global2

A chance for your students to get their stories on the ABC and win a trip to the Heywire Summit!

sandy — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:23:39 +0000

The ABC’s Heywire competition gives students in Years 10, 11, 12, and in tertiary courses,* from rural and regional Australia a chance to ‘tell it like it is’ on the ABC and in Canberra. All they have to do is submit a story to the Heywire website about life in their neck of the woods, or an issue in their community. Stories can be in text, audio, photo or video formats.

Their teaching notes can help you put ABC Heywire in to your curriculum.

Students can enter stories they have already produced in class, or educators can download our teaching notes (developed in partnership with ATOM and VATE) to incorporate Heywire into their curriculum: http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/201105/r768530_6520711.pdf.

The autobiographical storytelling at the heart of Heywire is ideally suited to units such as: identity, belonging, journeys, place, or personal narratives.

Entries close Monday 16 September 2013. Find more information and upload stories at http://www.abc.net.au/heywire.

The ABC selects approximately forty winning stories from around Australia to be produced with the help of
ABC staff and played on ABC Radio, ABC TV or abc.net.au! Winners also score an all-expenses-paid trip to
the Heywire Regional Youth Summit in Canberra in February where they stay at the Australian Institute of
Sport and build their leadership and communication skills. There’s even a reception at Parliament House!

To get an idea of what makes a great Heywire story, check out last year’s winning entries: http://www.abc.net.au/heywire/winners2012.html.

Don’t hesitate to contact ABC Heywire for more information: phone 1800 26 26 46 or email abcheywire@abc.net.au.

Naplan discussion in today’s Age online

sandy — Tue, 14 May 2013 23:34:26 +0000

Peter Job is an English and humanities teacher at Dandenong High School. His master’s thesis was National Benchmark Testing, League Tables and Media Reporting of Schools. In The Age today Peter has written an article Naplan is driving our kids backward. The article has prompted some discussion amongst the community both for and against standardised testing.

The most educated countries in the world

sandy — Mon, 13 May 2013 06:18:34 +0000

Thanks to Alison Morris and EducationNews.org who worked on and shared this really interesting visual representation of numerous factors around the “most educated” countries in the world.

Graphic

How high-poverty schools are getting it done

sandy — Thu, 09 May 2013 23:13:33 +0000

In an article by Karin Chenoweth and Christina Theokas it is opresented that Principals in high-achieving schools with a high percentage of students in poverty share four characteristics.

To anyone who cares about ensuring that all children are educated to a high standard, it is depressing to look at one of those graphs that show schools by percentage of low-income students on the x axis and academic achievement on the y axis. The steep slope down and to the right seems to demonstrate an iron law of probability: High-income schools have high achievement; low-income schools have low achievement. Even more uncomfortable for a country that often prides itself on having eliminated institutional discrimination, the same results can be replicated when race rather than income is used.

http://www.educationalleadership-digital.com/educationalleadership/201304?pg=58#pg58

Is anyone using the wiki function in Global2 with their students?

Sandy — Thu, 09 May 2013 06:24:23 +0000

Just wondering if anyone is using the wiki function in Global2 with their students? If you are we would love to hear about it. An oldie but a goodie is the

“Grade 3-4 at Bellaire Primary School in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It is the adventures of a tennis ball called Terry. Our teacher, Mr Pearce, started the story on the 29th of April 2006 and we have been adding to it since.”http://terrythetennisball.wikispaces.com/ A simple “Choose your own Adventure” story done with fun and smarts

Video Resource – Awesome stories

sandy — Tue, 07 May 2013 04:47:59 +0000

http://awesomestories.com

Online exams accessible when needed in NZ schools

sandy — Sun, 05 May 2013 23:41:20 +0000

Pupils may soon be able to sit school assessments online when they are ready, rather than waiting for the traditional exam period.

New Zealand Qualifications Authority chief executive Karen Poutasi has outlined what she says could be a “significant cultural shift for New Zealand” in a recent speech to secondary principals about the next decade in education.

“We can reach a position within eight years where most students will be sitting examinations using a digital device,” she said.

Secondary Principals Association president Tom Parsons said the system would be of huge benefit to intelligent pupils who were being held back in the classroom while they waited for end-of-year exams.

Teachers would manage pupils at different levels because it was already happening.

“Kids don’t always learn in a meaningful and quick way unless engaged, but why shouldn’t we remove the barriers so that they can do that learning earlier in certain areas.”

He said principals supported the idea happening as soon as possible, although the structure of the classroom and teaching style would need some changes first. Full article

Bond University film and television award opportunity for year 11 and 12 students

sandy — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:30:10 +0000

Encourage your Year 11 and 12 students to enter a short film for their chance to win a full tuition scholarship to study Film and Television at Bond University (valued at over $92,000). Students are asked to create a short film of no more than 10 minutes and enter before September 27, 2013. Categories include Animation, Comedy, Drama, Documentary, Experimental and Music Video

Check Out The Winning 2012 Bufta Film “Resistance” by Blake Borcich, Xavier College, VIC

Multiple awards, including Best School and the VideoPro People’s Choice, will be announced at the Gala Awards Evening held at Bond University in November. For full competition details, prizes, filmmaking tips and examples of past finalist films, visit www.bufta.com.au.

FUSE – A place to “Find Use Share Educational” resources

sandy — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 06:55:47 +0000

The DEECD has developed a number of places and spaces for teachers, students and everyone to access and use high quality digital resources for learning.

FUSE – ( Find Use Share Educational resources) is a place for learners to find digital resources that have been quality assured. Fuse presents a teacher page, a primary student and secondary student page and even a place for very young learners to explore the online world. Its a great place for parents to use with their children to find resources on a broad range of topics.

Students can access everything freely online at school and at home.

Victorian Government teachers can access this and more. Teachers can login to FUSE to access licensed digital content, have their own place to hold and share their own digital packages, videos and documents Go to FUSE

www.education.vic.gov.au/teacher

A 21st Century librarian helps students see through the cloud

sandy — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 02:21:08 +0000

Many schools have renamed their libraries Media Centers, and the people who help students access their resources need to be as tech-savvy as any IT person. Today’s librarians have to know things like responsible use policies (also known as acceptable use policies) and how to guide students in the effective use of the Internet for research. For schools trying to incorporate technology into the curriculum these educators are key, because they speak the language of technology and education.

ICTEV Annual State Conference: IT Takes A Village -Saturday 25 May

sandy — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 00:34:54 +0000

Have you registered for the conference yet? Don’t delay!
Register NOW so that you can register for the sessions you want to participate in before they fill up.
Click on the images below to check out the massive conference program and presenter grid.

DeforestACTION 2013 Polycom Event

sandy — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 04:29:09 +0000

DeforestACTION 2013

Our first event will celebrate World Earth Day 2013. TakingITGlobal, Centre for Global Education and Polycom APAC Special Events have teamed up to bring this event for FREE to schools across Asia Pacific. The DeforestACTION programme provides an array of educational resources that help students engage in meaningful, global collaborative problem-solving by exploring the global issue of deforestation.

Agenda

Your students will meet Holly Carroll, Presenter of “The Last of the Great Apes” and Youth Ambassador for the Jane Goodall Institute of Australia. Holly will be presenting LIVE from Jakarta, Indonesia. The event will also cross LIVE to Borneo where you will hear an update on Jojo and Juvi, two baby orangutans who were introduced DeforestACTION 2012’s event. This is a FREE event and is suitable for Grades 8-12.

Date: Monday, April 22
Time: 10 am Jakarta (1pm Sydney)

Duration: 45 minutes

Grades: 5 – 12

Participation

To register for this event, please visit http://www.projects.twice.cc/ where you can register online via CAPspace.

Or email Lynnette.Whitfield@polycom.com

LIMITED spaces!!!

Pride and Prejudice named favourite book among English teachers – but only because ‘subject is dominated by women’

sandy — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 23:53:24 +0000

Pride and Prejudice has come out on top in a survey of UK English teachers’ top 100 books for children – but only because the subject is dominated by female staff, a senior teaching expert has said.

The Jane Austen classic appeared ahead of other English curriculum staples such as The Great Gatsby and Nineteen Eighty-Four, as well as modern favourites Harry Potter and Twilight.

Chair of the National Association for the Teaching of English Simon Gibbons said the results of the Times Education Supplement survey were a reflection on the high proportion of women in teaching because “people who like that book tend to be female.”

He said: “People tell me it’s a very good book.

“I don’t personally hold that view – I’m just not a massive fan of that period of English fiction. But people who like that book tend to be female rather than male. And there are more female than male teachers, so perhaps that’s a reflection of gender as well.”

Statistics released by Nottingham Trent and Bedfordshire universities earlier this year showed around a quarter of primary schools in England – 4,5000 – are staffed entirely by women, with men making up just 12 per cent of the primary school workforce. Full article

5 ‘design your own game’ websites for students – with consideration for safe & responsible use.

sandy — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 23:37:10 +0000

Looking at these game sites its hard to resist something that is “free” and all there for you. One caution with some of these sites is to always look for the chat and social networking within. If the site has one it does present a risk and some difficulty in supervising just who your students are talking to. If the site allows you to control this then set it up to communication only in your classs , school or if agreed with other schools (Could be a unique group of interested students across schools. You can establish hard and fast rules about the set up of the space. Make sure you have parental permission and that they are fully informed and importantly that you set up expected behaviours as you would in your classroom and processes for supervision. (Just as you would in any class)
Just as we advise students look, think and consider the opportunities and the risks.

http://www.fractuslearning.com/2013/04/04/design-your-own-game/

There’s been a lot of buzz lately about the use of gaming in the classroom – from the ‘gamification’ of learning to the use of Minecraft to teach everything from physics to strategic thinking. Since long before education technology even existed, video games have been a hugely successful way to engage students, creating a fun and compelling environment in which they can learn, develop and interact with their peers. But allowing students to actually take control of designing the game themselves takes the concept to a whole new level, allowing them to practice a host of new creative and technical skills. Here are 5 websites – let the games begin!

Apparently its National School Librarian Day!!!

sandy — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 23:01:59 +0000

You know when you get an email and it looks a bit dodgy. ….Well I am not sure of the original source, the validity of the reference or even if it’s true but hey Why not? Pity there are no kids at school but I think in a way we have made this a sort of public holiday (Well school holiday anyway) to celebrate. To all those school librarians out there…Thank you for all that you do and have a great break. My favourite resource to share is the Lipstick Librarian