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Writing, Designing and Acting Doctor Who – Holiday courses at NIDA Sydney
Australia’s Cockatoo Island has a chequered past as a former shipyard and prison turned nature reserve – but recent school holidays saw it transformed once more. The UNESCO world heritage site in the...
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Kiwi comics lead the world: Discussion with New Zealand Education Gazette
My discussion with New Zealand Education Gazette Editor Geoff Vause can be found in the print-only curriculum support supplement to Volume 90, Issue 17 of the magazine, out today. In it, we talk about...
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New York Harbor School: First Annual Regatta after 8 Years Leading Maritime...
Thursday 6th October sees a unique school in the heart of New York launch a special celebration after eight years delivering teaching and learning from the city’s harbour. New York Harbor School’s...
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New York Harbor School: Interview with Founding Principal Nate Dudley
Back in October, I got in touch with the folks at New York Harbor School on the eve of their First Annual Regatta, a nautical event to celebrate the school’s work bringing a unique brand of maritime...
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New at Role/Reboot: Matt on Heroism, Masculinity and Elementary School
You think you know fear? I was only knee-deep in icy seawater, but that was enough. Beside me, a half-dozen anxious Moms formed a loose human chain. We were trying to cordon off a horde of 6-year-olds,...
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Guest post: Adele Walsh on blogging your way to a dream job
Adele Walsh, aka Snarky Wench, runs the Centre for Youth Literature at the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne. Adele’s one of my writing heroes because she used her blogging skills to shift from a...
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Stealing fire from the gods: Keynote address to Canberra Early Literacy...
On 13th September, I spoke in Australia’s Parliament House at the inaugural meeting of the Parliamentary Friendship Group for Early Literacy, followed by a keynote address to the third annual Paint the...
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Guest post: Steve Saville of Alfriston College, Auckland, on comics in the...
Today, we’re joined by Steve Saville, deputy principal at Alfriston College in South Auckland. For four years, Steve has championed the use of comics in the classroom through a series of innovative...
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Guest post: Steve Saville on comics and creativity, part 2
In the second part of his guest post for Books and Adventures, Steve Saville of Alfriston College in Auckland, New Zealand, discusses the lessons to be learned from his pioneering comics in the...
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Keeping things fresh: Steampunk rapper Professor Elemental on hip-hop and...
Today we’re joined by Paul Alborough – a witty British rapper who “hosts, performs and teaches hip-hop in more ways than you can imagine” in the guise of steampunk cleverclogs Professor Elemental....
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Library Chat Podcast – on Nerf guns, literacy and boisterous play
This week you can find me talking about libraries, literacy, and immersive play on Corin Haines’ Library Chat podcast. Corin is head of digital services with my current employers at Auckland Libraries...
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Key 23 and the Nth Degree, part II: Libraries for kids
This is the second of three more personal blog posts reflecting on librarianship, archives, and the power of words. You can also read part one of Key 23 and the Nth degree here. Training as an infant...
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Guest Post: Marta Cabral, Teachers College, New York: Being in Wonder
This week I’m joined by an exceptional arts educator, Marta Cabral of Teachers College at New York’s Columbia University. Marta supports young children in creating art which is then exhibited in a...
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Interview with comic creator Pat Grant for New South Wales Writers’ Centre
“In an age of touchscreens, desktops, and video-on-demand, the ability to handle visual communication is an advantage for every writer. It’s not always about artistic technique, but a willingness to...
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The Worst Song I Ever Loved, or: What Can You Do With A Writers’ Group?
Every now and then, I get asked to run a writers’ group in whatever community I’m currently working in. This is one of the most intimidating challenges for a stranger in town, because each group is its...
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Creation/Curation: Making Urban Myths in the Library
This week, screenwriter and critic Martyn Pedler joined us in Parkes for activities based on his 2011 movie EXIT. EXIT follows a group of people who have come to believe that reality is a maze,...
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Book publishing workshops for your library
Last year, Parkes Shire ran a series of one-day publishing workshops for local teens. Our local libraries, high school, and TAFE joined forces to offer teens a game-based look at the business of...
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Guest post: XXUnmasked at Auckland Libraries
I’m pleased to announce that Auckland Libraries’ XXUnmasked media literacy project for teenage girls has just won an award for community outreach. This week on the blog, Tracy Dawson of Parkes High...
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Reader-in-Residence article in SCAN Magazine
Parkes High School’s teacher librarian Tracy Dawson has an article in the latest SCAN magazine about the Reader-in-Residence role which I held in Parkes across late 2013 and early 2014. TL Tracy Dawson...
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Team Waitangi: Teaching against the grain in West London
Ngā mihi o te Kirihimete, West London Team Waitangi got its name five years ago, just before Christmas. I was teaching what the Brits call infants – 4 to 7 years old, specifically Year 1 or 1st Grade –...
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