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VT's FREE Newsletter for Educators - Insight, Inspiration and Ideas that Work!
Check OUT the FABULOUS Bookstore
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Hello Everyone,
I hope you all had a great break. I have had a lot of requests for books, Great picture books that inspire, challenge and amaze.
Books that are beautifully illustrated and masterfully worded. So I put my THINKING CAT on over the break and decided to create the Virtual Teacher Bookstore, each fortnight I will review a great new book, so you will have a continual supply of great recommendations.
I love picture books, the right ones can be read to kindergarten as well as Year 12.
They are can be philosophical, metaphorical or state simply an idea that can developed and extended. Picture books are visually rich, so are the perfect resource for an expanded visual literacy curriculum.
So I have opened the FABULOUS Virtual Teacher BookStore. Only FABULOUS books will be reviewed, weblinks added and teaching and learning ideas included. You will be supporting VT just by clicking through and ordering from this site. read more below. |
Take a look at the FALLING BACK TO EARTH image below, if you can't get to Queensland the imagery and artist are still worth exploring.
It's Valentines Day soon a great day to celebrate Love and Friendship, take a look at the ideas below.
MATHSPOWER - FREE ONLINE MATHS TRIAL
Don't miss out try it now. It will make your life sooo much easier and your students will go ahead in leaps and bounds.
 MADE for Australian studentsDESIGNED BY Australian teachers
Thank you for your support & contribution! You can become a supporter too. Ronald Burton, Angie Stevenson, Thomas Brown are our latest subscribers. If you have a book to promote please email me and I will great ones to the Virtual Teacher BookStore. Maths Hammers have you seen it yet? Take a look, lots of jokes stories and great maths. Put it up on the whiteboard - click to videos and crack some jokes, it's a great resource for an instant lesson. There have been a number of purchased over the break and the feedback is fabulous. Making learning tables amazing.
Spread the Word about VT, email this newsletter to someone you think might love it.
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Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
Groucho Marx, The Essential Groucho: Writings For By And About Groucho Marx
I think there's much to live for without art. Nothing else can relieve, inspire or elevate the human spirit the way music, movies, theatre and visual arts do. There's not much point to a world without art.
Hélène Joy
My wish is to help design the future of learning by supporting children all over the world to tap into their innate sense of wonder and work together. Help me build the School in the Cloud, a learning lab in India, where children can embark on intellectual adventures by engaging and connecting with information and mentoring online. I also invite you, wherever you are, to create your own miniature child-driven learning environments and share your discoveries.
We need a pedagogy free from fear and focused on the magic of children's innate quest for information and understanding.
Sugata Mitra
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FALLING BACK TO EARTH
Cai Guo-Qiang
South Brisbane Queensland Art Gallery
to May 5th 2014
Both spectacular and meditative, and presenting a beautiful, thought-provoking vision of our relationship with the earth and with each other, ‘Falling Back to Earth’ is the must-see exhibition of the summer.
The centrepiece of the exhibition ‘Heritage’ features 99 replicas of animals from around the world, gathered together to drink from a blue lake surrounded by pristine white sand. The second installation, ‘Eucalyptus’ responds to the ancient trees of Lamington National Park in the Gold Coast hinterland, while the third ‘Head On’ is a striking installation of 99 artificial wolves leaping en masse into a glass wall and is on display in Australia for the first time. Regarding his art the global known artist explains:
‘My work is like a dialogue between unseen powers, like alchemy.’
One Night Stand—Cai Guo-Qiang
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THE QUESTION ON EVERYONES LIPS
How do I Support Virtual Teacher, such a fabulous resource, without spending a cent, dime, nickle or penny.
YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO.
USE VIRTUAL TEACHER AS THE LANDING PAGE FOR ANY PURCHASES FROM BOOKWORLD OR AMAZON, then just click through using the buttons below and make your purchase. VT gets credits and you get great book recommendations.
Virtual Teacher has become an affiliate of Bookworld and Amazon. So the more you use VT to make purchases the more credits VT will earn, and the more FABULOUS things VT will be able to do. read more
 Great picture books inspire, challenge and amaze.
They are beautifully illustrated, masterfully worded and appeal to all ages.
Here is my selection for 2013. I hope you love them as much as I do. read more...
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What MOST schools DON'T TEACH
Learn about a new "superpower" that isn't being taught in in 90% of US schools. Starring Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, will.i.am, Chris Bosh, Jack Dorsey, Tony Hsieh, Drew Houston, Gabe Newell, Ruchi Sanghvi, Elena Silenok, Vanessa Hurst, and Hadi Partovi. Directed by Lesley Chilcott, executive producers Hadi and Ali Partovi.
Try it out no one fails even great for Stage 1
The Future Will be Written in Code!
The hour of coding was aroginally run in December 9-15th 2013 but the programs are sill available - go on try them out.
And the Khan Academy Hour of Coding
is great for stage 3
And download the certificate at the end
Enjoy
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Valentine's Day
Valentine’s Day, also called
Saint Valentine’s Day, is a holiday on February 14th celebrating love and friendship.
CELEBRATE by finding out what your students love, what they are passionate about, what their interests are.
GET THEM TALKING about their interests and passions with peers, parents and mentors.
ENCOURAGE students to ask questions and find answers about their passions.
EXPOSE them to amazing things, great ideas and passionate people.
INSPIRE them to write and read about their passions.
EMPOWER students to find and explore their passions.
MENTOR them in their discoveries.
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Paper Toys Paper Toys
Love it Completely Free Just cut print fild and glue.
Like the Horse  With details about horses and evolution. Cars, Big Ben, Famous Cathedrals, dogs, boats and the human body etc.
Digital Platform of Education
Simple and Free organisational tool for a digital class.
Watch the video see if its right for you. Includes online tests that are graded automatically, storage space for personal files.
Maths Interactives
Maths Excel Interactives
Great resource for whiteboard lessons. These interactive resources are great for demonstrations, I liked the times table grid which reveals the answers as well as randomly generated times tables.
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I do answer all emails so send them along with your questions ideas and great sites.
Hi Cathy,
Having enjoyed Virtual Teacher for many years, and gaining so many classroom ideas from it, I just wanted to say, thank you, for all of your hard work, energy and fabulous information offered so generously to us all. Every teacher should look forward to receiving your newsletter in their email boxes.
Happiest of holidays!
Nancy Sklavos-Gillett
Thanks Nancy
Hello!
I wanted to follow up with you on a note I sent a while back. Since I last wrote, I got extremely sidetracked on my cybersafety lesson plan but I'm refocused and hoping to fiinish it up over the holiday break.
I've been back on a number of cybersafety and cybersecurity websites, and recently revisited yours. I wanted you to know that the link to Stay Safe Online has changed its homepage from http://www.staysafeonline.info/ to http://www.staysafeonline.org/.
Because it’s such a great resource on a very important topic, I thought you would want to make that update. I found that broken link on this page: http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/VT106.htm.
Lastly, when you have a moment, take a look at a few resources and consider adding them to your site. Each would be a great addition to your site for the benefit of your visitors:
Cyber Safety: Top 10 Tips for Youth
Parent Guide: Talk With Your Kids about Internet Safety
Internet Safety for Kids: 17 Cyber Safety Experts Share Tips for Keeping Children Safe Online
If you like them and feel that they would be beneficial additions for your visitors, please feel free to add them.
Thank you,
Katie Cook
Thanks Katie for the links
I love your website. I hope it inspires my new website design team. I will soon be shifting from www.asktheprincipal.info to PARENTS MATTER.info. Stay tuned. I blog twice a month. Feel free to post my articles on your site and I can do the same for you.
I have a relative in Australia who subscribes to my site and purchased my book WISE UP: Be the Solution. I would love to sell more in Aussie country. Any Ideas? It has terrific reviews on amazon and from KIRKUS.
James L. Casale, Ph.D.
Jimmy Casale
How Amazing is this - I am just setting up an affiliate program on my website through Amazon and BookWorld so will add this to the mix.
I loved your line "This system of so-called accountability is stealing precious time from instruction and learning."
My thoughts exactly.
Looking forward to your input over the next year.
Thanks for subscribing, please spread the word.
ciao
Cathy
You can take a look at Jimmy's book WISE: UP: Be the Solution is a must read for all parents who want their children to meet with success in the school setting.
"Parents can change the family dynamic for the better by remembering the four C(s)-calm, civil, courageous and consistent.
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Next newsletter will be all about IMAGINAIRES. Don't miss it.  Please send in any other great ideas or websites, whiteboard sites or fabulous things you are doing.
Join the VT conversation on twitter.
ciao
Cathy
Happy 2014
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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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1. GOT SOMETHING TO SAY - Send in your Questions, Questions will be published with Answers, send in your Answers, if you have expertise to share.
2. NOMINATE A BRILLIANT SITE for review and inclusion in this newsletter.
3. NOMINATE A FANTASTIC SCHOOL WEBSITE site for review and inclusion in this newsletter.
4. MAKE CONTACT with other schools using fantastic programs.
5. WRITE and innovative article for this newsletter.
6. TELL 2 COLLEAGUES about this newsletter.
7. BECOME A VT SUPPORTER CLICK HERE $5 per year, and keep a good thing going. Your name + a hyperlink if you, like will appear on our supporters list.(unless anonymity is requested)
Announce your support for innovation and change in Education.
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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 an email or tweet me.
Editor: Cathy Brown 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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