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School News and Information
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- Formula to Grade Teachers’ Skill Gains Acceptance, and Critics
- (Friday 3rd September 2010)
How good is one teacher compared with another? The use of 'value-added' modelling is exploding throughout US school districts. Will Australia be next? (NY Times)
Free K-12 Videos- (Thursday 2nd September 2010)
Wide range of videos suitable for classroom use, organised into learning areas.
Embedded Services for Education- (Thursday 2nd September 2010)
Some ideas for useful services that can be embedded in student and school blogs and wikis.
Gmail Priority Inbox- (Wednesday 1st September 2010)
A new service for those who use Gmail.
Preceden- (Wednesday 1st September 2010)
Neat timeline creator. Unlimited applications in classrooms.
10 Worst Practices in ICT in Education- (Wednesday 1st September 2010)
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?
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| Standardising |
Rankings
 Summary of articles relating to the implementation of teacher and school rankings based on the results of standardised tests.
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. |
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| BER |
SchoolsWatch
 There seems to be a new BER story every day! Latest school-related info from The Australian newspaper.
NSW BER website
 Find information about BER projects in NSW schools. |
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| iPad |
iPad Guided Tour
 Not sure about the latest gadget? Take the official Apple tours of all the iPad apps.
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. |
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| 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.
From Degrading to De-Grading
An interesting discussion about the value of grading students' work.
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 Blogging
Ideas and discussion about the organisation of student publishing projects in the classroom.
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| ICT |
First Apple Computer
A photo to remind us of where it all started.
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.
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 |
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. |
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| 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. 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". Sound familiar?
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." As US schools are undertaking their "Race to the Top", are our politicians forcing Australian schools to follow in their footsteps? (Washington Post)
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.
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- IT faces squeeze in high-school syllabus
- (Tuesday 31st August 2010)
The Australian federal government is planning to reduce the hours of computing studies for high school students. (The Australian)
Piriform Utilities- (Tuesday 31st August 2010)
Useful suite of Windows utilities for optimising, cleaning, defragging, file recovery, etc.
ADSL2 Exchanges- (Tuesday 31st August 2010)
Can't wait for the Australian National Broadband Network? Use this site for info about your local broadband offerings, including the cable distance from your house to your local exchange.
Tweens get savvy with gadgets- (Monday 30th August 2010)
How do we (or do we need to?) build on this interest and experience to leverage better learning outcomes for younger students? (SMH)
Digital Overload - Your Brain on Gadgets- (Friday 27th August 2010)
Could being digitally disconnected and gadgetless for a week improve your health?
Why stop at Teachers?- (Wednesday 25th August 2010)
What would comparative "value-added" data look like if adapted to measure the effectiveness of politicians, doctors or lawyers?
Assessing teacher performance - Chart- (Wednesday 25th August 2010)
Can you believe this? .... "'Value-added' rates teachers on their students' progress on standarised tests year after year. The difference between a student's expected growth and actual performance is the 'value' a teacher adds or subtracts during the year." (LA Times)
GradeMate- (Tuesday 24th August 2010)
An online collaboration tool for teachers and students - keep track of courses, manage grades, assignments, and events, share files, course notes, and class discussions. Free for up to three courses.
Should teachers be judged by how well their students perform?- (Monday 23rd August 2010)
Imagine that before sending your child to school, you could go online and find out how well previous students of your child’s new teacher have performed on standardized tests. For Los Angeles residents, that will be a reality by the end of the month. (LA Sun)
Union leader says parents should know teachers' ratings- (Monday 23rd August 2010)
The head of the American Federation of Teachers said that she believed parents have a right to know how well their children's teachers are rated on employee evaluations, but strongly disagreed with the decision to publish data showing how individual teachers may have influenced the standardized test scores of students. (LA Times)
Cook's Secret Instructions- (Saturday 21st August 2010)
Tomorrow is a memorable day in local history - just before sunset on Wednesday 22 August 1770, Captain James Cook declared the east coast (of what is now the Australian continent) to be a British possession.
I am a Teacher- (Saturday 21st August 2010)
When people were attacking her and her fellow dedicated public school teachers, Florida fourth-grade teacher Jamee Miller got mad. And then she got to typing.
Roger Federer Trick Shot- (Friday 20th August 2010)
Sensational! But is it real? Definitely worth watching, and maybe a good discussion starter for media students. (YouTube)
Getting started with Moodle- (Friday 20th August 2010)
Links to loads of tutorials and resources for schools (and school admins) that are getting started with Moodle.
Comparing Teachers- (Thursday 19th August 2010)
Is this a sign of the future? Here is a graph comparing the "effectiveness" of two teachers in preparing students for standardised tests in schools in Los Angeles.
LA Times investigates teacher performance- (Thursday 19th August 2010)
Every teacher should read this. The LA Times has launched a campaign to publish data that graphs teacher performance in improving their students' standardised test scores. Are we moving towards this in Australia?
US Teachers rally against valued-added testing- (Thursday 19th August 2010)
Definitely worth a read - is this what Julia has in mind for local schools?
FaceBook assignment template- (Thursday 19th August 2010)
A teacher has created a template (MS Word & Pages) for students to record research information in a familiar Facebook-style template.
Is the Web dying?- (Thursday 19th August 2010)
Usage statistics indicate that use of the web is declining, replaced by a broad range of Internet apps - Facebook, Twitter, Skype, messaging, etc - running on smart phones.
What is "value-add" in Education?- (Wednesday 18th August 2010)
The federal Labor Party has proposed a salary bonus for teachers whose students demonstrate "improvement". How do we measure this improvement?
ASTD 2010- (Wednesday 18th August 2010)
Register now for the Apple Schools Technology Day. Hands-on workshops exploring iLife, Cloud computing, IWBs, 1:1 schools, Slowmation, iPods and iPads in the classroom. Workshops filling fast.
Web 2.0 Literacy Tools- (Tuesday 17th August 2010)
A collection of Web 2.0 sites aligned with various areas of the curriculum.
Teaching is not just standing in front of a class- (Tuesday 17th August 2010)
An eight week "conversion" program can't address the intricacies of the psychology, philosophy and practice of education. (Rachael Jacobs - SMH)
On Education policy, Obama is like Bush- (Monday 16th August 2010)
This Washington Post article is a must-read for Australian teachers - simply swap Bush and Obama for Howard and Gillard.
IWBs are no silver bullet- (Monday 16th August 2010)
Forget the cutesy animations and web sites. Good pedagogy is the most important ingredient for the successful use of an interactive whiteboard in the classroom.
Squidman 3.0- (Monday 16th August 2010)
One for the techos.... latest release of this neat GUI for running a Squid proxy server on Mac OSX.
The real top schools: NSW's secret list revealed- (Saturday 14th August 2010)
Students at some of the state's top academic high schools are improving at a slower rate than those at some comprehensive schools, according to official figures released for the first time. (SMH)
Weebly ImagePerfect- (Thursday 12th August 2010)
Weebly is a neat online web site editor. Check out this new ImagePerfect feature that provides an easy editing option for your header image. Free.
Developing a School Intranet- (Wednesday 11th August 2010)
A school intranet, where students publish their own work, can play a pivotal role in supporting a constructivist learning environment and developing higher order thinking skills.
Public schools slugged double the price for BER projects- (Wednesday 11th August 2010)
NSW government schools are likely to pay as much as double what Catholic schools were charged under the schools stimulus program. (The Australian)
How to create a culture of thinking- (Tuesday 10th August 2010)
Ten ideas that can help to create a ‘culture of thinking‘ in our classrooms.
National exam to replace the HSC- (Tuesday 10th August 2010)
Under a re-elected federal Labor government, the NSW HSC will be replaced by a national exam and our top teachers will vie for $8000 performance bonuses if their students 'improve'. (Telegraph)
Power of a student designed curriculum- (Monday 9th August 2010)
A must-read for all teachers battling to engage students in a world of standardised testing.
BER waste exposed by taskforce- (Monday 9th August 2010)
The BER taskforce has confirmed that costs for projects run by the NSW government were easily the highest in the nation, with public school projects typically much more expensive than those in the independent sector. (The Australian)
Skype for Educators- (Friday 6th August 2010)
A list of experts willing to Skype into your class or school.
Goodbye Wave- (Friday 6th August 2010)
Google Wave is pulling up stumps. Maybe only those who sit in front of a computer all day have time for "real time communication and collaboration"?
ACOT 2- (Thursday 5th August 2010)
Discussion about six design principles for the 21st century school. Good discussion starter and background reading for your school's next PD activity.
Learning & Teaching with iPads- (Wednesday 4th August 2010)
Initial thoughts and experiences from teachers in schools in Sydney who are undertaking an iPad pilot program in their classrooms.
Official Google Docs Blog- (Monday 2nd August 2010)
Up-to-date news and notes from the Google Docs and Google Sites teams.
Getting Started with Google Drawing- (Monday 2nd August 2010)
Official guide to using Google's online drawing tools. Have your tried this with your iPad yet?
Toxic heater cost blowout- (Monday 2nd August 2010)
Replacing toxic gas heaters in NSW schools could take up to a decade and the cost will balloon way past the $170 million estimated by the state government, according to industry experts.
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