Tech Tools For Teachers

Tech Tools for Teachers is a free fortnightly e-newsletter about ICT tools or websites that can be used in the classroom.You can subscribe by going on the website TeachGenerationNow. This is an excellent site run by Victorian teachers Kathleen Morris,Simon Collier and Matthew Limb. Each e- newsletter is suitable for primary/secondary teachers and provides an example of an ICT tool/website with step by step instructions. It's a great resource for the busy teacher with  the practical examples based on their own teaching.

eResources - National Library Australia

Last year in a blog post I featured Trove from the National library which is a database of Australian collections such as"Australian Archives and Manuscripts", "Picture Australia" and "Music Australia". It's a great resource for anyone studying Australian history.We can now also subscribe free of charge to eResources and have access to  indexes,full text articles and guides from the National Library on a range of topics. There are many excellent and expensive databases on offer including JStor,Austlit,Art Index,MacquarieNet and Applied Science and Technology.Scroll through all the free resources on the link  http://www.nla.gov.au/app/eresources/list/licenced
I would highly recommend that you sign up to this fabulous service and encourage your VCE students to do so also.
All you need to do is sign up for a library card here eResources

VCE Resources From Monash University

I have just heard about Monash University Library's  commercial service that can provide a wide selection of texts and audio visual resources to support VCE teachers. The library collection of over 3 million items covers every VCE subject and for $22 per item,including delivery,teachers can order texts to supplement their existing resources.Go to http://www.lib.monash.edu.au/  and search on their website to see what is on offer.
To find out more  you can ring 99055153 or email ECS@monash.edu or go to www.lib.monash.edu.au/services/commercial.html

eSupport @Gippsland Grammar

Are you a Year 9 or Year 10 teacher? Last week Phil Phillipou, Director of Information and Communication Technology,  announced that the eSupport team is now available to assist teachers to integrate netbooks into their Year 9 and 10 classrooms.The eSupport team is made up of :

• Phil Phillipou ( Manager)
• Caroline Thomson ( IT Helpdesk)
• 5 staff from Garnsey Campus (Marianne Lee,Joy Reid, Annette Arnot,Anthony King and Shane Reeves )
• Evan Lamb from St Anne's Junior School
• Marc Bain from Bairnsdale Campus

Marc and Bevan will  be offering PD support at their junior campuses only.

The ISC staff are delighted to be part of this team and look forward to further collaborating with classroom teachers.We are aware of the battle of upskilling your ICT skills whilst juggling day to day duties and tasks.We can help you to integrate a range of digital resources into your learning and teaching program which will help prepare your students for a world that is increasingly networked and digital.You might like to consider classroom support for some of the following:

• introducing online collaboration (Onenote,blogs,nings,wikis)
• using blogs for student reflection
• using wikis and nings to manage information and activities for students
• using online presentation tools (MovieMaker,Glogster, Animoto,Prezi)
• using particular software to develop problem solving skills
• introducing online quizzes and polls
• introducing game-based learning activities
• creating online lessons using digital learning objects from Scootle
• becoming involved in global projects and competitions
• teaching your students about digital citizenship
• adapting an existing unit of work to give it a stronger digital focus
• finding online resources to support student learning

Our ISC staff are  keen to share their knowledge and skills and support you in any way possible in your classroom. Don't hesitate to ask us for assistance.Email Caroline Thomson to book us in for assistance.

Term One in the ISC

Well, it is the end of a very busy term for the ISC with the following programs having occurred:

• All Year 7's, new students and new staff have been involved in orientation sessions to help familiarise them with programs,facilities and services provided by the ISC.


• All Year 7's have completed their 5 week "Literature Circles " wide reading program.


• 7B and 7D have been introduced to information literarcy skills during their enquiry tasks on Ancient Egypt
• All Year 9's have been introduced to new online databases on the ISC VLA.


• The ongoing 2011 Victorian Premier's Reading Challenge for Year 7's and Year 8's was launched.

The ISC has been a hub of activity with many classes booked in for research during the term,notably Lucas McGauran's Year 8 Geography classes.There has also been an increase of VCE students using the ISC for private study and the ISC is definitely the "lounge room" at lunchtimes.It is satisfying to see the ISC being used for a range of activities.

Australian Bureau of Statistics

I'm sure you have checked out the Australian Bureau of Statistics website at some time but it is worth revisiting as it has been recently revamped and contains a wealth of information.It is now alot easier to navigate and the Education section is fantastic. It includes:

• Classroom activities and online publications that provide useful information for maths,economics,commerce,geography,history,p.e., health and the environment.


• Online games that assist with statistical understanding,including a suite of learning tools designed to help teachers introduce statistical concepts in the classroom.


• Online video tutorials


• Indigenous statistics

The "Topics at a Glance" section is also worth visiting.

Japan's Disaster

Concerned citizens from around the world have been uploading Slideshare presentations with data and photos to communicate the devastation that the earthquake and tsunami have created.The Slideshare blog has many presentaions from the scientific and economic community which will be of interest to geography/environmental science teachers or those of us who just want to keep up with unfolding events.

Slideshare is a very useful Web2.0 presentation tool that allows you to share presentations.Once a class account has been registered on Slideshare it is possible to show student powerpoint presentations online.
Not only can you create presentations to share on Slideshare you can also search for presentations that you might want to use yourself.You might have noticed that I have embedded many Slideshare presentations that I have not created myself into my own blog posts.I love this "sharing aspect" of Web2.0 tools which gives you so many quality resources at your fingertips.They also make your blog so much more interesting and informative.