This month's desktop wallpaper was taken from the top of Berwick Law last August. The wallpaper was then created with fd's Flickr Toys
If you like the picture then please feel free to download and use it yourself.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Preparation
This is a week of preparation. Next week we are off to Scoughall in East Lothian to lead an SU holiday again. Having recently purchased a shiny new iPad we are trying to reduce the amount of paper we use by doing as much preparation as possible on the device. We are using DropBox to access files over home wifi and 3G and Apple Pages for editing files. It is all working extremely well and we are very impressed with how easy it is to use.
I will say more about the ipad here over the next few weeks as I get used to it:
I will say more about the ipad here over the next few weeks as I get used to it:
Thursday, July 15, 2010
July 2010 Desktop Wallpaper
Better late than never. We have been away on holiday over the start of July so the monthly desktop calendar did not get uploaded. Here it is finally! The picture is of a lovely bridge in Glasgow city centre taken last July.
If you like the picture then please download and use it for your own computer.
Created with fd's Flickr Toys
If you like the picture then please download and use it for your own computer.
Created with fd's Flickr Toys
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Signs of Summer
This is one of a short series of photos I am taking this week to distract me from some difficult stuff at work. The series is called "Signs of Summer" and the idea is quite simply to try to capture some images that make me think of the summer months.
The strawberries in the back garden are a little late this year. As you can see they are still very green. There are few things that remind us more of summer and the sunshine and pleasant afternoons in the garden.
This photo was taken with my Nikon D50 and lensbaby composer with macro adapter. There are more signs of summer in my Flickr photostream.
The strawberries in the back garden are a little late this year. As you can see they are still very green. There are few things that remind us more of summer and the sunshine and pleasant afternoons in the garden.
This photo was taken with my Nikon D50 and lensbaby composer with macro adapter. There are more signs of summer in my Flickr photostream.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
My Other Blog
I have another blog. It's not a big deal but for the past few months I have been keeping a separate blog which has focussed far more on reflections on my Christian faith. It is not that I feel that I have to keep work and faith separate. Anyone who knows me knows that that is just not going to happen! It is merely that I have been looking at a way to categorise things better. If you are interested then you can find my reflective ramblings by clicking here (http://gordonsreflections.blogspot.com). If not then walk on by without comment. I will still be posting here from time to time as things crop up so don't go away.
Spending on Scottish Education
As I have been working on understanding the broad range of my current remit I have been trying to do some reading around the big issues facing us at this time. A report by the Centre for Public Policy for Regions caught my eye as it passed over my desk. The report, entitled "Spending on School Education", gives a great outline for anyone interested on how the regions of the UK compare. The report highlights the fact that spending on education in Scotland tends to be higher in Scotland than in other areas of the UK. There is, however, huge variation across local authority areas and many factors have to be included to make any form of sensible comparison.
The report also highlights the "flat lining" of attainment in Scotland whilst it has been improving in other areas. The other point here, however, is that Scottish education clearly provides very outcomes for a large number of young people.
The complexity of the arguments and issues are evident but the report makes very interesting reading nonetheless. This is particularly important as we are looking at what is really important at a time of real financial constraint. Whatever role we play in the education system, we all need to do some of this deep thinking to make sure we continue to ensure positive outcomes for our children and young people.
The report also highlights the "flat lining" of attainment in Scotland whilst it has been improving in other areas. The other point here, however, is that Scottish education clearly provides very outcomes for a large number of young people.
The complexity of the arguments and issues are evident but the report makes very interesting reading nonetheless. This is particularly important as we are looking at what is really important at a time of real financial constraint. Whatever role we play in the education system, we all need to do some of this deep thinking to make sure we continue to ensure positive outcomes for our children and young people.
June 2010 Desktop Wallpaper
Every month I select a photograph to use as my desktop wallpaper. Is use one of the online tools from fd Flickr toys to add the calendar inlay.
I took this photo of a dandelion seed head last weekend using my Nikon D50 and Lensbaby Composer with 10x macro adapter.
If you like the picture then please feel free to download it and use it.
I took this photo of a dandelion seed head last weekend using my Nikon D50 and Lensbaby Composer with 10x macro adapter.
If you like the picture then please feel free to download it and use it.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Maintaining Some Balance
I have not posted very much to this blog for the past wee while. I am going through another of those dry patches. This is not so much because I have nothing to say about curriculum for excellence, professional development, learning and teaching or a myriad of other educational issue that usually crowd out my thinking. Rather it is due to a recent change in job. I am currently doing a acting post within Renfrewshire which has taken me away from the curriculum and placed me fair and square in the middle of a very different set of issues related to budgets, buildings and bodies (my summary of the remit). As these are not areas that I am particularly able to blog about for one reason or another the posts have become somewhat sparing. The change of remit has also meant that I have been incredibly busy learning the new remit, etc.
So bear with me as I learn to balance my new responsibilities (for however long the last) with my old, find my feet and generally get a handle on what is and is not important. I will continue to post the odd photography post and educational snippet when I can.
Monday, May 03, 2010
May 2010 Desktop Wallpaper
I uploaded the May 2010 desktop wallpaper to Flickr last week but forgot to update th link to the blog. Here it is. I took this shot last May on the Clyde coast when we spent a lovely day on Cumbrae. May is often a beautiful month with all sorts of things coming to life, longer days and things coming to a conclusion for the session.
I wonder what this May will bring? As I recently took up an acting post at work it is proving to be very busy as I mix my old and new jobs together. The post will probably be advertised and interviewed before the summer so May is likely to be busy. Perhaps this means that this picture is about as close as I will get to the peace and tranquillity that I love.
If you like the picture then please feel free to visit the Flickr page and download the original size image for your own desktop.
I wonder what this May will bring? As I recently took up an acting post at work it is proving to be very busy as I mix my old and new jobs together. The post will probably be advertised and interviewed before the summer so May is likely to be busy. Perhaps this means that this picture is about as close as I will get to the peace and tranquillity that I love.
If you like the picture then please feel free to visit the Flickr page and download the original size image for your own desktop.
The Travel Turtle
It's a beautiful, bright, cold and frosty Monday holiday at the start of May. We have a day off and are planning to head out geocaching for the day. If you don't know what geocaching is then you have clearly not been reading my blog for all that long. The video gives a really good explanation and you can go to www.geocaching.com to find out more.
The picture shows a new travel bug that we intend releasing today. These are small objects with a code number on them. The code takes you to a special page on the geocaching website to log details of where it is going. The idea is that geocachers will move the travel bug from cache to cache as they go. We currently have another five bugs which we released a couple of years ago. They don't always make it and one of them went missing whilst another appears to have been lost at the bottom of someone's bag for six months! The others have travelled round the world with one currently in Hong Kong and another is the USA.
So it's just a bit of harmless fun that gets us out and walking on a nice day. It has nothing to do with work and that is good! I wonder, therefore, how far the Travel Turtle will get? Bon Voyage!
The picture shows a new travel bug that we intend releasing today. These are small objects with a code number on them. The code takes you to a special page on the geocaching website to log details of where it is going. The idea is that geocachers will move the travel bug from cache to cache as they go. We currently have another five bugs which we released a couple of years ago. They don't always make it and one of them went missing whilst another appears to have been lost at the bottom of someone's bag for six months! The others have travelled round the world with one currently in Hong Kong and another is the USA.
So it's just a bit of harmless fun that gets us out and walking on a nice day. It has nothing to do with work and that is good! I wonder, therefore, how far the Travel Turtle will get? Bon Voyage!
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