Don't miss out on using this terrific service-ETIS

                                     
       EDUCATION AND TRAINING INFORMATION SERVICE

Have you visited the  ETIS website  and especially the e-form request page?
You can request a search.

ETIS also has access to many specialised databases and provides a comprehensive search service. 


You might also be interested in subscribing to some alerts (very popular information service) or have a browse through the research spotlights
The current topics of research include:
 Aboriginal education and learning technologies

Adobe and Microsoft software in education

Computer games

Cyberbullying

Effects of quality teaching on student outcomes

Interactive whiteboards

Interactive whiteboards in industry

Laptop initiatives

Moodle*

Social media

Student retention and engagement in high school

Sustainability

Workforce skills

YouTube in education


ETIS provides a section on effective searching of the internet


There is also a section where ETIS have compiled a list of links which focus on:

Government – Commonwealth, state and local

Educational departments

Educational organisations

Reference sources

Do you have a special anniversary coming up?

ETIS can provide you with historical information on both schools and TAFE in NSW.
School files which include school histories
Subject information files on various aspects of school education
Reference collection including various departmental publications, published histories and major reviews
A range of digitised photos covering school history *
School teachers' records *  (some details are not available due to privacy issues)The history information collection includes:

Interactive Whiteboards: Leading us into the 21st century or chaining us to the past?

Chris Betcher is an Australian teacher, author, blogger and podcaster. 

He blogs about education, technology and ideas at betchablog.com, and produces The Virtual Staffroom, a podcast featuring conversations with leading teachers about the use of technology in the classroom. 

He has presented at conferences and workshops in Australia, New Zealand and Canada on the effective use of technology for learning, and is an active member of the online global educational community. 

Chris is also the co-author of the book “The Interactive Whiteboard Revolution”.

"Love them or hate them, interactive whiteboards seem to have become a part of today’s modern classroom.  There are many teachers who see them as a wonderful ‘window to the world’, able to open their classrooms up to a plethora of digital experiences, make learning richer and more engaging in the process.  Then there are others who see IWBs as the devil incarnate, a scourge on the educational landscape that sets our classrooms back by thirty years. They claim them to be setting the sage back on the stage and ruining the student focused nature of the classroom."

VSR30: The Whiteboard Conundrum   November 1st, 2009

In this episode as we speak with Rob Newberry, James Hollis, Danny Nicholson, Martin Levins and Stuart Walsh, five experienced and opinionated IWB users and try to explore some of the bigger, deeper questions behind the use of IWB technology.

Interactive Whiteboards: Leading us into the 21st Century or chaining us to the past?

View more presentations from Chris Betcher.

Love to hear from you

National Literacy and Numeracy Week is coming up soon.

National Literacy and Numeracy Week (NLNW) is an Australian Government initiative conducted in collaboration with the Government, Catholic and Independent education sectors. It will be celebrated in all States and Territories from 29 August to 4 September 2010.

Aim of NLNW

The Week represents a collaborative approach by the Australian Government and the school community to highlight the importance of effective literacy and numeracy skills for all children and young people.

The week gives schools the opportunity to get involved in a range of activities and to recognise locally the achievements of students and the work of teachers, parents and members of the community who support young people to develop stronger literacy and numeracy skills.

"Learning for Living" - Our theme for 2010

 Literacy site

In the 21st century, the definition of literacy has expanded to refer to a flexible, sustainable mastery of a set of capabilities in the use and production of traditional texts and new communications technologies using spoken language, print and multimedia.

Students need to be able to adjust and modify their use of language to better meet contextual demands in varying situations.

Visit  National Literacy and Numeracy Week website.

A suite of teacher professional learning and parent support videos is available for viewing.

There are also many  Kids Links on literacy and numeracy available.

 

Great spelling activities for your class from Bits and Pieces.

 How common are spelling difficulties?
Almost all people with developmental reading or language disabilities have great difficulty spelling. In the new definition of dyslexia, people with the condition known as dyslexia are noted to have “conspicuous” problems with spelling and writing.  Ginger is a free download. 

A well designed program for students who do not learn easily will emphasize the sounds in the words, the letter combinations that usually spell those sounds, the spellings of six basic syllable types, and how the spelling rules of English work.

In summary, effective spelling instructions should emphasize these principles:  

• knowledge of sounds, letter-sound
• association, patterns, syllables, and meaningful parts;
• multisensory practice; 
• systematic, cumulative study of patterns;
• memorizing a few “sight” words at a time;
• writing those words correctly many times;
• using the words in personal writing.

The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) thanks Louisa Cook Moats, Ed.D. for her assistance in the preparation of this fact sheet. from Spelling Facts

By: International Dyslexia Association (2008) http://www.gingersoftware.com/articles/spelling_facts

Bits and Pieces is @2Sparkley's blog. Her class enjoys these spelling activities. She kindly posted them to share with othere teachers like yourselves. . They are able to be printed on A3 if you wish.

If you are looking for other good spelling sites check out this:

Good Spelling sites on-line training videos. Part of the TeachertrainingVideos.com site. You can find many more free on-line training videos.

For those of you who had kids who like pirates try : Poop deck pirates

and for a little online word finding fun try:  WORD CRUNCHER

Here are some Interesting ways to support spelling in the classroom organised by Tom Barrett. You are welcome to add your own ideas.
 

Check out Bits and Pieces for other great teaching resources....

How to add a watermark on your work for identification once printed.

Check out my new abodo-very green and clean

 Think clean environment:  recycling, saving water, saving energy...these issues are considered and more, in this activity.

To create your own go to:  Myabodo

Great activity for our naturalist intelligence kids.
(Thanks Pip for the suggestion on twitter)

Unfortunately the tool section has been closed, but there is still plenty of choosing to do. 

The website allows you to explore other abodos to compare and discuss their merits.