Virtual Teacher Newsletter
No. 61 November 15th 2002 DIGITAL AGE OF TEACHING
THE FREE
ONLINE FORTNIGHTLY IT TEACHERS' NEWSLETTER
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CONTENTS
1. Welcome
2. Mind Candy
3. WWWinfo -
TEACHERS JOBS ON THE NET
4. New
Printables - PUZZLEMAKER
5. Technical
Stuff - ACER Presentation
6. Web Site
Focus - VISUAL LITERACY
7. CHRISTMAS
8. Great
Sites
9. Readers' Requests/Comments
10 Next Issue
11. Code of
'Netizens'
12. Tips
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1. WELCOME
EVERYONE I went to a fabulous
lunch this week
at the new
Adobe Offices at Chatswood in Sydney.
What a treat, not many school days include Cordon Bleu cooking, a glass
of wine, excellent coffee; and great ideas - I loved 'image
interrogation'. Visual Literacy
was the topic of the day, and Anne Bamford presented an excellent round-up of
the research todate, and some insights into their preliminary findings. It was great to have some innovative
ideas and perspectives presented on this new and expanding area of
education. This type of
presentation is just what teachers need, an input of new ideas, in a
professional environment with a great lunch. Teachers need to be treated professionally, great lunches and new ideas, forums for
exchange of ideas and networking occur in the boardrooms around the world, the
educational issues and concepts discussed in this type of relaxed professional
setting are MORE important than any other commercial boardroom. Not about
profits and AD campaigns, strategies and accounting, they are about the
EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF OUR MOST VALUABLE FUTURE RESOURCE, OUR
CHILDREN. More power to Adobe and
companies like them, who invest money in education and educational research, provide
training and forums for educational discussion. More on Visual Literacy below.
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2. MIND CANDY
Some jokes to
make them laugh................................
What was
the pirate movie rated?
aRRRgh!
What
subject is a witch good at in school?
Spelling!
What do
firemen put in their soup?
Fire
crackers!
Why did
the cookie go to the doctor?
Because it
was feeling crummy.
What did
the duck say when he bought lipstick?
Put it on
my bill.
What would
you call a sleeping bull?
A
bulldozer.
Why do
cows have bells?
Because
their horns don't work.
What pie
can fly?
A magpie.
How can
you make seven even?
Remove the
"S".
Did you
hear about the two silkworms who had a race?
It ended
in a tie.
My Favourite
Jokes from
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/jokes.htm
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3. WWWinfo
Teachers Jobs on the Net
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4. NEW
PRINTABLES PUZZLEMAKER
An Old VT
favourite - Just a reminder for Christmas Activities.
http://puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com/WordSearchSetupForm.html
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5. TECHNICAL
STUFF
DON'T miss
the ACER Computers & XSIQ coming up next week. It's FREE, you will hear
about all the latest ideas and offers, in professional elegant surrounding, just what teachers deserve.
Sydney is on
Tuesday from 4.30pm-6.00pm at the Novotel Olympic Park Homebush Bay
http://203.111.45.18/Acer_IT_Academy_new/html/schedule_Intel.htm
XSIQ and Acer
signed an agreement in September 2002 for the bundling and distribution of a
hardware/software
solution for
Australian and New Zealand schools.
The result? An
affordable,
reliable, high quality and cost-effective learning solution
for schools.
Contact Jason
Shanley
XSIQ
International Pty Ltd
email:
jasons@xsiq.com
Web: http://www.xsiq.com
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6. WEBSITE
FOCUS -ADOBE@SCHOOL - Visual Literacy
Research
todate has been a bit thin on the ground in this area. Dr Anne Bamford
presented findings from recent research conducted in conjunction with Ian Brown
and Wollongong University.
"This
paper overviews an Australian study of Visual literacy in relation to
educational multimedia communication'.
THE STUDY
Basically
students aged 10-15 were shown 20 images and asked 3 questions:-
What is this
image trying to communicate?
How has it
been made?
Who made the
image?
Then students
used PhotoShop to manipulate pictures of themselves.
They were
then shown another set of 20 images(similar to the first) and
asked to
respond to the same questions.
THE RESULTS
Basically the
study showed that students understanding of Visual Images, became more sophisticated
with just 1 1/2 hours of experience with ADOBE Photoshop. Students initially had a very
superficial understanding of the meaning of an image, even tough they often
understood the 'idea' the image was conveying. After working with Photoshop they began to understand how
image had been made, structured and crafted to achieve the impact of the final idea. These leads to a better deeper and more
critical understanding of visual imagery.
MY THOUGHTS
This study was
a preliminary study only, designed to point the way for more rigorous studies
in the future. The outcomes were
not unexpected. Presenting a new
program to students will naturally provide them with new insights and
understandings, otherwise there would be little reason to use software in
education. The gender differences
noticed by the researchers are apparent to observant teachers, many boys will
try to produce gross, and disgusting images whereas most girls will try to
produce beautiful images, images that are more appealing.
WHAT WAS
INTERESTING the development of some new - to me at least terminology, I loved -
'interrogation of the image'. I loved the fact that this area is now being
considered for research and is being funded, finally being acknowledge as an
important aspect of education. We are, as the paper states, an
"information and image-permeated society'.
ALSO the
researched gave the 10-15 year olds a brief introduction to a complex program,
PhotoShop, and the students were able to manipulate images and produce results
with it almost immediately. Anne
mentioned that in her masters class, over 14 weeks, PhotoShop would be taught
in stages, with a new tool/tools being introduced over the period. The students in the study were able to
navigate the program and produce results without the need for sequential,
analogue tuition. SO HERE is a
research technique that dynamically shows the downward escalator model of
technology. HERE IS a research
technique that acknowledges and uses a 'digital' rather than 'analogue'
approach to teaching. A DIGITAL approach that offers all the information
simultaneously, students select relevant material, use the help menu, use
friends ask questions, find out answers directly related to their immediate
needs.
SO HERE IT IS
FOLKS YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST, we are now moving into the DIGITAL AGE OF
TEACHING
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7. HOT LINKS
TO CHRISTMAS LESSON IDEAS
Therešs quite
a few here to sift through, enjoy them.
Barbara's
Christmas links page from Palmerston
http://www.palmdps.act.edu.au/christmas/christmas02_main.htm
A Christmas
Treasure Hunt - I liked this one.
http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/denise/ChristmasTreasureHunt.htm
How is
Christmas celebrated around the world?
http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/denise/HowChristmasIsCelebrated.htm
A page of
Christmas links for websites, webquests & worksheets at:
http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/denise/Christmas.htm
Santa's Mail
Room
http://www.north-pole.net/sendletter.html
Celebrating
December Around the World -
http://www.education-world.com/a_special/december.shtml
Education
World offering on ways to incorporate the holidays into your
classroom;
includes ideas from articles and websites to help you plan
effectively
Clip Art - http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/xmas/clip.html
Free images
you can use on your webpages, newsletters, activity sheets and letterhead.
Check this out!
Christmas
Around the World - http://www.santas.net/aroundtheworld.htm
Extensive
listing of traditions from various countries.
Christmas on
the Net - http://www.holidays.net/christmas/
Excellent
overview of the history and traditions of Christmas; includes an animated
calendar and music files
Christmas
Traditions in France and Canada -
http://www.culture.fr/culture/noel/angl/noel.htm
Available in
French and English, a joint effort from Canada and France
to present
the traditions of these nations in consort: family traditions,
religious
traditions, community celebrations, and coverage of the
Middle Ages,
the 15th through 18th centuries, and the 19th and 20th centuries.
http://www.christmas-cookies.com/
Dozens of
downloadable recipes you can use with your students.
Party Games
and Ideas -
http://hometown.aol.com/SantiKlaus/KidsPartiesXmas/HolidayFunPg6.html
Puzzles and
games you can use in your classroom this December for
Elementary
and Middle School aged students.
Trees and
More - http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/hort/trees.html
From the
University of Illinois Extension, a highly comprehensive guide
to all kinds
of December greenery: varieties, facts, traditions, care,
events,
flowers, recipes and so much more (thus, the title!).
Trivia Quiz -
http://www.familygames.com/features/quizzes/xmasquiz.html
Thirty
questions on Christmas traditions presented in an interactive
multiple choice
format which allows the participant to click on any and
all of the
choices to test their knowledge and gain information on the
history of
this holiday.
The Twelve
Books of Christmas -
http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/wwr/christmas/index.html
Recommended
reading from the American Library Association for Christmas
season in
your classroom; great Children literature to enrich your unit of study
Virtual
Christmas Tree Farm -
http://www.christmastrees.on.ca/vtfsite/vtfmain.html
The Christmas
Tree Farmers of Ontario have put together this virtual
field trip to
a farm to learn how trees are grown, cared for, harvested and
sold for the
holidays; includes a history of trees and kids activities too.
Worldwide
Christmas Calendar -
http://www.algonet.se/~bernadot/christmas/calendar.html
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8. GREAT
SITES
HOT SITES
Songs for the
End of Year Concert
Marvelous Toy
http://www.brownielocks.com/marveloustoy.html
Site packed
with everything, and I mean everything.
http://www.brownielocks.com/contents.html
http://www.brownielocks.com/marveloustoy.html
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Netd@ys 2002
- Images of Oz, chats, forums and OzProjects.
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Illuminations
(National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) This is a fantastic site - just what you have been looking
for - Interactive maths activities online
http://illuminations.nctm.org/index2.html
Spanning the
entire K-12 range, this great resource includes:
1)i-Maths:
online, interactive, multimedia math investigations. All i-Maths are built
around interactive math applets, and some also include video clips.
2)Internet-Based
Lesson Plans: examples of how the Internet can be used to help create effective
Standards-based mathematics lessons.
3) Math-lets:
math applets you can download and use to explore math and create interactive
lessons on your own.
4) Inquiry on
Practice: video vignettes,
research reports, and articles designed to encourage thinking and discussion
about how to improve the teaching and learning
5) Selected
Web Resources: use the dynamic table to selectively search over 1040 carefully
reviewed resources.
K-12
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HOT HOT HOT
In Search of the Ways of Knowing -Trail 5 Star Rating
http://www.brookfieldzoo.org/pagegen/wok/ways_index.html
Your trip to
the village of Epulu takes a detour when your jeep experiences mechanical
failure. You are forced to walk through the Ituri Forest in central Africa
accompanied by four youths from different local cultures. Along the way, you'll
make choices and learn about plants, animals, and survival. A Forest Factbook
serves as a glossary. Totally Flash-driven. Could get noisy!
years 3-12
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9. READERS COMMENTS/REQUESTS
Cathy,
I enjoy your
newsletter. You and your readers may be interested in
my pages on
Webquests and
On-Line Research Modules
http://library.trinity.wa.edu.au/teaching/webquests.htm
and
Collaborative Projects: Co-operation Across the World by E-mail and
Video
http://library.trinity.wa.edu.au/teaching/collab.htm
Cheers
Rosemary
Horton Teacher Librarian
P.L. Duffy
Resource Centre Trinity College
East Perth WA
6004
http://library.trinity.wa.edu.au/
thanks
Rosemary - updated
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Hello Cathy,
This is great
stuff.
Who funds it?
Where do you
teach? I see indications of
Sydney's East - pics of Rose
Bay sports
and promotion of Crown Street.
I have a
9-year old daughter currently at school in London. We are
returning to
Sydney (Balmain) for the start of the 2005 school year. I
have been
disappointed with the apparent failure of Sydney girls'
schools to
recognise just how central the Internet is going to be to
almost any
kind of work in the year 2018, when my daughter will be 25.
Which schools
are on top of the Sydney heap?
Cheers,
Boyd Munro
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Hi Boyd,
No Funding -
just what I think should happen - free ideas - free info and lots of use of
computers that save time and energy and make education more thrilling. I consult, to a few schools, I write, I
teach, I also run inservice courses. In my other life I work as a producer on
commercials and films, website design and promotion.
AS to which
schools are the best in Sydney - hard to say. My daughter was enrolled in one of the top private all girls
schools - too prescriptive and stereotyped - much more so than equivalent boys
schools - many of the public schools here are fantastic. It really depends on the sort of child
you have. Quiet, and obedient,
fairly standard sort of child there are some good all girls schools that would
suit, Kambala, Ascham, SCEGGS.
Outgoing, original, creative, imaginative - your out of luck. Most of the girls schools seem to want
to fit your child to their mold, this can be great if you have a sort of mold
fitting child - I didn't. So
public schools were the best bet, and there are many great public schools
around. There are a couple of co-ed
private schools that are sounding pretty interesting at the moment - Redham
House and the Sydney Grammar School - however I have had no personal experience
of either.
I guess it
starts with your child - what sort of child is she.
ciao
cathy
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Hello Cathy,
Found this
interesting site when researching water tension, after Master 8 wanted to
discuss ways of testing the strength of the surface tension of different
liquids (not to be confused with density as I have found out!) Well, I am still looking for answers, but
thought you might like to take a look at this site, and add the link to your
resources if you think it is worthwhile.
I always look
forward to your newsletter and have used your resources endlessly.
Cheers
Susie Wurf
http://education.usace.army.mil/clubhouse/house.html
Here is
another Cathy, for young arty folk.
It is abit over American in parts, but worth sifting thru and lots of
good links to follow.
Cheers
Susie Wurf
http://www.arts.ufl.edu/art/rt_room/index.html
Good Teacher
resources to check out
Cheers
Susie W.
http://www.getty.edu/artsednet/resources/index.html
------------------------------------------
Thanks Susie
- What do you all think of these....
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10. NEXT ISSUE - I probably went a
bit overboard this week with the Christmas sites there are so many out there.
Next issue I will take a further look at Visual Literacy. Any thoughts????
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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