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THIS JUST IN: New Book at the Education Library
Achieving Aboriginal student success : a guide for K to 8 classrooms
Achieving Aboriginal Student Success presents goals and strategies needed to support Aboriginal learners in the classroom. This book is for all teachers of kindergarten to grade 8 who have Aboriginal students in their classrooms or who are looking for ways to infuse an Aboriginal worldview into their curriculum. Although the author’s primary focus is the needs of Aboriginal students, the ideas are best practices that can be applied in classroom-management techniques, assessment tools, suggestions for connecting to the Aboriginal community, and much more! The strategies and information in this resource are about building bridges between cultures that foster respect, appreciation, and understanding.
~from the Portage & Main Publisher’s Website
Campus Visit by: Paulette Bourgeois (creator of Franklin the Turtle)
Once a year, the Master of Arts in Children’s Literature Program at the University of British Columbia hosts a colloquium with a respected speaker from the creative or scholarly side of children’s literature. Paulette Bourgeois is author of Franklin the Turtle series and other award-winning picturebooks and nonfiction. Franklin is a best-selling picturebook series in Canada and has had huge global success, with articles written about it just recently in the popular press.
The title of her talk is “The Inside Story of Franklin the Turtle: From Book to Brand” – on the subject of marketing and branding of her series as an example of what is happening in today’s children’s literature. It should be fascinating.
Date: Thursday, January 26th 2012 (Today!) @ 4:30-5:30 pm
Location: Dodson Room, 3rd floor of the Irving K Barber Learning Centre, UBC
Free; no registration required; refreshments served.
Paulette Bourgeois is one of Canada’s most noted and beloved picture book creators. She is the author of scores of picture books and nonfiction books and the creator of the Franklin the Turtle series, beginning with Franklin in the Dark, illustrated by Brenda Clark. The series is a landmark in Canadian publishing for children. It has sold more than 60 million books in 38 languages. The licensed character of Franklin has his own animated television series, seen in over 15 countries. Paulette Bourgeois will discuss her 25-year experience in the creation of the series, and what it has been like to participate in and watch Franklin transform from book to brand. She will consider her creative involvement and how she positions the series within the context of her career and the Canadian children’s book publishing industry.
Paulette Bourgeois is best-known for creating Franklin the Turtle, the character who appears in picture books illustrated by Brenda Clark. The books have sold more than 60 million copies and have been translated into 38 languages. An animated television series, merchandise, DVDs and full-feature movies are based on the character. She is also the author of award-winning books for children including Oma’s Quilt which was developed as a short film by the National Film Board of Canada, and more than two dozen non-fiction science books. She is a member of the Order of Canada, has received an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Western Ontario and an award of merit from the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists, and most recently graduated with an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia.
Online education network lets volunteers help needy schools across the world without leaving home
A new initiative by the Canadian International Learning Foundation has set out to overcome what Canadians say is the single biggest barrier to becoming a volunteer: lack of time.
“Change the world in five hours a week” is the mantra of the Educator Volunteer Network, which matches up skilled Canadians with schools in developing and at-risk regions around the world, letting them donate their time without ever leaving their desks.
Educatorvolunteer.net is the brainchild of Ryan Aldred, president of the CanILF, a registered charity devoted to improving educational opportunities for children in destitute and war-torn regions. Through the agency’s work in Afghanistan, Aldred said, he saw that online volunteers could make a massive difference to schools.
“Two things we were struck by was how interested Canadians were in getting involved and how many schools were out there looking for assistance. We kept thinking, ‘What can we do to help these schools?’
“So we came up with the notion of an online community where we could connect the two groups and help them work together. The network launched in September and the response has been amazing.”
So far more than 50 volunteers have signed up to provide one-on-one online assistance with new technologies, research requests, curriculum enhancement, development of resources, writing content for websites and putting together budgets and business plans.
To volunteer or to donate, visit educatorvolunteer.net
By Gillian Burnett, Vancouver Sun December 8, 2011
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
An Open Sourced Education: Wikipedia Makes Push to Become Staple of Classroom Lessons
The Vancouver Sun – Education News
It was about six years ago that UBC professor Jon Beasley-Murray first noticed his students citing Wikipedia in their essays.
If they were going to use Wikipedia for his class on Latin American literature, he thought, they might as well improve some of the shoddy articles on the subject.
For the past five years, students in his class have edited or contributed articles to Wikipedia as part of a class assignment.
“It was a chance to break down some of the barriers between the university and society,” Beasley-Murray said.
Wikipedia is described as a “free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation”. It was launched in 2001 and takes the first part of its name from the Hawaiian word “wiki,” for fast, and is the name of a server program that allows anyone to edit the website’s content through their own browser.
At the moment, Beasley-Murray is one of relatively few professors using Wikipedia in class assignments, but that may change this year. The foundation behind Wikipedia is hoping to get more teachers using the website in the classroom. So far, the universities of Alberta and Toronto have agreed to take part in the project.
By Jordan Press, Postmedia News November 4, 2011
jpress@postmedia.com
Study Guides and Educational Playlists on the National Film Board Website
Innovative Media for the Classroom and Communities
Use diverse educational tools to enhance learning: Our trusted, high-calibre content includes exciting web-based learning platforms and teaching guides probing topics such as environmental studies, citizen media and Aboriginal culture.
A good study guide can bring a film to life within a classroom setting. Guides are available for thousands of NFB productions, helping teachers to choose the right film for their curriculum and get the best out of NFB resources.
Included are detailed curriculum notes and lesson plans, along with hands-on classroom activities and discussion starters.
In addition to our study guides, NFB Education provides short Education Descriptors—brief curriculum notes and grade level suggestions—for more than 2,000 online titles.
Looking for animated shorts to show in your art class, or films that explore the complex issue of racism? Or are you seeking a good way to mark World Earth Day or another cultural event?
The NFB provides a growing collection of thematic playlists selected by experts to illustrate specific subjects or themes.
A compelling and well-researched website can be a powerful learning tool, illuminating multiple aspects of an issue and engaging students in exciting creative dialogue.
The NFB has created its own cutting-edge interactive productions and has supported other web-based initiatives. These productions can provide a fresh approach to topics like Canadian history or Aboriginal culture and help clarify complex issues such as international development or environmentalism, or they can introduce kids to film animation in a playful and appealing manner.
~from the National Film Board Website – Education