• 26 incredibly useful Google Calendar tips

• Teens ‘not damaged by screen time’, new Oxford study finds / Boing Boing “Research by Oxford University scientists finds “little evidence of a relationship between screen time and wellbeing in adolescents.” Based on data from over 17,000 teenagers, the study “casts doubt on the widely accepted notion that spending time online, gaming or watching TV, especially before bedtime, can damage young people’s mental health.”

• Absolutely spectacular first-ever air-to-air images of supersonic jets’ shockwaves interacting / Boing Boing NASA scientists have been working on an air-to-air photographic technology that will be used to collect data for the agency’s next-generation supersonic airplane project. They recently released some absolutely amazing “first air-to-air images of supersonic shockwave interaction in flight.”

• On Getting Boys to Read Many school libraries work hard to try to keep all students but especially boys coming to the Library, reading books and engaging with what they are reading. Many of the strategies work for girls as well as boys and, although an aversion to reading isn’t gender specific, every time you investigate some research it always shows that boys read less.
  This article explains some strategies one library has tried in order to combat boys disengaging from reading. She is not saying these will work for your school, but she has noticed a big uptake in the number of boys in the Library and of course the number of books they are borrowing.

• The voyages of Captain James Cook – The British Library  “The expeditions of James Cook shaped Europe’s knowledge of the world, and had far-reaching consequences for the people of the lands they touched. Explore the stories, art and maps of the artists and scientists who were on board the ships. Our digital collection items include drawings by the Polynesian high priest and navigator Tupaia, who accompanied Cook to New Zealand and Australia.
  You’ll also find modern-day responses to the expeditions from people of the communities Cook encountered, documented and learned from. These reflect the different perspectives that exist on the legacy of the voyages and their impact.”

• Maps – The British Library “Explore the evolution of maps and the key figures behind them through expert articles and curious collection items. See how maps have influenced war, popular culture and movement.”

• Russian Revolution – The British Library “From the fall of Russia’s last Tsar to the rise of the first communist state, discover how the seismic revolution of 1917 changed both a country and a world through expert articles and collection items.”

• World War One – The British Library “Supported by over 500 historical sources from across Europe, this resource examines key themes in the history of World War One. Explore a wealth of original source material, over 50 newly-commissioned articles written by historians, teachers’ notes and more to discover how war affected people on different sides of the conflict.
  Collection items featured on this site have been contributed by Europeana 1914-1918 institutions.”

• Leonardo da Vinci – Turn the Pages of Leonardo’s Notebook The British Library’s brief series on da Vinci’s life and work, including explanations of his diving apparatus, parachute, and glider.

• The British Library MS Viewer A compilation of Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks – Codex Arundel – was digitized by the British Library and made available to the public. Whilst Leonardo never published his notes, you can look through 570 digitized pages of Codex Arundel here. For hundreds of years, the huge collection of manuscripts remained mostly unseen. After Leonardo’s death in France, writes the British Library, his student Francesco Melzi “brought many of his manuscripts and drawings back to Italy. Melzi’s heirs, who had no idea of the importance of the manuscripts, gradually disposed of them.” Nonetheless, over 5,000 pages of notes “still exist in Leonardo’s ‘mirror writing’, from right to left.” These notebooks contain da Vinci’s “visions of the aeroplane, the helicopter, the parachute, the submarine and the car. It was more than 300 years before many of his ideas were improved upon.”

• Free Technology for Teachers: Ten Types of Notes You Can Add to Padlet Walls There are a variety of ways that you can add notes to a Padlet wall. It is good to be reminded why you might use them.Also useful here is a video featuring nine of them. The tenth is the new Catscan option. Useful to as a quick how-to for you to direct anyone who has not used them before”

• Free Technology for Teachers: How to Convert a PDF Into a Google Document Fortunately, you can do that without having to use any third-party tools. PDF to Google Docs conversion is built right into Google Drive. To convert a PDF into Google Docs format just upload it to your Google Drive. Once the file is uploaded click on it to open it. It will initially display as a PDF. To then convert to Google Docs select “open with” at the top of the page and you’ll have Google Docs as an option. Selecting that option converts the PDF into a Google Doc.”

• Free Resources – Andrew Fuller Useful resources to support well-being

• Special education and accessibility resources for remote learning – Microsoft Educator Center “The diversity of learning needs demands school systems provide inclusive, accessible learning environments that inspire confidence and encourage independence differently for each student. Learn about how to create a personalized and engaging remote learning experience for all of your students through the resources provided in the sections below. “

• Creating your virtual library (quickly) using Slides and Bitmojis as Hyperdocs — @joycevalenza NeverEndingSearch “Some strategies for personalizing and enriching the remote learning experience.
  Currently, one very popular strategy is the creation of classroom scenes using Google Slides populated with their flexible Bitmojis.”

• Writer Unboxed – about the craft and business of fiction “There are some simple and handy tips and tricks will help you keep your writing on track rather then becoming sidetracked woth all the things that can happen every single day.”

• Latest Cape Grim greenhouse gas data – CSIRO “The latest greenhouse gas (GHG) data updated monthly from one of the cleanest air sources in the world.”

• How to Reduce Google Chrome’s Memory Usage and Free Up RAM “With just a little bit of effort, there’s a lot you can do limit Chrome’s memory usage. If your browser seems to be always chugging along, this article will help you reduce Chrome’s memory usage and free up RAM.”

• Sovereign Hill Interesting videos that illustrate how history is brought to life. They will add to the experience of anyone who visits Sovereign Hill “How does Sovereign Hill bring Ballarat’s goldfields to life? Go behind the scenes and meet our team of experts who deliver the excitement of the gold rushes.”

• The Fake News Problem – Fake News and Media Literacy – Research Guides at Santa Fe Community College A libguide set up to teach media literacy. Another resource that others may find helpful when trying to teach about challenges that the proliferation of Fake News brings.

• 12 Essential Nonfiction Graphic Novels for Kids and Teens | School Library Journal “A good list here that shoes that these books are inclusive, respectful, accurate, and informative—they meet the highest nonfiction standards.” They are great books to put into the hands of readers (young and old)

• Moving at the Speed of Creativity | My Videoconference Is Not Working. What Can I Do?

  Useful advice for anyone using videoconferencing. WesFryer composed a pretty generic and wide ranging response to the question.”It is difficult to know what these connectivity problems / issues were without more context, but generally issues with video or audio buffering / not playing smoothly in a video conference is an issue with local Internet access at someone’s house, when we’re talking about remote learning / connecting from home.:”

• How at avoid internet hackers and scammers when working from home. Advice about how to keep you and your data safe from hackers.

• Why pick PayPal over Venmo: 11 tips for better online security Everyone needs to know about how to keep themselves safe and their information secure. Here are some tips that explain how.

• National Password Day: Try a password manager and sleep better tonight It is a good time to review your passwords. Timely advice and some useful tips

• Word Search Maker Easy tool to use. Makes quick online and printable word find puzzles

• Australian Teacher Response “As part of its Australian Teacher Response initiative, AITSL has developed resources to help support teachers and school leaders during these changing times. Since the emergence of COVID-19 (coronavirus), teachers and school leaders have been working to adapt and innovate lessons and learning opportunities in the many ways as they provide education for students across Australia.

• 5 critical life skills everyone should have – Big Think “The World Health Organization identified 5 basic life skills that are crucial to cultivate and learn in order to have a better and more productive life.
  Ranging from creative thinking to learning to cope with stress, these skills should be instilled in youth during their education and nurtured over a lifetime. Although the best time to develop these skills is during one’s youth, the second best time is right now.”

• Why Are Some Kids Thriving During Remote Learning? | Edutopia “Though remote learning has brought many challenges, some students seem to be thriving in the new circumstances. What can we learn from them?” An interesting discussion in this post.

• Introducing algorithms | Digital Technologies Hub Some good ideas that offer some interesting ways to help students learn about algorithms

• Examples of learning intentions | Assessment for Learning Useful page that has examples of learning intention that could easily be adapted for different classes

• 51 ways to introduce learning objectives

• Proof It! – A Fun Proofreading Game at Portland Proof  Useful game that tests the skills of students in a fun way

• Letter Word Block Puzzle Solver A useful tool to create Nine letter “target word” puzzle

• Boggle Solver: Word Finder and Solver Create your own Boggles using this tool

• Wordtwist | Our Other Puzzles

• Word Wipe | Instantly Play Word Wipe Online for Free

• Wordtwist | Games Results A useful tool. Used in my English class, after the lesson tasks have been completed. It offers a fun way to make the students play with words/vocabulary.

• develop their own mobile apps.”

• 5 Doable Digital Citizenship Goals for Teachers | edCircuit “Some simple ideas for addressing cyberbullying, online privacy, Internet safety, online privacy, cyberbullying, media balance, online relationships, news and media literacy. The Digital citizenship topics tackle big questions”

• How Your Teacher-Librarian Can Be An Ally When Teaching With Inquiry | MindShift | KQED News“Teacher-librarians employ their unique expertise as they walk students through the learning library and demonstrate how to navigate databases and locate resources. They also sharpen research skills by helping students understand the validity of information and evaluate it by recognizing bias and persuasion in various sources. If teachers are open to it, the teacher-librarian can become a valuable support for teacher practice and student academic growth.”

• 5 Effective Studying Techniques That Are Backed by Research | Edutopia “Teachers can guide students to avoid ineffective studying habits in favor of ones that will increase their learning outcomes. A few techniques are discussed here”

• Creating a Strong Classroom Community With Group Work | Edutopia “Collaboration and socialization are key aspects of any workplace. In the real world, people collaborate, debate, and share. This can begin in the classroom where healthy socialization patterns can support student creativity and foster critical thinking.

• Writing Tools – WordCounter.net 8 writing tools – words per page, webpage word count. alphabetize list, character count, editor counter, random word generator, capitalize sentences, citation generator.

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• 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.”

• 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.

I had a Year 8 English session 5 today (the last class for the week). I was wondering how well the boys would do after the incredibly steep learning curve they were on this week.

We have used laptops for a long time but our boys like the classroom and face-2-face times with their peers and the teachers.

I prepared what I thought was a reasonably simple lesson to introduce this year’s Creative Writing competition. The theme for the 2020 Shared Stories project is “RESPECT”.

When we were told about the theme at the end of last year, some of my colleagues were less then impressed. Last year the theme was “Gratitude”. Many teachers disliked that theme but I had a great Year 7 English class last year. They responded very well to that theme so I thought “RESPECT” had the potential to be just as worthwhile.

My idea was to discuss what creative writing was and then give the students time to investigate the meaning of “respect” so that they could devise a working definition for themselves.

Lastly I set them the task of keeping a diary for the next few weeks. The idea is for them to record something respectful that they have noticed each day. They have the option of a written diary or a visual one.  For the second choice, they can create a visual diary in what ever format they like – online – Canva, or a tool on their computer.They must enter an image for each day and then explain why you chose that image. The diary can also combine options 1 & 2 but they must try to have an entry for each day so that they will develop a really rich source of ideas for their creative writing piece.

If you are interested in them, a copy of my slides are available on slideshare. 

When I first thought about how we would do this with the students,  it was going to be a whole class collaboration but here we were today in our own houses.

So I created a a video introducing the slides to the boys and the also got a PDF version they could save. They shared there synonyms for “RESPECT” on the class padlet and also on our class forum.

Toward the end of the session they posted up some reflections. There is a range of skills in the class and some boys normally have a learning support teachers in half of their English classes.

I will share some of the reflections I received from these 13 year old boys, as I received them. I think they are starting from a really good base and that they understand about Respect.

i learnt respect is just ore than being kind or care full. I learnt respect more people than you should and use maners. the more you respect people, the more love and respect you gonna get from people.

Today i thought hard and brain stormed more about respect and wrote what they meant

we need to focus on respect when we are mostly talking to people and playing sport

My first reflection in our “brave, new world ” of education in Victoria.

Everyone was wondering how are students would go as they logged in to our classes from home.

Very few of the year 7 and 8 students in my classes have ever had to do this ( only some with a medical issue for a short time). As a whole, the boys at our school have always indicated that they liked attending the school.

I teach mostly digital technologies classes so I also have the advantage of teaching a subject that they all have an interest in (one way or another). These holidays saw me spending a lot of time working through my lessons. Creating videos, putting extra guidelines, more images and trying to make sure they have all the information they need to learn. I like to have small group and whole class discussions as well as individual input in almost every class and this is is very much restricted. I also like to get their ideas about many aspects of technology, that that leads to some wonderful spontaneous learning situations. Again hard to be as spontaneous when we are all distant with our own particular home setups.

However the first two days of classes have been very rewarding and the students indicated their presence in our class forum at the right time. After that they went to the online class space we have been using for the past 2 years. This space is not new to them as I have always put all class documents, links and copies of my class notes and all the expected student work here for them to access.

I was really pleased with the way they answered each of the questions. Although brief, it really did help me evaluate the success of all the lesson components.

So how is student learning progressing? So far, so good. We are all learning and modifying and refining as we go. I am learning what the different classes and different students require to improve on what is already there. In the long run, when things “get back to normal”, I envisage that I will have such a rich supply of material to support my classes into the future.

• Resources For Teaching Online Due To School Closures – The Edublogger “This guide will give you insights into how educators around the world are approaching school closures.
  Thousands of teachers worldwide are currently sharing snippets of their experiences via social media or their blogs. We’ve compiled, curated, and built on some common themes and ideas to create this extensive guide.”

• 11 amazing productivity apps for teachers that will keep you organized – BookWidgets “11 top productivity apps that can help you stay organized. Some of these teacher tools will help you manage your time as well. You’ll find productivity apps for iPhone, Mac, Android, as well as free productivity apps that go on all platforms.”

• Free Voice Typing in Google Slides – Teacher Tech An explanation about – how to add voice typing to Google Slides and made it FREE!!! A former math teacher, he knows how important this feature is to teachers, especially teachers of younger children. Slides Translator allows students to take text from the slide and translate it to their native language. A new hidden feature of Slides Translator is VOICE TYPING!
  Install Slides Translator
  After installing Slides Translator, go to the Add-on menu and choose “Slides translator” and then it gives you the option to use voice typing in the sidebar or as a floating toolbar. Click on the textbox you want to voice type in, click on the mic icon in Slides Translator. When you pause… it turns your voice into text.

• Free Technology for Teachers: How to Schedule and Host Google Hangouts Meet Events – Video For those who are interested here is the whole process in a video format illustrating how to schedule and host Google Hangouts Meet events. The following tutorial video includes: How to Create Google Hangouts Meet Events using two methods for creating events and inviting your students to join those events.”

• Free Technology for Teachers: Two More Guides to Transitioning to Online Instruction “Two guides that I’d like to draw your attention to.” “Rushton Hurley is the founder of Next Vista for Learning, a video sharing site. Before focusing on Next Vista Rushton was the principal of an online school in Texas. He has published Emergencies and Switching to Online Learning. In that guide Rushton outlines how to try to maintain continuity in making the switch to online classrooms and recommends a series of free and low-cost tools to make the switch. What Richard Byrne likes about his guide is that many of the tools he mentions are ones that are already popular in classrooms, he just does a good job of framing their use in context of making a quick transition to online classrooms. (One quick logistical note about Rushton’s guide, the links for each section of the guide are in the upper-right corner of the guide’s landing page. They might not jump out at you if you’re on a tablet or phone).”

  MonkeyLearn – Word Cloud MonkeyLearn is a new tool for creating word clouds from text that you supply and it allows you customize the display of your word clouds before you download them as PNG files. MonkeyLearn can also be used to extract a keyword from a document. You can also use it to analyze the sentiment of a document.

• Wheel of Names | Random name picker Wheel of Names is a free random name picker website. There are many random name pickers available on the web but this one offer a bit more then most because it not only lets you enter names, it lets you upload images to be chosen at random. Wheel of Names also lets you create a free account that you can use to save a series of wheels. That option could be helpful if you have multiple classes and don’t want to enter names whenever you need to pick a name at random.
• Keep Calm and Posters Generator, Maker For Free – KeepCalmAndPosters.com Easy tool to use to create your own posters

• 7-10 resources “A collection of resources aligned to the NSW curriculum that supports teachers to deliver remote learning to students in Years 7-10.”

• 16 Free Resources for Schools Who are Closing Due to Coronavirus @coolcatteacher

• Remote Learning: Impossible Desires | Teaching it Real “We are in uncharted waters at the moment. We are going to have to perform a delicate balancing act between what we want to achieve and what is actually possible. This has meant we have to adapt, setting work appropriate work, checking work that pupils have done and making sure that they get some kind of feedback. “

• Resources for Cyber Security Awareness Month • TechNotes Blog “A collection of resources, ideas, and activities about cyber security that can be implemented and shared with students (and teachers).”

• Ed Tech New Roundup: Taking It Online • TechNotes Blog “Here are a few ways the landscape of online learning is changing and growing.”

• Copyright-Free Images for Student Work • TechNotes Blog

• A Beginner’s Toolkit for Teaching Remotely | Hooked On Innovation “This beginner’s toolkit us a start for a teacher just now getting started. It does not focus on a grade level or subject area with this guide, but rather a set of tools, resources, questions, and ideas you’ll want to have in your virtual toolkit.”.

• Creative Writing 6 – Gratian Vas – Google Books

• Metaphor and Simile examples Flashcards | Quizlet Short quiz with answers

• Teaching Ideas for Holes by Louis Sachar | Book Units Teacher A range of activities including:Create each mini-book from a single piece of paper, folded to form a book. The finished books contain 6 pages where students can list character traits for the main characters. This is a valuable tool for a book such as Holes with three story plots taking place and many characters to remember. Just click on the image below to download the free printables for this activity. An answer key is included to make this activity a print and go project.”

• Moving Your Class Online: A Survival Guide for Teachers – YouTube “A video to help teachers making the shift to online leavening during the Coronavirus Pandemic.”

  5 tips for effective online study – Monash University Library Blog “Online education can be just as effective and rewarding as traditional classroom methods, provided you devote some time to preparing yourself and try out some strategies for success.
  To help you make this transition and gain confidence in online education, we offer the following top 5 tips for a strong start.”

• Python 101 | Code Breaker Free course to teach Python

• M Davidson Resources – Coding Across the Curriculum

• Be Internet Awesome – About 

• Photo Booth App | Code Avengers

• The Tour Guide Activity | Teaching London Computing: A RESOURCE HUB from CAS LONDON & CS4FN “This activity is an example of creating an algorithm that is a simple sequence of instructions to do in order. It shows that if we have written down a solution to the problem in the form of an algorithm then we are able to do tours in future just by following the steps, without having to work it out from scratch again. Also if we write down the algorithm we can check that it definitely works by following it step by step on paper.”

• (207) ANZ’s James Kotsias on working in cyber security and “Social Engineering” – YouTube “ANZ’s James Kotsias on working in cyber security and “social Eegineering””He got into cyber security by helping out on a “Red Team” operation. These teams that are paid to hack into big companies to test their security – bank heist style! He also elaborates on why social media can be a hacker’s best resource”

• (202) Network Security 101: Full Workshop – YouTube  A comprehensive video on the topic that starts at the basic level.

• Best Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts of 2020 A range of prompts

• Best Historical Fiction Writing Prompts of 2020  Good ideas to assist students to start writing

• 5 Sites to Download Free and Copyright-Free Music for YouTube Videos Don’t post a video on YouTube with background music from a copyrighted source that will be taken down. The sites mentioned here offer free and royalty-free music.

• Online Learning Resources | National Communication Association “In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more colleges and universities are shuttering their physical campuses and ordering instructional faculty to migrate courses online. NCA’s Teaching & Learning Council has developed this list of online teaching & learning resources; please return for updates and new resources in the days/weeks to come.”

• How to Learn in an Online Classroom – Student Tutorial @coolcatteacher 

• 10 Ways to Use Screencasting for Formative Assessment @coolcatteacher “Screencasting is a useful assessment tool. Vicki Davis uses it for her video tutorials. She also has her students make their own screencasts to help her assess their progress. In this blog post, she shares how she uses screencasting to assess student work. She also gives some suggestions for using screencasting in formative assessment. Specifically, she mentions features of Screencastify, the tool she recommends for students to use for Google Chrome or Chromebooks.”

• Beware of ‘ZoomBombing:’ screensharing filth to video calls | TechCrunch

• Will the Coronavirus Crisis Bring Creativity into Education? Interesting article discussing if the Coronavirus Crisis will bring creativity into Education?

• Resources for learning at home while we’re keeping each other safe — @joycevalenza NeverEndingSearch A very good post that describes many resources available for teaching and learning remotely

• Learning at home – Wakelet A Wakelet list of free learning resources and tools to enjoy with kids and as a family, while we’re are at home. Note that this list points to resources made freely available by a growing number of publishers to support learning during this crisis.

• Infographic: Child online safety – Teacher

• (193) Host a Live Virtual Classroom – Google Classroom, Calendar, and Google Hangouts Meet – YouTube “This video tutorial will show you how to host a live meeting or class with students via Google Classroom, Calendar, and Hangouts Meet. Google Calendar and Hangouts Meet can also be used to conference with other faculty and staff.”.

• 7-10 resources “A collection of resources aligned to the NSW curriculum that supports teachers to deliver remote learning to students in Years 7-10.”

• 16 Free Resources for Schools Who are Closing Due to Coronavirus @coolcatteacher

• Remote Learning: Impossible Desires | Teaching it Real “We are in uncharted waters at the moment. We are going to have to perform a delicate balancing act between what we want to achieve and what is actually possible. This has meant we have to adapt, setting work appropriate work, checking work that pupils have done and making sure that they get some kind of feedback. “

• Resources for Cyber Security Awareness Month • TechNotes Blog “A collection of resources, ideas, and activities about cyber security that can be implemented and shared with students (and teachers).”

• Ed Tech New Roundup: Taking It Online • TechNotes Blog “Here are a few ways the landscape of online learning is changing and growing.”

• Copyright-Free Images for Student Work • TechNotes Blog

• Learning from home ” DET site page assist learning from home. They will continue to update this page in the coming weeks. On this page: Learning continuity contingency planning: early childhood and Learning continuity contingency planning: Online options; Offline options; Tips for remote curriculum delivery; Privacy and safety considerations; Information and privacy; Safe use of digital technologies; Using Digital Technologies to Support Learning and Teaching.

• Reduce Student Anxiety (and Your Own) During Uncertain Times | Common Sense Education

• Best Tools for Virtual and Distance Learning | Common Sense Education CommonSenseEd has put together a list to assist teachers with options to make virtual learning or distance learning work for all students. The best tools for virtual and distance learning. They have grouped the tools according to some key needs teachers may have when setting up virtual classrooms.

• A Beginner’s Toolkit for Teaching Remotely | Hooked On Innovation “This beginner’s toolkit us a start for a teacher just now getting started. It does not focus on a grade level or subject area with this guide, but rather a set of tools, resources, questions, and ideas you’ll want to have in your virtual toolkit.”

• How to use a school closure to surge ahead academically – The Parents’ Website Full of great practical strategies for students (and parents) – a great read

There are many wonderful resources available (more have been opened up to help us through this time) but I am trying to think about how they can maintain/create the very important learning (and social) connections that enrich learning. Over the next few weeks I think I will be using tools (many that I have  been using) in new and different ways.

I will reflect on how they worked here so I can try to work out what works best in helping my students learn.

Below is a video from a post on the CoolCatTeacher blog by Vicki Davis. that is worth watching.

To Love and Be Wise by Josephine Tey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an enjoyable read. It was the fourth in her series of books featuring the very interesting Inspector Grant. This time he is sent to a small English village, Salcott St Mary, to investigate the disappearance of a very attractive young man, Lesley Searle, who was an exceptional portrait photographer from America, famous for taking pictures of actors and actresses.
Although not a traditional mystery, it had a clever and engaging hook. The mystery itself runs almost second to the exploration of psychology and personality, identity and gender.
The characters in the story are explored as they relate to Leslie. He collects an increasing number of people who become drawn to him for varied reasons that range from wanting his approval or because they develop an irrational hatred for him. Whatever the reactions, all sense that there is something no quite “right” to him. So there is no shortage of people who may have wanted him to disappear.
The novel has some unforgettable characters, a wonderful setting and an intricate plot that leads a very satisfactory ending.

Daughter of the Razor: An Australian True Crime Story by Maria Tinschert
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

At the start of the book Maria says that she is not a trained writer however the story she writes, and the depiction of the domestic violence and torture she suffered at the hands of her family, holds together as it goes back and forward, as it relates this very disturbing tale tackling a very dark aspect of society that unfortunately is still occurring today.
The important aspect to remember when reading this book, is that Maria talking in-depth about what still needs to be implemented to ensure justice for all victims of violence. Throughout the book she emphases that she a survivor rather than a victim and that being able to say ‘I am a survivor’ and believe it is an important step for anyone who wants to move forward.
This book is uncomfortable to read, is brutally honest and, ultimately, an inspiring story.

The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have always enjoyed the current tv series and it was interesting to have found the basis for some of the episodes in these stories.

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My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A change in setting and a slightly later date, early 20th-century New York City, than the usual “Pitt” novels, Anne Perry gives us a relatively new character, Jemima Pitt. The now grown daughter of Thomas and Charlotte, is an appealing and smart heroine, ripe for an adventure of her own.
She is accompanying a younger girl as her companion to the girl’s high society wedding. Both the families are wealthy and part of a business partnership. Delphinia (Phinnie) is marrying into one of the most powerful families in New York. In this story of betrayal, greed and power, Jemima finds herself enlisted in the search for Phinnie’s estranged and disgraced mother, Maria, in order to stop her from gate-crashing the wedding ceremony.
Unfortunately, the search results in Jemima finding much more than she bargained for and she subsequently has only a few short days to prove herself innocent of a cold-blooded murder. In this strange place, with only her wits and determination, some Christmas hope and the assistance of a young police officer, she races against time to establish her innocence, find the real culprit and prove what he has done.
Although the identity of the murderer is rather obvious to the reader, the motives and context keep the story interesting and moving along nicely. As always the story is well-paced and the background details provide a powerful sense of atmosphere and life in early 20th-century New York.

Three Detective Anecdotes by Charles Dickens
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The stories are: The Pair of Gloves, The Artful Touch, The Sofa.
Inspector Wield relates the first two tales of interesting cases he was involved in. In The Pair of Gloves, the pair are possibly an important clue to the identity of a murderer.  In The Artful Touch, Wield expresses his admiration for Sergeant Witchem’s quick-thinking and actions during a theft, that lead to a successful conclusion for the police.  Finally, in The Sofa, Sergeant Dornton shares his case about someone is stealing from medical students.
I picked this book because I was intrigued to see how Dickens would have written these short stories. I enjoyed the first two stories better than the last. They were interesting to read and the conclusions not obvious. I was not so taken by the last story. It did not hold my interest the same way as the earlier two and the ending was less satisfying.
This edition also contains a biography “Charles Dickens” written by English writer Gilbert K. Chesterton in 1906. This is interesting and whilst not adding to the stories , offers some interesting insights into Dickens and his writing.

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