Have you spent much time in your sandbox lately?

The Sandbox Manifesto

View more presentations from Angela Maiers

Every Library Needs a Sandbox to Play In

View more presentations from Matthew Hamilton

Recent videos from the Innovation Unit.

Look beneath the surface for so much more from Microsoft Office.

So many teachers have access to Microsoft Office but are unaware of the depth of the resources available.

Start here: Have fun....Explore the  Education Collection    

for a great range of K-12 classroom resources including:

• Lesson plans
• Teaching guides
• Product how-tos
• Templates
• Free software
• Teacher community

The School templates section has sections on the following:

Child's emergency contact and medical information

Electronic gradebook for Excel

Classroom management

Electronic teacher gradebook

Office OneNote 2007 Free Teacher Toolkit

The toolkit is a OneNote notebook with templates, how-to articles, training videos, examples, and other resources to help teachers start and then master the use of OneNote in the classroom.

Quizzes and tests

Over 25 templates in Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint—from pop quizzes to multiple choice samples and quiz shows.

You must try: 

MICROSOFT MOUSE MISCHIEF -Download for free

Mouse Mischief integrates into Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 and Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007, letting students actively participate in lessons by using their own mice to click, circle, cross out, or draw answers on the screen.

You will also find helpful teaching resources like the ones below:

Free products and services for teachers:

Scientific Process Worksheet

No Homework pass

Hurrah! Quest Atlantis 5.1. is up and running!

 Quest Atlantis is an international learning and teaching project that uses a 3D multi-user environment to immerse children, ages 9-15, in educational tasks.


At the core of student activity with QA is the completion of Quests. A Quest is an engaging curricular task designed to be educational and entertaining.


Students and teachers conduct rich inquiry-based explorations through which they learn particular standards-based content, and at the same time develop pro-social attitudes regarding significant environmental and social issues.


 And now we can welcome Quest Atlantis 5.1. The  QA upgrade is now completed!

This was their first upgrade in over two years as well as their first server transfer! 
 If any minor issues come up they ask that you fill out one of their support tickets (http://atlantisremixed.org/#59)
 as soon as possible so that they can address it, and you can get on your way!

The Teacher PD has also been upgraded to include new information and experiences so that teachers are better prepared to support the curriculum for students. 


They have redesigned the Teacher Training Unit for new teachers and created a shorter, "refresher" version of this unit that is available for any experienced QA teachers who would like to see the changes we've implemented in pedagogy and research.


 The QA team believes that all of their returning teachers will find something new and fascinating in this refresher course.


 Completion of this new "refresher" version is not required in order to continue assigning and supporting the QA content as you've always done. These new trajectories will be activated if you click on the teleport link to Teacherville and/or attempt to teleport through the the hub arch to the right of the bridge. Once you've teleported, talk with Cam, and depending upon your experience with QA, he will help direct you in correct trajectory!


Have fun in QA!! 
If you would like to learn more about the Quest Atlantis program, visit their website,www.QuestAtlantis.org.

Through your eyes.....what do you see?

What do you see?, from the Connected Principals, is one of those posts that needs to be revisited regularly by today's educators. 
                                                         

Well worth being reposted....again and again

Posted by Justin Tarte on 11/20/11 • Categorized as Best Educational Practices,Leadership Essentials,School Culture
- This post is also posted at “Life of an Educator.” – Follow Justin Tarte on Twitter at @justintarte

Wonderful World of Wequests

Barbara Braxton explains : "For those of you who are unfamiliar with the concept of a webquest, this explanation might assist.  I wrote it some time ago (have been a webquest/Tom March fan for over a decade) ...

Webquests were originally developed by Bernie Dodge and Tom March about 1995 as a way of showing how the Internet could be used productively and the currency of the info posted on it could be exploited.  In the words of Tom March (who gave my definition the big thumbs up when I sent it to him after marking dozens of uni papers about webquests that were not) "Every car is not a Chevrolet, every flower is not a rose".  Since the concept first came into being, the name has been watered down to mean almost anything that requires web-based research.

A webquest is a strategy which allows a group of students to investigate a real-life issue from a number of different perspectives. The issue is multi-faceted with a number of possible solutions, each dependent on the purpose and opinion of the stakeholders. After acquainting themselves with the background of the topic, each student assumes the persona of one of the stakeholders and uses the facilities of the World Wide Web to explore the issue from that particular perspective. Using the WWW exploits the breadth or resources available, and because the issues are often topical and local, there is access to material not yet in print format - if indeed it ever is.

Students use their new knowledge and understanding to argue their case from the perspective of their persona and attempt to negotiate a solution to the issue that allows as much of a win-win situation for all as possible. These requirements to argue from an unfamiliar point of view and to achieve consensus and their subsequent demand to use higher order thinking skills that sets the webquest apart from other online strategies such as hotlists and treasure hunts. It also means that it is really suitable for those in year 6+ who have developed the ability to step aside from their own beliefs and argue objectively.

Critical elements include

·         the real-life nature of the issue being explored,

·         its multi-faceted nature that means there are a number of ways that it can be perceived and a number of feasible solutions

·         the need for students to co-operate and collaborate to solve the problem

·         the need for students to step beyond their own knowledge and beliefs to examine issues from a different perspective

·         the need for negotiation and consensus so that there is a solution which is acceptable to all

·         the need for resources, in whichever format, to be almost tailor-made for the situation so students can access and use it quickly, easily and efficiently

·         its capacity "to facilitate the transformation of information into a newly constructed, assimilated understanding" (March, 2006)

A webquest enables students to

·         explore real-life issues

·         understand there can be several sides to every story

·         access a broad range of current resources

·         understand perception, opinion and bias

·         work together to negotiate a solution that works for the majority

·         work at a higher level of thinking than we currently often demand

That doesn't mean that things like hotlists and scavenger hunts are valuable activities, it just means they are not webquests.

In my opinion, webquests are not really suitable for younger students because they lack the ability to be able to set aside their own point of view and see an issue from a different perspective.

Tom March has also written about webquests in a Web 2.0 world at http://greav.ub.edu/iem/index.php?journal=iem&page=article&op=view&path%5b%5d=122and has now re-branded his Web-and-Flow site, which guides you step–by-step through the creation of a number of online activities at http://edge-ucator.com/ "  

Reflections to ponder at report time.....

Let's really THINK about these gems:


If a child learns something but no one is there to test them, did they learn anything? @RobBower 


“Children should be given a voice not only about the means of learning but also the ends, the why as well as the what.” — Alfie Kohn


"It is not how much material we cover, it is how much we uncover that matters."  
@ToddWhitacker


Are you ready to be the “Guide on the Side” and not the “Sage on the Stage”?
STUDENT CENTERED CLASSROOMS and Student-Led Conferences @Cybraryman

Correction to above: "I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand."-Confucius

and last but not least: 

If education was really about learning 

Are your students "learning"? 

or 

are they just "being taught"?

What is happening in your school libraries these days?

FREE ebook "School Libraries: What's Now, What's Next, What's Yet to Come" out now for ALL teachers and Administrators

Read my post @

School Libraries: What's Now, What's Next, What's Yet to Come

A crowdsourced collection of over 100 essays from around the world about trends in school libraries written by librarians, teachers, publishers, and library vendors.

Edited by Kristin Fontichiaro and Buffy Hamilton. 
Foreword by R. David Lankes. 
Photographs by Diane Cordell.
 or download available at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/96705

SMART Search Engine for teachers.

SMARTBoard Notebook Search Engine 
This is a custom search engine designed to locate SMARTBoard Notebooks for teachers. Have fun!

Congratulations to Edutopia-20years and going strong.

Free Classroom Guides and Educational Downloads for 2011 | Edutopia
"Edutopia is a Web site published by The George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF). Founded in 1991 by filmmaker George Lucas and venture capitalistSteve Arnold, the Foundation celebrates and encourages innovation in K-12 schools." Wikipedia 


  EDUTOPIA: Empowering and connecting teachers, administrators, and parents with innovative solutions and resources to better education. 

New! Ten Tips for Classroom Management

Learn how to improve student engagement and build a positive climate for learning and discipline for grades K-12

Top Ten Tips for Teaching with New Media

Whether you're new to teaching or a classroom veteran, this resource-packed collection of 10 new media tips provides fresh ideas and easy-to-use tools to engage your students and make learning more collaborative. (Updated: 6/14/11)

Summer Rejuvenation Guide

Whether it's reading a good book or starting a new hobby, this resource-packed guide highlights ten fun ways to spend your summer. (Updated: 5/24/11)

Top Ten Tips for Assessing Project-Based Learning

This classroom guide is intended to inspire and expand your thinking about effective assessment for project-based learning. 

Home-to-School Resource Guide

Get tips, tech tools, and strategies for how to strengthen the bonds between schools, families, and communities.

The guides and downloads are easy-to-print guides that include useful tips for teachers, parents, and school administrators.

 

Create an account on their website and you will be able to download any of the guides.


The website facilitates access to MUCH MUCH more in the way of innovative educational projects and innovations.

Edutopia 10 Top Tips For Teaching With New Media

For even more Edutopia resources and support:

edutopia - Twitter

Edutopia | Facebook

edutopia's Channel - YouTube

Australian focus: 

Edutopia: Schools That Work - Wellbeing Australia

In need of some inspiration?

Look no further.... "Life is short, live life to seek the greatest value of our action "- Stephen Hawking. Life is short video Thanks to Virginia Pav.


What about a little awe? Try this LG Optimus It really is a most remarkable, incredible, awesome, creative....(if you can forgive that it is advertising at its most extreme.)
Thanks to my Mum for this gem. :)

Standards for the Australian Curriculum announced.

The Hon Peter Garrett MP

Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth

14 October, 2011

Media release

First achievement standards for the Australian Curriculum

Some of the main points of interest from the release include:

The final achievement standards for the first four subjects in the Australian Curriculum were endorsed today at a joint meeting of Commonwealth, State and Territory Education Ministers.

“This means that as the new curriculum in maths, science, English and history is being taught, we will have a common understanding of the quality of student work across the country,” he said.


“We’re putting all the building blocks together: utilising technology, training our teachers, helping disadvantaged students and creating a national approach for the teaching profession. Providing more professional support for our school principals will ensure they can continue to lead the way.”


Ministers also announced the release of the Education and Care Services National Regulations for the early childhood education and care sector, part of the National Quality Framework. This is a major milestone which implements the first truly national regulatory system for early childhood education and care services.


“We want every kid in every school to be able to reach their full potential. At the moment, kids with disabilities are less likely to finish Year 12 and Australia is lagging behind other countries in the workforce participation of adults with disability.

Digital Storytelling: Inanimate Alice

 Inanimate Alice is a gripping digital, interactive, story of Alice and her imaginary friend Brad, set in the early years of the 21st Century and told through text, sounds, images, music and games. 

 ‘Alice’, a transmedia story, connects technologies, languages, cultures, generations and curricula within a sweeping narrative accessible by all.              

The education resources that accompany the series have been developed by Dr. Jess Laccetti, one of the visionaries and leading educators in this rapidly emerging field. The resources are available by registering for the free download at 

The downloadable Education Pack directly involves teachers and learners in the Inanimate Alice experience. The pages include lessons on using a digital story to explore character development and paragraph structure and making connections with the story and the medium. Students apply knowledge though high-order thinking skills and emphasize the value of collaboration in a real-world context.

Educators like how Inanimate Alice can take an audience unfamiliar with multimedia fiction with them and because of this; students from primary to post-graduate level find the work engaging.

These resources are being used by teachers in over 80 countries and also available in four other languages-French, German, Italian and Spanish.

Originally designed for university schools of education they are being further developed and adapted by teachers of children as young as eight years. They are equally a stimulus to those teaching children with engagement and learning difficulties as they are an inspiration for the gifted.   

The series and the associated resources have been designed as a reading-from-the-screen experience providing students with a high-quality literacy text that is delivered in a simulated multitasking environment that young people inherently connect with and understand.

Visit the Inanimate Alice Facebook page for further information.

Students are encouraged to co-create developing episodes of their own, either filling in the gaps or developing new strands.