Wow, what a week. Looking back on things it just seems kind of crazy thinking about all the things I did and just how fast time went by. The first thing we had go on was the workshop I mentioned in a previous post. This went really good. I was very pleased with the group and things went extremely well for my first go at MC. I did several presentations on instructional applications of the web and other technologically based tools to the secondary classroom. It seemed like people really liked the examples and all they wanted to do was play around with them. The thing that stands out for me though is that now the people are not always waiting for instructions from me before they start clicking around. They are now starting to explore on their own and develop a bit of confidence in basic web skills and software manipulations. I am very pleased with this.
Our workshop also featured a couple of impromptu presentations by members of the NIE staff regarding their previous efforts to design CAL materials. These went well because they were great points of interest and debate. One didn’t go so well because the head of the NIE decided to stand up and make an example out of one of the guys saying she didn’t want this and that to be part of future developments. Thankfully it was lunchtime and I redirected the comments giving him credit for his work and saying that they would all have to work as a team to develop high quality CAL materials.
The rest of the workshop was a little rushed but everything went well. It was great because as a big group people were actually asking us questions and staying a bit late after our time was up. This is momentous because the culture here gets the heck out when it is time for tea. They stayed a good 10 minutes after tea was served before they headed out for their treats. Good stuff. We have another workshop tomorrow and I am not playing a particularly big role in this one so it should be easy going.
The other cool thing that happened this week was one of the English Profs came by our office and I was able to sit with her for quite a while and help her with PPT skills and develop a presentation for something she’s gonna do out in Athens. She also wants me to talk to a consortium of English teachers from across the country in the next couple of weeks. Very nice indeed.
Other than that, it was a cool week. I spent the weekend at the Galadari hotel in Colombo. I was there Friday and Saturday night. It is a nice hotel but it is not quite what I am used to. Actually it is not as nice as my apartment. It was nice to go around the city and have plenty of entertainment at my fingertips though. Sad to say I spent quite a bit of my time this week hassling with my new computer. I am writing this message on it right now but it is far from being back to the way it should be. The computer works just fine but it is basically cut-off from my mobile modem. That damn thing has been much more trouble than it’s worth. Thank God for my old computer!
Anyway, I spent lots of time with my project team leader. We had a great time around town. If you all can get a Pimm’s Cup out in NM, I would highly recommend it. We had lots of good food and listened to some nice music at the hotels. He’s quite a remarkable guy. He has worked in 38 different countries!
I also went for a walk on the boardwalk next to the hotel. It was cool but there were some detracting factors. The first thing was that the beach had a fair amount of garbage on it. The waves are quite large and the beach is not very big so people do not walk on it. It was still whack to see the trash on the beach though. The other thing was the people who harassed me. Some locals make a racket out of leading tourists around town and then giving them a hardcore guilt trip to try and get some money out of them for the time spent showing them things. They are persistent little buggers and the best thing to do is just put on your blinders and totally ignore them even if they are up in your face. They are kinda like gnats. It was a nice walk though. It was very calming to walk by the ocean and listen to the waves even if there was an armed guard about every 100m or so. Good stuff.
Well that does it for now folks. I hope all of you are doing great and enjoying some of good red and green for me cuz you know the skinny green chilis here just don’t cut it!