Attention: All K-12 Executive and classroom teachers
Christmas in August?
Although we are only half way through 2010 the WeCreate: Greeting Card Design Awards are closing soon!
This competition is open to Primary and Secondary students in NSW Departmental schools (NSW DET login only) and gives them the chance to design the front of a card suitable for the Christmas holiday season. The card design should communicate a message of goodwill, harmony and celebration that would be appreciated by all community members.
The winning design will be selected by the Director General of Education.
All entries in the WeCreate: Greeting Card Design competition must be submitted by 6:00 pm AEST on 11 August 2010.
Summary: More than 2,000 teachers were recently surveyed about the Web 2.0 tools that they and their students most commonly used. This presentation by clifmims ,will provide a hands-on introduction to these tools along with teacher-created and student-created examples. Strategies for implementation will be shared.
In 2011 NAPLAN writing test, students will be asked to write in a persuasive style.
The decision to change from narrative to persuasive was made by all Australian Education Ministers at a Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA) meeting held on April 15, 2010.
"Quest Atlantis (QA) is an international learning and teaching project that uses a 3D multi-user environment to immerse children, ages 9-16, in educational tasks. QA combines strategies used in the commercial gaming environment with lessons from educational research on learning and motivation. Participation in this game is designed to enhance the lives of children while helping them grow into knowledgeable, responsible, and empathetic adults. Explore our site and learn more about this exciting project."
For information on this program: Voices of QA -Official QA Blog
QA develops seven areas:
* Creative Expression – "I Create" * Diversity Affirmation – "Everyone Matters" * Personal Agency – "I Have Voice" * Social Responsibility – "We Can Make a Difference" * Environmental Awareness – "Think Globally, Act Locally" * Healthy Communities – "Live, Love, Grow" * Compassionate Wisdom – "Be Kind"
Through participation in Quest Atlantis, youth will come to value their own communities and to recognize not only that their communities value them, but that even young people can make important contributions in their communities and in the world."
SUMMARY: What will be the latest emerging technologies that will hit schools in the next few years? How pedagogically sound are they? How will these technologies enhance teaching and learning? Will schools, teachers and students readily take them up? Tony Richards from ITmadeSimple, will discuss the projections of The Horizon Report 2010 K-12 Edition, as well as sharing his ideas on the topic. What do you think of cloud computing, collaborative tools, game based learning, and mobile devices? These are rapidly becoming part on the school landscape. While others such as Augmented Reality and Flexible Displays may be just
In a blog called "Schools Matter" there is a recent post called New Cure for ADHD: Recess.
The post discusses the results of a report on school-based physical activity and its association with academic performance, based on a review of 50 studies published in 43 articles
Conclusion:-for those of you who don't have time to read the post (not long)
"Rambunctiousness in children is normal. And it should be treated with recess, not Ritalin!"
The program, available to all for free at http://www.davidkatzmd.com/abcforfitness.aspx, not only allows for intermittent bursts of activity throughout the day whenever kids 'need' one, but matches aerobic routines to grade level and subject matter.
As I said before, there is a great temptation to be the didactic teacher when you have this type of technology. While it is fun to play with the toys, you will be surprised when you give your students the opportunity to try their hand at working on the board – and not just to write one word or to circle the mistake in a maths problem. Give groups of students control of the board for extended lengths of time, use your IWB as a station in a learning journey. Even just to brainstorm what they have learnt at the end of the day.Hall Jackson, The Interactive Classroom, May 2010
Ben Jones is a Professional Learning and Curriculum Support Project officer with the NSWDET Program delivering the Digital Education Revolution is NSW Public Schools.
Recently Ben posted: If we can’t teach ourselves, who can we teach? Ben states that: "We are at a cross road with professional learning. Down Status Quo Avenue we can continue to feed, structure and support our dependence on the 16th century professional learning models. The alternative path leads down ‘New Directions’ street requires us to evaluate our position, and then most importantly we need to play our position.
The provision of the Connected Classrooms in our schools and the widespread availability of webinars, online training modules and tutorials open many doors for growing knowledge.
I particularly love one these professional learning suggestions from Ben which would help build a strong and supportive school culture:
■Provide extra relief time post professional learning for teachers to pay it forward making it part of school culture and ■Build a culture of play and exploration by time tabling 15 minutes play!!
Connections Events for May 2010 Free Events
Connections offers free Open events regularly. These are usually of a more informative nature as opposed to highly interactive. We do try to keep them as interactive as possible, but we also try to make them available to many schools, and it is difficult to deliver both! Please visit our website to view all our free events.
Country Access Program - Astro Collie This term, Collie , our adventurous garden gnome is LOST IN SPACE.
He has been exploring our Solar System and seems to have lost his way.
He needs your help. By finding out as much as possible about the planets and celestial bodies in our Solar System you can help Collie. He will send clues each week to help you determine where he is. You can use this information to plot his course. Can you help him find his way home? Astro Collie's virtual excursions are available on:
12th May 2010 - Astro Collie - Journey Through the Solar System
22 June 2010 - Astro Collie - Careers in the Aerospace Industry
Australian Museum
You can now view ALL Australian Muesum events for 2010 at our website.
Their events available for May are listed below.
Meet the Megafauna
Join us for some fascinating insights into Australia’s megafauna.
What are the megafauna – are they simply ‘large animals’ or is there more to the story? Meet some of Australia’s megafauna including our biggest and our most vicious predator. See their fossils and compare them with some living relations. This virtual excursion is available on:
Paleontology Through Puppetry Winny Saurs a life size Muttaburrasaurs dinosaur puppet takes you to her world. Explore the Australian Museum fossil collection, talk to Museum staff and interact with Winny; to find out about her like and dislikes.
This virtual excursion is available on:
Human Evolution Journey back through time to meet some of our ancestors – including the ‘ape-men’, ‘work men’, Neanderthals and the so-called ‘wise humans’. Find out about the major changes that made us human and use skull features to place our ancestors and ancestral cousins within our evolutionary family tree. This virtual excursion is available on:
Our unique and affordable videoconferences let your students experience the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef without getting wet. Our videoconferences are filmed from within Reef HQ Aquarium, the world’s largest living coral reef aquarium, situated in Townsville, Australia, centre of the magnificent Great Barrier Reef.
We can take you into the stunning Coral Reef and exciting Predator exhibits through state of the art videoconferencing technology.
What will I see during a Reef Videoconference?
a turtle, sharks, sawfish and rays
amazingly colourful reef fish
living coral in its many stunning shapes and colours
some of the Great Barrier Reef’s most precious threatened and protected species
… and so much more!
Have your questions answered from deep in the tanks from our expert scuba divers who will be linked by microphone within the scuba mask.
You can now view ALL Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority events until July 2010 at our website.
Kigluait Educational Adventures Video conferencing to Talkeetna, Alaska. Meet sled dogs, drive a sled and meet the Mushers.
Kigluait Educational Adventures offers complete standards-based video conference programs, customizable curriculums, and training via onsite, video conference, and web-based communication tools.
The Mushing Series explores the lifestyle of running dogs in Alaska - from racing the Iditarod to keeping your family warm and well fed throughout the long northern winter. There are six separate 1 hour video conference programs in this series. All are supported by Kigluait Curriculum Adventures online Moodle classroom, a daily Kennel Blog, and resource rich Flash Kennels website.
You can now view ALL Kigluait Educational Adventures events until July 2010 at our website.
NASA - Space Center Houston
NSW teachers and the NASA Space Center education specialists have collaborated to develop education modules and live virtual excursion experiences to the Space Center.
Fizzics Education - NEW PROVIDER! Fizzics Education offer engaging hands-on experiments and interactive demonstrations designed to improve students understanding and appreciation of science. Our school science workshops have been previously assessed by the NSW Department of Education & Training Performances for Schools Unit.
Enrich your curriculum and make your next incursion one to remember!
Our science programmes are presented by qualified teachers, science communicators and science undergraduates each with experience in reaching audiences of all ages no matter what the setting.
With the release of BlogED into its second month, we are quickly trying to assess its uptake. Since April 25, over 6 000 teachers now have been provisioned , and over 24% have actively built a blog. The rate of uptake of any new technology is always a source of interest, and needs to be carefully understood before we can say with any confidence if the adoption is what might be expected .
Another term, another terrific opportunity for students to use ICT. Broadcast sport is the nextWeCreate Challenge for 2010 and students have from 19 April until 3 May to upload their story to the Broadcast website
For this challenge students celebrate the sporting achievements of a team or individual in their school. They can also view those of other schools via the website’s Newsroom.
See some of the stories submitted during the first Broadcast challenge (Broadcast: News) by visiting the Newsroom
The Broadcast sport challenge is one of the WeCreate: Connected Learning Awards and the WeCreate challenges which are being conducted throughout 2010 and can be mapped across a range of curriculum areas.
Here’s a chance to combine words, images, music, sound and other media to tell a story of human migration. This award is a collaborative project between the Centre for Learning Innovation and the National Museum of Australia.
All entries must be submitted to the WeCreate: Digital Story Awardswebsite by 6:00 pm AEST on 19 May 2010.
· OECD Centre for Educational Research and Innovation extends an invitation for you to have your say:
Dear all,
The OECD Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, in cooperation with the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry and with the support of the Norwegian Ministry of Education, has just released a new report on technology use and educational performance using PISA data.
The report Are the New Millennium Learners Making the Grade?analyses to what extent investments in technology enhance educational outcomes. One of the most striking findings of this study is that the digital divide in education goes beyond the issue of access to technology. A new second form of digital divide has been identified: the one existing between those who have the right competencies to benefit from computer use, and those who do not. These competencies and skills are closely linked to the economic, cultural and social capital of the student.
This finding has important implications for policy and practice. Governments should make an effort to clearly convey the message that computer use matters for the education of young people and do their best to engage teachers and schools in raising the frequency of computer use to a level that becomes relevant. If schools and teachers are really committed to the development of 21st century competencies, such an increase will happen naturally. And only in these circumstances will clear correlations between technology use and educational performance emerge.
As we have now started the preparations for a new edition using PISA 2009 data, your comments and suggestions for improvements will be extremely welcome.
Do you agree with some or all of Alfie's statements?
Take a moment on reflect on these points.....
Are there areas that you could improve in your classroom or admin area?
GOOD SIGNS
POSSIBLE REASONS TO WORRY
FURNITURE
Chairs around tables to facilitate interaction
Comfortable areas for learning, including multiple "activity centers"
Open space for gathering
Chairs all facing forward or (even worse) desks in rows
ON THE WALLS
Covered with students' projects
Evidence of student collaboration
Signs, exhibits, or lists obviously created by students rather than by the teacher
Information about, and personal mementos of, the people who spend time together in this classroom
Nothing
Commercial posters
Students' assignments displayed, but they are (a) suspiciously flawless, (b) only from "the best" students, or (c) virtually all alike
List of rules created by an adult and/or list of punitive consequences for misbehavior
Sticker (or star) chart -- or other evidence that students are rewarded or ranked
STUDENTS' FACES
Eager, engaged
Blank, bored
SOUNDS
Frequent hum of activity and ideas being exchanged
Frequent periods of silence The teacher's voice is the loudest or most often heard
LOCATION OF TEACHER
Typically working with students so it takes a few seconds to find her
Typically front and center
TEACHER'S VOICE
Respectful, genuine, warm
Controlling and imperious Condescending and saccharine-sweet
STUDENTS' REACTION TO VISITOR
Welcoming; eager to explain or demonstrate what they're doing or to use visitor as a resource
Either unresponsive or hoping to be distracted from what they're doing
CLASS DISCUSSION
Students often address one another directly Emphasis on thoughtful exploration of complicated issues
Students ask questions at least as often the teacher does
All exchanges involve (or are directed by) the teacher; students wait to be called on Emphasis on facts and right answers
Students race to be first to answer teacher's "Who can tell me...?" queries
STUFF
Room overflowing with good books, art supplies, animals and plants, science apparatus; "sense of purposeful clutter"
Textbooks, worksheets, and other packaged instructional materials predominate; sense of enforced orderliness
TASKS
Different activities often take place simultaneously Activities frequently completed by pairs or groups of students
All students usually doing the same thing
When students aren't listening to the teacher, they're working alone
AROUND THE SCHOOL
Appealing atmosphere: a place where people would want to spend time Students' projects fill the hallways
Library well-stocked and comfortable
Bathrooms in good condition
Faculty lounge warm and inviting
Office staff welcoming toward visitors and students
Students helping in lunchroom, library, and with other school functions
Stark, institutional feel Awards, trophies, and prizes displayed, suggesting an emphasis on triumph rather than community
Professional Learning Events within the North Coast Region will be available from the 15 March 2010, onwards. Please refer to the PLE for Events prior to this date. ***
An expert on animal behavior, Temple Grandin has designed humane handling systems for half the cattle-processing facilities in the US, and consults with the meat industry to develop animal welfare guidelines. As PETA wrote when awarding her a 2004 Proggy: “Dr. Grandin's improvements to animal-handling systems found in slaughterhouses have decreased the amount of fear and pain that animals experience in their final hours, and she is widely considered the world's leading expert on the welfare of cattle and pigs.”
Grandin’s books about her interior life as an autistic person have increased the world's understanding of the condition with personal immediacy -- and with import, as rates of autism diagnosis rise. She is revered by animal rights groups and members of autistic community, perhaps because in both regards she is a voice for those who are sometimes challenged to make themselves heard.
"Autism is part of who I am."
Temple Grandin gets a standing ovation for this talk!!
The draft Australian Curriculum for English, mathematics, science and history (K-10) will be available for consultation from 1 March 2010 to the end of May 2010. The draft curriculum for these learning areas will be available online through the Australian Curriculum Consultation Portal, and will include content
The consultation website will be available for everyone to read, review, download or print the draft K-10 curriculum. Opportunities will be available to provide feedback on the draft curriculum On-line survey
Teachers and other stakeholders in the broader education community will be able to review the curriculum materials and provide targeted feedback through an online survey.
The Australian curriculum will be developed in the first phase for English, mathematics, science and history. In May 2009, the Interim National Curriculum Board (NCB) published The Shape of the Australian Curriculum: English, Mathematics, Science and History.
Phase 2 – The Australian Curriculum The second phase of the Australian curriculum development involves geography, languages and the arts. Initial shape papers for geography, languages and the arts will be available for public consultation in mid 2010.
Phase 3 - The Australian Curriculum The third phase of the Australian curriculum development involves design and technology, health and physical education, ICT, economics, business and civics and citizenship. The Shape of the Australian Curriculum identifies ten general capabilities to be addressed in the Australian curriculum.
The General Capabilities The general capabilities are literacy, numeracy, ICT, thinking skills, creativity, self management, teamwork, intercultural understanding, ethical behaviour and social competence. Particular attention has been given to the incorporation of literacy, numeracy, ICT, thinking skills and creativity into the draft Australian curriculum for English, mathematics, science and history.
Australian Curriculum Fact Sheet This fact sheet summarises the progress on the development of the Australian curriculum for English, mathematics, science and history.
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