Virtual Teacher Newsletter No. 25 2001
THE FREE ONLINE FORTNIGHTLY IT TEACHERS' NEWSLETTER
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Contact: cathy@virtualteacher.com.au
Website: http://www.virtualteacher.com.au
Newsletter Archives can be found at:-
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/archives.html
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CONTENTS
1. Welcome
2. Mind Candy
3. Ice Trek
4. New Printables - Captain Cook, First Fleet Mini Webquests
5. Technical Stuff - Maintenance Tips Windows
6. Apple IBook
7.Digital Portfolios
8. Great Sites
9. Readers' Requests/Comments
10 Next Issue
11. Code of 'Netizens'
12. Tips
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1. WELCOME EVERYONE.
The end of first term, and it seems to have flown.
Have a great holiday, here's some ideas to ponder
over the break.
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2. Life is either a daring adventure or it is nothing.
HELEN KELLER
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I am not discouraged because every wrong attempt discarded
is another step forward.
THOMAS EDISON
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Originality does not consist in saying what no-one has ever
said before, but in saying exactly what you think yourself.
JAMES FITZ-JAMES STEPHEN
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Everyone is talented, original and has something to say
BRENDA UELAND
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At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a
kaleidoscope of new possibilities.
JEAN HOUSTON
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To be nobody but yourself -- in a world which is
doing its best, night and day, to make you like
everybody else -- means to fight the hardest battle
which any human being can fight, and never stop
fighting.
E E CUMMINGS
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IMAGINE there is a bank which credits your account each
morning with $86,400, carries over no balance from day to
day, allows you to keep no cash balance, and every evening
cancels whatever part of the amount you had failed to use
during the day.
What would you do?
Draw out every cent, of course!
Well, everyone has such a bank. Its name is TIME. Every
morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it
writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest
to good purpose.It carries over no balance. It allows no
overdraft.
Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns
the records of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the
loss is yours.
There is no going back. There is no drawing against the
"tomorrow". You must live in the present on today's deposits.
Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health,
happiness and success!
The clock is running. Make the most of today
To realize the value of ONE YEAR Ask a student who
has failed his exam.
To realize the value of ONE MONTH=85 Ask a mother
who has given birth to a pre-mature baby.
To realize the value of ONE WEEK Ask an editor of a
weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of ONE DAY Ask a daily wage
laborer who has ten kids to feed.
To realize the value of ONE HOUR Ask the lovers who
are waiting to meet.
To realize the value of ONE MINUTE Ask a person
who has missed the train.
To realize the value of ONE SECOND Ask a person
who has survived an accident.
To realize the value of ONE MILLI-SECOND Ask
the person who has won a silver medal in Olympics.
Treasure every moment that you have!
And treasure it more because you shared it with someone
special...special enough to have your time... and remember
time waits for no one.
ANONYMOUS
from the
http://www.andygriffiths.com.au/
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3. ICE TREK An in depth comparison between Scott's 1910
expedition to the South Pole and the 1998/99 Peter Hillary
expedition. 15 areas of expedition preparation and planning
are compared. Suitable for years 4 to 11 social studies, science
and technology.
http://www.icetrek.org/heurisko/
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4. NEW PRINTABLES
Here are two new printables to download, both are available
from the the site under Free Teacher tools. Both are in pdf
format and you will need to download acrobat reader to view
them. Acrobat reader is free and is available to download
from the adobe site - just click the button at the bottom of
the Virtual teacher directory page . Both printables can be
downloaded and duplicated or use in their original format
with live links. Both are mini webquests designed for
Year 3 and Year 4.
Captain Cook
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/captain.pdf
First Fleet
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/firstfl.pdf
enjoy.
PS the pdf files will probably download automatically after
you click onto the links above, they will be in your downloads
manager file. To find them goto the 'find' menu and type in
either 'firstfl.pdf' or 'captain.pdf'
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5. TECHNICAL STUFF
MAINTENANCE TIPS FOR WINDOWS BASED PLATFORMS
Once a month goto the Windows updater site and download
any 'critical updates' for windows. The site checks your computer,
identifies which programs need updating and lists these
under 'critical updates.' Download the critical updates first.
Then select any other additional programs you wish to download.
The Windows updater should be found under the 'tools' menu
on Explorer - or under your start menu.
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/
Every 2-4 weeks run 'Systems File Checker' on your Windows
based platform computers.
Goto the 'Start' menu, Goto 'run' type in sfc. If their are
any problems that can't be rectified you may need to
load the originating disk say Windows 98 in the 'D" drive,
the program should know where to look for the necessary
files, just click OK to its suggestions, if not type in d://win98

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6. APPLE IBOOK
I had the chance to roadtest the apple IBook just recently -
what a delight. It runs for 6 hours on rechargable lithium
batteries. So can be used in the classroom with no power leads
attached. It looks wonderful and the children just loved it.
It has a sweet handle at the back to make carrying a breeze.
The Location manager allows for both dial-up and ethernet
connection which is fantastic. The IBooks can be used at home
by teachers using dial-up, and at school on the ISDN line with
no fiddling about. The Help menu on the front screen offers
some great tutorials which are delicious to watch, and I would
recommend that children from year 3 upward be encouraged
to complete the first 2 on the list, 'desktop' and 'internet'.
The desktop tutorial is particularly suitable for years 3 and 4.
Make desktop icons for all the programs in the applications folder,
including the map program and the graph program. The 'map'
program enables you to locate any city in the world, and give its
Latitude, longitude, and time and miles from say Sydney
(or any other destination you select). The 'graphing calculator'
is fantastic, and very suitable for secondary students.
It automatically graphs algebraic equations, and there are
some stunning examples, for primary school students just
run the 'Demo version 2 or 3', it is excellent to watch.
Don't forget to check out the IMovie program, a wonderful
introduction to digital editing. The IMovie tutorial is a great
place to start, and this can be tackled by upper primary
children. The latest rollout IBooks are loaded with
Microsoft Office 2001, which looks super and is a joy to use.
The interface is slightly different from the older versions
but is actually more user friendly. The IBook can be
plugged into a TV monitor which is great for showing the
children's Kid Pic or PowerPoint presentations.
All in all a fantastic little piece of equipment. Check it out at:-
http://www.apple.com/ibook/
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7. DIGITAL PORTFOLIOS
There has been a lot of interest lately in alternative forms of
assessment. The Australian National Schools Network
is currently organising the 'Authentic Learning and Digital
Portfolios Project'. Which sounds like a wonderful opportunity
for Staff PD.
http://www.nsn.net.au
It is interesting to read some of the school 'snapshots' at:-
http://www.nsn.net.au/schools/index.html
Take a look at the project and email David Niguidula for
more information if you are interested.
Investigating alternative forms of evaluation has always
been a subject near to my heart. I love using video evaluation,
verbal, artistic, dramatic and all the wonderful alternatives
computers offer, like PowerPoint and Kid Pic slideshows etc.
If anyone has any great ideas about this send them in to share.
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8. GREAT SITES
Web Museum is a fantastic art resource online. More about
art and the web next issue.
http://www.ibiblio.org/webmuseum/
the Andy Griffith's Site - writer of the 'Just Tricking' series is
a great site to investigate. Lots of interesting things including
info about his books, Foxtel animations. the teaching notes
are good fun. And there are some tricky quizzes and jokes
to check out as well.
http://www.andygriffiths.com.au/
Only a few links this time as there ae a lot to check out below.
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9. READERS COMMENTS/REQUESTS
G'day Cathy,
I am desperate to get into
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/coolfuel2.pdf
but for some reason my computer wont do it. I am a student
teacher with a practical experiment and assignment due very
very shortly and I am doing it on alternative energy.
How can I get a look at this site.
Regards
Eva Davies
Hi Eva,
This file may automatically download onto your hardrive - use your find
command - under the start menu on windows and under the file menu
on macs - and search for the file name you may find it has already
downloaded - you will also need acrobat reader to view it - this is
available at http://www.adobe.com
and is a free download
You can also Goto the Tools menu in Explorer and goto the
downloads manager and check if it is there. then double click on it -
it should open immediately if you have loaded acrobat reader. Goodluck.

Cathy
I ran across this website and thought you might be
interested in putting it in your newsletter at some point.
It offers a free kit, which most teachers would welcome.
Hoping it might help in some way.
Regards,
Nancy
http://www.nhgri.nih.gov/educationkit/
This looks like a great site, thanks Nancy, I have requested the
free kit myself.

Hello....
I just would like to say, that your Virtual Teacher links
have been very useful for educators and students.
I do have a link that has just been updated that you
might want to use..
http://www.edgate.com/school_athletics/student/sporting_articles/
These teaching ideas and links are for educators and
student wanting to integrating Baseball into Math and Science.
Thanks
Bruce Frank
Educational Policy & Program Team
Thanks Bruce great site.

Dear Cathy,
Just found your site through classroom magazine.
Can I subscribe please and can I use the wording from
your disclaimer on my zine? No sense reinventing the wheel :)
A few sites for your perusal
my own is hosting melodyquest for a music teacher who
couldn't hack the webbuilding -
http://www.nswagtc.org.au/kidbits/stuff/index.html
(please check out the monthly zine too)
my TQ semifinalist team's
http://library.thinkquest.org/C005462/index2.html
http://www.vsg.edu.au
- My son used the online course Jnr sleuth with great
success (child in Grade 5). He is doing another course
probably in Programming next term as he cannot access a
suitable teacher any other way.
regards
Carolyn
http://www.tasmail.com
Hi Carolyn,
Glad you are on board. Please feel free to yes my wording - but
please acknowledge it with an appropriate reference :
Cathy Brown http://www.virtualteacher.com.au
will be fine.
Cathy

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10. Next Issue - I will be looking into some Bookweek ideas,
authors and illustrators as well as art and computers. Many
folk have said they find integration of art and computers fairly
difficult - what are your thoughts - send in your great ideas.
Til next time.........Cathy

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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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