Virtual
Teacher Newsletter No. 48 April 19th 2002 –
SPECIAL MAGIC
THE
FREE ONLINE FORTNIGHTLY IT TEACHERS' NEWSLETTER
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Newsletter
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CONTENTS
1.
Welcome
2.
Mind Candy
3.
WWWinfo – JOB SEARCH
4.
New Printables - English Language
is hard to learn..
5.
Technical Stuff – Edsoft Software Deal - Seminars
6.
Web Site Focus - Lote for the Gifted
7. Mathematics
AGAIN
8.
Great Sites
9. Readers' Requests/Comments
10
Next Issue
11.
Code of 'Netizens'
12.
Tips
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1.
WELCOME EVERYONE The holidays have begun in NSW.
Time
to have some fun on the internet, so I’ve prepared some
Great
Adventures for you. The English
language is hard to learn
printable
is a great discussion starter.
There are some great
software
deals through Edsoft, and some great seminars online
and
on land to check out. Become part
of an international
publication
on School Gardening in the Readers comments section.
Look
up a new job in the WWW info section.
Have a great holiday
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2.
MIND CANDY
"Inside
the locket was a mirror, and in the mirror was her very
own
reflection.
‘Why,
it’s me!’ she thought.
‘It’s really me. I’m the magic in the locket.’
From
then on, the little girl wore the locket every day. Every day
she
held the locket tightly and whispered, ‘I believe in you.’ The
locket
was filled with her own special magic and from that day
on
she was never without it."
-Elizabeth Koda-Callan The Magic Locket
(1988)
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"Hindsight
is the best planning tool"
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"Good
teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths pure theatre."
-Gail
Godwin
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Intel
has announced its next chip: the Repentium."
-Anon.
==============================================
3.
WWWinfo Look for a Job at Job Search
Check
out how many jobs are available in each state.
Check
out the Resume builder
Use
the check boxes ot search for a specific job.
=====================================
4.
NEW PRINTABLES
The
English language is hard to learn........
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/english.pdf
==============================================
5.
TECHNICAL STUFF
Special
Software Deal from Edsoft
Just
thought you wouldn't want to miss this special. It only
runs
till the 31st May. (Email Linda for a pdf of the titles
included
in this wonderful deal). An
unlimited licence means
that
you are allowed to make as many copies of the CD as you
like
for use within your school site. There are network versions
available
for some of these titles and you can purchase a copy
of
these for an additional $15.00.
Give
me a call if you have any questions.
Linda
Zugai
NSW
State Manager
Edsoft
Pty Ltd
Email:-
Linda.Zugai@bigpond.com
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For
Teachers - online computer Courses FREE
http://www.comusolv.com/skills/skillscenter.htm
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We
are planning to offer Robocup Junior training for students
and
teachers in May.
The
sessions would be run by Brian Thomas who is president
of
Robocup Junior International and chair of Robocup
Junior
Australia.
The
plan is as follows:
-
Tuesday May 14 (Devonport)
-
Wednesday May 15 (Launceston)
-
Thursday/Friday May 16/17 (Hobart)
One
session a day would be held between 9am and 1pm.
John
Vivarelli
RCJTas
committee
Mb:
0412 252 272 (with voice mail)
Fx:
03 9221 3482
Ph:
03 6229 7375 (AH)
email:
viva@acslink.aone.net.au
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Adobe
at School
http://www.pacific.adobe.com/events/AtSchool.html
Session
Attendees: Teachers and Lecturers
Learn
how to teach the latest design software. Stay a step ahead
of
technology and your students.
Come
along to our Adobe @ School Seminar to witness the latest
enhancements
and the amazing possibilities of Adobe Photoshop
Elements,
Pagemaker 7.0 and Acrobat 5.0.
In
just two hours, Adobe experts will show you the benefits of this
software
and the most effective way to teach them in the classroom.
Brisbane:
29
April
City
Hall
King
George Square, Ann Street, Brisbane
Melbourne:
30
April
Melbourne
Exhibition and Convention Centre
Corner
Spencer & Flinders Streets, Melbourne
Sydney
1 May
Sydney
Hilton
259
Pitt Street, Sydney
Canberra
7 May
National
Convention Centre
27-31
Constitution Avenue, Canberra City
Adelaide
9 May
Hyatt
Regency, Adelaide
North
Terrace, Adelaide
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Online
tutorials at
http://www.microsoft.com/education/?ID=3DTutorialPacks
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EDUTECH
Ryan
writes, "Edutech is Australia's only trade exhibition showcasing
the
latest learning technology to education and training professionals".
First
held in Melbourne in 1994, Edutech continually attracts visitors from
tertiary
/ TAFE institutions, secondary/primary/special schools, registered
training
organisations, government departments and corporate organisations
from
Australia and abroad. http://www.edutechshow.com/
Featuring
100 exhibitors, this year Edutech will attract up to 5000 educators
and
trainers. It's more than an exhibition - it's an interactive event
Edutech
delivers a perfect mix of exhibition and conference to provide hands
on
interaction and demonstration of learning technology between visitor and
exhibitor. A professional development program of
presentations, workshops
and
demonstrations will take place throughout the event. Developed by the
industry
for the industry, this program will push the boundaries of ICT and
LT
education & training issues, demonstrating how learning technology
can
be used to enhance classroom teaching and learning outcomes.
PD
Program and Interactive Features
Seminars
- keynote speakers discussing and debating critical Ed LT issues
Computer
Labs - 22 computer networked professional development workshops
Champion
Presentations - 24 presentations of benchmark ICT practice
by
Educators
The
Reality Room - an active demo-classroom with ALL the latest learning
technology
Education
Online - demonstration area of eLearning applications and
Online
resources
Edsoft
Interactive Zone - software demonstration and classroom trial area
Who's
looking after you? - exhibits of specific personal services for
education
& training professionals
Association
Alley - poster presentation of education & training associations
and
peak bodies
==============================================
6.
WEBSITE FOCUS - Lote for the Gifted
Sofweb
explanation - and How to
http://www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/futures/lote.htm
SITES
Computing
and asian languages
Programs
such as web browsers, word processors eg. Adobe Arobat
reader
will need special fonts installed to display japanese, korean
and
chinese characters. ( a font is a set of instructions for the computer
to
convert information into visual text - this is written in Times New Roman).
Rarely
a graphic (picture) is used if the document writer just wants
one
or two asian characters and is mostly using a western alphabet
eg.
konichiwa
http://www.asiasource.org/reference/language.cfm
This
list of Asian language resources includes: general resouces; lessons;
pronunciation
guides; online dictionaries; related software and fonts.
http://www.escapeartist.com/media40/fonts.htm
- more about asian fonts
http://www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/csfacro/acroread.htm
- acrobat reader info.
Specialist
asian language word processing programs like
Twinbridge
both write and help other programs such as MSWord
display
documents with asian characters and with accented letters.
MULTIMEDIA
Language
is all about sound. In this a computer beats a textbook
hands
down. You will commonly need a range of free multimedia
programs
'plugged in' to your web browser. Free programs such
as
Quicktime, Windows Media Player and Realplayer are needed
for
'streaming' video and sound. Sound and video files usually take
too long to download but if they are
streamed you hear them as
they
are transmitted over the internet like a radio or TV signal.
get
the plugins :
Shockwave
- http://web.mit.edu/21f.500/www/vocab-photo/index2.html
Quicktime
- http://web.mit.edu/21f.500/www/vocab-photo/index2.html
Java
- http://java.sun.com/products/plugin/1.3/docs/quick_start.html
or get a microsoft java plugin with the
latest internet explorer update
http://web.mit.edu/21f.500/www/vocab-photo/index2.html
This
Stanford University language centre site presents photos from
Japan,
and the vocabulary items associated with them. It shows you
how words are written and pronounced
using sound files
in
.mov -- QuickTime.
It
also provides quick vocabulary-check pages enabled by
JavaScript
and Shockwave.
For
the many excellent free language lessons online
( try
a search at about.com for the one you want - they even
do
Latin for children )
OTHER
USEFUL LINKS
Japanese-English
online dictionaries:
http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/wwwjdic.html
http://www.trussel.com/f_nih.htm
mouse
over sounds to hear how they are pronounced
Spanish,
French (and French Canadian), German (and Swiss German),
Italian,
Brazilian, Portuguese, Japanese (Romanji), Indonesian, and
Thai
language and English- American, British, Australian, Canadian,
Irish,
Scottish, and Welsh accents are available.
http://babel.altavista.com/translate.dyn
Babelfish.
Translate your documents or web pages to English and back
to
another language for free at
==============================================
7.
MATHEMATICS AGAIN
History
of Mathematics mathematician of the Day chronology, birthplace.,
Biographies
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/
Maths
Art - simply amazing
http://members.tripod.com/vismath/mart.htm
Maths
Museum Japan
http://mathmuse.sci.ibaraki.ac.jp/indexE.html
==============================================
8.
GREAT SITES
HOT
SITES
Great
Frog Site
http://allaboutfrogs.org/froglnd.shtml
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Kids
Humor -great site - lots of jokes on any topic
==============================================
9.
READERS COMMENTS/REQUESTS
Here’s
your chance to be involved in an International Publication
Read
on…………..
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Dear
school gardener,
I'm
writing to you because you once registered your school garden I
n the
School Garden Registry on our Kidsgardening Web site:
The
National Gardening Association is currently developing a new
resource
book for educators that will feature designs of actual
schoolyard
gardens, habitats, and outdoor classrooms. We are
seeking
examples to include in the book to inspire and inform
educators
and students.
If
you have an active school garden and think it's well-designed,
we
would love to hear from you. Below are some general notes
on
what we're looking for. Please review the list and the description
of
what we'll need from you, then let us know if you think
there's
a match.
We
are seeking schoolyard designs with these characteristics:
*
urban (small-space) gardens
*
large outdoor classrooms with various elements (e.g., ponds, gardens,
structures)
*
wildlife habitats (e.g., multi-purpose, butterfly, bird-friendly)
*
different planting systems: e.g., square-foot, raised beds, circular gardens
*
theme gardens (e.g., historic herbs, three sisters, nutrition, dye plants,
ethnic, art)
*
unique design elements (you tell us!)
What
we'll need from you:
If
you'd like us to consider your garden design, reply to this
message
or send an e-mail to Eve Pranis evep@kidsgardening.com
and
include a brief paragraph describing your garden or
habitat
and its unique design features. If we decide to go
the
next step, we will ask you to send a sketch/map of your
garden
and respond to a series of questions. The maps
selected
for the book will be re-rendered by an artist and
your
responses to questions will be used to write a vignette
about
your garden project.
We
look forward to hearing from you!
Eve
Pranis, co-Director, Educational Media
National
Gardening Association
1100
Dorset Street
South
Burlington, VT 05403
e-mail:
evep@kidsgardening.com
web
url: http://www.kidsgardening.com
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New
Homeschooling Website
I
have just finished publishing an Australian homeschooling web site at
http://homeschoolresources.tripod.com/homeschool
and
would appreciate both
your
feedback and anyone else's who you know in this field.
many
thanks, Sarah.
Looks
great to me – loads of resources suitable for Home schoolers
As
well as ideas for everyone.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi
Cathy
Congratulations
on the work you put into this newsletter.
I
just thought I might mention that you say in your tips
12.
TIPS
1.
Double click on highlighted URLS to open in browser.
but
in my case I just click once to open the sites in my browser....
Bye
Muriel
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi
Cathy,
Could
you please suggest some good sites (for kids to use) on nutrition - focus
on fruit & vegetables, vitamins ... how they help to keep us healthy.
Thanks
Sylv
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello
Sylv,
Food
guide pyramid including games and resources great looking site.
http://kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/food/pyramid.html
Great
Games and interesting info through input info
http://www.exhibits.pacsci.org/nutrition/
Education
Ideas kids section
Great
site with games and good info
http://www.healthyeatingclub.com/
http://www.surfnetkids.com/nutritio.htm
game
http://www.dairycouncilofca.org/activities/pyra_main.htm
Good
easy click on food group and find out what it is site.
http://www.nppc.org/cgi-bin/pyramid/
Some
extra links
http://www.msue.msu.edu/fnh/tn/tnkids.html
Hope
this gets you started.
ciao
cathy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear
Cathy,
Does
anyone have ideas for teaching textiles (design and technology) to
boys.
It is alright when we are making a big item but for fill in lessons at
the
end of term I find it a problem. Most craft ideas are geared towards
girly
ideas.
Gillian
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I
always love the paper aeroplane stuff - design make and
appraise
can be really creative.
http://www.paperairplanes.co.uk/
A guy
on the news the other night was making paper versions
of
bugs by, breaking the bugs into parts and them scanning
them
into the computer, enlarging them and printing them out,
then
putting them together as models.
This type of idea would be
fantastic
and could apply to anything.
For
more ideas you r best source is to g to edna/schools
http://www.edna.edu.au/schools.html
and
type into their search engine, you might also try the resource curriculum list
at this site
http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabuses/syllabus_list.html#4_5
ciao
cathy
==============================================
10. NEXT ISSUE I’ll take a look at
the history of computing
as
well as some environmental sites.
Any other goodies you have
–
please
send them in. the next VT will be
out on the 10th May.
ciao for now 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
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==============================================
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For
information about inservice and training contact me at
cathy@virtualteacher.com.au
==============================================