Environmental sites

There are several websites that focus on the environment that are useful for learning and teaching. The Victorian EPA (Environment Protection Authority) has an ecological footprint calculator and a greenhouse calculator, which students would find both interesting and shocking to use.

Greenhouse calc

Vic EPA Footprint

Meanwhile the US EPA Teaching Center has a collection of resources on:

  • Air – acid rain, indoor air pollution, ozone, radon
  • Climate Change
  • Conservation – energy, environmental stewardship, natural resources, pollution prevention
  • Ecosystems – ecology, endangered species, global warming, habitats, watersheds
  • Human Health – drinking water, fish advisories, indoor air, lead, ozone depletion, pesticides, radon, smog
  • Stewardship
  • Waste & Recycling – garbage, household, hazardous & solid waste, landfills, superfund cleanups, trash
  • Water– drinking water, ecosystems, lakes, oceans, rivers, water pollution, watersheds

And although obviously US orientated, there is plenty of material that is useful for Australian and other schools.

Art: 21

The US television network PBS has an excellent website for art teachers. The Art: 21 website is based on the television series of the same name and contains videos (Australian users can watch the videos, unlike the BBC iPlayer), artist biographies, slideshows of artworks and educational materials.

Art 21

Teachers are given free access to teaching guides for each of the five series of Art: 21 as well as an online lesson library that includes the topics:

  • Abstraction and realism
  • Home and displacement
  • Individuals and collectives
  • Craftsmanship and labour
  • The natural world
  • Public and private space
  • Ritual and commemoration
  • Technology and systems
  • War and conflict

A resource certainly worth referring to art teachers.

Reading and Writing the World: School Libraries as Sponsors of Transliteracy

Let’s begin with what is transliteracy? Watch this video for a definition.

So looking at that definition, we really need students to be transliterate. The brilliant Buffy Hamilton has agreed to share her presentation on how school libraries can help students become transliterate:

This visually stunning and thought provoking presentation signals exactly where school libraries come in:
  • Transliteracy is the ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film to digital social networks (slide 16)
  • Participatory librarianship is about inviting and creating spaces for inviting and engaging participation sparking conversations, knowledge construction and creation (slides 21-24).

Many pertinent examples of ways that school libraries can support transliteracy are included and all are important and achievable. It may take time for everything to come together in your school library. It may mean little steps with one or two colleagues. But one or two steps forward at a time soon turns into a run when students become inspired by creating and publishing digital objects. You can read more about this topic at the Libraries and Transliteracy blog.

Thanks to Buffy Hamilton for sharing her work. It is also worthwhile accessing Buffy’s Unquiet Librarian blog.

Cathedrals 3D tour

Google Earth has a fantastic 3D tour of some of the most famous cathedrals in the world. By downloading Google Earth first, you are able to view exteriors and interiors of cathedrals such as

  • Notre Dame in Paris
  • St Paul’s Cathedral in London
  • Westminster Cathedral in London
  • Cologne Cathedral in Germany
  • Basilica of St Peter, Vatican City
  • St Mark’s Basilica, Venice
  • Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York
  • Basilica de Nossa Senhora in Aparencida, Brazil

Photographs of other areas of interest nearby the cathedrals are also viewable. View this brief screencast to see how the 3D tour works.

This site has many uses for art, geography and religion classes. Well worth viewing!

Feature blog – Glenys Lowden’s tech blog

Regular readers of Bright Ideas will recognise Lowther Hall AGS‘s Glenys Lowden as an avid developer of Web 2.0 tools for learning and teaching. This time Glenys shares her new tech blog, the cleverly named Lowd en clear.

Lowdenclear

Glenys explains why the blog was born:

I decided to also set up my own blog for practising new tech and including other things that might be relevant. I am trying to consolidate all the things I have been learning from so many sources. I thought that if I practised in this space using different tools then this would help my learning. I am currently Head of Library and have been a teacher since 1977. Phew that is a long time. I only moved into the Library field in recent years and prior to that had been Head of Welfare and Head of Humanities at a number of different schools. I am not quite sure yet how I will set out the blog but I will start with this format and see how I go.

I have an introductory activity that I used with Year 7 orientation in the first week of term on there. It is very short but I didn’t have much time with the class. The IWB section of the activity is not there but I have tried to briefly explain what I did. They really enjoyed using the mobile phone as the source to photograph and record their answers.

Glenys has started her blog in a brilliant way by sharing her year 7 orientation lessons. The RevolverMaps widget is a nice addition. Looking forward to seeing the blog develop and evolve. Well done again Glenys.