Virtual
Teacher Newsletter No. 43 2001
THE
FREE ONLINE FORTNIGHTLY IT TEACHERS' NEWSLETTER
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Newsletter
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CONTENTS
1.
Welcome
2.
Mind Candy
3.
WWWinfo On the Buses
4.
New Printables - How Writers'
Write Now
5.
Technical Stuff - E-Tests and PD
6.
Web Site Focus - Winter Olympics sites
7.
Valentines Day
8.
Great Sites
9. Readers' Requests/Comments
10
Next Issue
11.
Code of 'Netizens'
12.
Tips
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1.
WELCOME EVERYONE. You can't help
thinking, living in
Australia
as we do, that the Winter Olympics will be held in, well,
Winter,
June, July, August. But of course they're not, and here
they are
upon us already, starting. There are heaps of great
links
for these games below, and it a great opportunity to do
a
newspaper scrap book of the events and then present selected information(about
one sport or athlete) as a PowerPoint
presentation,
go to it lads. The news groups from O/S have
been
full of EI - Emotional Intelligence, curriculum consideration.
It
seems to be the new buzzword or words for this year
- be
prepared for an onslaught. I have
just taken my copy of
"Emotional Intelligence" - by
Daniel Goleman
(1995
would you believe) off the shelve for a re-read, and I will
keep
you posted in upcoming newsletters.
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2.
MIND CANDY
"Anyone
can become angry - that is easy. But to be angry
with
the right person, to the right degree, at the right time,
for
the right purpose, and in the right way - this is not easy."
From the introduction to "Emotional
Intelligence" a quote
from
Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics.
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"The
greatest good you can do for another is not just share
your
riches, but reveal to them their own." -- Benjamin Disraeli
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"Living
up to basic ethical standards in the classroom
discipline,
tolerance, honesty is one of the most important
ways
children learn how to function in society at large."
Eloise
Salholz
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"Play
is often talked about as if it were a relief from
serious
learning. But for children play is serious learning.
Play
is really the work of childhood." Fred Rogers (b. 1928)
host
of children's show "Mr. Rogers' Neighbourhood
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3.
WWWinfo - on the Buses
New
section in VT - what to do on the net today starting with
Bus
timetables. Here are Sydney's and
also some other
capital
cities from Australia and around the world.
Sydney
Buses
http://www.sydneybuses.nsw.gov.au/
General
site Sydney Buses timetable and journey selection
http://www.sydneybuses.nsw.gov.au/sta/tripPlanning.htm
Melbourne
Buses
http://www.alphalink.com.au/~parkerp/melbus.htm
London
Buses
http://www.transportforlondon.gov.uk/buses/cib_service.shtml
New
York Buses
http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/ http://www.busweb.com/busweb.asp
Buses
on the Web - General site for students who
get
excited and want to know more about buses.
http://www.busweb.com/busweb.asp
Plan
trips from school to various locations, work
out
the departure time, say 9.00am and then the
arrival
time. Work our the in transit time
and then
the
return journey. This is a valuable resource and
well
worthwhile using.
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4.
NEW PRINTABLES
How
Writers' Write NOW
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/writers.pdf
Here's
a VT original, use it as a standard document
for
writing and publishing with your class - it's free.
It
uses industry standard terminology and divides the
edition
process into 2 sections, getting the words right -
"Preflight"
and getting the layout right, you guessed it "Layout".
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5.
TECHNICAL STUFF
NATIONAL
E-tests for computer competence and science
knowledge
lie ahead for students now the Government has
institutionalised
literacy and numeracy testing.
Education
Minister Brendan Nelson revealed the new testing
regimes
were being considered yesterday.
Dr Nelson indicated
he
believed "some national tests and benchmarks" were
desirable
for science and information and communications
technology
...
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,3692716%5E15306%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html
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In
responses to repeated requests regarding extra courses
and
PD in ICT I have decided to include more conferences
and
course details as they come to hand here's a few to start
from
The School Daily http://www.theschooldaily.com/index.asp:
E-newsletter
Workshop
http://www.edDiary.com/viewEvent.asp?eventPK=33
Date
: Monday, 11 March 2002
Venue
: State Library, Brisbane, Australia
Certificate
Course in School Marketing
http://www.edDiary.com/viewEvent.asp?eventPK=109
Date
: Thursday, 11 July 2002
Venue
: Parramatta, Sydney, Australia
2nd
International Lifelong Learning Conference 2002
http://www.edDiary.com/viewEvent.asp?eventPK=194
Date
: Sunday, 16 June 2002
Venue
: Rydges Capricorn International Resort
Yeppoon
on the Capricorn Coast, Australia
9th
National Conference of the Australian Association for the
Education
of the Gifted and Talented
http://www.edDiary.com/viewEvent.asp?eventPK=229
Date
: Sunday, 20 October 2002
Venue
: Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia
11th
State Conference of the Queensland Association for
Gifted
and Talented Children
http://www.edDiary.com/viewEvent.asp?eventPK=210
Date
: Friday, 22 March 2002
Venue
: University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
evolving
e-Learning - DEANZ 2002 Conference
http://www.edDiary.com/viewEvent.asp?eventPK=213
Date
: Wednesday, 10 April 2002
Venue
: Te Papa, Wellington, New Zealand
15th
Biennial World Conference for Gifted Education
http://www.edDiary.com/viewEvent.asp?eventPK=216
Date
: Friday, 01 August 2003
Venue
: Convention Centre, Adelaide,
Australia
LEARNZ2002
'Mountains of Mana'
http://www.edDiary.com/viewEvent.asp?eventPK=230
Date
: Monday, 01 April 2002
Venue
: New Zealand
Translating
Brain Research into Classroom Practice
with
Pat Wolfe
http://www.edDiary.com/viewEvent.asp?eventPK=231
Date
: Thursday, 04 April 2002
Venue
: Stamford Grand, Sydney, Australia
Web
Content Workshop
http://www.edDiary.com/viewEvent.asp?eventPK=239
Date
: Wednesday, 27 February 2002
Venue
: State Library, Brisbane, Australia
Web
Design Basics
http://www.edDiary.com/viewEvent.asp?eventPK=240
Date
: Wednesday, 13 March 2002
Venue
: State Library, Brisbane
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FREE
SITE LINK CHECKER
http://www.webmasters-resources.com/HTML/Link_Checkers/
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6.
WEBSITE FOCUS -
Winter
Olympics Sites
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/winolymp
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7.
VALENTINE'S DAY
Love
is in the air, and there's plenty go round try out these sites:-
A
Collection Of Valentine's games:
http://freebiesandstuff.freeyellow.com/valentines_day/game/
Heart
Baskets:
http://logical.windowware.com/piggy/val/val.html
Jerry's
Happy Valentine's Page:
http://wilstar.com/holidays/valentn.htm
Love
At Lycos:
http://familyzone.lycos.com/love.asp
Valentine
Games:
http://www.gamekids.com/gkval1.html
Valentine
Party Games:
http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/7458/valgames.htm
Billy
Bear's Valentine Post Cards:
http://www.billybear4kids.com/postcard5/valentine/card.htm
Everything
Valentines:
http://www.everythingvalentine.com/kids/a_kids.asp
Happy
Valentine's Day:
http://www.cstone.net/~bry-back/holidayfun/valentine.html
Heart
Shaped Food:
http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/val/craft/food.html
I
love You In Different Languages:
http://www.columbia.edu/~sss31/rainbow/i-love-you.html
Valentine
Art:
http://www.perpetualpreschool.com/valentine_art.html
Valentine
Card:
http://www.angelfire.com/mn/cozycottage/tbearval.html
All
these sites are linked from the Virtual Teacher Page at
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/ValentineWebquests
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8.
GREAT SITES
WORDSMITH.org
Other Services A.Word.A.Day Internet
Anagram
Server Wordserver Listat. This is fantastic site for
G
& T students
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GEORGE
LUCAS FOUNDATION Great site - Project Based
Learning
Activities - particularly for science. Includes an
interview
with Seymour Pappert - the famous - on Project
based
Learning as well. Great PD and
Resource site.
Most
suitable for ages 10-18
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HOT
SITES
Fantastic
General Site
Take
a look at the EdNA Australian Identity resources page http://www.edna.edu.au/schools/themes/themes.html
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LORD
OF THE RINGS
http://www.surfnetkids.com/lordoftherings.htm
The
New York Times: The Tolkien Archives
http://www.nytimes.com/specials/advertising/movies/tolkien/
J.R.R.
Tolkien in Oxford
Lord
of the Rings: Official Movie Site
http://www.lordoftherings.net/
National
Geographic Beyond the Movie: Lord of the Rings
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngbeyond
The
Tolkien Trail
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These
sites are all for EARLY CHILDHOOD:
Kindergarten
Connection: A resource site for
lower primary
teachers
-lesson plans etc.
Miss
G's Aussie Kindergarten: Lesson plans and ideas from
an
Australian pre-school for kindergarten teachers. Lessons
are
based on themes. Lots of photos and workbook samples
available.
Information on curriculum and links to useful early
childhood
sites available.
http://edavenue.homestead.com/main.html
The
Learning Leap: A K-2 teacher resource site committed to
providing
teachers with creative, yet practical, ideas for the
classroom.
Highlights include original thematic units, links to
over
200 online units, and much, much, more! Created by a
teacher,
with photographs of her classroom activities.
http://www.geocities.com/thelearningleap/
Kinderstart:
Lots of resources here including art & craft activities,
but
you need to spend time looking (worth the effort). It does
have
its own site search.
EdNA
has an Early Childhood category at
http://www.edna.edu.au/go/browse/0:schooled:resources:earlychild#resulttab
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9.
READERS COMMENTS/REQUESTS
Dear
Cathy
Have
subscribed to Virtual Teacher site but am having
difficulty
downloading files. Could you please
explain the
process
of downloading PDF files eg: Coolfuel
Many
Thanks
Rosalind
Bell
Download
pdf files as usual - just click to download - however
you
will need to view these files using acrobat reader a free
adobe
program. Download from
Scroll
down the page and it is a button and the bottom of the
screen
Good
luck
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Hi,
Cathy,
Thanks
ever so much for posting my letters.
I've already heard
back
from one teacher, and her information was excellent.
Hopefully,
more will respond.
As
always, your newsletter is fabulous, and I continue to be
amazed
at the time and effort put forth to create it. Having
noticed
a 'puzzle' sight, I remembered I'd book marked one I
enjoy
using with my students.
Check
it out and see what you think.
Later,
gator.... Nancy
http://www.thepotters.com/puzzles.html
This
is a great site. Create your own word puzzles. Find puzzles
on
almost any topic.
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Dear
Cathy
You
guys are awesome - thanks for all the time it takes to put
it all
together. Do I contact your
organisation if I want to use
computer
generated math for a fee per child?
Thanks
again - job well done. I really
appreciate you. Warm
regards,
Kath Comber
Thanks
for the comps, only which particular maths stuff are you
referring
too???? All the Stuff on VT is
free.
Let
me know what you are specifically referring too and I'll let
you
know if it's a third party thing.
ciao
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Dear
Cathy,
Hi. I
am a primary teacher from Bilambil on the far North Coast.
Thankyou
for your newsletter. It provides great information and
I
will pass it onto all my colleagues on the first day back.
I was
looking through your links pages and wondered if you
would
like to include a link to a site I've just completed.
Details
are as follows:
Category:
Mathematics
Title:
A Maths Dictionary for Kids by Jenny Eather
URL: http://www.amathsdictionaryforkids.com/
Description:
Maths A to Z - an animated, interactive
dictionary
for students which explains over 400 common
mathematical
terms in simple language. Includes definitions,
animated
examples, interactive activities, practice and lots
of
different calculators. Easy to navigate
and
loads quickly.
Needs
Flash 5.0 plugin
Regards
Jenny
This
is a FANTASTIC WONDERFULSEPERLATIVE site
USE
IT. Well done Jenny, It will
appear as a link from the VT
directory
page.
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Thanks
Cathy - you're amazing! Great links! I'm up and away!
Marg
Howard
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10. NEXT ISSUE - I will be looking at
sites for the Year
of
the Out back and also WEBQUESTS one of my favourites.
Send
in any ideas or thought or questions you have. I will be
looking
at any PROBLEMTUNITY that comes along.
Have
a great fortnight.
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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.
8.
Smile a lot and use words like, splendid, gigafloppingly brilliant, surpristy,
excellente, wonderful, fantastic etc.
==============================================
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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Lesson Plans, Great Sites, Free Stuff, Tips, Time savers,
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cathy@virtualteacher.com.au
==============================================
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a growing audience of teachers, by
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Teacher Newsletter or on the Virtual Teacher site.
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more information contact,
cathy@virtualteacher.com.au
For
information about inservice and training contact me at
cathy@virtualteacher.com.au
==============================================