(Tuesday 15th May 2012)
If you are exploring Cloud file syncing options, Sugarsync is definitely worth a look - includes 5 GB of free storage, e-mail uploads (from your iPad), and syncing of multiple folders between all your computers and mobile devices.
(Monday 14th May 2012)
A one-day hands-on workshop designed for classroom teachers (K-12), computer coordinators and technology leaders to explore the variety of ways that wikis can be used to organise, personalise and simplify online learning experiences.
(Tuesday 8th May 2012)
The time has come for school leaders to stop trying to find ways to block and ban social media, but rather embrace it as both an educational tool and a fact of life.
(Thursday 3rd May 2012)
Not sure of the need for this, but might be worth a look.... access all your online files (Dropbox, Box, Drive, etc) from one app.
(Tuesday 1st May 2012)
Expensive interactive whiteboards that the WA State Government is installing in classrooms could soon be obsolete as schools embrace tablet technology.
(Monday 30th April 2012)
Choose up to three Queensland schools to compare their finances, staffing levels, attendance and 'student performance'. (Courier-Mail)
(Friday 27th April 2012)
Teachers will be observed in the classroom and have to provide evidence of student outcomes as part of a yearly performance assessment under proposals released today. (SMH)
(Friday 27th April 2012)
A group of education consultants is encouraging Australian parents to withdraw their children from next month's annual NAPLAN tests, saying they are damaging children's creativity. (SMH)
(Friday 27th April 2012)
With Google Drive joining the fray this week, the Cloud is now raining down on us with (almost) too many file storage options. Includes a comparison chart.
(Monday 23rd April 2012)
Need some program ideas for Term 2? Check out a selection of the fantastic project work published by students at Helensburgh PS.
(Tuesday 10th April 2012)
The NSW Minister for Education, Adrian Piccoli, has refused to guarantee that school budgets would not be cut, following the state government's move to devolve power to school principals. (SMH)
(Thursday 5th April 2012)
Here is a little Easter presi from the Dropbox people. They have doubled the free space that you receive for each referral. You can now have up to 18Gb of online storage for free. Spread the news!
(Thursday 5th April 2012)
Looking for a PD task to fill in those rainy days in the upcoming term break? These tutorials will set you on the path to mastering web publishing in the cloud.
(Wednesday 4th April 2012)
The relentless march of technology makes today's shiny new gizmo tomorrow's wardrobe clutter. Which of your favourite gadgets are destined to become digital dinosaurs?
(Monday 2nd April 2012)
Students at Parramatta Marist High use project-based learning, working in groups to solve problems and develop the critical thinking, collaboration and communication skills that are prized by employers. (SMH)
(Monday 2nd April 2012)
John Mavrothalassitis used to communicate using pictures and one or two words. But over the past 18 months, the seven-year-old, who has autism, has started speaking in sentences with the help of an iPad application. (SMH)
(Monday 2nd April 2012)
A "groundswell" of school principals has begun to question whether the NSW government's move to give them control of their budgets is simply a smokescreen for cost-cutting and shifting workload away from the Education Department. (SMH)
Evernote Make notes and clip web pages to the cloud.
EduCloud Info about using Cloud services in schools.
Cloud Compare Which file-sync service is the best option for your needs?
wazmac
School ICT Planning Reading, research & ideas relating to the use of ICT to support the curriculum.
Moodle K-12 Tutorial notes, videos & resources for teachers & admins who are getting started using Moodle in their school.
School Intranets Provide an online web publishing environment for students & teachers in your school.
Servers & Networks Configuring & maintaining servers and networks to support learning environments.
The Staffroom Thoughts and discussions related to current issues in education.
Travel Tech Useful tech tools & apps for travellers.
Opinion
The Learning Curve SMH education blog - you can post comments relating to the discussion.
Maralyn Parker Telegraph columnist writing about current education issues.
Where2Now
Discussion of issues impacting the implementation of ICT in the curriculum.
Media (Aust)
SMH Education
Education articles from the Sydney Morning Herald.
HeraldEducation
Variety of resources for teachers and students. (SMH)
SchoolsWatch Latest school-related info from The Australian newspaper.
Standardised Testing
Reading Links to a variety of articles relating to the implementation of teacher and school rankings based on the results of standardised tests.
More than good results What effect has standardised testing had on schools and their communities in the United States?
Is this what we want in Australia?
From the US: "Schools have become totally focused on state tests. People are sick of seeing education reduced to test scores".
Teaching to the Test "This year I was told what to teach, when to teach, how to teach, how long to teach, who to teach, who not to teach, and how often to test."
Teacher performance The LA Times has launched a campaign to publish data that graphs teacher performance in improving their students' standardised test scores.
Comparing Teachers This graph compares the "effectiveness" of two teachers in preparing students for standardised tests in schools in Los Angeles.
Discussion
All Together Now Neil Hopkins discusses the pace of pedagogical change in primary schools.
ICT Co-ordinator - Bridge or Barrier? An effective ICT coordinator acts as a bridge between new technologies or new approaches to using technology and the successful outcome of students' learning.
Things That Make a Difference Some thoughtful discussion about support for teachers integrating new technologies in the school curriculum.
Handling the inappropriate Discussion about what happened when a NSW teacher introduced the Edmodo social networking environment to their Year 9 class.
iPad
iPad Deployment Enterprise deployment info for iPads in schools, from Apple.
iPad apps for educators Some neat apps here for those exploring the iPad in their classrooms.
iPad to the Cloud Save iWork files from your iPad to Box and Dropbox.
Teaching & Learning
HPS Student Showcase A selection of the fantastic work students publish on the Helensburgh PS school Intranet every year.
Slowmation Quickly produce meaningful animations that represent learning, using free software. Developed at UOW.
Bloom's Revised Taxonomy A variety of resources to support the application of Bloom's framework in our learning environments.
Agile teachers Stephen Heppell discusses how teachers can thrive in new learning environments.
Google-proof questioning A "Google-proof" question requires analysis, interpretation, and investigation. We need to set tasks that challenge thinking skills, not Googling skills.
Teacher Tips for Blogs Ideas and discussion about the organisation of student publishing projects in the classroom.
Moodle 2 Demo
Try the latest Moodle release on a demo server.
Printopia (Mac)
Installed on a network computer, this small utility will allow you to use Apple'sAirPrint on your iPad to print to any printer on your network.
School web site management Use Web 2.0 technologies in conjunction with your school web site to share the ownership of the site's day-to-day updates between multiple staff.
Cloning Computers Quickstart notes about deploying a common software installation to multiple computers - either standalone or on a school network. (Mac & Win)
Preview's extra features Apple's Preview application does a lot more than just view PDF documents. You can easily edit photos and PDFs using the Annotate tools.
MindNode (Mac)
Elegant and simple-to-use mind-mapping application. Free.
Strange Characters in iWeb
Remove the strange characters that some older web servers display in sites published with iWeb.
Blogger Navigation Bar Hide the blue banner that appears at the top of Google Blogger blogs.
Administration
10 Worst Practices
Michael Trucano lists what he considers to be the 'worst practices' related to the large scale use of ICTs in education. Do some of these sound familiar?
Effective presentations A slide-show can enhance your lesson or presentation, especially for visual learners - but it does not make a poor presentation any better. Some ideas and tips.
ICT Planning
Discussion of ICT planning in the context of whole-school planning practices.
BER
SchoolsWatch Latest school-related info from The Australian newspaper.
NSW BER website Find information about BER projects in NSW schools.
