Useful links – Weekly

• 26 incredibly useful Google Calendar tips

• Teens ‘not damaged by screen time’, new Oxford study finds / Boing Boing “Research by Oxford University scientists finds “little evidence of a relationship between screen time and wellbeing in adolescents.” Based on data from over 17,000 teenagers, the study “casts doubt on the widely accepted notion that spending time online, gaming or watching TV, especially before bedtime, can damage young people’s mental health.”

• Absolutely spectacular first-ever air-to-air images of supersonic jets’ shockwaves interacting / Boing Boing NASA scientists have been working on an air-to-air photographic technology that will be used to collect data for the agency’s next-generation supersonic airplane project. They recently released some absolutely amazing “first air-to-air images of supersonic shockwave interaction in flight.”

• On Getting Boys to Read Many school libraries work hard to try to keep all students but especially boys coming to the Library, reading books and engaging with what they are reading. Many of the strategies work for girls as well as boys and, although an aversion to reading isn’t gender specific, every time you investigate some research it always shows that boys read less.
  This article explains some strategies one library has tried in order to combat boys disengaging from reading. She is not saying these will work for your school, but she has noticed a big uptake in the number of boys in the Library and of course the number of books they are borrowing.

• The voyages of Captain James Cook – The British Library  “The expeditions of James Cook shaped Europe’s knowledge of the world, and had far-reaching consequences for the people of the lands they touched. Explore the stories, art and maps of the artists and scientists who were on board the ships. Our digital collection items include drawings by the Polynesian high priest and navigator Tupaia, who accompanied Cook to New Zealand and Australia.
  You’ll also find modern-day responses to the expeditions from people of the communities Cook encountered, documented and learned from. These reflect the different perspectives that exist on the legacy of the voyages and their impact.”

• Maps – The British Library “Explore the evolution of maps and the key figures behind them through expert articles and curious collection items. See how maps have influenced war, popular culture and movement.”

• Russian Revolution – The British Library “From the fall of Russia’s last Tsar to the rise of the first communist state, discover how the seismic revolution of 1917 changed both a country and a world through expert articles and collection items.”

• World War One – The British Library “Supported by over 500 historical sources from across Europe, this resource examines key themes in the history of World War One. Explore a wealth of original source material, over 50 newly-commissioned articles written by historians, teachers’ notes and more to discover how war affected people on different sides of the conflict.
  Collection items featured on this site have been contributed by Europeana 1914-1918 institutions.”

• Leonardo da Vinci – Turn the Pages of Leonardo’s Notebook The British Library’s brief series on da Vinci’s life and work, including explanations of his diving apparatus, parachute, and glider.

• The British Library MS Viewer A compilation of Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks – Codex Arundel – was digitized by the British Library and made available to the public. Whilst Leonardo never published his notes, you can look through 570 digitized pages of Codex Arundel here. For hundreds of years, the huge collection of manuscripts remained mostly unseen. After Leonardo’s death in France, writes the British Library, his student Francesco Melzi “brought many of his manuscripts and drawings back to Italy. Melzi’s heirs, who had no idea of the importance of the manuscripts, gradually disposed of them.” Nonetheless, over 5,000 pages of notes “still exist in Leonardo’s ‘mirror writing’, from right to left.” These notebooks contain da Vinci’s “visions of the aeroplane, the helicopter, the parachute, the submarine and the car. It was more than 300 years before many of his ideas were improved upon.”

• Free Technology for Teachers: Ten Types of Notes You Can Add to Padlet Walls There are a variety of ways that you can add notes to a Padlet wall. It is good to be reminded why you might use them.Also useful here is a video featuring nine of them. The tenth is the new Catscan option. Useful to as a quick how-to for you to direct anyone who has not used them before”

• Free Technology for Teachers: How to Convert a PDF Into a Google Document Fortunately, you can do that without having to use any third-party tools. PDF to Google Docs conversion is built right into Google Drive. To convert a PDF into Google Docs format just upload it to your Google Drive. Once the file is uploaded click on it to open it. It will initially display as a PDF. To then convert to Google Docs select “open with” at the top of the page and you’ll have Google Docs as an option. Selecting that option converts the PDF into a Google Doc.”

• Free Resources – Andrew Fuller Useful resources to support well-being

• Special education and accessibility resources for remote learning – Microsoft Educator Center “The diversity of learning needs demands school systems provide inclusive, accessible learning environments that inspire confidence and encourage independence differently for each student. Learn about how to create a personalized and engaging remote learning experience for all of your students through the resources provided in the sections below. “

• Creating your virtual library (quickly) using Slides and Bitmojis as Hyperdocs — @joycevalenza NeverEndingSearch “Some strategies for personalizing and enriching the remote learning experience.
  Currently, one very popular strategy is the creation of classroom scenes using Google Slides populated with their flexible Bitmojis.”

• Writer Unboxed – about the craft and business of fiction “There are some simple and handy tips and tricks will help you keep your writing on track rather then becoming sidetracked woth all the things that can happen every single day.”

• Latest Cape Grim greenhouse gas data – CSIRO “The latest greenhouse gas (GHG) data updated monthly from one of the cleanest air sources in the world.”

• How to Reduce Google Chrome’s Memory Usage and Free Up RAM “With just a little bit of effort, there’s a lot you can do limit Chrome’s memory usage. If your browser seems to be always chugging along, this article will help you reduce Chrome’s memory usage and free up RAM.”

• Sovereign Hill Interesting videos that illustrate how history is brought to life. They will add to the experience of anyone who visits Sovereign Hill “How does Sovereign Hill bring Ballarat’s goldfields to life? Go behind the scenes and meet our team of experts who deliver the excitement of the gold rushes.”

• The Fake News Problem – Fake News and Media Literacy – Research Guides at Santa Fe Community College A libguide set up to teach media literacy. Another resource that others may find helpful when trying to teach about challenges that the proliferation of Fake News brings.

• 12 Essential Nonfiction Graphic Novels for Kids and Teens | School Library Journal “A good list here that shoes that these books are inclusive, respectful, accurate, and informative—they meet the highest nonfiction standards.” They are great books to put into the hands of readers (young and old)

• Moving at the Speed of Creativity | My Videoconference Is Not Working. What Can I Do?

  Useful advice for anyone using videoconferencing. WesFryer composed a pretty generic and wide ranging response to the question.”It is difficult to know what these connectivity problems / issues were without more context, but generally issues with video or audio buffering / not playing smoothly in a video conference is an issue with local Internet access at someone’s house, when we’re talking about remote learning / connecting from home.:”

• How at avoid internet hackers and scammers when working from home. Advice about how to keep you and your data safe from hackers.

• Why pick PayPal over Venmo: 11 tips for better online security Everyone needs to know about how to keep themselves safe and their information secure. Here are some tips that explain how.

• National Password Day: Try a password manager and sleep better tonight It is a good time to review your passwords. Timely advice and some useful tips

Advertisement

Useful links Weekly

• Free stock photos · Pexels “The some good free stock photos & videos shared by talented creators.”

• Visual to text coding- Index page | Digital Technologies Hub “This lesson sequence provides a bridge between visual coding (eg. Scratch) and General Purpose Programming languages (eg. Python or JavaScript). Each video builds a simple program in all three ways: Scratch, Python and JavaScript. This resource is most suitable if: you have never done General Purpose Programming, you benefit from slow-paced, step-by-step video tutorials.”

• Developing digital citizenship | Services to Schools Education 2020. With our time spent #remotelearning online, good digital citizenship & literacy skills are more important than ever. This guide includes many tips & resources to help you & your students. Developing digital citizenship with the understanding that Digital citizenship encompasses skills, values, and behaviours that include appropriate and effective ways we interact with people and information through media and technology.

• Dylan Wiliam: The nine things every teacher should know | Tes News A list of the nine things created by an experienced teacher with point he wished he had known when he started teaching. “

• factitious It you are teaching digital literacy skills this is a fun way to reinforce your points. A free game that tests your ability to spot FALSE or MISLEADING News. Offers different levels (6) depending on educational level of students

• Everything You Need to Know About Building a Great Screencast Video | Cult of Pedagogy “One of the most effective ways to move instruction online is to build screencast videos. Screencast videos are unique because they are actual recordings of your computer screen or tablet as opposed to a video of an in-person lecture. They are a powerful way to deliver instruction, but they do require a fair amount of time and planning, which I have learned through a lot of trial and error. Building effective screencasts continues to be the barrier that stops educators from making a smooth transition to distance learning, so I have put together the following tips to help guide you through the process.”

• Andrew Fuller: Remote learning tips and ideas for teachers – The Parents’ Website “Remote learning is a major opportunity for schools to refine their lesson planning and delivery. The efforts of teachers to adapt classes to online platforms has been nothing less than heroic. Now we have the chance to incorporate the ingredients that create effective remote learning, accelerate expertise and enhance the experience of our students. The rapid shift to remote learning has been unprecedented and we are all learning as we go through this. At its worst, remote learning can be disorienting and disconnecting. We all need to be innovative in creating learning that is engaging and involving for our students. The ideas in this paper are derived from the author’s research and work with schools of the air and distance education as well as his work with students who have been unable to attend school due to mental health issues.  “

• Free Online Language Learning Resources for Kids | The New York Public Library A compilation (annotated) of useful resources for students learning

• Join NYPL’s #BookCoverDouble Challenge! | The New York Public Library  New twist on an old idea. Recreate book cover images

• Women’s Prize for Fiction Announcing the 2020 Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlist – Women’s Prize for Fiction This is the 2020 Womens Prize for Fiction shortlist. Information on the six shortlisted authors and their books is available here.

• Support resources to share with parents | Education Endowment Foundation | EEF “The Covid-19 crisis has meant that schools are having to maintain communications with parents and families in very challenges circumstances. Here are some EEF resources to help schools communicate with parents/carers, as well as resources schools can share with families to support home routines and valuable learning opportunities, such as shared reading.”

• Free Online Language Learning Resources for Kids | The New York Public Library  A compilation (annotated) of useful resources for students learning

• National Standards for Quality Online Learning | From Virtual Learning Leadership Alliance (VLLA) and Quality Matters (QM) Although a US site it still has useful information for anyone trying remoteteaching. “Below are links to view or download the most current versions of each of the standards sets. National Standards for Quality Online Courses is currently being revised. Below are links to download the past versions of the standards from iNACOL.”

• Free Technology for Teachers: Quick Tip – Apply Custom Colors to Google Slides “Regular users of Google Slides are probably familiar with the process of adding images to the backgrounds of their slides and changing the background color. There is one little background color option that is easily overlooked. That option is applying a custom color that isn’t listed in the default colour menu in Google Slides.”

• Your local Bookshop An list of Australian bookshops has been compiled here so you can see which Australian bookshops offering home delivery, book drops and drive through pickups.

• How to set personal boundaries with remote learning : Innovative Education in VT “Many teachers are are struggling to make a distinction between home and work. This change in working conditions may feel overwhelming.The shift to remote teaching and learning is fraught with challenges. One of the biggest is how to make this type of work sustainable for teachers. In this situation, many are working for hours without breaks, forgetting about their own needs. This is not healthy or sustainable. This article offers some advice bbout how to set up some boundaries.”

• Women’s Prize for Fiction Announcing the 2020 Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlist – Women’s Prize for Fiction This is the 2020 Womens Prize for Fiction shortlist. Information on the six shortlisted authors and their books is available here.

• Getting Started With Project-Based Learning (Hint: Don’t Go Crazy) | Edutopia A handful of tips to help teachers ease into #PBL without getting overwhelmed.

• Becoming a More Connected Educator #digicon15 – Read Write Respond

• Celebrate Science: Where Should We Shelve Informational Fiction? Blog post discussing this literature “For the most part, the authors fully realized that these books should be classified as fiction, and they liked the term “informational fiction” because it acknowledged all the research they’d done and that the books were mostly faithful to the facts. But the Library of Congress labelled these books “juvenile literature” (the term they use for nonfiction). And in most cases, publishers and reviewers called the books narrative nonfiction.”

• Student Leadership Through a Student-Led Podcast @coolcatteacher

• Research Confirms Value of School Librarians | School Library Journal

• Sensory Products AU | Sensory Toys Australia | Sensory Oasis For Kids “Sensory Products for Special Kids with Special Needs. Australian owned & operated, Sensory Oasis for Kids is a Melbourne-based online & retail store run by a mum of three amazing Autistic boys”

• On The Move Visual Kit | Sensory Oasis For Kids

• 7 Good Lesson Plans Sources for Teachers and Educators | Educational Technology and Mobile Learning Some good sites mentioned here. ReadWriteThink and TedEx have a lot lot of ideas but from the descriptions of some of the others, there are a few other useful places to go for ideas.

• Create Interactive Online Presentations & free Infographic software. HTML5 Animations, download & Publish | Visme.  A digital tool that allows your create interesting visual stories (Infographics, presentations, etc.). You are allowed to create 5 free resources before you need to pay. My students have found very easy to use and creates some nice looking timelines for their assessment task.

• Jen Robinson’s Book Page: The Third Grade Cliff: My Response to a Finding from the @Scholastic Kids and Family Reading Report “The 7th edition of the Scholastic Kids and Family Reading Report was released last October. Scholastic presents the results of a survey, managed by YouGov, of 2758 adults and children. This biannual report is, I think, one of the best windows into what families are doing and thinking when it comes to kids’ reading. I’m in the process of going through the material and there are certainly causes for optimism overall. However, one of the major  findings hit me hard: The Decline by Nine”. Author discusses some results and how she intends to overcome them.

• 10 Elements Of A Quality Blog Post: Tips For Teaching Students (Poster and Examples) “Students have been learning about the elements of quality blog posts and comments. When high standards are set for publishing online, students tend to yield the greatest results. They can meet academic outcomes while learning how to be a safe and positive digital citizen. This post goes through 10 elements of a quality blog post. You are free to share these tips with students and they might be useful for adult bloggers.”

• Collage Maker | BeFunky: Create Photo Collages Useful to generate interesting images.

• Top 5 Unbiased World News Sources Free From Censorship “Every journalist is aware of the nine principles of journalism. The first says that a journalist’s first obligation is to the truth.
  “This ‘journalistic truth’ is a process that begins with the professional discipline of assembling and verifying facts. Then journalists try to convey a fair and reliable account of their meaning, valid for now, subject to further investigation.”
  The ability to set aside one’s own prejudices in order to be “neutral” is not a part of those principles. However, “the source of their credibility is still their accuracy, intellectual fairness, and ability to inform.” When journalists let personal biases hinder their objectivity, it puts the entire media organization at risk. Thankfully there are still enough media outlets left that uphold these principles.”

• Stock photos that don’t suck “An ongoing list of the best stock photo sites the author has come across.”

• A Universe of Podcasts: A Summer Listening Guide for Elementary, Middle, and High School Students | School Library Journal  “The 2019 Collaborative Summer Library Program reading theme, A Universe of Stories, offered unlimited opportunities to connect with students and to build community. This summer is also the 50th anniversary of the July 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing. As you include related fiction and nonfiction titles on your summer reading lists, consider adding a listening guide that explores the theme and anniversary through podcasts. New research provides compelling reasons to recommend them, and our curated lists will get you, your students, and their families started.” Lots of ideas that could be repurposed.

• School Sends Kids To Meditation Instead Of Detention, With Amazing Results One elementary school has changed the approach to disruptive children. Instead of detention and punishment, the children take part in a “Mindful Moment Program” with some amazing results.

• Three Powerful Google Docs Add-ons for Creating Diagrams and Flowcharts | Educational Technology and Mobile Learning “Google Docs add-ons that enable you to create a wide variety of charts and diagrams. Of course there are numerous other tools you can use for this purpose but these  three are conidered by the authors to be the best. “

• How to Engage Digitally Distracted Students – The Tech Edvocate While it is clear that digital technology is distracting students, the technology is here to stay. For example, while most teachers agree the best way to turn digital distraction is to not allow mobile devices in the classroom, these same teachers agree this is ineffective in the long run. Instead, educators must be proactive and teach proper digital device usage in the classroom. Therefore, teachers must find ways to engage digitally distracted students.”

Reading in the crime genre

Crime novels come in a variety of forms and the three below were read in the January holidays. I enjoyed each of them allow for quite different reasons.

To Love and Be Wise by Josephine Tey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an enjoyable read. It was the fourth in her series of books featuring the very interesting Inspector Grant. This time he is sent to a small English village, Salcott St Mary, to investigate the disappearance of a very attractive young man, Lesley Searle, who was an exceptional portrait photographer from America, famous for taking pictures of actors and actresses.
Although not a traditional mystery, it had a clever and engaging hook. The mystery itself runs almost second to the exploration of psychology and personality, identity and gender.
The characters in the story are explored as they relate to Leslie. He collects an increasing number of people who become drawn to him for varied reasons that range from wanting his approval or because they develop an irrational hatred for him. Whatever the reactions, all sense that there is something no quite “right” to him. So there is no shortage of people who may have wanted him to disappear.
The novel has some unforgettable characters, a wonderful setting and an intricate plot that leads a very satisfactory ending.

Daughter of the Razor: An Australian True Crime Story by Maria Tinschert
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

At the start of the book Maria says that she is not a trained writer however the story she writes, and the depiction of the domestic violence and torture she suffered at the hands of her family, holds together as it goes back and forward, as it relates this very disturbing tale tackling a very dark aspect of society that unfortunately is still occurring today.
The important aspect to remember when reading this book, is that Maria talking in-depth about what still needs to be implemented to ensure justice for all victims of violence. Throughout the book she emphases that she a survivor rather than a victim and that being able to say ‘I am a survivor’ and believe it is an important step for anyone who wants to move forward.
This book is uncomfortable to read, is brutally honest and, ultimately, an inspiring story.

The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have always enjoyed the current tv series and it was interesting to have found the basis for some of the episodes in these stories.

View all my reviews

Two quick reads

A New York Christmas by Anne Perry

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A change in setting and a slightly later date, early 20th-century New York City, than the usual “Pitt” novels, Anne Perry gives us a relatively new character, Jemima Pitt. The now grown daughter of Thomas and Charlotte, is an appealing and smart heroine, ripe for an adventure of her own.
She is accompanying a younger girl as her companion to the girl’s high society wedding. Both the families are wealthy and part of a business partnership. Delphinia (Phinnie) is marrying into one of the most powerful families in New York. In this story of betrayal, greed and power, Jemima finds herself enlisted in the search for Phinnie’s estranged and disgraced mother, Maria, in order to stop her from gate-crashing the wedding ceremony.
Unfortunately, the search results in Jemima finding much more than she bargained for and she subsequently has only a few short days to prove herself innocent of a cold-blooded murder. In this strange place, with only her wits and determination, some Christmas hope and the assistance of a young police officer, she races against time to establish her innocence, find the real culprit and prove what he has done.
Although the identity of the murderer is rather obvious to the reader, the motives and context keep the story interesting and moving along nicely. As always the story is well-paced and the background details provide a powerful sense of atmosphere and life in early 20th-century New York.

Three Detective Anecdotes by Charles Dickens
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The stories are: The Pair of Gloves, The Artful Touch, The Sofa.
Inspector Wield relates the first two tales of interesting cases he was involved in. In The Pair of Gloves, the pair are possibly an important clue to the identity of a murderer.  In The Artful Touch, Wield expresses his admiration for Sergeant Witchem’s quick-thinking and actions during a theft, that lead to a successful conclusion for the police.  Finally, in The Sofa, Sergeant Dornton shares his case about someone is stealing from medical students.
I picked this book because I was intrigued to see how Dickens would have written these short stories. I enjoyed the first two stories better than the last. They were interesting to read and the conclusions not obvious. I was not so taken by the last story. It did not hold my interest the same way as the earlier two and the ending was less satisfying.
This edition also contains a biography “Charles Dickens” written by English writer Gilbert K. Chesterton in 1906. This is interesting and whilst not adding to the stories , offers some interesting insights into Dickens and his writing.

View all my reviews

Useful links

“”…she will never become obsolete.”” (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) by gcouros

• Science Printables and Freebies | Elemental Blogging Lots of science printables for free, with no strings attached.

• What Great Scientists Did When They Weren’t Doing Science (infograph) What Great Scientists Did When They Weren’t Doing Science (infograph). Marie Curie was a simply astounding woman. She won the Nobel prize two times. The first time she won it in physics, in 1903, and the second time in chemistry, in 1911. But of course, there was much more to her life than just work. She had a husband and children….& she was also an avid long-distance cyclist. Get to know some of the interesting quirks behind the famous faces in science.

• Seven Advanced Excel Features You Should Be Using [Infographic] | Lifehacker Australia  “Microsoft Excel is packed with useful data management features that don’t see a lot of use, like pivot tables, index and match, and conditional formatting. If you’re just using excel to sum and chart columns, this graphic can show you some other tools to help you become the spreadsheet guru you always wanted to be.”

• 15 of the best apps to engage students outside the classroom | eSchool News “Learning shouldn’t stop when students leave for summer vacation. Rather, this extended break from the classroom is the perfect time to introduce kids to a variety of mobile apps that can continuously promote creativity and critical thinking. From kindergarten to grade 12, the vast assortment of digital offerings can meet any student’s interests, all while providing valuable lessons that will appropriately challenge each user. Here are a few great options for rainy days, road trips or any time in between.”

• 57 Teaching with Technology: Beyond the Bells and Whistles | ELL Strategies | Empowering ELLs “We have moved beyond an Industrial-Era approach where students are passive consumers of information to a modern one where students are active prosumers of content. Our duty is to prepare ELs for their future, not our past. Tech fosters critical thinking, spurs creativity, and cultivates collaboration – all skills needed for their futures.”

• 20 YouTube Channels for Educators An annotated list of YouTube channels that are useful to teachers

• The best sites for finding high-quality, free images – ICTEvangelist

• ISTE | Digital citizenship is the new citizenship

• Python – teachwithict  Collection of free Python lessons Lessons include: Shakespearean Insult Generator, Magic 8 ball, Sorting hat, Mad Libs, Chat bot and Coding Golf

• Learning Blog: 5 Subject-Specific Ideas For Using Google Forms  Google Forms is a useful tool to collect student responses.You can add images quickly and easily. There are 5 options discussed here.

• Finding Age Appropriate Books for Gifted Readers Some ideas about where to find age-appropriate reading materials for gifted children.

• 8 Good Android Science Apps for Elementary Students ~ Educational Technology and Mobile Learning This is a list of useful tools if you are using Android devices with students in class. It is a collection of science apps curated specifically for elementary students. When using these apps, young learners will get to explore and learn about different science topics in fun, engaging and challenging ways.

• Fun STEM Lessons to Teach Robotics and More to Kids Some great ideas to use well known characters to explore ideas.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.