Ed News Bytes

Inspiration from nature

2010-10-19T12:31:00.002+10:00

‎"Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn." -Elizabeth Lawrence

Hope you're enjoying the beautiful wonders of fall! Here's a movie to inspire you. Click on the picture or here => http://bit.ly/b4NYn5

Powerpoint for teachers

2009-05-18T17:42:00.002+10:00

The website is designed to provide tips to improve technical aspects and ideas to help you make your powerpoint engaging in a classroom setting

Brain POP at school

2009-05-10T17:30:00.000+10:00

BrainPOP is an educational program, providing content spanning 6 main subjects including: Science, Math, English, Social Studies, Health and Technology. Within each subject, you will find hundreds of short, animated movies that speak to kids in a language and voice that they understand. Developed according to national standards (NCTM, NSES, & NCTE), BrainPOP's topics present students with an engaging, enlightening, and entertaining view of a given subject.

Visit Brain Pop

Comics across the Curriculum: Science, Math and Technology

2009-05-09T06:55:00.000+10:00

The combination of images, words and storytelling can be used to communicate just about anything. Exploring that notion, we spoke to cartoonists, authors and educators about how comics and graphic novels can be used to help readers learn and foster an enduring curiosity about science, technology and math. (full story)

The Evolution Revolution

2009-05-08T08:14:00.000+10:00

The Evolution Revolution

(From l.): Mary Ann Hoberman,
Deborah Heiligman, Tijs Goldschmidt
and Vicki Cobb.

Two hundred years after Charles Darwin began a discussion of human evolution, people are still talking. The discussion, and specifically the issue of teaching evolution to children, continued Sunday at a PEN World Voices panel held at powerHouse Books in Brooklyn. Entitled, "Evolution for Children: The Fight Goes On," the panel brought together authors Vicky Cobb, Tijs Goldschmidt, Deborah Heiligman and Mary Ann Hoberman, all of whom have been in the forefront in one way or another in the quest to keep the teaching of evolution in schools.

Reading is fundamental

2009-05-06T19:58:00.000+10:00

Reading Is Fundamental, UK is an initiative of the National Literacy Trust that helps children and young people (aged 0 to 19) to realise their potential by motivating them to read. We promote the fun of reading, the importance of book choice and the benefits to families of having books at home. Our projects provide motivational activities, opportunities for family and community involvement, and free books for children to choose and keep.

Periodic table of comic books

2009-05-05T15:59:00.000+10:00

http://www.uky.edu/Projects/Chemcomics/index.html
"Click on an element to see a list of comic book pages involving that element," then click on thumbnails to see the whole strip. Another wonderfully sneaky way to interest kids in science.

Teacher Appreciation Week

2009-05-05T10:06:00.002+10:00

"Often, when I am reading a good book, I stop and thank my teacher."

– Anonymous

One great teacher can make all the difference. Teachers may not always see the impact of their work on kids and families, but the testimonies we received from parents, teachers, and students themselves are proof that good teaching is a powerful thing. Read the notes of appreciation for inspiration to send an e-card to a teacher who has made a difference in your life. and more ...

Micromodules - short Internet lessons

2009-05-02T15:35:00.002+10:00

IMSA's Free Online MicroModules teaching and learning packages are short, self-directed lessons covering a wide range of Internet topics. MicroModules address knowledge, skills and dispositions needed to locate, evaluate and use Internet resources in a learning environment. Taking only 10-60 minutes to complete, the individual modules can be used by anyone from sixth grade through adult learners. Many modules have audio/video components, making them more interesting.

Get the link here

Picking the Right School for an Education Grad Degree

2009-05-02T06:58:00.000+10:00

Is it more important to go to a great school or a school near where you want to teach?

When California resident Joshua Arnold gained acceptance to Harvard University's Graduate School of Education, his decision to attend seemed simple—the school is first rate, and Harvard offered him a full scholarship. Harvard's mix of innovative theory and practical experience was exhilarating, but Arnold isn't sure how well it prepared him for the challenges he faces as a principal in South Central Los Angeles, knowledge he might have gained had he gone to ed school closer to home. "My program never talked about educating Latino students in the ways I needed or wanted," Arnold says. "Educating Latino students is not as much of a concern in Boston as it is in Los Angeles. In L.A. it's a really critical issue." ... read more

What Can Cognitive Psychology Do For Teachers?

2009-04-29T06:55:00.000+10:00

What, if anything, can knowledge gleaned from cognitive psychology do for classroom teachers? I have heard the gamut of opinions on this subject, from “Anyone who is not a teacher cannot tell teachers anything of value” to “Cognitive science is going to save American education.” (The former opinion was expressed by a teacher; the latter by a college president.)

Let me make explicit what, in my view, results from cognitive psychology can and cannot do for teachers.

read on ...

FIT kids act

2009-04-26T11:43:00.000+10:00

Students from Eagan High School in Eagan, Minnesota, discuss the FIT Kids Act and changes to current P.E. standards.

View

When Love Hurts, Schools Can Help

2009-04-23T07:49:00.000+10:00

Chris Brown’s arrest for assaulting Rihanna may have placed a national spotlight on dating violence, but with one in five high school girls reporting that they’re physically or sexually hurt by their partner, chances are that one may be a student of yours. Health teacher Ann Burke of North Kingstown, RI, created the Lindsay Ann Burke Memorial Fund to educate 7th through 12th graders about dating violence after her daughter was murdered a few years ago by her ex-boyfriend.

Did you have any hint that this would happen to Lindsay?

I had an idea. No one else did. Everyone else said it wouldn’t go that far. Even though she hadn’t admitted to it, in my gut I thought something like this could happen. I was frantic. A lot of mothers have that gut feeling. But it’s not like I knew immediately. Lindsay, like us, had never been educated in domestic violence or dating violence. We didn’t know anyone who had experienced it. But I saw things that didn’t seem right, some red flags, and I started asking around. more » » »

European study shows when teachers like science, students do too

2009-04-22T17:39:00.000+10:00

Did you ever blame your teacher for hating science? If you answered yes, you're not alone. New research shows that the shrinking number of students in Europe who choose to study science is influenced by how schools and teachers shape their attitudes. .. more

Tech Giants Offer Help to Schools Seeking Stimulus Money

2009-04-20T09:54:00.000+10:00

Tech Giants Offer Help to Schools Seeking Stimulus Money
Anthony Salcito understands the economic challenges K–12 schools face today. That's why the general manager of U.S. education for Microsoft says the $115 billion in federal stimulus money earmarked for education has spurred the tech giant into action. “We’re focused on how we can partner with schools on using these funds,” says Salcito. “We can help articulate the roadmap and connect the dots.”

Other tech firms, including Apple, have also begun contacting schools, with some of them offering to set up seminars and webcasts to walk educators through the process of how to capture some of the money—and, of course, suggest ways to use it. more » » »

Carrying water

2009-04-17T18:18:00.000+10:00

(LP/MP):

Students explore a variety of ways water is collected where there is no infrastructure to deliver it to people's homes.

http://www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/globaled/go/pid/3340

U.K. Mulls Blogging, Tweeting, Podcasting in Primary School Curriculum

2009-04-12T18:55:00.000+10:00

Blogging, tweeting, and podcasting are all good and fun, but what about including them in the school curriculum? Folks in the U.K. are considering an overhaul of their elementary school curriculum—and a draft proposal requires kids to master these Web technologies, reports the Guardian.

The proposed curriculum—which would also give teachers more freedom to decide what students concentrate on in classes—marks the biggest change to the U.K.’s primary school education in a decade, and “strips away hundreds of specifications about the scientific, geographical and historical knowledge pupils must accumulate before they are 11,” the Guardian says. more » » »

Discovery Conference Welcomes Educators Both in Person and Online

2009-04-11T18:13:00.000+10:00

Discovery Conference Welcomes Educators Both in Person and Online
Educators looking to freshen their lesson plans this year might want to check out Spring Into Action, Discovery Education’s fourth annual virtual conference to help teachers incorporate digital content into classwork.

Set for Saturday, April 25, the conference features both webcasts and 13 in-person events across the country highlighted by a virtual lecture, “Building School 2.0,” by Chris Lehmann, principal of the Science Leadership Academy, a Philadelphia high school. more » » »

Industry makes pitch that smartphones belong in the classroom

2009-04-10T18:03:00.001+10:00

The cellphone industry has a suggestion for improving the math skills of American students: spend more time on cellphones in the classroom.

http://adjix.com/4k67

Myers and Co launch 2nd chances

2009-04-07T14:42:00.001+10:00

Author Walter Dean Myers has joined forces with AdLit.org, the National Education Association and the National Council of Teachers of English for a new initiative called “Second Chances,” which is reaching out to parents, teachers and others who have an influence on the lives of children and teens.

check out the AdLit Web site.

Education Secretary Duncan Supports LGBT Anti-Bullying Efforts in Schools

2009-04-03T18:22:00.001+10:00

Education Secretary Arne Duncan says he’s committed to making schools safe for all students, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender expression.

To back up his words, Duncan recently met with Eliza Byard, executive director of the nonprofit Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), and a delegation of students and teachers to talk about the importance of anti-bullying efforts to the administration’s education reform agenda. more » » »

The Semantic Web in Education

2009-04-02T11:23:00.000+10:00

What happens when the read-write web gets smart enough to help us organize and evaluate the information it provides?

By Jason Ohler

The mantra of the information age has been “The more information the better!” But what happens when we search the web and get so much information that we can’t sort through it, let alone evaluate it? Enter the semantic web, or Web 3.0. Among other things, the semantic web makes information more meaningful to people by making it more understandable to machines.

... more

Educational cyber-playground

2009-03-31T21:35:00.001+10:00

http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/

“Provides information about U.S. K-12 public, private, and charter schools in all 50 states. Find Content for Music, Teachers, Internet, Technology, Literacy, Arts and Linguistics. For students, teachers, parents, and policy makers.”

Teaching Twitter could become a class act

2009-03-27T08:24:00.001+10:00

Saved

British school students may soon be learning about William Shakespeare and Ashton Kutcher.

British schoolchildren may soon be studying the tweets of Ashton Kutcher along with the sonnets of Shakespeare.

A leaked Government report due to be released shortly, recommends that British primary school teachers be given much more flexibility in deciding what lessons to teach.

And while it emphasises the continued necessity of teaching traditional subjects such as spelling, history and arithmetic, it also recommends that students be taught about online media and instructed about web-based skills including how to use a spell checker.

Magic studio

2009-03-26T20:06:00.001+10:00

http://www.magicstudio.co.uk/

“Magic Studio enables you to build and share interactive learning resources quickly and easily, with no specialist skills required. It's an online service so you don't have to install any complicated software - you can access your account from anywhere with a broadband connection. This means you can prepare content when and where it's convenient and have the flexibility to deliver learning wherever it's needed, both in and outside the classroom.”

Transgender youth face extreme harassment at school, report says

2009-03-22T13:30:00.000+10:00

Transgender youth are physically and verbally harassed and face extremely high levels of harassment in school, even more than lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGBT) students, says a new study released by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), a national education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for all students.

At the same time, however, transgender youth are more likely to speak out about LGBT issues in the classroom, says “Harsh Realities: The Experiences of Transgender Youth in Our Nation’s Schools,” the first comprehensive study on transgender students. more » » »

The Textbook Problem

2009-03-20T09:08:00.000+10:00

Is It Possible to Teach World History in High School? The other day I browsed through a tenth grade world history textbook. It was full of lush color. It offered many angles of entry into history -...
more » » »

Free Access to Digital Textbooks and Bestsellers from Bookshare

2009-03-19T19:27:00.001+10:00

Free Access to Digital Textbooks and Bestsellers from Bookshare
Bookshare, the world’s largest accessible digital library for persons with print and learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, is providing free membership to qualified U.S. schools and students thanks to an award from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education (OSEP). more » » »

How Teachers Can Get More Respect, Part 1

2009-03-17T06:52:00.000+10:00

Most teachers feel that their profession does not get the respect it deserves. In 2000 a survey of teachers conducted by Scholastic reported that 79% felt that respect for the profession is a problem in teacher retention. I don’t think much has changed since 2000.

read on ...

Quiz Builder

2009-03-16T20:40:00.001+10:00

Quiz Builder
The big melt
Global warming affects the polar regions. Use the introduction to the International Polar Year to select the appropriate answers

What Does Obama's Education Agenda Mean For Us?

2009-03-13T09:07:00.001+10:00

Taking School Seriously

President Obama outlined his view of K-12 public education yesterday, www.latimes.com/classified/jobs/news/la-me-obama-education-2009mar11,0,817684.story

Most of the ne...

more » » »

accessED

2009-03-12T14:50:00.000+10:00

education.au - accessED

http://educationau.edu.au/jahia/Jahia/pid/573

accessED is a tool that allows you to test your website, intranet or learning management system content for conformance to W3C accessibility guidelines. More information and links to the toolbar can be found through the education.au website.

Comics, Power and Society:

2009-03-07T11:36:00.001+10:00

Q and A with Louis Schubert and Arthur Nishimura

At the City College of San Francisco, two professors have employed their enthusiasm for comics in an innovative approach to teaching. In their course Comics, Power and Society, Arthur Nishimura and Louis Schubert use a variety of comics and graphic novels as a creative and engaging way to introduce students to the social sciences. We were fortunate to get an interview with Schubert and Nishimura about how they use graphic novels and comics in this course. (full story)

Book - You can't say you can't play

2009-03-05T19:16:00.002+10:00

You Can't Say You Can't Play

by Vivian Gussin Paley

I picked up this book at my daughters' school parent lending library- a school that works hard to implement policies like 'you can't say you can't play' (YCSYCP) and it often works. It certainly works inter-age but problems remain between age-mates. I, too, was a rejected child many times and hate to see any child rejected.

... more

Flawed Assumptions Undergird the Program at the Partnership for 21st-Century Skills

2009-03-03T06:31:00.000+10:00

Posted: 01 Mar 2009 09:42 PM PST

At the forefront is the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (hereafter, P21), a group that seeks to serve as a catalyst for educators, business leaders, and government seeking to change the curricula, teaching methods, and assessments used in K-12 schools. Ten states have joined the effort, agreeing to design new standards, assessments, and professional development programs in line with the P21 goals.

read more ...

Free Microsoft curriculum encourages students to be good 'digital citizens'

2009-02-28T15:34:00.000+10:00

"Students interact with music, movies, software, and other digital content every day—but many don’t fully understand the rules surrounding the appropriate use of these materials, or why this should even matter. To help teach students about intellectual property rights and encourage them to become good “digitalcitizens,” software giant Microsoft Corp. has unveiled a free curriculum that offers cross-curricular classroom activities aligned with national standards."

http://digitalcitizenshiped.com/

WI Schools Ban Facebook, IM Fraternizing Between Staff, Students

2009-02-27T15:58:00.001+10:00

A student calling her teacher to check in about a field trip? Not a problem. The two friending one another on Facebook is another story. Per new policy, the School District of Elmbrook in Brookfield, WI, has banned all chatter between Elmbrook staff and students on instant messaging or social networking applications not sponsored by the district. The policy, approved by the school board on February 10, stipulated a range of “practices considered irresponsible,” including personal communication between staff and students via social networking and IM. more » » »

Code of silence: students who alert teachers of student behavious

2009-02-25T17:33:00.001+10:00

Students who feel connected to their peers and teachers are more inclined to alert a teacher or principal if they hear a fellow student “wants to do something dangerous,” according to a new study published by the American Psychological Association. http://adjix.com/4wx9

Bullying among young children

2009-02-24T10:17:00.000+10:00

Bullying Among Young Children - A Guide for Parents - PDF

Bullying Among Young Children - A Guide for Teachers and Carers - PDF

The guides provide useful advice to parents, teachers and other carers on recognising changes in moods and behaviours that are associated with bullying. They also provide strategies to help children who bully and those who are bullied.

Quote for the day

2009-02-23T08:11:00.000+10:00

"To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe."
-- Marilyn vos Savant

Resources for teachers

2009-02-21T14:29:00.002+10:00

Teachnology - providing free and easy to use resources for teachers dedicated to improving the education of today's generation of students.

FREE access to 28,500 lesson plans, Teaching tips and themes, 7,500 free printable worksheets, games and donload, read-to-use rubrics, reviews sites, printable genertors and webquests.

Teachnology

AASL Releases 'Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action'

2009-02-20T07:51:00.001+10:00

For those of you wondering how the American Association of School Librarians' (AASL) new learning standards are being incorporated into school library programs, the wait is over.

AASL has just released Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action, which takes an in-depth look at Standards for the 21st-Century Learner and examines how the skills in it relate to each other.

Accompanied by colorful pages and graphics, the publication provides benchmarks along with examples that show how to put the learning standards into action at different grade levels.

A glossary is also provided to define key concepts found throughout the book.

John Butler - fun page

2009-02-19T14:24:00.000+10:00

http://www.johnbutlerart.com/pages/fun.asp

Children's illustrator and writer John Butler provides two interactive stories for very young children: Whose nose and toes? and Whose baby am I? Children move the mouse to find the matching animal. The simple easy to read text is displayed alongside.

Disrupting the educational status quo

2009-02-17T14:23:00.001+10:00

[Via Durff's blog]

"How do we move to a student centric system?" asked Michael Horn : http://maestro.sevenstaracademy.org/aventacontent/Video/2009-01-14%2016.03%20Coming%20Changes%20in%20Education_%20Implications%20for%20Christian%20School%20Leaders.wmv

A Vision of Students today - a Michael Wesch update

2009-02-17T13:22:00.001+10:00

What went wrong?

How did institutions designed for learning become so widely hated by people who love learning?

The video seemed to represent what so many were already feeling, and it became the focal point for many theories. While some simply blamed the problems on the students themselves, others recognized a broader pattern. Most blamed technology, though for very different reasons. Some simply suggested that new technologies are too distracting and superficial and that they should be banned from the classroom. Others suggested that students are now “wired” differently. Created in the image of these technologies, luddites imagine students to be distracted and superficial while techno-optimists see a new generation of hyper-thinkers bored with old school ways.

LBJ & Gene Simmons of Kiss? (Ten Teachers Who Made a Mark in Another Field)

2009-02-17T06:52:00.001+10:00

Everyone is concerned about the number of teachers leaving the profession. These ten individuals left teaching and went on to achieve greatness in their chosen fields. For some, you might think it possible that they would have done still more good remaining in the classroom. For others (#1, #9) most would agree that it’s just as well that students learned from someone else.

... more

Video - The Road to Meaning

2009-02-14T16:16:00.003+10:00

The process of reading is very like that of driving a car. As readers, it is our charge to "navigate" our way to meaning as we enter nonfiction texts and tasks. For students the, road to meaning in informational text is one paved with challenge and complexity. This presentation explores what great "drivers" need to do before, during, and after reading to successfully arrive at their final destination...UNDERSTANDING THE BIG IDEA!

Quotation for the week

2009-02-08T16:48:00.001+10:00

Nations have recently been led to borrow billions for war; no nation has ever borrowed largely for education. Probably, no nation is rich enough to pay for both war and civilization. We must make our choice; we cannot have both.

Abraham Flexner

More quotations about education and teaching ...

Graphic Novels Come Out From Under the Desk at Fordham University

2009-02-07T18:17:00.000+10:00

On January 31st, FordhamUniversity’s Graduate School of Education (GSE) hosted Graphica in Education: Graphic Novels come out from under the Desk, a conference to discuss a pedagogical approach to the use of graphic novels and graphica in K-12 classrooms.

...more

Impatience with Bad Teaching

2009-02-07T07:09:00.000+10:00

I am sick to death of all the people who come here and say they’re going to make this school better but nothing happens. It’s a disgrace.”

That’s what a young woman said to me the other day as I sat with her in her art class.

... more

Lincoln - resources

2009-02-06T18:33:00.001+10:00

In this bicentennial year for Abraham Lincoln, we have a chance to examine the man, his life and his place in history.

Share the resources, the activities and lesson plans with children and students and encourage them to evaluate Lincoln.

Visit the booklist and let the kids learn about who Lincoln was, his ideas, his influences and his life. There is values education here as well as history lessons, and research skills development.

The Digital Library for Earth System Education

2009-02-03T19:31:00.000+10:00

The Digital Library for Earth System Education Provides Individualized Reports for Teachers on the Effectiveness of Educational Resources in Their Own Classrooms

Abstract

We have developed and tested a system in which teachers and their students who have used an educational resource in the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE) both submit on-line reviews of that resource using DLESE's Community Review System.

We aggregate the students' reviews and generate an individualized report for the instructor on how his or her own students view the resource. The report for science teachers is formatted to show how well, on several dimensions, the resource worked.

The report for science education professors is formatted to highlight how well students reflect on their own learning processes and identify what makes an educational resource effective.

Read the whole article

10 Digital Writing Opportunities You Probably Know and 10 You Probably Don’t

2009-01-29T14:19:00.001+10:00

http://tbarrett.edublogs.org/2008/12/12/10-digital-writing-opportunities-you-probably-know-and-10-you-probably-dont/

ways that technology could support the process of writing and drive the eventual outcomes in the classroom - interesting reading and some tools

The Presidential Inauguration - booklists, the speech, teacher resources and activities

2009-01-25T11:47:00.001+10:00

This is such a significant event in history, and in the social arena for Americans and for the world
Download the Inaugural speech here
Find lesson plans and teacher resources here
Use the booklists of kids books - Inauguration Booklist, and The Road to the White House Booklist

Comics in the Classroom

2009-01-07T14:16:00.001+10:00

Long ghettoized in the U.S. as puerile, comics are now showing up in grade school classes and college courses

read more

A Science of Education Requires Explicit Goals for Education

2009-01-06T10:54:00.001+10:00

In the world of education, science is in fashion.

When people debate policy you don’t often hear them say “everyone knows that thus and so is true” but you frequently hear them say “the data indicate . . .”

Although Americans are boosters of the scientific method, we are missing an essential component of a coherent scientific research program of education — a definition of our goals for schooling. Without that, science applied to education will be inefficient at best, and more likely will be misleading because education research will be guided not by the goals set for the field but more likely by expedience.

If that happens — and it may already be happening — we all get a warped view of what schooling is and of which outcomes of education are important.

more...

New year

2009-01-05T19:55:00.004+10:00

I have just completed a page of resources for "New Year". There are lesson plans, crafts and material for other cultures' new years.

You can access it here.

Bringing the Power of Education to Children around the World

2008-12-28T10:34:00.001+10:00

Room to Read's John Wood:

After a trek in the Himalayas brought him face-to-face with extreme poverty and illiteracy, John Wood left his position as a director of business development at Microsoft to found Room to Read, an award-winning international education organization.

Under his leadership, more than 1.7 million children in the developing world now have access to enhanced educational opportunities. Room to Read to date has opened 725 schools and 7,000 bilingual libraries, and funded more than 7,000 scholarships for girls. Wood talked with Knowledge@Wharton about the launch of Room to Read, the book he wrote called Leaving Microsoft to Change the World and his personal definition of success.

http://adjix.com/hrvn

Global Learning Objects Brokered Exchange: GLOBE

2008-12-26T19:58:00.000+10:00

A search engine for online learning resources.
http://adjix.com/46up

search engine tutorial

2008-12-23T07:34:00.000+10:00

a short and easy search engine tutorial http://adjix.com/d36t

Interactive online games for kids and students

2008-12-20T10:02:00.001+10:00

A collection of educational free interactive computer based for students.
http://adjix.com/tmg

Ideas for using powerpoint in the classroom

2008-12-14T16:41:00.000+10:00

http://www.actden.com/pp/
Also http://web.archive.org/web/20050808083149/rcs.rcps.k12.va.us/creativeways/pptlist.htm templates
http://web.archive.org/web/20050612083532/www.paducah.k12.ky.us/curriculum/PPoint/

2008-12-08T19:06:00.000+10:00

A charming story of unlikely heroes whose destinies entwine to bring about a joyful resolution.

Read more

plus lesson plans and classroom resources

plus how to get the book for free

dreams

2008-12-03T09:48:00.000+10:00

"Nothing is as real as a dream. The world can change around you, but your dream will not. Responsibilities need not erase it. Duties need not obscure it. Because the dream is within you, no one can take it away."
Tom Clancy

AccessED

2008-11-30T17:16:00.000+10:00

AccessED
http://educationau.edu.au/jahia/Jahia/pid/573

accessED is a tool that allows you to test your website, intranet or learning management system content for conformance to W3C accessibility guidelines. More information and links to the toolbar can be found through the education.au website.

Bananas in Pyjamas

2008-11-27T16:42:00.000+10:00

Bananas in pyjamas
http://www.abc.net.au/children/bananas/default.htm
From the ABC, this website has a collection of interactive games, stories, music, and craft projects related to the Bananas in Pyjamas. Songtime is at http://www.abc.net.au/children/bananas/games/songtime/default.htm Children can select the musician and musical instrument for each section of the song then at the end, it is all played together.

Charter on primary schooling

2008-11-21T16:57:00.000+10:00

The Charter on Primary Schooling sets out the Australian Primary Principals Association's views on the nature and purposes of primary schooling in Australia. It aims to be a foundational document during policy deliberations about the role of primary schools, their curriculum and the level of support that they require to achieve high standards. The core learning areas are presented as: English literacy, Mathematics (including numeracy), Science, and Social Education.

http://www.appa.asn.au/cms/uploads/news/charter20071001.pdf

Fair trade for all education kit

2008-11-18T09:27:00.000+10:00

http://adjix.com/3eb

This resource is suitable for students aged 10 - 13 years of age and covers topics such as world trade, coffee trade, cocoa trade and sweatshops.

TEaching nutrition

2008-11-16T19:46:00.000+10:00

Teaching nutrition?

Consider these posters...

Catch a Rainbow poster PosterBuy at AllPosters.com

A Healthy Habit: Read Food LabelsPoster

Buy at AllPosters.com

Portion Distortion

Poster

Dean, Lee

Buy at AllPosters.com

Discovery Channel - Space

2008-11-14T19:01:00.000+10:00

http://www.discoverychannel.com.au/space/index.shtml

This website has a collection of information on outer space. Including an interactive game, information on our solar system, space exploration and comets, meteors and asteroids.

Quotation for the Day - Who dares to teach

2008-11-10T14:56:00.000+10:00

"Who dares to teach must never cease to learn." -- John Cotton Dana

Unruly pupils to get foot massage

2008-11-06T20:46:00.000+10:00

Disruptive pupils are to be given foot massages in a bid to curb their unruly behaviour.
Lambeth Council in south London is to spend £90,000 next year on sending reflexologists into schools.
The team is from Bud-Umbrella, a London-based charity which offers complementary therapies to adults and children.
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?Unruly_pupils_to_get_foot_massage&in_article_id=386587&in_page_id=2

Baby Karaoke

2008-11-01T10:58:00.001+10:00

http://www.abc.net.au/parents/baby_karaoke/
This ABC site provides simple songs for singing to young children. The songs are provided as animations with sound, and subtitled with words highlighted as they are sung. So they can be used as a reading exercise as well.

Planets - acrostic poem

2008-10-29T20:31:00.000+10:00

research project on the planets with second graders ... . The end product was an acrostic poem on one of the planets... a webquest format for their research ... : it's here online

Debunking the Myth about Girls and Math

2008-10-24T14:40:00.000+10:00

The myth that girls aren’t good at math must be put to rest—otherwise it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy, says a new report.

Many people still hold the belief that females intrinsically have less aptitude than males to excel in math at the very highest levels. Even former Harvard University President Lawrence Summers gave credence to this notion in 2005, suggesting that it might explain the shortage of women mathematicians among the tenured faculty of elite American research universities. more » » »

Philly Event to Consider News Literacy

2008-10-22T15:59:00.001+10:00

As Americans continue to lose faith in the fourth estate, Temple University’s Media Education Lab hopes to bring some thoughtful engagement to the topic—especially for those who work with our youngest citizens.For three days this week, Oct. 23–25, educators, journalists, researchers, and all those interested are invited to Philadelphia for “Rebooting the News: Reconsidering an Agenda for American Civic Education.” The goal? To finds ways to bring young people back into a civic mindset—helping them learn how to navigate the news in ways that make them feel more connected to their world. read more...

Patnership Lists Geography as a Critical 21st Century skill

2008-10-21T09:01:00.000+10:00

[Via mywonderfulworld]

A report from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills addresses the need for new competencies among American students, highlighting geography and geographic themes such as global awareness, social and cross-cultural skills, and civic literacy. The Partnership proposes a solution with (surprise, surprise) educational reform.

Songs for teaching

2008-10-20T20:18:00.000+10:00

http://songsforteaching.com/

"The Definitive Source for Educational Music"

Resources for Halloween

2008-10-17T15:05:00.000+10:00

Looking for lesson plans and resources for Halloween? I've just put together a page for you. You can check it out here. http://www.consultpivotal.om/halloween_teachers.htm

The is also a list of books and poems to share, and a page of activities to support fiction about Halloween.

Follow the links from those pages for ideas for costumes, parties, craft activities and colouring pages.

Simple science

2008-10-16T17:14:00.000+10:00

Middle-school science teachers have a new resource at their disposal: SIMPLE Science, an online collection of science activities created by Tucson, Ariz.-based education company Science Approach with funding from the National Science Foundation.

SIMPLE Science lets students explore X-rays of animal skeletons, measure snow and ice cover over time, explore bipedal locomotion, manipulate photographs, diagnose lung disease, and much more. Each topic can be covered in a 50-minute class session.

The site is free and is available to anyone with high-speed internet access and a Java-enabled browser.

The site's goal is to help overcome barriers to the use of image processing and analysis in K-12 classrooms by giving educators access to extensive, updatable archives of imaging data, while designing a pedagogical structure that helps teachers use imaging data in a way that supports middle-school science standards.

SIMPLE Science consists of a three-tired structure that scaffolds students’ use of image processing and analysis, from basic explorations of how imaging is used in various fields of science, to lessons developed from an archive of images and data housed on the site's server.

Quote for the week

2008-10-13T09:40:00.001+10:00

A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car;

but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad.

-- Theodore Roosevelt

GIS and Geographic Inquiry

2008-10-12T13:29:00.000+10:00

"Geospatial" technologies--which include geographic information system (GIS), global positioning system (GPS), and remote sensing (RS) tools--are becoming increasingly important in our everyday lives. These technologies use "smart" maps that can display, query, and analyze geographic databases; receivers that provide location and navigation; and global-to-local imagery and tools that provide context and analysis.

More here ...

Reale Books

2008-10-07T14:15:00.000+10:00

RealeBooks (“Really Books”) are picture books created with RealeWriter (“Really Writer”) software. (which is free).

You can read RealeBooks in your web browser or download them with RealeWriter to print or modify.

RealeLibraries (“Really Libraries”) are websites where schools, organizations, and businesses share their RealeBooks.

2 fruits and 5 vegetables - Kids only

2008-10-01T14:22:00.000+10:00

http://www.gofor2and5.com.au/article.aspx?c=7&a=136&n=1

This website outlines the benefits of fruit and vegetables, suggests ways of increasing fruit and vegetable intake and provides easy recipes. The Kids Only section provides activities designated lower primary, middle primary, and upper primary.

Multimedia / Video Tools

2008-10-01T12:43:00.000+10:00

From data projectors and digital video to interactive whiteboards, educators today have a wide array of multimedia presentation tools at their disposal to enhance visual instruction--allowing them to share ideas, information, charts, images, animations, audio, and video more effectively.

... more

Video - 21st Century Decision-Making

2008-09-26T13:11:00.001+10:00

Author James Surowiecki explains how the decision-making ability of a diverse group of people is more effective than that of individuals.

Video - Online Safety - "Growing up online"

2008-09-23T13:25:00.000+10:00

[From ITmadesimple.com]
"a must watch for all teachers, parents and anyone involved with students or children going online. The video was released in the US on the PBS network as part of the Frontline program. Growing Up Online explores a large number of issues about students growing up online and the challenges that everyone face from parents to teachers and most importantly students.

There are teacher notes and these should be useful, the website as a whole has lots of information and links and provides a lot of good useful information. It is important to note that the show does focus on the negative side of going online, and that anyone using or showing clips need to ensure audiences know that going online has a lot of advantages and positives - we just need to get a balance and educate our children and their parents and teachers."

Watch the video

Teacher's Guide

Typing Games

2008-09-03T09:48:00.000+10:00

http://www.freetypinggame.net/play.asp

A collection of interactive free online typing games for beginner touch typists.

Food time line

2008-08-07T11:48:00.000+10:00

Via Gary Price's Resourceshelf:

The Food Timeline <http://www.foodtimeline.org/>

Ever wonder what foods the Vikings ate when they set off to explore the new world? How Thomas Jefferson made his ice cream?

What the pioneers cooked along the Oregon Trail? Who invented the potato chip,and why?

Welcome to the Food Timeline! Food history presents a fascinating buffet of popular lore and contradictory facts. Some people will tell you it's impossible to express this topic in exact timeline format. They are correct. Most foods we eat are not invented; they evolve.

This site is the work of Lynne Olver, "(a) reference librarian with apassion for food history."

There is a section of this site that covers Historic Food Prices. Seems like somebody always wants to know what a gallon of milk cost Back In The Day <http://digbig.com/4xfxq>(PDF; 2.2 MB; scroll downto page 31). Some data from other countries can be found here as well.

A Vision of Students Today

2008-07-22T09:16:00.000+10:00

List of Films Based on Poems - Wikipedia

2008-07-12T12:38:00.000+10:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_poems

And far more of them than you would ever guess. It's not just Beowulf and Dr. Seuss books that have inspired moviemakers, but also Gunga Din, The Raven, Jabberwocky, The Cremation of Sam McGee and many others.

Third World Farmer

2008-07-02T16:21:00.000+10:00

Third World Farmer is an online simulation game which gives insight into the real-world mechanisms that cause and sustain poverty in developing countries. Players have to manage issues that arise from drought and illness as they try to make ends meet on their African farm. It challenges them to think more deeply about the difficult choices that poverty and conflict necessitate. http://www.3rdworldfarmer.com

BugWise

2008-06-20T09:57:00.001+10:00

http://www.bugwise.net.au/

The BugWise program has been designed by the Australian Museum Online to enable schools and other groups to get involved in ecological research. Here you will find out what invertebrates are, what they do, their incredible diversity and why they are vitally important to a healthy planet. The Invertebrate Guide provides a fact page with image of each insect.

EducaPoles: Pictures

2008-06-11T16:49:00.000+10:00

http://www.educapoles.org/index.php?/fun_zone/pictures_galleries/&s=7&rs=14&lg=en
The International Polar Foundation provides this collection of photographs free for educational use. Included are: whales and dolphins (cetaceans), Antarctic marine biology (scientific activities), Antarctic marine biology (flora and fauna), marine mammals from Antarctica, a colony of emperor penguins, sea ice and icebergs, sailing through Antarctic ice, birds of the Antarctic and the South Atlantic, Polar scientific activities, ice coring, polar bears, types of ice, Arctic and Antarctic fauna.

Simple 3D Drawing [Macromedia Flash Player]

2008-06-01T09:53:00.000+10:00

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2008. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Developed by Barbara Kaskosz of the University of Rhode Island and Doug Ensley of Shippensburg University, this resource from The Mathematical Association of America's Digital Classroom Resources collection will prove quite valuable for educators and anyone with an interest in computer graphics or geometry. Through this resource, visitors will learn how to draw and rotate 3D objects via a series of short tutorials. Along the way, users will learn about the mathematics behind manipulating cubes, the geometry involved with the manipulation of cubes, and they will also get a chance to work on their own structures. Overall, it's a fine resource and it offers insights for students in several different disciplines

http://mathdl.maa.org/mathDL/3/?pa=content&sa=viewDocument&nodeId=1674

ABS brings data to life in the classroom

2008-05-31T12:25:00.000+10:00

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has launched a new set of web pages designed for use by both teachers and students. Developed by the Education Services unit within the ABS, these new pages aim to assist educators to bring data and statistics to life in the classroom. The pages offer a range of learning resources, including classroom activities, games, professional development materials and specially selected ABS publications.

... more

Project targets new teachers' tech use

2008-05-20T11:32:00.000+10:00

National study to examine best ways to prepare new teachers to use technology

How best to prepare new teachers to use technology is the focus of new federal research

Indiana University’s School of Education is embarking on a $3.1 million study of how current and emerging technologies are being used most effectively in classrooms—and how best to prepare new teachers to use these tools.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=50618;_hbguid=f18205f9-07a5-4617-8d7d-04b1b7df8abc

Children's early academic and attention skills best predict school success

2008-05-08T17:17:00.000+10:00

Children entering kindergarten with elementary math and reading skills are the most likely to do well in school later, even if they have various social and emotional problems, say US researchers who examined data from six studies of close to 36,000 preschoolers. Children's attention-related skills also mattered, the researchers found. The findings are reported on in the November issue of Developmental Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association.
Read on ...

National Geographic animal photo galleries

2008-03-12T09:04:00.000+10:00

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/siteindex/photogallery/animals.html

This collection of photographs of animals around the world includes birds, some insects, spiders, land mammals e.g. bears and apes, reptiles, underwater animals, and some habitats.

Parents, kids don't see need for math, science skills

2008-03-11T12:01:00.000+10:00

With lawmakers and school leaders alike stressing the importance of math, science, and technology (MST) education in preparing students for 21st-century jobs and careers, one might... Full Story