learninglinks

Exploring these tools have been fun.

FUSE the new educational site is limited at the moment as I do not have a password to access it thoroughly.

Edmoda is a site that may be useful working with different classes

Teachertube provides a wealth of resources, too many for a lifetime.

Edublogs  TV is a great place to source all sorts of media.

Youtube is an excellent site to access any topic in a visual form. Playing around I have found short videos about the authors we have been fortunate to meet at our school this week at our Literacy Festival ART-e-FAQS . Check out the quality of these presenters. The students have enjoyed a feast of storytelling.

Valunga  African singer, musician & storyteller has made a poignant impression on every student who saw him perform. This video gives you a small insight into the man’s gentleness & popularity. He is performing with another presenter Leo Dale at this particular school. Enjoy!

James Roy Author of  YA fiction came to speak to the students about writing. He mesmerised the students with his presentation talking about his beginnings & encouraging kids to write their stories. A short clip from another school on a familiar theme in his workshops.

Tony Sowersby, visual artist talked to the students about comics & cartooning. He had life size figures of himself & other notable characters. He is well known for his take on political figures.

Robert Hillman, journalist & author brought his co authored novel to life as he spoke to the VCE cohort about Afghanistan & the experiences of Najaf Mazari in the Book The Rugmaker of Mazar-e-Sharif. Here he is an interview on ABC Melbourne

Librarything V Shelfari.

I joined LibraryThing about 2 years ago and found it great for recording the books I had read. Having looked at Shelfari, the layout is rich and seems to be more useful and easier to look around. The titles are displayed in a bright and open manner and give different options for finding the correct publication easily. Further investigation needed. Problem: How to transfer all the records from LibraryThing to Shelfari???

Virtual Excursions

Transporting the students to almost reality. There is an unbelievable wealth of educational experiences on line; it is just a matter of finding them. The 100 Incredible and Educational Virtual Tours You Don’t Want to Miss is a valuable tool for History and Geography areas. The places visited are probably more in depth than in reality. Close and personal.

eField trips add another dimension to teaching, Quicktime needed to access these applications.

The GoogleLit Trips open up a whole new world of novel reading. It has taken time for me to get a little bit of a notion of what to do. This practical application is helpful http://wikiheim.wikispaces.com/The+Odyssey to see the instructions for a class on how to set up a Lit trip Thanks to a Year 9 teacher & class http://www.pointatopointb.org/2009/06/04/content-tech-google-lit-trips-followup/

Using Literature Circles, each group of students could present their novel as a GoogleLitTrip. I think it would be a fascinating way of engaging students. There would be an expectation to explain and research places and to present their novel in a completely different way. I can’t wait to have a go. Bring on Term 3. This would be an area where the students will have far more knowledge than me, so it will be a collaborative learning experience. I will set the guidelines and they will take me along with them.