The Australian Education Times - November, 2013

The Australian

Career of the month Becoming a Doctor

Education Times Issue 1 • November 2013 • www.educationtimes.com.au

Free

Success Story

NOTHING BEATS HARD WORK!

Ms. Michelle Rowland, MP Federal

Outstanding school

German International School Test Zone: Beat the HSC Examination Blues

ICT for Education

A Special Pull Out

Literacy Corner

Having a tough time with Sentence Variety?

Success Story

THE NEWS CREW

Contents News and Views: 3 Truth behind Local Schools, Local decisions

Outstanding School: School of the month: 6 German International School

Success Story: 8

The Honourable Michelle Rowland shares her journey into politics

Focus on University: 12

Focus on University

12

Career of the month - Doctor

28

Literacy Corner

32

Preparing children to live the full life

Nothing beats hard work!

- The Honourable Michelle Rowland

Join us digitally via our social networks...

FOLLOW us facebook.com/theaustralianeducationtimes @TheAusEduTimes Contact us email : editor@educationtimes.com.au Phone: +61 2 8883 0750 Advertise email: advertise@educationtimes.com.au

Special ICT pull out: 17 BYOD, Flipping the classroom, Global story, Helping teachers with today's technology

Test Zone: 26

Beat the HSC Exam Blues

Career of the month: 28 Guide to becoming a Doctor

Science Lab: 31

Why do clock run "Clockwise"?

Literacy Corner: 32

Having a tough time with Sentence Variety?

Magic Maths: 34

How Patterns are embedded in the Australian Curriculum

Curriculum Link: 39 PDHPE: Fitness Fun

www.educationtimes.com.au The Australian Education Times

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The Australian

education times

Editor's Letter W elcome to the first edition of The Australian Education Times. We are so excited to create a publication that is dedicated to sharing anything and everything that is associated with education for parents and members of the local community of all schools. We envisage that our magazine will assist parents in supporting their children and provide them with strategies that can help their children solve problems when completing their homework and providing sufficient information to determine which secondary school or tertiary provider is best. It will also provide students in K-12 with fun activities as well as information that could help them with their school work or assessment tasks. Along with curriculum information, we will share inspirational stories that we hope will motivate students succeed and achieve their own personal goals. Each month, we will include lesson plans and activities that address components of the Australian Curriculum which demonstrates that anyone can have fun whilst learning. We have also included a section for tertiary students and both pre-service teachers and current teachers.

To support our magazine, we have created a website (http://www.educationtimes.com.au), a Facebook account (http://www.facebook.com/ theaustralianeducationtimes) and a Twitter account (@theausedutimes) that will allow us to keep in touch with you, the reader, as much as possible. Our digital media will contain live interviews and links to our featured articles. Please feel free to follow us online to obtain information quickly.

The team at The Australian Education Times is committed to bring you a FREE monthly magazine

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The Australian Education Times

that addresses your needs. We have been working tirelessly by interviewing many politicians, teachers, mums, dads, and students about what they would like to see in an education magazine. As a mother and a teacher myself, I understand the importance of being "kept in the loop" with my children's education and hopefully, together, we have achieved a publication that will further connect you to your school. I would like to encourage you to comment on any of our articles and to provide suggestions of what you would like to read in the future; because...this is YOUR magazine.

On behalf of The Australian Education Times Magazine I would like to personally thank all of the people who assisted us in creating our first magazine and helping us launch this fantastic initiative. A special thank you goes to the Honourable Michelle Rowland MP, Honourable Geoff Lee MP and Honourable Carmel Tebbutt MP whom have contributed many hours in participating in interviews and working towards our launch (full details on page 4). A special thank you also goes to our fantastic News Crew team who interviewed our Members of Parliament during their school holidays (see page 8). My deepest appreciation goes to my team; my design team, sales and marketing team, technical team, advertisers, the magazine’s printers and distributors. Without you, this magazine would not be what it is! And finally, thank you to you - Our Readers. I am positive that The Australian Education Times will be a complete success based on your contributions, your participation and your desire to support your children.

Noelene Callaghan

The Australian

education times News and Views

Local Schools, Local Decisions.

What does it mean for my child?

L

ocal schools, Local decisions", "Gonski", and an "education reform" were buzz words that educators and parents have heard immensely before the recent Commonwealth election, however, now that there is a new Government, the future of Australian schools remains uncertain. One thing is for certain, NSW Public Schools are now part of "Local Schools, Local Decisions". So what does this mean exactly?

According to the NSW Department of Education, Local Schools, Local Decisions is an education reform that gives NSW public schools more authority to make local decisions about how best to meet the needs of their students. They further add that it teachers and principals more authority to adapt what they do and how they do it. This means giving schools greater freedom to make decisions about how to use the money we spend on public education.

According to Teacher Mrs Jane Prichard, the rhetoric of Local Schools, Local Decisions appears to be the process of devolving system responsibility under the guise of freedom and autonomy. Despite What do you think? How does it affect your child? Please send your views at editor@educationtimes.com.au

the advantages for input at a local level, the fact that cuts are being made in a time when Education funding is caught between a slow, bureaucratic custody battle between State and Federal Governments reminds us; that an adequately funded centralised system is more important than ever to ensure Public Education can deliver a world-class education and equity to every school community we serve.

According to NSW Teachers Federation Representative Mrs Kelly Campbell, Local Schools, Local Decisions is a devolution policy created by the NSW Government to shift the blame for inadequately resourced public schools. Principal's whose core role should be educational leadership are expected to become business financial managers and spend the schools budget through the RAM model which has already demonstrated flaws in its delivery.

Local Schools, Local Decisions will have an impact on education and the resources that your children are exposed to. Part of the Local Schools, Local Decisions includes a funding model that is set by parameters that determine the school "type" and the budget is controlled by the Principal. The concern is certainly not how the Principal will allocate the funds to each faculty, KLA or area of the school, but lies with the criteria that determines the school type. There are many schools that do not qualify for higher funds simply

because, on paper, the school fits the model of having a sufficient number of students who do not require targeted assistance, where in reality, this is not true.

We are all aware that there are students with learning difficulties that aren't medically recognised yet receive additional support from teachers but do not qualify for teachers aid or, in this case, additional financial support. This will prevent schools from hiring more support staff or resources that will benefit this group of students. The model is also unclear for those DET schools that specialise in sport, selective tests, the arts etc. It is recommended that upon enrolment, you ask how Local Schools, Local Decisions will impact this school and how it will benefit your child in their learning.

Noelene Callaghan is an ICT Teacher at Rooty Hill High School and a Councillor of The Teachers Guild of NSW.

The Australian Education Times

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The Australian Australian The

education times News and Views

The Launch “The Australian Education Times” was launched on the 23rd November 2013 at the NSW Parliament house. The Jubilee room in the oldest public building in Sydney at the Parliament House served as a perfect venue for the launch with its book lined shelves, ornate stained glass skylight and its history.

“The Australian Education Times” is a modern, innovative monthly free magazine with a fresh approach to education. This timely magazine offers up to date information, news, views, insights and forums that illuminate current educational trends and practices. “The Australian Education Times” aims to provide a support network that will assist our children to reach their individual potential so that they are happy, productive, members of society.

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The Australian Education Times

The Grand launch was graced by several eminent Parliamentarians, University and school management faculties, advertising partners, media, well-wishers and friends.

The front cover of the first issue of “The Australian Education Times” was unveiled by The Honourable Ms. Carmell Tebbutt MP (Shadow Minister for Education). Speaking for the occasion she said, “It is great to be here at the launch of ‘The Australian

Education Times’. The magazine describes itself as modern, innovative and a fresh approach. I think that as the education system becomes more complex, has much higher expectation to what it can provide to our community, there’s lot more debate, every newspaper has an education reporter, so it can be very difficult for parents, educators, MP’s to keep abreast with all the debate and anything to bridge that gap is very important part and I know that is what ‘The Australian Education Times’ is seeking to do”.

Wishing the magazine all the success she added that “I am very pleased that ‘The Australian Education Times' will provide opportunity for young writers, which is really important and information like the calendar of events, parents trap and career’s information for student will again be very valuable.”

how do parents really know which school to send and how does the system works? What is the impact of the new curriculum and standardised testing, the different ways we are going to fund schools and the Gonski reforms. Shall I say that Australian Education Times is a great way to shine light in the The Honourable Ms darkness and bridge the Carmel Tebbutt further information gap.” reiterated that “We Highlighting the should not take the freedom of choice to “Here’s what the general good education system the parents in regards public has said about “The Australian Education in Australia for granted to selection of schools, Times” and a better informed Mr Lee added that “’The community is one of Australian Education “Finally there is a magazine the ways we can help Times’ will be a guide that will help parents help their children” Margret maintain and strengthen for them to make an Kazar, Mum from Baulkham our education system. informed choice.”

Hills So ‘The Australian Congratulating the “This is a great resource Education Times’ will entrepreneurial skills of that will connect schools play a vital role in the founder Ms Sarika with their students’ ensuring this by providing Singh, The Honourable families” better information and Ms Michelle Rowland MP Janine Walsh, Teacher from Engadine understanding how Federal extended her education system works.” compliments to all the “I think this new magazine Also present in support parliamentarians present will help students grow of ‘The Australian for the launch as their and learn about the opportunities out there Education Times’ present for the launch of that isn’t biased by their was The Honourable ‘The Australian Education family or teachers” Hussein Dr Geoff Lee, MP for Times’ shows and Radwan, Student from Eastwood Parramatta. During his reiterates their inclination encouraging speech he for the education congratulated the team and its evolvement. of ‘The Australian Education Times’ and Commenting on being interviewed by added “[that] All the research shows young journalists of ‘The news crew’ of that you only need one person in the the magazine, she said that “the most family to graduate and it changes the difficult interviews are with the children whole perception of that family group. as they have their naïve exuberance It changes society and the importance which requires nothing but an honest of lifelong learning. These days there answer.” are so many choices for parents so

Public Opinion

Tweeting's

"What’s been tweeting about "The Australian Education Times"...…

"Great to join NSW Shadow Education Minister Carmel Tebbutt today at the launch of The Australian Education Times."@MRowlandMP "It was a privilege to be a Guest Speaker at the Launch of "The Australian Education Times" at Parliament House "@GeoffLeeMP "Looking forward to reading a magazine that is dedicated to parents about their child's education"@sarahjanes

Ms Rowland extended her congratulations to ‘The Australian Education Team’ and said [that] “this is a magazine which I will be looking forward to read and would definitely browse the website as well”.

The Australian Education Times

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The Australian

education times Outstanding School

German Internat School Sydney T

he German International School Sydney (GISS) based on Sydney's Northern Beaches provides a multilingual education in a multicultural environment. Students are afforded a complete education system from Preschool to Year 12 (International Baccalaureate IB Diploma Program).

Students do not need to speak or have knowledge of the German language to attend the German International School Sydney. However, all students from preschool to Year 12 have the opportunity to learn German, while students from Years 6 to 12 have the added benefit of embracing additional languages including French and Spanish.

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The Australian Education Times

With manageable class sizes, our teachers are fully committed to helping students achieve the best results they can. It's this philosophy that has seen our students exceed on both academic and personal development levels.

IB - Senior Secondary Years 11 & 12 at GISS undertake the comprehensive two year IB (International Baccalaureate diploma program) involving a curriculum model which is focused on six academic areas including Studies in Language & Literature, Language Acquisition, Individual and Societies,

Experimental Sciences, Mathematics and the Arts. The course encourages critical thinking and independent study, helping students prepare for university and life beyond their school years. Our Year 12 students obtained a 100 per cent pass rate for the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma for the 2013 academic year, compared to the worldwide average of 78.44 per cent for the same period.

Boasting a remarkable 35.6 (out of a possible 45) average total points, which equates to an Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR) score of 94.30, and is significantly higher than the worldwide IB average of 29.81

Preschool

Primary School (Kindergarten to Year 4)

tional

Language development begins even before birth and learning multiple languages has cognitive advantages on all areas of learning and should be initiated as early as possible. To this end, learning languages is a focal point in our Primary school with six English and five German lessons undertaken by students each week. Other classes include Maths, Social Studies, Art, Music, PE, Library as well as Supervised Homework Time. During the Primary years teachers usually accompany their class for a minimum of two years which allows our teachers the luxury of developing a close and trusting relationship with students and their parents.

Junior Secondary School (Years 5 to 10) At our international campus we offer a unique high school education with students enrolling in Year 7 without prior knowledge of German, joining the students coming through from our Primary School. Students are integrated

into many different cultures and form part of a truly international community. The Junior Secondary School's internationally recognised academic standards enable students from both streams to transfer smoothly to our IB Diploma Program or other international schools.

Our pre-schoolers are aged three to five and are provided with a creative and interactive curriculum that is embedded in the Early Years Framework for Australia "Being, Belonging and Becoming". Whether arriving to Sydney from abroad, coming from another preschool or starting preschool for the first time; the German International School Sydney Preschool is open to all children. Our preschool philosophy is to ensure each child's ideas take priority over planned programs and their needs considered of primary importance in forming their daily activities. Providing a positive educational environment is of utmost importance to enhancing a child's receptiveness to learn.

The daily preschool program is relatively flexible, shaped around a combination of opportunities to play freely, to participate in guided activities including small group activities, circle times, mealtimes and quiet times. The overall preschool framework includes a strong focus on equipping children with the skills and dispositions that will assist with their transition to school and beyond. The GISS Preschool is one of the pilot schools for the "Little Scientists" program, shaping the inquiring and handson approach to learning in the sciences.

To organise a tour of the German International School Sydney please call: 02 9485 1900 to make an appointment or visit: www.germanschoolsydney.com.au The Australian Education Times

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The Australian

education times Success story

10 Insightful Questions to The Honourable Michelle Rowland, MP for Greenway

T

he young reporters of "The NEWS CREW" Elizabeth, Jasmine, Sienna and Mausam recently sat down with the Honourable Ms Michelle Rowland, MP for Greenway, for an exclusive interview about her successsul jouney in politics.

How was your childhood like?

I had a very happy childhood.

Being the youngest of four, I was the pampered one. I loved going to school and enjoyed the school holiday, playing cricket in the backyard.

During holidays, we would go on trips to Entrance, Gold Coast just about every year.

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What step did you take towards

4 becoming a politician?

I guess the first step I took was to make a decision, discussed with my family and then decided that this is what I wanted to do. I also had to make sure that I had support in the community and then I had to plan a campaign and work towards getting elected.

Being a woman and a mother, is it

5 hard to be a politician ?

I think it's hard to be a woman and a mother full stop. There are lot of challenges as we are from the generation where we are the ones being in the parliament, having babies, having successful careers.

How do you spend your day at work?

What schools did you attend?

I went to Our Lady of Mercy College Parramatta for my high school, and then studied law at University of Sydney.

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When did you choose to become a

3 politician and why?

Sometimes you don't choose politics, politics chooses you, but I think I made my decision when I was in High School, since then I was very interested in politics, history and the way the government worked and after that I got involved with students' politics in the university and then I was elected to the Blacktown council and became a member for the Greenway.

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The Australian Education Times

6 Every day is different. Some days, I attend a lot of functions one after the other. Some days I do a lot of media, so I am often at TV studios and radio stations.

A lot of the schools presentation days are coming up, so I spend all day at school and some days I also get to be here at my office, meeting people. So a lot of my time is spent working out how I am going to get organised getting from one place to another.

What is your favourite book of

7 all time?

I really liked reading "Withering Heights" and "Julius Caesar". I think Julius Caesar is very well written and there are some very good lessons to be learnt from it, like how to approach people, not being proud, being humble.

What is your role in developing the

8 community?

There are many different roles, a lot of them involve community groups approaching me and letting me know what they are doing and then there are people who advocate for different causes like people who are war veterans, people who are very passionate about certain diseases, raising awareness, getting funding for them. So a lot of my role involves either assisting with these causes and listening about them as often these people need funding and government help, so my role involves in staying in touch with people and letting them know that I can be approached and hopefully help out.

Do you have any mentors ?

9 In politics I haven't had that many mentors but I do learn from a lot of people in an informal sense. I had very good mentors in private sector when I was working as a lawyer, as it was much more structured. So I don't tend to do things formally but I call on a lot of people, even who are younger than me.

I also offer mentoring to younger people who are in school and who are interested not only in politics but also in law and different policy areas like education.

What advice would you like to give to 10 our viewers?

I tend not to give advice but I certainly give my point of view and let people judge if it's a good advice. But if I had to give advice to young people like you I would say "Nothing beats hard work", "Nothing beats making sure that you are as prepared as you can be".

Watch this interview online @ www.educationtimes.com.au

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Talented Reporter

CONTEST

?

?

■ Does the idea of asking and being the first one to know about people and things excite you?

■ Do you love to be in the news room?

■ Do you have a flair for being interrogative and inquisitive about personalities?

If yes, then you sure can be one to the member for the coveted “The News Crew”.

How to participate in the contest:

You are requested to include a report about an interesting or unique event which you covered in your school or community.

Please include a headline and quotes from people you've interviewed in your story.

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The talent search for the young and talented reporter is on.

We are looking for young and talented reporters to be a part of "The News Crew" For the year 2013- 2014. This exclusive team will be selected by Professional Journalist who have made a mark in the field of journalism.

Previously our talented team of "The News Crew" has interviewed famous personalities, politicians, celebrities and other newsmakers. They also got to show their talent in writing reviews, their opinions and new stories. Being a part of "The News Crew" will award you with experience and knowledge about the news business.

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Please complete the official entry form on the next page.

Entries must be posted to 207, 5 Celebration Drive, Bella Vista,2153 NSW. Please read the official rules and share them with your parents and guardian, who will sign your entry forms.

All the best!!!!!

The Australian Education Times

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The Australian

education times

Official Entry Form Student Information Name of the student : Home address:

Contact number: Email: Date of Birth: Name of the Parent / Guardian

School Information: Name of School: Year: I understand that (name of the talent) is providing this information as part of "The News Crew" Talented Reporter Search.

Signature of Parent /Guardian Date: Entries must be sent to 207, 5 Celebration Drive, Bella Vista, NSW 2153

Rules and Regulations

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You must include (a) the completed and signed entry form along with your essay of 100 words or less, written in English, explain why you should be a reporter for "The News Crew" of The Australian Education Times. Your article should include a headline and quotes from people you have interviewed. (b) Any news article if you have written. Include any journalistic elements such as photos, charts, maps, editorial cartoons etc. Please do NOT send a computer disc.

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The Australian Education Times

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All entries will be judged on the criteria of creativity, originality, grammar and spelling, clarity and newsworthiness.

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Eligibility: Open to all young Talent.

Each reporter chosen will receive "The News Crew" Reporter T-shirt, press credentials and a certificate.

The Australian

education times

Focus On University

P

arents and Students from within Australia and Overseas send their questions regarding study in Australia. The team from "The Australian Education Times" send these enquiries instantly to the panel of Career Advisors from School and Universities for their expert advice. All queries posted might not be published but we will take our best effort to address them all.

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As an international student, Can I apply for intermission or leave of absence for a term after my first semester?

Advice: Yes, you can apply for a leave of absence during your course. It means that you are taking a break from studies.

Please be aware that you have to be outside Australia for the period of your intermission. A leave of absence must be by formal written agreement and for a defined period of time.

A documentary evidence and letters of support is required along with any application for a leave but the approval of the leave will be based on compelling circumstances.

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Must I obtain OHSC (Overseas student health cover) from the university or do I have an option to choose from outside?

Advice: You have many choices available for OHSC. Like • Australian Health Management • BUPA Australia • Medibank Private • Allianz Global Assistance • nib OSHC

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How do I select best primary school for my child in Australia and what are the admission requirements for International student?

Word of

Wisdom

Advice: The admin officers of the schools in areas where you are residing should be contacted via email to enquire about the school enrollment zones or catchment areas, whether they accept 457 or other temporary visa holders, and anything else you can think of. One master email can be typed and sent to several schools. If they reply and say they do not accept 457 visa holders then cross that area off your list and move on to the next.

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What are the advantages of online education?

Advice: Online education allows you the flexibility to fit your study around your life. Some the advantages are: • You can study at your own pace. You can fast track your course and finish sooner.

• You can stay flexible with the study load. You can change the number of units for each study period which suits you the best.

• You have an option of studying anytime, night or day as you are not restricted by class timings.

• You have an option to study anywhere, in the country or anywhere overseas.

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How can I transfer to another institution before I finish my current study?

Advice: If you want to change your course before completing the initial six months of your course, you are required to obtain permission form the current education provider and a release letter. In most cases, the new education provider will have restraints to provide enrolment if you have not finished six months of the course for which the visa was granted.

If you which to change the level of qualification, you are required to apply for a new student visa as the initial visa sub class will change.

"Want to ask any questions or clear any doubts."

Please write to us at editor@educationtimes.com.au Or visit us at www.educationtimes.com. au for your queries.

The Australian Education Times

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The Australian

education times Focus on University

Positively Educated:

L

iving the fullest life we can, and preparing our children and young people to do the same, is a challenge for us all. The popular new discipline of positive psychology shows us how.

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The Australian Education Times

Positive psychology was pioneered in the United States fifteen years ago by academics like Professor Martin Seligman and the late Professor Chris Peterson. It has since exploded in popularity globally, and here in Australia the University

Preparing children to live the full life

of Melbourne's Graduate School of Education has embraced its potential.

With a Centre for Positive Psychology and a Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) launched earlier this year, the Graduate School has invested

heavily in the discipline. Part of the reason for this, explains MAPP Director Dr Dianne Vella-Brodrick, is the recognition of how important positive psychology is to the education sector.

"Young people have shown they connect really well with positive psychology because it provides a refreshing and different perspective to learning about mental health," she says.

"Often young people who are not feeling very well are reticent to seek professional help and so to deliver positive psychology within a more general context, to everybody within a school system, enables more accessibility and normalises discussions about mental health issues."

Research has found that positive

psychology programs can boost desirable outcomes such as hope, gratitude, life satisfaction and resilience in young people. "Bringing the positive aspects of life to the fore can make a huge

difference", says Dr Vella-Brodrick."Very often when young people are feeling anxious, depressed or stressed they become preoccupied with negative thoughts," she explains. "So getting them to think about what they can be grateful for in their lives is really important. It shifts their mindset from being caught up in this negativity to focus on what is positive in their lives," she says.

"In addition, we need to keep in mind that negative events are prone to what we call negativity bias – which is where we tend to give negative events more attention than positive events. To counter this negativity bias we need deliberate strategies."

"Such strategies might include expressing gratitude to others, committing random acts of kindness and generally being kind, savouring everyday life, using your signature strengths for the greater good and writing down three good things that happened during the day before you go to bed. These types of activities can help everyone, not just those at risk of mental illness", says Dr Vella-Brodrick.

"Positive psychology does have the benefit of being able to help a full range of people, from those who are depressed to those who are OK," she says. "For those who are OK, it will enable them to prosper and make the most of their life. And when we are feeling quite well ourselves it enables us to be in a position to help others, to be more civic minded and to engage in activities that will benefit the community more broadly."

Research shows that living a full life requires a variety of different pathways to happiness. Joyful, hedonic happiness is part of the picture, but engagement, connection and meaning are important too.

"We all need to know why we wake up in the morning," says Dr Vella-Brodrick.

"Everyone, including our children and young people, needs goals to work towards to help us feel valuable and to give us purpose."

For more information on positive psychology, including the Australian Positive Psychology and Wellbeing Conference and a public lecture from Professor Seligman in February, visit education.unimelb.edu.au.

Professor Martin Seligman's work is built on the acronym PERMA, which are five criteria he has identified for promoting wellbeing.

P: Positive Emotions - the promotion and appreciation of positive feelings and states like happiness, contentment and excitement.

E: Engagement - using character strengths to connect more fully with daily activities and to achieve flow states.

R: Relationships - placing value on one’s relationships and supporting others through gratitude, empathy and kindness M: Meaning - enhanced by belonging to and serving something bigger than the individual self A: Accomplishment - using qualities such as determination, selfregulation and ‘grit’ to achieve meaningful goals.

Catriona May is Senior Media & Communications Specialist at Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne The Australian Education Times

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The Australian

education times

s e t a D For Your Diary KEY DATES FOR UAC Change of preferences Saturday 4 January 2014 for consideration in Main Round 16 January–23 January 2014 for consideration in Late Round 30 January–31 January 2014 for consideration in Final Round

Offers There are a number of new offer rounds for 2014 admissions.

The major ones for Year 12 students are listed here. Check the UAC 2014 Guide for details of all offer rounds.

Friday 3 January 2014 Early January Round offers released Thursday 16 January 2014 Main Round offers released at 9pm Thursday 30 January 2014 Late Round offers released at 9pm

Advertisment

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Upcoming Tertiary Education Open Days Australian Institute of Applied Sciences (AIAS) November 9th 2013 (Saturday) (Brisbane Campus) Australian Institute of Applied (AIAS) November 16th 2013 nces Scie (Saturday) Southern Cross University December 5th 2013 (Thursday) (Gold Coast campus) APM College of Business and Communication North Sydney 10 December 2013 Southern Cross University December 2nd 2013 (Monday) (Coffs Harbour campus), December 4th 2013 (Wednesday) (Lismore campus) William Blue College of Hospitality r Management North Sydney 10 Decembe ACPE Academy November 9th 2013 (Saturday) Olympic Park Sydney: 10am - 2pm, November 17th 2013 (Sunday) Olympic Park Sydney: 10am - Midday

Sesame Street First Aired, 1969

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White Ribbon day

1860 Burke and Wills first reach

13 20 27 First Day of Hanukkah

Cooper Creek

World kindness day

6 1861 - Queensland was linked with New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia by telegraph

HSC Exams

WEDNESDAY

Thanksgiving

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1877 Thomas Edison invented a ‘talking machine’, which preceded the phonograph

14 1868- Steele Rudd, Australian author of “On Our Selection”, was born.

7 1861 - The first Melbourne Cup was held

HSC Exams

THURSDAY

The Schools Spectacular

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1956 - The opening ceremony for the Melbourne Olympics was held.

2008 - Today is Steve Irwin Day

Dracula Writer Bram Stoker’s Birthday, 1847

HSC Exams

NAPLAN TEST, OPORTUNITY TRIAL TEST, SELECTIVE TRIAL TEST

The Schools Spectacular

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Australia’s first public wireless broadcast began 1923

UNESCO Founded, 1945

Berlin Wall Fell 1989

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1868 - HSC Exams New Zealand becomes the first country to adopt a standard national time

HSC written examinations starts

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8

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SATURDAY

education times FRIDAY

www.onlinepreunicollege.com.au

1855 - The colony of Van Diemen’s Land became known as Tasmania

1493 First PushExplorer Button Christopher Phone Went Columbus Into Service 1963 lands on Puerto Rico for the first time

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12 Essential Secondary Science Assessment ESSAonline For year 8 students

5 Melbourne Cup

HSC Exams

TUESDAY

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National Recycling week

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4

Entrance to King Kut’s Tomb Discovered, 1922

HSC Exams

MONDAY

Coming Soon...

My Reminders:

1859 Charles Darwin published his controversial “Origin of the Species”.

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1970 - The first computer mouse was patented by Douglas Engelbart

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Artificial Leg First Patented, 1846

HSC Exams

SUNDAY

November Calendar

The Australian

The Australian

education times

"Movember"

The Australian Education Times is a proud supporter of Movember. Although our students can't quite grow a mo yet, we are dedicated to support their brothers, fathers, uncles and grandparents in raising awareness about Prostate Cancer.

The Mo's on our students was created with Mustache Booth via the iTunes on our iPad. It can be downloaded on your Apple device at no cost.

For more information about Movember, please go to http://au.movember.com/ 16 |

The Australian Education Times

iCT for Education HELPING TEACHERS WITH TODAY'S TECHNOLOGY

A special pull out for Teachers, Parents and Students

Flipping your classroom

A LESSON PLAN: Digital citizenship

BYOD:

Laptop versus the Tablet

Technology treats:

Apps for primary and secondary students The Australian Education Times

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The Australian

education times ICT for education

BYOD Laptop versus the Tablet A

s Christmas approaches, many parents are considering purchasing their children a technological device of some sort as a gift. However, the question often remains, what do I buy?

A laptop, an android device or an iPad? This is a very difficult question to answer as there are many, many things that you must consider that may impact your decision. It was Steve Jobs whom always stated at every Apple product launch that he was not designing products to replace his existing products. He was designing new products that would compliment his existing range of products. This means that nearly all of the products on the market do very different things and are designed to assist the needs of different people.

The age of your child The age of your child and the year they are in at school will certainly determine which device they require for their studies. In the early years of education, a tablet or iPad is extremely suitable. They are fast, easy to use and provide children with many short-step procedures to complete tasks.

As your child grows and enters the phase of writing long answers to questions, essays and short stories, the need for a laptop develops. By year 6, students are expected to know how to fully utilise a computer system (PC or laptop). A laptop/ computer offers much more functionality 18 |

The Australian Education Times

than iPads and tablets offer. Although Google Apps offer free access to the Microsoft suite, children often find using these sites difficult and time consuming, particularly if they do not have regular access to the internet. By the time a child reaches high school, they should have basic knowledge of using both tablet devices and computers. As students begin to select subjects in year 9, softwares can be purchased to be installed on their laptops/computers in order for students to complete class work outside of school hours.

The resources available at your child's school Unfortunately, access to resources at each school differs greatly. Some schools offer limited wifi access whereas others offer full internet access. Some schools also require students to provide their own internet access (which can be purchased at Telstra, Optus, Vodafone etc).

Apart from Internet, charging stations (to charge the BYOD), access to software, a

helpdesk (to assist your child if they are experiencing difficulties) etc are also factors of consideration. It will be pointless to purchase your child a Samsung Galaxy Tablet if all of their school’s equipment, resources and manpower is equipped for Apple products. Speaking to the school and obtaining their technology policy or plan will assist you in determining which device to purchase.

Budget Purchasing any technological device can be expensive. Particularly when you are required to purchase software and addons such as mouse, keyboard, printer and bag. Keeping in mind that the device is for a child and not yourself and that the chances of the device being dropped, broken, getting a virus or stolen is a more likely. As many schools are not offering insurances or financial support to fix/replace the devices of students, purchasing insurance for the device may be another cost to your family. Purchasing a cheaper device that is regularly backed up onto an external USB or via iCloud will still provide your child with the same opportunities other children are exposed too.

The Australian

education times TECHNOLOGY TREATS ICT Metalanguage

H

APP REVIEW Apps for PRIMARY students Popplet

A great tool that students can use via their iPad or tablet (or via the internet on a laptop/PC) is Popplet. Popplet is an organisational tool that can be used to brainstorm and organise ideas. This is commonly used in classrooms to develop literacy skills, metalanguage and can act as a thesaurus. Popplet can be used in both the classroom and at home while completing homework to assist students to learn their spelling words. Popplet is also great for school assignments as it allows students to insert images and provide brief explanations about topics and concepts.

Popplet can be downloaded at Play Store and itunes for free.

Maths Practice Flash Cards

Studying Math or practicing it is not easy for some children. And for those that do excel at Math, it can become dry and boring.

Maths Practice Flash Cards is a great app to change the method of learning for students. It is highly visual and contains a large amount of questions that students can practice. The variety of the questions in this app are endless.

It acts as a flashcard and turns learning basic equations into a game of fun and speed. Maths Practice Flash Cards can be used by students individually or in a small group setting. Maths Practice Flash Cards can be downloaded at Play Store and itunes for free.

Apps for SECONDARY students iMovie

Students are becoming more aware of multimedia and multimedia Softwares and a great tool to use when completing any assessment task is iMovie. Although many students use this app to record and edit personal videos that they make of themselves for YouTube, iMovie can be used to illustrate a student’s understanding of topics and concepts learned in class. It can also be used to support class speeches and to explain systematic processes. This is truly a fantastic app that can turn a basic idea into a true masterpiece. iMovie can be downloaded at itunes for $4.99.

School Timetable Deluxe As more and more students own a smart phone, a logical app for them to download is a timetabling app that helps that get to and from class on time when they are at school. School Timetable Deluxe allows students to program their timetable into their phones or BYOD’s. It can be configured for school timetables that are based /on 1 or 2 weeks. School Timetable Deluxe also allows students to enter in their homework details and make notes of tasks that they must complete outside of school hours. School Timetable Deluxe can be downloaded at Play Store and itunes for free.

ave you tried to assist your children in understanding their assignments and wonder what some of the jargon means? Here is a list of terms that will help you decipher them when helping your child: App: Application. A tool that can be downloaded on most technological devices Blog: A website that contains the thoughts and expressions of a particular individual. In a classroom setting a Blog is a steam of basic communication between students and their teacher.

BYOD: Bring Your Own Device. Many schools are using this strategy. Students are to purchase their own technological device to use in the classroom. BYOD range from smart phones (iPhones and Android Phones) to iPads and Tablets.

ICT: Information, Communication and Technology. Commonly used in Primary school IST: Information, Software and Technology. Commonly used in Secondary school Peripherals: Anything that is OUTSIDE the computer that is necessary to make your experience with the computer more efficient and effective (eg, mouse, keyboard, printer etc) URL: Uniform Resource Locator.

Also known as a Web Address. A URL contains the location of a resource on the Internet. A URL specifies the address of the computer where the resource is located, which may be the homepage of a website USB: Universal Serial Bus. It is the connection that connects your device to external peripherals USB Stick: An external hard drive that allows one to store information and transfer it Vlog: Video blog. Rather than students type their feelings or expressions, they use their webcameras to record themselves discussing their experiences.

This is increasingly popular courtesy of Reality TV

Noelene Callaghan

Noelene Callaghan is an ICT Teacher at Rooty Hill High School and a Councillor of The Teachers Guild of NSW. The Australian Education Times

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The Australian

education times

Dr Tim Kitchen

Senior Education Advocate – Adobe (Asia Pacific), Vice President of VITTA (Victorian Information Technology Teacher’s association http://timkitchen.net | kitchen@adobe.com | @timkitchen

r u o y g n i Flipp classrWoom it just makes sense.

When you go to school, the trauma is that you must stop learning and you must now accept being taught.

Seymour Papert 20 |

The Australian Education Times

hen you look inside an average classroom today, do you see learning happening or do you see a teacher talking? I sometimes wonder how much more learning would occur if teachers spent less time talking and allowed more time for their students to collaborate, discuss, share ideas, research, make things and construct learning.

TMI In the book Invent to Learn, Martinez and Stagar came up with a very easy to remember and simple learning and teaching methodology to help teachers and students manage projects: TMI (Think, Make, Improve). They suggest that the same acronym could be used to remind teachers of their role in the learning process and to be careful to avoid: - Too Much Information, - Too Much Instruction, - Too Many Interruptions, and - Too Much Intervention.

(Martinez and Stagar, 2013)

The traditional teacher-centered approach that most teachers grew up with has its place, but it should not dominate classroom practice.

Dewey - still relevant today Philosopher, psychologist, education reformer and father of the constructivist learning model, John Dewey (1859– 1952) suggested that students should be actively engaged in authentic interdisciplinary problem solving activities that relate to the real world.

Dewey suggests that the role of the teacher is not to impose, but to guide.

I believe that under existing conditions far too much of the stimulus and control proceeds from the teacher ... The teacher is not in the school to impose certain

Years before personal computers were common in workplaces, schools or in homes and years before the Internet. They saw so much potential for creativity and learning in the personal computer.

With everybody having computers all the time, it is inconceivable that learning will be like it’s been in the past. There will be new ways of learning. But it’s up to you, and me, and all of us, to invent that future (Papert, 1980).

Video - the new literacy Video production is one of those new ways of learning and teaching. Video has become a literacy, maybe not yet as common as reading and writing, but it is the perfect tool for constructivist and constructionist teaching and learning.

Video is a great multimedia platform for students to construct and reflect on their learning and for teachers to present concepts. Enhancements in information and communications technologies have made the process of making quality video productions and sharing them with a wide audience accessible for everyone.

These new technologies have led to a new classroom evolution known as “The Flipped Classroom.”

The Flipped Classroom ideas or to form certain habits in the child, but is there as a member of the community to select the influences which shall affect the child and to assist him in properly responding to these influences.

Dewey, 1897

Papert Seymour Papert, who today is affectionately known as the godfather of ICT integration in schools, further developed Dewey’s constructivist model by developing the constructionism theory of learning, based around learning by actively constructing knowledge and making something to share with others.

It was in the 1970s that Seymour Papert and Allan Kay came up with the concept of 1:1 computing for students.

The Flipped Classroom approach is about teachers delivering instructional content outside of the classroom, usually for homework and usually via streamed video. This allows for more time in class for engagement with skill development, project work and general learning construction with a collaborative approach facilitated by the classroom teacher. The flipped approach is about making the most of class time.

Flipping - more valuable when it features the student's own teacher There are countless numbers of online video resources on the Internet through YouTube, Vimeo, Adobe TV and more, relative to virtually every aspect of any curriculum. These are great to use as resources but it is more personable and more effective a learning process if the video content is actually managed and delivered by the student’s own teacher someone they trust and with whom they have a connection.

However, producing quality video tutorials traditionally requires a level of ICT skill and knowledge that is beyond the average teacher. This is where Adobe Presenter comes to the rescue.

Flipping made easy Adobe Presenter for Windows, or Adobe Presenter Video Express for the Mac is the simplest way I have seen to make quality online video tutorials. Presenter can capture the screen, the web camera image and audio and, in virtually the same time it takes to record the lesson/presentation, the editing can take place.

Adobe Presenter Adobe Presenter 9 http://adobe.ly/UwdnDH Adobe Presenter Video Express http://bit.ly/18OAII1 To find out more about Adobe Presenter and Adobe Presenter Video Express and see how they can be used to help make flipping the classroom a reality for the average teacher, have a look at the following links.

Richard Jenkins talking about Adobe Presenter 9 http://adobe.ly/173DyJa Dr Allan Partridge video about Adobe Presenter Video Express http://bit.ly/18OAII1 Dr Tim Kitchen using presenter to talk about the value of Flipping the classroom http://bit.ly/18cLTdd Dr Tim Kitchen video about Adobe Presenter Video Express http://bit.ly/1bGeiOZ Other great resources can be found on the Adobe Education Exchange (http:// edex.adobe.com)which involves over 100,000 teachers.

Flipping the classroom does make sense and now, thanks to Adobe Presenter, there is no excuse for teachers to not give it a try. The less a teacher needs to interrupt the learning process by talking too much in class, the more chance quality learning will take place.

The Australian Education Times

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education times

Global Story Although this occurred last year, we are still touched by people who make a considerable difference to the lives of children. Here is a story about what happened when children in Eithopia were given ipads.

The devices involved are Motorola Xoom tablets—used together with a solar charging system, which Ethiopian technicians had taught adults in the village to use. Once a week, a technician visited the villages and swaps out memory cards so that researchers can study how the machines were actually used.

Given Tablets but No Teachers, After several months, the kids in both Ethiopian Children Teach Themselves villages were still heavily engaged in using A bold experiment by the One Laptop and recharging the machines, and had Per Child organization has shown been observed reciting the “alphabet “encouraging” results. song,” and even spelling words. One boy, With 100 million first-grade-aged children exposed to literacy games with animal worldwide having no access to schooling, pictures, opened up a paint program and the One Laptop Per Child organisation wrote the word “Lion.” is trying something new in two remote Earlier last year, OLPC workers dropped Ethiopian villages—simply dropping off off closed boxes containing the tablets, tablet computers with preloaded programs taped shut, with no instruction. “I thought and seeing what happens. the kids would play with the boxes. Within The goal: To see if illiterate kids with four minutes, one kid not only opened the no previous exposure to written words box, found the on-off switch … powered can learn how to read all by themselves, it up. Within five days, they were using by experimenting with the tablet and 47 apps per child, per day. Within two its preloaded alphabet-training games, weeks, they were singing ABC songs in the e-books, movies, cartoons, paintings, and village”. McNierney said. “And the fact they other programs.

worked around it was clearly the kind of creativity, the kind of inquiry, the kind of discovery that we think is essential to learning.”

“If they can learn to read, then they can read to learn,” Negroponte said. In an interview after his talk, Negroponte said that while the early results are promising, reaching conclusions about whether children could learn to read this way would require more time. “If it gets funded, it would need to continue for another a year and a half to two years to come to a conclusion that the scientific community would accept,” Negroponte said. “We’d have to start with a new village and make a clean start.”

Why It Matters Around 100 million first-grade-aged children lack access to schools. A foundation is testing whether poor children who are given computers and learning software can teach themselves

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PHOTO • VIDEO

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education times ICT for education The Australian

IT Lesson

plan

Topic: Digital Citizenship Year/Stage Suitability Year 7 and 8/Stage 4

Time allocated 70 minutes

Australian Curriculum Capabilities: • • •

Applying social and ethical protocols and practices when using ICT Investigating with ICT Creating with ICT

Resources: • • • •

BYOD Internet Connection Apps: Popplet (also available via the Internet), Story Maker It is always recommended that the Teacher complete this activity prior to the lesson to illustrate completed works to students

Lesson: 1.

Students are to create a Popplet (www.popplet.com) brainstorming 10 social and ethical issues associated with using the Internet. When using Popplet, students are recommended to use their school email address to create a login. When students complete their Popplet, they are to take a ‘screen shot’ and paste it into a ppt presentation.

Students can then save this as a jpg estimated time 10 mins

2.

Students are to use the Digital Citizenship Website (www.digitalcitizenship.nsw.edu.au) and complete an activity. There are numerous activities and games that students can participate in. estimated time 30 mins

3.

Students are to use Story Maker to create a short story book aimed at children about an issue that they researched on the Digital Citizenship website and discuss in their story what the issue is, how it occurs and how it can be eliminated. If possible, students can also mention what help is out there if a friend falls victim to the issue. estimated time 30 mins

Teaching Students to think

outside the “Dodecahedron”

T

he challenge for teachers in the 20th century was to teach students to think outside the ‘square’.

On Thursday 31 October 2013, teachers from a number of Sydney metropolitan schools were informed of the new challenge: Teaching students to think outside the ‘dodecahedron’.

The evening, entitled “Byte the Bullet: Using ICT in the Classroom” and held at Trinity Grammar School, was the second and final teacher seminar run by the Teachers’ Guild of New South Wales for 2013. Participants were treated to a plenary session with Tony Ryan, a consultant and writer on effective thinking and learning. With over 1500 keynotes and workshops, both domestic and international, behind him, Tony enlightened delegates about the coming educational context that is not around the corner but is right on our doorstep. Rather than ignore the ‘digital boom’, teachers were encouraged to embrace it.

With the big picture presented, teachers then had the opportunity to take part in professional sharing led by Jennifer Holt of The Scots College and Michael Sahlstrom of St Andrew’s Cathedral School, who have taken an instrumental role in embracing new technologies in their respective schools. Topics presented ranged from: using mobile devices in classrooms; discussing challenges associated with technology; social media and educational outcomes; implementing e-tablets and capitalising on Learning Management Systems.

The age old saying of Joseph Joubert “to teach is to learn twice” could not be any more applicable for the road ahead. To capitalise on the opportunities that are here and those that are to come, teachers have to be willing to try something new.

By The Teachers' Guild of New South Wales www.teachersguild.nsw.edu.au

The Australian Education Times

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education times

HSC Topper

Top HSC Scorer Reveals His The Australian Education Times was delighted to have Lik Wong Yu achiever of first position in New South Wales Higher School Certificate Business Services Examination 2012 and a Premiers Award Recipient for All Round Excellence in New South Wales Higher School Certificate to share his secret of success and give some tips to our readers.

How did you feel after getting highest marks in New South Wales’ HSC Business Services Examination 2012?

After being notified by the Board of Studies NSW I had been enveloped by a moment of disbelief and took me some to register. I felt a sense of relief as if though the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders. The feeling of having invested two years of hard work and efforts into a long term goal and finally reaping the rewards only furthered my motivation for future success.

How do you manage to stay focused and concentrated during study?

Managing to stay focused and concentrating during study was a difficult task that required self – discipline and motivation. It demanded me to set a vision for myself to work progressively towards through multiple short – term goals along the way. Each day had an outcome, planned efficiently and effectively to ensure that I reached my maximum productivity levels. Time management and prioritising were essential skills, consistently utilised throughout the two years.

How much time should you give for the preparation of an exam?

The amount of time you should give for the preparation of an exam is worked out accordingly to how much effort you have invested in the past. What we do with our time during Year 11, Year 12 and the New South Wales’ HSC is what sifts us students apart. For those who invest their time effectively and efficiently will surely see that they reap the returns they deserve.

Tell us about any goal planning or organisational strategies you used to get everything accomplished.

My only goal planning and organisational strategy is the concept of always having a vision in mind in order to direct and motivate myself. Each goal was set according to a certain criteria of being Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely to guarantee that was I always working SMARTer, not harder.

What practical tips do you have for high school students?

Two practical tips: 1) Start early on anything and everything to allow time for the unpredictability of the future. 2) Do not be afraid to pick at the brains of

your teachers as they contain a wealth of knowledge and guidance of the subject.

Any tips on how to prepare yourself on the examination day and write the exam.

Ensure you get sufficient sleep the night before; arrive early to examination venue to get comfortable with the environment.

When writing the exam, mentally reassure yourself that you know the content at the beginning of the exam to calm your nerves. You should skim each question first then read each question word for word. Always answer the questions you know first and do not linger on one question; make an educated guess indicating the best response and move on.

Mark the questions you are not sure about to return to if you have any time at the end of the examination paper. Dedicate at least five minutes to plan all extended responses first. Highlight key words and the directive used. Ensure your answer sheet matches up with the question that you are up to. Be succinct and relevant in any written response. Never leave the examination early – use every second to recheck your work. Always keep an eye on the time and only spend the indicated time on each section; no more.

Do not let your performance in one examination hinder your performance in the subsequent examinations; treat each examination individually.

The Australian Education Times

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The Australian

Education Times Test Zone

Beat the HSC Examination Blues I

t is not unusual that students get high level of anxiety and stress from any assessment tasks and if it is HSC examinations, then the challenge is even greater to deal with it. However there are ways to organise and manage the study time effectively, follow simple examination techniques and be selfmotivated that will allow beating the examination blues.

1

| Know your syllabus backwards!

When preparing examination study notes, make sure all the dot points are covered. It has been found in various HSIE subjects that paper setters pick any one point of the syllabus and convert it in an examination question.

Therefore when a student has covered the entire syllabus, it will give immense confidence when he or she walks into the exam hall.

2

| Understand the Board Of Studies "directive words".

All questions start with words like "Explain", "Analyse", "Evaluate" etc., which sets an expectation from the students what they have to include in their answer. So in simple words, student must answer the question and not just write what he or she knows.

To get better understanding of the directive terms, do practise past papers and read the markers comments for previous HSC marking centres.

3

| Deconstruct your question.

Students who achieve higher marks in the HSC examination have the ability to deconstruct the exam question. This involves highlighting directive terms, main parts of the 26 |

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questions and planning the answer. This will help in writing a cohesive answer and effective use of the time during examination. When writing an answer, student should keep in mind that marker/s don't know the concepts and terms and secondly how he or she can get the marker on his or her side. The former involves defining terms, when used for the first time in the answer, for example, in Geography "Urban Places, term "Urban Sprawl" is commonly used.

So student must define the term, in his or her answer. For the latter, start the answer using key words from the question, giving a broad overview in first paragraph what a marker should expect in the answer.

4

| Use of examples. This is very important for HSIE subjects.

Students should use examples to

support their points, from media or any other sources.

The above points will help students during the examination time. Now there are some motivational points that will allow focusing on the task on hand "HSC Examination.

1

| Learn to meditate just for 10 minutes every day. During meditation just relax and feel the feeling of achieving great examination results.

2

| How often have we been told how important it is to set our GOALS? But WHY is it important to have GOALS. Imagine a Captain of a ship failing to mark the course of travel from point A to point B before the ship leaves the dock. He doesn't know where he will end up and certainly not at his

intended destination. Having GOALS means you set your directions to where you want to go! Our conscious mind is a GOAL setter and unconscious mind is a GOAL getter. Once you set your GOALS, your all body, mind and soul will be focussed on what you want to achieve!

Setting GOALS will fuel the energy and propel you towards your GOAL! Start with small GOALS, for example, revision of a Chapter in Mathematics, and when you achieve them, pay attention to your feelings! The feeling

4

| There is no "Failure" only "Feedback": Lately one of my old students met me in the shops and told me he has failed one of his subjects in his University course.

That made me think of how often we face "failures" in life? However, in NLP, one of the presuppositions is "there are no failures only feedback". This perspective will enable you to look back and identify the way we went about doing things. For this student, the feedback is that he may not have organised his study notes as he should have or the way he processed his subject content and used it in the examination environment may not have been not appropriate. Now think of your Trial Examination's feedback" and work on it!

5 of accomplishment will give you confidence, faith and courage to set higher GOALS!

3

| Commitment to your GOAL: "Success in life depends upon going from one mistake to the next without losing your enthusiasm".

While working to achieve GOALS, we sometimes enter a phase of self-doubt and feel disheartened. It is very natural as we are all humans! However, at such times just remind yourself of your commitment towards your GOAL! Commitment is a promise to yourself from which you refuse to back down. As Confucius said, "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." So NEVER GIVE UP, as you don't know how close you are to your GOAL!

| Power of Focus: So did you set a GOAL for yourself! Now the next step is to provide that energy which creates the momentum for you to move towards your GOAL! This energy comes from FOCUS! Let me give you an analogy! When we go out we are exposed to sunrays. On a hot day they may make you feel uncomfortable. However when you use a magnifying lens and let the sun rays pass through, the rays will have enough power to burn! So FOCUS is like a magnifying lens through which you pass your energies and these energies then propel you towards your GOAL! FOCUS creates an environment around you which allows you to be motivated to achieve your GOAL! SO GO ON TRY IT YOURELF!! Once you have set your GOALS...and are 100% FOCUSSED... all you need now is PERSISTANCE! And BELEIVE in YOURSELF!

6

| Get motivated: Most of the time, we do things for one of two reasons, either being motivated to achieve a goal or avoidance due to a fear of failure. It depends which way you are facing. Choosing the right mind-set will make all the difference between your success and failure. When facing towards the goal, you will find there is nice feeling and your body, mind and heart are congruent which allows you to be enthusiastic and energised and motivated. On the other hand, when you do things to stay away, due to the fear of failure, your goals will never be realised.

Once you are in your "comfort zone", you will keep doing things the same way and at times feel that you are stuck or "treading water". This situation will drain your energy and you may feel tired and frustrated. Let's do a small task! On a piece of paper write "towards" on the right and "away from" on the left. Now write under each heading, in your given situation, what will drive or motivate you to take actions. Under "away from" you may write words which describe a situation you don't want to be in your life, like increasing debt, poor performance, failure of relationship etc. Now write under "towards" words which describes what you want in your life or want to achieve, like financial abundance, meaningful and strong relationships, career advancement etc. You will notice that when you write words under "towards" will give you a nice feeling.

Now imagine you are standing between these two set of words. Ask a question to yourself - "which set of words am I facing towards?" If you are facing "away from", no matter what your intentions, you will fall in to your old habits or behaviour.

This will create frustration, low energy, lack of motivation and feeling of "stuck" in life. Now let's see how you feel when you face "towards"! These set of words will create energy and enthusiasm inside you to take action and move towards it.

Life is an outcome of our choices, make a wise one!

Narinder Parmar Narinder Parmar is HSIE, Head Teacher, at Smiths Hill High School, Wollongong, NSW. The Australian Education Times

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The Australian

education times Career of the month: Doctor

Is this career p There seems to be nothing nobler than saving human lives, isn’t it? Doctors being considered as God’s friend have a profession which is often termed very noble. It is unimaginable to think of anyone who does not need a doctor at some point of their lives.

Medicine is one of the very sensational and gratifying careers to choose today. Here’s an overview of stages to becoming a Doctor and to be a part of the medical profession.

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path for you?

Year 12 Secondary Education

The ways to Medical school

Today in Australia, there are two types of medical degrees available: A five or six year Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (also known as MBBS) and A four year graduate entry medical degree.

When one is opting for a five or six year Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, they will be required to complete Year 12 of secondary education and are required to attain a very high University entrance ranking.

A number of medical schools require the candidate to appear in the Undergraduate Medical and Health Sciences Admission Test (UMAT) for an assessment of their personal qualities and skill to be a doctor. In addition to this, an interview with the Medical School is also a usual part of the selection procedure.

When one is opting for a four year graduate entry to Medical degree, they will be required to complete a bachelor degree in any discipline. There is prerequisite to sit for the Graduate Australian Medical Schools Admissions Test, this is graduate entry equivalent to UMAT. Here also, interview by the Medical School is a part of the selection criteria.

Undergraduate Medical & Health Sciences: Admission Test (UMAT) and selection interview

Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery (MBSS) (5-6 year degree)

Beachelor Degree (any discipline)

Graduate Australian Medical Schools Admissions Test and selection interview

Graduate entry medical course: Bachelor of surgery (4 year Degree)

About the subjects and courses: Presently there are 18 Medical Schools in Australia imparting solid basic knowledge of medicine and giving training in clinical skills that are required to pursue the many paths available in the medical profession. The information about each medical School and the courses offered by them is available in Australian Medical Students Association Medical School Guide.

The initial journey: After completion of the medical degree, you are awarded a provisional registration and become a junior doctor which is also known as a doctor –in-training and are given an entrance to the medical workforce. This training which lasts for twelve months is called internship. The interns are required to complete a series of work rotation which gives them an exposure to a range of clinical situations and environments including surgery and emergency medicine. After a successful completion of internship a full medical registration by the relevant State Medical board is awarded. But

before beginning of an independent medical practice, one must complete a program of postgraduate medical training and achieve a fellowship of a specialist medical college.

Is medicine the right career for you?

Do you like challenges?

Are you interested in how human body works?

Are you passionate about science?

Do you care deeply for other people, their problems and their pain?

Do you consider yourself as a good listener?

Do you like listening to others?

Does the use of medicine to improve life intrigue you?

If you answered "yes" to most of these questions, then you may have the right personality for a career in medicine.

The Australian Education Times

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The Australian

education times

Knock Your Brains!

1

What is the only type of bird that can fly backwards?

2

How high is Uluru in metres?

3

Does sound travel faster through water or steel?

4

In Monopoly, the green set consists of Bond Street, Regent Street and which other?

5

What type of animal is the largest primate in the world?

Literacy Puzzle V S P V K Z D Y T C E T S S N B R L V R N Z K S K L B U E I E B H O T U U F L R O V A W P E U F X A S N E N I U U V O N V N L I I V O T K V M Y S P S C V P D R C N X B E P I L R B Z A P E I G U H Y C T E C F K G J T A R M Q V O I W M U Z D J A V A J V M N O O R X A S P V E R B S V W N A S E N T E N C E G E J X X M H E V I T A N I M O N Can you find these words? phrase adjective preposition adverbs pronouns clause sentence nominative verbs *The answers can be found on the contest page at www.educationtimes.com.au

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Book Review

Heroes of Olympus House of Hades

By Anirudh Shetty

Heroes of Olympus: House of Hades is the 4th book of the second series with the character Percy Jackson. It is an awesome book which contains characters and monsters from Greek and Roman mythology.

The book is written from the view of the 7 different main characters Percy, Annabeth, Leo, Piper, Jason, Hazel and Frank. Along the way of their quest to unchain the Doors of Death they meet Giants, Titans, Gods, Demigods, monsters and other good creatures that you might recognise like Gaia and Hades. The book talks about how 7 demigods follow a prophecy to defeat Gaia and stop a war between The Roman and Greek demigod camps to stop the total annihilation of the Earth (the Planet) and defeat Gaia Mother Earth (the Goddess).

This book is an instant continuation of the previous book if you are going to read this book it is recommended that you read the other books in the two series though there is a glossary for Greek and Roman words.

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education times

Science Lab

Why do Clocks Run “Clockwise”?

"

Time to get up, time to leave the bed!" cries a harried Mama as she juggles between packing the lunch box, straightening the tie, doing the hair, tying shoelaces as at the same time she tries to push her children to the car, who are just dragging their feet. We all keep thinking, is it “time for school”, is it “time for lunch or dinner” and keep wondering why Old Grandfather Time keeps interfering in our lives. Most of our lives are spent trying to beat “time”.

Surprisingly whenever we are enjoying ourselves, the time seems to fly, and whenever we are bored the time seems to stand still.

Most of us are time conscious. We make sure that we stick to our schedule by surrounding ourselves with alarm clocks, cuckoo clocks, grandfather clock, wristwatches. But have you ever stopped

for a moment just to think why do the hands of a clock move the way they do?

Why do the hour and minute hand move only from left to right (or commonly known as clockwise direction) and not the other way around? Well it certainly wasn’t just a whim of the inventor. It actually has a scientific explanation for this process.

Throughout history, time has been measured by the movement of the Sun or for more accuracy the motion of the Earth relative to the Sun. People were aware that the earth is round and that it revolves around the sun. So for centuries people measured time based on the position of the sun.

The earliest form of timekeeping is found dated back to 3500 B.C. These were the shadow clock or the sundials.

The earliest clocks were invented in China around 100 A.D. based on these earlier sundials, which were simple devices that marked the movement of the sun with the movement of the earth.

The invention of the Mechanical clocks took place in the Northern Hemisphere in the 14th Century and the creators wanted the device to follow the movement of the Sun. As in the Northern Hemisphere the Sun appears to move from the left to the right in the sky, so the hands of the clock were made to follow the same movement of the sun. If you are in the Northern Hemisphere and face towards South, you can notice that the sun rises on your left (the East) and passes overhead and sets in the West (which is your right) Just imagine if this clock was invented in the Southern Hemisphere, the hands of the clock would have been moving from right to left.

Try making a potato clock

Did you know that potatoes can be so empowering?

Let’s find out by making a Potato clock.

What We Need is:

• Two Potatoes • Two short pieces of heavy copper wire • Two common galvanized nails • Three alligator clip/wire units (alligator clips connected to each other with wire) • One simple low-voltage LED clock that functions from a 1- to 2-volt button-type battery

Steps for the experiment:

• Remove the battery from the clock.

Remember to note the positive and negative points.

• Number the potatoes as one and two and insert one nail in each.

• Insert one small piece of copper wire as far away as possible from the nails in the potatoes.

• Use one alligator clip to connect the positive terminal and another to connect the negative terminal in the clock’s battery compartment.

The third alligator clip is used to connect the mail in potato one to the copper wire in potato two and set the clock.

How the Potato Clock works

A potato battery is an electrochemical battery, otherwise known as an electrochemical cell. The zinc in the nail reacts with the copper wire. The potato acts as a sort of buffer between the zinc icons and the copper ions.

The zinc and copper ions would still react if they touched within the potato but they would only generate heat.

Since the potato keeps them apart, the electron transfer has to take place over the copper wires of the circuit, which channels the energy into the clock. Presto! You have potato power.

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The Australian Australian The

education Times times Literacy Corner Education

Having a tough time with Sentence Variety?

Everyone wants to improve their writing style, don’t they? So the best way for this is to improve the variety of your sentence structures. People who are professional writers change the subject-verb-object pattern with other grammatical sentence structures. One of the simplest way for good sentence variety will be fifty percent subject-verb-object sentence openers and fifty percent other grammatical sentence opener forms. So to add spice and flair to your writing try these sentence openers.

Prepositional Phrase

To improve your writing style, start your sentence with a phrase beginning with one of these common prepositions: aboard, about, above, according to, across, after, against, along, among, around, as, as to, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between,

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beyond, but, by, despite, down, during, except, for, from, in, inside, instead of, into, in place of, in spite of, like, near, next, of, off, on, onto, outside, out of, over, past, regardless of, since, than, through, throughout, to, toward, under, underneath, unlike, until, up, upon, with, within, without

Remember: Always Place a comma after a prepositional phrase sentence opener when a noun or pronoun follows.

Example Behind the haunted house, he found the missing watch

Adjective

Start with a word or phrase that describes a proper noun, common noun, or pronoun with How Many? Which One? or What Kind?

Remember: Place a comma after an adjective or adjective phrase sentence opener.

Examples Fuming, the man refused to leave.

Happy as always, the kids played in the park.

Adverb

Start with a word that answers these questions: How? When? Where? or What Degree?

Many adverbs end in __ly.

Remember: Usually place a comma after an adverb sentence opener if the adverb is emphasized.

Example

Everywhere, the people were running; Quickly, the artists changed their outfits.

Start a phrase with an __ing word that serves as a noun.

Adverbial Clause

Remember: Usually do not place a comma after the sentence opener.

Examples: (Adjective) Falling rapidly, the people were crying for help.

(Noun) Smelling the sauce makes them hungry for food.

Start a dependent clause (a noun and verb that does not express a complete thought) with one of the following subordinating conjunctions to improve writing style: after, although, as, as if, as long as, as much as, as soon as, as though, because, before, even if, even though, how, if, in order that, once, since, so that, than, that, though, unless, until, when, whenever, where, wherever, whether, or while.

Remember: Place a comma after an adverbial clause that begins a sentence.

Example Although better known for its winter activities, Snowy mountains offers much during the summer.

__d, __ed, or __en Verbs

Start with a __d or __ed verb, acting as an adjective, when combined with a prepositional phrase, or an __en verb, when combined with an adverb to improve writing style.

Remember: Usually place a comma after the sentence opener.

Examples Terrified by the noise, I ran out of the house.

Eating hastily, the little boy choked on his food.

To + Verb

Start with To and then add the base form of a verb to improve writing style.

Add related words to create a phrase.

Remember: Place a comma after the sentence opener, if a noun follows.

Examples To smile, even if you are sad, takes great effort.

To ride the car, he had to get a license.

__ing Verbs and Nouns

Start a phrase with an __ing word that acts as an adjective to improve writing style.

Remember: Usually place a comma after the sentence opener.

Having Verbs and Nouns

Start a phrase with Having and then add a verb that ends in __d, __ed, or __en to serve as an adjective or a noun, referring to something that happened in the past to improve writing style.

Remember: Usually place a comma after the sentence opener.

Example: (Adjective) Having listened to his mother, he saved himself from getting into trouble.

Noun Clause

Start with a group of words that acts as the subject of a sentence beginning with: How, However, What, Whatever, When, Whenever, Where, Wherever, Which, Whichever, Who, Whoever, or Whomever to improve writing style.

Remember: Place a comma after the noun clause when used as a sentence opener if it does not serve as the subject of the sentence.

Example However the question was answered, they still won the quiz.

Nominative Absolute

Start with a possessive pronoun (my, mine, our, your, his, her, or their) followed by a verb with a d, __ed, or __en ending to serve as a noun phrase that provides information, but no grammatical connection with the rest of the sentence.

Remember: A comma is placed at the end of the nominative absolute when it opens a sentence.

Example His friends angry and hurt, he promised to change the way things were.

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The Australian

education times

Magic Maths

Pattern Learning Makes Children O

Brighter

ne of the most important intelligence skills is Pattern Learning. Out of all the mental skills, pattern recognition is considered to have the highest correlation with general intelligence. Pattern learning assists a child to learn sequencing and to make predictions which ascertains mathematical skills, logical order in algebra and eventually helping establish order in life. It is an ability to recognise order in a chaos.

In today’s world, every sort after profession requires pattern recognition skills. For example, Doctors are required to read patient histories and medical charts to diagnose. Legal professionals are required to study case histories before presenting their cases. Financial Analyst need to study data to predict future price movements and Sales Professional use consumer patterns to sell products.

What are the ways to improve your child’s patterning skills?

Working up the Numeracy Continuum, how Patterns are embedded in the Australian Curriculum: At the start of Kindergarten (Early Stage 1) Outcome: Students should recognise simple patterns in everyday contexts Example: recognising patterns in games, music, artwork

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At the end of Kindergarten (Early Stage 1) Outcome: Students should describe and continue patterns

Example: continuing simple patterns using three different colours or repeating a pattern in music

At the end of Year 2 (Stage 1) Outcome: Students should identify, describe and create everyday patterns

At the end of Year 4 (Stage 2)

Example: creating a pattern based on the petal structure of a flower

At the end of Year 6 (Stage 3) Outcome: Students should identify and describe pattern rules and relationships that help to identify trends Example: survey dates about the local community to find clues about patterns of settlement

Outcome: Students should identify and describe trends in everyday patterns Example: creating a pattern that could be used to produce a mosaic

At the end of Year 10 (Stage 5)

At the end of Year 8 (Stage 4)

Outcome: Students should explain how the practical application of patterns can be used to identify trends

Outcome: Students should identify trends using number rules and relationships

Example: using mobile phone bills to identify usage trends

Example: using fuel consumptions vs. distance data to determine patterns of a vehicle’s fuel consumption

Can You Solve This?

Many Directions, the newest band in town, has concerts at Sydney Stadium every year . In the 1st year, only 28 people came!! In the 2nd year, 53 fans showed up to hear them. In the 3rd year, 78 groupies came to listen to

them. If this pattern continues, how long will it take until there are 253 fans at the stadium rocking to Many Direction’s music? If Many Directions only sings for 7 years, how many people will come to see them?

Parents & Teachers: If you have any relevant resources to share, please email them to us at editor@educationtimes.com.au

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The Austrailan Australian The

Education education Times times

CRAZY but

True

Record of the week Largest Bubble Gum Bubble Blown

Chad Fell (USA) blew a bubble gum bubble with a diameter of 50.8 cm (20 in) without using his hands at the Double Springs High School, Winston County, Alabama, USA on 24 April 2004.

T

here is a mosque in Timbuktu with a door that’s never been opened. It is believed that opening the door will cause the world to end!

A

rchaeologist once discovered an ancient tomb that they had to break through a wall of a solid rock to get into it. Inside, there was a coffin that had never been opened. They expected to find the remains of a pharoh from ancient Egypt when they opened the lid. Instead, they found a modern day comic book.

You Think You Can Beat This Record?

For more info on this record and hundred more, go to guinnessworldrecords.com

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Education Times

Puzzle POP! Can you identify these famous people?

Match the pictures with the correct names.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Greg Norman

Justin Bieber

Beyonce

Chris Sandow

Julia Gillard

John Howard

Helen Skelton

Emma Watson

Guess what I am?????

Using the clues below work out this popular summer dessert?

1| 2|

I am found is Sunday but am missing in Monday.

I am found in Sun but am missing in Son.

3|

I am found in Monday but am missing in Tuesday.

4|

I am found in day but am missing in gay.

5| 6|

I am found in bad but am missing in bed.

I am found in one but am missing in two.

What’s the link to the Australian Curriculum?

Did you know that picture puzzles develop vocabulary, increase small muscle development, develop eye hand coordination, improve memory skills, increase problem solving skills, build spatial perception and build literacy skills?

In the Australian Curriculum, this is addressed by “Measurement and Geometry” On the Numeracy Continuum, this is addressed by "Using Spatial Reasoning" *The answers can be found on contest page at www.educationtimes.com.au The Australian Education Times

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The Australian

education times

October in Pictures

Halloween Halloween is always spooky and a little bit creepy.

What did you dress up as?

Festival of Choral Music

Mark "Frosty" Winterbottom took home one of the most epic Bathurst 1000 races we have ever seen for Ford "who haven't won since 2008" and took time out of the celebrations to chat to Nathan Nat and Shaun

T

he NSW DEC presented four concerts in the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House of the "Festival of Choral Music.

DET Schools from all of the state participated in this prestigious event"

2013 X Factor

Champion Dami Im, 25 year old from Brisbane wins the "2013 The XFactor". As the winner, Dami has scored a recording contract with Sony Music, and her single, "Alive," is available on iTunes now.

Link to Curriculum

Did you know that pictures help Year 1 students self-correct when reading does not make sense by using pictures, context, meaning, phonics and grammatical knowledge?

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Bathurst 1000, 2013 NRL Champions

of 2013

Congratulations to the Sydney Roosters who won against Manly this year in the NRL Grand Final

Blue Mountains Bushfires Our bushfires are far from over.

Interstate firefighters have travelled to New South Wales to help battle the state's worst bushfires in a decade.

Please donate to our real super heroes!

Did you know that pictures help Year 4 students construct suitable data displays, with and without the use of digital technologies, from given or collected data. Include tables, column graphs and picture graphs where one picture can represent many data values?

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education times

Name of Activity: Climb the Mountain Purpose of Activity: To get students moving a lot in a short amount of time.

Prerequisites: Students can perform full or modified push-ups, crunches, jump rope, leap, hop, jump, and balance.

Curriculum Link: PDHPE

Suggested Grade Level: K-6 Materials Needed: Carpet Squares (if needed/desired for push ups), individual jump ropes a hula hoop , 4-8 long jump ropes, 6-10 small hurdles (you can use balls), 8-10 cones/domes (you can use plastic cups), cones to mark challenges & course, music to motivate

An activity that can be used at school in PDHPE or at home for fitness fun Description of Idea

1

At the beginning of the hike, perform 10 push-ups (traditional or modified) to scare the bears off the mountain. The students then hike to the hot rocks.

2

The hot rocks are set up as a jump rope area. Students jump rope 15 times on the hot rocks (because our mountain is a volcano also), then jog to the swamp.

3

The swamp consists of hula hoops set up in a line of two rows.

Students run through the hoops with high knees (so they don’t get stuck in the swamp). Then they jog to the rivers area.

4

Students leap over the rivers, which are two long jump ropes running parallel to each other. I use any number of rivers I feel like that day. Then students hike or job to the creek.

5

Students cross the creek by hopping from rock to rock. Then then continue to the caves.

6

The caves are picnic tables with benches. Children perform 10 bench push ups or 10 crunches to scare away the trolls that live under in the caves (under the tables). Then they run over to the boulders.

7

Students jump or leap over the boulders (hurdles), then continue to the switchback path.

8

Since switchback paths are used for very steep places in a trail in a zigzag pathway using cones. Then onto the rocky ledge at the top of the mountain.

9

Students have reached the top of the mountain when balance on the rocky ledge

10

Students then take a different pathway down the mountain, to the beginning. They have the option of taking the short cut (monkey bars) across from one side of the “ledge” to the other.

11

Students continue hiking up and down the mountain until time is up. (usually 5 -8 minutes – a few songs when playing music).

Adaptations for Students with Disabilities: They can do this with a buddy, number of reps can be lowered. If being done on the grass, a student in a wheelchair could have their own course and complete it with another student.

Link to Curriculum This activity can be measured by the Australian Curriculum Capability (Key Learning Area) of “Personal and Social Capability”. This capability involves students in a range of practices including recognising and regulating emotions, developing empathy for others and understanding relationships, establishing and building positive relationships, making responsible decisions, working effectively in teams, handling challenging situations constructively and developing leadership skills.

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