Virtual
Teacher Newsletter No. 52 June 21st 2002 – A LITTLE
SILLINESS
THE
FREE ONLINE FORTNIGHTLY IT TEACHERS' NEWSLETTER
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Newsletter
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CONTENTS
1.
Welcome
2.
Mind Candy
3.
WWWinfo World Cup soccer
4.
New Printables - E-Book
5.
Technical Stuff – Seminars and Sony Mavica
6.
Web Site Focus – PowerPoint 2
7.
Maths Across Australia
8.
Great Sites
9. Readers' Requests/Comments
10
Next Issue
11.
Code of 'Netizens'
12.
Tips
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1.
WELCOME EVERYONE. I hope everyone has his or her
Apollo-neck
sweater on with this cold weather. It's
fun
to use jokes for HSIE units and
KLA’s, making a point
presentation,
reinforcing concepts, and reading. "A little silliness
now
and then is valued by the wisest
men" - Roald Dahl.
Below
is a collection for Outer Space.
Check out some Spaced
Out
links here as well
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/science.html
and
the Webquest here
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~d3935pn1/year23/solars.html
Don't
miss the gigaflopping brilliant powerpoint tips below.
Send
in any others you might have.
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2.
MIND CANDY
Hans
and Stein were playing in their yard in Zurich when one
of
the boys accidentally swallowed a coin and started choking.
Hans
ran inside to get help, "Mamma! Pappa! Come quick! There's
a
franc in Stein!"
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RANDOM
ACTS OF SILLINESS IN SPACE
What
do astronauts wear to keep warm ?
Apollo-neck
sweaters !
Where
do astronauts leave their spaceships ?
At
parking meteors !
Where
do Martians drink beer ?
At a
mars bar !
How
do you get a baby astronaut to sleep ?
You
rock-et !
Two
astronauts went to the football stadium on the moon,
but
they left after a few minutes ?
You
see, it had no atmosphere !
How
do spacemen pass the time on long trips ?
They
play astronauts and crosses !
First
Spaceman: I'm hungry.
Second
Spaceman: So am I, it must be launch time !
What
do you call a loony spaceman ?
An
astronut !
What
do you call a space magician ?
A
flying sorcerer !
What
did the metric alien say ?
Take
me to your litre !
How
does a robot shave ?
With
a laser blade !
What
do you call a robot that always takes the longest route round ?
R2
detour !
Do
robots have sisters ?
No,
just transistors !
What
holds the moon up ?
Moon
beams !
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3.
WWWInfo Got to be the Soccer
http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/en/
Keep
up-to-date at the Official Site.
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4.
NEW PRINTABLES - Jenny Campbell
Here
is a site for educational ebooks
Which
is free to download.
It is
about How to research a topic and how to
publish
the results on the web, directed to secondary students.
You'll
find it at http://www.knowledgecollegetutors.com/research2.htm
http://www.knowledgecollegetutors.com
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5.
TECHNICAL STUFF
Hi
Cathy
I
don't know if this will reach you in time but there is a
conference,
Slate 2 Silicon, in Orange 21st and 22nd
June
that has been organised by Greg Alchin from
Ideate
and Mike Tom from DET. details of
the conference
can
be found at http://www.ideate.net.au/s2s.htm
There is quite a lot of input from NSW
DET TAs and will
be of
equal interest to both Mac and Win users. The cost
to
attend is minimal, $70.00, basically just to cover catering costs.
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On
the subject of conferences, I am the K-6 strand co-ordinator
for
the NSW CEG 2002 conference. This
year it will be held
at a
new time and in a new location:-
The
20th Annual State Conference
New
South Wales Computer Education Group
Sydney
Super Dome, Homebush
Monday
30th September to Wednesday 2nd October 2002
For
further information go to http://www.nswceg.org.au
I am
keen to locate K-6 teachers who are willing to share their
experiences
and expertise with others by giving a session at the
conference. The session should have an IT focus and
run for
about
50 minutes? It can be a paper, a demonstration or a
hands
on workshop. Please drop me an email if you think you
may
be interested or even if you just want to discuss some ideas.
All
input will be welcomed.
Linda
Zugai
NSW
State Manager
Edsoft
Pty Ltd
Email:-
Linda.Zugai@bigpond.com
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Sony
Mavica Digital Cameras. these
Cameras are great for
schools
as images are loaded direct to floppy disk as jpegs,
tiffs
etc(your choice). This avoids the
usual 11 step process
if
you use a USB input an a photo manipulation program.
The
'Mavica 95 also takes short movies - though is no longer
produced. The Mavica 100 for some strange reason
no longer
records
sound - to be careful of this one. The Mavica 75 is
just
for photos. Check them out at:-
http://www.sony.com.au/content.asp?go=products.asp
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6.
WEBSITE FOCUS -POWERPOINT 2
SPLENDIFEROUS
PowerPoint Tips
1. To
add sound effects to your PowerPoint goto
Slideshow/animations/custom.
This dialogue allows you to
select
an animation with a sound effect. Goto order and timing
a
select mouse click our automatic.
For most animations
I
prefer automatic.
2.
Now for a really tricky bit. To add a background track there
are a
couple of options
a.
You can goto insert/movie and sounds/play cd - here you
can
select a track from a CD in your CD drive and cue it to play
during
the presentation. When you play
your presentation you
will
always need to have the cd in the cd drive.
b.
Goto insert/movie and sound/sound from file you can select a
previously
save file and insert this onto your FIRST slide. Select
play
sound automatically from the dialogue box.
TRICKY
BIT HERE select the sound icon you have created and
goto
slideshow/animation/custom. Goto
Options in this dialogue
box,
select 'while playing continue slideshow, select stop playing
after
'999' slides, select 'hide while not playing', and loop it if you
want
to. this will mean the music will
play from the first to the last slide.
NOTE
OF CAUTION - PowerPoint will accept most sound formats
including,
midi, MP3, wav, however your CDs will need to be
converted
into these formats first before you can use them for this
second
method. There are also many FREE
music midi/wav/MP3
download
sites on the web.
http://www.externalharddrive.com/midi/midi.html
On a Macintosh the conversion to these
formats is easy - just using
ITunes.
On PCs there are also free programs to convert music
files
to these formats.
c.
You can record directly onto you PowerPoint using Insert/Movies
and
Sounds/Record Sound. You will need
a microphone plugged
into
the computer. The sound Icon can
be manipulated as above.
This
is great for narration or PowerPoint slide shows.
d.
There is another way - GOTO File/Make a Movie, Select Adjust
Settings,
select 'next', select 'background soundtrack' select the
pre-saved
soundtrack(in Midi, MP3,or Wav format), then save as a movie.
THIS
WILL NOT PLAY IN POWERPOINT, it WILL play in your
QuickTime
player. Most machines should have
a QuickTime player.
3.
The third really great TIP is to use slide transitions to make you
look
like the master. The later versions of PowerPoint allow you to
use
'QuickTime' transitions - very cool.
Goto slideshow/Slide
transitions/Select
QuickTime transitions. The cross
Fad is the most
common
and professional looking Transition, leave the settings at
the
default until you are familiar with it.
Some of the other settings
are
suitable for special effects, try them all and preview them as you go.
I
usually set the transition to automatic and them to about 3 secs –
for
most image based slides.
4.
The fourth really great TIP, is to use pictures as backgrounds.
Goto/Format/Background,
then click on the arrow at the corner of
the
colour bar, goto fill effects goto picture. Goto Select picture.
Landscape
orientation works best for this.
Stay
Tuned for PowerPoint 3 tips next newsletter.
Goodluck.
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7.
Join in the Maths Across Australia quest by the amazing
Barbara
Braxton
Teacher
Librarian Palmerston District Primary School
http://www.palmdps.act.edu.au/australia_maths/mainpage.htm
Where
is Australia? How big is Australia? suitable for upper Primary.
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8.
GREAT SITES
HOT
SITES
CIESE
Classroom Projects
http://k12science.ati.stevens-tech.edu/primarysourceproj.html
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United Nations
Atlas of the Oceans
The
Atlas is an information system designed for use by policy
makers
who need to become familiar with ocean issues and by
scientists,
students and resource managers who need access to
underlying
data bases and approaches to sustainability. This is
another
fantastic site with great resources.
http://www.oceansatlas.org/index.jsp
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Online
marketing for kids (a lesson)
http://www.media-awareness.ca/eng/med/class/teamed2/onlineads.htm
Marketing
Lesson
http://teachers.purplemountain.com/teachers/resultpage.asp?lp=2
Can
you sell it? Lesson plan
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/OSSArtLAMarketProductMakeCommercials48.htm
Great
ideas for teaching marketing
http://www.swcollege.com/marketing/gitm/gitm.html
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E-Learning
Guru
http://www.e-learningguru.com/
This
site is jam packed with "how to" articles, templates and
calculators
in the tool box, dozens of white papers, time saving book
summaries
and links to the best sites on the net. Looking at e-learning
for
your schools; begin with the article e-Learning Alphabet Soup. Or
check
out a beginner basic: What are Plug-ins?
Adult/Professional
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Anatomia
- Do you know about anatomy?
This is a fantastic site I
played
with it myself - did pretty well too.
http://www.anatomia.learningtogether.net/
Interactive
activities labeling the human skeleton, eye, skull,
digestive
system, respiratory system, skin are the core of this website.
A
collaborative team of 15 teachers from European countries
created
this website in 9 different languages, including English.
Middle
School, High School
Science
(Life Science)
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The
Internet Public Library - Kidspace - great place
http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/
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9.
READERS COMMENTS/REQUESTS
Hi
Cathy,
I am
considering doing exchange teaching in Texas, USA. My son is 14
and
an excellent athlete, wins middle distance running, also
all-rounder
in sports, in all the top teams, particularly baseball
and
football. Which schools would be good to apply to for
sporting
scholarships, or who would be able to evaluate him.
Any
suggestions you can give would d be most appreciated.
Jon
McManis
This
is one for the US readers – any suggestions??
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Thank
you Cathy for your informative site.
I have a colleague who I swap web sites
with and he has put
me
onto yours. You can trust me to keep up my end of the netizen
bargain,
I love helping others with their computer queries! I have
found
the best kind of help is informal help and we will often sit
around
the computers in the staffroom helping each other or
sharing
effective sites or strategies using ICT.
regards
Michelle Wood
(teacher
Ulladulla Primary School)
This
is exactly what it’s about.
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Cathy,
Our
Year 7 students are looking at the Government as part of
their
SOSE next term. Do you know of any useful sites which you
could
recommend and also any WebQuests which you know of?
Thanks
Chris Richards -
Director of Students
Ormiston College
Hi Chris,
Check
out the sites on the virtualteacher page
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/australia.html
Under
the government heading
Also
check out edna - links suggest below
http://www.edna.edu.au/discover/#resulttab
ciao
cathy
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G'day
Cathy
Sorry
for this late thank you
Thanks
for the information/websites. It was a little mind boggling
or is
that numbing - all that info but it was extremely useful useable
and
informative.
Thanks
Again
Mick
Duffy
Thanks
Mick
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear
Cathy,
I'm a
Year 6 teacher from Brisbane. I'm going to do a unit of work on
'alternatives
in energy' next term and want to know if there's a site
which
tells you of worthwhile excursions around the city of Brisbane.
Also
is there a way to search your virtual teacher website for
particular
topics rather than skimming through backdated issues
of
your newsletter?
Help?
Jennifer
Hi
Jennifer.
Yes
there is a section on "Cool Fuel" which is a unit of work on energy.
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/coolfuel2.pdf
answers
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/energyans.pdf
In
this unit I used EPA figures for NSW and VIC these sites are
excellent
- here is one for Brisbane.
http://www.env.qld.gov.au/environment/contact/regional/co.html
I am
unsure about excursions but perhaps folks at the site above may help.
Yes
you can search the site using the GOOGLE search engine - just for
VT -
just check the Virtual Teacher box below the google search engine.
Goodluck
cathy
PS
Can anyone help with Excursion sites in Brisbane???
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Cathy,
Would
you mind if I made your PowerPoint tutorial available to
our
teacher education students via my university's digital conferencing
service
(FirstClass)? If so, I would ensure VirtualTeacher is acknowledged.
Geoff
Dr
Geoff White
Deakin
University
Faculty
of Education
Burwood
Victoria
Hi
Geoff,
Go
right ahead.
ciao
cathy
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Dear
Cathy,
I emailed
a request for any sites that list open-ended maths
activities
for Stage 1 students (lower primary) a few weeks ago
and have been eagerly awaiting some
news via your newsletter.
Perhaps
my initial email didn't reach you. I know there are lots
of
great links to maths educational sites through your site, but so
far I
haven't found much on open-ended activities. Do you know
of
any sites that may help?
PS. I
think your newsletter is great and have encouraged lots
of my
collegues and friends to join. What an excellent way to
share
ideas and expertise!
Thanks,
Sonia.
Hi
Sonia,
Sorry
for the delay, your email address doesn't seem to work.
I new
this would take a while - I love maths and use a lot of ideas.
I
have used these activities K-2, some sound difficult but all can
be
managed by even young children.
there are many other ideas
as
well like the 3 colour theory etc..
Try some of the activities on
my
maths webpage as well:
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/maths.html
This
site has some interesting interactive activities as well –
things
like pattern making and tangrams are great.
http://matti.usu.edu/nlvm/nav/vlibrary.html
Virtual
Manipulative Pattern Blocks are great
http://matti.usu.edu/nlvm/nav/frames_asid_169_g_1_t_2.html
Fantastic
Tangram site
http://www.kidscom.com/games/tangram/tangram.html
Activities
I love to do with Stage 1 maths – that are not on the web:-
Use
dice-
Record
the results of throwing 1 dice, 2 dice, 3 dice.
Use totals.
graph the results. Using 2 dice, using 3 dice.
Write
down all the distinct additions(also use 3 and 4 dice)
subtractions
multiplications you can using 2 dice.
What
numbers are you most likely to throw – use simple tallies
to
work this out.
Using
shape.
Prove
a triangle has 3 sides.(can a triangle have more
than
3 sides or less than 3 sides? can it have more or
less
than 3 angles, can you make a 4 sided triangle,
why
isn't it a triangle??)
-
same with other shapes.
Make
up as many different triangles(rectangles etc) as
you
can using toothpicks, the matchstick(popstick, cotton
bud
etc). Count the perimeter. Record you work with a
diagram
and the number of matchsticks. Record the
lengths
of each side as well as the perimeter. Later classify
triangles
into equilateral, isosceles.
Discuss
2D, what is 3D? Construct same as above
using
Pleistocene and toothpicks. Demand accurate
diagrams.
Count corners and toothpicks used.
Discuss
2D, 3D what is 4D. 4D –
shapes through time.
Create
a representation of a 4D cube – (this might involve
3-4
cubes in different positions –
through
time – or the various stages of construction,
this
can also be videoed of photographed if you have
a
digital camera).
Experimentation
with number: -
Look
at perfect numbers, abundant numbers etc.
How
many ways to make 21 by addition, by multiplication,
more
advanced by subtraction etc.
Play
Euclid’s game http://www.cut-the-knot.com/blue/EuclidAlg.shtml
Look
at consecutive number addition to 10.
1
1+2
1+2+3
What
are the patterns explain them.
Take
a look at triangular numbers.
Interview
a number – find out all you can about it – are
there
any special things about the number, ask your parents
ask
you teachers. Take a number like
10
2x5 =
10 etc
10 is
the basis of our counting system. 10 is the number of
our
fingers and toes. History of the number ten- ie when did
it
first get used. Why do we write it
the way we do etc all
numbers
are interesting in this way.
Do
some coin flipping. Use one coin 2 coins, 3 coins etc.
Draw
some diagrams on Kidspiration, or by hand to represent
the
results. Probability tree diagrams.
http://shazam.econ.ubc.ca/flip/
The
secret is really to get students to record all their
activities
accurately.
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Hi
Cathy,
Congratulations
on a great site. I have given a paper copy of it to the
teachers
at my school as I thought it was a great starting point for any
Australian
study. You may wish to change the main title though, as it is
the
wrong your/you’re. Thanks for all your wonderful contributions!
regards,
Lauren
Bunch
Hi
Lauren – I corrected the typo – thanks for that.
cathy
==============================================
10. NEXT ISSUE A Bumper issue out next fortnight – Number
3 of
the Incredible PowerPoint tips and tricks, more jokes to brighten
up
your day, some great links on questioning strategies, and
more,
more, more….. Send you your ideas, have a great fortnight.
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.
==============================================
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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==============================================
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more information contact,
cathy@virtualteacher.com.au
For
information about inservice and training contact me at
cathy@virtualteacher.com.au
==============================================