Virtual reality fieldtrips with Google Expeditions – register

Posted on September 30, 2015 by SLAV Connects

The Google Cardboard virtual reality (VR) headset was launched onto the market in July 2014. At the time the headsets only worked with Android phones and there were a limited number of apps available. From these humble beginnings they have grown into a range of different headsets that support most mobile phones and offer a growing choice of apps.

This week the humble headset has made a giant leap into the classroom with the announcement of Google Expeditions, the virtual reality teaching tool built with Google Cardboard. With Google Expeditions, teachers will be able to to choose from 100+ virtual fieldtrips to places like Mars, the Great Barrier Reef and the Great Wall of China.

To facilitate the introduction of Expeditions, Google will be visiting thousands of schools around the world with the kit of required equipment for teachers to use in their classes for the day. Australia is one of the first countries to be offered this exciting opportunity with visits available during September and October. If you are interested in a visit for your school, register via the Expeditions Pioneer Program.

IFLA School Library Guidelines

Posted on August 19, 2015 by SLAV Connects

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is the leading international body representing the interests of library and information services and their users. It is the global voice of the library and information profession. To this end, it is important that school library professionals acquaint themselves with the recently published IFLA School Library Guidelines (2nd ed).

In recent years many school libraries have come under the spotlight as principals balance the budget of cost against return. In some instances qualified library trained personnel have been taken from the library and redeployed elsewhere in the school, while other school libraries have continued to expand and grow. One of the keys to this change has been the ability of library staff to innovate and adapt to the changing nature of schooling, learning and resources.

In producing these guidelines, IFLA provides recommendations that can guide the discussion about your school library. As they state:

“These guidelines have been developed to assist school library professionals and educational decision-makers in their efforts to ensure that all students and teachers have access to effective school library programs and services, delivered by qualified school library personnel.”

IFLA make a number of recommendations that warrant close reading. Two of these resonate loudly as core programs and the collaborative partnerships required to achieve them, namely:

Recommendation 13. The core instructional activities of a school librarian should be focused on: literacy and reading promotion; media and information literacy instruction; inquiry-based teaching; technology integration; and professional development of teachers. [5.2-5.7]

Recommendation 14. The services and programs provided through the school library should be developed collaboratively by a professional school librarian working in concert with the principal, with curriculum leaders, with teaching colleagues, with members of other library groups, and with members of cultural, linguistic, indigenous, and other unique populations to contribute to the achievement of the academic, cultural, and social goals of the school. [3.5, 3.5.4, 5.1-5.8]

The positive impact of a well functioning school library on student achievement has been extensively studied over the years. We need to be in a constant state of review and self-appraisal if our school libraries are to adapt to changing needs in schools. It’s not easy, but these guideline are a useful tool to support that process.

#SLAVConf – It’s a Digital World

Posted on August 13, 2015 by SLAV Connects

Last Friday, 7 August, 180 delegates met at the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne for the School Library Association of Victoria (SLAV) conference – It’s a digital world. Conferences such as these are exceptionally important for the school library community as they are showcases of the change that is actively happening in many dynamic school libraries. Perspectives of the James Merlino MP, Minister for Education and Deputy Premier and Principal, Marco Di Cesare, Caroline Chisholm Catholic College who was SLAV School Leader of the Year 2014, were particularly relevant.

This Storify captures some of the Twitter conversations from presentations and workshops. Not all, because not all sessions were tweeted out by delegates, however, this collection offers an overview of links and ideas on the day.

Presentations and notes from the conference will be available via the members area of the SLAV website soon.

VCE English: Encountering Conflict

Posted on August 9, 2015 by SLAV Connects

ABC Radio is renowned for its podcasts, with most ABC broadcasting now available for anywhere/anytime listening. The full list of programs and listening option can be found on the ABC podcasting page.

For a number of years, local Melbourne ABC 774 broadcaster Libbi Gorr has presented a gem of a program on Sundays appropriately entitled Sunday School. It’s a must for VCE English students, as Libbi joins with English teachers in discussion and commentary on texts, exam preparation support and topics relating to the subject.

In this sample broadcast of Sunday School: Encountering Conflict, Christine Lambrianidis, English Learning Leader at Point Cook Senior Secondary College, joined Libbi to discuss ‘how human trafficking and slavery can affect Australians through the food we eat, clothing we wear and the services we engage.’

Christine related these key issues back to the VCE theme ‘Encountering Conflict’ and also extracted examples from the film ‘A Separation’ directed by Asghar Farhadi which is one of the optional VCE English texts.

This embedded file is from Soundcloud, however, it can just as easily be downloaded via iTunes. Check with your VCE students to ensure they’re not missing out on this supportive resource.

https://soundcloud.com/774-abc-melbourne/sunday-school-encountering-conflict-theme

Learning professionally with Google+ Communities

Posted on June 14, 2015 by SLAV Connects

Google educator Kimberley Hall recently presented a full day workshop for School Library Assoc of Victoria. For some delegates it was a glimpse into the possibilities of the Google Apps for Education (GAFE) tool-base, for others it was an opportunity to enhance their existing knowledge with the leadership of a dynamic trainer.

Educational institutions, from primary to secondary schools, through to universities, are now using GAFE, so skill in managing the range of tools such as Google Docs, Tables, Presentations and the indispensable Google Forms with confidence is essential. The value lies in streamlining and managing workflows and documentation within the library, plus the ability to be a learning support resource for students.

Ample support material is available online and Google for Education is a good place to start. The sites of trainers such as Kimberley, Chris Betcher and Jim Sill are just a few of the training sites bursting with tutorials and ideas.

Google tools range from Docs, to search strategies, to Google maps, Youtube videos and the new Google Photos. However, learning is a social process and occurs readily through active engagement with peers. Learning, for all of us, is about collaboration and the boundaries preventing this from happening have disintegrated. Joining Google Communities is recommended as a collaborative learning space that will put you in touch with like-minded professionals.

Teacher librarian, Heather Bailie, in her recent blog post Get connected with Google+ – a digital artefact presented a video profile of a ‘connected educator’ that includes instructions on how to get started with Google Communities. Whilst mailing lists have been used as professional points of exchange for many years, it’s time to consider moving onto tools such as Google+ Communities.
Some groups are private but most are public and open to all comers.

We are presently trialling Google Communities as an alternative option from Facebook discussion groups for senior students. The interface is much less distracting than Facebook and I believe it’s is only a matter of time before Google Communities becomes a common learning tool as schools extend their use of the GAFE suite. Here’s an opportunity to put yourself ahead of the curve – be courageous and move on from mailing lists!

Deep thinking with Infopics

Posted on May 20, 2015 by SLAV Connects

Using an image to convey a message can cement a lasting memory. Combine this image with words and you have the makings of a memorable learning experience. Tony Vincent of Learning in Hand has shared the idea of creating Infopics, a combination of image and words that combine as a thinking and analysis exercise suitable for both adult and student learning.

In his post Producing Infopics Tony provides a thorough overview of a range of mobile apps (for all systems) and standard PC applications that can be used to produce infopics. Simpler than an Infographic which generally conveys a message with a combination of statistics, images and general information, an Infopic is one image onto which you add text.

Whilst a relatively simple task, it requires you to think deeply about your image/topic and to come up with appropriate words to match. It could be a reflective Infopic as I have created in the header image using Phonto on the iPhone or you could ask students to select an image relevant to a book they have read and think of words or phrases in response to the text.

Many students will find this task challenging but with practice it has the potential for numerous applications. Tools can be as simple as a Powerpoint, Keynote or Google slides, or one of the many apps that Tony describes in inspirational post – Producing Infopics. Try producing your own, then take it into the classroom. Thanks Tony.

Financial literacy – ASIC’s MoneySmart

Posted on May 4, 2015 by SLAV Connects

Purchasing a mobile phone is one of the first mature financial commitments a young person will make. Before reaching that stage, however, most will have had experience with online shopping, including in-app purchases which are often impulse buys with minimal prior thought. Financial literacy instruction that begins in primary school and gradually builds over time will equip students with the skills to confidently manage these transactions.

As one of the key initiatives of the National Financial Literacy Strategy. the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has developed the MoneySmart Teaching program, a comprehensive financial literacy resource for use by educators.

This is an impressive resource with units such Mobile Phone security designed for a 15 minutes time-slot making it ideal for teaching alongside other content or within a homeroom class. On the other hand is the more comprehensive financial training course for VET students consisting of 5 online units.

MoneySmart has been developed for the Australian community. It’s valuable, not only to teens and young adults, but as a resource for Australians of all ages. It’s worth checking out.

Primary sources and the ANZACS

Posted on April 27, 2015 by SLAV Connects

The commemoration of the centenary of the Gallipoli Landing during World War I has stimulated an explosion in the digital content available online. Photos from family and institution collections contribute to a comprehensive overview of the period from the images on the battlefront through to the homeland and everyday life.

These images make possible a range of rich learning activities that can extend a student’s understanding of the experience of individuals and expose them to resources to explore further in their own time, for example:

Use Ergo, State Library of Victoria – Australia and World War I to study topics such as enlistment, conscription, the homefront and propaganda supported by primary source artefacts including diaries.
Document analysis worksheets designed and developed by the education staff of the [US] National Archives and Records Administration are an excellent resource for use with primary sources. These worksheets are not new and have been refined over time. They’re in a convenient .pdf format for use either online or as printed hardcopies. Worksheets are available for the analysis of a printed document, photograph, cartoon, poster, map, artefact, motion picture and sound recording. Highly recommended.
It’s not news to any teacher to say that students love Google Images. A lesson in the Advanced Search function of Google Images is an opportunity to experiment with various search terms; with learning how to separate World War I from World War II images; how to isolate propaganda images; locate images relating to women; find images of a particular colour or from the region ‘Australia’ only. Use with Google Search Education lesson plans to enhance your own search skills and those of your students.
The number of public institutions uploading resources to Flickr: The Commons has grown steadily over the years. As Creative Commons resources, students have a wealth of resources to work with. Once again, using a range of key terms such as ANZAC, Gallipoli, World War I, WWI, students can become familiar with this constantly developing database of original images.

This centenary year can be a launching point that introduces students to an authentic range of resources they can revisit time and time again……. now they know they exist. Explore!

SLAV Conference: Students at the centre

Posted on April 16, 2015 by SLAV Connects

It’s been a busy month for SLAV professional learning with a major curriculum-focussed conference, AusVELS: Constructing new Learners in March, followed by Libguides and Kevin Hennah workshops. This broad range of events from curriculum, to delivery of online resources, through to library design, are an indication of the diverse professional learning required by school library staff.

2015 theme Students at the Centre of Learning was reflected in the AusVELS: Constructing new Learners conference. Regardless of all other change in school libraries, focus cannot stray from student learning and the collaborative relationships necessary for success. The Storify of #slavconf tweets below provides an insight into the day, however, for a more complete experience see presentations and notes on the SLAV website.

Main presentations were:

Curriculum Update: Setting the scene, Dr David Howes, VCAA (changes to AusVELS that teacher librarians can tap into)
Teachers changing practice in their schools – implications for school libraries, Dr Rosemary Abbott – Loreto Mandeville Hall, Toorak (Rosemary’s PhD research provides a compelling argument for strong communication between teachers and library staff)
The Information Experience: Introduction, Professor Christine Bruce, QUT (Christine’s knowledge of how students learn and interact with information is a beacon to all educators and particularly teacher librarians).

Members sharing effective practice through a range of workshops was also an important part of the conference. Learning with and from each other at events such as this is a great help in building community and getting to know each other as members of the the school library community. Well done.

In the news – building perspective

Posted on March 25, 2015 by SLAV Connects

Studying the news and gaining perspective on an incident or event from another person’s point of view is a valuable learning experience. Whether it be politics or sport, it is possible to help students see through another set of eyes by reading the news as it is presented in another country. Here are some useful tools for the purpose:

Newspaper Map

Read news from a local perspective with links to more than 10,000 newspapers in over 130 countries. Beautifully visual, simply to select a newspaper from its location on a world map and read it with the assistance of Google Translate. Excellent for foreign language students and for anyone seeking to gain an understanding of the culture of another country. See how nuclear energy features in European newspapers, for instance, compared to Australian newspapers.

Museum- Today’s Front Pages

Newseum displays the front pages of more than 2,000 newspapers worldwide on its website each day. They are in their original, unedited form. Access by gallery, list or location on a world map. Functionality on the site is quite granular with the ability to sort by world region, then name of paper or country. Translate function is accessible by using the link to website and using Google Translate.

OnlineNewspapers.com

A beautifully clean and fast site, OnlineNewspapers.com also includes online magazines with links to free worldwide magazines on a broad range of subjects. Newspaper websites can be searched by country or region and are very quickly retrieved. A few dead links seems to indicate a lack of maintenance on the site but it’s still a very useful resource.

ipl2 – Newspapers & Magazines

Organised as a basic database, the user starts at the international and regional level, drills down to country level, then can use the city index to locate a specific newspaper. Less visual than other sites, it is still easy to use and reveals an amazing range of world news.

Newspapers are under attack with the rise of blogging and alternative news tools but they are still an effective tool for expanding a student’s perspective and providing opportunities for discussion. Take time to explore.

School Library Association of Victoria

Author Archives: SLAV Connects