Virtual Teacher Newsletter No. 37 2001 -
Save One Starfish
THE FREE ONLINE FORTNIGHTLY IT TEACHERS' NEWSLETTER
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CONTENTS
1. Welcome
2. Mind Candy
3. DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS IN SCHOOLS
4. New Printables - Create Your
own Add
5. Technical Stuff - Macromedia
Seminars
6. Web Site Focus - Study Skills
7. TEACHING IDEAS SOLUTIONS AND
PROGRAMS
8. Great Sites
9. Readers' Requests/Comments
10 Next Issue
11. Code of 'Netizens'
12. Tips
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1. WELCOME EVERYONE A new school
term begins for those
folks in NSW. The final run down
to Christmas. This week I
attended the Edsoft Macromedia
Seminar at Loretto College
Normanhurst. What a great venue.
What a great seminar.
It was presented by Bronwyn Stuckey
from Wollongong
University, well done. It is
great to see software suppliers
presenting these seminars for
teachers, and going that extra
mile to keep teachers informed
about their products.
These seminars provide a great
opportunity for teacher Professional
Development, for FREE, and also
provide a great networking forum.
Bronwyn was happy to answer any
questions via email about the
Macromedia web design programs
she presented. A valuable
contact if you get into a sticky
situation. Those lucky folk in Canberra
will be the next to have the
opportunity to attend one these seminars -
make the most of it(see details
below). She is also working on the
'Stage Struck' program, on an
international level. So go on dig those
old 'Stage Struck' CD's out of
the cupboard (all schools were sent copies)
and see if you want to be involved.
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2. MIND CANDY
"A Hundred years from now
it will not matter what my bank
account was, the sort of house
I lived in, or the the kind of
car I drove...but the world may
be different because I was
important in the life of a child".
from and Article by Tammy Earnshaw
2001 Home Educators State Conference
Resource Book
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"I know the answer! The
answer lies within the heart of all
mankind! The answer is twelve?
I think I'm in the wrong
building." --Charles Schulz
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He hacked into the school computer
to change his grades. Then
the school hacked into his home
computer and deleted all his
games.
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A tourist was admiring the necklace
worn by a local Indian.
"What is it made of?"
she asked.
"Alligator's teeth," the Indian replied.
"I suppose,"
she said patronizingly, "that they mean as much
to you as pearls do to us."
"Oh no,"
he objected. "Anybody can open an oyster."
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"Though no one can go back
and make new start: anyone can
start from now and make a brand
new end." Carl Brand
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"Blessed are the flexible
for they shall not be bent out of shape."
1999 Home Educators State Conference
Resource Book
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3. DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS IN SCHOOLS
Beyond on from the bullying and
victimisation of the last
newsletter, there are many behavioural
problems that children
have at school, many relating
specifically to socialisation. Often
we are too busy teaching curriculum
content(meeting deadlines,
completing syllabus requirements)
to spend the time needed to
solve these problems. And yet
solving these may be our most
important job. I remember when
I was studying for my degree
in Education the subjects included,
Maths, social Studies, English,
Teaching Skills etc, but at no
time we were taught about solving
discipline in the classroom.
The usual response to questions
about this topic was something
along the lines of:- 'if the lessons
are sufficiently interesting
there wont be any discipline problems'.
Not to helpful. Here is a site
which gives excellent guidelines
about the various type of children,
and various types of discipline
problems, it gives suggestions
about the do's and don'ts, which
I found most informative. Brief
and to the point, a great reference
for any teacher.
Discipline Problems at School
http://www.disciplinehelp.com/ychta/behindex/default.htm
Here are the A-D list problems
only for the rest goto the above site.
The Agitator, The Alibier, The
Angel, The Angry, The Animal,
The Apathetic, The Apple Polisher,
The Arrogant, The Attention Demander,
The Authority Pusher, The Blabbermouth,
The Blurter, The Bully,
The Cheater, The Chiseler, The
Class Clown, The Clique, The Complainer,
The Con Artist, The Crier (Who
Claims Foul), The Crier (Who Sheds Tears),
The Defier, The Destroyer, The
Disorganized, The Disrespectful,
The Disrupter, The Distracter,
The Do-Nothing, The Dreamer
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4. NEW PRINTABLES
Design Your Own Add. This activity
is great for practising
layout and design schools in
Microsoft word.
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/add.doc
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5. TECHNICAL STUFF
FREE SOFTWARE DEMONSTRATIONS
FOR SCHOOLS
Edsoft will be presenting two
sessions for ACT schools
in October. All schools are welcome
to attend.
SOFTWARE TASTING FOR K-6 SCHOOLS
Want to see the latest software
for the K-6 classroom?
This session will include demonstrations
of:-
Thinking / Organisational Skills
Kidspiration and Inspiration
Literacy Skills Clicker 4, a
supportive word processor.
HSIE Talking Walls
Maths examples from the All About
and Maths Explorer series.
When:- Tuesday 23rd October
Time: 4.00 pm 6.00 pm
Where:- The Narrabundah Inservice
Centre
Access from Tallara Parkway
(Next door to St Benedicts Primary
School)
Narrabundah
ACT
Presenter:- Linda Zugai
NSW State Manager
Edsoft
Linda.Zugai@bigpond.com
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
Online poetry especially
What's in a can of beans?
http://edleston.primaryresources.co.uk/projects/poetry.htm
Harry Potter pages
http://edleston.primaryresources.co.uk/projects/harry/harry.htm
Flash Workshop
http://edleston.primaryresources.co.uk/projects/flashworkshop/workshop.htm
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POWERMEDIA Systems would like
to invite you to a FREE i
nformal-seminar on
Macromedia Dreamweaver 4 and
Flash 5 this Thursday in Sydney.
Where: Powermedia Theatre
51-53 Murray Street
PYRMONT NSW 2009
When: 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Thursday 25th October, 2001
What: Come and see the tips and
tricks of Dreamweaver and Flash 5.
If you wish to attend you will
need to email them on
Powermedia Systems events@powermedia.com.au
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ADOBE is running a roadshow on
the new Illustrator 10 throughout
Australia and News Zealand in
October and November.
shows are great so get along
if you can. Check out times and details at:-
http://www.adobe.com.au/events/main_Tools.html
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6. WEBSITE FOCUS -Study Skills
How to Study
http://www.how-to-study.com/
University of North Carolina:
Study Habits & the Ten Traps
http://www.unc.edu/depts/unc_caps/TenTraps.html
Virginia Tech: Study Skills Self
Help
http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/stdyhlp.html
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7. TEACHING IDEAS SOLUTIONS AND
PROGRAMS
ASk Blake is a fantastic site
with teaching solutions and ideas
about everything.
http://www.askblake.com.au/default.asp
PRIMARY PROGRAMS PLUS- This is
an interesting site with
planned units on many primary
school topics. This site charges
a fee for well planned units
linked to specific KLA outcome -
it includes specific curriculum
references. these units are great
time savers and pretty inexpensive.
Have a look at http://www.ppplus.com.au
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8. GREAT SITES
HOT SITES - The way we were.
What happened in the 50s/60s/70s/80s/90s
Rolling Stones,
Elvis Presley, Global Youth movement.
http://www.nstenning.com.au/1960s3.htm
http://www.waypoint1.aone.net.au/wp11.htm
http://www.mov.vic.gov.au/waypoint1/wp11.htm
http://www2.nc.stj.qld.edu.au/library/oz_pop.htm
http://english.uq.edu.au/mc/9906/edit.html
http://members.aol.com/deafdude2/lyric/
(lyrics for a lot of 60s / 70s
songs).
http://students.ed.qut.edu.au/n2500795/clb341/%5C/%5C/onlineactivity.html
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Brain Pop -Science Health Technology
http://www.brainpop.com
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Fantastic Bicycle site - covers
everything from Bicycle safety
to bike maintenance.
http://library.thinkquest.org/J002670/?tqskip=1
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Great New Search Engine Links
site
Ivy's Search Engines
http://www.ivyjoy.com/rayne/kidssearch.html
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Weather links
http://alex.betcher.org/weather
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Say Hello in 775 languages
http://www.elite.net/~runner/jennifers/hello.htm
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Australian language - from the
outrageous to the Slang to
the sayings.
http://www.students.trinity.wa.edu.au/library/subjects/english/aust/austlang.htm
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9. READERS COMMENTS/REQUESTS
Please Read? Please Help?????
In the wake of the tragedy in
NYC, thought perhaps you could
help me with the project that
I am working on, perhaps by posting
it to your group. This will help
a bunch of sick NYC school children.
I work in
a New York City public school located within a children's
hospital. My students were very
upset by the events of three weeks
ago, andto make them feel more
secure, I started a project entitled
"Our FriendsAround the World".
We are asking people to send
a picture postcard with something
friendly written on the back of the card.
We are mapping all of them, and
also wallpapering our wall with them!
The response so far has been
okay, but we could use a lot more.
On behalf of my students and
my assistants Larry and Monica, I
extend my most sincere thanks,
Ruth Wenig
Class H58
P23Q @ St. Mary's Hospital for
Children
2901 216 Street
Bayside, NY 11360
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So come on folks send away.
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Hi Cathy,
I saw your posting and had a
look at your site. This is a real
treasure. Well done on a great
resource.
Regards,
Allan Garbutt
agar@yvgs.vic.edu.au
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Thanks very much for publishing
the letter Virtual Teacher -
Save One Starfish
Viv
Vivianne Byrnes
Internet Programs for Kids
http://www.worldclassprograms.com.au
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Your Virtual Teacher was forwarded
to me. What a great site.
I can't wait to see more! Thank
you for your time and effort.
Wendy Liska
Math & Computer Specialist
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha, Wisconsin
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Subject: visual basic training
any ideas?
"Edmond LÈger"
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Edmond you might try:-
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vbasic/technical/training.asp
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vbasic/default.asp
http://www.free-ed.net/fr03/lfc/030202/120/
Does anyone else have any ideas???
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Hi,
I love your site. Will the site
still be available next year? I'm
planning now for courses to offer
gifted and talented students
and I would like to use your
site as a basis for one, or more,
of my courses.
Thanks,
Kate
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Hi kate,
yes the site will be up next
year so plan away. i am interested
in your courses for gifted and
talented kids - have one myself -
so let me know what your planning.
ciao
cathy
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Dear Cathy
I am investigating recent and
current research into the assessment
of Information & Communication
Technology, particularly at high
school level. Would you mind
asking in your newsletter if colleagues
are involved in any local studies,
or know of any schools that have
started to look at this in some
depth, or of any regional research,
good practice etc. I should be
grateful if they would send me details
to freedmant@qca.org.uk with
the subject "Assessment Research".
Thanks in advance
Terry
Terry Freedman
http://www.terryfreedman.com
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10. NEXT ISSUE - I will be looking
at a new piece of software,
E-Vac-U- 8. A maths program/game
for year 3 and over. If anyone
has used this package please
let me know. Oh! lots of folk love
the mind candy section of the
newsletter, if anyone has any great
ideas for this section, please
send them in. I'm also looking for
any great Christmas sites to
include.
ciao
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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