Virtual Teacher Newsletter No. 35 2001
THE FREE ONLINE FORTNIGHTLY IT TEACHERS' NEWSLETTER
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CONTENTS
1. Welcome
2. Mind Candy
3. Clicker 4
4. New Printables - Rules for Group Work
5. Technical Stuff - Computers and Human Cells
6. Website Focus - Gold rush
7. Poetry
8. Great Sites
9. Readers' Requests/Comments
10 Next Issue
11. Code of 'Netizens'
12. Tips
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1. WELCOME EVERYONE. The Question is the Answer.
This is the latest greatest statement to think about with
regard technology and future education. Take a moment
to think about it!!!!!! There that will do. Neil and Charles
(below) also agree. In the beginning, children learn by asking
questions, firstly by pointing, then elementary language,
their curiosity is endless. Young children are the directors
of their own learning. To make life long learners it is
imperative that children continue to be the directors,
and here it is " the question is the answer." Students
need to be given the opportunity to work on their own
ideas and ask their own questions, this is the answer to
creating life long learners. With the increased use of the
internet resources, asking good questions is the way
through to finding out, discovering and learning. The
internet is expanding and offering online tuition, courses,
and even degrees in many areas, it is a huge resource for
primary source material, news and all sorts or research
information. Effective life long learners, need to be able
to pose questions that provide the answers to their
life long curiosity.
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2. MIND CANDY
"Once you have learned how to ask relevant and appropriate
questions, you have learned how to learn and no one can keep
you from learning whatever you want or need to know."
Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner "Teaching as a
Subversive Activity"
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"The object of teaching a child is to enable them to get
along without their teacher." Elbert Hubbard
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World War III. The US has succeeded in building a computer
able to solve any strategic or tactical problem. Military
leaders are assembled in front of the new machine and
instructed to feed a difficult tactical problem into it. They
describe a hypothetical situation to the computer and then
ask the pivotal question: ATTACK OR RETREAT?
The computer hums away for an hour and then comes up
with the answer: YES.
The generals look at each other, somewhat stupefied.
Finally one of them submits a second request to the
computer: YES WHAT?
Instantly the computer responded: YES SIR.
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"Be curious always! For knowledge will not acquire
you: you must acquire it." ~ Sudie Back ~
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All my life I said I wanted to be somebody...I can see now
that I should have been more specific.
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3. Clicker 4
Another great program from Edsoft. I felt this program
was most suitable for remedial/ESL activities. Its strength
is that quite sophist acted results can be obtained for
students who are more able but are having trouble with
language, either writing it reading it or understanding it.
Teachers can develop templates suitable for individual s or
to specifically follow their own programs with ease.
Clicker 4
*Enables your pupils to write with whole words and pictures
*Easy to tailor to individual needs
*Supports all areas of the curriculum
To find out more about Clicker 4
http://www.cricksoft.com/clicker4/
To order goto
Email:Linda.Zugai@bigpond.com
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4. Printables
Rules for Excellent Group Work
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/groupr.pdf
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5. TECHNICAL STUFF
"Scientists for the first time have linked multiple brain cells
with silicon chips to create a part-mechanical, part-living
electronic circuit."
The Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Germany
managed to create a the start of a by combining
multiple snail neurons with tiny transistor chips and
demonstrating that the brain cells and the chips
communicate with each other.
The goal is to be able to develop artificial limbs
which can communicate with the brain. However,
brain cells and silicon chips act very differently.
The challenge remains in building an interface between
the two so that they can communicate.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5195-2001Aug27.html
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SEMINARS
Adobe Experts reveal the latest tips and
techniques from around the world. We have three Free
Sessions Of Tips Tricks and Techniques to help inspire you.
Session 1 9:00 - 10:30 Adobe Acrobat 5.0 Latest Techniques
and Tips For High Quality PDFs
Session 2 11:00 - 12:30 Adobe Photoshop 6.0 Latest Techniques
and Tips
Session 3 1:30 - 3:00 PageMaker 7.0 Latest Techniques,
Tips and NewFunctionality
More detailed information on each session is outlined below.
DATES CITY VENUE
11 Sept Brisbane Mercure Hotel, 87 North Quay,
12 Sept Sydney Sheraton On the Park,
13 Sept Melbourne Grand Hyatt, 123 Collins St
REGISTER
To register, please go to
http//:www.adobe.com.au/events/main_t3.html
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FREE MACROMEDIA SEMINAR FOR SCHOOLS
Not sure how to use Macromedia products in your classroom?
Attend this free seminar focussing on Dreamweaver,
Flash and Fireworks.
When:- Wednesday 17th October
Time: 4.00 pm 6.00 pm
Where:- Loreto Normanhurst
Pennant Hills Road
Normanhurst
Sydney
Presenter:- Bronwyn Stuckey
Lecturer, Faculty of Education
University of Wollongong
To register for the seminar please contact Linda Zugai at Edsoft.
Phone 02 9481 870
Fax 02 9481 8800
Mobile 0408 364 244
Email:Linda.Zugai@bigpond.com
http://www.edsoft.com.au>www.edsoft.com.au
When registering please give your name, school and
contact details including your email address.
To view some Primary children's work using Macromedia
Flash visit the Edleston primary site created by Gareth Pitchford
Ryan in Trouble
http://edleston.primaryresources.co.uk/projects/ryan/tiger.htm
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6. WEBSITE FOCUS - GOLD
The GOLD! website has been updated. The topic featured
this month is
"Immigration and Population".
The gold rush transformed Australia in the minds of the
world from a distant convict colony to the first choice
destination for thousands of migrants.
Stories this month explore the impact of the wave of
immigration on the population of the young colonies
of Australia.
The immigration rush
Hundreds and thousands of hopeful diggers rushed to
Australia and transformed the population.
http://www.sbs.com.au/gold/story.html?storyid=49
Multicultural gold fields
Diggers from all over the world created Australia's first
truly culturally diverse society on the gold fields.
http://www.sbs.com.au/gold/story.html?storyid=50
The New Gold Mountain
Thousands of Chinese headed to Australia in search of fortune.
http://www.sbs.com.au/gold/story.html?storyid=45
Fear of the Chinese
More than any other cultural group, the Chinese were
singled out and despised on the gold fields.
http://www.sbs.com.au/gold/story.html?storyid=46
Stereotyping the Chinese
Racist stereotypes fueled the European diggers' sense
of superiority.
http://www.sbs.com.au/gold/story.html?storyid=47
Anti-Chinese riots and rorts
Fear and hatred of the Chinese soon escalated to violence.
http://www.sbs.com.au/gold/story.html?storyid=56
Restrictive immigration Acts
Colonial authorities introduce legislation to control
Chinese migration.
http://www.sbs.com.au/gold/story.html?storyid=58
The walk from Robe
Unable to land in Victorian ports in any great numbers,
the Chinese travelled hundreds of miles overland from
South Australia to the diggings in Victoria.
http://www.sbs.com.au/gold/story.html?storyid=57
Mining Aboriginal lands
The gold rush was another battle in the continuing war
against Aboriginal culture.
http://www.sbs.com.au/gold/story.html?storyid=51
Images of Aboriginality
Many diggers held low opinions of the Indigenous
Australians but others, based on more positive
relationships, thought highly of the Aboriginal race
and culture.
http://www.sbs.com.au/gold/story.html?storyid=52
Opportunities for Aborigines
Indigenous Australians did not stand idly by as the gold
rush erupted around them. Many made the most of
opportunities for trade, jobs and knowledge.
http://www.sbs.com.au/gold/story.html?storyid=53
The Native Police Corps
Perhaps the most significant contribution Indigenous
Australians made to the gold rush was as policemen
in the Native Police Corps.
http://www.sbs.com.au/gold/story.html?storyid=54
GOLD! is a Victorian Cultural Collaboration (VCC) project.
The VCC is an agreement between SBS, State Library Victoria,
Museum Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens, Victorian Arts Centre,
Victorian College of the Arts, National Gallery Victoria and
Cinemedia to collaborate and combine content to create
informative and engaging websites for SBS online.
From
Kerrie Smith
Schools Information Officer
EdNA Online Team
ksmith@educationau.edu.au
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7. Poetry
Once again the Questions are the answer. It seems the
questions are in for the long hall. A good poetry appreciation
is about the questions. From K-12 the questions are the
way to understanding a poem. In kindergarten the questions
can be simple, and then become more sophisticated with
experience.
What is it about?
What does it make me feel?
Does the poet use any special language?
Does the poet use any special devices like metaphors, or
alliteration?
What do I like about this poem?
To avoid the "I don't know what to say/write" about the
poem syndrome, start by asking the questions. Here are
some great sites to get you started.
Children's Poetry
http://users.aol.com/acious/poems.htm
Poet's Corner
http://www.geocities.com/~spanoudi/poems/poem-cd.html
Steven Herrick
http://www.acay.com.au/~sherrick/
Read some of Steven Herrick's Poems
Scroll down the page and write a 'refrain poem' or a 'monologue poem'
http://www.acay.com.au/~sherrick/workshop.htm
Online poetry especially What's in a can of beans?
http://edleston.primaryresources.co.uk/projects/poetry.htm
POETRY APPRECIATION
http://www.apclarke.freeserve.co.uk/poemhelp.htm
WRITE SOME POEMS
30 Days of poetry
http://members.tripod.com/the-english-room/poetry/30_days_of_poetry.htm
Start with "I Don't Understand
and
I am
Choose up to 5 poems to write.
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8. GREAT SITES
"Back to School, Moving Forward"
Foreword by President George W. Bush
http://www.ed.gov/inits/backtoschool/teachers/
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Board of Studies Links to Educational sites
http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/links/links.html
Board of Studies HSIE Resource list
http://www.bosnsw-k6.nsw.edu.au/hsie/k6hsie_resources/k6hsie_resources.html
http://www.itsupport4schools.com
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Research Skills
http://www.knowledgecollegetutors.com/research.htm
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Sites for Kindergarteners - I often receive requests for
sites for the very young - here's a goodie
http://familyeducation.com/topic/front/0,1156,3-2247,00.html
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Great English to go lesson on candy
http://www.english-to-go.com/english/free_lesson.cfm?CFID=762608&CFTOKEN=27062197
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US Federal Resources for Education - So many resources at
this site - high quality and subject based this is a good generic
site to look at for any school related resource.
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The Best of Edna - every week Edna displays the best
additions tits site on this page, in changes weekly but
the URL stays the same.
http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/whatsnew/schools.html
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9. READERS COMMENTS/REQUESTS
Dear Cathy
Thanks for profiling my site in your Virtual Teacher
Newsletter No. 27. I am flattered. I did a number of summer
institute professional development workshops. You may
wish to showcase this one on your site!
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/pages/listkindersu.html
Kindergarten Web Resources
Have a great year! Your site is a wonderful resource as
well. I look forward to receiving your newsletters.
Sue
Thanks Sue this is a very comprehensive site.
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Hi Cathy
Here is a copy of the email I received recently
re EdNA
"EdNA Online launched a new forum as part of the
National Software Evaluation Project.
The forum aims to become a place where software
for schools can be discussed. Information
available through the forum will include how
the software can be used in the classroom,
what support resources are available, whether
demo or trial versions can be downloaded and
more.
The Forum site is
http://forum.edna.edu.au/frame.asp
First time users will need to register and provide
name and email details. A user name and password
will immediately be sent to the email address,
and then the person may view the forum.
To locate the forum, registered users just click
on Events, and then select NSEP-National
Software Evaluation Project
Please publicise this amongst teachers you
have contact with. "
One of the contributions in the section on Inspiration is
from Stephen Loosely and has a link to an excellent site
http://4teachers.org/testimony/inspiration/index.shtml
This is a really useful article for new users to access.
Just thought you may like to pass on these sites to others.
Linda Zugai
NSW State Manager
Edsoft Pty Ltd
Email:- Linda.Zugai@bigpond.com
Ph:- 02 9481 8700
Fax:- 02 9481 8800
Mob:- 0408 364 244
The site Linda mentions for Inspiration is fantastic. I
t includes tutorials and some great ideas. these programs are
truly outstanding.
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You might like to link to my web page on your teacher time
savers page:
Title : Free Report Writing Software for Teachers
URL : http://www.rayslearning.com/report.htm
Category : Software
Description : Teachers Report Assistant
Windows 95/98/ME/NT4/2000
Free time saving utility for teachers who word process
student reports. Produces individualized reports in the
shortest possible time. Complete with an online database
of teacher comments. Also useful for day to
day text editing.
Here is a recent comment I received:
I just wanted to take a moment to tell you how wonderful this
program is!! I complete my lesson plans using MS Word and
considered this an improvement to writing them out by hand.
Now I am in heaven--I no longer have to type and retype the
same objectives over and over!!
What used to take me 2 hours every Sunday evening will
now take about 30 minutes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
A very happy user
Best wishes
Ray Le Couteur (author)
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10. NEXT ISSUE - I will be reviewing sites for Gifted and Talented
students as well as some maths sites.
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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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Delivered FREE to your e-mail box every fortnight.
Online Lesson Plans, Great Sites, Free Stuff, Tips, Time savers,
and templates.
Computer Solutions for Teachers. Subscribe today! It's
totally Free! Just type subscribe in the subject and send it to me.
cathy@virtualteacher.com.au
==============================================
Reach a growing audience of teachers, by advertising in the
Virtual Teacher Newsletter or on the Virtual Teacher site.
For more information contact,
cathy@virtualteacher.com.au
For information about inservice and training contact me at
cathy@virtualteacher.com.au
==============================================
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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!!!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
==============================================
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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Delivered FREE to your e-mail box every fortnight.
Online Lesson Plans, Great Sites, Free Stuff, Tips, Time savers,
and templates.
Computer Solutions for Teachers. Subscribe today! It's
totally Free! Just type subscribe in the subject and send it to me.
cathy@virtualteacher.com.au
==============================================
Reach a growing audience of teachers, by advertising in the
Virtual Teacher Newsletter or on the Virtual Teacher site.
For more information contact,
cathy@virtualteacher.com.au
For information about inservice and training contact me at
cathy@virtualteacher.com.au
==============================================