Health and Wellbeing at Gippsland Grammar

It was great to hear so many postive comments  about our "Be Well" Staff Conference held on the 14th July.It has made us all reflect on how we treat ourselves and others and the importance of being kind,caring and compassionate human beings.It was therefore serendipitous that I was tweeted today with  Edutopia's  5 Minute Film Festival -9 Videos on kindness,empathy and connection  link.I am sure you will personally enjoy watching these videos and some of you may be able to incorporate some into your teaching.

At the Conference,Jan mentioned the need to find a a "life balance" rather than a "work/life" balance which is just as well as we certainly spend more waking time at work than at home.My personal goal from the day was to stop neglecting my own personal fitness.Consequently there have many laps of Lake Guthridge and The Red Gum Forest at Briagolong since. I must say I do feel better for it.There is definitely a spring in my step!

ABC Health and Wellbeing has some great articles that are relevant to workplace health and wellbeing  and are well worth a visit.Links are below:

Build Your Stress Fitness

Health IQ: Workplace Health Quiz

Health IQ:Stress Quiz

Can Stress Trigger Heart Attacks

Did you know that although you might exercise for at last 30 minutes a day,the health benefits are negated if you are sitting for 10hours a day?Stand Up For Your Health.Apparently the longer you stand, the longer you live!

Finally from the TeachThought blog is Using Habits of Mind to Promote Teacher Happiness

The Value of Twitter

Twitter has become a powerful tool for many of our world leaders.It also has become a powerful tool for professional learning and connecting online for many educators,being the backbone of many a Professional Learning Network.Some of our  teachers are also beginning to use Twitter as a tool in the classroom.Although I have posted about Twitter in the past, it's worth revisiting, in light of the Twitter workshop held at the Garnsey Campus on the 22nd July.

I thought the links below are worth sharing with you:

• 75% of world leaders are on Twitter

• Through Twitter discussions, teachers can follow the latest in education.Just follow the top 20 hashtags recommended by Terry Heick, Director at Teach Thought

• Although I have previously posted this link, I  thought that those of you who attended the Twitter workshop last Monday might be interested in this Scoop.it on The Value of Twitter

• Jeff Dunn, author at Edudemic has also provided teachers with ideas for integrating Twitter into the classroom using the  Bloom’s Taxonomy.See the infographic above. 
  
   

Lastly, TeachThought and Edudemic have recently  collaborated to produce a spectrum for using Twitter in the classroom.



Future Trends in Learning

Raising Modern Learners is a newly created fortnightly online newsletter  by educators,Will Richardson (US) and Bruce Dixon (Australia). Although aimed at parents  it's a  a new go-to place if you  want to stay informed and be part of the conversation  about issues in contemporary education. It will be thought provoking and will advocate for more student centred change in our schools.

We’re dedicated to helping parents (and educators) stay abreast of these changes in timely, thought-provoking, concise, and interactive ways, and to help them find ways to advocate for more modern, student-centred change in their schools that reflects the needs of [our]time.

The latest article entitled "First take:are we finally getting tired of the tests" advocates reducing the number of standardised tests our students take,stating how often they are unable to gauge the attributes of a contemporary leaner.As I said,thought provoking. News articles come out fortnightly and can be accessed via the website or you can download the free iTunes app for either iPhone or iPad.

2013 Horizon Report

For your interest,each year I post about the latest  NMC Horizon Project that examines emerging technologies for their potential impact and use in teaching, learning, and creative inquiry within the K-12  environment.


Six emerging technologies are identified across three adoption horizons over the next one to five years, as well as key trends and challenges expected to continue over the same period.
Top trends are:

1 year or less - Cloud computing and mobile technolog

2-3 years - Learning analytics and open content

4-5 years - 3D printing and virtual and remote laboratories

Super Heroes:Science

Science teachers will be interested in the “Superhero Science" collection.Recently launched, it is a new  six educational video series from TED-Ed that explores the science behind various super powers—and the fallacies that each power assumes. The videos cover speed,strength,body mass,invisibilty,immortality and flight.