Virtual Teacher Newsletter No. 134 – VIRAL LEARNING
THE FREE ONLINE FORTNIGHTLY IT TEACHERS' NEWSLETTER
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CONTENTS
1. Welcome
2. Mind Candy
3. WWWinfo JUNK Science
4. New Printables The Real Inconvenient Truth
5. Technical Stuff – Sony HDD Video Camera
6. Web Site Focus – Viral Learning
7. Cathy’s Forum THE DET IMAGE MUST DIE
8. Great Sites
9. Readers' Requests/Comments
10 Next Issue
11. Code of 'Netizens'
12. Tips
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1. WELCOME EVERYONE.
I have had a longer break than usual, but am back now.
Read about Viral Learning and see if you can apply it to your
students. Have the courage to tackle Climate Change with the
facts not the hype. And I’d love to know what your experiences
are with Departmental supply of preloaded computers. Have a
great fortnight.
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2. MIND CANDY
Who knew that so many blowhards are out there pontificating
from complete ignorance?
Some of the bad descriptions appear to be poor efforts at
simplifying the material to suit grade school course work
Our moon, lacking greenhouse effect, makes a kind of
comparison even though lack of atmosphere makes it
uninhabitable regardless of temperature. The moon's
mean surface temperature by day is 107 °C (225 °F) and
by night drops to -153 °C (-243 °F). The Lunar temperature
increases about 260 °C from just before dawn to Lunar
noon. So, if you fancy such a temperature range then a
greenhouse effect-free world is for you, otherwise you
might want to be pleased we have it here on Earth.
Doubling the human contribution to atmospheric carbon
dioxide will cause somewhat less than 0.1 °C additional warming.
We estimate that the sun contributed as much as 45–50%
of the 1900–2000 global warming...
Of all the things humans should worry about, atmospheric CO2
isn't one of them. We are being told to look in the wrong direction.
Why?
Does the Earth's atmosphere primarily behave like an actual greenhouse?
No
ALMOST IGNORED by the media, the Royal Society has quietly
published what may prove to be the most significant paper on
Earth's climate in decades.
- The Royal Society is the independent scientific academy of
the UK and the Commonwealth.
http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk
All the above quotes from: http://www.junkscience.com/
TOTALLY SUPPORTED by the media the Feature film by Al Gore gets
all the press with his Catastrophic future prediction based on
junk science. A good Catastrophe always sells more box office.
- Al Gore is a politician.
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3. WWW info: JUNK SCIENCE
We’ve had cold weather lately, snowing in Victoria and Tasmania,
are we in for a Global Ice Age?
http://www.junkscience.com/Greenhouse/What_Watt.htm
http://www.junkscience.com/Greenhouse/
Here’s the site we all need, a SILII site – saying it like it is.
Check out other Junk to debunk here as well, and give you students
the real science not just the media hype.
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4. NEW PRINTABLES The Real Inconvenient Truth
http://www.junkscience.com/Greenhouse/al_poster600x889.jpg
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5. TECHNICAL STUFF
The new Sony HDD Camera DCRSR100
What a joy to use, how wonderful not to have to find a tape or CD to
use it. Fantastic intuitive interface. Clips appear in the view finder
and you can just choose digitally which one to play. Drag and drop them
straight onto your computer. Wonderful.
BUT WAIT
Just when Nirvana is within our grasp, THE DIGITAL CLIP won’t open
in iMovie or Final Cut Express. The supplied software is for PC only
and the silly program for editing for Mac has to be purchased.
SO WHAT IS GOING ON another example of getting it almost
right.
The clip is coded in MPEG2, an alternative format from the
Quicktime MPEG4. The Quicktime upgrade for this can be purchased,
PURCHASED, from Apple. But is this really the point.
SONY have a responsibility to supply a camera which will
operate on both platforms, AND THERE SHOULD BE NO
ADDITIONAL COST.
Sony wins the new STUPID MOVE of the month award from
VIRTUAL TEACHER.
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6. WEBSITE FOCUS - VIRAL LEARNING
Are you having a problem keeping everyone up to date with
all the new ideas, programs and websites? Here’s your answer;
Viral Learning.
There is a knowledge revolution going on and most organizations,
particularly schools, are failing to keep up. There is a need to
spread information more quickly, more organically to be able to
spread information using student learners, the internet, texting,
ipoding and computers.
You have all heard of Viral Marketing
Viral marketing describes any strategy that encourages
individuals to pass on a marketing message to others,
creating the potential for exponential growth in the message's
exposure and influence. Like viruses, such strategies take
advantage of rapid multiplication to explode the message to
thousands. Off the Internet, viral marketing has been referred
to as word-of-mouth, creating a buzz, leveraging the media,
network marketing.
It is a great technique to use with students. Teachers can
not teach it all, there is too much curriculum for that, and the
content is changing rapidly, what we knew 3 years ago is out
of date, what we learned 3 months ago has been upgraded,
there is constant learning and relearning, the rate of change
is exponential.
Here’s a strategy for introducing the new Macs
Teach several classes different programs on the new Macs.
Then select 2 students (for each class) to present a lesson
about each new area to a group of 2-4 students in
another class. Formalise this so that each class receives a
visit from the viral educators once a week for a 30min session.
This will mean that the 2-4 experts in each class can work
with small groups within each class during the week, and all
the new skills can be introduced as soon as possible.
Viral educators also email their classmates about the new
programs and bounce ideas around about possible uses.
The are encouraged to talk about each new experience, and
also to discuss possible methods for getting as many students
as possible onboard with the new programs as they can. By
encouraging the students to get involved with spreading the
word about the new programs and ideas, you can certainly
create a buzz.
http://radio.weblogs.com/0125797/stories/2003/06/05/viralLearning.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viral_marketing
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7. CATHY'S FORUM - THE DET IMAGE MUST DIE
I have just taken delivery of 11 new MacBooks. The trial
MacBook was a dream. The new 11 are running like dogs.
What is going on here? The DET (NSW Department of
Education and Training) IMAGE is going on. This is an exercise
in how to turn a perfectly wonderful, easy to use, no let’s say
joy to use, fast to connect to the internet, fast to load
applications, fantastically preloaded with wonderful easy to
use programs, into a tiresome dog. What a travesty, perhaps
there is a plot by DET to eliminate Mac use altogether.
Let’s just get them to use the troglodyte windows based machines,
don’t let them fly with opportunities for digital media, onboard
cameras, wonderfully intuitive native programs for image and
video editing, let them suffer from every virus and computer
nasty around, and bog them down with a cumbersome tedious
operating system. In an attempt to password protect DET
teachers and students from, well, EVERYTHING, and also
EVERYTHING else you haven’t even thought of, computers
arrive with 5 levels of users, each with different passwords
and levels of access. Logging onto the internet is through
the DET portal, which systematically restricts usage, slows
access, breaks down, is offline, has to many users – try
again later, or logs you out. Basically making things harder,
more frustrating, tedious, infuriating and mind-boggling stupid,
to the point that sane people, never want to use a computer
again. Computers should be a pleasure to use, they should
be easy to use, they should make tasks simpler, faster and
more exciting if they don’t, don’t use them.
What do you think? Have you had similar experiences?
You can’t even use Google images….. Is anyone else
experiencing problems with Macs using the DET image?
Does it Matter? It sure does. Send you responses in.
I’M SURE A LOT OF YOU WILL HAVE SOMETHING
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7B. TEACHING IS NOT A SCIENCE, IT’S AN ART
If teaching were a science there would be a best way of
teaching and everyone would have to teach like that.
George Polya
No responses to teaching as an art?? Do you have some
thoughts on it this time?
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8. GREAT SITES
Hi Cathy, no time to send in all my links just the best one
http://podcasting.arizona.edu/overview.htm
yours sincerely,
Carolyn Rutter
This sites amazing – don’t miss it.
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9. READERS COMMENTS/REQUESTS
Dear Cathy,
Yes, I did get two copies of your email.....Have a great break too!
Do you have any good sites for Unit of Work entitled Hatching Chicks and Growing things
- all to do with Life cycles of chicks, frogs, plants, etc.
Thanks,
Allyson
Here’s some places to get you equipment
http://www.hennypennyhatching.com.au/hph/Default.asp
http://www.farmyardfriends.com.au/hatching.html
Other interesting sites
http://www.youngchildrenslearning.ecsd.net/hatching_chicks.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how_5787_hatch-chicks.html
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Hi Cathy,
I'm looking for a way to teach children (age 8 to 11 years) in my classroom to use
Word and Publisher. We have copies of old books that are designed to let a
child work through exercises independently but I would like something that deals
with a more modern version of these programmes.
Any help gladly accepted.
regards
Glenda Begg
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Hi Glenda,
UGGH! don't use books - especially old books. Get to know
the programs yourself. In fact don't ever use Publisher its
rubbish. Just concentrate on Word. Start with some simple
things - then go add a few things each time. There is plenty in
Word to keep you occupied for ages and I defy anyone to ever
know all the possibilities.
Make all the teaching project based - We are going to draw
some shapes. We are going to write a story.
Show the students how to open the program and how to
display the draw tools Menu(accessed through toolbars/drawing)
- or set this up so that it is on all computers. Demonstrate
something, typing, drawing, shapes, 3D shapes, text boxes,
importing photos etc. then let them discover the rest. Any
demonstration should last no longer than 5mins. Discovery
is the best way for students to learn to use programs. Make
sure you show them how to use the help menu. Ask them to
try and figure it out for themselves, ask their neighbours and
only as a last resort, ask the teacher.
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Try some of the ideas at:-
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/teachtool.html
like - wordart, animal inventions, cliptastic.
goodluck.
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Hi Cathy:
Please review this Math and Phonics website
thanks and regards
Mani
Dr. Mani Gudavalli
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What do you think of this site??
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10. NEXT ISSUE - Some Christmas, some surprises.
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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