Fitzroynthps

On June 21 2012, the Government released a discussion paper which states its vision for the improvement of the teaching profession. The 'New Directions for School Leadership and the Teaching Profession,' aims to stimulate and inform discussion on the future of the teaching profession and school leadership.  As a collective of grass roots teachers, who are not currently being asked to participate in educational debates and discussion, we see this as an opportunity to enable teachers' voice.   Teachers: A great, yet untapped, source for policy makers.

10 Things in School That Should Be Obsolete | MindShift http://t.co/oBFO5FD via @Diigo and @Stephen_H #VICpln PLLlead

This could be fun for the more advanced maths students looking to play with a bit of Algebra. 

Great article that critiques the Khan Academy and flipped classroom worth a read.

Every Australian student will study the arts from their first year of school under the new national arts curriculum, which was released today for public consultation.

Another amazing Google Project. From the archaeological areas of Pompeii to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, Google's World Wonders Project aims to bring to life the wonders of the modern and ancient world. By using our Street View technology, Google has a unique opportunity to make world heritage sites available to users across the globe. Street View is a hugely popular feature of Google Maps which is already available in dozens of countries. It allows users to virtually explore and navigate a neighborhood through panoramic street-level images. With advancements in our camera technologies we can now go off the beaten track to photograph some of the most significant places in the world so that anyone, anywhere can explore them.

Some interesting links here for people to explore if keen on boosting their ipad knowledge

Another review on some ios apps that you may have or may not have seen before

"Art does not solve problems, but makes us aware of their existence," sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz has said. Arts education, on the other hand, does solve problems. Years of research show that it's closely linked to almost everything that we as a nation say we want for our children and demand from our schools: academic achievement, social and emotional development, civic engagement, and equitable opportunity.

Networked Learing - what is it why is important for us as teachers to understand it

This is an ace trick that is simple and if you are needing to produce a load of qr codes or just add a few on the go... 

Tony Vincent's take on project based learning

Looking for something to jazz up your literacy lesson? Check out Domo by goannimate. A free animation tool that allows you to create funky looking animations. A great tool for any literacy lesson especially if wanting to emphasise dialog, setting and characterisation for creative writing. 

The Buck Institute for Education (BIE) received a generous grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to help promote and provide deeper learning opportunities for teachers and students. Recognizing that 11,000 teachers will participate in BIE's 3-day PBL 101 workshop in 2012, the Hewlett Foundation helped BIE expand its professional development resources and expertise online. Now BIE can work with every school and every teacher through PBL University (PBLU). This summer, PBLU will pilot several Common Core aligned Math & English/Language Arts projects with complementary 2-week online classes. Teachers can receive PBL Teacher Certification from BIE, if they choose to complete all the necessary classes and implement the project with their students.

Love LEGO bricks? Your favourite coloured bricks are now in Chrome. Check out Build, the world's biggest LEGO set available on your browser. Over the last few months, we've been working with our friends at LEGO Australia on a new project to bring your favourite LEGO bricks to Chrome.  Created downunder and exclusive to Australia and New Zealand, Build is our latest Chrome Experiment and uses the latest in browser technology in Chrome

More handy resources

Some handy resources for class

Thoughtful Classroom: Teaching to overcome educational disadvantage  conference notes from presenters. This was a great conference with some amazing ideas. A couple of the presenters have shared there presentations here. 

good literature review for those interested in learning theories