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VT's FREE Newsletter for Educators - Insight, Inspiration and Ideas that Work!
Become an IMAGINAIRE
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Hello Everyone,
The new English Syllabus for NSW mentions creativity 66 times. What is it? How do you develop it - well it requires skill, knowledge, and control. It is a mindset, a way of viewing the world and needs practise. So I invented a new word, IMAGINAIRE, a millionaire of a ideas.
Take a look at the VT webpage and try it out. I have great success and the students love it.
The picture book Virginia Wolf is a great visual treat and is just the thing for a bit of IMAGINAIRING, who knows - perhaps you will turn your classroom into an IMAGINAIRIUM
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Take a look at the illusions below. It's a great topic for Visual Literacy, and for understanding the importance of context, this can be extended to many other experiences where context is important. And really isn't that nearly everything.
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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. It is the start of a New Year, a great time to become a supporter of Virtual Teacher for JUST $5. If you have a book to promote please email me and I will great ones to the Virtual Teacher BookStore, remember support Virtual Teacher and buy your books by clicking through from Virtual Teacher.
Maths Hammers has had a great increase in purchases over the last fortnight - everyone has loved the purchase. If kids leave primary school knowing their tables then they are in a great position for high school maths.
Spread the Word about VT, email this newsletter to someone you think might love it.
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“Creativity is more than just being different. Anybody can plan weird; that’s easy. What’s hard is to be as simple as Bach. Making the simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity” – Charles Mingus
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Become an IMAGINAIRE
IMAGINAIRE (Imagination + millionaire)
a person who uses their imagination to become a millionaire of ideas by focusing the 20 million billion bits of information moving around his/her astoundingly fast brain every second.
The gurus, wizards rockstars and millionaires of the future will be IMAGINAIRES
How do you become an IMAGINAIRE? Well its easy really, let the brain imagine. If you can imagine it, you can do it, write it, paint it, make it, solve it, invent it, fix it.
To be an IMAGINAIRE you require skill, knowledge, and control. It is a mindset, a way of viewing the world and needs practise. more at........
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 Virginia Wolf by
creative duo Kyo Maclear
and Isabelle Arsenault.
Virginia wakes up in a Wolfish mood, she is having
a really bad day. Her sister Virginia, tries everything she can to cheer her up.
Vanessa invents Bloomsberry in paint on the walls
of the house. This amazing imaginary utopia, sees Virginia slowly transformed from Wolf to sister again.
The illustrations and typography are
amazing. The enlarged text must be read loudly.
The small diminutive text demands to be read submissively.
The video offers a fabulous opportunity to compare
a book with a video.
The Interview with Kyo Maclear explaining the origins of the story, is based on the relationship between author Virginia Woolf and her sister, painter Vanessa Bell.
I read this book to students K-6,it could be read K-12 and adults are also delighted with it. Each age brings different understandings and interpretations.
There is much to discuss in the book. I focused on the concept of Bloomsberry - an imaginary utopia.
The discussion, writing and illustration that followed were amazing. The students then wrote about their own “Bloomsberry”, enlarging some of the type and then illustrating their Bloomsberry.
 
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
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 Shaun Tan at the Powerhouse Museum
from 7 December 2013 - 6 October 2014 - Free with museum entry
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This would make a fabulous excursion or virtual excursion.
The Oopsatoreum: a fiction by Shaun Tan and friends is an unpredictable and charming exhibition for families where inventors arise from their inventions and creative makings abound. this is a truly inspirational display with soem great ideas. The book is marvellous - suitable for upper primary - Year 12 buy it through Virtual Teacher.
At the Powerhouse Museum
Magic Lantern Show watch the video I loved this video. Fabulous for ideas and inspiration
* Introduced in the 1600's, the magic lantern was the earliest form of slide projector and has a long and fascinating history. The first magic lanterns were illuminated by candles, but as technology evolved they were lit by kerosene, limelight, carbon arc, and electric light.
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Illusions
Visual Literacy - can you believe what you see
Optical illusions are fabulous. Always intriguing, they create a lot of dicussion and conjecture from students. You can start the Decartian discussion about whether your senses can be trusted. Then go onto the famous " I think therefore I am" quote. Which is a wonderful starting point for developing imaginaires. Some of these illusions are quite amazing.
I particularly love the T-Rex illusion and the Stephen Fry illusion. Beau Lotto's TED talk is quite amazing - so if you have 18 minutes it is well worth watching, he explains why context is everything and why the brain evolved this way. Fabulous
They are short and fabulous for stimulating discussion. All the good stuff, what are your theories, how is it done, can we trust our sensors?
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I do answer all emails so send them along with your questions ideas and great sites.
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Next newsletter will be all about IMAGINAIRES. Don't miss it. TweetPlease send in any other great ideas or websites, whiteboard sites or fabulous things you are doing.
Tweet
Join the VT conversation on twitter.
ciao
Cathy
Happy 2014
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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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