Month: November 2014

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Charles Darwin – The Australian Connection

Subject: Digital Technologies

Year Level: 5/6

Strand: Digital Technologies Processes and Production Skills

Sub-strand:  Collecting, managing and analysing data

Link to resource – http://www.nfsa.gov.au/digitallearning/charlesdarwin/

Cross Curriculum and General Capabilities
Literacy
Numeracy
ICT
Intercultural Understanding

Links to other learning areas:

  • Humanities and Social Sciences: This digital resource will help students explore the journey of Charles Darwin while also allowing opportunities to learn about some of his discoveries and difficulties such as understanding weather and coral reefs.
  • Mathematics: Students will be able to learn how to read maps and use longitude using this resource.

Activity
In a humanities lesson students would be asked to use this resource to gather and record information about the journey of Charles Darwin. They would need to include information such as the route he took, problems he faced and discoveries he made.

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Year 4 Lesson mind map – The value of water!

Water_thoughts_882x300

In this lesson students will look at:

  • The importance of water
  • Discover ways to save water
  • In groups decide on a water saving topic that they can present using digital technologies

Background to this lesson:
Students have been learning about water pollution over the past three lessons. To make the more learning authentic students will have an opportunity to look at water usage in relation to their own lives. Further to this, students will be asked to create a 2-4 minute presentation using digital technologies on how to save water.

In the last lesson students learn about filtering water and come to a realisation that minimising water pollution begins with prevention. To reinforce this understanding begin the lesson by asking students to think of a word that begins with P. It would be good to do a think-pair-share activity at the point. Inform students that this word was mentioned at the end of our last lesson and is related to water pollution. Are students confused? If so, state that instead of cleaning up the mess people have already made, we can do something before the water gets polluted. Word = Prevention.  

Additionally, refer to the brainstorm that was developed in the previous lesson. Draw a big circle around the entire brainstorm (if possible) and explain to students that pollution, water pollution and the environment in which it is contained can be improved if people work together to prevent it. “Learning about the issue (like you [all] are doing) is the greatest and most important step you can take” (Prevention of water pollution, 2010).

Yr 4 – The Value of Water Mind Map

Water conversation banner edited2

References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2010). English. Retrieved from
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/english/Curriculum/F-10?layout=1

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2010). Science. Retrieved from
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/science/Curriculum/F-10?layout=1

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2011). Sustainability. Retrieved from
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/CrossCurriculumPriorities/Sustainability

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2013a). Design and Technologies. Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/technologies/design-and-technologies/Curriculum/F-10?layout=1

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2013b). General Capabilities. Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/GeneralCapabilities/Overview/General-capabilities-in-the-Australian-Curriculum

My Rubric 1 Digital Media Presentation Rubric BTE330 FCS330 Student Name. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.docstoc.com/docs/102713781/MyRubric-1-Digital-Media-Presentation-Rubric-BTE330-FCS330-Student-Name

Prevention of water pollution. (2010). Retrieved fromhttp://eschooltoday.com/pollution/water-pollution/prevention-of-water-pollution.html

Social skills: Promoting, positive behaviour, academic success, and school safety. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.nasponline.org/resources/factsheets/socialskills_fs.aspx

Spider map. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/spider.pdf

Values education and the Australian curriculum. (2011).Retrieved from the Department of education, employment and workplace relations at http://www.valueseducation.edu.au/verve/_resources/ValuesEducationAustralianCurriculum.pdf

Watercorpwa. (2010, June 30). The value of water. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjvWGkqOUzU

Water – more precious than gold. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.watercorporation.com.au/home/teachers/lesson-plans-and-teaching-resources/lesson-plan-search/lesson-plan/?id={E0F3207D-DDC4- 4BA6-AEEB-21869694B51D}

 

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Garageband is Great

Subject: Design and Technologies

Year Level: 6-7

Strand: Design and Technologies processes and production skills

Sub-Strand: Planning, producing and evaluating design solutions

6.7 Generate, develop, evaluate, communicate and document design ideas and processes for a range of audiences, using some relevant technical terminology.

Link to the resource: http://www.apple.com/au/mac/garageband

Cross-curriculum Priorities and General Capabilities:

  • Critical and Creative Thinking (CCT)
  • Personal and Social Capability (PSC)
  • Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
  • Literacy (LIT)

Links to other Learning Areas:

  • English
  • Music

Classroom Activities:

Garage band gives users a range of opportunities to make recordings, create music, edit audio, add loops and mix a project, which can then be turned into a podcast! Effectively an entire music studio is available to those with Apple computers/tablets/phones to record sounds from live events or from musical instruments, or even learn how to play the instruments via online lessons. Recordings can be arranged, trimmed and manipulated to attain desired effects and there is also an option to synchronize video frames with the audio project.

Download Garage band for Mac

garageband

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Mindmap of 5 lesson plans to create a new auditorium

The link below provides one of a series of 5 lesson plans. Aligned with Australian Curriculum Design Technologies, it is planned for year 6 students to develop knowledge and understanding, and processes and production skills in this learning area. The end outcomes for this unit of work is for students to plan, design and create a new  auditorium which will improve the school’s sustainability. Many opportunities for cross-curricular learning exist throughout the unit.

Link to Mind map: https://www.mindmeister.com/448105143

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Edmodo: Keeping in Contact

Subject: Digital Technologies

Year Level: 3-4

Strand: Digital Technologies knowledge and understanding

Sub-Strand:

4.6 Explain how developed solutions and existing information systems meet common personal, school or community needs; and envisage new ways of using them

Link to resource:
https://www.edmodo.com/

Cross Curriculum Priorities:
Sustainability

Links to other learning areas:
Literacy
Numeracy
Science
ICT Capability

A classroom activity using this resource:
Edmodo (2014) was created with the main focus to join education and technology. Edmodo creates a fun and engaging way for students to participate in learning and use existing systems for school needs. Edmodo is an app with which students will be able to keep up to date with homework, assignments, quizzes as well as access progress reports. Using this application in the classroom creates a new and innovative way for students to interact with teachers and peers in a safe and secure way. The teacher can upload different discussion topics, polls as well as hand out award badges for student achievements.

This resource ties in well with many different learning areas such as literacy as the teacher is able to upload each weeks spelling list and have students complete it on the app, sending the results directly to the teacher through an account. It also encourages students to be more engaged in learning as it incorporates the use of ICT and with new things being uploaded daily, it gives students an incentive to work toward gaining badges and awards which the whole class is able to see.

Another great feature of this app is that it provides a safe environment for the students to communicate with one another, so if a student is stuck on a homework question they are able to post the question on the discussion board and have their peers help them along (under the supervision of the teacher).

If you are looking to incorporate group learning, other learning areas or a more environmentally friendly classroom this is a great app to look into.

Using this resource: 

This resource is easy to set up and requires each student to have access to an iPad or computer. Once the students have created a username and password the teacher is able to add them to a group (i.e Year 4 Spelling Class, Year 3- homeroom)
The students are only able to have access to content that is shared by the teacher. Once they have access to this group, the students are able to contribute and complete tasks set for them by the teacher.

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Mindmap: Growing our own wheat lessons

Overview
Year two students are currently studying a unit of work in the Technologies- Design and Technologies knowledge and understanding curriculum in Food and fibre productions. This lesson will be the third lesson out of the five lesson program. Students will be growing their own wheat to put themselves in the shoes of a farmer after they have been introduced, in previous lessons, to farms and animals and plants that are on farms that provide us with food. They will have covered a lesson on wheat and the process of growing and producing wheat into flour for our food.

F-2 Content Description
Food and fibre production: Explore how plants and animals are grown for food, clothing and shelter and how food is selected and prepared for healthy eating.

Elaboration:
Exploring which plants and animals can provide food or materials for clothing and shelter and what basic needs those plants and animals have.

Please download my Mindmap 

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Mindmap: Creating a presentation

Here is my link for task 3:

http://www.mindmeister.com/450865868/creating-a-presentation-using-digital-technologies-that-conveys-a-message-from-fifty-ways-to-change-the-worldchange the worldshopping bagsWe are what we do