The Ministry of Education is encouraging every school, whare kura, kura, kōhanga reo and early childhood centre to do something on 5 June to mark World Environment Day and to share their plans to contribute to a sustainable future.

From 22 May all schools will be able to log in to Show the Way Today site to select eco-actions that schools might plan to do on 5 June and beyond. They will also be able to add their own future focused sustainability pledge which will be revealed on an online world map on the day.

Watch gruesome online safety issues embodied in these new video clips about keeping safe online. These short videos are a series of episodes created by Netsafe, which use family characters to front up to online nasties such as malware and viruses, and then advise how to keep safe.

Applications are open for the Ministry of Education’s ICT PD cluster programme 2009–2011. Fifteen new clusters of schools are expected to be contracted to carry out professional and school ICT development programmes in 2009–2011. Visit the Ministry of Education website for eligibility and selection information, and an overview of the project. The deadline for applications is 18th July 2008.

View the Draft Digital Strategy 2.0, which provides a vision of where New Zealand is heading in the digital world and has substantial implications for education (see particularly chapter 4). Participate in the feedback process to highlight any issues and opportunities that may have been omitted from this draft document and to comment on the proposed policies. There are a variety of ways that you can make edits, suggestions, and comments digitally: through the Digital Strategy wiki, using the submission form, or email submission@digitalstrategy.govt.nz; or send by fax or post (details are on the website). Submissions close at 5.00pm on Monday 12 May 2008.

Look through the latest topics being discussed on the ICT forum on TKI and have your say. Here’s your chance to help others with your skills – or pick up some ideas from what others are doing.

Walk the talk using the Cybercitizenship Pathway. This resource provides teachers across the curriculum areas, from early childhood level through to school year 13, with a progression of cybercitizenship attributes, appropriate learning objectives, suggested activities, and recommended resources.

Step into the shoes of someone else – help your intermediate and secondary students see the world from a different point of view with these simulation games. Each school term brings a new Frontline game set in a conflict zone, where teams face decisions that save lives, and assist those impacted by conflict.

Explore The New Zealand Curriculum online and link to a range of resources and support materials. The revised curriculum will become mandatory from Feb 2010. Schools are encouraged to begin working towards its implementation. Check out the new section Strategies for Getting Started, and add comments to share your expertise and experiences.

Get inspired by looking at the work the 2008 e-fellows are doing.

Check out this great resource – New Zealand e-Learning facilitator Rochelle Jensen developed this site to make it easy for New Zealand teachers to locate pedagogically-sound, active, online collaborative projects for use in their classrooms.

Bookmark this – a blog created by New Zealand e-Learning facilitator Fiona Grant to explore team blogging and the possibilities for learning and teaching of English in New Zealand schools. With over 30 teachers registered as authors, this is a chance to learn some blogging tips and share your own with the community.

Explore the excellent resources that New Zealand teacher Andrew Churches has provided as an 'update' to Bloom's Revised Taxonomy. He cleverly matches ICT tools to key terms. Check out his handy rubrics too.

This collection of excellent digital learning objects and resources for New Zealand teachers has now been refined to make it easier to find and use the material. One of the changes is that if you have lost your password, it is now possible to have the log-in sent to your school email address.

Get your students to look around this fun website – it’s a government initiative to support 5–12 year olds in making healthy choices in eating, drinking, and physical activity. Schools have been sent an information pack with ideas on how to use Mission-On. The flyer is also accessible from http://www.mission-on.co.nz/upload/curriculum-links-flyer.pdf (PDF 873KB).

Seemingly credible and looking to be extremely informative, this site actually contains a hornet’s nest of fictional and downright ridiculous information carefully placed in amongst real facts. It was set up by teachers to train students (and good for teacher professional development too) to be discerning about the information they find on the Internet. Supported by teachers notes.

Although this website requires paid registration to publish podcasts, it is free to look at the already published and moderated work, providing access to good examples of students’ work in podcasting.

The K12 Online Conference is an annual conference for teachers by teachers interested in innovative ways Web 2.0 tools and technologies can be used to improve learning. The conference material remains available online after its completion, providing many valuable resources for teachers using ICT.

Use this BBC site with your primary school students to support them in various aspects of the film-making process. Helpful videos, starring students, support the learning.

Download this booklet, aimed at senior primary/lower secondary level, which outlines how ICT can be used to enhance the teaching and learning of maths.

Cleo: Sticky Shapes
Create 2-D pictures with this online activity. Drag a shape to the canvas and drop it to create designs with other pre-determined shapes. This web page also includes a set of transport-themed shapes for the student to try to recreate.
http://www.cleo.net.uk/resources/display.php?id=291

Curriculum Through ICT – Ideas Bank
Find ICT-rich activities that can act as a springboard to enable teachers to develop learning activities relevant to their class and school context. Click on the ‘Early Childhood’ link.
http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/curriculumICT/ideas_bank/ideas_bank.htm

Early ICT
Look through these UK teaching resources and activities using ICT for early childhood and lower primary levels.
http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/earlyict/index.htm

Learning and teaching using ICT
Browse through the 180-odd video clips with lesson outlines, resource lists and more, across all learning areas, all of which can be copied for easier use.
http://samples.lgfl.org.uk/primary/main.html

Develop your teaching practice using ICT
Find lesson plans, multimedia resources, and ICT support materials on this website designed to help teachers develop their teaching using ICT. Primary resources are classified under literacy and numeracy, while secondary resources are found through individual subject areas.
http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/supportpack/index.aspx

CLEOspector
Useful more for teachers than students at this level, this free software application allows the user to take a saved image and add arrows, labels, text, shapes, map pins, spotlights and others, and then resave them.
http://www.cleo.net.uk/resources/displayframe.php?src=255/consultants_resources%2
Fmaths%2Fmaths%2Fcleospector%2Fspector4.html

Have a look through some of these Software for Learning resources available for early childhood:

• Clicker 5 ANZ – Software for Learning information
  This page will tell you all about Clicker, a multimedia tool that helps learners to write with whole words, phrases, or pictures. Some especially created resources are available for New Zealand teaching and learning.
  http://www.tki.org.nz/r/ict/software/clicker5_e.php

• Max's Toolbox – Software for Learning information
  Read about this group of software products that provides child-friendly access to Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, to support younger learners in using ICT across the curriculum.
  http://www.tki.org.nz/r/ict/software/maxstoolbox_e.php

Some useful free software (also found within the Software for Learning collection):

• Hector's World
  Hector the Dolphin takes early childhood and primary school children on virtual adventures that teach them about cybersafety. A link for teachers leads to resources based on the animated adventures.
  http://www.hectorsworld.com/

• Owl & Mouse Educational Software
  From this web page you can download free software and activities for teaching early literacy. It also has an area where you can choose and print huge maps to support learning.
  http://www.yourchildlearns.com/owlmouse.htm

• LittleFish Software
  Check out the free Mac software, Rommy Robot, an onscreen programmable robot for Macs. It is a very basic logo program, useful for teaching shape, position, and movement.
  http://www.littlefishsw.co.uk/software/rommy/index.html

Encourage your students to enter this Netsafe competition to write a script for the new animated Netbasics series about the risks and impacts of movie and music based piracy. Winners get the opportunity to be Netsafe Ambassadors at the International Youth Advisory Congress in July in London. Entries close 25 May.

Le@rning Federation survey
Please participate in the Le@rning Federation survey on the implementation of digital content. This survey is part of the longitudinal research programme being undertaken by Dr Peter Freebody, Sydney University. The survey takes about 10–15 minutes. Contact Helen Cooper for further information.

• Sector personnel, Ministry personnel, regional advisers or cluster facilitators
• School principals
• School leaders (deputy/assistant principals; heads of departments/faculty; ICT champions; teacher-librarians)
• Teachers with classroom responsibilities and/or programme responsibilities

2008 Tech Hui
A free opportunity in Wellington for students gifted in ICT to hear leading national speakers, look at new technologies, exchange ideas, share knowledge, visit leading-edge labs, and observe courses at the two local universities.
http://www.techhui.org.nz

Jane and the Dragon
Meet the challenge! Write and animate a short story based on the new inventions of Smithy, a Jane and the Dragon character. Use any animation software, or stop frame animation using cut out images. Big prizes – get some ideas and check it all out on the Jane and the Dragon website or email dragon@janeandthedragon.school.nz.
http://www.janeandthedragon.school.nz/

Student Management Systems (SMS) Data Sharing Roadshow
18 March – 30 May 2008
19 venues nationwide
Find out how your school's SMS can make a difference to teaching and learning (as well as administration) and how schools can increase efficiency and save administrative time/effort as a result of the initiatives being worked on by the Ministry and SMS vendors. No charge to attend; each roadshow session is 3.5 hours (refreshments provided!).
http://www.minedu.govt.nz/index.cfm?layout=document&documentid=11241&indexid=
11264&indexparentid=5646

RED Bus Tours
Renaissance Education Division (RED) Bus Tours have released their timetable for their 2008 series of national and international bus tours. For national tours see http://www.red.co.nz/bustrips.php, and for the North American schools tour see http://www.red.co.nz/useducational.php.

iNet student online conference 2008
Register for these Internet-only free conferences for primary and secondary students (no adults). There are two different week-long conferences: Do you live in a 'global village'? Monday 28 April – Friday 2 May 2008; and What would you change to make a better future? Monday 16 – Friday 20 June 2008.
http://www.ssat-inet.net/haveyoursay