Secrets of Eromanga by Sheryl Gwyther is now available.

Sheryl Gwyther
Australian writer of children's books

Read Sheryl Gwyther's blog

TEACHERS' NOTES :  Secrets of Eromanga Teachers’ Notes
written by Anna Dalziel, Lothian/Hachette Books 

Secrets of Eromanga reviewed by Claire Saxby
  Reviewed by:  Education Dept – Western Australia

Secrets of Eromanga reviews

Australia Series Professional Learning

Bright ideas 

Image via Wikipedia

The Bright Ideas blog  by the School Library Association of Victoria 

introduces  Australia Series professional learning.

Australian-friendly times and offer topics that are relevant to 

Australian teachers.

This professional learning resource is highly recommended and is

freely available to all Australian educators. 

Twitter hashtag:  #australiaseries 

Image via CrunchBase

 

Quicklink to this group:  http://www.theaustraliaseries.com 

My School Website

My School Website went live today. 28/01/10

For an overview of what My School Website is and what My School Website shows

Sing along to the song_ At Your Library with Bill Harley

At Your Library Song-Full version

Grammy-winning singer and storyteller Bill Harley composed a song especially for the Kids! @ your library® Campaign. Sing along in your community!

The following permissions language must be used whenever you use the Campaign song:
At Your Library by Bill Harley © 2005 Round River Records, used with permission www.billharley.com

Top Ten Ways to Use Bill Harley’s
“At Your Library” Song
in Your Library and Community

"@ your library®" lyrics (PDF)

"@ your library®" sheet music  (PDF)

Different versions are available @

 

 

ALSC gratefully acknowledges HarperCollins Publishers
for underwriting Bill Harley's participation in the Kids! Campaign.

Back to Kids!  @ your library® Campaign Main Page

Visit Bill Harley's Web Page

Visit HarperCollins Publishers Web site

Although American, this message would be a good one to use on your blog just before the holidays.

Help kids search more effectively online.

January 23, 2010

Boolean Searching for Kids grades 5+

Australia Post Australian Legends Award

This year the Australia Post Australian Legends Award recognises six significant living novelists, each of whom has made an outstanding contribution to the social and cultural life of this country. 

The Australia Post Australian Legends Award is presented each year as part of Australia Day celebrations to honour individuals who have made a lifetime contribution to the development of our national identity and character.

The Recipients

Australia Post salutes Peter Carey, Bryce Courtenay, Thomas Keneally, David Malouf, Colleen McCullough and Tim Winton. Together they have earned critical acclaim and literary prizes, loyal readerships and immense sales.

Bryce Courtney                                                             David Malouf

Image via Wikipedia

Tim Winton said he was pleased that Australian writers were selected to be this year's Australian Legends."It's great to think that Australians would honour writers in the same way that it has honoured sports stars".

American Teacher Librarians to be known as "school librarians"

AASL has redefined the term that describes the certified person who runs a school library (or library media center  as a “school librarian”. This new decision  made by the American Association of School Librarians means the term  "Library Media Specialist' is no more.

Here is the motion put to the AASL from the AASL Official blog .
Whereas, the overarching strategic goal of the American Association of School Librarians is to achieve universal recognition of school librarians as indispensable educational leaders; and
Whereas, the AASL Affiliate Assembly requested that the AASL Board of Directors choose a title for its professionals that is clear to other educators, administrators, and the public; and
Whereas, a recent AASL survey indicated confusion, misperceptions, and inconsistencies about various job titles in our profession; and
Whereas, AASL needed to agree on a common nomenclature for all publications and advocacy efforts; and
Whereas, the AASL’s leadership reviewed the data, identified the advantages and disadvantages of the various titles, and held a focused and extensive discussion.
Therefore be it resolved, AASL officially adopts “school librarian” as the title which reflects the roles of the 21st century school library professional as leader, instructional partner, information specialist, teacher, and program administrator; be it further resolved that AASL will advance and promote the title “school librarian” to ensure universal recognition of school librarians as indispensible educational leaders.
The following guiding principles govern these actions: Open dialog concerning knowledge of our stakeholders’ needs, wants, and preferences; the current realities and evolving dynamics of our environment; the capacity and strategic position of our organization; and the ethical implications relevant to this decision.

ASLA received a disappointing response from Julia

“A strong library program that is adequately staffed, resourced and funded can lead to higher student achievement regardless of the socioeconomic or educational levels of the adults in the community” (Lonsdale, ACER, 2003).

"How is it that the Federal government can commit billions of dollars to the building of new primary school libraries across all states, yet seems unconcerned who (if anyone) will be managing those brand new libraries – let alone if anyone is also qualified to teach within them?"  The Hub

Request for a national school library review was made by Australian School Library Association.

Letter to the Rudd Government (24 November 2009) | Response from the Chief of Staff, Office of the Hon Julia Gillard MP (17 December 2009)

If you would like to do something to change this situation please go to Sign Our Petition

Twitter is a great tool to develop your Personal Learning Network. Have you tried twitter yet?

 When you begin twittering The Twitter Guide Book will prove a great support.



Twitter & Education - #140conf LA from RealPlayer SP on Vimeo.
Participants: Aparna Vashisht (@Parentella) - Founder, Parentella; Eric Sheninger (@NMHS_Principal) - New Milford High School, NJ; Shelly S Terrell (@ShellTerrell) - Educator and Blogger, Teacher ReBoot Camp; Steven W. Anderson (@web20classroom) - Educator and Blogger, Web 2.0 Connected Classroom; Tom Whitby (@tomwhitby) - Professor of English, Secondary English
from the 140 Character Conference - Los Angeles - October 28, 2009
**sponsored by RealPlayer SP http://real.com/realplayer**

Thanks to Beth Still for sharing the video.
For further information go to Why teachers use twitter. on Free Technology for Teachers

 If you are a NSWDET teacher, Stu Hasic has provided a pdf document to explain the steps to take when Adding Yourself to the NSWDET Twitter Directory.


If you decide to join the twitter ranks use :
#austl  to discover tweets relevant to Australian Teacher Librarians
#asla for Australian School Library Association related tweets
#nswdet for NSW Department of Education and Training related tweet
#dernsw for Digital Education Revolution related tweets

Warren Mac Cullough has created visual representation of these groups

 NSW DET teachers: Twitter HashTags to follow recommended by benpaddlejones

• 
  
  
  #DERNSW
  #EdChat
  #EdTech
  #Education
  #eLearning
  #Learning
  #NewEdBlogs
  #NSWDET
  #PLE
  #PLN
  #Teach
  #Teachers
  #CCP
  #NSWK-6
  What are HashTags
  
  

If you are not a NSWDET teacher you can access the document to follow the steps but change the details to match your area.

The evolution of the Book

This infographic, which was tweeted by @edunut, displays the evolution of the book from 3500 b.c. to 2008! For further detailed information provided on the infographic click here. 

Our first Wishwall

Sandy Beach Public School's first Wishwall is up and running.


Wishwall is a new way to communicate. It is an online Notice Board Maker.


View a demo wall @ Wallwisher demo

We would love you to post a comment on our wishwall!! 

New Smart Devices for Learning

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

New Smart Devices for Learning

View more presentations from Steve Wheeler.

The Creation Of A Professional Learning Network.(PLN)

This is a great PD Video contributed by Ann Carnevale.

Future of the Library

Seth Godin in his blog post on the future of the library states that: "What we need to spend the money on are leaders, sherpas and teachers who will push everyone from kids to seniors to get very aggressive in finding and using information and in connecting with and leading others."

This sounds to me very much like the teach them "at the point of need" method. Success rates rise significantly when people have a need  and are ready to learn. In our schools Teacher Librarians often have the opportunity to fill this role for students and staff alike, but need to be given "time" to undertake this vital task.


What do you think?

?Future of books? Librarians have a role to play...

John Green wrote an article for School Library Journal 01/01/10:

The Future of Reading: Don't worry. It might be better than you think.

John writes: "I believe that school and children’s librarians will have a great deal of say in the shape of that change—more say, in fact, than anyone else: your choices will guide us as publishers stumble, as bookstores struggle, as the reading public becomes too bewildered to know what they want, and as authors—like always—do whatever you tell us to do."

Here he answers questions about that article.