would be a good place to bring your laptop and do some studying or working, or a nice spot to meet a friend for coffee or brunch. Just putting the word out to those of you who may live in Southwest Austin or plan on visiting.

Happy Thursday!
(view other around-Austin posts here)

follow: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin | Pinterest | Photography

Something I've been working on

These days my thoughts have been utterly consumed by the possibilities of this gorgeous new studio space I'm currently sharing with another photographer. I've always felt like boudoir photography was where my business would eventually wind up, and this new space is turning dreams into reality. I am absolutely addicted to the loveliness that is boudoir - every part of it is fulfilling and fun for me. Boudoir photography isn't for every photographer, but ever since my very first session I've know that it's for me. 

I hesitate to say too much off the get-go, because so many things are still in the planning stages - like new branding, a separate website for boudoir, and of course marketing to a whole new set of people. But I am excited. So, so excited. It's nice to feel like where you're meant to be. I'll keep you posted as things progress! 

Here's a little peek at what's to come, as well as a special I'm currently running. If you're in Austin, I would love to have you in the studio! 

follow: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin | Pinterest | Photography

8 PM on Thursdays

Oh man, you guys... I am writing this on Thursday evening, just after a phone call with my sweet Grandpa. Over the holidays he was in town with us from his home in Oregon, and I had the opportunity to listen and write down his answers to about the first half of the questions in this book. I had given the books to him and my Grandma each for Christmas last year, only she passed away suddenly in March, as many of you know, and I will never get to hear or read those priceless answers. But on Christmas Eve this year we took out his Grandpa book, and I started to ask and listen and write, and where before he had been incredibly, tangibly "low" as he faced his first Christmas in sixty-some years without the love of his life, we watched and noticed as his spirits were visibly lifted during and after answering the questions. He was telling his story. He was revisiting memories he'd had no cause to revisit in maybe years or decades. He was being listened to, and cared about.

During the time my Grandpa was there staying at my mom's, Matthew and I moved out and into our new home, and a few days later we had them over for dinner at the new place.

"Are you going to interrogate me again tonight?" My Grandpa asked hopefully, and I laughed. "Absolutely!" Again, it was so sweet to see how much he seemed to be enjoying this.

But we didn't get to finish the book, so I offered to call him every Thursday evening at 8 PM my time and 6 PM his, and we'd go over a few of the questions each chat. His home phone in Oregon must have rang at about 5:59, and he picked up after barely two rings... most likely waiting by the phone.

"Hello?" He said.

"Hi Grandpa!"

"Jen?"

"Yep, it's me! Ready for your interrogation?"

And you guys, I cannot even tell you how much it touched me tonight, to chat for 22 minutes with a man who should have died in the Korean War, but didn't... a man without whom I wouldn't exist. I can't tell you how much it touched me to hear him re-tell the story of how he met my Grandma. How he first laid eyes on her in the hallway of their Passaic Valley, New Jersey high school, after he got back from the war. She was with at least three other girls, he said, but he locked eyes on her. "If it's possible to fall in love at first sight," he told me, his voice breaking as it often does, "I fell in love. She was it, my whole life."

There's probably about a month's worth of Thursday phone calls left, but I don't know, I might just make up my own questions so it lasts longer. It is such an honor and a privilege to take that time. I know it's helping him through an incredibly difficult time, and somehow, it's helping me too. We so often live in such a world of ME ME ME, so focused on our own issues and endeavors and hurts and pains and joys, that we forget to reach out and be there for the people who were put in our lives to be there for. Don't ignore your grandparents - make time for them, get to know them, love on them. I wish I had done that more for my Grandma, but I'm content to know she knew that I adored her, and it really feels like the right thing to do, to help care for my Grandpa's heart in her absence.

Happy Friday, my friends, and thank you as always for listening to my thoughts... :)

follow: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin | Pinterest | Photography

Don't hate me, but I hate weddings

Well, the cat's out of the bag. I hate weddings. PHEW. There, I said it! This little nugget of personal truth has been festering in me for some time now - really, ever since my own wedding, I suppose. But there it is. I don't like 'em. I'm not a fan. Sure, they can be totally gorgeous and fun for guests (I do enjoy attending them occasionally! Free food and booze! Celebration of love!), and I love looking at beautiful wedding photography, but there's always this little nagging voice in my mind that's like, seriously? 

Let me back up.

I was never one of those girls who dreamed about her princess-perfect wedding from the age of Barbies onward. I think the first time I thought about my wedding was, literally, after Matthew proposed to me. Then I was like, "oh shit! We'll need a wedding!" 

And from there on out, it was just a totally stressful affair, because A) I am not an event planner, B) hiring one wasn't in our budget, C) no really, I truly SUCK at planning events, and organizing little details goes directly against the grain of my personality, D) I was in the last semester of my senior year of college, working almost full time, and working an internship part time, E) my groom was living in California, and F) I DON'T EVEN LIKE WEDDINGS. 

So then all of this weird stuff started happening, like resentment because we couldn't afford the most gorgeous flowers and the most fantastic wedding favors and the most stunning venue. 

And frustration because everyone had an opinion, and it seemed like mine and Matthew's should be the only ones that mattered. 

And annoyance over arbitrary traditions and rules that everyone seems to follow like sheep, never asking "Why? Does this apply in modern day weddings? Does this work for our situation?" 

And money down the drain for things that poof! and disappeared the moment the wedding was over and everyone rushed home to watch the Super Bowl (because yes, our wedding was on Super Bowl Sunday afternoon - a direct consequence of having ME plan ANY event, ever).

Now, it may just sound like I'm bitter over my own personal issues with weddings. And in many ways, my own experience certainly does play a role. But I recently read this article, and it perfectly voiced how I feel and what I could never say as eloquently. 

"Imagine for a moment if weddings were prohibited, or better yet, if you could only have one after 10 years of marriage. How much money would be saved? More importantly, how many ill-advised unions would never happen in the first place?"

"And what if, as a society, we celebrated other milestones instead? Wouldn't it be amazing if college graduations were given the wedding treatment? If the commencement ceremony included a $3,000 dress and a $70-a-plate dinner for friends and family who came in from all over the country? Photographers, flowers, dancing, a band?"

Amen to that! And no one will ever take your degree away. Whereas, statistically, your marriage license only has a 50% likelihood of staying in force for a lifetime. 

I don't think weddings are all bad. I think, for some people, it can be a super joyous planning process, and perhaps you've saved for it or your family has saved for it, and so the money isn't an issue. I guess all I'm saying is that I hope you unmarried ladies out there will really think it over before allowing  yourself and your family to bleed copious amounts of cash out into your wedding, and before you allow the planning of it to take over your life and put undue stress on your relationships, or cause others (bridesmaids, groomsmen) a financial burden they maybe can't afford (they may be in other weddings, as well, and that gets SO pricey!). Before you put the planning of a wedding before the planning of a life. HERE is another really beautiful article with REAL TALK about marriage, which I highly recommend you read. No two marriages are alike, but it's really wise to be prepared for what will inevitably happen at some point after riding off into the sunset.

What are your thoughts? Love weddings? Hate them? Sound off if you have something to contribute to the conversation!

follow: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin | Pinterest | Photography

Publishing 3.0 - A new model for independent educational publishing

My New Years resolution this year was to start work on a series of ebooks for iPads, e-readers and other digital devices. This has been my ambition since I published my first book Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers back in 2009, but I’ve never felt that the time, the technology or the market was at the right place.

Significant changes over the last couple of years though have led me to believe that now is the time to look at a new model of ELT publishing, at least for the realm of teacher development books.

The changes I mention above include

• A proliferation of increasingly low cost e-reading devices and tablets.
• The development of powerful free software and applications such as iBooks Author for the development of media rich ebooks.
• The combination of these applications with secure and reliable marketing platforms, such as Lulu and iBookStore.
• The development of crowd-funding platforms such as KickStarter and Indigogo.

I believe that the combination of these developments is now enabling individual teachers to write develop and launch their own products to the market on a commercially competitive basis with established publishers.

So why is this a good thing?
Well anyone who has ever approached a publisher with an idea for a book will know how difficult it can be to get it accepted. The established publishers are, by necessity, cautious about taking on new, innovative or risky projects. Producing and distributing paper-based books is a hugely expensive endeavor and in the case of teacher development books, the returns are likely to be small for both the publisher and the writer.

The changes I mention above, however, have the potential to liberate writers from the established publishing process and give them the freedom to develop their own projects and products independently.

• The proliferation of low cost mobile devices such as e-readers, tablets and iPads provides a really useful and accessible medium on which to publish teacher development materials. Instead of having your books at home on the bookshelf you can now carry them around with you on your device so they are on hand at the moment of need.
• These devices and the applications used to develop content for them are capable of providing a media rich experience with colour interactive images, audio, video and a range of interactive learning apps, none of which is possible in a traditional paper-based book.
• The combination of these applications with established secure marketing platforms means that writers with the commitment to see their projects through to completion can easily market them internationally and actually get a reasonable financial return on the work they put in.
• Crowd-funding platforms like KickStarter and Indigogo enable writers to raise the funds they need to develop good quality professional products that the market wants.

I’ve put the crowd-funding platform at the end of my list, but really it should be at the beginning, because crowd-funding doesn’t just supply the money to launch the product, it also acts as a market research tool to see if there really is a market for the product. If the people for whom the product is intended aren’t willing to invest in it to get it created, then it’s likely that there isn’t really a viable market for this product.

So this brings me back to where I started with my New Years resolution. I have launched my own crowd-funding project to try to create the first in a series of ebooks in a series that I intend to call The Digital Classroom. The first of these will focus on the use of online video as a tool for learning.

You can find out more about this project by following this link Digital Classrooms - Online Video or watching the video below.



If you think this is a product you would be interested in having them please do support it buy either buying and advance copy of the book or by sharing the link with others you think may be interested.

You can also get an idea of the kind of content the book will cover and even contribute your ideas for what the book should contain, using the crowd-sourcing questionnaire below. Just add your ideas and vote for the things you would most like included in the book. That way you can ensure that I produce the book that you need to help support and develop your teaching.


powered by tricider

You can also follow the project on Facebook by going to The Digital Classroom and clicking on 'Like'.

I hope you find the project interesting and that this post gets you started thinking about how you can produce your own book too.

Best
Nik Peachey

A peek at our new place

Words cannot even describe how happy we are to be in our new place... we're still surrounded by mess for the most part, and it will take weeks or months more before we're truly settled in, but to have this space of our own back, and to finally enjoy the fruits of nine long months of waiting... pure awesomeness. :)

I'm going to whine for one more minute about the process, and then you'll never hear a peep about it from me again. But for posterity's sake, I feel the need to mention one more time how frustrating it was to get here.

This is not a custom home. It's a small (by Texas standards), 2200 square foot track home, albeit a very beautiful quality one, which is why we chose the builder we chose. However, in the interest of sales, we were essentially deceived into believing our home would take four to five months to build, when this was contrary to everything our builder most definitely knew about the upcoming process. We said to ourselves it would probably take about six months, since these things never go as planned, and we signed on the dotted lines. From there on out, absolutely NOTHING went as planned. We signed the first week of April, and framing didn't even go up 'til mid July. Our "worst case scenario" October move-in date rolled around, and the home had barely just been drywalled. Then we were told we'd be in by November. Then we were told we'd be in by Thanksgiving. Then we were told we'd be in by December 16th or sooner. But in reality, we closed the day after Christmas, just after construction manager number four had taken over.

The truth of the matter is that we would have never in a million years chosen to build if we'd known it would take nine months, and if we'd known we would impose on my mom's hospitality for four months longer than we estimated, but it is what it is, and we're here now, and we have a really lovely home to show for it. So that's that.

Here's a little glimpse of the mess we're so, so glad and grateful to finally call home...

follow: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin | Pinterest | Photography