iPhone – K.Ridwyn

Well, I wrote this (voice to text on my iPhone) on the way to Brisbane last Monday morning. And I finally get to post it today – one week later! I guess that’s just an indication of how busy life’s been! LOL

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Hello, everyone! Yes, I am back! Sorry that it’s been such a long time… it’s just that, since my new job started, I have been really busy… in fact, I’ve been the busiest I have ever been – in my life! I haven’t had time to even scratch myself, let alone eat properly, or sleep! At least, that’s what it feels like…
That being said: no, I got to bed before 11pm last night, and didn’t wake up again until 5:30. That’s more sleep than I had over the last few weeks, so I’m feeling pretty good today!
Which means that today, I am able to find the headspace, and the time while I drive, to blog again!
So. Yesterday, I drove down to Brisbane for the first day of the New Librarians Symposium (NLS6). I figure that I had better start attending professional development for this ‘Library’ sphere I’m aiming to enter one day. It was pretty brilliant!
And not only for the teaching and learning that I received, but also the amazing networking opportunities. I went, knowing that I would meet, in real life, people I have been interacting with, over Twitter, for the past 18 months or so. People whose blogs I read. People who read, and sometimes even comment on, my own blog! Seeing them there face to face, realising that they are real people, that they actually do exist, was such a surreal feeling! I went, knowing that I would see three familiar faces, people that I had met before. I left last night, feeling that I had met about a quarter of the entire number of delegates!!!
So today, I’m driving down to Brisbane, ready to do it all again for the second day of the same conference. I must admit, I’m quite looking forward to it!
Have a great day, dear readers! 🙂

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So – that was spoken into my iPhone as I left home, 6.30am. Finished by the time I reached the highway. And well before I hit the traffic jam that started just after Caboolture. The traffic jam that lasted ALL THE WAY to Brisbane, meaning that I didn’t arrive until 9am.

Yes, that’s right – 9 am!!! Two and a half hours for what normally takes 1 and a quarter! (With traffic!) Needless to say, I wasn’t happy when the homeward journey that night was just as bad… 🙁

I love that my kids are starting engage with technology at a young age. I honestly believe that it will set them up for an easier life.

Source: photographersbling.com via Denise on Pinterest

Miss 7 loves photography. Since I came home from #iPadexplore last week and showed her the ‘Water my Photo’ app, she’s been busy manipulating her photos – I especially love the fact that she put her “Ariel” barbie doll in the water (sparking the ‘wet shirt’ comment that I found hilarious enough to tweet and add to fb yesterday). At the moment, Miss 4 is playing with VidRhythm on my iPhone, and Mr 2 is on my iPod, busy getting a radioactive mouse to eat some un-caged cats in Mouse Maze. Yes, these are games, which in a way makes what they are doing no different to sitting in front of the PS2, or the TV. But what I like is the way they are regulating their own play. And more often than not, they’ll choose to challenge themselves with literacy games or mathematical quizzes. Just this morning, my daughters were on my iPad, taking it in turns to spell the words on ‘Word Wizard’, so that at the end of the quiz, all three of them could play with the interactive game at the end. And I just love that.

L: Three cherubs interacting with the post-spelling game on Word Wizard.

R: A photo taken by Miss 7, of Dave the 3D dragon and Proto the little 3D monster, from the String AR App, superimposed on the carpet of their (messy!) bedroom.