Virtual
Teacher Newsletter No. 80 October 18th 2003 VISITING
ALIENS
THE
FREE ONLINE FORTNIGHTLY IT TEACHERS' NEWSLETTER
==============================================
CONTENTS
1.
Welcome
2.
Mind Candy
3.
WWWinfo
4.
New Printables - Text Types
5.
Technical Stuff - G4 & Netscape 6.1 & Blender
6.
Web Site Focus - Outer Space
7.
Better Bookweek Links
8.
Great Sites
9. Readers' Requests/Comments
10
Next Issue
11.
Code of 'Netizens'
12.
Tips
==============================================
1.
WELCOME EVERYONE. I read, years ago, an article in a
magazine
about visiting aliens. It challenged the reader to think
about
the things that an alien would need to know about the planet
earth
to survive. What things would be
important, what knowledge
would
be essential, what information would we earthlings give an explorer
from
another planet who knew nothing about us, our customs or life
here
on earth? The article concluded cleverly by comparing children
to
aliens who arrive on the planet with no knowledge of how
things
work, how to survive, how to succeed. It challenged the reader
to
consider what we teach our children, what is essential knowledge
and
how we assist our children to explore the planet.
The
ŒPolicy Paper from the 21st Century Leaning Initiative¹ (mentioned
in
the last VT) challenges teachers, parents in fact everyone to
rethink
the way we educate our children; to consider what
knowledge
is essential, what attributes and attitudes will make
successful
adults in the 21st Century.
The
analogy of an alien is a great place to start.
Try
it your self, ask your students to consider it as well.
What
would you Œteach¹ an alien about the planet earth in the
21st
century?
==============================================
2.
MIND CANDY
IMAGINE
Imagine
there is a bank which credits your account each morning
with
$86,400, carries over no balance from day to day, allows you
to
keep no cash balance, and every evening cancels whatever
part
of the amount you had failed to use during the day.
What
would you do? ŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠ..
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/imagine.htm
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
³Get
rid of that damn machine model of the brain. It¹s wrong.
The
brain is a biological system, not a machine. Currently we¹re
putting
children with biologically shaped brains into
machineoriented
schools. The two just don¹t mix.
We bog
the
school down in a curriculum that is not biologically feasible.²
Professor
Robert Sylwester.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A
well used brain gains weight.
MM.
Merzenich et al - Functional Cortical Plasticity
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The
curriculum moved at the speed of handwriting.
The
21st Century Initiative.
==============================================
3.
SMART QUESTIONS??
How
any ways could the world end?
What
would you Œteach¹ an alien about the planet earth in the
21st
century?
=====================================
4.
NEW PRINTABLES Murderous Maths Kjartan Poskitt
I
imported these books a few years ago from the UK- they are great and now
there is a website with some great downloadable pages check out the
Murderous
Maths Series site is at:-
http://www.murderousmaths.co.uk/books/BKMM2.htm
The
Impossible Drawing
http://www.murderousmaths.co.uk/books/BKMM2x3d.htm
Fiendish
Extra Square
http://www.murderousmaths.co.uk/books/BKMM2xAN.htm
==============================================
5.
TECHNICAL STUFF
International
Online Collaborative Learning Contest
This
is a project designed specifically for K12 students in APEC member
economies
and is under the auspices of APEC EDNET and Ministry of
Education
of Taiwan.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yarra
Young Readers Award Site
Read
a review and vote for your favourite book
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Create
an interactive crossword using free download:
http://www.greeneclipsesoftware.com/eclipsecrossword/
Use
Excel to create a timeline of heroes:
http://www.microsoft.com/education/default.asp?ID=CreateTimeline
Create
interactive quizzes using free to educators software:
http://www.halfbakedsoftware.com/
http://cybil.tafe.tas.edu.au/~capsticm/quizman/qmhome.html
==============================================
6.
WEBSITE FOCUS Dear Cathy,
I
enjoy receiving your newsletter, my media list grows with the amount of
wonderful sites you have featured within your newsletter, thank you.
I
believe I¹ve touched base with you several times regarding The Smithsonian
Center for Education and Museum Studies (SCEMS), produced by the central
education department of the Smithsonian Institution and the launch of
SmithsonianEducation.org. But I wanted to update you with some of this
websites state of the art features cutting edge interactive activities for students,
families and educators online.
Read
All About It! (for students)
Great
Smithsonian books about art, science, history, and adventure, appropriate for
students of all ages!
http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/students/explore_by_topic/suggested_reading.html
Make
the Most of It (for families)
Visiting
a museum with children can be challenging. These helpful tips will make your
visit an enjoyable and educational experience for everyone.
http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/families/at_the_smithsonian/make_the_most.html
Stories
of the Wrights' Flight Lesson Plan (for educators)
Celebrate
the centennial of flight with this downloadable lesson plan. Includes a
background essay, group and class activities, worksheets, and other resources.
http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/lesson_plans/wright/index.html
SmithsonianEducation.org
is the right way to learn today with focus on presenting education
opportunities in an inspiring way. Introduce your readers to a well of online educational
resources and link to: http://www.smithsonianeducation.org
Please
contact me with any questions and I look forward to hearing from you.
Best,
Katherine
Foster
On
Behalf of SmithsonianEducation.org
==============================================
7.
Winners International Learning Quest Challenge.
International
Overall Prize Winner
Dream
a Dream with Ein Ganim Israel
Developed
by: Marsha Goren and class, Ein Ganim Elementary School,
Israel
See
it at: http://www.angelfire.com/rock3/dream0
Australian
Overall Prize Winner
Around
the World in 30 Days
Developed
by: Alastair Gumley, Pascoe Vale Girls College, Victoria
See
it at: http://www.pvgsc.vic.edu.au/home/gum/vj/vjmovie.html
Teacher
Developed Highly Commendable Prize Winner
Eugene's
Career Force
Developed
by: Brad Edwards, North Haven Schools, South Australia
See
it at: http://www.connect.to/hippohelper
Class/Group/School
Developed Highly Commendable Prize Winner
Freshwater
Tasmania
Developed
by: Year 7 and 9 Students and Roslyn Teirney
See
it at: http://www.ogilvie.tased.edu.au/freshwater/index.html
Student
Developed Highly Commendable Prize Winner
Joint
winner
Genetically
Modified Crops
Developed
by: GM Crops team including: Sasha-lee, Elizabeth, Zara and
Mrs
Ros Teirney from Ogilvie High, Tasmania.
See
it at: http://www.geocities.com/gm_crops/
Ecologically
Friendly House
Developed
by: Eloise, Phoebe, Shahmeer, Jesse, Johanis and supported
by:
Julie Ralph, Adelaide High School
See
it at:
http://www.adelaidehs.sa.edu.au/ahsintranet/Teachers/ecohouse/index.htm
International
Year of Fresh Water Prize Winner
Freshwater
Fury
Developed
by: Mandie Gardiner and Barbara Braxton, St. Michael's
College,
Queensland.
See
it at: http://www.e-magination.org/freshwater/freshwater1.htm
Special
Commendations
Teacher
Commendation Awards
Online
Book Buddies
Developed
by: Nassain Newlands and Kylie Jane Haddow, West Balcatta
Primary
/ Chidlow Primary, Western Australia
See
it at: http://www.ed457.edu.au/newlands
Antarctic
Developed
by: Paul Harrop, Graceville State School, Queensland
See
it at:
http://gracevilss.qld.edu.au/intranet/online/antarctica/index.html
Barbara
Braxton, Special Award . Inspiring students to learn online
The
Quizzard of Oz
http://www.e-magination.org/quizzard_03/quizzard_intro.htm
Hogwarts
Challenge
http://www.palmdps.act.edu.au/resource_centre/booklook/harry_potter/intro_potter.htm
Horrendo's
Curse http://www.e-magination.org
An
Image based web quest of Japan
Developed
by: Greg Gebhart Lowanna College, Victoria
See
it at: http://www.lowanna.vic.edu.au/japan/index.htm
Student
Developed Commendation Awards
Loreto
Kirribilli for the student developed learning quests
See
it at: http://www.loreto.nsw.edu.au/cs/Yr10Web/Yr10_2003.htm
Bridgewater
Primary School for their class developed Learning Quest and
student
developed scavenger hunts.
See
it at: http://www.bwaterps.vic.edu.au/webquests.htm
==============================================
8.
GREAT SITES
HOT
SITES
Math
World En
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary
school
http://www.primaryschool.com.au/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Museum
of Hoaxes
http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reconstructors
Solve Medical Mysteries
Medical
Mysteries is an interactive online game. Students solve
mysteries
and in doing so learn how infectious diseases are spread. The
Missions
teach the fundamentals of microbiology, infectious diseases,
and
epidemiology including virtual labs and are aligned with National
Science
Education Content Standards. Teacher Pages contain lots of
downloadable
resources. The Center for Technology in Teaching and
Learning
at Rice University designed this website with funding from the
National
Institutes of Health. Requires Shockwave.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Have
you heard about http://www.schoolfriends.com.au/
I
have already tracked down a few people for my distant past. Admittedly
the
first person to contact me was looking for my sister, but I coped!!
Itís an excellent site that helps you to
find lost friends from school,
uni,
and TAFE or maybe a long lost relative, workmate or team-mate. The
site
has a chat room, message boards, reunion listings and much more. Itís
worth
taking a look at your school listing just to see all the names from
your
past that you may have forgotten about. .
==============================================
9.
READERS COMMENTS/REQUESTS
Greetings
in
MAC OS X a registered copy of snapz pro will capture a fullscreen,
part
of a screen, a menu a drop down menu or a movie of the screen.
under
quicktime it can be exported into any of about ten file formats.
it is
part of MAC OS X, it is free.
An
updated version is available for $US19 which is more stable and
compresses
screen capture movies into much smaller files.
QT
file of twenty seconds 370kB
and
.AVI file equivalent is 3.2MB [the windows standard!!!]
regards
gary
Thanks
Gary
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi
Cathy
I was
just reading Lyn's note about making a PowerPoint
presentation
for her students. In South Australia lots of us are
trialling
a new piece of software that makes it all easier.
It's
called Capture Cam Pro, and using it you can make a
screen-capture
movie of a particular skill which students can
then
re-play as needed. It's available for a 30-day trial at http://www.capturecampro.com/
I've
been using it for a few weeks and love it - sorry, but it
doesn't
work on Macs!!!
Sue
Lemmer
Assistant
Principal
Mawson
Lakes School
Thanks
Sue
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi!
Cathy,
Could
you help me please? I need some interesting games/activities for Halloween. I
teach Lower Primary children.
Thanks!
Best
wishes
Rita
Halloween
on the Net
There
are some great sites about Halloween on the Internet. And this
is a
topic which definitely excites kids.
Many have sound files so
they
look and sound spooky, and require real player as well - a free
download.
The
Halloween Playground has lots of scary stories.It has some
chilling
facts and some great children's drawings.
http://www.petzfamilyschool.com/halloween.htm
The
Haunted Homepage is a great site with lots of scary sounds and
stories,
as well as info on safe trick or treating and the history of
Halloween. The site looks fantastic.
13
Pumpkin Avenue , this site has some colouring printables, ideas for
costumes,
recipes, party games, music and much more.
http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/pumpkinave/
Ben
and Jerry sell icecream, but their site is fantastic. The flash
movie
- Flavour Graveyard is a lot of fun, and the printable
colouring
sheets are excellent, there is also some info on the
history
of Halloween as well as crafts and online games.
http://www.benjerry.com/halloween/
Halloween
feature on GourmetSpot.com at
http://www.gourmetspot.com/halloweenfeature.htm
------------------------------------------
Just
a quick note of appreciation for your constantly useful, insightful,
informative
and entertaining newsletter. I always find something useful
and
readily applicable - and I always share at least one of your great
sites
to other teachers. Thanks for all your hard work - keep it up!!
Giovanna
Demarte
Teacher
in Charge (Humanities)
Mount
Carmel College
Sandy
Bay
TASMANIA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kia
ora (from New Zealand)
A few
weeks ago there was a newsletter with an awesome literature site in it that had
100s of books and activities.Due to tech problems I have lost the address of
it. I am trying to track it down. Can anyone help me?
Thanks
Helen Young
Hi
Helen,
All
newsletters are archived on the VT site http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/archives.html
You
can also do a site search using the search google engine on http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/directory.html
this
may have been the site you were referring too:-
This
website has 11,000+ links to activities and lesson plans for
children's
and young adult literature. Search by first letter of the
title
which then leads to books that start with that letter and related
lessons.
This is a useful finding aid for lesson plans and resources for
specific
book titles.
http://www.richmond.k12.va.us/readamillion/LITERATURE/lindas_links_to_literature.htm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi
Cathy
In
your last newsletter, there was a question about HSIE or Science units of work.
A couple of other good sites that I have found are
http://www.tacoma-p.schools.nsw.edu.au
for
HSIE units
http://www.primaryschool.com.au/
where
some units have much more information than others.
Hope
they are useful
Regards
Sue
==============================================
10. NEXT ISSUE There was some fantastic reader input in this
newsletter,
I love it. Thanks to everyone who
volunteered their
expertise. I would love some more SMART questions
that have been
tried
and tested in the classrooms see what you can come up with,
until
next time.
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!!!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Delivered
FREE to your e-mail box every fortnight.
Online
Lesson Plans, Great Sites, Free Stuff, Tips, Time savers,
and
templates.
Computer
Solutions for Teachers. Subscribe today! It's
totally
Free! Just type subscribe in the subject and send it to me.
==============================================
Reach
a growing audience of teachers, by
advertising in the
Virtual
Teacher Newsletter or on the Virtual Teacher site.
For
more information contact,
For
information about inservice and training contact me at
==============================================