Castaway in Oz (1)

Here is my copy of The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand, having an 'Aussie adventure' in my backyard.

I have snapped some pics of a wattle tree that has sprung up just inside my fence. The Golden Wattle is the Australian floral emblem, and features on our coat of arms. For more info, click here to head to the Botanical Gardens website.

There are many different species of wattle and I'm not sure which one my tree is. I didn't plant it. We often have birds on our fence, I can only guess that one of them helpfully pooped some wattle seeds! To help me decide what wattle species I have, head to http://asgap.org.au/acacia4.html and compare their pictures to mine!

Oh Happy Day!

What a lucky girl I am! Today both of my book wins arrived in the mail.

The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand is courtesy of Beth at Beth Fish Reads. Since the theme of the giveaway was being 'cast away' on an island, and the book itself has now travelled across the sea to Australia, I am going to have a series of posts in which the book is photographed in iconic Australian circumstances. Keep your eyes peeled!

Club Dead by Charlaine Harris is courtesy of Velvet at vvb32 reads. She had an Elvis theme for her giveaway, and I have not yet come up with anything fun and Elvissy to do. Let me know if you have an idea!

Just a quick post!

I am loving the new Mika single We are Golden that I'm hearing on the radio!

Head over to Bellas Novella to find out how to create your own (pretend!) debut novel cover like the one above. I don't have time to fiddle around with one (though I'd love to) so if you have a go, make sure you link to it in my comments so I can have a look!

The other pic (super librarian comic) I put in by accident, and now I can't delete it without removing the whole post.

Enjoy!

My Kitchen...The Ongoing Saga

Just in case you think that the only thing going on at my place lately is uni work...

Yesterday afternoon, a familiar sound rang out from my kitchen, one that I had not heard for some time. The sound of hammering and sawing and swearing. Yes, that's right, my husband was back into 'renovation mode'. (No one knows what sets him off!)

Our kitchen was in limbo, half-finished for some time. The dishwasher and new sink had been put in, necessitating the bench top to be cut and moved. Consequently, the gaps in my benchtop were being covered by strategically placed chopping boards.

Yesterday was the day that hubby decided to replace the not-long-enough original benchtop with someone's discarded benchtop that he found in a dumpster. Yes, that's my hubby - one man's trash...

Unfortunately, the scavenged benchtop was not the right length (too long), and it didn't have a hole for the sink cut into it. From the pictures above, you can see that he was successful in installing the 'new' benchtop, apart from the tiles...See if you can spot the trouble!

Resourcing the Teaching Context

A teacher librarian can provide information to teachers to meet many different needs:

• To add to their subject knowledge.
• To add to their repertoire of teaching methods.
• To identify teaching resources which can be adapted for their specific needs.
• To find information sources which students can use to help them learn.

Teachers with different approaches, or styles, will often require different information resources.

抢摊大行动 2 Episode 7 - Chicken Rice @ Bedok Reservoir Road

Went for 抢摊试吃 with my uni friends... not bad, just that the chicken not tender enough. The rice was so good that we 加饭！！！This time, 抢摊 found chatterbox chef, to pass his secret recipe to the stall owner.

Overall...3.5 stars out of 5!!!


From left: Clement, Chunhern, myself, Geri, Geri's friend, Chong Qing, Dennis.

I can't remember the exact address...its at Bedok Reservoir Road. Check it out at 抢摊's website on the right soon!


Calling for all food lovers!!!!

抢摊试吃 sessions:

1. 7 August, 9.30am

Nasi Lemak @ Sengkang West, Blk 439

2. 7 August, 2.30pm

Curry Chicken & Veggi @ Jurong West ave 1, Blk 505

Do drop me an email @ kevinskh@hotmail.com if you are interested to part of the 试吃 team!!

Bloom's Taxonomy in Action.

Topic 1 in ETL501 considers the learning and teaching context of information resource provision. That's a bit of a mouthful, but basically it is concerned with the fact that if you're a librarian in a school, you have to consider the information needs of your clientele (students and teachers) in terms of the teaching and learning that is going on.

The way that students learn may differ, as may the teaching approaches of different teachers.

Module 1 of our online study material considers learning in terms of Bloom's Taxonomy. (You can see a graphic representation of it at the top of this post.) We were asked to consider the different sorts of resources students would require when tackling questions at each level of the taxonomy. For example, when asked for a simple definition of a term (Knowledge), a dictionary may be sufficient, but when asked to make an assessment on a complex issue (Evaluate), they will need multiple sources of information including encyclopaedia/reference, primary sources, diagrams/graphics, news/magazine articles, journal articles, TV/DVD programs, websites, relevant government agencies or special interest groups, pamphlets/fact sheets and statistics (such as scientific data).

My fellow students have had a lot of interesting things to say on our forum. Three points interest me particularly:

1. Linda Blake points out that often literature can provide a new perspective on various issues, and can make them more accessible for some students.
2. Judy Bolton points out that using different resources provides opportunities for students to learn different skills. For instance, when using texts, encyclopaedias and reference books, attention can be paid to using the glossary, index and table of contents. When using human primary sources the skills of interviewing, notetaking and summarising may be brought to the fore.
3. Judy also mentions that when students are working at the stages of Analyse and Evaluate, databases such as Opposing Viewpoints, Newstext and Aust/NZ Ref. Centre will be useful.

If you would like to know a little more about using Bloom's Taxonomy when teaching, head to http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/researchskills/dalton.htm to get some ideas.