Virtual Teacher Newsletter No. 22 February
2nd 2001
THE FREE ONLINE FORTNIGHTLY IT TEACHERS' NEWSLETTER
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CONTENTS
1. Welcome
2. Mind Candy
3. Mickey Mouse
4. New Printables - Goal Setting Planner
5. Technical Stuff - Editing Domestic DV on IBM Platform
6. Hyper History
7. Goal Setting
8. Great Sites
9. Readers' Requests/Comments
10 Next Issue
11. Code of 'Netizens'
12. Tips
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1. Welcome everyone. Hello Folks,
We are experiencing mailing trouble. You've probably
been getting one issue here, one issue there or no issues
anywhere. Remember all issues are archived on the site - so if
you
don't receive one you can download it from Virtual Teacher. The
rest I'm trying to figure out and hope that for this newsletter
the server
will do a better job - otherwise its off in search of a new server
again. Hope you all had a happy Valentine's Day.
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2. Mind Candy
"Goals are funny things, they don't work unless you do!"
someone or other
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" To know how to suggest is the art of teaching."
--- Henri-FrÈdÈric Amiel (1821-81)
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TEACHER: George, go to the map and find North America.
GEORGE: Here it is!
TEACHER: Correct. Now, class, who discovered America?
CLASS: George!
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The Internet is an embarrassment of riches that's next to worthless
without an educator."
- Tom March
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Some Alternative Systems of Mathematical Measurement for your
Amusement
*Vaudeville comedians who've become engineers may find this
definition handy: The time between slipping on a banana skin and
smacking the pavement is defined as 1bananosecond.
*Broadcast engineers, 1012 microphones equals 1 megaphone.
*Mathematicians living north of the Artic Circle would, of course,
know that the ratio of an igloo's circumference to its diameter
is
Eskimo Pi.
*The force exerted by 1 kilogram of falling figs would be 1 Fig
Newton.
*Chemical engineers, or fans of ethyl alcohol in general, should
know
that 365.25 days of drinking low-calorie beer (Because it is less
filling) is the same as 1 lite year.
*Fans of science fiction shows and surveyors who use the rod in
linear measurements should certainly be familiar with this
conversion: 16.5 feet in the Twilight Zone is equal to1 Rod Serling.
*Anyone working in the medical industry might find it handy to
know
that half of a large intestine is equivalent to 1 semicolon, and
that
the basic unit of laryngitis is 1hoarsepower.
*If you are involved with transportation then 106 bicycles are
equivalent to 2 megacycles, and the time it takes to sail 220
yards
at a rate of 1 nautical mile per hour is 1 Knot-furlong.
*To round out the list, 1000 grams of wet socks makes 1 liter-hosen,
2 monograms can be used to form 1 diagram, 10 millipedes are
equivalent to 1 centipede.
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3. Mickey Mouse I have just purchased a new mouse - I have
christened
it the "Mickey Mouse" - it is just terrific. The new
Microsoft
IntelliMouse - optical the ones without balls. No
more mice cleaning - no more scratching away at those dirty little
rollers
with your fingernails, no more jamming - just fantastic. This
clever
device is compatible with both Mac and IBM based platforms and
uses a
software package on CD or downloadable from the Internet
http://www.microsoft.com/products/hardware/mouse/driver/3_2/default.htm
- dead easy to use.
And wonder of wonders for those mac users deprived
of a right mouse
button for so long it has one, but wait there's more. There is
a
scroll wheel in the middle and 2 other assignable buttons. So
now
you can access the menus on Macs in just the same way as IBM
compatibles, and also assign other buttons for your most used
functions.
But wait there's more, this mouse is ergonomically
designed, so it is
more comfortable to use and also causes less of the infamous 'mouse
wrist'. I bought mine for $90 from Buzzle - so I'm sure most
places
would have it for about this price.
I love mine, it stops all those irritating
unresponsive mouse dramas
that occur just at the time your being impressive and demonstrating
a
new trick, or to a class of 30 restless children - even worse.
No more sticky mouse problems, no more dirty
fingernails. Thank
goodness. Take a look at the specs here:-
http://shop.Microsoft.com//Products/Products_Feed/Online/IntelliMouseOptical%5B10037%5D/ProductOverview.asp
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4. New Printables the Goal Setting Planner is a .doc microsoft
word file.
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/goal.doc
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5. Technical Stuff - Editing Domestic DV on IBM Platform
Minimum computer required PII (preferably PIII) 600Mhz
CPU at least 128meg of Ram, a good Video card capable
of million colours with 8 or 16meg of VideoRam. A 17" monitor.
You'll need a firewire CPI card to allow you to capture your
tapes to the hard drive and a separate AV drive for all the digital
information, suggest Ultra ATA 7200rpm type drive at least 20
or 30GB
Never use your system drive to store AV material.
For NLE software try Premier 6, it's suitable for most short form
projects, up to 20mins, and
has all the tools you'll need for a professional looking job.
there
maybe a schools price on this package as well. check it out here:-
http://www.adobe.com/store/products/premiere.html
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6. Hyper History
This is such an excellent resource - easy to navigate and with
info
that is fantastic for upper primary. The information is concise
with
links to primary source material provided at the end of most articles.
You can search for people, colour coded for various disciplines,
historical events and milestones, history in different countries,
or
for maps during different historical periods. So Hyper away to
the
site:-
http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/History_n2/a.html
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7. Goal Setting
At the beginning of the school year this is a fantastic activity
to
do with your class as a whole and children individually. Its
great to
be able to set at least one goal with each student and then evaluate
their progress at the end of each term. Here's some ideas to
help
you get started.
1. Thou Shall Be Decisive
Success is a choice. You must decide what you want, why you want
it, and how
you plan to achieve it. No one else can, will, or should do that
for you.
2. Thou Shall Stay Focused
A close relative to being decisive, but your ability to sustain
your focus from
beginning to end determines the timing and condition of your outcomes.
3. Thou Shall Welcome Failure
The fundamental question is not whether you should accept failure.
You have no
choice but to expect it as a temporary condition on the path way
of progress.
Rather, the question is how to anticipate failure and redirect
resources to grow
from the experience.
4. Thou Shall Write Down Thou Goals
Your mind while blessed with permanent memory is cursed with lousy
recall.
People forget things. Avoid the temptation of being cute; Write
down
your goals.
5. Thou Shall Plan Thoroughly
Planning saves 10 to 1 in execution. Proper planning prevents
poor performance.
6. Thou Shall Involve Others
Nobody goes through life alone. Establish your own "Personal
Board of
Directors", people whose wisdom, knowledge and character
you respect to help
you achieve your goals.
7. Thou Shall Take Purposeful Action
Success is not a spectator sport - achievement demands action.
You cannot
expect to arrive at success without having made the trip.
8. Thou Shall Reward Thyself
Rewards work! Think of what you will give yourself as a result
of your hard
work, focus and persistence - you deserve it!
9. Thou Shall Inspect What Thy Expect
The Shelf life of all plans is limited. No plan holds up against
opposition.
Everything changes. Therefore inspect frequently and closely,
it's an insurance
policy on your success.
10. Thou Shall Maintain Personal Integrity
Maintain your commitment to your commitment. Set your goals, promise
yourself that you will achieve them. Eliminate wiggle room and
excuses. That's
personal integrity!
http://www.goalsguy.com/Knowledge/index.htm
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8. Great Sites
Cyber Ed some great Science Resources
http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/edu/CyberEd
http://www.insects.org INSECTS
http://bugscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/bugscope99/
Bugscope
http://www.ex.ac.uk/bugclub/
Bugclub in UK
http://zoocam.ent.iastate.edu/
Insect Zoo in Ames , Iowa
Yucky Roach World
http://yucky.kids.discovery.com/roaches/
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9. Readers Requests/Comments
I've noticed that your English is consistently different from
mine -
where are you located?
Meredith
I try to be inventive with both my writing and speaking saying
things
in the same way all the time can get rather boring - but i am
from
Sydney Australia.
I teach a combo 1/2 class. I am interested
in any lesson plans.
Hi San Bill,
check out the TV websites - there are a lot of IT lessons with
printables there. I Also check out the webquest sites linked
from
my site as well. Here are a few.
http://www.youthline-usa.com/lessonstop/
http://www.teacher-zone.com/
http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/index.html
Please let me know if anyone else has found
some good sites.
Hi Cathy,
I wonder if your subscribers know of how my students can complete
a
geography project. They are to choose a name and find as many
places in
the world with that name as they can. Many of them chose their
own first
or last names and are now stymied.
I also would like to know what reference lists odd little names
of towns
in Wales, Scotland, Italy, etc. The kids would really enjoy some
of them.
Thanks for your excellent resources,
Laura
Can anyone help with this??????
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10. Next Issue - Now that most schools have Microsoft
Office
installed in all their computers- I have decided to see exactly
what
this program can do. So far I have tried to use this program
to meet
every request I have had. I have found the program almost limitless
in its delivery of solutions to classroom requirements. If you
have
used Microsoft Office in a new and unusual way let me know about
it.
Over the next few newsletters I will be exploring - no exploiting
it
to the max. Spreadsheets, data bases, skinning, graphing, fractions,
flowcharts, 3D shapes etc. etc. So send in your ideas.
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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:cathy@virtualteacher.com.au
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