A site which reviews free technology resources and provides suggestions for how teachers might use them. The site offers a range of ideas for technology integration in education including an award winning blog where readers can post their suggestions for favourite resources.

The Partnership for 21^st Century Skills is an organisation focused on infusing 21^st century skills into education. Explore their ‘one-stop-shop’ for 21^st century skills-related information, resources and community tools.

An experiment in teaching great literature in a very different way. Using Google Earth, students discover where in the world the greatest road trip stories of all time took place. The tool uses Google Earth to take students on a trip alongside the characters they are reading about

Get involved in the recently launched Software for Learning wiki. Created to support ICT in New Zealand schools, this wiki allows teachers to collaborate around the theme of ICT in teaching and learning. This Ministry of Education initiative is a centre for discussion and support, and a point of reference for ideas and inspiration.

Order a copy of the NetSafe video resources, Let’s Fight it Together and At a Distance. Developed to specifically target year 5–6 students, this resource addresses cyber bullying and examines a range of key concepts, including the importance of bystanders intervening in cyber bullying.

Register your interest for ULearn09 and receive regular updates. ULearn09 is now to be held in Christchurch from 7–9 October, rather than Auckland as originally advertised.

View Derek Wenmouth’s ‘Ten Trends for 2009’. This annual list of trends is developed by staff at Core Education. This year, Derek highlights netbooks, cloud computing, and high-definition videoconferencing within the top 10.

An online tool designed for teachers to use as a self-evaluation instrument on their use of ICT for teaching and learning. Developed by Core Education and Australian education consultant Dr Julia Atkin, EPS feedback outlines the strengths of the tool and provides guidelines and a framework of criteria that can be applied to your own teaching practices.

Join other teachers, educators, and researchers in one or more of the multiple e-Learning discussion groups established by Sarah Jones from the Ministry of Education. This social networking site includes an active forum as well as offering chat facilities.

Watch or listen to Wesley Fryer’s keynote presentation at the Learning@School conference held in Rotorua in February. In this keynote, Fryer explores ‘how a variety of web-based environments and instructional strategies are permitting educators to provide learners with choices in not only the ways they can access and consume content, but also through performance-based assessment methods’.

Read about the latest major upgrade to Google Earth, which allows users to explore the ocean floor and abyssal plain. The map includes 20 content layers, containing information from the world's leading scientists, researchers, and ocean explorers. This site also provides a link to Google Earth 5.0.

Heard some of the debate around privacy issues and the newly launched Google Latitude? Have a look for yourself and learn about the various features Google Latitude offers. This official Google introduction site also has a short YouTube video.

The latest version of assessment tool e-asTTle is now available to teachers after extensive testing last year. Version 5.2 allows teachers to assess students in reading, writing, and mathematics in both English and Māori. The latest version was completed after a 2008 pilot involving 600 schools.

Download a copy of the Digital Strategy 2.0. The strategy is a response to the changes and challenges of the digital world. One of its key purposes is to provide a national vision, supported by outcomes and goals for New Zealand’s digital development. The strategy highlights the need to ensure all students leave school digitally literate.

A great range of field trips are planned for 2009 – explore ancient New Zealand on Chatham Islands, geo-hazards around Auckland, and a range of marine and fresh water locations nationally. The registration and enrolment process has been made easier for teachers to experience these incredible virtual field trips.
To register, all you need is your teacher registration (or provisional) ID.

CoreED has created this free database of short video interviews with leading New Zealand and international educators and thinkers. This growing collection of videos provides an innovative and effective professional learning environment for New Zealand teachers.

Spend some time looking through the new Digital Technology Guidelines (DTG) website. The guidelines focus on years 11–13 and provide a flexible planning environment for teachers to design appropriate and coherent courses in the field of digital technology. This collaborative website has been created to help schools with the process of implementing the DTG and it is designed to grow as the project develops.

John Hattie, Debra Masters, and the team from Visible Learning Laboratories are offering e-asTTle and assessment specialised support next year, including breakfast seminars, full-day workshops, and online support. For more information, email Debra Masters d.masters@visiblelearning.co.nz.

During 2009 any New Zealand school may use My Portfolio (a hosted service based on the open source software Mahara ePortfolio) free of charge. As there is a limited number of funded users, schools are asked to enrol only those students who would utilise the tool well. Interested schools can visit the My Portfolio website to register their interest.

Don’t miss the opportunity to register for the 2009 ChildFund Global Schools programme, which partners your school with a school in rural Zambia. This is an excellent global citizenship opportunity offering your students a real insight into the lives of youth living in poverty. In return, schools are asked to fund raise to support their Zambian partner school. Contact Sally Hewlett: (09) 366 2278 or email globalschools@childfund.org.nz.

Teacher Talk enables teachers and educators to ask questions, share knowledge, and offer insights on a range of subjects on a public forum. Please feel free to begin a new topic, or contribute to an existing conversation thread. You can locate Teacher Talk from the Interact page of TKI. Check out the current ICT forum discussions.