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."

Creating stories on the iPad- SO MUCH CHOICE!!

Book Creation on the iPad

View more lists from Meg Wilson

Creative Book Builder is a very popular app and with Google Apps on its way very soon, the feature that allows importing to google docs will prove very handy. For more info: Creative Book Builder, Make Amazing ePubs on your iPad

Further reading on some of the apps above:-5 Apps for Creating Interactive Books and ePubs on your iPad

Book Creator
"Mooklet for iPhone" is an app that allows you to create a "Mooklet", a "Photo Story Book", using your photos and text, that is unique in the world!

Just choose your favorite pictures and create a dynamic photo album in just a few minutes.

Since you can give out your pubished Mooklet as a "HTML5 based web application" via URL, your family and friends can easily look at and install it as native photo book app on their iPhone or iPad Home screen.
Check out a review on Mooklet

Maybe you are ready for some more advanced applications-You might like to try:

iBooks Author: Creating Multi-Touch Books for iPad

iBooks Author: Creating Multi-Touch Books for iPad from Nicole Hennig

For Higher Education Inkling could be just what you are looking for 
Turn textbooks with inkling into interactive books for the iPad
INKLING  FREE from iTunes

Ebook Innovator Inkling Releases Free Digital Publishing Kit  PC Mag and if that is not enough here are Technology Tailgate: 21 Great iPad Storytelling Apps: by Matt  Gomez

UPDATE- The First Book Club

One of the initiators of this innovative Book Club, Barbara Braxton, shares the latest update:
"The March 1st task for The FIRST Book Club has now been posted on the Club's
site  (While anyone can view the task only those registered as members can respond to it.)

Unfortunately, this site is very 'no frills' so I apologise for the lack of
formatting that might make it difficult to read.

However, in conjunction with this site, we have also established a wiki - The
FIRST Book Club Wiki 
The tasks will also be available there as well as extra information, like Lyndy's list of suggested apps that students might use for Task 1.  This is where students will also need to upload any digital presentations, although written responses are added to the comments section of the original site.  If you choose not to upload to the wiki, then put the link to the presentation in the comments box of the original site so others can view it.

     

                                                                                  





                                                                                                   Enokson

Participants will need to register for the wiki before they can upload any
presentations, and I'll approve these as I get the notification.

Students have till the end of this month to respond to this task.  

            wikimedia.org

Please encourage them to comment on what others have said or done 
but remind them of the rule to treat everyone with dignity and respect. 
Remember the purpose of the club is to connect kids so they can have greater enjoyment of their reading adventures."


If you are subscribing to The FIRST Book Club wiki so your students can share
multimedia responses please make sure you subscribe to
http://the-first-book-club.wikispaces.com/ There is another wiki called
firstbookclub which is run by someone else. Ours has 'the' as the first word and
I've now changed it so that there are hyphens in between the words.

You will know you are at the right one because there are a dozen little
calendars marching across the banner on a purple background.

Remember you don't have to join the wiki or the club
http://www.bookclubit.com/bookclub/default.aspx?id=700 to view the activities
but only registered members can upload their responses.  Each person wishing to
upload their response has to have their own account - neither is a site where a
teacher can create one a/c and then a host of 'sub-accounts'.  However, a
teacher can collate students responses and upload them in one post, although the
forum site has minimal formatting so responses may become garbled.

The FIRST Bookclub-an online club for students.

Recently Sue Warren, Lyndy Cracknell and Barbara Braxton announced the formation of an online book club for students in Years 5/6 

                                           Open publication - Free publishing - More reading

 There has been a lot of interest in this already but there are a couple of points that  Braxton  feels need clarification:
 1. The tasks and questions will be closely aligned to the outcomes of the English strand of the ANC for Years 5 and 6, which, I understand, are still Year 6 and 7 in Queensland. (Braxton  doesn’t know when education authorities are going to adopt the nomenclature of ACARA.) It is not limited to those students but because students will be recommending books within the context of the answers, these books need to be age appropriate.

2. The first task will be posted on March 1st under the Discussions tab.

3. There is no charge to join the Book Club and none of us are getting any payment or other reward for doing this. We just thought it might be a great way to connect kids, particularly those in isolated circumstances where there might not be a lot of other students of their age to discuss things with. “Isolated” may be their location, their situation or circumstance. So a student may be in a hospital school or the back of Bourke or in a large city school – we researched and chose a platform that was the most accessible that we could find.
 4. Our primary purpose is to get kids enjoying reading and offering them a way to share their enjoyment with others.

For further information download the information sheet.

Are you in it to win it?

With sustainability featuring highly in the Australian Curriculum it is wonderful to see a great new selection of teaching resources available to support teachers
 @ Sustainable Schools NSW hub.

Goodies up for grabs!

Welcome to our new-look Sustainable Schools NSW hub.

To celebrate our online makeover we are giving away three prize packs worth over $500 each!

Email us with your favourite education resource on the hub and you could win an annual NSW national parks and reserves pass PLUS a school visit from one of our rangers.

We look forward to hearing what you think!

Competition details:

• The deadline for entries is 31 May 2013.
• One entry per person is permitted.
• Entries are open to anyone with an interest in sustainability education.
• The draw takes place 3 June 2013.
• There are three prize packs to be won each consisting of one 12-month NSW National Parks All Parks Pass, and a NSW National Park Ranger visit to the winner's nominated school, including an assembly talk and an education session with one class. For remote schools, an alternative prize will be negotiated, such as a video-conference with the ranger.
• Winners will be notified via email.
• Employees and families of the Office of Environment and Heritage are not eligible to enter.

Writing workshops for wonderful wordsmiths!

The Children's Book Council NSW branch holds excellent writers workshop for high school students each year in partnership with the NSW State Library.

 Further details and flyers are found on the website.
CBCA NSW > Programs > Teen Writing Master Classes >
http://nsw.cbca.org.au/pages/writing-master-classes.html

Registration and scholarship details http://nsw.cbca.org.au/data/files/Teen_Masterclasses/2013/Teen_Writers_2013_Program_booking_form_20130208.pdf

They operate on 2 levels.  A Beginers course and an Ádvanced course is offered by each author.

Yes, they do cost $70 per student per session. Scholarships are available.

Bring your pen and imagination to one class or to the entire program; level 1 is for new students and level 2 is for returning students who want to develop their creative writing further.
 Please see below and make your selection.

March 18 - Anthony Eaton presents Level 1: Short Stories and How We Find Them

March 19 - Anthony Eaton presents Level 2: Getting Into and Out of Characters

May 6 - Ursula Dubosarsky presents Level 1: The Ultimate Challenge

May 7 - Ursula Dubosarsky presents Level 2: Delicate and Dramatic Novellas

July 22 - Michael Pryor presents Level 1: Write Like a Professional

July 23 - Michael Pryor presents Level 2: Supercharge your Writing

October 14 - The Bell Shakespeare Company & Tony Thompson present Level 1: If I Chance to Talk a Little Wild

October 15 - The Bell Shakespeare Company & Tony Thompson present Level 2: Fatal Flaws

These are top notch workshops and can be made more  financially accessible through a scholarship program. These provide invaluable writing experiences for your keen writers in the wonderful environment of the State Library.

I've gone to variations of most of these and am happy to share further info beyond the details on the website.

Cheers- Jackie Hawkes, for the Children's Book Council - NSW Branch


Shared with permission.

Share your GOOGLE journey.

Call for Presenters!

 Have a story to tell about your Google Apps journey or want to share classroom applications or technical know-how? 

Receive complimentary registration and apply here.

We invite you to join us for the first annual Google in Education Brisbane Summit to be held  at the Matthew Flinders Anglican College  on April 12 & 13, 2013.  This high intensity two day event focuses on deploying, integrating, and using Google Apps for Education and other Google Tools to promote student learning in K-12 and higher education. The program features Google Certified Teachers, Google Apps for Education Certified Trainers, practicing administrators, solution providers, Google engineers, and representatives from the Google education teams.  Register now to send teachers, administrators, tech directors, library media specialists, tech support staff, CTOs, and anyone who is interested in finding out more about leveraging Google Apps for Education to support student learning. Sessions include two keynote presentations, a demo slam competition, and a closing capstone session - plus two full days of informative breakouts, cutting-edge demonstrations, and hands-on workshops led by experienced and knowledgeable professional developers. Deployment & Management of Google Apps Google Apps Scripts Google Apps for Education Certification Chromebooks in Education YouTube for Schools Google Docs, Google Sites, Google Calendar, Gmail power tips, and... even more! All presenters are Google Certified Teachers, Google Apps for Education Certified Trainers, Google Employees, or teachers with local success stories!  via Chris Betcher on OZTLnet

Upbeat revamped!!

Mike Botham advised: Jeffrey Leask's fabulous music program, "Upbeat" has recently been revamped and is available direct from the creator.


Botham stated that "Whilst it is much more than just a singing/choir program it is chock-full of great songs that K - 2 will enjoy."

Prices and order forms 

Disclaimer: I have no association with this company and stand to receive no financial gain from informing you of its changes.

Explain a Website demo video by MorrisCooke

Re-use stock gallery images from google!

If you don't already follow this blog I highly recommend you do.

Every day Free Technology for Teachers provides teachers with free websites and resources that they can use in their classrooms. Richard also provides eight fabulous free guides for download.

This week Richard shared this great NEWS from GOOGLE! 

5,000 Stock Images for Google Drive Users 

 This week Google announced that the stock image gallery now has more than 5,000 images that are labeled for re-use. To access these images select "image" from the "insert" menu when you're working on a document or presentation. Then select the "search" option and finally select "stock images" to search for a stock image to use in your document or presentation. 

Resourcing the Australian Curriculum

At the heart of the Curriculum: Government maps plan for Asian Century success

The Australian Government has released its Asian Century white paper and outlined ways to take advantage of the region's boom in the areas of economy, education and skills, commerce, regional security and culture, but how has the road map been greeted?

For further understanding view the following video clips:
 "Where will Australia fit into the Asian Century?" 
  "Asian Languages."
 "China Connection."
 "PM's plan for every child to learn an Asian language."

What is Asia literacy?

The idea of Asia literacy is that by the time they leave school, a strong cohort of young Australians will speak an Asian language and all young Australians will have foundational and deep knowledge, skills and understanding of the histories, geographies, arts and literature of the diverse countries of Asia

The new Australian Curriculum includes the cross-curriculum priority of Asia and Australia's engagement with Asia in every subject from Foundation to Year 12.

Resources:

I have been collecting pins for my Australian Curriculum Resources board and on my library weblinks site: Australian Curriculum Resources  because not all pages are able to be pinned.

I have discovered that there are so many wonderful free, quality resources already available- You just need to know where to look!!

I hope my collections can help you find suitable resources to suit your school learning community.

You may also find some useful information at my recent past posts on New NSW Curriculum Updates ; Australian Curriculum update for NSW teachers and  Teacher Talk-: ACARA shape paper-Australian Curriculum .

NEW NSW Curriculum updates

NEWS from Primary Matters NSW 

Update on the new NSW K-10 syllabuses

Remember, you can access the syllabuses and support materials anytime, anywhere on a variety of devices using the Board’s NSW syllabuses for the Australian curriculum website.

The NSW syllabuses for the Australian curriculum website features icons that make it easier to identify these 13 areas.

The cross-curriculum priorities are:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures 
• Asia and Australia's engagement with Asia 
• Sustainability 

The general capabilities are:

• Critical and creative thinking 
• Ethical understanding 
• Information and communication technology capability 
• Intercultural understanding 
• Literacy 
• Numeracy 
• Personal and social capability 

ADVICE ON ASSESSMENT

Initial advice on assessment for the new NSW Syllabuses for the Australian Curriculum is now available.

Literacy support for Students with Special Needs

GOOD NEWS from: Primary Teachers' Network (PTN)

K-6 English Online Resource for Teachers with Students with Special Education Needs

The Board of Studies NSW has developed an online resource for primary teachers and special educators of students who experience difficulty with English and aspects of communication.
This resource is the first of its kind in Australia. Based on current research and theory, it was developed by the Board of Studies NSW in consultation with leading education professionals.
 In particular, the resource provides additional programming support and teaching strategies for teachers of students who experience difficulties in the areas of reading, writing, talking, listening and communication. Examples are included of how to identify and address these difficulties in the classroom environment.

The English K–6 Support Materials for Students with Special Education Needs can be accessed from the Board of Studies K–6 Educational Resources site at: k6.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/go/English/registration

Australian Education Bill 2012 Have you had a read yet?

Australian Education Bill 2012 

National Plan for School Improvement 

Visit http://www.betterschools.gov.au/video/australian-education-bill-2012 to view the transcript of the video with Peter Garrett.

Australian Education Bill 2012 - – the legislation following on from the Gonski review into school funding – was introduced into the  Australian Parliament on November 28.

The Bill outlines a commitment from the Australian Government to a new way of funding schools, based on the needs of individual students, and includes two ambitious targets:

•   By 2025, Australia will be ranked as a top 5 country in the world for the performance of our students in reading, science and maths; and

•   All Australian children will go to a school in a nation which is ranked in the top five for a high-quality and high-equity education system.  

The Australian Education Bill also outlines the core elements of the National Plan for School Improvement, including:

•   Quality teaching;

•   Quality learning;

•   Empowered school leadership;

•   Better information about school performance; and

•   Meeting student need.

Under the National Plan for School Improvement, every Australian student will be able to learn about our region throughout their schooling, including the chance to learn an Asian language from the first day of school

The Bill and Explanatory Statement are both available as a word doc or as a pdf.http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r4945
Introduction of the Australian Education Act 2012 FAQs on the Bill

Free to Mix: An educator's guide to reusing digital content

Defeat confusion with this handy guide from:

The guide gives you information, activities and ideas to confidently create a remix from material you know you have the rights to reuse. It shows students why copyright and licensing exist, how they work, and how they can apply licences to their own work through simple information, suggestions for activities, and links to more resources. By using it, you and your students will be able to participate in the global remix community while demonstrating creativity and integrity

Free to Mix: An educator's guide to reusing digital content

Also from the National Library of New Zealand site < http://schools.natlib.govt.nz/21st-century-literacy-inquiry/sources-resources/guide-reusing-digital-content#bottom> 
you can: 
* Watch a quick and engaging video from Creative Commons New Zealand to learn how to apply Creative Commons licensing to your work.

* Download a poster to use in your library and classroom to help learners and teachers to apply CC licences.