OZ/NZ educators

Formative assessment ideas. Edutopia's document contains 53 strategies to check for student understanding and is available for free download from here.

"An infogragphic to help explain the differences between formative and summative assessment. Formative assessment as assessment for learning and summative assessment as assessment of learning"

"Super Quiz is an excellent Google Sheets add-on that allows teachers to add some amazing functionalities to the quizzes they create through Google Forms. One example: when you create a quiz, you only need to complete it once with an answer key and all future submissions will be automatically graded according to the answers you provided. Another important feature of Super Quiz is that it enables you to get a break down of class understanding and a list of incorrect students' answers  for each question in case you want to stage an intervention."

The 21st century teacher is in the critical spot-of mastering constantly evolving technology and digital learning tools-the same tools their students use every day. In this post 9 such tools are discussed. The list is not meant to be exhaustive or even authoritative and is subjective. As this is the 21st century, things will change but, here and now, the authors suggest that this is a fairly accurate litmus test of what the kinds of tools the average 21st century teacher can be expected to use and master."

Human Body Study Jams are from Scholastic. There are six human body Study Jams; skeletal system, nervous system, digestive system, respiratory system, muscular system, and circulatory system. Study Jams are slideshows and animations that provide a short overview of various topics in maths and science. Some of the other sections in science include Plants, Animals, Ecosystem, Landforms, rocks and minerals, Weather and climate, Solar System, Matter, Force and motion, Energy, light and sound and Scientific enquiry. They offer photographs and some text with background music. There is a short test that viewers can take after watching the slides. These are like study cards. They may be a good starting point or could be used as a revision guide

This could be a very useful site if you are looking for online video lessons . - esp for flipped classrooms. Use it to search video lessons in education, esp maths and science.

The eSmart Digital Licence is an online challenge combining quizzes, videos and games, to prepare Australian children (aged ten and over) to be smart, safe and responsible digital citizens.

"There are many free online tools to help their students create and learn through digital storytelling. Many of these online tools have free apps available on i-devices and Android devices. Through digital storytelling we motivate our learners to apply, contextualize, visualize, and personalize the knowledge they learn. In the post there are some great free apps, tools, and resources that will help begin creating digital stories with learners. The slide presentation embedded will explain the process and provide you with tips on managing a digital storytelling project." This is a great resource for any teacher thinking about undertaking digital storytelling with their students.

"Read and Write for Google is an excellent Chrome app that provides text-to-speech functions from your browser. They have just released a free iPad and Android app. The apps provide text to speech functions, which are great for ESL, learning disabled, visually challenged and struggling readers, on your device, just like the web app does in the Chrome Browser and Chromebooks.

Science Buddies is a website for science teachers. It offers lots of ideas and tips for science projects. They are well set out and it even offers a topic selection wizard to help students narrow down a topic if they are unsure of what to choose. From them: It " empowers K-12 students, parents, and teachers to quickly and easily find free project ideas and help in all areas of science from physics to food science and music to microbiology. Whether your goal is to find a fun science activity for your kids or win the international science fair, Science Buddies puts comprehensive, scientist-authored tools, tips, and techniques at your fingertips."

This paper addresses the competences needed in 21st century life especially in relation to civic participation, and the educational requirements to foster them in young people. New technologies are widely used by young people for informal social interaction, video game-playing and giving voice to their views. Incorporation of these practices into the classroom has been fairly slow, despite their manifest potential for promoting agency and civic engagement. The paper argues that this is in part due to the need for a cultural shift in education to accommodate them. Currently, many competences young people will need for the future world of interactive technology and 'bottom-up' information, communication and democracy are mainly being developed through informal practices. These competences, which include adaptability, managing ambiguity, and agency are discussed in relation to civic participation. 

Students and teachers alike are encouraged to take part in The Great Victorian Coding Challenge in the lead-up to Education Week this year.

From the Teachers pay teachers site. "A visually appealing PowerPoint covering Roman History from the First Triumvirate of Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey through the death of Mark Antony and rise of Octavian. Each slide includes images and graphics that hold students' attention and keep them focused on the lesson. Topics covered include the rise of Julius Caesar, Pompey and the Senate's plan to bring him home, his crossing of the Rubicon, the civil war, his relationship with Cleopatra, his assassination, and much more. It concludes with an open-ended exit ticket that has students thinking critically about the things they learned. "

Infographic: Clues to tell a great story. "How to tell a great story, visualized by Andrew Stanton. "

Writer Dan Harmon sets out the elements he considers are needed for a satisfying story. He uses them to map out nearly most of his stories. They are simple and the list is a useful tip for other aspiring writers.

" We investigate the ways in which digital technology is changing learning environments, social and civic institutions, and youth culture. We work to support the growth of the emerging digital media and learning field and community. We spread thought leadership and best practices for next generation learning and civics. How we do it Carry out an extensive agenda of original research Provide a gathering place for those interested in new models of learning Host a weekly webinar series  Produce blogs, websites, a report series, other publications Hold an annual conference Support emerging scholars by sponsoring workshops, working groups and a weeklong summer institute Partner with like-minded research organizations and individuals"

Podcast with interesting ideas

Podcast with interesting ideas

Reading Australia has been developed by the Copyright Agency and aims to make significant Australian literary works more readily available for teaching in schools and universities. These works are supplemented with online teacher resources and essays by popular authors about the enduring relevance of the works. There is a list of titles (download as a PDF). These titles have been selected by the Australian Society of Authors' (ASA) Council. They were asked to select works they thought students and others should encounter, to give a view of Australia's rich cultural identity: works that would tell Australia's history and also how we are currently developing as a nation. The ASA Council are adamant that this list should be merely the beginning, and it should be built upon with other works that have already been published, as well as the great new works that continue to be published in Australia. There is a wide range of teacher resources available (PDF) for Primary and Secondary school teachers and all of these teacher resources include classroom activities, assessments and links to the Australian Curriculum. In addition, many of the Secondary resources include an introductory essay on the text written by high profile writers. The Primary level resources have been commissioned by the Primary English Teaching Association of Australia and the Australian Literacy Educators' Association, and the resources for Secondary level have been jointly commissioned by the Australian Association for the Teaching of English and the English Teachers Association NSW."

Reading Australia has been developed by the Copyright Agency and aims to make significant Australian literary works more readily available for teaching in schools and universities. These works are supplemented with online teacher resources and essays by popular authors about the enduring relevance of the works. There is a list of titles (download as a PDF). These titles have been selected by the Australian Society of Authors' (ASA) Council. They were asked to select works they thought students and others should encounter, to give a view of Australia's rich cultural identity: works that would tell Australia's history and also how we are currently developing as a nation. The ASA Council are adamant that this list should be merely the beginning, and it should be built upon with other works that have already been published, as well as the great new works that continue to be published in Australia. There is a wide range of teacher resources available (PDF) for Primary and Secondary school teachers and all of these teacher resources include classroom activities, assessments and links to the Australian Curriculum. In addition, many of the Secondary resources include an introductory essay on the text written by high profile writers. The Primary level resources have been commissioned by the Primary English Teaching Association of Australia and the Australian Literacy Educators' Association, and the resources for Secondary level have been jointly commissioned by the Australian Association for the Teaching of English and the English Teachers Association NSW."