Leaving Hong Kong
Another adventure is about to begin. Liz and I have boarded the Cathay Pacific flight CX711 to Colombo at around 4:20pm local time. I find myself writing this blog entry, an ever-expanding to do list in mind. I should read some educational technology articles, read a text for possible inclusion in the Foundations of Secondary Education class in August, etc. Even in typing this, I realize how ridiculous creating such a list is. I am not going to Sri Lanka to do this work. There is other work to be done.
I shift my focus. I have all of this technology with me. How will I use it in the classroom? Even with the littlest ones, I can do a great deal with some of the apps that I loaded onto the iPads. I have apps on phonemic awareness, apps that are virtual manipulatives for use in mathematics instruction (a true sign of fluency is when you can do math in the target language), apps that foster communication, apps for dictation and collaboration. The iPads can also be used for digital storytelling, which I could do with the older students over two weeks time. There are so many stories to tell, games to play, things to learn. I think I will do most of the learning there. Once I have an idea of the population with whom I will work and the curricula, I will post my lessons here, reflecting on how effective they were. I plan on posting those lessons on http://teachtechworkshop.blogspot.com, too, as that blog is specifically for my educational technology work.
I have all of this time to write as Liz and I are sitting on the tarmac. There is a delay in the flight, because of the adverse weather in Hong Kong. I do hope that we will be able to fly soon. We have Brother Denzil who will be waiting for us outside of immigration in Sri Lanka. I just hope that he doesn't end up waiting too long.
On our end, to pass the time, I am going to do something leisurely: read romance novels. It's my guilty pleasure. Only on holiday do I read them, easily devouring over 30 in a few days before reading what I have with me a second time. For this trip, I downloaded a little over 30. I expect that I will read some of them no less than 3 times. Having read so many, every now and then I think that I might think of writing one. Perhaps it would be an international romance: two souls meet, are attracted to one another based on familiarity, a common history, but are separated by ... hmm ... let's say one is a journalist covering a civil war. On assignment, the journalist is held hostage by a small militant group seeking access to a large audience. The other finds out through catching the news. There's terror, tension, fear, anger. Perhaps the partner takes a flight to the country and is bound, as all other tourists are, in the airport, unable to go out into the country. There's a resolution, passionate reunion, and happily ever after. All romance novels end that way. Oh, and one of them has to be a secret billionaire. :)
The above exercise definitely helped me pass the time ... and the flight is now about to leave. About 40 minutes later than scheduled, but it works.
Perhaps I should write romance novels. I think I'm a much better teacher, though.
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