School News Archive

Digital Education Revolution

(Thursday 29th January 2009)
The federal government has announced allocations for Round 2 of their DER program.

Web gives homework hard edge

(Wednesday 28th January 2009)
Access to the Internet is altering drastically the way primary and secondary students complete their homework. (SMH)

Parents make moves on top schools

(Wednesday 28th January 2009)
Parents are buying houses in areas close to desirable schools and intervening more than ever to ensure their children are positioned for success in their education, University of Sydney research has found. (SMH)

Judgment day nigh for bids on school PCs

(Wednesday 28th January 2009)
About 15 people met at a secret location during the school holidays in the first step towards deciding the main technology players in NSW's $256 million computers-in-schools program. (Australian IT)

Wazza's New Year School ICT Planning Considerations

(Tuesday 27th January 2009)
Some ideas to consider when planning your ICT priorities for the new school year.

Principals fight to hire who they want

(Tuesday 27th January 2009)
NSW school Principals will keep fighting for more autonomy to hire teachers after the State Government backed down from its decision to give them more control. (SMH)

iLife '09 Tutorials

(Tuesday 27th January 2009)
Learn how to master the new features in the latest incarnation of iLife. Publish your iWeb site using FTP, tag and upload your iPhoto photos to Facebook, etc. Explore all the new options even before the software is available!

The Original Mac Advertisement

(Saturday 24th January 2009)
It is 25 years since Ridley Scott's now classic '1984' TV ad appeared during the half-time break in the US football final, announcing the arrival of the Macintosh. (YouTube)

Staff Finds White House in the Technological Dark Ages

(Friday 23rd January 2009)
Many innovative teachers will sympathise with personnel in the incoming Obama administration and the bureaucratic ICT barriers they face as they move into the White House. (Washington Post)

Salaries and Staffing Details

(Friday 23rd January 2009)
Information from the NSW Teachers Federation regarding the salaries and staffing agreement with the NSW Department of Education and Training (DET). Read also: the NSW DET Director-General's message about this matter.

Microsoft layoffs: Netbooks sales are killing us

(Friday 23rd January 2009)
Overlooked in the Microsoft announcement about its layoffs of 5,000 people over the next 18 months (see below) is this startling revelation - the company's revenue decline is due, in large part, to the growth in the sales of netbooks. (ComputerWorld Blog)

Microsoft makes first-ever job cuts

(Friday 23rd January 2009)
Microsoft will cut as many as 5,000 jobs, the first company-wide retrenchments in its 34-year history, and said sales and profit will probably drop as the recession eats into software demand. (SMH)

Letterman's Top Ten: George W. Bush

(Wednesday 21st January 2009)
As the new US President is inaugurated, it is worth taking some time to enjoy this collection of faux pas from his predecessor. Check out some of the related videos too - I particularly love the kid trying to stay awake during a Dubbya speech in the Ultimate George Bush Collection, and the many stumbles in the George Bush bloopers video. (YouTube)

Study condemns ramshackle schools

(Monday 19th January 2009)
"As schools prepare to reopen, research has found Australian governments are spending about $1000 less for every student on school infrastructure than the US and Britain, a funding gap of $11.2 billion since 2002." (SMH)
- Read the original report catalogued at the National Library of Australia.
- Read the Media Release (pdf) from the AEU.
This process might make an interesting discussion for Media Studies classes.

Output Measurement in Education

(Thursday 15th January 2009)
The Australian Council for Education Reseach (ACER) has released a paper, authored by Dr Andrew Dowling, arguing that an approach that measures educational ‘outputs’ through student, school and teacher assessment is needed to ensure accountability in the Australian education system. You can download and read the full paper, in the leadup to the inevitable discussion about national curriculum and assessment.

Windows 7 Beta

(Wednesday 14th January 2009)
Another one for the holiday techno-tinkerers! Check out the minimum hardware requirements, watch a demo video, or download the beta software to install.

Elite students exploit uni entry scheme

(Monday 12th January 2009)
"Students from exclusive private schools appear to be exploiting a special consideration scheme to gain bonus points for university entry, claiming health disadvantages at much higher rates than their public school counterparts. A former Universities Admissions Centre assessor says the upsurge in claims has been so noticeable that 'there appears to be an outbreak of anxiety and depression in some private schools'". (SMH)

Next gen printer takes a stand at CES

(Monday 12th January 2009)
Using new printer head technology that was developed by Silverbrook Research, based in Balmain, home printers capable of spitting out a colour page in a second are expected to be released around the world this year. (SMH)

Microsoft CES Presentation

(Monday 12th January 2009)
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer delivered the pre-event keynote address for the 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show, laying out Microsoft’s vision for personal computing, connected entertainment and consumer electronics. Includes a demo of Windows 7 and IE 8.

China's Lenovo to cut 11 percent of work force

(Friday 9th January 2009)
"Shares of Lenovo Group [suppliers of hardware to the NSW DET] tumbled [on] Thursday after the world's fourth-largest computer maker warned it expects a loss for its latest quarter and will lay off 11 percent of its work force and cut executive pay." (Yahoo News)

Macquarie Dictionary Word of the Year 2008

(Thursday 8th January 2009)
The Macquarie Online Dictionary regularly adds new words and phrases from popular culture. You can view the contenders for inclusion in the next edition (which is always an interesting exercise in itself), or vote for the words that you think should be included.

Apple's MacWorld Presentation

(Wednesday 7th January 2009)
Apple's Phil Schiller's unveiling of Apple’s latest innovations at Macworld 2009 - most notably some exciting new features in their iLife and iWork software suites that will once again provide stimulating opportunities for innovative teachers. Many of the new features of these software suites are demonstrated in the presentation.

Heater danger in schools

(Monday 5th January 2009)
"Low-emmission gas heaters being installed in NSW classrooms have been found by the NSW Health Department to produce high levels of nitrogen dioxide, a poisonous gas known to induce asthma attacks and respiratory problems." (SMH)

School experiment leaves pupils to their own devices

(Saturday 3rd January 2009)
"A class of year 8 students at Shepparton High School are the first in Australia to use the iPod Touch in the classroom for a global 'mobile learning' project." (The Age)

280Slides

(Friday 2nd January 2009)
This is worth checking out, if for no reason other than to get an idea of how far we have come with "cloud" applications. This outstanding web-based presentation application looks very similar to Apple's Keynote. Is this where the iLife apps are heading? How would this be useful in your classroom?

Heavens Above

(Friday 2nd January 2009)
Track the visibility of satellites over your location. When will the International Space Station (ISS), currently the brightest satellite in the sky, be visible in your area again? Also plenty of viewing info for other man-made and natural objects.

International Year of Astronomy 2009

(Thursday 1st January 2009)
This site is sure to provide some great curriculum resources for science classes over the coming year.

Minister to rethink HSC special provisions

(Thursday 1st January 2009)
"The NSW Minister for Education will meet high school principals and the Board of Studies in the new year to consider reviewing contentious special provisions for Higher School Certificate students.....HSC examination supervisors who contacted the Herald have complained of students being granted up to three extra hours to complete an exam." (SMH)