Hi everyone
So it is the last day tomorrow and to be honest I have enjoyed it so much I don't want to leave!!
I taught some IT today which was great except I had to hold back from going into too much detail! I was teaching effective search engine use. The children seem to have really taken to me ("best teacher ever - all the others left after two days" is among the classics!) and have given me brilliant experience in handling their innappropriate questions about my life ("is your first name Dan?", "do you have a girlfriend?", "can I add you as a friend?" and what I get up to in such a way as to get out of doing work!
I have got some great experiences of SEN too with a boy with autism. One thing that really struck me was his range of intelligence yet inability to communicate effectively. He has been able to reel off abstract facts about massive ranges of subjects at any time but often without significance. For example we had a talk from the local vicar today and the boy at the end of the prayer towards of the end of the talk, put his hand up, struggled with his words briefly before asking the vicar an intelligent question about evolution and his beliefs to which the vicar did not know how to respond.
I enjoyed being involved in focusing the attention of the class also. I have found the more the class warmed to me, the easier it was for me to show brief dissappointment in them for not listening and get a great effect in directing their attention back to the teacher. They begun to listen when I told them what they should be doing.
Anyway I am absolutely shattered so am keeping this one brief, will probably detail a few more of the things I have been doing when I am less sleepy!
Sunday, 19 September 2010
First PGCE Placement
Hello again,
Thought I would make a final post here about my experiences on the Friday. As I mentioned before the IT department is very basic at the school with no technicians or IT support on site. As the "IT expert" I was called in to help fix an audio cupboard. After about 20 minutes of poking and scratching my head I realised that it was only two wires that needed changing around. On my way back the IT co-ordinator told the head who thanked me and said I had saved him hundreds of pounds. I was quite surpirsed and asked him how. He said, I was just going to get the whole thing ripped out and replaced. A perfectly functioning audio cupboard and all it was was 2 wires the wrong way round.
Magnify that across the country and we may be seriously lacking in IT awareness in primary school. This was a fairly large school that you would imagine has a lot of funds directed to it relative to its size but the IT facilities were less than poor. The Head asked me to stay as he recognised the problems they were facing! I passed my email address on to the ICT co-ordinator and said she could email me with any issues and if I knew I would try and help but I am no technician.
Ok now onto my last day with the class. It was very sad to leave after such a brilliant week. I got the kids soime sweets which they had in "golden time". They made me a nice leaving card! Some of the highlights of the week have got to be showing children how to do certain sums and watching the penny "drop". When explaining Nelson Mandelas experiences the children did not understand why he didn't take his freedom when he was first offered it. I managed to use the example of animal cruelty to show them how they would feel if they could not stand up for what was right. That was amazing to see them understand how important he was.
Thought I would make a final post here about my experiences on the Friday. As I mentioned before the IT department is very basic at the school with no technicians or IT support on site. As the "IT expert" I was called in to help fix an audio cupboard. After about 20 minutes of poking and scratching my head I realised that it was only two wires that needed changing around. On my way back the IT co-ordinator told the head who thanked me and said I had saved him hundreds of pounds. I was quite surpirsed and asked him how. He said, I was just going to get the whole thing ripped out and replaced. A perfectly functioning audio cupboard and all it was was 2 wires the wrong way round.
Magnify that across the country and we may be seriously lacking in IT awareness in primary school. This was a fairly large school that you would imagine has a lot of funds directed to it relative to its size but the IT facilities were less than poor. The Head asked me to stay as he recognised the problems they were facing! I passed my email address on to the ICT co-ordinator and said she could email me with any issues and if I knew I would try and help but I am no technician.
Ok now onto my last day with the class. It was very sad to leave after such a brilliant week. I got the kids soime sweets which they had in "golden time". They made me a nice leaving card! Some of the highlights of the week have got to be showing children how to do certain sums and watching the penny "drop". When explaining Nelson Mandelas experiences the children did not understand why he didn't take his freedom when he was first offered it. I managed to use the example of animal cruelty to show them how they would feel if they could not stand up for what was right. That was amazing to see them understand how important he was.
Tuesday, 10 August 2010
Content of Blog
I have been lucky enough to grab a place on a PGCE at NTU so the content of my blog will definately be changing over the next few months....
More of a progressive PGCE blog as a graduate, but still in essence, a grad blog
Hold tight...
More of a progressive PGCE blog as a graduate, but still in essence, a grad blog
Hold tight...
Thursday, 29 July 2010
New Vacancies (including my job) + tips
Graduate Data analysis roles in Chesterfield, up to £21k
Email CV's to sarah@embservices.co.uk
Graduates wanted for IT Helpdesk support roles up to £16.5k. Massive room for progression into Media consultancy roles. Media/creative degree (2.1 +) and excellent grades required.
Email CV's to dan@embservices.co.uk
Customer services positions always available, again email dan@embservices.co.uk
And my own replacement:
Marketing Grad wanted, preferably with placement experience, not essential. Business grad backgrounds may apply
dan@embservices.co.uk
IN MANCHESTER
School ICT support, email dan@embservices.co.uk
On Jobsite:
Cover supervisor
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/cover-supervisor-936364335?src=search_feat
Admin
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/administrative-assistant-936361313?src=search_feat
Recruitment Resourcer
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/recruitment-resourcer-936308480?src=search
Classroom assistant
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/classroom-assistant-936364305?src=search
Student Communications Officer - NTU - (awesome marketing role)
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/student-communications-officer-936207810?src=search_feat
Tips for CV writing
Always type the CV using Word or similar if you are printing it out use good quality paper. Make sure the font is a standard and is a 10. Ariel, Verdana, Tahoma, Century Gothic are good ones.
Never use more than three pages.
Don't preface the CV with a cheesy descriptive statement ('A well-educated enthusiast who will undoubtedly make his mark in international commerce'). Let the facts speak for themselves, and the employer be the judge of your capabilities.
Use this Format:
Name (bold type)
Personal details including date of birth, address and telephone number, marital status, nationality
Qualifications
Career history (in reverse order, most recent position first)
Leisure interests
Referees
Ensure all dates link up month/year; leave no suspicious gaps. If you were out of work for a period, or travelling, include it as a stage in your history.
Write employer's name and location in bold type. Employers often select for interview by identifying with companies that are known to them.
Use your last title in each position, also in bold type.
Briefly describe the company's business and size, in italics.
Write no more than a few lines about the job content and responsibilities. If appropriate, show how you progressed from one position to the next. Mention specific numbers if possible ('In charge of 3 staff, 'sold 30 machines, worth £100,000 each'). Highlight one or two achievements after every job.
Under leisure interests, demonstrate breadth of character by mentioning varied interests, energy with sporting interests. Don't fabricate interests as you may well be quizzed on them, particularly if the interviewer shares those interests. Don't worry the employer by listing contentious interests (shooting, foxhunting). Keep the list short: one artistic, one sporting and one unusual interest. Don't put 'socialising' which is taken as drinking! Don’t put anything that might be perceived as being strange or too geeky unless you are going for a strange or geeky job.
Only list referees if they have said they would speak for you. With their permission, give their telephone numbers so that employers feel encouraged to make contact with them.
Ensure all spelling is correct. Don't trust computer spell-checkers
Go to www.peopletransfer.co.uk to build a CV online using your skills and experience.
Happy applying!
Email CV's to sarah@embservices.co.uk
Graduates wanted for IT Helpdesk support roles up to £16.5k. Massive room for progression into Media consultancy roles. Media/creative degree (2.1 +) and excellent grades required.
Email CV's to dan@embservices.co.uk
Customer services positions always available, again email dan@embservices.co.uk
And my own replacement:
Marketing Grad wanted, preferably with placement experience, not essential. Business grad backgrounds may apply
dan@embservices.co.uk
IN MANCHESTER
School ICT support, email dan@embservices.co.uk
On Jobsite:
Cover supervisor
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/cover-supervisor-936364335?src=search_feat
Admin
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/administrative-assistant-936361313?src=search_feat
Recruitment Resourcer
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/recruitment-resourcer-936308480?src=search
Classroom assistant
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/classroom-assistant-936364305?src=search
Student Communications Officer - NTU - (awesome marketing role)
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/student-communications-officer-936207810?src=search_feat
Tips for CV writing
Always type the CV using Word or similar if you are printing it out use good quality paper. Make sure the font is a standard and is a 10. Ariel, Verdana, Tahoma, Century Gothic are good ones.
Never use more than three pages.
Don't preface the CV with a cheesy descriptive statement ('A well-educated enthusiast who will undoubtedly make his mark in international commerce'). Let the facts speak for themselves, and the employer be the judge of your capabilities.
Use this Format:
Name (bold type)
Personal details including date of birth, address and telephone number, marital status, nationality
Qualifications
Career history (in reverse order, most recent position first)
Leisure interests
Referees
Ensure all dates link up month/year; leave no suspicious gaps. If you were out of work for a period, or travelling, include it as a stage in your history.
Write employer's name and location in bold type. Employers often select for interview by identifying with companies that are known to them.
Use your last title in each position, also in bold type.
Briefly describe the company's business and size, in italics.
Write no more than a few lines about the job content and responsibilities. If appropriate, show how you progressed from one position to the next. Mention specific numbers if possible ('In charge of 3 staff, 'sold 30 machines, worth £100,000 each'). Highlight one or two achievements after every job.
Under leisure interests, demonstrate breadth of character by mentioning varied interests, energy with sporting interests. Don't fabricate interests as you may well be quizzed on them, particularly if the interviewer shares those interests. Don't worry the employer by listing contentious interests (shooting, foxhunting). Keep the list short: one artistic, one sporting and one unusual interest. Don't put 'socialising' which is taken as drinking! Don’t put anything that might be perceived as being strange or too geeky unless you are going for a strange or geeky job.
Only list referees if they have said they would speak for you. With their permission, give their telephone numbers so that employers feel encouraged to make contact with them.
Ensure all spelling is correct. Don't trust computer spell-checkers
Go to www.peopletransfer.co.uk to build a CV online using your skills and experience.
Happy applying!
Monday, 26 July 2010
Getting names in high places
This can help whether you are applying for a job or if you are working in an email marketing environment.
After writing my last blog entry, I decided that to broaden out the subject of contact harvesting. Depending on what your intentions are sometimes you have a need to know the name of a particular person in a particular position in a particular organisation. How can you do this?
Do you want the HR assistant to get your CV in front of? Or the finance director for your marketing campaign? Here are a few tips:
LinkedIn - As I mentioned before, this is a brilliant tool for networking and finding people within organisations. In my previous blog (http://thisisdanh.blogspot.com/2010/07/linked-in-contacts.html) I detailed how you could get around the privacy settings on Linked In to get a name on a profile that is set to "private". Sign up, it's free and brilliantly useful. www.linkedin.com
Jobsite - think about it, HR staff want people to contact them about vacancies. Jobsite publish email addresses of the member of staff running a HR campaign within the vacancy. You may not be interested in that particular role, but it is useful to have that contact all the same.
Google - Google the company you want information on. Look for "contact" pages and "about us" pages. "Meet the team" occasionally crops up, especially in the legal and financial sectors. Failing that search the position in google. For example "HR DIRECTOR at NATWEST" (maybe start smaller) and you may find a published press release with this contact referred to by name.
But what good is a name?
According to my experience 70-80% of emails are of the format firstname.surname@companyurl.com
richard.branson@virgin.com (probably not that obvious)
Take the first name and surname and attach it to the company url - you have the contact details! It is good to search this created email address in Google to see if it has been published before, thereby further validating it.
For more names in other industries try
www.applegate.co.uk
whois.domaintools.com - check the web site admin name
WebCheck - wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk - check company details
After writing my last blog entry, I decided that to broaden out the subject of contact harvesting. Depending on what your intentions are sometimes you have a need to know the name of a particular person in a particular position in a particular organisation. How can you do this?
Do you want the HR assistant to get your CV in front of? Or the finance director for your marketing campaign? Here are a few tips:
LinkedIn - As I mentioned before, this is a brilliant tool for networking and finding people within organisations. In my previous blog (http://thisisdanh.blogspot.com/2010/07/linked-in-contacts.html) I detailed how you could get around the privacy settings on Linked In to get a name on a profile that is set to "private". Sign up, it's free and brilliantly useful. www.linkedin.com
Jobsite - think about it, HR staff want people to contact them about vacancies. Jobsite publish email addresses of the member of staff running a HR campaign within the vacancy. You may not be interested in that particular role, but it is useful to have that contact all the same.
Google - Google the company you want information on. Look for "contact" pages and "about us" pages. "Meet the team" occasionally crops up, especially in the legal and financial sectors. Failing that search the position in google. For example "HR DIRECTOR at NATWEST" (maybe start smaller) and you may find a published press release with this contact referred to by name.
But what good is a name?
According to my experience 70-80% of emails are of the format firstname.surname@companyurl.com
richard.branson@virgin.com (probably not that obvious)
Take the first name and surname and attach it to the company url - you have the contact details! It is good to search this created email address in Google to see if it has been published before, thereby further validating it.
For more names in other industries try
www.applegate.co.uk
whois.domaintools.com - check the web site admin name
WebCheck - wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk - check company details
Thursday, 22 July 2010
Linked In Contacts
Just a quick tip for any marketers...
When logged in to LinkedIn I often come across profiles that are set to private. Wanting their names to possibly call them, I need to find another way to access this information.
So go to google, type in their job title, the company and "linkedin" and for some reason the name is now displayed!
Yet when logged in this information is not displayed.
Privacy settings gone mad.
When logged in to LinkedIn I often come across profiles that are set to private. Wanting their names to possibly call them, I need to find another way to access this information.
So go to google, type in their job title, the company and "linkedin" and for some reason the name is now displayed!
Yet when logged in this information is not displayed.
Privacy settings gone mad.
Friday, 16 July 2010
Interesting jobs
Scouting about on the net today brought a couple of interesting Derby based jobs
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/attendance-officer-936234101?src=search_feat
Attendance officer at a school, 30 hours a week, term time only...
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/school-lettings-manager-936233256?src=search_feat
Lettings manager in a school, good pay, strange hours...saint benedicts
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/finance-graduate-trainee-german-or-french-speaker-936195642?src=search
Language graduates!
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/admissions-officer-936139865?src=search_feat
Admissions officer
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/floating-support-workers-x-5-936159060?src=search_feat
Support workers
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/project-workers-936243222?src=search_feat
Project workers
http://www.embservices.co.uk/peopletransfer/viewvacancy.php?vacancyid=2549
Sales opportunitys
Best to keep checking jobsite every couple of days, most adverts run for 7 days. Look down the list as direct employers often play second fiddle to agencies.
Happy applying
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/attendance-officer-936234101?src=search_feat
Attendance officer at a school, 30 hours a week, term time only...
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/school-lettings-manager-936233256?src=search_feat
Lettings manager in a school, good pay, strange hours...saint benedicts
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/finance-graduate-trainee-german-or-french-speaker-936195642?src=search
Language graduates!
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/admissions-officer-936139865?src=search_feat
Admissions officer
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/floating-support-workers-x-5-936159060?src=search_feat
Support workers
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/project-workers-936243222?src=search_feat
Project workers
http://www.embservices.co.uk/peopletransfer/viewvacancy.php?vacancyid=2549
Sales opportunitys
Best to keep checking jobsite every couple of days, most adverts run for 7 days. Look down the list as direct employers often play second fiddle to agencies.
Happy applying
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