Useful Educational Blogs

http://huzzah.edublogs.org/
This is a 5/6 class blog which has regular class postings (written by the teacher) with updates about what the class is learning each week. It includes videos and photos from class excursions and art creations. I think it would be a good model for Stage 3 students to see how a class blog operates and the types of posts that are made. It is also interesting for students in Australia to see what students in America are learning.

http://greysonh4.edublogs.org/
This is an individual student blog from the 5/6 class above. Every student in the class has an individual blog that they use to post class assignments on and also for any personal posts they wish to make. It is a great way for a teacher to remain connected with each student and also for students to read and comment on each other's work. I think it would be a useful model to show to Stage 3 students to introduce the idea of creating similar blogs.

Key Ideas from the Reading

Barone, D., & Wright, T.E. (2008)  Literacy Instruction with Digital and Media Technologies. The Reading Teacher, 62(4), 292-302

This article discusses how classroom teachers can integrate new literacies into their teaching practice to extend the literary experiences of their students. It introduces a variety of ways that teachers may be able to include digital and media technologies in their lessons in order to prepare their students for the literacy demands of the future. 

Here are some of the key ways that were outlined:

- Developing a class webpage that can be accessed by all the students whether they are in a computer lab at school or on their personal computer at home. The teacher can upload homework, work sheets, graphic organisers, media files and any other resources that they want their students to have free access to. The expectation can be set that students will regularly check the webpage and be prepared for the learning activities of the day.

- If students are in a one-to-one laptop class or a computer lab they can complete their independant reading and then use instant messaging with their partner to pair-share and discuss their comprehension. The use of IM in class is seen as a way to foster student engagement in the learning process as they are combining an aspect of their lives from outside school in the classroom. 

- Creating a class blog is also a way in which students can interact with each other online and contribute to and comment on other people's postings, for example, to discuss a book that they are all reading. This type of interaction can encourage deeper understanding of the themes of a book as students can read how others are interpreting it and strengthen their own comprehension. 

Text Innovation

This text innovation is based on the children's book 'Two Peas in a Pod' by Chris McKinnie. It is designed to be used before the class reads the book as an introductory exercise to familiarise students with the idea of things that are often seen together in life as a simile description of the characters relationship in the text. The first page of the book uses the simile "Me and Violet go together like..." and then lists a number of these things. After reading the book the children can come up with other examples to use in this simile. 

Copyright Questions

Can I copy material from the internet for research?
Using copyright material for the purpose of research or study is not an infringement because of a special provision under the Copyright Act, provided that the use of the material is "fair".


What constitutes research and fair use?
Fair use refers to the use of "a reasonable portion of text", which is deemed as being either one chapter or 10% of the number of pages. Research is defined by the Macquarie Dictionary as meaning:

“diligent and systematic enquiry or investigation into a subject in order to discover facts or principles...”

Can students (university or school) use music in videos that they make? 

The Copyright Act allows for students to use music and sound recordings in videos they are creating as part of a course of study. However, if the video they are creating is to be used for public screening or entering a competition they may need to get permission from the copyright owners.

This information was sourced from here and here