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School News and Information
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- Something's rotten in NSW
- (Tuesday 9th February 2010)
What is wrong with NSW comprehensive public schools? (Ross Cameron - SMH)
MySchool index to be reviewed- (Monday 8th February 2010)
The system used to measure the social disadvantage level of school communities on the federal government's MySchool website is under review, less than two weeks after the site's launch. (SMH)
Inside IDEO- (Monday 8th February 2010)
Great insight into the design process for TAS students. Others will also be interested in the management structure of the organisation.
Forget the net, check the toilets- (Saturday 6th February 2010)
How do parents get really useful information about schools? (John Marsden - SMH)
Shush, folks, we're trying to read- (Friday 5th February 2010)
A new study by the University of Sydney has found that children with below-average language skills performed almost as well as their normally developing peers after their parents changed the way they interacted with them. (SMH)
Students get new subject: the test- (Friday 5th February 2010)
Victorian teachers are being told to "explicitly teach" for the NAPLAN tests as part of a drive to lift the state's overall performance in national rankings. (The Australian)
Doodle 4 Google- (Friday 5th February 2010)
K-12 students have the opportunity to create their own Google logo and have it displayed on the Google homepage.
Preview's 'hidden' features- (Thursday 4th February 2010)
Apple's Preview application does a lot more than just view PDF documents. You can easily edit photos and PDFs using the Annotate tools.
Ranking by NAPLAN results rates a fail- (Wednesday 3rd February 2010)
NAPLAN tests are a useful diagnostic implement for schools. However, they cannot validly carry the weight of community judgment of each school. (Dr John Collier - SMH)
Students bypassing internet filters- (Wednesday 3rd February 2010)
UK school students are using 'proxy servers' to get round their schools' internet security systems. (BBC)
The great divide in school staff numbers- (Tuesday 2nd February 2010)
The MySchool web site reveals that you need 21 students to get a support staff member in a large, metropolitan non-government school and a staggering 84.4 students in a similar-sized government school. (Jane Caro & Chris Bonnor - SMH)
Teachers' Digital Footprint- (Tuesday 2nd February 2010)
Teachers can use social networking to build a positive digital profile.
What is Moodle?- (Monday 2nd February 2010)
Making sense of the increasingly popular Course Managment System (CMS), which is finding favour in local schools using DER netbooks.
Julia Gillard: a political dill- (Monday 1st February 2010)
A no-holds-barred political analysis of Julia Gillard's role in the MySchool web site issue. (Bob Ellis - ABC)
Challenging our own paradigms?- (Monday 1st February 2010)
Is it time for teachers to re-think their position on the MySchool web site?
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| Teaching & Learning |
Teachers Golf Photos
All the action from the 2009 Chalk 'n' Talk golf day.
Google-proof questioning
A "Google-proof" question requires analysis, interpretation, and investigation. We need to set tasks that challenge thinking skills, not Googling skills.
21 Things That Became Obsolete This Decade
Take a stroll down ICT's memory lane.
Engage or Empower?
How can schools use ICT to empower students as learners? Definitely worth a read.
Away from class? Use YouTube
Utilise Youtube to assist in "remote" lesson delivery.
Teacher Tips for Blogging
Ideas and discussion about the organisation of student publishing projects in the classroom. |
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| ICT |
Storyboard Composer
Students can storyboard their next movie on their iPhone/iPod Touch.
EtherPad
A web-based word processor that allows multiple people to remotely edit the same document in real-time.
EverNote
Save ideas, photos, thoughts and other useful notes in "the cloud", then access them all on any computer or mobile device you are using. Free version available.
Strange Characters in iWeb
Remove the strange characters that some older web servers display in sites published with iWeb. |
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| Administration |
Yes Minister - tweeting for work?A government-commissioned report has recommended the public service turn to new media to put bureaucrats more in touch with the people they are employed to serve. (SMH)
ICT Planning
Discussion of ICT planning in the context of whole-school planning practices. |
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| Discussion |
The Netbook Fad
Are 1:1 programs on-the-cheap more important than rich learning outcomes for students?
Schools unite against rankings
Six peak national groups representing parents, teachers and principals from public and private schools have signed a letter to the Federal Government asking it to prevent the publication of ''misleading and damaging'' league tables. (SMH)
Handling the inappropriate
Discussion about what happened when a NSW teacher introduced the Edmodo social networking environment to their Year 9 class. |
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- Apple iPad Revealed
- (Thursday 28th January 2010)
CNN video of Steve Job's iPad introduction. See engadget for more info from the presentation, including iWork, keyboard dock, etc.
MySchool Launched- (Thursday 28th January 2010)
The Australian Federal government's school comparison web site was launched this morning, but seems to be suffering some technical glitches.
Facebook reflects real world interactions- (Wednesday 27th January 2010)
A new study has found that youths who were better adjusted in their early teens were more likely to use social media in their early 20s, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity or parental income, and that, overall, the patterns of friendship quality and behavioral adjustment as early teens continued into early adulthood. (Virginia Uni)
Ladder of opportunity rises above league tables- (Wednesday 27th January 2010)
Will schools retreat from a broad educational curriculum to one that is limited to preparing for tests reported online? (Tim Hawkes - SMH)
Principals rally troops to combat new website- (Wednesday 27th January 2010)
The president of the NSW principals' council, Jim McAlpine, said Principals had to be ready for a public shaming, as a result of tomorrow's launching of the MySchool web site. (SMH)
Teachers to boycott skills tests- (Tuesday 19th January 2010)
The Australian Education Union federal conference has unanimously voted to boycott the national literacy and numeracy tests. (The Australian)
School literacy plan is failing- (Saturday 9th January 2010)
The proportion of NSW children who just meet or fall below national literacy and numeracy benchmarks increases as they progress through primary and secondary school, raising questions about the success of Government intervention programs. (SMH)
HSC slammed as second best- (Tuesday 5th January 2010)
'Subjects seem to focus on what can be measured instead of what is exciting'. (SMH)
Will the Internet kill off English Spelling?- (Tuesday 5th January 2010)
Could simplified or invented spellings favoured by many internet users could replace the current, more complex versions that were standardised in the 18th century with the advent of dictionaries. (Telegraph, UK)
The trouble with Twitter- (Monday 4th January 2010)
Far from delivering a 'wisdom of crowds', social networking sites have created only a deafening banality. (The Guardian)
NSW DET Inflating Building Price- (Monday 4th January 2010)
Parents at Mount St Thomas PS (in Wollongong) have complained to the NSW Auditor General about what they say are inflated costings from the Department of Education and Training.
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