IN FLANDERS FIELDS by s

Terrific ideas for preparing for 2014 English from the awesome Lizzie Chase

Lizzie Chase shared: 2014 Stage 3 & 4 blogs

 – From Week 3 each term, for 5 weeks

 Term 1: Raft, river, rainbow - All about me blog - http://rapblog14.edublogs.org/ - AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL blog Click on 1.CHEST for Week 1 student writing

  Term 2: Band of heroes QUEST blog FANTASY blog [See 2013 version at http://rapblog15.edublogs.org/ - Click on 1.BAND for Week 1 writing

  Term 3: Hats, boxes, magic, moon - IMAGE based writing - Using images to inspire narrative writing http://hatsboxesmagicmoon.edublogs.org/ - Click on 1.HATS for Week 1 writing, etc]

  Term 4: Super 6 plus blog - DIFFERENTIATED tasks - http://super6plus.edublogs.org/ Minimum requirements: Students complete ONE task per week from the CONNECT, PREDICT, QUESTION, SUMMARISE and VISUALISE tasks. Enrichment options: Students complete as many tasks as they like, including the CRITIQUE, CREATE and ACT options.

  What are the Super 6 skills? Connecting, predicting, questioning, monitoring, summarising and visualising – these six ‘super’ skills form a repertoire for actively processing text and making meaning.
 When we share these skills with students – and name the skills so students can name and use them independently – students greatly improve their reading comprehension and inferential reading skills. - Click on 1.CONNECT for Week 1 writing and as if that is not wonderful enough Lizzie also shared:

BOOK WEEK ART: I have built a website featuring Samira Chami's Book Week art work at http://bookweekartsms.weebly.com As of yesterday, this site now has DOWNLOADABLE teaching notes!!
Last go through EVER - Stage 3 & 4 Fiction with a twist blog, starts Week 3, Term 4 - goes for 5 weeks at http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/raps/twist13/index.htm 

 Check out Super 6 based activities at:

 1. http://super6cards.weebly.com
 2. http://wiesnerfun.weebly.com [David Wiesner picture book activities]
 3. http://emilyfun.weebly.com [Emily Gravett picture books activities]

Time to review iPad use in class....How is your workflow?

Greg Swanson, Senior Project Officer eLearning Catholic Education Office, Sydney,
 has a very valuable and helpful blog for educators implementing iPads in education called Apps in Education. 

In this post Apps in Education: Student Documented Workflows for the iPad: Greg states: " Students love to share how they do things. This is especially true when they are working on iPads." Visit the link to discover more. The three posters below are shared by Greg who also states that "If students and or teachers want a more detailed explanation than the step-by-step instructions are available."

2014 schoolstechOZ conference ATTEND? or PRESENT?

 

Dear Colleagues We would like to let you know about our exciting new conference, schoolstechOZ - 2014. schoolstechOZ (one big conference) is a consolidation of our four national conferences:  Leading a Digital School Conference Interactive Teaching and Learning Conference Masterclass Conference Digital Classrooms - NZ Conference  It will be held at Firbank Grammar School, Melbourne on Friday 12, Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 September 2014. A fantastic Launch Special is available until 30 September 2013 (only a few weeks away). There are 2 options for this Launch Special: 3 Day Option - AU $595.00 or 2 Day Option - AU $395.00 If you are unsure of names at this stage, simply email team@iwb.net.au with the number of teachers you would like to register and you can confirm names a little later. Overview For all staff in the K-12 school education sector - network with 750 delegates Explore the essence of contemporary and future digital classrooms and digital schools Choose from 240 thought provoking and energizing breakout session over 3 days Leadership strand - targeted to current and emerging school leaders, presented by those in leadership positions with a reputation for leading digital technology in their school (if you like our Leading a Digital School Conference this is the strand for you) Classroom practice strand – targeted to classroom teachers, presented by teachers who integrate digital technology in the classroom to enhance teaching and learning (if you like our Interactive Teaching and Learning Conference this is the strand for you) Cutting edge future strand – targeted to experienced users of technology, presented by award winners passionate about discovering technology initiatives to excite teacher and student imagination (if you like our Masterclass Conference this is the strand for you) Cut across strands as you like! Attend 7 high profile expert keynote addresses over 3 days   Download the conference brochure here Yes, I would like to register We hope to see you in Melbourne in September (2014) - a great place to be. Are you interested in presenting at our exciting new conference schoolstechOZ? The conference will be held at Firbank Grammar School, Melbourne, VIC, on 12 – 14 September 2014. Find the current conference brochure athttp://bit.ly/17s1RxH Join in the program with the 7 high profile keynote speakers who have already been confirmed. (We have received over 80 expressions of interest to present to date so do not hesitate) If you are interested, and we hope you are, we would like you to present the equivalent of two different 50 minute sessions. A double session counts as two different sessions. We are looking for submissions with: A leadership focus - presented by school leaders A classroom practice focus - presented by teachers A cutting edge future focus - presented by technology award winners Benefits Every two (50 minute) sessions filled in the program attracts one complimentary registration for the full 3 days of the conference. Further information about schoolstechOZ is available on our website at http://www.iwb.net.au/schoolstechoz.htm Please contact val@iwb.net.au to express your interest and she will send you further information about submitting your sessions. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions. Best regards, Val Macaulay and Margo Metcalf Web: www.iwb.net.au Email: team@iwb.net.au Phone: +612 4647 0783 Fax: +612 8456 5707 ABN: 29 112 252 034 Sent with the permission of Margaret Lloyd. Shared with the permission of Margot Metcalf. Disclaimer: I do not benefit in any financial way by promoting this educational conference. My intention is to share the news.

Register for schoolstechOZ @ www.iwb.net.au/schoolstechoz

You could be about to embark on a whole new journey in the world of education. POWTOON!

One of our highly respected, innovative NSWDEC Teacher Librarians, Joachim Cohen, scored tens of thousands of free POWTOON accounts for other innovative teachers to use. These vouchers will run out soon, so get on to them!!
 Here are the instructions:
 1. Go to: http://www.powtoon.com/toonup/
 2. Once the payment wizard pops-up, type in your district's coupon code: TOONUP243
 3. The payment amount due will revert to zero. There is no need to enter any credit card info in the payment wizard.
 4. Each teacher account includes 30 individual student accounts as well and is good for one year.

 PowToon in the classroom -Visit  Getting Started  to get an overview.


 Tutorial for teachers
 Tutorial for students
 We also have a facebook group set up specifically for teachers where you can share ideas and experiences: Animated Videos Video Marketing Animated Presentations

COMING SOON Desktop player Continuous music loops Music fade out PowToon publisher

Disclaimer: I am not associated with this company nor will I profit in any way from anyone deciding to sign up.

Terrific Australian Curriculum support resources from Aus Lit.

AustLit is a searchable, scholarly source of authoritative biographical, bibliographic, critical, and production information about Australian writers and writing. It also documents the publishers, newspapers, magazines and scholarly journals that make this work known.

AustLit aims to be the definitive virtual research environment and information resource for Australian literary, print, and narrative culture.

• There are thousands full text works available through AustLit including:

  — Poems

  — Novels

  — Criticism

  — Reviews

is available to all Australian schools for free
Access for AustLit for DEC schools:
Go http://www.austlit.edu.au/ and initiate a search, and login when prompted
You will need to access the confidential DEC User name & Password 

 By drawing on resources from specialised areas of research within AustLit, AustLit can help teachers address the three primary cross-curriculum objectives of the National Curriculum.

ASIA AND AUSTRALIA’S ENGAGEMENT WITH ASIA

Three AustLit research areas provide useful background about Australia's relationship with Asia.

– Asian-Australian Children’s Literature and Publishing provides information about fiction for children that is

— set in Asia

— represents Asian-Australian cultures and experiences

— published in selected Asian languages.

– Children’s Literature Digital Resources make available a number of children’s literature Research and Learning Trails.

– Australian Literary Responses to 'Asia' tracks literary responses by Australian writers to that diverse region called 'Asia'.

ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER HISTORIES AND CULTURES

BlackWords provides searchable information about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers, storytellers and their published and unpublished books, stories, plays, poems and criticism. It includes works in English and in Indigenous Australian languages.

Children's Literature Digital Resources is a full text digital repository of Australian children’s literature from 1830 to 1945. Users can read online the complete texts of a selection of early Australian children’s literature, both popular and rare.

Digitised items include children’s and young adult fiction, poetry, short stories, and picture books.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

In AusLit I discovered: ASIAN-AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN'S LITERATURE

Great for new Australian Curriculum

The Asian-Australian Children’s Literature and Publishing (AACLAP) project investigates and records details of Australian children’s literature either set in Asia, works that contain Asian-Australian content or characters, works that represent Asian-Australian cultures and experiences, as well as hundreds of Australian works that have been translated into at least one Asian language.

The collection includes autobiographical works, fiction, criticism, poetry, drama, short stories, and picture books.

All Australian schools have free access to AustLit plus registered patrons of Australian libraries, such as national, state and territory, university, or government department libraries, have full access to AustLit through their membership of those libraries.

Teachers and students of Australian schools enquiring about access should contact their school's state-based education authority. Your school liaison librarian or teacher/librarian may also have access details.

WonderNote- Wonderful

WonderNote described in iTunes as " a wonderful diary book which can help you to record your life with text, photo gallery and voice, from now on, your life will become remarkable."



Features Highlight: 1. Support text, photo gallery and voice.2. Support both iPad an iPhone, sync notes and configuration to your iDevices automatically.3. iCloud backup, your notes will always be there.4. Support background color configuration, life is always colourful as it should be.5. Support passcode to protect your notes.6. Weather information retrieved automatically.7. Share your wonderful moment via twitter, email or just save it to your photo library.8. Notice on time to write an essay, which makes a great habit.9. Support All orientations. and it's FREE. 

Don't miss out as it is a very handy app for students in class.

News from Australian Science Teachers Association

The Australian Science Teachers Association (ASTA)
has produced 15 online Units of Work supporting the Australian Curriculum: Science for students in years F-10. 
The units were written by experienced teachers using resources available freely
online and through Scootle, in a project funded by DEEWR through Education
Services Australia.

The website is now live at http://scienceweb.asta.edu.au

ASTA is presenting a series of weekly webinars from August - November to support
teachers using the ScienceWeb units. The first of these webinars will be
presented by course writer Deb Smith on Tuesday 6 August at 8.00 pm EST.

There are two ways that teachers can login to the webinar. 
or 'enrol' in the Mixing and Separating course page on the ASTA
portal http://moodle.asta.edu.au/course/view.php?id=124

A free login on the ASRA portal is required to enrol. There are no requirements
other than a valid email address to set up an account on the site.

If your email address is an .edu.au domain you can self-enrol, otherwise please
email online@asta.edu.au to request access.
The portal page also contains a discussion forum about the unit. Links to
additional resources and the recording of the webinar will be added later.

Times for the webinar:
8.00 pm in Qld, NSW, ACT, Vic and Tas
7.30 pm in SA and NT
6.00 pm in WA
10.00 am GMT/UTC

The schedule of future webinars can be viewed at
http://moodle.asta.edu.au/course/view.php?id=73 

Nigel Mitchell
Manager, Online Professional Learning
ASTA - the Australian Science Teachers
Association    www.asta.edu.au   moodle.asta.edu.au

Are you interested in undertaking a free photo imaging course?

Are you a teacher or an educator who needs a little help with photo imaging - taking digital images, enhancing them, being creative with them?

 If so, this course could be most helpful to you:

Adobe Generation is a project-based learning course that provides a unique opportunity for teachers to learn new skills, develop existing skills using Adobe tools and provides an insight into how creative industries work.

The course lasts for 5 weeks; classes are weekly, live and online and run for 1.5hrs. When teachers complete the course, they will earn an Adobe Generation certification.

This course is about photo Imaging - taking digital images, enhancing them, being creative with them. The course is aimed at teachers and educationalists who wish improve their ability and confidence to create images and develop their classroom practice.

In this course we will cover key imaging techniques and principles, move on to some more in depth work and explore some advanced image creation and enhancement techniques (using Adobe Photoshop CS6). Each week you’ll hear from a professional about how they use some of the skills and techniques we’re covering and tune in to expert teachers who will share their classroom successes.

You’ll be asked to maintain an online image portfolio and will be set a weekly task to complete and display in your portfolio before the following session to reinforce the learning and allow you to start expanding your own portfolio.

The first live class for this course is on Wednesday 24th July 2013

How it works Register – Simply click this link to complete your registration form: http://anzmoodle.adobegeneration.com/login/signup.php?

Attend – Adobe Generation courses run online, so you can learn from anywhere. The one and a half hour tutorials are weekly and run in the evenings for five weeks. If you have to miss a live session, you can watch a recording later.

Participate – During the course, you’ll learn new techniques and complete creative challenges alongside other teachers from Australia across the globe.

Graduate – Once you’ve completed all course requirements (including the final project), you’ll earn your Adobe Generation certificate and digital badge. You’ll also be ready to integrate digital media into your teaching practice.

The Student Guide to iPads – It’s Great for Teachers Too

So your school has introduced iPads but you would love a simple, clear guide to support your students?

Richard Byrne's post entitled: The Student Guide to iPads – It’s Great for Teachers Too  shares about such a guide available as a free iTunes app- The Student Guide to iPads & iOS 6, written by Jac de Haan. 
Byrnes indicates that this app covers all of the basics needed to get started.
iTunes describes the app as: 

"The Student Guide to iPads & iOS 6 was written to help middle-school and high-school students become proficient with basic iPad operations to support learning.

This book focuses on iOS productivity apps and basic troubleshooting."

but WAIT there's MORE! .....

It is NOT enough to know HOW to use iPads we MUST use them well to support teaching and learning.

Mark Gleeson (Mr G online) stated in  iPurpose before iPad: " there is room for improvement in creating a tool for supporting time poor iPads in Schools implementers in planning, selecting, justifying and integrating iPad apps in education." and then went on to suggest a collaborative effort to develop such a tool.
Visit  iPurpose before iPad and be amazed at how helpful such a tool can be as it is continually tweaked and developed. You may wish to contribute your ideas to this helpful tool.

It's time to re-connect!

My cruise has been and gone!
My time in Europe is over.....
It is time to re-connect with my valued PLN's.
I have missed being connected to all my online friends & peers.

Where does the stage "Take a break!" fit in this diagram I wonder??

Change is inevitable but first I need to get organised to return to the wonderful kids at school. I missed their cheerful smiles heaps.

TEACHMEET REMINDER: 
The King's School is hosting a Sydney TeachMeet on Tuesday afternoon 8 October.
More about TMSydney
For further information on TeachMeets in Australia go to Teachmeet AUS

Round the World Cruise 2013 Sector C308 | 53 nt dep 20 May 2013 | Sea Princess

My husband and I are off on the trip of a lifetime:

Round the World Cruise 2013 Sector C308 | 53 nt dep 20 May 2013 | Sea Princess

to celebrate John's 60th and our 30th wedding anniversary.

Great Teachers Are Great Learners - AITSL by Innovation Unit

Coming soon: Harmony Day: Thursday 21 March

Sandy Beach Public School students will be celebrating Harmony Day this week. 

Welcome to Harmony Day

Harmony Day 21 March is a day of cultural respect for everyone who calls 

Australia home –from the traditional owners of this land to those who have come 

from many countries around the world.

                                      The message of Harmony Day is Everyone Belongs.

It is a day to celebrate Australia’s diversity. It is a day of cultural respect for everyone 

who calls Australia home – from the traditional owners of this land to those who have

come from many countries around the world. 

We are celebrating Harmony Day  through storytelling. By participating in Harmony

Day activities we can learn and understand how all Australians from diverse 

backgrounds equally belong to this nation and make it a better place.

   
Students will explore the new online resources specially provided to help them understand their culture more deeply.

Teacher can use any of the IWB Harmony Day resources provided to enhance the students understanding.

Join in the learning at TeachMeet

WHAT IS A TEACHMEET?  (Info below is TAKEN from their page)

• TeachMeets will be meeting/un-conferences where teachers will share good practice, practical ideas and personal insights into teaching with technology.
• All participants are encouraged to be ready to volunteer an idea, a tool or a website that they have delivered in their classroom.
• Alternatively they can discuss a product that they believe enhances their classroom practice.
• New scheme teachers are encouraged to attend and learn.
• The idea behind TeachMeets is hearing stories about learning, from teachers.
• This is a chance for teachers from all types of schools to network and to hear ideas from each other.
• TeachMeets are open to all and do not charge an entry fee.
• If you are still not comfortable with the concept of TeachMeet I have blogged about them a few times previously @

  Aussie teachers: It's TeachMeet- a virtual one!! Don't miss it!

  Australian teachers crazy for their teachmeets!!

  TEACHMEET WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT UPDATE

  
  
  MATT ESTERMAN shares this latest news:

So, to again boost interest in the smaller teachmeets, a few special ones have been organised. These are anchored in the Australian Curriculum subjects to be rolled out next year, but not restricted or chained down by content. All teachers of all KLAs are welcome to attend and encouraged to present on topics relevant and useful to teachers in that field and beyond. 

Please visit the wiki page and sign up to attend and (hopefully) present at at least one event! You are what makes teachmeets happen, so we need your help!

Confirmed events are:

TM AC Science - April 5th at Taronga Zoo - 4 for 4.30 start. Click HERE for the wiki page. 

TM AC History - May 1st at the State Library NSW - 4 for 4.30 start. Click HERE for the wiki page.

TM AC English is being organised now with the Sydney Theatre Company (June dates in mind) and if there are any volunteers to organise a Maths-flavoured one for perhaps August that'd be grand! 

If you would like to be involved in organising, there's always room! Let me know and I'll point you in the right direction.

As always, there are myriad other opportunities to attend and/or host an event. If you want to use the wiki, go for it. Just check out the other dates to see that it's not directly clashing with something else in that region/time. Here's the link for the Calendar of Events. 

Please forward this email to colleagues (or better yet, tap them on the shoulder to present if you think they have a great idea that should be shared!)  Consider also putting TeachMeets into the agenda at a staff meeting as the AC teachmeets are meant to help people connect with great ideas and colleagues as they develop new teaching and learning programs. There are also posters available for the AC teachmeets (see attached for the current duo).

Hope you all had a great weekend and see you at a TeachMeet!

Matt

Regards,

Matt Esterman

@mesterman

http://au.linkedin.com/in/matthewesterman 

2013 Sea Week -Sustainability

 Visit the website to check out: 

Seaweek 2013 - What's on the site?

Information

Background Information

Sustainable Seas for K to 6

Teaching Ideas

Sustainability and the Great Barrier Reef Teaching Unit

References and Websites Last year the theme was: ‘Marine Debris – Clean it Up!’.

Disappointingly WE have a LONG way to go to get it right!!

"The ocean is like a soup of plastic mostly composed of fragments invisible to the human eyes, killing life and affecting dangerously our health."  Pierre Fidenci, ESI President.
 Credit:   Important call: plastics kill!

"Fourteen billion pounds of garbage, mostly plastic, is dumped into the ocean every year."

^{o Orme, Helen. 2008. Earth in Danger: Pollution. New York, NY: Bearport Publishing.}

^{"Americans buy over 29 million bottles of water every year. Making all those bottles uses 17 million barrels of crude oil annually, which would be enough fuel to keep 1 million cars on the road for one year. Only 13% of those bottles are recycled. Plastic bottles take centuries to decompose—and if they are burned, they release toxic byproducts such as chlorine gas and ash containing heavy metals."}  

Didier, Suzanne. “Water Bottle Pollution Facts.” National Geographic. 2011. Accessed: January 25, 2012.

Most of the marine debris in the world is comprised of plastic materials (between 60 to 80% of total marine debris). 

The longevity of some plastics is estimated to be hundreds to thousands of years! 

The environmental impacts resulting from the accumulation of plastic waste are huge and increasing. Plastic debris affects wildlife, human health, and the environment.

The millions of tons of plastic bottles, bags, and garbage in the world's oceans are breaking down and leaching toxins posing a threat to marine life and human. Plastic materials in landfills sink in harmful chemicals into groundwater. Chemicals added to plastics are dangerously absorbed by humans like altering hormones.

Research on plastics includes a large and robust literature reporting adverse health effects in laboratory animals and wildlife at even low doses. Plastic debris is ingested by hundreds of species choking and starving them. Floating plastic debris can spread invasive species.

Endangered Species  Important call: plastics kill!

Litter and Debris in our waterways pdf available for download. This tiny plastic confetti, along with larger pieces of floating plastic, creates a big problem. Birds, like the laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis), and filter feeders that strain food out of the water may mistake plastic for plankton, fish eggs, or other food. On remote Midway Atoll, albatross chicks die of starvation and dehydration because their parents have unwittingly fed them bottle caps and cigarette lighters, which they can't digest. Even in the protected waters surrounding the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, at the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, our trash threatens endangered species like Hawaiian monk seals and green sea turtles.

Marine Debris | Ocean News | Ocean Today Drinking Water: Bottled or From the Tap? video available -Click on the link above.

Plastic Bottles & Ocean Pollution from Jeff Bennett

Further reading: Theme Issue 'Plastics, the environment and human health' compiled by R. C. Thompson, C. J. Moore, F. S. vom Saal and S. H. Swan

Additional resources for Sustainability
Fish and Kids / Marine Stewardship Council  A package containing lessons, worksheets, and activities to teach young students about sustainable seafood. Each subject has two levels: one for grades K-2and another for grades 3-5  Additional resources: http://www.fishandkids.org Grades: K-5

Confused about classifications and showing of films at school?

These sites may well provide some insight for you and your fellow teachers:

Australian Film censorship ratings and classifications explained

Check out these sources: 

Complete range of fact sheets for parents and children, teachers and students, schools and libraries

Information sheet for teachers – provides summary of the various classification categories for films, computer games and publications.

Database to search film classifications

Thanks to Barbara O’Connor| Resource Centre Coordinator for sharing these websites.

Lawful Screening of Films & Television Programs

Playing films, television and radio in schools (Main points taken from this website)

Schools can play films, television and radio in the classroom (or another teaching venue) as part of a course of instruction under s 28 of the Copyright Act. This includes playing a film to students via distance education software or a reticulation system, ie playing the film from a central point into a number of classrooms.

Playing films for non-educational purposes

There is no exception or licence in the Copyright Act which allows a school to play a film to its students for non-educational purposes, such as on bus excursions, during camps and for rainy day activities at lunchtime.

The Australian school sector has negotiated a voluntary blanket licence, called the Co-Curricular Licence, with Roadshow Public Performance Licensing (‘Roadshow’) for the playing of films by schools for non-educational purposes. This includes:

• At school for entertainment purposes (e.g. at lunchtime on a rainy day)
• On bus excursions, where the school provides the DVD (not the bus company)
• At school camps and excursions, including outdoor screenings at camp, where the school provides the DVD (not the camp)
• At after-school care and holiday programs conducted at and by the school.

NSWDEC schools need to act as an individual school, because we are not covered on a central basis as an educational department , and enter into the Co-Curricular Licence by:

• Going to www.roadshowppl.com.au 
• Selecting ‘Schools’ from the drop down menu under 'My Business Activity'.
• Inserting the following details:
  • School name and contact details
  • School ABN
  • No. of students in the school
• Paying the annual fee as agreed to under the Licence.
  
  The annual fee of the Co-Curricular Licence will vary between $55 and $154 depending on the number of students in your school.
  
  Payment can be made online by credit card or by cheque/direct deposit.
  
  The school must pay the total annual fee no later than 30 days after the commencement date of the licence in the first year of its uptake, and thereafter on for before the 30th of March in each year.

Always Obtain DVD’s from Reputable Sources

It is essential that films played in schools are obtained from legitimate sources. Film DVDs, for example, may be purchased or hired from non theatrical film distributors, licensed lending libraries or educational sources for screening on school premises. Visit Playing films, television and radio in schools for all of the facts.

Advice from Colleen Foleyof NSWDEC School Libraries
 "In relation to classifications which guide what can be shown, see the Department’s memorandum on ‘Films, Videos, DVDs and Computer Games Procedures for Use in Schools’. This is linked under ‘F’ on our Links page at http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/schoollibraries/links/index.htm

You can also locate it in the Policies section of the DET internet and intranet."