We are now three quarters of the way through 2013 and it is time to pause and evaluate the progress I have made in the plans for this year.
You can read about the plans and how they were made in this entry posted in January https://spritessite.wordpress.com/2013/01/20/jos-chaos-plan-2/
This is the mind map of the plans
Gifted Resources has continued to engage in project work with Borderlands this year http://www.borderlands.org.au/
The main foundation of Gifted Resources is the website http://www.giftedresources.org/ The website main page has been updated. Some sections still need revision. Some of the links have been checked and made to open in new windows but there are more still to do.
So far this year I have written a newsletter each month and a second newsletter in March and also three Extension and Holiday Programs newsletters.
I compiled a new hard copy Info Pack for 2013 and we are in the process of creating a CD version of it.
At present most of my consultation work is conducted by phone, email and post.
Using Skype has enhanced the effectiveness of phone consultation and made it a more affordable method. I have continued this so far during the year.
In March I talked to a group of parents and teachers at Village School. I would still like to give other in person or online webinar presentations this year.
I have not organized any Film Discussions so far this year but I do have 3 plastic crates filled with Film Discussion kits ready for use and another option would be to add the kits to the Gifted Resources Library collection so that groups can borrow a kit to facilitate holding their own Film Discussion.
I have very nearly finished re-cataloguing the books in the Gifted Resources library.
Several tubs of information have been sorted and I now have two tubs of conference handout papers and two tubs of articles. Some of the longer articles have been bound in folders and catalogued separately.
When the re-cataloguing is complete the Library page can be restored to the Gifted Resources website.
This year I have only posted 16 entries on the Gifted Resources blog.
At the end of May Gifted Resources website suffered hacking caused by vulnerability to exploitation in WordPress, the platform for both Gifted Resources blog and Sprite’s Site blog.
Because of the problems the blog now has a new address
Gifted Resources Blog http://giftedresources.wordpress.com/
It meant that we lost the blog internal links and I had to edit all the posts on both blogs to restore broken links. Gifted Resources blog with only 50 plus posts was repaired fairly quickly.
So far this year I have posted 67 entries on Sprite’s Site.
The blog was given a new theme when some of the illustrations appeared distorted
Sprite’s Site was again a nominee in the Best Australian Blogs competition. As part of participation the blog was given its own Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/spritessite
At the end of May Gifted Resources website suffered hacking caused by vulnerability to exploitation in WordPress, the platform for both Gifted Resources blog and Sprite’s Site blog.
Because of the problems the blog now has a new address
Sprite’s Site Blog https://spritessite.wordpress.com/
Sprite’s Site also has a completely independent Sprite’s New Site on the Edublogs platform at http://jofrei5.edublogs.org/
It means that we lost the blog internal links and I had to edit all the posts on both blogs to restore broken links. Sprite’s Site which celebrated its fourth birthday in June had over 600 posts and took a long time to clean up
Currently I enjoy participating in groups relating to giftedness and 2E issues on Facebook and Twitter, especially the weekly #gtchat sessions on Twitter.
Sprite’s Site now has its own Facebook page
There is always so much to learn!
MOOCs, webinars, global education conferences and many others offer so many online opportunities.
And I was able to virtually visit the WCGTC Conference in Louisville Kentucky and blog about it at http://giftedresources.wordpress.com/2013/08/12/virtually-visiting-the-wcgtc-conference-in-kentucky/
In real life I attended the VAGTC EmpowerEd conference in April and blogged about it on the Gifted Resources Blog http://giftedresources.wordpress.com/2013/05/02/vagtc-empowered-for-giftedness-conference/
This is an area which gives me so much satisfaction and happiness.
I participate in the Brilliant Chaos Group on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/brilliantchaosonline/
monthly creating challenges
http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/brilliantchaosonline/doc/253263591368971/
In January the Twitter birds visited the circus
In February the Twitter birds made and flew kites
In March the theme was luck and the Twitter bird, Retweet, incorporated it into her NEST Ed studies
In April I created a new theme for Sprite’s Site and posts for the Best Australian Blogs 2013 competition
In May I celebrated the Month of Maybe with a Padlet sticky note wall
In June I created a set of the 2013 wheels with a Winter theme for the websites
In July I finished cleaning up the blogs with the help of the Twitter bird cleaning crew
In August I had fun creating splotches with a paint roller and turning them into scenes
And this month I created a set of wheels for Spring and the Twitter birds played games of Guess the Spring Phrase from the pictures they painted.
Regarding my personal life – this year we celebrated 40 years of marriage. Our daughter organised a lovely afternoon tea for us in the All Saint’s Rosebud church hall
I am still enjoying the quiet pace of life in Rosebud, planting flowers, shrubs, cacti and herbs and photographing the birds in the area.
In the past I have been very involved with writing and teaching church Sunday school programs. I have sorted out the several plastic tubs and now have 3 tubs of programs which I have written over the years and 2 tubs of visual aids, worksheets and background reading materials. I have arranged for these to be willed to the library of MST (formerly Bible College of Victoria). I have not started to turn these programs into online programs yet.
Sprite's Site 