webpage
with others

"...it's not cutting edge
if you don't bleed a little."

TeacherNet (UK) www.teachernet.gov.uk
TeacherNet (UK) has been developed by the Department for Children, Schools and Families as a resource for people who work in schools. Subscribable newsletter

DCSF (UK) - Latest news and publications www.teachernet.gov.uk/_doc/12380/index.htm
email newsletter ... an official communication to schools from the Department for Children, Schools and Families. Audience: School management, teachers and teaching assistants.

Ofqual News (UK) http://tr.im/jN5l
Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator ... Ofqual is the regulator of qualifications, tests and examinations in England. Our work ensures that children, young people and adult learners get the results they deserve, that standards are maintained and that the qualifications learners receive count, both now and in the future.

TESconnect Weekly Newsletter http://tr.im/jNcy
What teachers are talking about today ... Dates for your diary ... New resources ... Advice from the chalk face in forums.

School Improvement Planning Model Policy http://tr.im/jzVe
"By changing your working practices you can successfully improve the achievements of your pupils. To do this you need an effective School Improvement Planning Policy which changes classroom practice and supports the learning process."
For help, download your FREE Model Policy from Croner Education,

Assessment and Exams www.teachers.tv/assessment
The exams season is just starting for many (northern hemisphere) schools .... over 80 assessment videos at Teachers TV (UK) ... useful for departmental or whole staff professional development.

Beyond the Call of Duty www.bangkokpost.com/life/education
27th January 2009 David Canavan, Head of Secondary at Garden International School in Sathon, Thailand, rescued a 3 metre python that had been occupying a drain in the school's car park.
The reticulated python was sent to the Red Cross Snake Farm to lead a safe and happy life.
David also writes a regular column in the Bangkok post every Tuesday under the heading of "The Chingchok Hunter"
Applicants applying for senior management positions overseas are advised to read carefully the small print in their job descriptions.

Coincidentally
Coincidentally I had a much smaller snake in my own garden in March... and (to my shame) did not deal with it so humanely. (listen to the commentary)

Photo at http://audioboo.fm/boos/6322-snake-in-the-garden where you can also comment

Other pics
| pic 1 | pic 2 | pic 3 |
| pic 4 | pic 5 |

TEDxShanghai www.tedxshanghai.com
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience.
Our event is called TEDxShanghai, where x=independently organized TED event. At our TEDxShanghai event, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized.
The first TEDxShanghai event is scheduled for June 15, 2009. It is being organized by Chinameme under official license by TED. Please stay tuned for more details.

Constructing Modern Knowledge http://tr.im/jA1v
13-16 June 2009, USA
Constructing Modern Knowledge is a minds-on institute for educators committed to creativity, collaboration and computing. Participants will have the opportunity to engage in intensive computer-rich project development with peers and a world-class faculty.
Constructing Modern Knowledge is organized by Gary S. Stager and sponsored by The Constructivist Consortium & the Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation.

Leading Learning: A Guided Inquiry approach view/download pdf flier
23 Nov. 2009 Hong Kong
“Leading Learning: A Guided Inquiry approach” featuring Dr Ross Todd.
The day is of interest to teacher librarians, teachers and particularly school principals/managers. It is also invaluable for IB schools since the Guided Inquiry approach matches the IB approach perfectly.

FOBISSEA Schools Courses www.fobissea.org/prof_dev.php
Courses organised by the FOBISSEA Professional Development Centre
FOBISSEA: Federation of British International Schools in S.E.Asia & East Asia

Languages Conference in Second Life www.theconsultants-e.com/edunation/SLanguages2009.asp
8 & 9 May 2009

EARCOS Weekend Workshops www.earcos.org/ww_workshops.html
One of the advantages of an EARCOS membership is access to a programme of weekend workshops across the region.

Conferences and Events in Australia www.edna.edu.au/edna/go/events
Listed at Edna.

SL Action 2009 www.slactions.org
24 - 26 September 2009
Research conference in the Second Life world
RL+SL Mixed media Conference ... held simultaneously in several countries.

Blended learning www.ict2009.ouhk.edu.hk
6-8 July 2009 in Hong Kong
This Conference invites participants to share their experiences and insights into various ways of blending technologies into the learning process.
"This year we will have an exciting new event ‘eInnovation in Education Award Competition’ where participants can demonstrate their e-learning work."

21st Century Learning (Hong Kong) Conference
Ning Social Network http://21clearninghk.ning.com        Website http://21c-learning.hk
17th - 19th September 2009 venue: Hong Kong International School (Tai Tam Campus).
" .... details are still being finalized but suffice to say it is going to be a very big event and you will want to book early to ensure that you are a part of it.
More details and an update to this ning with a fresh, new logo will be made soon. In the meantime, feel free to start sharing ideas for workshops and general discussion about what you would like to see at a 21st Century Learning conference in Hong Kong."

  Web 2.0 Workshops in Singapore
http://www.synergyst.com and www.singaporeworkshops.blogspot.com
8th, 9th and 10th June2009 in Singapore
Six half day workshops
     (W1) Internet Survival Skills for Teacher (inc. RSS, Social Networks, Web 2.0 Start Pages)
     (W2) Google Extended (inc. search skills and Google Apps)
     (W3) Blogging
     (W4) Podcasting
     (W5) Beyond Powerpoint (If students are bored with ppt then these options will stimulate)
     (W6) Social Networks and Virtual Worlds (inc. Second Life)

Each workshop is a mixture of Web 2.0 tools, pedagogy and classroom management ... using whole group work and also individual hands-on.

In house programmes are also possible in individual schools and organisations ... for details contact Cheng Fun at Synergyst in Singapore chengfun@synergyst.com

Brochure from www.synergyst.com/forms/ICTforTeach&Learn.pdf

For a list of workshops from Chris Smith visit
www.shambles.net/csmith/workshops

ALESS Connect http://alessconnect.ning.com/
A Ning network for librarians in international schools in Hong Kong.

Google Librarian Newsletter http://groups.google.com/group/librarian-newsletter?hl=en
The title says it all ...

Text Messaging Solutions For Libraries www.textalibrarian.com
Text a Librarian is an easy to use text messaging solution that enables libraries to set up cost-effective SMS reference services.

Leading Learning through the School Library
: A Guided Inquiry approach view/download pdf flier
23 Nov. 2009 Hong Kong

Free email account with address username@internationallibrarian.info
http://www.internationallibrarian.info/
Would you like a free email account with the domain name @internationallibrarian.info
If yes then just send me an email with your first name / last name / and the username you would like and I shall create it for you. The actual email engine being used for this is Google's gmail .. so very reliable, confidential and trustworthy.
After I've created the account for you then just log in at http://mail.google.com/hosted/internationallibrarian.info to send and read email ........ ONLY for librarians and library staff.

During the World's Financial Crisis ...

Librarians are still giving out loans

I'm guessing that you have already heard of "Twitter" the web application described as "Micro-Blogging" ... personally I think this is the completely wrong description ... and it would be better described as "Micro-Instant Messenging" ... in 140 characters.

It initially sounds like a complete waste of time .... but, for me, it is working out to be a VERY valuable Professional Development tool. Visit the Shambles list for more details. www.shambles.net/pages/learning/ict/whereru

Twitter in Plain English http://tr.im/jAhK
Twitter in Plain English ... 3 minute video presentation from Common Craft

Twitter for Libraries http://tr.im/kpoz
Libraries of all kinds are already using Twitter to good effect ...

World Languages Teaching Twitter Group http://twittgroups.com/group/worldlanguages
Keep in touch with Language teachers ... e.g. Spanish http://tr.im/jzZX

Visualize the Twitter Universe http://tr.im/jAik
17 Ways to Visualize the Twitter Universe

Webinar: Twitter ... Teaching and Learning http://tr.im/jAiW
Webinar: Twitter for Teachers... 1 hour show using the Elluminate webinar platform ... archived online March 2009

Shakespeare and Twitter
Using 19 Twitter accounts over a 12 day period in February (1 day per scene) ... Twitter of the Shrew attempted to live up to Shakespeare’s “Brevity is the soul of wit” proverb, by condensing the play’s iambic pentameter dialogue down to updates of 140 characters or less.

Twitter Professors http://mashable.com/2009/02/16/twitter-professors
Twitter Professors: 18 People to Follow for a Real Time Education (???)

Shamblesguru ... follow me on Twitter

Diploma in Applied ICT www.ieaward.com
The Diploma in Applied ICT from IEAward is new kind of ICT course that rewards students for what they can do rather than penalising them for things they can't do.
The course is fully validated by Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) so students will receive certificates from CIE.
The course is essentially content free, giving teachers and students complete freedom to work on areas that interest them. The IEA philosophy emphasises a collaborative approach whilst encouraging students to take responsibility for their own education. There are no written examinations in the course and students are assessed through an online digital portfolio representing the solution to a real-world problem that they have chosen to work on.
IEAwards was set up by three experienced ICT/Computer Studies teachers in Hong Kong.

Apple Distinguished Educators http://tr.im/jA2u
"Four Shanghai American School teachers recognized as “Apple Distinguished Educators”
The four recipients of this award are Thomas Banaszewski (Puxi MS), Jonathan Chambers (Pudong MS), Amanda DeCardy (Pudong MS) David Gran (Puxi HS) who first applied and then were accepted to be a part of an exclusive group of technology educators after working through a demanding professional training experience."

The Flat Classroom Project www.flatclassroomproject.org
The Flat Classroom Project ... "a collaborative effort that utilizes Web 2.0 tools to foster communication, collaboration, and creativity between educators and students across the globe"
Project co-founders are Vicki Davis (SL: CoolCat Whitman), the IT Director of Westwood Schools in Camilla, Georgia, and Julie Lindsay (SL: Charlotte Ozigard), the head of IT and E-Learning at Qatar Academy in Doha, Qatar.
You can listen to Vicki and Julie talking about the project at an interview they gave in Second Life .. archived online at http://tr.im/jtRI

Ask Miller http://tr.im/jJvz
Views about Technology from a teenager living in the USA.

Free Online ICT Professional Development http://ictcpd4free.co.uk
This was mentioned in the last newsletter ... but certainly worth a "re-mention".
"... the web site provides free ICT CPD courses on-line, using a Moodle environment, that are aimed at teachers who are working in a variety of contexts."
The course materials are designed so that they can be used by an individual teacher, small group/department or whole staff programme.
Courses that are currently available ....

Primary (k-6)
- ICT assessment (Primary)
- Web 2.0 visual learning collaboration tools (Primary)
- Developing higher-order thinking skills utilising ICT
- Modeling using ICT
- Embedding e-safety
- ICT subject knowledge within the(UK) QCA primary framework

Secondary (y7-y13)
- ICT assessment (Secondary)
- Web 2.0 visual learning collaboration tools (Secondary)
- Developing higher-order thinking skills utilising ICT
- Modeling using ICT
- Embedding e-safety
- Monitoring student progress using ICT

School Calendar
download
A3 size
Word document

Shambles online Calendar

'Shambles' is a free service because of sponsorship and advertising ... your support would be appreciated .. details at www.shambles.net/advertising

Shambles statistics for April 2009 ..... 340,000+ Visitors and 520,000+ Pageviews

csmith@csmith.info
ePortfolio at www.shambles.net/csmith