Virtual Teacher Newsletter No. 21 January
18th 2001
THE FREE ONLINE FORTNIGHTLY IT TEACHERS' NEWSLETTER
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CONTENTS
1. Welcome
2. Mind Candy
3. New PD Section
4. New Printables - Classroom Magazine article
5. Technical Stuff - MPEG 5
6. Inspirational Writing
7. Federation
8. Great Sites
9. Readers' Requests/Comments
10 Next Issue
11. Code of 'Netizens'
12. Tips
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1. Welcome everyone.
What I learned this Christmas this year.
It's quite amazing the effect eating Christmas cake, while using
the
computer, can have on the viscidity of keyboard.
Christmas Spirit ebbs and flows amongst the various groups of
relatives. Enjoy the Flows.
Children exhibited generous outbursts of random consideration,
enjoy
the consideration.
If only one of the Christmas toys malfunctioned on Christmas day,
you are lucky.(this may depend on who the receiver is - or at
least
give them the opportunity for personal growth)
Frustration with new aquisitions generally will test parents beyond
reasonable mortal limits. It's good to extend mortal limits.
If the turkey, ham, pudding and wine are good, everything is
good.
I had a fantastic Christmas.
Merry New Year! This is it. The beginning of
a new
millennium. I've got a really positive feeling about the next
thousand years.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days of auld lang syne?
And days of auld lang syne, my dear,
And days of auld lang syne.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days of auld lang syne?
Have a great beginning...................
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2. Mind Candy
Our local humane society had an overabundance of cats, and
to deal with the surplus they posted a notice: "Laptops
Available. Mouse not included."
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"People who like this sort of thing will find that this is
the sort of thing they like." - President Abraham Lincoln,
playing literary critic.
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What did the sign in the Egyptian funeral home say?
"Satisfaction guaranteed or your mummy back!"
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do not know the source of these, but they are poignant
ADVICE FROM KIDS AND TEENS
1. Never trust a dog to watch your food.
- Patrick, age 10
2. When your dad is mad and asks you, "Do
I look
stupid?" don't answer him.
- Michael, 14
3. Never tell your mom her diet's not working.
- Michael, 14
4. Stay away from prunes.
- Randy, 9
5. Never pee on an electric fence.
- Robert, 13
6. Don't squat with your spurs on.
- Noronha, 13
7. Don't pull dad's finger when he tells you
to.
- Emily, 10
8. When your mom is mad at your dad, don't
let her
brush your hair.
- Taylia, 11
9. Never allow your three-year old brother
in the same
room as your school assignment.
- Traci, 14
10. Never hold a dust buster and a cat at the
same
time.
- Kyoyo, 9
11. You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a
glass of
milk.
- Armir, 9
12. Felt markers are not good to use as lipstick.
- Lauren, 9
13. Don't pick on your sister when she's holding
a
baseball bat.
- Joel, 10
14. When you get a bad grade in school, show
it to your
mom when she's on the phone.
- Alyesha, 13
15. Never try to baptize a cat.
- Eileen, 8
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Walking through the hallways at the middle school where I
work, I saw a new substitute teacher standing outside his
classroom with his forehead against a locker. I heard him
mutter, "How did you get yourself into this?"
Knowing that he was assigned to a difficult
class, I tried
to offer moral support. "Are you okay?" I asked. "Can
I
help?"
He lifted his head and replied, "I'll
be fine as soon as
I get this kid out of his locker."
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A careful study of economics usually reveals that the best
time to buy anything is last year.
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POOH AND FRIENDS SERIOUSLY TROUBLED - PAEDIATRICIANS
http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/index/0,1008,543569a12,FF.html
Canadian paediatricians have carried out a 'study' into the wellbeing
of
the characters from AA Milne's Winnie the Pooh in order to show
even the
best people can have neuro-development problems . Reuters reports
that
the study results show Pooh and friends suffer from problems such
as
attention deficit disorder and need medication.
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"The first important thing about educational technology is
to replace
it with learning technology. The shift from a technology of teaching
to a technology of learning is an important trend we should encourage.
We should think of the computer as what you make something out
of, or
as a medium that gives you the opportunity to express yourself
and
access what other people have expressed."
-- Seymour Papert Education Theorist, and Professor of Computer
Science at MIT
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3. New PD Section - link on the VT site.
Here's a page on resources for Personal Development - I'll add
to it
as I find resources. Send me any you have as well. It is a link
from the directory page of Virtual Teacher as well.
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/pd.html
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Here's another resource from Terry which you will find most useful.
Greetings!
I've written an ebook (pdf) on the subject of using computers
in
classrooms: nearly 200 pointers to good practice. Available only
until 31st January in the first instance. Please see the following
url for details:
http://www.terryfreedman.com/
Thanks
Terry Freedman
Fax and voice mail: 0703 115 0271
How do you manage your ICT? http://www.ictineducation.org
--
officially approved content for the National Grid for Learning
Free newsletter: Computers in Classrooms. Obtain a sample copy
by
sending a blank email to compic@fastfacts.net.
*** Winner of the November Educational-site-of-the-Month MirandaRose
Award, from Mirandanet ***
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4. New Printables - Classroom Magazine
I've started writing for 'Classroom Magazine' - Wendy Rapee is
the
editor and a great person to work with. My first article in the
first issue of the New Millennium is "Is there a Doctor in
the Mouse"
- it was great fun to write. There are lots of interesting resources
and links in the Magazine as well as link to the printable below.
Classroom Magazine will be a great inspiration and well of ideas
for
2001 for all Primary School Teachers and Wendy has some great
ideas
for coming issues after her recent trip to NY. Look out for it,
most
school libraries subscribe to it. It's from Scholastics Australia
-
you know - the book club people. if you want to know about
subscriptions email Wendy at
wendyr@geko.net.au
First aid -Classroom Magazine Printables
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/firstaid.pdf
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5. Technical Stuff
Download MPEG 5 Its a fantastic improvement on the earlier version.
Evaluation programs
http://www.collegeoffice.com/
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6. Inspirational Writing
Produce your own newspaper online - have fun
http://ink.news.com.au/ink/teaching/
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7. Federation
Centenary of Federation, Student Activities, Links- articles and
posters available from the Australian newspaper - One set includes
15
copies of The Weekend Australian for six week from Saturday 24
February to Saturday 31 March and costs a total of $29.90 (newspapers
$27.18 plus GST
$2.72) and one set of historical posters - this sounds like a
deal
worth investigating. ordering details -
education@matp.newsltd.com.au
http://ink.news.com.au/theaustralian/centenary.htm
Federation
http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/researchskills/Federation/contents.htm
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8. Great Sites
Here's the ultimate dictionary/Encyclopedia site. i use it all
the time.
http://www.xrefer.com/
A while back I was asked about the olde english
sayings i published
in the the newsletter. Quite a few folk wanted more of these
- I
have a site you will probably love.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~genepool/sayings.htm
Free Geneology Search - very quick and very interesting
http://searches.rootsweb.com/
Great lesson Plans and Info on the Weather from the Australian
Bureau
of Meteorology
http://www.bom.gov.au/lam/Students_Teachers/learnact.htm
New Millennium Project - great ideas new thoughts
for technology in
the new millennium =- professional development site
http://www.millennaire.com/intro.html
National Geographics for Kids - It contains articles, activities,
facts, games,jokes, pen pals etc.
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/kids/index.html
Writing a letter, Job Interviews, resume, interview, job application
fantastic resource great ideas.
http://ink.news.com.au/couriermail/stuff.htm
History of Printing
http://www.themercury.com.au/nie/ingle/print_history.htm
Great site for Educational Issues in the News - of particular
value
as a Teacher Resource
http://ink.news.com.au/
Complete list of Interactive Science Experiments
http://www.explorescience.com/activities/activity_list.cfm?categoryID=11
one of them is the Snowflake Designer - just great
http://www.explorescience.com/activities/Activity_page.cfm?ActivityID=12
Off the Beaten Track - a Study of Australian Towns Webquest
http://www.walkabout.fairfax.com.au/fairfax/AtoZ/A.shtml
Families Webquest - younger children
http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/researchskills/family.htm
A fantastic research page with links to everything
you could need +
ideas on how to get organised
http://www.ri.net/schools/East_Greenwich/research.html
How do toilets work - how do you fix them, saving water
http://www.toiletology.com/anatomy.shtml
All about the Brain - this is a great site - easy to download
- not
too much info - ending with a quiz.
http://www.rufy.com/brain/
How the digestive system works
http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/digest/pubs/digesyst/newdiges.htm
What's in the box - this site tells you all about how computers
work.
A step by step guide.
http://members.aol.com/wbox/wbox.htm
Tune up your bike - what everyone needs to know.
http://members.aol.com/biketune/
Conversion tables for everything -temperature, Roman Numerals,
speed etc
http://members.aol.com/javawizard/numbers.html
How do Boomerangs work
http://www.jnboomerangs.com/HowBwork.htm
Want to make an artificial human - find out what you can do -
whose
making what bits
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/eheart/manmade.html
Zen and the Art of Hovercraft Maintenance - how do you make one,
what
parts do you need.
http://users.neca.com/cummings/sev.html
find out about robotics - learn about the 6 degrees of freedom
http://www.thetech.org/exhibits_events/online/robots/
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9. Readers Requests/Comments
I am looking for a cool site to help with teaching
heart disease risk
factors and prudent heart living for early elementary. I usually
teach
middle and high schoolers, I am very nervous trying to adapt this
information to the first third graders
Joan Coffman
Hi Kathy,
Thank you for the fantastic newsletter you send out. What a wonderful
resource they are. I have used the materials contained in them
repeatedly and they have greatly enriched my program as IT teacher.
I
have spread the word whenever possible as per Instructions;-)
However, I am leaving this school and my address will become obsolete
soon. Would you be able to send them to my home until I find my
new
school email address? This will stop them from bouncing.
All the best for Christmas and the New Year and thanks again.
Regards,
Wayne :-{)
> Hello Cathy
> Thankyou for the ongoing newsletters. I enjoy checking out
the new urls.
> I do have a suggestion though. A feature for a newsletter
with urls
> for colouring/coloring sites.
> Not the online colouring in type, but the print a hard copy
type.
> I had a great site:
><>http://www.bconnex.net/~mbuchana/realms/page7/index.html
> My students loved it, but some time back it became unavailable.
( I
> should have illegally cached the entire site to my hard drive,
for
> offline viewing! *LOL*)
Reader Suggestions for colouring pages
I really like this colouring site, because it adds a bit more
challenge for slightly older kids,
though my 7 year old niece loves it too. Pages
from here (doled out slowly) have kept her occupied on quite a
few occasions
Roseanne
http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/kids&teachers/kids/coloring-book/index.html
Also Try http://www.yahooligans.com/Arts_and_Entertainment/Art/Activities/Coloring/
Jenny Stubbs
Teacher-Librarian West Moreton District
http://www.home.gil.com.au/~jstubbs/home.htm
http://www.home.gil.com.au/~bookweek
Vice-President Children's Book Council (QLD Branch) Inc.
http://www.home.gil.com.au/~cbcqld
Read In Australian Coordinator
http://www.readin.org/
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10. Next Issue - I hope to deal with evaluation in more detail
with
interactive checklists and forms using Access and Excel - if you
have
used these or have some good ideas send them along. Also looking
for
excellence in teaching ideas for the
initiative next year. Love the feedback - please keep sending
me
your thoughts.
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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:comfilm1@optusnet.com.au
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