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Picture books are a wonderful way to engage children of all ages.  With younger children they provide an opportunity to engage in literacy with storylines they may not have experienced or thought about. With older students they are a wonderful hook to stimulate discussion or debate.  Is it true? Is it relevant to us? What can we do to protect? prevent? or follow up? Once upon a time Online by David Bedford Using fairytale characters this book illustrates some of the hazards of being online. The Fairy Godmother teachers them how to use screen time to be productive and creators rather than users of technology. The Fabulous Friend Machine by Nick Bland Popcorn the chicken finds a friend machine (phone) and makes some wonderful new friends, who turn out be not telling the full truth. Her old (true) friends step in to save her. The internet is like a puddle by Shona Innes This book gently talks about the dangers of being online and how adults can help us navigate those dangers. The...

Distance learning is not reproducing a classroom in an unknown space in each 30 different homes. As I write, millions of teachers world wide are recreating planned content to be shared with students that are unable to attend school in some countries there are students simultaneously in their classroom. Some have online access some don't. Source How do we address distance learning?  Rather than create a second set of lessons for those at home, I recommend you allow school based students time to work through the same content. This means you are not creating dual content. Teachers are being encouraged to teach online, this does create a social justice issue where not all students and teachers have access to an online format, because of any of the following service, data plans, devices or wifi. To make it easier on you I have created some ideas for setting lessons for both online and offline learning.  Flipped learning - set a video, image or reading task that can...

How do you change the way you teach? It is a slow process but it is possible. When a new curriculum is implemented how to you integrate it? When a new pedagogy is doing the rounds even if it is a rebranded old idea how do you implement it? Should you adopt every idea?  Goals! What are your goals, both personally and for your class? This question can't be completely be answered until you know your class, your school, your parents. What are your professional goals? After reviewing your personal, professional goals and those of your school community write them down. Mine are: Continual growth and learning for my students and myself Enjoyment of learning and relationships Real life learning for students Academic improvement Research Now you have your goals consider the different pedagogical styles and how they might help you achieve your goals? There are so many pedagogical styles and educational theories. How do you know which one is right? Many of the teachi...

What does Possum Magic by Mem Fox have to do with computational thinking and digital technologies? Possum Magic by Mem Fox is a story about a magic grandma that makes her grandson Hush become invisible. To solve the problem they travel Australia looking for ways to make Hush visible again. Luckily the problem is solved for Hush as he consumes classically Australian foods. Strangely they need to travel to most of the capital cities to do it.  Getting children to visualise a journey and translate what they hear into a concrete experience requires computational thinking. 3 activities to integrate digital technologies in a literacy lesson. K-2 Beebot Activity Create algorithms to follow the trail of the food that Hush eats. Educational content Algorithms Procedural texts Recounts Integrating digital systems Recounts Resources Beebots or bluebots Clear mat  or cardboard ruled up with 15min grid. Pictures  of the foods consumed by H...

What is social media and how can it be useful for teachers? Published in Education Matters with corrections to the organisers of @EduTweetOz Biography Meridith Ebbs is teacher St Columba Anglican School, Port Macquarie. She has a blended role, teaching classes from years 2-10 and working as an eLearning integrator to support the eLearning programs and teacher professional development within the school. Meridith is a key staff member of the Professional Excellence and Innovation Centre, Port Macquarie. She develops and facilitates conferences and workshops. Meridith acts as a consultant in digital citizenship, the use of technology to enhance 21century pedagogies and social media. Meridith is a moderator of a MOOC for Adelaide University and speaks at conferences on coding, technology and pedagogy. Meridith is interested in computational thinking, coding and the maker movement. She is working on increasing the participation of girls in Science, Technology, Engineering and ...