Several schools have already introduced themselves, there are some great comments turning up on the Teachers‘ section, and there are already things to look at in the Gallery. This book rap will also feature participation by the author, Lisa Shanahan, and illustrator, Emma Quay. An online video, of Lisa and Emma reading “Bear & Chook by the sea” at Caddies Creek PS, and answering students’ questions, will be an exciting addition to the usual teaching resources. The rap is being coordinated by Jenny Scheffers (TL at Caddies Creek), “Scan” editor Cath Keane, and yours truly. Interstate and international schools are welcome, and there is no cost involved in book rapping.

I’ve had a few questions from first-time teacher book rappers, and people who last did a rap in the previous email listserv format, regarding the whereabouts of the support material (programming and planning, syllabus outcomes and rap sheets) for the “Bear & Chook books rap”. The rap pages on the NSW DET website are still under construction and will be open for viewing from NSW’s Day 1, Term 4. When live, they will be linked from:
schools.nsw.edu.au/raps/index.htm
The rap itself will commence in Week 2, Term 4, in the week of 26 October 2009.

If you’re trying to visualise the scope of the programming and planning, syllabus outcomes and rap sheets, you might like to check out previous recent raps, such as the 2008 Stage 1 “Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge” book rap, in which the discussion component was also in a blog format:
schools.nsw.edu.au/raps/wilfrid08/index.htm

You can also email cath.keane@det.nsw.edu.au for further information about the rap. Have a great holiday and don’t forget the warm honey toast!

Regards,
Ian McLean
Teacher librarian and rap co-coordinator,
Penrith PS

Speaking of split loyalties, I had realised a few days ago that we had so much on today (the above-mentioned reading; our first Stage 3 sessions of a new book rap; the Greatest Morning Tea charity fundraiser; a mufti day for a belated Loud Shirt Day; and a canned drink collection to prepare for our upcoming, annual Pedlars’ Fair), I didn’t have the heart to abandon it all for the local district teacher-librarians’ professional development day. Drat. (I wonder if the T-Ls, too, ended up reading Arthur at 11 am?)

Every day is different; I wouldn’t have it any other way. And somehow I must find time to squeeze in a great little wiki activity, to follow-up Arthur. Although our school doesn’t have an interactive whiteboard (yet), I do find myself reconfiguring lessons so they’ll work well with the IWB (next time) when it does arrive.

You need to register at http://www.in2era.com.au/ by filling in the form at the bottom of the web page. You will be able to login and preview the book from 14th May in preparation for the National Simultaneous Reading event on 21st May. Great for large groups.

The purpose of this blog is to have a space where teachers, teacher-librarians and PSP (Priority Schools Program) consultants and committee members in our professional learning group can share the journey of our forthcoming adventure with interactive whiteboards (often known as IWBs). At the same time, we can become more familiar with blogs, wikis and other Web 2.0 tools and ICT (information communication technologies), and gain insights into how to start using them in classrooms and learning spaces.

In the coming weeks and months, many of us will be grappling with preparations to integrate the use of interactive whiteboards into our NSW DET school programs. (Being the Internet, this blog may also end up with interstate and international browsers and contributors.) We know that interactive whiteboards have the potential to allow us to make powerful enhancements to programs and the learning of students, upskilling of teachers and new ways to communicate with our school communities.

I have organised this blog, and a wiki, for us to be involved in as part of our first joint IWB project. (The wiki is based on the picture book, Arthur by Amanda Graham and Donna Gynell, which is the book being used for the upcoming ALIA National Simultaneous Reading Day on Wednesday 21st May at 11.00 am (Term Two, Week 5). The Penrith Reading Project: Books from Birth group, another of the local PSP initiatives, has also been invited to join us for the reading.

I will be soon be showing representatives of the IWB2 PSP group how to access (and add to) the wiki site, and highlight some teaching ideas and interactive TaLe activities (learning objects) to support the book. Even if schools do not have interactive whiteboards available to them yet, the interactive activities can still be used on regular computers, or via projection devices. Please check your email for the memo from our PSP consultant, Michele Hedge.

Michele and I are looking forward to seeing you at the meeting (13th May at 3.30pm) to get our joint projects off and running!

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