Serendipity and QR Codes

Serendipity.. 'the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way'.... and when you add my fascination with QR Codes to the mix... well, let's just say I had a good day.

While chasing something else, I came across a site with Reflection Questions built into QR Codes, and then turned into cubes that can be rolled and scanned, then answered.  I am guessing it would engage the students, as it certainly kept me entertained for a while, once I had printed and made up the cubes.  Check out the link....
 http://elenikyritsis.com/2014/03/28/qr-codes-in-the-classroom/

While I was browsing the fun stuff, I came across a couple of ideas for using an app called QR Voice. I haven't checked it out yet, but it appears that you can record messages, change them to a QR Code and have the students scan them and hear the message.  Hmm - must explore this further....
 http://librariansquest.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/mind-your-ps-and-qrs2.html

Anyway, aside from all of that, just a reminder that today is National Flag Day and Monday is World Literacy Day.

 Thank you for your patience with my soapbox ramblings - now carry on being AWESOME!! 

Student Data, Special Days and Unicorns

Believe it or not we are already looking down the barrel of the last quarter of the year!  Scary or what?

There are a couple of special days coming up in September that we should maybe find a way of celebrating... even if by just spending time reading.  
Whether silently, or out loud, or to other people or classes - can you think of a better way to celebrate Read A Book Day on the 6th September?  I know this is a Sunday, but hey, you know what?  We could be radical and do it on the Monday  - which would tie in very neatly with the fact that Monday 8th September is World Literacy Day!  

Of course, if it is fun stuff you want... then 6th September is also Pet Rock Day and the 9th September is for celebrating Wonderful Weirdos Day - and I know there are a few of those around.  I am pretty sure some of the students (and maybe the staff) would put me in that class - and I am quite happy to wear that tag. You need people like us around.

I am also sharing a link I came across on the MindShift site about collecting data on students.  Although I am not a teacher in any way, it made sense to me in terms of forging a good relationship with the students and although I believe we actually do a pretty good job of it here, maybe this post has a few more ideas that can be employed.  

http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2015/08/26/rethinking-data-how-to-create-a-holistic-view-of-students/

 Wishing you a great weekend, hopefully with more rain to come - and I will leave you with this thought:

'Always be yourself - unless you can be a Unicorn.  Then always be a Unicorn'

National Science Week 2015

National Science Week is happening now till the 23rd August and there are a number of links on the ABC Splash website to intrigue and engage your students.  Take a look and see for yourself.
http://splash.abc.net.au/newsandarticles/blog/

To celebrate National Science Week, you are being asked to think science and draw a blue-print of a great invention that would help to improve someone's life. The most creative invention could win a $30 ABC Shop voucher!  Your invention can be simple, complicated, realistic, futuristic or totally fantastical – follow your imagination!   Just draw your idea, scan it or take a photo or screen shot, and upload it… 

Read details at:

http://splash.abc.net.au/ugc-competition/-/u/1981315/get-inventing

Vocabulary, Word Power and Urban Legends.

I was asked to to find some resources that may be able to engage students and help out with vocabulary and word knowledge, and I thought that maybe other teachers would be interested in some of the sites that seemed to fit the brief. 

I have included what I think is one of the best for this; Freerice - a game that covers a lot more than just vocabulary as for every word you get right, 10 grains of rice are donated to help with world hunger - and it is a self-leveling game that adjusts to the vocabulary level of the person playing it, so it should suit all our students.  It isn't just words though, as there are sections for Maths, Science and Art... with multiplication tables to try out in the maths section.

Check them all out - and if you are wondering if you can really help world hunger by playing a game online, check the site out using Snopes.  Snopes is a site that ferrets out the truth about all those urban myths and legends and tells it like it is. 

 http://freerice.com/#/english-vocabulary/1538

http://www.eslgamesplus.com/fun-games/     (Printable board games)         

  http://www.manythings.org/vocabulary/

http://www.english-4kids.com/games.html

http://www.vocabulary.co.il/word-power/

http://busyteacher.org/13612-7-best-games-for-vocabulary-class.html 

http://www.snopes.com/

Gone Global Baby!!

Check out the latest stats for this blog!  For this week, we have had 59 hits from Russia, 12 from Australia, 6 from Hong Kong, 5 from the USA and 3 from France.  

 Who would've thought Russia would be reading it? Seriously?? We really have gone global... well for this week anyway.

Semester Two, Term three, Week two

Semester two and term three, week two  - and eight more to go!!  But who's counting??  

It has been a busy sort of a week here - Marngrook Footy Show, the KAGE group, lots of practising for various events in the Desert Harmony Festival which kicks off this evening and the Multi-Cultural Event on Saturday.  All of this has been happening along with the usual classes and activities.

Probably the highlight, I think, has been the talk given to our students by the Para-Olympian, Kurt Fearnley.  You could have heard a pin drop during his talk, and the students had lots of questions to ask - and there were plenty of them lining up to have their photo taken with him afterwards.

Enjoy the long weekend and really make it count.  It is the last one for the year! Lots of relaxing and READING.

Holiday break coming up.

Well, here we are - last day of Semester one - and it has been a busy one.  Everyone is ready for this break, staff and students.

Just a reminder to have all resources back at home in the Library for the 4 week break - both they and I will be much happier about that.

As a thought for the start of Semester Two, I came across a few special days....
On the 20th July, it will be Space Exploration Day, 30th July will be Paperback Book Day and the 1st Aug is World Wide Web Day.  The last one should be easy to celebrate - we just do what we always do, I guess.   

Chances are this is the kittens last day as they should go to their new homes during the holiday break - so anyone who wants a last cuddle, today is it. They would like to express their thanks for being so welcomed here.

Wishing you all a safe, enjoyable and relaxing break.  Make sure you include the time to curl up with a good coffee and an awesome book.  After all, recreational reading lowers the blood pressure and calms the mind.

Look forward to seeing you all in four weeks time to do this all over again. 

New Books ready to borrow

We have a few new books in the Library which are now catalogued and ready for loan.  Two of these are Picture Books, which may seem a little strange in a High School, but is often a less intimidating format for kids who are not overly confident in reading. These are viewed along the lines of comics and Graphic novels, which can then lead on to more 'mature' formats of reading. 

One is called 'My Country' and is by Ezekiel Kwaymullina and Sally Morgan and is described as a "vibrant, lyrical celebration of country".

The other is a brand new picture book just published, with the title of  'Chicken Clicking' and written by Jeanne Willis.  This is suggested as a "subtle introduction to responsible internet use." Taken from the blurb on the back; "One night Chick hops onto the farmer's computer and - CLICK - she's soon shopping for the whole farm!! But when she arranges to meet a friend she's made on online, Chick discovers all is not as it seems...."

The last item is a book written by Jack Heath and titled 'The Human Flytrap'  Obviously this fits the Horror Genre, and any doubts are removed by the cover itself with a crime style tape running across the back cover warning you that you are reading this at your risk. According to the blurb - "Josh lives in Axe falls - a town of mysterious disappearances, terrifying visions and unusual events.....What is really going on in Axe Falls? And will anyone survive long enough to find out?"

Come and have a look - and check out what else we have on the shelves while you are here.  Lots of new magazines to read as well, or you could borrow a board game to play, or challenge your mates to a chess game.

Library System Upgraded

Virtua, which is our Library Management System, has now been upgraded.  Aside from a few small glitches across the NT system, it all seems to be working  pretty well.

Fun part now is that I will need to learn the new ways of doing things.  I already know that the Inter-Library-loan area has become a whole lot more complex.  There will be further areas to be ironed out as it is a cloud-based system so a learning curve coming up - but hopefully not too steep.

Thank you for your patience while our system was down and while this has been happening.  It has been really appreciated.

Weblinks and Special Days

For those of us who use Pinterest, especially as a teaching tool, their new rules mean that everyone needs to have an account to be able to access whatever it is you have set up for students or staff.  This tends to make it a little - unfriendly, shall we say - for use in a classroom arena.

Below are a few links of similar on-line tools that may be worth taking a look at.  Comments were made on the TL list-serv that most of the Pinterest collections are able to be moved across to the Juxtapost site without too much of a problem - however I haven't tried it myself.

http://www.juxtapost.com/      (fast simple way to bookmark images)

https://sqworl.com/   (listed as Simple Visual Bookmarking for Educators)

http://www.pearltrees.com/     (organise all your interests)

Have a look and see what you think.

 Just out of interest, below are a few special days coming up that may be of interest to your class - or yourself.
Today (15th May) is Endangered Species Day, Tuesday 22nd May will be the International Day of Biodiversity, Tuesday 5th June is World Environment Day - and my personal favourite Tuesday 2nd June - Rocky Road Day.

Have an awesome weekend folks.

Library Management System

Just a quick note to let you know that Virtua is running again, albeit with a few little glitches. I can check out and in but cannot catalogue anything or update people's cards if they have expired.  For the moment, it is refusing to save to the database, so I am still using spreadsheets to keep records till we get it fully operational.

As the upgrade to the new fancy version is due middle of May, we may have to deal with it until then - but we are more or less back on track.

Thanks for your patience.

LMS & ANZAC Ceremony

Our Library Management System is STILL out - but we are at least getting phone calls from Darwin now, so hopefully we have reached the top of the action pile.  
The whole of the system is being upgraded in early May, so possibly they don't feel any urgency to get it going - and I can see them getting it operational and then we run into problems with the new one.  GRR.

As I said previously, please be patient when it takes longer than usual in here.  I am in no better a position - and have piles of items and pages of notes, just waiting for everything to come back on line. At least, I now have a spreadsheet that I can put people's names into, and scan the barcode, thanks to Carrie being so tech savvy.  (I really don't like spreadsheets!)

Also, I just wanted to congratulate everyone involved for a beautiful and very moving ANZAC Day ceremony.  I am so glad that we have these activities back on the agenda, and that the students got so involved as well.  

There are a couple of special days coming up in May that I thought you might like to be aware of:
1st May is School Principals Day and also Endangered Species Day
16th May is Biographers Day.

Hoping you all have an awesome week, and lets not forget it is a long weekend coming up.

Welcome back to Term 2

Welcome back to our own little patch of Paradise - looking forward to working together once again over the next 10 weeks.

Here in the Library, we have started back with computer problems - or rather, Virtua problems.  The school changed ISP providers over the break, and that has caused a hiccup with the Library management system, which is run from Darwin.  It is still out, despite all Kate's hard work in trying to get it running again and we are now waiting for the technicians in Darwin to make it behave as it should.  

I know it is a nuisance but please have patience.  I currently have 6 pages of hand written notes and 3 piles of returned books I can't do anything with till the system is back up.  I am no happier than anyone else, I can assure you.

Just for general thought if anyone can use it - April is Poetry Month and May is Reading Month.  Scholastic is running a 'Read more in May' competition which could be worth tapping into.  If you are interested, please see me. 

Also a general reminder that if there is anything that you think I can help you with, please come and talk to me.  I can cover a wide area of crazy bits of probably useless knowledge and I like challenges; (Translation; works well for coffee or chocolate.)

That's all Folks.  Now carry on being awesome!