Chris Betcher

With nearly two week down in the 365 Day Photography project I'm starting to get my head around some of the more useful tools for photography on the iPhone.  There are lots of interesting photography apps to choose from in  Apple's App Store, and I've had a good play with many of them - something I probably wouldn't have done if I didn't have a project to focus on.  That's one of the reasons I like doing "projects", and one the reasons that Project Based Learning works so incredibly well. When you have something to focus on, even something as innocuous as simply taking a photo each day, it opens up a whole range of new learning experiences. This blogpost outlines some of the more useful and interesting iPhone photography apps I've been using (or plan to use). Firstly, I should acknowledge that the camera in the iPhone 4 is pretty damn impressive to start with. It has its limtations, sure, but it really can take some pretty extraordinary photos if...

This is my application video for the Sydney Google Teacher Academy.  Google have run a number of these events for teachers in the USA, but this is the first one to be held in Australia (and I thought I read somewhere it was also the first to be run outside the US, but I could be wrong about that). Regardless, I have wanted to attend a GTA for a long time now, and even contemplated going to the States to attend one.  As you can imagine, I was pretty excited to hear that it was coming to Sydney. Part of the requirement for the application is to make an original one minute video based on either of the following topics: " Motivation and Learning " OR " Classroom Innovation ".  They said to try and be creative. The video is designed to demonstrate your technical ability, your resourcefulness, your commitment, and your unique personality and interests.  My first thought was "What? All in the same minute?"  Seriously, minute-long videos are hard to make! No doubt...

If you're in Australia I'm sure you're aware that there are large parts of the country in serious flood at the moment. If you're overseas you may have heard about it but not been aware of the degree of devastation.  It's shocking and quite unbelievable. The flooding is enormously extensive (covering an area larger in size than France and Germany combined!) and has decimated many rural towns, crops, property and lives. Many people in the flood affected areas have lost everything. It makes me so sad to see it. I got sent an email today with this mobile phone footage shot from a building yesterday as the floodwaters raced through the town of Toowoomba, just outside Brisbane.  The devastation and destruction is mind boggling (although I think a few of those cars could have been saved if the guy filming was a little more concerned with notifying people of the obviously impending disaster rather than just capturing it all on video!) It is interesting to see just how much...

I was pottering about in the garden tonight and thought about a little story that I wanted to share. If you teach long enough you eventually collect a whole lot of really lovely stories about the kids you teach. Every teacher can probably tell you about those lovely moments where a student has said or done something that makes everything worthwhile. A little note at the end of the year, a quiet word about how you've made a difference to them, or just doing something that reminds you of why you became a teacher. Quite a few years ago I worked in a catholic boys school in Sydney where I was the head of IT.  I happened to have my own office (in the same room as the servers of course) but I tried to make it a bit homely by bringing in a few plants to brighten it up.  Not being the greenest of thumbs, I killed most of them.  I'd replace them, but then kill the replacements as well.  As a gardener, I really don't have the knack of it. Like many teachers, I had a group of k...

I've always aspired to be an Apple Distinguished Educator , but I've never actually done anything about applying for it. As far as my own personal computer use goes, anyone who knows me knows that I am most definitely a Mac guy, but I assumed that I wouldn't be able to apply to be an ADE because most of the schools I've worked in have been primarily Windows schools.  As they say, one should never assume. While it's true that many - probably most - ADEs work exclusively in Apple schools, apparently it's not always the case.  While chatting with someone from Apple a while ago I mentioned this, and they replied that the ADE program is aimed at recognising teachers, and does not necessarily focus on the type of computers used in the school that teacher works at. To become an ADE you obviously need to be active in certain ways that help spread the message about technology and it's value for education.  You need to be passionate about the ways that digital technol...

I like photography. In fact I like imagery in general, which is, I suppose, why I enjoyed art school so much. The combination of not only interesting images, but also interesting ideas, made the four years I spent at art school some of the best years of my life. However, it was only after I taught art for a few years that I discovered that, while I liked art, I didn't necessarily like teaching art. I've since spoken to many people who proclaim that the quickest way to kill your passion for something is to do it for a living. I'm not sure that's the case... what I do now, working with kids and technology and the future, is what I love doing. But I understand what they are saying... for many people, their passions need to be unshackled from the daily "must do" so that they can be enjoyed as a "want to" instead. So, working with imagery and design and graphics and photography remains something I enjoy simply for the sake of it. I like to take photos, o...