Virtual Teacher Newsletter  No. 74  June 27th  2003 ­ SNITCH

THE FREE ONLINE FORTNIGHTLY IT TEACHERS' NEWSLETTER

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Newsletter Archives can be found at:-

http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/archives.html

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CONTENTS

1. Welcome

2. Mind Candy

3. WWWinfo ­ SNOW REPORTS

4. REPORT WRITING

5. Technical Stuff ­ G5

6. Web Site Focus ­ ABORIGINAL ART

7. HOGWART¹S EXPRESS

8. Great Sites

9.  Readers' Requests/Comments

10 Next Issue

11. Code of 'Netizens'

12. Tips

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1. WELCOME EVERYONE. Harry Mania has struck. So hold

onto your broomsticks as VT goes for the golden snitch with

some great HP websites. I have had a few requests for assistance

with report writing ­ so there are some links below.  Take a look

at the new specs on the Mac G5 ­ amazing. 

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2. MIND CANDY

Giving students the power and then watching them strive for

excellence is an incredible teaching experience.'  Catherine Doann

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Christopher Columbus - the worlds most famous lost man!       

Anon

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Report comments

FOR THE SERIAL TRUANT

"The name rings a bell but I can't put a face to it."

POLITICALLY CORRECT COMMENTS

No one fails a class anymore, he's merely "passing impaired."

You don't have detention, you're just one of the "exit delayed."

These days, a student isn't lazy. He's "energetically declined."

Your homework isn't missing, it's just having an "out-of-notebook

experience."

You're not sleeping in class, you're "rationing consciousness."

You're not late, you just have a "rescheduled arrival time."

You're not shy. You're "conversationally selective."

You don't talk a lot. You're just "abundantly verbal."

You weren't passing notes in class. You were "participating in the

discreet exchange of penned meditations."

It's not called gossip anymore. It's "the speedy transmission of

near-factual information."

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"I don't go looking for trouble. Trouble usually finds me."

-Harry -(Harry Potter)

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3. WWWInfo SNOW REPORTS

http://www.ski.com.au/reports/

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4.REALLY USEFUL REPORT WRITING SITES

Report comments categorized into KLA¹s

http://www.occdsb.on.ca/~proj1615/nov.htm

Report Card Comments for Elementary Art Teachers

http://www.dreamscape.com/ymrugg/Report_card_comments.htm

Report Comments

http://expage.com/4reportcards

Comments and Ideas for Reports

http://www.teachnet.com/how-to/endofyear/personalcomments061400.html

Sites for report cards and comments

http://www.fvsd.ab.ca/stm/sites_for_report_cards_and_comme.htm

Report Card Comments

Database, suitable for Elementary / Junior High Reports. All comments are categorized into Subject and Behaviour sections, making it easy

to find the most appropriate comments, quickly.

View the Database at :

http://www.gigglepotz.com/report.htm

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5. TECHNICAL STUFF

Apple Releases the Power Mac G5

The Power Mac G5 is the world¹s fastest personal computer and

the first with a 64-bit processor ‹ which means it breaks the

4 gigabyte barrier and can use up to 8 gigabytes of main memory.

The new G5 processor ‹ available at speeds up to dual 2GHz

with a new ultrahigh-bandwidth system architecture featuring

AGP 8X and PCI-X ‹ makes the Power Mac G5 a breakthrough

in desktop processing power

http://www.apple.com/powermac/

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Last Newsletter I made an error with Linda's email address

Here is the correct address.

Linda Zugai Edsoft Email: <mailto:l.zugai@bigpond.net.au>l.zugai@bigpond.net.au

Edsoft supplies educational software to schools, they are

good people, they provide inservices for teachers on the

products they sell, and they are great for staff meetings or

student free days.

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6. WEBSITE FOCUS ­ ABORIGINAL SITES

National Reconciliation Week (NRW) falls between 27 May and 3 June

Aboriginal Art and Culture

http://www.aboriginalart.com.au/

Aboriginal Art Symbols and their meanings.

http://www.mainzdidgeridoos.com.au/art/artsymbols.html

Cooinda Gallery ­ Aboriginal Art

www.cooinda-gallery.com.au/aboriginal_art.htm

Stories of the Dreaming

http://www.acn.net.au/projects/dreaming.htm

Indigenous Australia

http://www.dreamtime.net.au/storylist.htm

Message Stick

http://www.abc.net.au/message/

Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park

http://www.tjapukai.com.au/

Astic Site

http://www.atsic.gov.au/default_ns.asp

Aboriginal Names and Stories

http://ozbird.com/oz/ozculture/images/aboriginal/default.htm

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7. HOGWART¹S EXPRESS

URL for the Hogwarts Express link is

http://www.palmdps.act.edu.au/resource_centre/booklook/harry_potter/intro_potter.htm

Official Harry Potter site

http://harrypotter.warnerbros.com/

Try out some fun trivia quizzes

http://www.funtrivia.com/dir/4040.html

At the Scholastics site - meet the author, take the Wizards challenge

http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/author/index.htm

Interviews with J.K Rowlings

http://www.mugglenet.com/jk.shtml

Be sorted at Hogwarts Haven - are you game. Go to the 'Just for Fun Section'

http://www.geocities.com/ravenclawlady/

Interviews Pictures and Info about the books and the author

http://www.bloomsbury.com/harrypotter

Unofficial Harry Potter Guide UK

http://www.harrypotterguide.co.uk

Quidditch handbook

http://www.i2k.com/~svderark/lexicon/quidditch.html

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8. GREAT SITES

HOT SITES

Award Maker

http://www.cleverteacher.com/teachers/Award_Maker/Awardmaker.asp#

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Clever teacher site ­ Great for K-2

http://www.cleverteacher.com

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Graph It! (from Coolmath.com)

I heard a Senior Maths teacher the other day, discussing the investment made in Graphing calculators for his secondary students - Well here's an online version for free. This cool tool provides a functional

online graphing calculator. The Graph Applet has all the common operators

and functions as expected from any scientific calculator and combines it

with function graphing capabilities. The calculator has the ability to

graph the hyperbolic functions and symbolically differentiate functions

in one variable, making it an excellent tool for higher-level algebra

and calculus students.

http://www.coolmath.com/graphit/index.html

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CyberSmart! Lesson Plans

http://www.cybersmartcurriculum.org/lesson_plans/

CyberSmart is a free, standards-aligned curriculum for teachers to

introduce safe, responsible and effective computer and internet use in

the classroom. The lessons and activities provide links to web sites as

well as offline activities that complement the sites. Each lesson is

tied to National Educational Technology Standards. The presentation is

simple and uncluttered--just what you want when you are trying something

new! K- 12

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9. READERS COMMENTS/REQUESTS

Thanks!  I read in your postings that you added a search engine to your

intranet.  Do you have a recommendation for this process?

Jane

You can add a custom search to your site- there are many free

versions available here¹s one:-

http://www.tufts.edu/webcentral/google/

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Cathy

St Patrick's at Asquith has a great school website that I think is worth a look at (I might be biased as I teach at this great little school!). We are very fortunate in having a super Assistant Principal (Frank) and a fantastic Parent IT Committee who established it and update it regularly with news and students work samples supplied by our students & teachers. http://www.stpat.nsw.edu.au

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Hi James,

I love to announce great school websites in the newsletter. Go

Tale a look. Let me know what you think.  Great job James.

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10. NEXT ISSUE ­ VT will be on holidays for a month, next issue

will be due on  25th July, have a great holiday.

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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cathy@virtualteacher.com.au

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For information about inservice and training contact me at

cathy@virtualteacher.com.au

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