Wednesday, 27 January 2010

Please post a message to our first wishwall.

 Our first wishwall is up and running. 
Wishwall is a new way to communicate.
It is an online Notice Board Maker.
View a demo wall @ Wallwisher demo

Please check it out and post a message. You could post your own message or work with your kids to post a family message @ Latest Happenings at Sandy Beach


Love to hear from you

Sunday, 24 January 2010

Effective Teaching, Quality Instruction and Professional Development: My Learning Style



Effective Teaching, Quality Instruction and Professional Development: My Learning Style

Teaching life's most important lesson...


Kiran Bir Sethi shows how her groundbreaking Riverside School in India teaches kids life's most valuable lesson: "I can."
Watch her students take local issues into their own hands, lead other young people, even educate their parents.

Monday, 18 January 2010

NSWDET employs sledgehammer approach to change.


Image representing Twitter as depicted in Crun...Image via CrunchBase

"Everyday my email inbox alerts me to at least one teacher who has become a new follower on Twitter. Now while I’m definitely not the best ed-tech guy in Twitterland to follow, I like to think that for each of those emails, a light bulb has switched on somewhere and a teacher is working to change, or at least keep up with the change that’s continually going on all around them."
Stu Hasic 

Will the sledgehammer approach work?
In a (wal)nutshell, the sledgehammer approach is:
1. Give computers to every student.
2. Build the expectation in the community that they will be used in school.
3. Shame teachers into action/change.



Read this blog and consider the many important questions Stu poses. 

Stu points out that "Coinciding with Australia’s next (scheduled) Federal Election and only half-way into this four year “revolution”, there will be the evidence needed to either justify or pull the plug on this ambitious and much needed change in school education."
What do you think?


Connected Learning Awards




The Connected Learning Awards give students opportunities to design and create digital works for real-life purposes. Students develop skills in communicating, collaborating, self-directed learning, problem solving, researching and publishing their findings.

The Centre for Learning Innovation (CLI) has a 2010 flyer out entitled ‘WeCreate’ - a calendar listing its activities by term for students K-12 for 2010.

There are a number of activities that will inspire and engage your students – ES1 and S1 divisions are also included.
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21st Century Literacies - Howard Rheingold

Howard Rheingold spoke about 21st century literacies 
at the Reboot Britain event in London, July, 2009. (about 40 minutes)

We need to get beyond skills to literacies:Skills plus community=SOCIAL MEDIA

 
The five most important ones:
* Attention
* Participation
* Cooperation
* Critical Consumption (cr*p detection)
* Network Awareness


They all need to work together.


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Sunday, 10 January 2010

Not just interactive sites for Smartboard...SO MUCH MORE!!

I do understand that it is rude to shout but this site is worth shouting about!!
 

If you are looking for Interactive Games Sites, 
SMARTBOARD sites, Slideshare, Videos, Lesson Ideas, or Third Party Sites you will find plenty of value here.


Sites are also listed by subject area including: 
Maths
Science
Language Arts
and Social Studies

MUSIC

M.U.S
Neon music signImage via Wikipedia
.I.C.
Musicians United for Songs in the Classroom, Inc.



M.U.S.I.C. is a nonprofit organization promoting arts integration through the study of popular music.



It provides Critical thinking and media literacy curriculum and products for grades 7-12.
 

Friday, 8 January 2010