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.”

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Useful links: Week 13/04 – 17/04

• How to Get Kids Ready to Video-Chat for Online Classes | Common Sense Media A list for teachers to share with the parents of their students so they can be ready for their online sessions/lessons.

• Webinars – Listenwise Teacher Support Center “At Listenwise, has been watching how the outbreak of the coronavirus has caused many schools to close temporarily and rely on remote learning. They have their weekly webinars in the month of April as they continue to discuss remote learning. You can also access recordings from previous remote learning webinars. You sign up for free and all webinars will be recorded and available to view afterward.”

• Wakelet – Save, organize and share content

• (2) 10 Tips for Education’s Overcomers – YouTube

• Free strategies for teaching K-12 online | Learning Keeps Going  “Coronavirus is posing unprecedented challenges to educators around the globe.  The COVID-19 Education Coalition is a community of nonprofit organizations who have come together to support the education field as they keep the learning going during extended school closures. Go to the Educator Help Desk to get answers to your online learning questions from experts”

• Remote Learning – Eduro Learning “Real Life Experiences with Long Term School Closures: Conversations with Educators & School Leaders in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Watch or listen to our conversations with educators and school leaders who have been navigating school closures since mid-January.”

• Stuck at Home? These 12 Famous Museums Offer Virtual Tours You Can Take on Your Couch (Video) Some great opportunities to see some of the great artworks of the world without the expense of travelling there.

• Facts and Opinions Explained by Common Craft (VIDEO) Useful presentation.”Understanding the difference between a fact and an opinion isn’t difficult. What matters is being able to apply that knowledge responsibly. When someone presents information in the form of a fact, like “the blue whale is the largest animal on earth.” They are stating something that can be proven with evidence. That’s different from an opinion, like “blue whales are the most beautiful whales.” Here, they are sharing a personal belief that can’t be proven”

• Pedagogy: why child-led learning ‘does not work’ “Once you get to real academic learning, the child discovery approach is just not going to work,” explains David C Geary, Curators’ Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of Missouri, keeping alight the eternal flame of debate about the best way to teach”

• Responding to Absenteeism During the Coronavirus Pandemic & Beyond – Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo – Education Week Teacher “The new question of the week is:
  What are effective strategies—both school-wide and individually—to handle student absenteeism?
  It’s a little bit ironic to publish a series on absenteeism at the same time that most schools are closed because of the coronavirus. But students not being “present” when teaching takes places was a problem before the pandemic, is an issue now when many of us are doing remote learning, and will be one after this crisis has passed.
  Though the original responses to this question were written prior to school closures, most contributors have made significant modifications to their answers over the past month.”

• Free Technology for Teachers: ytCropper – Share a Section of a YouTube Video “ytCropper lets you share just a portion of a YouTube video by specifying the start time and end time of the video that you want others to see. To do this simply go to the ytCropper site then paste in the URL of the YouTube video that you want to share. Once you have done that you can specify the start and end time of the portion of the video that you want people to watch. ytCropper will generate a link to the cropped version of the video. Share that link to have people watch your specified portion of the video.”

• SafeShare.TV – The safest way to share YouTube and Vimeo videos A tool that allows you to take parts of videos and leave out inappropriate or off-topic (and ads) sections.

• Nik’s Learning Technology Blog: Cropping YouTube Videos to Create Activities Nik Peachey explains how to use SafeShare.TV. It is a tool that allows you to take parts of videos and leave out inappropriate or off-topic sections.

• Start Mixing “Drag On Tape” lets you splice portions of different YouTube videos with an online editor. It allows you to cut portions of one video and then let you put them all together.” It has quite a slick interface that isn’t as simple as some others are, so it might a little tricky for some non-tech savvy people like myself, but many should be able to figure it out.

Useful sites (weekly)

• 50 Best Blogs for Education Leaders | Online Universities A post from On-line universities blog 

• The End of Education as We Know It The End of Education as We Know It is a good post about inspiring educators to incorporate technology in their classrooms.

• OneRiot.com – Realtime Search for the Realtime Web OneRiot is a search engine tht pulls search results from Twitter, Dig and other social sharing services. The results are based on what issues are currently the most shared and discussed not based on “historical” data. You can choose to search the web or “video”. It also has a very “pared down” look to the site.

• Week 1: How Do We Form Communities (and why does it matter in English class)? – English Companion Ning 

• HBO: The Pacific: Homepage  

• 10 More Cool Things You Can Do With YouTube Videos Some of the most popular tools out there to go along with YouTube and the interest things you can do with them.

• World War II – History.com Interactive Maps, Timelines & Games 

• BBC – History – World Wars: Dogfight Over the Trenches Virtual Tour 

• BBC – History – World Wars: Dug-out Interior Virtual Tour 

• Learning English – Home A lot of attractive little podcasts and generally cheerful language stuff! Good for 30 min language tasks or revision.

• SmugMug Photo & Video Sharing. You look better here. 

• Skype in Schools – Adjust Your Sails! Why not use skype in schools? This blog entry outlines the reasons school districts might ban Skype and the rationale for Allowing it as a tool for classroom use. It goes into the legal issues surrounding this tool. 

• SimpleK12 » Blog Archive » I blog, you blog, let’s ALL blog! – Reasons YOU should have a classroom blog! “I see a huge value in incorporating them in your classrooms. I would bet that if you mentioned the idea of a blog in your classroom to your students, they would be HYPED. Why? It’s quite simple really – they like the idea of having something “published” that they’ve personally written and that their classmates/teachers/parents can read. I’ve come up with a list (they are my favorite) of how you can engage your students with a classroom blog” 

• 29 Premium-Like Free But Extremely Tremendous Portfolio WordPress Themes @ SmashingApps 

• Airborn, Skybreaker & Starclimber by Kenneth Oppel This a fantastic author website. Very interactive and adds tothe stories in his airborn series.

• YouSendIt: Online File Sharing and collaboration with FTP Replacement – Send Large Files and Email Attachments with Managed File Transfer Solution “YouSendIt is an online file sharing software that provides secure file transfer and allows you to easily send large files and large email attachments online, with outlook plugin and other productivity software”

• Home | www.bigbluebutton.org BigBlueButton is an active open source project that focuses on usability, modularity, and clean design — both for the user and the developer. The project is hosted at Google Code BigBlueButton is built by combining over fourteen open source components. The following diagram gives an overview of its capabilities

• YouTube Blog: The Future Will Be Captioned: Improving Accessibility on YouTube Google will begin to offer auto-captioning for all English-language videos on YouTube. You can automatically transcribe and then caption and index videos using the sound track. 

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

Finding digital images

This week I have been talking to classes about the crime genre. I have also worked on creating some on-line resources for the staff and students for this and helping another staff member illustrate a digital book on some English poetry/ballads. I have been looking for pictures/images to add to the resource and so have used usual suspects to find them; Flickr Storm, FlickrCC and Compfight. I also found a new site for free, high-quality, digital images named Photl.com. Still in beta form, it offers images that you can use as a whole or as fragments. There is a daily downloading limit of 45MB and you can also search a for a colour after you have typed in a keyword.

When you find a picture, click on it and you are given the link. Go to this link, choose the size of the image (small, med or large) to download and then save it. An example of a “water” image downloaded is below.

 I have also been looking for artworks that contain religious symbol and came across the vitual tours of the Louvre. Many years ago I visited Paris and took a real tour but this is a fairly good substitute, especially for students who are studying art, art history or even history as the artworks show a lot of historical information.

 

 

I went to the eye-openers tab and had a look at the 3D options.

A New-Style Museum Visit-in 3D.  A new multimedia feature on Louvre.fr presents artworks in an imagined or reconstructed 3D space. Visit these virtual “galleries” for a whole new look at works of art.

There are a lot of nice options on the site. Actually I spent time on the site because I simply just enjoyed it!