EDUCATION POLICY
5 Big Ideas in Education that Don't Work
The University of Melbourne's Professor John Hattie examined over 1,000 analyses of interventions to improve learning, finding five common ideas that should be examined very critically:
judging schools by minimum achievement standards
using achievement tests to measure schools and countries
believing that school choice improves outcomes
believing that small classes improve outcomes
believing that more money improves outcomes

2016 IN REVIEW
Education Research Highlights from 2016

Edutopia has highlighted fourteen 2016 education research findings (for the USA). For example:
science students' motivation is boosted by learning about the struggles faced by famous scientists
distinguishing between fake news and genuine news is difficult for students
teachers and students feel stressed but there are ways to counter stress
the competitiveness of game-based learning yields better student results

SPORT
Yacht Tracker
See where the yachts in the Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race are right now (well, about ten minutes ago).

TASMANIAN HISTORY
One Hell of an Inferno
The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery's commemoration of the Tasmanian bushfires of 1967, One Hell of an Inferno, is on display until Sunday 19 March 2017. (See Tas Govt media release, 15 Dec 2016.)

TASMANIAN HISTORY
Stories of the '67 Bushfires

Story map using the spoken or written words of southern Tasmanians who experienced Black Tuesday, 7 February 1967.
To zoom in, double-click on any area away from the location icons.

LITERACY
The Big 6 of Reading Articles
These succinctly written information and advice articles on key elements of literacy, commissioned by the Australian Primary Principals Association, should be required reading for all teachers:
- Vocabulary [pdf]
- Comprehension [pdf]
- Phonological Awareness [pdf]
- Phonics [pdf]
- Fluency [pdf]
- Oral language [pdf]

US ELECTION
Election 2016: Lesson Plans and Digital Resources for Educators
Links to educational resources on the US election. Examples:
- Election Glossary [pdf]
- News for Students
- Great Free Resources

US ELECTION
How does voting in America compare to Australia?

The vital differences between the US and Australian electoral systems are outlined. (ABC News)

MELBOURNE CUP
Melbourne Cup Number Quiz
A new Melbourne Cup Quiz to print out in which the answers to the 20 questions are all numbers. The "easy" version includes the list of number answers to choose from. An answer sheet for teachers is provided.

CYBERSAFETY
iParent

Guidance, strategies and information about online safety for parents in supporting their children's online activities. The site also includes the results of a survey on children's online activities. (From the Children's eSafety Commissioner.)

WEATHER
BoM Weather app
(ABC News, 7 Oct 2016)
A free weather app for Android and Apple users to download.
- BoM mobile page
- How to get the app

ANTARCTICA
Classroom Antarctica
Online Antarctica teaching resources for Years 3-8 provided by the Australian Antarctic Division.

ANTARCTICA
Australian Antarctic Festival

The inaugural Australian Antarctic Festival will be held in Hobart from Thu 8 to Sun 11 Sep 2016. See also Tas Govt media release, 8 Sep 2016.

CYBERSAFETY
eSafety Education Resources

From the Australian government's Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner:
Classroom resources
Outreach programs
School policies (includes links to Tasmania's Social Media Policy and parent pamphlet)
Voluntary certification

THE CURRENCY
New banknote program

Release of the new $5 note has begun. The Reserve Bank website displays its new security features.
The following RBA pages for teachers and students deal with notes and coins generally:
Learning About Banknotes
Activities and interactive games

COMPUTING
Google for Education sessions for teachers

The EdTech Team Tasmania Summit featuring Google for Education will be held in Hobart on 26 and 27 September 2016.

WI-FI
Free Tas Wi-Fi
The number of free wi-fi access points around Tasmania has increased from 42 to 50 (altogether 150 are planned). Limit 30 minutes per device per day at each location. For more info see Minister's statement (25 Aug 2016).

DATA AND STATISTICS
CensusAtSchool

Practical activities for students using Australian Bureau of Statistics census data, which are still useful even though this 2014 site is no longer updated (presumably due to ABS budget cuts).

SCIENCE
Wildlife Spotter

Save threatened wildlife species by helping to identify animals photographed by automated cameras, as promoted in The Mercury (8 Aug 2016). You might even spot a quoll.

STUDENT HEALTH AND SAFETY
Coaches and concussion
This Conversation contribution from 2 Aug 2016 stresses that sports coaches need to be aware of how young people can be protected from the harmful effects of concussion. Links to useful sources of advice include:
- Pocket Concussion Recognition Tool [pdf]
- Making Headway Concussion E-Learning Series (from Canada)

TASMANIAN GEOGRAPHY
My Way (the Midland Highway) song
Entertaining spoof of My Way, the song made famous by Frank Sinatra, naming places along the Midland Highway. Sung by Andrew Colrain and John X (video on ABC Facebook page).

DIGITAL LITERACY
Pokémon Go in the Classroom
Lesson ideas based on the use of Pokémon Go (Discovery Education website).
For more ways to exploit students' interest in the Pokémon craze see these sites:
- 5 ways to trick students into learning with Pokémon Go
- 14 ways to bring Pokémon Go to school
- Pokémon Go - Lesson ideas for the science classroom
- Autistic students: exploring the use of Pokemon Go
- Augmented reality in education

AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION
Prime Zone
New website providing resources for teaching about food and fibre in the Australian Curriculum, from the Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia. In particular, see School resources.

ENTERPRISE EDUCATION
Club Kidpreneur
A group associated with Tasmania's Cradle Coast which in Term 3 2016 is running the Kidpreneur Challenge (flyer available), a competition for students in Years 4, 5 and 6.

ANTI-TOBACCO RESOURCES
Quit's Critics' Choice competition
Quit Tasmania's anti-smoking competition for students, the Critics' Choice 2016, is open until Friday 30 September 2016.

TASMANIAN ABORIGINAL HISTORY
Aboriginal Tasmania Story Map
Interactive map-based database of significant Aboriginal Tasmanian locations, with images.

EARLY CHILDHOOD
Early Childhood Resource Hub
Collection point for early childhood professional resources, opened by Minister Simon Birmingham on 28 Mar 2016. Unfortunately, registration is required for access to even the non-forum material.

NBN
NBN Infographic

This infographic compares the speeds and benefits of ADSL+, NBN Fibre to the Node and NBN Fibre to the Premises, showing that Fibre to the Node will soon prove to be inadequate.

LEGAL AWARENESS
Guys Gotta Know
Legal information for young men, with emphasis on relationships. Follows Girls Gotta Know which was produced a couple of years ago.

STUDENT NUTRITION
Choosing school lunch foods

This article in The Conversation discusses which foods to include in student lunch boxes and provides links to useful lunch box tips at the following websites:
- Kidspot
- Better Health Channel
- Raising Children Network

TASMANIAN ENVIRONMENT
Burnt wilderness photos

See the first photos to emerge of the recent fire damage to Tasmania's wilderness, including images of burnt 1,000-year-old cushion plants (ABC News website).

EDUCATIONAL WEBSITES
Free Australian government school resources

A roundup of 34 Australian government websites that provide educational material for teachers and students to use.