CHSS LIBRARY NEWS

 

2nd April, 2008

 

 

"Personally, I am always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught."


- Winston Churchill

 

 

Hello and welcome

 

 Contents

 

  1. For your diary

  2. Latest resources added to the library

  3. Sites of interest from the Internet 

  4. Book Review

  5. Education-related news from the Internet

  6. Just for Fun

  7. Closing Thought

 

 

 

 1.  For your diary

 

International Children's Book Day 02 Apr 2008 Global
Wakakirri Registration 04 Apr 2008 All Australian states
International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action 04 Apr 2008 Global
The Rio Tinto Big Science competition - registrations close 04 Apr 2008 All Australian states
14th Australasian World Wide Web Conference AusWeb08 05 Apr 2008 QLD
National Youth Week 05 Apr 2008 All Australian states
Arthritis Awareness Week 06 Apr 2008 All Australian states
World Health Day 07 Apr 2008 Global

 

Ipswich Poetry Feast Workshop and Launch
Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Ipswich Library Barry Jones Auditorium
South St, Ipswich 
3.45 for 4.00pm start. Professional development workshop with poet, Jo Hinchliffe and short introduction to the Ipswich Poetry Feast. Includes afternoon tea. No cost.
To book online go to:
 http://www.learningplace.com.au/events/default2.asp?pid=30454

 

Brisbane Writers Festival Schools Program - WordPlay

Tuesday 16, Wednesday 17, Thursday 18 September 2008

State Library Queensland

South Brisbane

$15per student (full day - five sessions each day)

 

2.  Latest Resources added to the Library.

3.  Sites of interest from the Internet 

Alice.org
Alice is a 3D programming environment that makes it easy to create an animation for telling a story, playing an interactive game, or a video to share on the web. It is a teaching tool for introductory computing which uses 3D graphics and a drag-and-drop interface.

free new web site -- http://www.makebeliefscomix.com
-- where students can create their own comic strips.  The site offers fun
animal and human characters with different moods, thought and talk balloons
to fill in with words, and story prompts.
 

4.  Book Review

"RSS for Educators: Blogs, Newsfeeds, Podcasts, and Wikis in the Classroom" by John Hendron explains how educators working with grades PreK-12 can use a news aggregator to harness the power of RSS (Really Simple Syndication) for a variety of purposes including classroom projects, professional development, and keeping students and parents informed.

The book tells how to use free and inexpensive software such as Garage Band and Audacity to manipulate audio files and create podcasts. Also examined are the pros and cons of various blogging platforms.

The material provides a complete introduction to RSS technology, suggested ways to harness the power of RSS for educational purposes, the pros and cons of low-cost and free Web 2.0 software, a glossary, and an extensive list of online resources.

 

 

5.  Education-related news from the Internet

 

Teachers tap video sharing in the classroom

Video in the classroom has evolved since the days when teachers wheeled in film projectors on carts, report the Wall Street Journal: More teachers are using online video-sharing sites modeled after Google Inc.'s YouTube to engage with students. | Read More

 

For better readers listen to children

Children's literacy could be hindered by rigid reading lists that order books into age and sex appropriate categories, rather than allowing children to choose books according to their interests and passions, a Sydney researcher says. We should be encouraging children to read for enjoyment and not dictating particular books, says Dr Alyson Simpson, a senior lecturer and director of the primary bachelor of education program at the University of Sydney. 26 March 2008.

Museums exhibit high-tech appeal
Paintings and sculptures long stored away are finding a new audience, as museums strive for mass appeal with high-tech web sites packed with video, podcasts, and interactive elements, Reuters reports. | Read More

Analysis: How multimedia can improve learning
 An analysis of existing research supports a notion that already has begun to transform instruction in schools from coast to coast: that multimodal learning--using many modes and strategies that cater to individual learners' needs and capacities--is more effective than traditional, unimodal learning, which uses a single mode or strategy. | Read More

Adobe launches free web version of Photoshop
Adobe Systems, the maker of the popular photo-editing software Photoshop, on March 27 launched a basic version of the program available free of charge online. | Full Story

 

Video:

At our Eighth Annual Tech-Savvy Superintendent Awards ceremony last month, we asked the winners what advice they would give to their colleagues about leading successful ed-tech initiatives-and here's what they said.

6.  Just for Fun

 

[Clipped from LM_Net  http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/]

 

From:

Rachel Hinds, Librarian
 Carleston Elementary
 3010 Harkey Road
 Pearland, TX   77584

I am doing a lesson on the nursery rhyme Simple Simon with my kindergarten
classes this week. While trying to help them understand what a "pieman" is,
I asked, "What do we call a person who bakes pies, cakes, and cookies?" A
little voice enthusiastically shouted out "Grandma!" The teacher and I both
roared with laughter. I love kindergarten classes!
 

7.  Closing Thought

Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.
 
Malcom S. Forbes