OZ/NZ educators

Good questions are great learning tools. The 8 strategies discussed here offer useful ideas for classroom techers

"In this post Kathy Schrock provides the reader with some ideas on how to infuse civic and global skills into the curriculum."

A interesting post about the place and value of formative assessment. It includes a long, printable list of assessment strategies will help identify new ways to check for understanding and verify what students have learned.

"Addressing the challenges unique to students with ADHD will help these students find ways to handle their condition effectively and even use it to their advantage. Their unique perspective can be channeled into creative writing, finding new solutions to problems, and most of all, finding, reaching, and even exceeding their goals and fulfilling their full potential."

You can find inspirational ideas on the Pinterest site. Listed in this post are a few good Pinterest ideas for teachers: best apps, websites, virtual fieldtrips and classroom 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."

Podcast with interesting ideas

Podcast with interesting ideas

" 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"

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.

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

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. "

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

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. 

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."

"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.

"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.

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.

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.