Fantastic Hobart

Marg and I had a great time in Hobart on the weekend. We flew down there on Friday afternoon and returned to Melbourne on Sunday evening. In between we had two days of sensational weather and were able to spend some time with our goddaughter Claire, her mother Marg and Marg’s partner Brian. Good food, good wine, good company and great surroundings – the perfect weekend.

On Saturday morning Marg and I spent a couple of hours exploring the stalls at Salamanca Market. We never buy much there but we always enjoy it. Claire found a good spot for breakfast and I had something called Eggs Salmon Rushdie – unfortunately for this particular salmon, the death sentence had been carried out and I thoroughly enjoyed every mouthful. Nothing beats Tasmanian salmon. A highlight of the market visit is always stopping for a while to listen to the great Chilean band Arauco Libre – those guys can play!

On Saturday night we ate one of Brian’s specialties, a north African lamb dish, and washed it down with a couple of bottles of Wellington sauvignon blanc – excellent!

Sunday was Father’s Day. I had text messages from both Tess and Casey, which was great. We drove down to Franklin on the Huon River and had lunch in the old courthouse – more excellent Tasmanian food and wine. Franklin was terrific – wouldn’t it be nice to live there and watch the river flow past every day. Swans, ducks – very peaceful. I loved the footy ground, right on the river’s edge. If the ball went out on the full you’d need a boat and a pair of oars to get it back!

On the way to the airport we called in at St Mary’s where Claire teaches. Her classroom looked really good. I’ll bet those girls enjoy being in Claire’s class. At the airport I caught about a quarter of the Pies giving the Kangas a football lesson – that was a good way to finish our short visit. I listened to the after match summary on the ABC during the flight home.
It was over all too quickly, but a thoroughly enjoyable couple of days. Can’t wait to get back to Hobart again in the near future.

Bob Johnstone’s new book

By a stroke of good fortune I met Bob Johnstone a couple of years ago. Bob had written a wonderful book titled Never Mind the Laptops which told the story of the introduction of computers into schools, with particular reference to the implementation of a laptop program at Methodist Ladies’ College (MLC) in Melbourne.

I’d read about the book in The Age and sent Bob an email at the time. I didn’t know him – I’d just seen his contact details tacked onto the tail end of the article. Bob, who lives in Melbourne, wrote back immediately to tell me that the book was only available from the States, despite the fact that Melbourne featured prominently. I ordered it from Amazon. It soon arrived and I had a wonderful time dipping into it and reading about some of the people I knew who had featured in its pages. These included Gary Stager, an amazing guy I was fortunate enough to meet back in 1990 at a conference and who continues to inspire me and make me think about what I’m doing with computers in schools, and also David Dimsey, who I was fortunate enough to work with for several years and who also remains an inspiration to me.

A year or two later, out of the blue, I was contacted by Bob Johnstone. He had been referred to speak to me by Josie Hopkins. Josie is another friend and inspirational educator who has taught me much about how kids learn with technology. Now I’m very fortunate to be working at the same school as Josie. Anyway, back to Bob Johnstone. I arranged to meet him at school at the beginning of the holidays and talk to him about some of the stuff we’d been doing with computers in the upper primary classes. We had a great chat and, hopefully, a profitable one for Bob. He told me that he was working on a new book that would be full of great ideas for teachers with computers in their classrooms.

I showed Bob a few things we’d been doing and offered to burn him a CD containing some work samples. He said Yes, that would be good, so I ejected the music CD from my notebook computer to put a blank disc in. Bob took one look at the music CD and made a comment about the band I’d been listening to. This, of course, got me talking about my love of music. Bob joined in enthusiastically and soon we discovered a mutual love of the same artists. Just when I thought the interview was over, we got talking all over again, especially when we realised that we were both Richard Thompson fans who had attended the same Melbourne show a few years earlier.

So from that chance encounter, we became good mates who have kept in touch. We discuss two topics – music and educating kids with technology. It’s been a very enjoyable relationship and I hope it continues for a long time. Recently Bob was good enough to take me along to see Los Lobos at the Forum. We stood just a couple of metres from the stage all night – brilliant, inspirational stuff. Here’s a pic, taken on my mobile phone, of David Hidalgo.

Today I received an email from Bob. His new book I Have Computers in My Classroom – Now What? has just been published by Heinemann. I can’t wait to see it. I know I’ll be quoted a few times. Better still, having read and thoroughly enjoyed Never Mind the Laptops, I know Bob is a great writer with a deep understanding of how technology can enhance teaching and learning. I’ve heard him speak with passion about the great teachers he has interviewed and the wonderful things that are happening in their classrooms. There is no doubt this book will be well received in schools. Bob has literally ‘picked the brains’ of a number of leading classroom practitioners and distilled their collective wisdom in a neat little volume. I have read an early draft and I thought it was great. The introduction is written by Gary Stager, who has played such a pivotal role in developing laptop learning in schools all around the world.

To view details of Bob Johnstone’s book, click here.

Bruce Cockburn and me

For the past 30 years I have been a huge fan of Canadian singer songwriter Bruce Cockburn.  In the mid-70s Cockburn’s album In the Falling Dark was reviewed in Rolling Stone.  I was so taken with the review that I went out and bought the album, having never heard him play or sing a note before.  I was not disappointed.  I absolutely loved that album and still do, having played it hundreds of times over the years.

When Cockburn came to Australia to play at the Port Fairy Folk Festival in March 2004, I was lucky enough to see both performances.  I went backstage with my mate Dave and we shook his hand and chatted briefly.  Cockburn even signed my CD copy of In the Falling Dark, which I thought was pretty special.

It’s hard to say why I like his music so much.  I think I just admire his ability to use words so well – he paints pictures with them at times and at other times he is very forthright.  The verses just seem to stay in my head and I really like listening to the same lines every time I hear my favourite songs.  There are many, including World of Wonders, If I Had a Rocket Launcher, Tokyo and Gavin’s Woodpile.  I also thoroughly enjoy Cockburn’s guitar – he is a class instrumentalist.

I know he is revered in Canada and I’m quite amazed that he isn’t better known in Australia.  Those who know his work generally share my admiration for his artistry and his amazing body of work.  Cockburn, of course, has a social conscience and isn’t afraid to speak his mind.  He is definitely an artist for our times.  Long may he continue to write and play great songs.

His official website is here.

The Cockburn Project website is here.

The Autograph Hunter

A short story I wrote about my boyhood memories of chasing autographs at Collingwood games has just been published in a new book, ‘The Barrackers Are Shouting‘. The book is edited by Michael Roberts, the club historian.

I’m pretty happy to be included in a collection that also includes contributions from Eddie McGuire, Nathan Buckley, Joffa and others.

The book is available from Collingwood Football Club and good bookstores. Details are here.

Hi there!

Welcome to my blog. I plan to use this as my personal space to write about the things that interest me. In brief that means music, sport, travel, movies and quirky things I come across.

I work in education in a curriculum support role. You can visit my education professional development blog at pdspot.com.

The posts here will be occasional, rather than regular. Sometimes the inspiration just flows, sometimes it doesn’t …