#22 and #23 Ebooks and Downloadable media

We are currently exploring the introduction of ebooks (downloadable to existing hardware or onto dedicated readers) to our Library collection. At this point there are more questions than answers.  The range of Australian titles for primary aged children is limited at this point in time, and this is one area for consideration.  The links, blogs and rss feeds that I have found throughout the course have given us a wider range of resources to increase our knowledge base than we had thought possible!

#20 Podcasts

A search of the links from the home page found me a podcast of Bassoon lessons (heaps of potential for aspiring musicians living 'way out west'), inspiration from the desk of Mrs Kendrick, Music teachers 911 and Kids 4 Kids podcast.  This one has real potential for school - students making a podcast of their own stories, or reading well known stories, as models for other students, as a "buddy" task for Year 7s or Year 6s, or simply to create a wider audience for their writing.  Definitely a possibility.

#19 Rollyo

Well Rollyo has too many connections and didn't connect.  This is the first link from the course that hasn't worked so that's a positive for the course.  I wonder what will happen tomorrow.  A TL colleague recommended Rollyo  a few months back - hope I haven't missed my chance!

#17 Delicious

I've been using Delicious for almost a year.  A TL colleague mentioned it and I thought it would be a great way of overcoming the "I thought I bookmarked a site for that...." frustration that happens between the computer at school and at home.  It was only very recently that I made use of the "social" aspect of Delicious.  I had been searching (for way too long) to locate and select a range of websites that would support Stage 2's investigation of British Colonisation.  Clicking on the "wrong" link, I found myself searching everyone's tags.  One "wrong" click and I had exactly what I needed!  I love Delicious!

#18 Wikis

Creating a wiki with a class is the best way of helping them to discover that Wikipedia is not necessarily the most reliable source of information for their own research tasks.  The online learning platform provided by our school system is a safe way for our students (and their parents) to participate in a wiki.

#21 Youtube & Teachertube

Kids today respond particularly well to visual stimulus. Although Youtube must be researched carefully before showing a clip to a class (and sometimes the ads when you put it up there for the class are quite different to the harmless ones you saw when evaluating the clip!) I've found the video clips a great way to hook students into a concept. Year 5 grammar last year loved Conjunction Junction  and School House Rock Interjections .
Clips of Yothu Yindi's "Djapana" and Jimmy Barnes "Working Class Man" (the original, not the one from the Oxford Pub) helped with Stage 3's understanding of the concepts when we were doing Contemporary Australian Music last term.

#15 AND #16

And, now perhaps the answer to the time question.........