An online maths dictionary for kids

Posted on March 29, 2011 by Rachel

A maths dictionary for kids, by Jenny Eather, is an interactive dictionary where over 600 mathematical terms are explained in simple language, with easy-to-follow diagrams. For example, if a student wanted to know about an acute angle, they will discover it is ‘an angle mearsuring less than 90 degrees’. A pelican is used to show the acute angles the student requests, with a fish jumping in the pelicans mouth when the angle is made. Further to acute angles, the student can create other angles. Reflex angles are explained if the student chooses to create an angle between 180 and 360 degrees.

This is a great resource for high primary school students and junior – middle secondary school students. Ideally, students working on computers would have this open for quick reference. Terms are listed in alphabetical order. Teachers coud use this dictionary when introducing a new concept.

What game is hot in March?

Posted on March 28, 2011 by Rachel

March has continued to see tower defense games being played in our secondary school library before school and at lunchtimes (and during class time if they can sneak it). Bloons Tower Defense has taken a back-seat this month to Plants vs Zombies. This game is free, has 50 levels, and five game modes:

As the promotors say ‘Get ready to soil your plants!’. This is a fun game where the player needs to defend their home from Zombies, using plants that each have their own defensive and offensive capabilites. Although this may not be your cup-of-tea, it is good to know what the students are playing to open-up conversation. For example, I’m sure the students would have something to say if you walked up and asked if they have planted any Scaredy-Shroons to stop the Zombies from eating their brains (just make sure they are the students who play these games first!).

NB: Students at Mooroopna Secondary College (Victoria) are able to use the library before school, at lunchtime, and after school to play games as long as these are not deemed to be violent by the staff.

Guest post: Kilbreda College Library by Louise McInerney

Posted on March 25, 2011 by Rachel

Louise McInerney is a teacher librarian and library coordinator at Kilbreda College, Mentone, Victoria. The library website of Kilbreda College has a wonderful catalogue of resources the library can provide, but, as Louise says ‘we also include links to six local public libraries on our Catalogue page’. In doing so, the students are not only equipped to use the vast collection of the college, they are provided with a list of libraries close to them, and are able to access their catalogues from the one webpage. The students of Kilbreda College are at an advantage in the search for great resources, and it is one that other school libraries can easily adopt by enlisting the services of their local libraries.

Kilbreda College Library website has other great features, such as the activities section offering a reading program, plenty of competitions, bookclubs, and links to bookreview sites. There is also a great section for teachers, and a thorough resource section, with links to news websites, databases, and the college’s subject resources. Have a look at the website for further inspiration to providing students with the resources they need:

Thankyou Louise for sharing your ideas on providing for the students, and creating connections with community libraries.

Performing arts resources

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Rachel

ArtsAlive.ca is the performing arts educational website by the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is an amazing site that, among other things, has performing arts related resources for teachers and students. ArtsAlive.ca has heaps of great tools for teachers of music, theatre, dance, and collections (costumes, etc.):

The virtual dance studio is amazing. Students can choreograph their own dance compositions by putting together beginning, middle, and end sequences of dance movement. They can choose from female ballet, male modern dance, or female modern dance.

The time for libraries is now – Ned Potter

Posted on March 23, 2011 by Rachel

Why are libraries and librarians so important? Have a look at this:

The time for Libraries is NOW

View more presentations from Ned Potter

Blog for art teachers: the seventh string

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Rachel

A creative blog for art teachers is the seventh string byDavid Hulston (England). Hulston has 20 years of experience working in education, and brings this to his blog. The blog provides examples of art creations by different year levels that will inspire art teachers. There are some beautiful creations, such as ‘Never underestimate the power of dreams’ that uses multimedia to capture students playing with shadows. Have a look at the blog below and be inspired:

What’s on in April?

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Rachel

Below are some of the things on offer by SLV for the month of April. You may need to book to attend some of these events, so get in early!

Monday April 4th (10am – 2pm) and Tuesday April 5th (10am – 2pm), Children’s Book Festival: School’s program:

Children's Book Festival: School's program

Tuesday April 12th (1pm – 2.30pm & 3.00pm – 4.30pm), Light and shade: charcoal portraits with Anne Spudvilas:

Thursday April 21st (11.30am – 12.30pm & 1.30pm – 2.30pm), Stencil art with Alison Lester:

To see all the events at SLV during April, visit the events and exhibitions section of SLV’s website.

Creative commons made simple

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Rachel

The below poster was created by Karlisson Bezzera (Brazil), a blogger who goes under the name of Nerdson. Bezerra manages to explain creative commons in an easy-to-follow comic strip. The text has been translated from the original Portugese (not by myself!). This poster has been moving around the world wide web. It would be perfect to have up in the library and computer rooms.

Classtools.net

Posted on March 17, 2011 by Rachel

Classtools.net is a free website where you can create quizzes, games, and diagrams using the templates provided. You can then host these on your own website, blog, or intranet. The site is created by Russel Tarr, Head of History at the International School of Toulouse, and author of the website ActiveHistory.

Search by subject or by template. When searching by subject, the site provides examples of work created using the templates. For example, when seaching ‘chemistry’, there is a game called ‘War of the Words’ in ’30 Element Symbols’. The students have to shoot the correct element, with a certain amount of ammunition in a certain amount of time. It is a fun way to remember the periodic table!

Twister is a new template on the site and is great! A student can create fictional ‘status updates’ for a historical person. Questions for student consideration are provided on the site:

What are the most important people in this topic?
What was their most important moment within the topic?
What would their comment be about it?
What particular keywords would they use within their comment?
What hashtag could they maybe use at the end of the message?
What nickname did they have / could we invent to use as their username?

Using a popular social networking tool is a fantastic way to get students interested in history. ClassTools.net suggest printing the updated twister pages for display.

There are plenty of other great templates on this site. It is well worth having a look.

ALERT – SLAV conference 25th March 2011

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Rachel

There are still some places available at the SLAV conference ‘Creating collaborative learning spaces: Future school library scenarios’. The conference is on Friday 25th March. Keynote speaker Erica McWilliam will be discussing ‘The e-shift: What does it mean for 21st century literacy and learning?’. Lyn Hay from Charles Sturt University will bring new ideas to the way we look at space. Also speakring are Dr Susan La Marca from Gennazano College, Linda Angeloni from SLV, and Joseph Gerassi, principal of Bialik College. Get registrations in this week.

School Library Association of Victoria

Author Archives: Rachel