Virtual
Teacher Newsletter No. 102 5th February 2005 MOODLE
POODLE
THE
FREE ONLINE FORTNIGHTLY IT TEACHERS' NEWSLETTER
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CONTENTS
1.
Welcome
2.
Mind Candy
3.
WWWinfo
4.
New Printables - Text Types
5.
Technical Stuff - G4 & Netscape 6.1 & Blender
6.
Web Site Focus - Outer Space
7.
Better Bookweek Links
8.
Great Sites
9. Readers' Requests/Comments
10
Next Issue
11.
Code of 'Netizens'
12.
Tips
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1. WELCOME
EVERYONE. For the first 3 days of the holidays
I
watched ŒLord of the Rings¹ in all it¹s extended glory, with behind
the
scenes and extended scenes from the trilogy boxed set.
Fantastic. What an insight into filmmaking, the
story, Tolkien,
and
the world of middle earth. A truly educational inspiring
product, if you ever have a lazy 3 days, a brilliant way to
spend
them.
What¹s
a Moodle? Watch out there may be
one near
you.
HDV
is a new economical way to bring high
quality
filmmaking to film students, first installment below.
Have
a great first term, please enjoy.
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2.
MIND CANDY
Birthdays
are good for you, the more you have the longer you live.
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"Your living is determined not so
much by what life brings to you
as by the
attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens
to you as by the
way your mind looks at what happens."
- John
Homer Miller.
"Within
two decades, most of the world's knowledge will be digitized
and
available, one hopes for free reading on the Internet, just as
there
is free reading in libraries today."
MICHAEL
KELLER, Stanford U head librarian.
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The
software of human thinking is based on information, analysis
and
judgement. This is excellent just as the front left wheel of a
motorcar
is excellent - but not enough - Edward DeBono
www.worldcentrefornewthinking.org
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3.
WWWinfo International Year
2005:
International Year of...
10-December
-2004
The
United Nations General Assembly designates each year as "International
Year of..." Often, a year may have more than one designation.
2005
has been designated as all three of the following:
International
Year of Sport and Physical Education
International
Year of Microcredit
International
Year of Physics
In
2005, the UNV staff that manages the Online Volunteering service will make a
special effort to highlight online volunteering opportunities that relate to
the themes of these International Year designations. We also encourage
organizations who host online volunteers via our service to consider creating
assignments specifically-relating to these International Years.
http://www.onlinevolunteering.org/news/news_article.php?art_id=1367
of
Physics - to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein's 'events'.
http://www.physorg.com/news2326.html
International
Year of Planet Earth
International
Year of Sport and Physical Education
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_International_Years
The
International Year of Microcredit 2005.
http://www.gdrc.org/icm/iym2005/
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4.
NEW PRINTABLES - Moodle
79
Page PDF Moodle HowTo
http://learn.humboldt.edu/mod/resource/view.php?id=137
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5.
TECHNICAL STUFF
MOODLE
is an open source e-learning
platform. It has a relatively large‹and rapidly growing‹user base.
Moodle is a course
management system (CMS)‹a software package designed to help educators create
quality online courses. Such e-learning systems are sometimes also called
Learning Management Systems (LMS), Virtual Learning Environments (VLE),
education via computer-mediated communication (CMC) or Online Education. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moodle
http://moodle.org/doc/ http://moodle.com/
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IBM
Global Services has won a $6 million contract to supply wireless
networks
to Victoria's Department of Education and Training (DET).
IBM's
integration services division, IBM-Logicalis, was expected to install
9,000
Cisco wireless access points in 1600 Victorian primary and secondary
schools
across the state.
"The
Department of Education & Trainingís 802.11g wireless network will be
the
largest of its kind in the Asia Pacific region," IBM-Logicalis
executive
Simon Walsh said.
The
Victorian Department of Education said it hoped that the wireless
networks
would relieve some "technical overheads" its teachers faced,
leaving
them more time for students.
According
to IBM Global Services, its integration company is scheduled to
commence
rolling out the network in February, with completion by mid-2006.
IBM-Logicalis
was formed in March last year after IBM acquired the
Australia
and New Zealand arm of Logicalis Group for $88.5 million.
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,12006207%5E15306%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html
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Just
a quick note from Linda, to let
you know about some new updates which have been released, free web updates
for existing users of Inspiration 7 and Kidspiration 2.
Kidspiration¨
2.1
Inspiration¨
7.6
New
updates extend the use of Inspiration and kidspiration with the new
technologies being used in the classroom.
For
interactive whiteboards
Shape
and handwriting recognition make it possible to sketch symbols and links as
well as write text directly on the whiteboard. Toolbars may be moved to the
bottom of the screen for easy access by all students. See a QuickTime¨ movie of
new capabilities in Kidspiration and Inspiration. Click here if you need to
install QuickTime.
For
Palm-PoweredT handhelds
Sync
to and from Inspiration¨ for Palm OS¨, the handheld tool to develop ideas and
organize thinking.
For
Tablet PCs and Wacom¨ Tablets
Shape
and handwriting recognition make it possible to sketch symbols and links as
well as write text directly on the tablet with a stylus.
PLUS!
Kidspiration 2.1 now supports Maxâs Toolbox..
Included
in the Kidspiration 2.1 update is one-click transfer to Maxâs Toolbox where
students can finalize their writing projects.
Get
complimentary updates if you are currently using Kidspiration 2 or Inspiration
7 and higher.
Go
to:-
Inspiration
http://www.inspiration.com/techsupport/index.cfm?fuseaction=inspiration.insp7IE_updater
Kidspiration
http://www.inspiration.com/techsupport/index.cfm?fuseaction=kidspiration.kids2_IE_updater
Make
sure the International English Version is selected from the update screen as
that is the version that we supply schools with.
If
you want more information or pricing for Inspiration, Kidspiration, Max's
Toolbox or the Wacom tablets, Edsoft can help you with all of these products
and my contact details are below.
Regards
Linda
Zugai
Edsoft
Director
Business Development (K-12)
linda@edsoft.com.au
Also
register your school for the Partners in Training Program, the
program
that assists schools with professional development. Maximise the returns from
your software purchases. http://www.edsoft.com.au
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6.
WEBSITE FOCUS HDV What¹s it all about?
One
of the truly great developments in the digital media world is
arguably
the advent of HDV, now what is HDV I hear you ask.
HDV
is a "consumer high-definition video format"
Basically,
HDV produces high definition pictures and just like
HDTV
it has about twice the horizontal resolution of standard DV or
TV
pictures. These pictures are recorded on existing standard DV
format
digital videocassettes, the most popular of which is the
Mini-DV.
The recordings can be output for editing, via FireWire,
to
any computer with an editing program and then sent back to
the
camera for recording on tape or processed in the computer
for
DVD output. HDV pictures are native 16:9 (widescreen) digital
and
can be edited on a range of popular software such as
Apples
Final Cut Express (Mac) or Uleads media studio Pro (PC).
One
of the first to release a camera in this format is Sony
(one
of the consortium of manufactures who developed HDV)
I¹ll
be reviewing the new Sony HVR-FX1 and it¹s big brother the
HVR-Z1P
in a later issue, but as an indication of the impact this
format
will bring to the table, I¹ll quote my husband film industry
veteran
Producer & Director of Photography Geoffrey Brown.
³
This HDV camcorder (Sony HVR-Z1P) is going to trigger the
next revolution in affordable video
production, just like the
Sony
VX-1000 did nearly a decade ago. Its history repeats itself²
http://www.sony.com.au/production/catalog/product.jsp?categoryId=23796
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7. WEBSITE
FOCUS - BBC
You
just have to take days to explore this site thoroughly.
It
has a great search engine so it is easy to access. Here¹s a
few
of my favourites:
The Sky
at Night offers downloadable videos of programs on a
variety
of topics. Topics include Star Death, Star birth and the
Transit
of Venus.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/spaceguide/skyatnight/proginfo.shtml
Pyramid
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/programmes/pyramid/index.shtml
Vikings
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/index.shtml
Schools
Vikings 7-11
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/vikings/
Dinosaurs
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dinosaurs/tv_series/making_of.shtml
Cavemen
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/cavemen/
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8.
GREAT SITES
HOT
SITES
Hot
Potatoes
Get
it at http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/halfbaked/
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Official
Amelia Earhart Site
Created
on behalf of Earhart's family, this official site is excellent in content,
design, and navigation. Of course there is an Earhart biography, but don't stop
there. Other highlights include a nice collection of quotes ("Courage is
the price that Life exacts for granting peace." ), a photo gallery, and
screensavers and wallpaper (listed under Downloads.)
National
Geographic: Egypt Pyramids
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pyramids/pyramids.html
Laid
out in a timeline from first pyramid to last, this National Geographic site
makes excellent use of multimedia to explore the pyramids individually, and
place them within historical context. When visiting each pyramid page, place
your mouse over the photo of the pyramid to view a diagram of its internal
structure. Most of the eight featured pyramids also have additional photos
available on the Images button in the upper right-hand corner.
More
Logger ideas a fantastic and comprehensive site.
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9.
READERS COMMENTS/REQUESTS
Should
your comment about the pyramids have referred to
"Howard
Carter" not Carver?
Thanks
for your great work.
Alan
Dr.
Alan Angwin
Preschool
Field Officer - DHS Eastern Region
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Yes
of course. Howard Carver is a
Butcher
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Hi,
Cathy,
Thanks
for putting me back on the VT list.
You are really doing a
fabulous
job, and the newsletter gets better with every issue!
With
each, I find great information and resources that can be
applied
to my curriculum.
I am
going to be teaching my students how to do a Power Point
presentation. When I attempted to get into the site
you'd provided,
for
some reason it wouldn't come up.
Might I impose upon you
to
attach and resend the information to me?
Thank you!
Hoping
this finds you enjoying the upcoming holidays and your
lovely
family. I'm looking forward to
hearing from you again.
Best
to all,
Nancy
S-G
Hope
you received the email with the attachment Nancy
Goodluck
with the PowerPoints.
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10. NEXT ISSUE - Debono
revisited and You Oughta
be in
Pixels. Send in your experiences with the Thinking Hats
and
any great ideas.
ciao
Cathy
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11.
Code of the 'Netizens'
This
Newsletter is not free, despite the misleading advertising
above.
The Fee is now due. Each week you must help one
colleague
on the Internet who has less knowledge than you.
Help
that person even if you have to visit their classroom or
do a
little research and get back to them. Trust me, this will
help
a lot of people get their computer classrooms running better.
OK
I'm trusting you!!!
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12.
TIPS
1.
Double click on highlighted URLS to open in browser.
2.
Send in your Questions, Questions will be published with
Answers,
send in your Answers, if you have expertise to share.
3.
Nominate a brilliant site for review and inclusion in this
newsletter.
4.
Nominate a fantastic school site for review and inclusion in
this
newsletter.
5.
Make contact with other schools using fantastic programs.
6. Prepare
and innovative article for this newsletter.
7.
Tell 2 colleagues about this newsletter.
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The
opinions expressed here are purely those of the editor,
Cathy
Brown. All other small print clauses apply. Such as:
Use
at your own risk. Nothing in life is guaranteed. If it doesn't
work
for you send me an email.
Editor:
cathy brown mailto:cathy@virtualteacher.com.au
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