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I’m giving a session at WordCamp Portland today on “Tying Your Tubes with WordPress“, all about integrating all the difference places you probably write, read, and discuss things on the web into your WordPress blog. This post is the reference for the session, with the slides (such as they are - most of it is going to be discussion) and links to the plugins I talk about.
Here are the few slides I put together, on Google Docs. I’m working on them as we speak, but by the time the session starts, they should be more or less final:
And here are links to the plugins/tools that I’m going to talk about:
- Alex King’s Twitter Tools - to put daily tweet digests on your blog as posts (great for archiving them, since Twitter cut off access to tweets older than a few pages).
- K2 Theme - besides the TON of other great things it can do, it’s great for putting tweets, etc. in a sidebar using “Asides”. The K2 Support Forum is a GREAT resource if you have questions or need help.
- How to exclude a category (say, your tweet digest) from your site’s RSS feed. Either have people subscribe to the funky URL you get from this, or if you use FeedBurner, just tell it that the funky URL is your source feed.
- FriendFeed Comments - show comments and likes that your post gets on FriendFeed right on the post itself.
- FriendFeed Feed Widget - for showing your last 10 or so items that end up on FriendFeed right on your blog. There are some other cool badges on that page. Similar to Twitter badges, which I don’t use (I use Twitter Tools’ daily digests instead).
- soup.io, for publishing blended feeds. I use this for my lifestream and my linkblog.
I’ll add any other info that comes up during the session, and if you have any questions, post them in the comments! Woo hoo WordCamp Portland! 
Posted in:
blog
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conferences
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friendfeed
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internet
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portland
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teaching
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tubes
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twitter
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web
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wordcamp
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wordpress
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Oh. My. God. I was so nervous this morning, it's unbelievable!
This morning I headed over to the
Cals College in IJsselstein, to teach a class for the first time ever-ever. Before that, I had an appointment with the school's student care coordinator, to discuss another school assignment. Fifteen minutes before my class, I was in pretty bad shape though. Crampy stomach, cold and clammy: also known as "nervous".
The same went for the first two minutes of my teaching: I had a shaky voice and kept losing track of my story. After that though, things were fine :)
The students in my classroom were nothing short of awesome. Just like my classmate had predicted, they were very kind ^_^ They were very attentive and they were fast on the uptake. They all managed to finish the whole stencil of assignments, with only a few making minor mistakes. I couldn't have wished for a better class.
<dutch>
Klas 1DLW, heel erg bedankt voor vandaag! Ik ben heel erg blij met hoe het is gegaan en had geen betere klas kunnen vragen voor mijn eerste les. Heel veel succes nog met school en misschien tot ziens :)
</dutch>
One point of important feedback that Gineke gave me: at this level of education, the questions I ask to verify the students' learning process are too open. Instead of asking if everyone gets it, I should ask more closed questions to see if people give the correct answers. Were this VWO instead of VMO (uni-prep as opposed to vocational school), -then- I could've asked open questions.
Of course, there was more feedback, but I'll put that in my report for school. This will be published in the
School section in a few days.
Here's a snippet from the videotape I made for my portfolio.
NegGetal.mov
Posted in:
class
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first time
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math
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teaching
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virgin
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Well, it's finally going to happen! I've been putting this off for a long while, but Marli kicked me hard enough to get over it.
I'm going to teach a class.
The very thought still makes my stomach do somersaults, it's silly really. This is exactly what I'm studying for, so I ought to be longing for this moment! Of course, I realize that stage freight is something completely natural, but to be putting it off for months on end is just stupid. But now it's going to happen! In part because Marli got me out of my rut and in part because I'll fail my VAKDID2 class if I don't D:
My classmate Gineke is giving me a huge break, but letting me teach this class to one of her first year's groups. She tells me their absolute sweethearts, so I really have nothing to worry about.
In a week's time (OMG!DEADLINE!) I'll be introducing a group of first year's students to the concept of negative numbers. On the one hand this deadline's great, since it's putting some real pressure on me. On the other it's a bit scary, because I really have to push myself hard to make it.
I'm going to teach a class.
My very first time, in front of a room filled with youngsters that -aren't- there to listen to me talk about anime or Japan. My very first time, trying to educate the young. My very first time, making my career switch more real than it ever was! This is why I've been working my ass off the past few months. I need to remember to enjoy the experience and not just try to be perfect.
I'm going to teach a class.
Oh my!..
Posted in:
college
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finally
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high school
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math
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teaching
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This year's second semester will start in about a week. In preparation for my new courses I've been ordering books left and right. Luckily I already own the most expensive book on the list, so I won't have to get that one.
On the pile on the left you see:
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Identity development and student counseling
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Maths for students between 12 and 16
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Teaching effectively: learning maths
* A pamphlet entitled
Don't touch me!
The last two items weren't on the official book list, but I decided to get them anyway.
Learning maths because it will make a nice addition to my current library.
Don't touch me! because I am very curious how one would handle a situation where kids are harassed by others.
This leaves two syllabi that I should buy at school. After that I'm all set.
Posted in:
books
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college
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new books
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study
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teaching
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Last night was the school year's official opening at Hogeschool Utrecht. Around 17:00 all aspiring
tweedegraads teachers gathered in the cafeteria for a speech from the rector. It was interesting to see that the group was both large and varied. I reckon there were about a hundred people there, maybe one-twenty. Aged between twenty and somewhere in their fifties I saw a lot of caucasians, mixed in with a few turks and moroccans.
One startling realization was the fact that almost 50% of the group were there for the same degree I was after:
tweedegraads maths teacher. I guess either it's a popular passtime, or people have caught on to the fact that maths teachers are sought after. All in all there's sixty people starting the maths course this year. Wow!
After the whole introduction and a tour of the school building (which we'll be leaving come January, to move to a new one) there were drinks. I finally got the chance to meet some of my fellow students. It's slightly daunting to know that a whole bunch of them are already in education, but I'm not going to let that get in my way :)
So far they seem like a nice bunch of people! There's the strong-and-silent guys, the rowdy drinking-after-playing-footbal guys, the silent-and-mousy women and so on. There was also this one woman (I think she's in her forties though I'm horrible at guessing ages) who's great! She's absolutely bubbling with enthusiasm for the course! Kind of like how I felt after my intake with the coordinator :)
Yes. This is going to be an interesting year!
Posted in:
career change
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college
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docent
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math
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teaching