Virtual Teacher
Newsletter No. 70 May 3rd 2003 - WOW-WHAT
A RESOURCE.
THE FREE ONLINE
FORTNIGHTLY IT TEACHERS' NEWSLETTER
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CONTENTS
1.
Welcome
2.
Mind Candy
3.
WWWinfo GUIDE TO CONSUMER RIGHTS
4.
New Printables - DATABASE MOONS
OF JUPITER
5.
Technical Stuff FREE ADOBE PDF
6.
Web Site Focus - DATABASES
7.
WWWDRAMA
8.
Great Sites
9. Readers' Requests/Comments
10
Next Issue
11.
Code of 'Netizens'
12.
Tips
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WELCOME EVERYONE. Every now and then you read another
Article, survey or research project about
the GREENHOUSE effect.
I recently read about an international
survey of schools and
students which researched their knowledge
of the causes and
understanding of the GREENHOUSE. It seems quite amazing
to me, that the only factsı folk seem to
be aware of are manmade.
But old mother nature has the last
word..
So here it is in a nutshell- Global
Warming the Greenhouse effect,
the whole geological truth.
The
climate on earth is not stable. It changes between Ice Age
and
Greenhouse frequently. There was a glacial advance 8,000
years
ago, and another between 5,800 and 4,900, since then
North
America and Northern Europe have experienced 2 further
glacial
advancing episodes, in 1300-400 BC and 1300-1920 AD,
yes,
thatıs right, just recently. This means we are currently in a
greenhouse
period, which will most probably continue to effect
climate
for at least another 500 years. During the history of the
earth
there have been many very rapid periods of warming, of
up to
7 degrees, in less than a century.
The West Antarctic Ice Sheet has been
changing rapidly, in
Geological terms, for the last 6,000
years and is slowly disintegrating.
Its collapse today would see a sea level
rise of 6 metres.
Supernova eruptions, solar flaring,
sunspots, orbital wobbles,
meteorites, comets, life, mountain
building, erosion, weathering,
sedimentation, continental drift,
volcanoes, ocean currents,
tides and ice armadas can all cause
dramatic effects on our
climate. Stopping them is pretty tough
even for modern
man and thatıs the problem old mother
nature is much more
pervasive than any man-made pollutants
but people are still
being told that man is the villain here.
Environmental responsibility
is worth while and necessary but it is
only one small aspect affecting
our planets health and if we are to be
good planetary citizens itıs
up to us to know all the facts and thatıs
where the internet comes in.
You all have the power to research this
or any concern and develop
a balanced understanding on each topic or
issue, rather than rely
on some popularist bandwagon, usually
motivated by political self
interest of one sort or the other. We
need to teach our children
how to research information rather than
accepting everything
they read as fact.
To start the ball rolling on this topic
goto
http://www.ees.nmt.edu/~ranck/hot.html
or pick up a copy of Ian Plimerıs book
http://www.smedg.org.au/plimer0701.html
The Internet, WOW what a resource.
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2.
MIND CANDY
'The
guts of teaching is simple - it is the relationship between a
teacher
and a group of kids'
Howard
Wilson
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'Nothing
has happened in education until it has happened to a
student.'
Joseph Carroll
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'Intellectual
activity anywhere is the same whether at the frontier
of
knowledge or in a third grade classroom.'
Jerome Bruner
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'The
greatest unexplored territory in the world is the space
between
the ears.' Bill
O'Brien CEO
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'I
set myself as the goal the maximum capacity that people have
- I
settle for no less. I make myself a relentless architect of the
possibilities
of human beings.'
Benjamen
Zander Conductor Boston
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'A
school isn't good enough until it is good enough for our own
children.
In fact it's not only that it must be good enough for our
own
children but it must be the dream school we want for our
children.'
H
Levin Stanford Prof of Economics
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3.
WWWinfo
Fair
Trading - A students Guide to Consumer Rights - Great site
includes
history and advice.
Never
sign anything that you haven't read or understood - especially
if it
has blank spaces. There's rarely a cooling-off period and if you
do
cancel, you may be up for a hefty cancellation fee.
Renting Moving in Living there Your
rights Renting contacts
Wheels Wheels contacts
Shopping
and refunds
Internet shopping Credit Managing your
credit
card Credit contacts
http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/secondarymenus/equitygroups/schoolprojects.html
=====================================
4.
NEW PRINTABLES
Moons
of Jupiter Database
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/database.xls
==============================================
5.
TECHNICAL STUFF
Free
pdf writer - Windows only.
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QSITE
2003 State Conference ICTs by Design
Griffith
University, Queensland College of Art, Brisbane -3 & 4 July 2003
June
30-July 2 Specialist Workshops
The
program for the conference is coming along well with 3 days of
pre-conference
workshops including multimedia, web building,
3D
studio max,
online
course building and ASP workshops.
Register
via the web site http://www.qsite.edu.au
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8th
Early Childhood Convention
http://www.theschooldaily.com/articleView.asp?articlePK=19151
Sunday,
21 September 2003 - Thursday, 25 September 2003. A
premier
early childhood event in New Zealand, held every four years,
the
Convention will attract approximately 1200 practitioners,
researchers,
academics, students, educators, government department
staff
and officials and more. The convention includes three full days of professional
program offering new research material and practical
professional
development.
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Hello
Cathy
Could
you put some of this in your next newsletter for me please?
Cheers
Kerrie
Just
a note to remind everyone that the SACK project activities get
underway
when SA schools get back from holidays i.e. April 28.
Some
activities are reserved for South Australian school while others are
available
Australia wide.
You
can see the activities for Term 2 at
http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/kasmith/activities/activities.htm
Teachers
who are interested in being kept informed of events are invited to
join
the SACK2003 mailing list. See
http://www.edna.edu.au/messaging/list.html?id=sack2003
Emails
to this list will come only from the SACK project manager and will
be
restricted to announcements about SACK project activities.
Participating
teachers will be consulted for activities for Term 3.
All
schools are invited to send introductions to sapp2202@senet.com.au
together
with a picture of your class or your school.
To
start the term off we have the Grocery Shopping List (for everyone) and
What/Where
(SA schools only).
Those
activities will happen for 5 weeks, but your class needs to check
What/Where
each day and send their guesses in on the Friday of the week.
In
the second half of the term there is SA Quiz (SA schools only) and Book
reviews
(Australia wide)
There
are now 3 travel buddies.
Sappy's
schedule is just about full, but Drag'n Dropp has a number of spots
left
for K-5 classes in the Adelaide metropolitan area.
We
have a new travel buddy called Shirley Valentine Bear who can go on
short
visits to other states. Check it
all out at
http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/kasmith/activities/travel.htm
Regards
Kerrie
Smith kerrie.smith@senet.com.au
==============================================
6.
WEBSITE FOCUS - DATABASES
A
database is a collection of data arranged for ease and speed of
search
and retrieval. Simple
databases can be set up in both Excel
and
Access. Access more suited to business applications, and
High
School Commerce students, I prefer using Excel as an
initial
database program for students.
Excel is billed as a
spreadsheet
program, but also has database features.
Using
Excel
is straight forward and the interface has many features
similar
to other Microsoft Office Programs.
It
also has the advantage of being a spreadsheet as well, allowing
graphing
and computations to be added after data collection.
I
love Excel for its flexibility.
Database
Functions in Excel include
1.
Basic functions of sorting in both ascending and descending order.
(Data
menu)
2.
Form View is available (Data menu)
3.
Searching using the find command (Edit Menu)
There are many database collection activities
that can be completed
at
school, like, student details, leisure activities of students, canteen
food
purchased during one week etc.
Above in "printables" section,
is a
Database of the Moons of Jupiterı for students to complete.
The
template can be saved in individual student folders and the
answers
written directly onto the database.
The questions tackle
most
of the features of databases including fields, records, sorting
and
informational retrieval.
When
you have finished with the database functions, draw a simple
bar
graph of the Moons of Jupiter, this is a far better way to answer
question
8 on the template.
Databases
Spreadsheet
downloads and other ICT downloads
http://www.websterworld.com/support/main.html
Excel
Tutorials
http://www.atomiclearning.com/excelindex.shtml?260;1051869906
Access
Tutorials
http://www.atomiclearning.com/access1.shtml?484;1051869939
Databases
2 next newsletter.
==============================================
7.
WWWDrama
There
are many great Drama sites on the Internet, they are very
comprehensive
and cover all aspects of stage craft.
Just brilliant.
There
are also sites where whole plays can be downloaded.
I
have included some of my favourites here.
The
Reading Lady provides over 40 free reader's theatre scripts
to
download in MS WORD or Adobe files. Stories include many
classic
and recent children's books.
http://www.readinglady.com/Readers_Theater/Scripts/scripts.html
The
Art & Science of Theatre
http://library.thinkquest.org/21722/main.html
Covers
all aspects of theatre, including history, the art of theatre,
and
even theatre's effect on society. Includes a long list of reviewed
links. Great site, very comprehensive.
iHigh
High School Internet Network's Drama Page
Includes
tips and articles on a wide variety of theatre topics.
As
well as some great links.
Electronic
Text Archives and Plays online including full
versions
of many plays. Last time I used this resource was
when
my son was atempting to write a last minute essay on
Shakespeare
and he had left the text at school, very handy.
http://www.vl-theatre.com/list4.shtml
Apple
Quicktime movie trailers - make sure you download the
latest
quicktime player http://www.apple.com/trailers/
==============================================
8.
GREAT SITES
HOT
SITES
If
you are into really amazing pictures of anatomy, these are the sites for
you. These images are not to be
viewed while eating lunch.
Human
body sites
Human
anatomy online contains diagrams and good descriptive text.
also
the visible human project http://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/visible/visible_human.html
is a
really interesting way to virtually explore the body
http://www.madsci.org/~lynn/VH/
which
can be done in 2d or 3d. Lots of related resources and information.
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Webquests
for senior students
http://www.sevenoaks.wa.edu.au/linkpage/
http://www.eddept.wa.edu.au/cmis/eval/curriculum/onlineacts/webquests/
http://www.edna.edu.au/go/browse/14690
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Thesis
builder - excellent site to get the ball rolling.
This
Website will help you draft a clear thesis statement for your
persuasive
essay. To use Thesis Builder, you'll need:
a
topic opinions about the topic some reasons for your opinion and
why
other people might disagree
http://www.ozline.com/electraguide/thesis.html
==============================================
9.
READERS COMMENTS/REQUESTS
I
Published the letter below to Cheryl here because the email I
sent
bounced back, often if you are having trouble with one email
service,
it is a good idea to set up another one and ask for
responses
to be sent to both. This way you
can see if the original
email
address is working or not.
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Hi
Cathy
I
look forward to receiving your newsletter regularly. I have been
away
for a couple of weeks and on my return I have found that
no
email has been forwarded to my account since 09/04/03. I am
just
checking to see if you had forwarded VT Newsletter No. 69
as I
am trying to trace the source of the problem in relation to me email.
With
thanks
Cheryl
Howse
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi
Cheryl,
Newsletter
69 was sent out on April 1tth 2003 it can be found at:-
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/VT69.htm
Number
70 is due out this Friday.
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Very
disappointed that you only put American Sites there. At
Northern
Beaches State High School, we have our own 3D
Virtual
Tour that our Year 10 Information Technology Students
made.
If you like, check it out - It's under the Virtual Tour Link
on
the left menu. The students did it all!
http://www.nthnbchsshs.qld.edu.au/
E-U-Soon
MJ Raatz
The
panoramas site is actually a site from Denmark, it covers
THE
WORLD - EUROPE - USA-CANADA
AFRICA
- MIDDLE EAST - ASIA - CENTRAL AMERICA
-
CARIBBEAN - SOUTH AMERICA - OCEANIA - ANTARCTICA
AUSTRALIA
- NEW ZEALAND. I suggest you request they
also
link to your site.
The
one of the most recent panoramas, Week 16 2003, is of
Sydney
Harbour and the Opera House and is fantastic.
If
any others have any great sites it's best to send them in to
VT if
you would like them to be reviewed here.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi
Cathy!
I am
a student secondary teacher (Southern Cross University,
Lismore)
Do you have any hints relevant for HSIE at a secondary
level?
Kind
Regards,
Kristie
Can
anyone help Kristie the question is pretty broad.
------------------------------------------
Hi
Cathy
I
have recently set up a new website for our Ipswich District
Teacher-Librarian
Network on Education Queensland's Learning Place.
It
has information about the Festival of Children's Literature in September
which
includes an online chat component and a Writing competition
for
adults. There are also a number of useful links to browse.
http://www.learningplace.com.au/default_community.asp?orgid=15&suborgid=233
Jenny
Stubbs
Teacher-Librarian
Thanks
for letting me know looks like a great site.
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Dear
Cathy
Do
you have past newsletters available, please? The last one
was
"dropped off" my system! To avoid this happening again,
I've
set up a "Virtual Teacher" folder in my Personal Filing Cabinet
so I
can store all your valuable newsletters from now on.
Thanks
for all your valuable info am looking forward to learning
more
advanced use of 'Access' databases in your next newsletters.
Regards,
Gill :-)
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Hi
Gill,
All
past newsletters, all 69 can be sound at:-
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/archives.html
However
I usually use the google site search engine
on
the directory page
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/directory.html
I
wont be covering more advanced databases using Access,
it
would be a very lengthy newsletter if I did. However Atomic
Learning
has some excellent tutorials on Access.
ciao
cathy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi
Cathy,
Thanx
for listing my Symmetry Site on your newsletter
but I
just thought I'd let you know that the last 2
virtual
teacher newsletters have been sent straight to
my
Bulk Mail box (Spam protection I think).
My guess
is that the title looked a little like spam.
;)
Anyway,
now the holidays are on and I'm doing what
teachers
do during holidays, I'm adding a heap of my
reading
and maths resources to my website.
Check
out the printable Reading and Maths games at
http://www.adrianbruce.com/resources.html
The
stats show that heaps of people are downloading
them
and I've received some really nice emails
thanking
me for saving people time.
cheers
ad
http://www.adrianbruce.com/photo.html
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Hi
Adrian,
Great
site, lots of fantastic ideas I will put it in the next newsletter.
have
a great holiday.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi
Cathy
I'm a
senior school librarian and find your site excellent. As well as
finding
lots of useful stuff for myself I try to pass interesting things
on to
other staff. I especially enjoy the mind candy.
A
friend of mine who is a primary school teacher wants to do a unit of
work
next term based on Charlotte's Web by E B White and I wondered if
you
or your subscribers could help with lesson plans, ideas, related
activities,
web quests etc.
Yours
optimistically
Jan
Nicholls
Perth
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi
Jan,
Here's
some info to get started with:
Charlotte's
web activities:
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/charl/charlsg1.html
http://www.familyeducation.com/topic/front/0,1156,2-14096-1,00.html
EB
White biog
http://www.harperchildrens.com/authorintro/index.asp?authorid=10499
I'll
also put this request in the next newsletter.
ciao
cathy
==============================================
10. NEXT
ISSUE - We will cover Part 2 of databases, Intranets
will need
to go on hold till we finish with database. More sites on
digital
portfolios as well as a look at making your own Rubrics f
or
evaluation.
ciao
Cathy
- - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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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