COMPUTER SECURITY
New ransomware virus to hit today
ABC News, 28 Jun 2017
Australian businesses are expected to be targeted this morning by a ransomware virus that has just begun locking up computers in other parts of the world...
Global ransomware attack causes turmoil, BBC News, 28 Jun 2017
Tasmania's Cadbury chocolate factory hit by ransomware virus, ABC News, 7.45am, 28 Jun 2017

POPULATION
There's 24.4m of us
The Conversation (opinion by Nicholas Biddle), 27 Jun 2017
The 2016 Census showed that:
fewer of us were born in Australia (now 66.7%)
more of us identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander (3%)
the proportion of infant and primary school students attending a non-government school fell to 31.8% (from 32.7% in 2011)
the proportion of teenagers and children with a need for disability assistance increased to 2.7% (a significant rise from 2.1% in 2011)...
Census media release, ABS, 27 Jun 2017
Tasmania's population reaches 519,050, Peter Gutwein, Treasurer, 27 Jun 2017

GEOLOGY
New plate tectonic map
The Conversation (opinion by Alan Collins and Andrew Merdith), 27 Jun 2017

The first whole-Earth plate tectonic map for half a billion years has been published...

ADULT EDUCATION
Adult Education returns
Tas Govt media release, 26 Jun 2017

The state government is re-establishing the "Adult Education" brand of courses as promised at the last election, education minister Jeremy Rockliff says...
Adult Education website (currently offering only a handful of courses)

TEACHERS WITH GUNS
Teachers learn gun skills
npr.org, 25 Jun 2017
With the Sandy Hook school shootings still in their memory, and realising that police cannot get to a school shooting in time, Colorado (USA) teachers are undertaking gun courses, including how to go around a corner safely when pursuing a shooter.
ISSUES include:
What if the offending shooter is one of the school's own students?
How can kindergarten students hug their teacher without the teacher's gun getting in the way?...

SCHOOL STARTING AGE
Starting age clarified
The Examiner, 23 Jun 2017
The starting age debate rests more on what "schooling" and a "school environment" are than on actual age, though there is no doubt Tasmania's starting age is currently the highest in the country...

EDUCATION FUNDING
What we get with the tweaked Gonski 2.0 (Gonski 2.1?)
The Conversation (opinion by Peter Goss and Julie Sonnemann), 23 Jun 2017
Two education researchers sum up the Senate's changes to Gonski 2.0 and outline what the new Gonski reforms will now mean for schools...

EDUCATION FUNDING
Senate passes Gonski 2.0
ABC News, 23Jun 2017
The Senate has passed the Gonski 2.0 education reforms, with total spending increased from the budgeted $18.6 billion to $23.6 billiion.
However, the Catholic schools say they will be worse off...
Tas govt schools $68m worse off over next 2 years, Michelle O'Byrne, Opposition education spokesperson, 23 Jun 2017
Additional $186 million for Tas schools, Jeremy Rockliff, Minister for Education and Training, 23 Jun 2017
Loss of $85 million in dark day for Tas government schools, AEU media release, 23 Jun 2017

INCLUSION
Students with disabilities take up teachers' time, says Hanson
The Conversation (opinion by Linda J. Graham and Kate de Bruin), 22 Jun 2017
Senator Pauline Hanson's controversial comments about taking students with autism and disabilities out of regular classrooms has prompted a defence of inclusion by two academics...
Children's views on Hanson's comments, ABC News, 23 Jun 2017
Federal disability funding for Tas cut by $8 million, AEU (Tas.) media release, 22 Jun 2017

EDUCATION FUNDING
Gonski go-ahead
ABC News, 21Jun 2017
The federal government appears to have secured the support of sufficient senators to ensure the Gonski 2.0 reforms are passed...
Tas Government should have fought for full six-year Gonski agreement to be honoured, Helen Richardson, AEU State President, 22 Jun 2017
Gonski go-ahead will lock in underfunding for Tas government schools, Helen Richardson, AEU State President, 22 Jun 2017

AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION
New dairy demo shed for Hagley
Tas Govt media release, 20Jun 2017
A new dairy demonstration shed was opened at Hagley Primary Farm School today by education minister Jeremy Rockliff...
Dairy demo shed unveiled, The Examiner, 20 Jun 2017

STEM
Queechy STEM students in F1 world final
The Examiner, 20Jun 2017
An all-girl team of Queechy High School students will represent Australia in the F1 in Schools World Final in Malaysia...
State govt gives $2500 to Queechy STEM team, Jeremy Rockliff, Minister for Education and Training, 20 Jun 2017

EDUCATION FUNDING
Rockliff urges Gonski 2.0 support
The Examiner, 20 Jun 2017
Education minister Jeremy Rockliff has written to Australia's senators to urge them to pass the Gonski 2.0 legislation but Opposition education spokesperson Michelle O'Byrne says he should be lobbying for more money...
Government schools $88.6m and Catholic schools $35 million worse off under Gonski 2.0, Michelle O'Byrne, Opposition education spokesperson, TasLabor website, 20 Jun 2017
Controversy continues over Rockliff's Gonski letter, The Examiner, 20 Jun 2017

EDUCATION STATISTICS
Fewer in government secondary schools
The Conversation (opinion by Emma Rowe), 19 Jun 2017
Contrary to recent comments in the news, the shift away from government secondary schools is continuing, an academic writes...

TASMANIAN POLITICIANS
Shirley Walters dies
Tas Govt media release, 19 Jun 2017
Former Tasmanian senator Shirley Walters has died, acting premier Jeremy Rockliff has announced...

TERRORISM
Pedestrians targeted?
BBC News, 19 Jun 2017
A man has been arrested after a van ploughed into pedestrians who had left a mosque in north London, in an apparent terrorist attack on Muslims...

News continued in the
June 2017 news archive
See also the News archive index

TASMANIAN FIRES For updated alerts, see:

 
PEDAGOGY
Evidence-based teaching

"Turning research into practical advice." Particularly useful pages on evidence-based teaching and learning are:
- Top 10 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies
- Top 10 Behaviour Management Strategies
- 10 Things Every Teacher Should Know Before Starting Their First Day in the Classroom

New sites continued below

New sites (cont'd)

COMPUTER SECURITY
Cybersecurity glossary

At work and at home we are increasingly being warned about cybersecurity threats, with a consequent need to be familiar with cybersecurity terms.

METEOROLOGY
Tropical Cyclone Data Portal

The Bureau of Meteorology's Southern Hemisphere Tropical Cyclone Data Portal allows you to overlay the tracks taken by cyclones in the Australian region for any range of years since 1970.

HEALTH AND NUTRITION
Healthy Kids for Professionals

Although aimed primarily at health professionals, this NSW government website will be useful for teachers and parents concerned with children's weight issues and healthy eating requirements. For example, the site provides a guide to correctly measuring a child's height for the BMI calculation.

NEWS MEDIA
Crinkling News

National newspaper for young Australians.

TASMANIAN HISTORY
The Art of Science: Baudin's Voyagers 1800-1804 (TMAG)
On loan from France and never before seen in Tasmania - original drawings and paintings by artists among the voyagers on board the ships of French explorer Nicholas Baudin.
Exhibition open at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery from Fri 7 Apr to Sun 9 Jul 2017 (closed Mondays).

STATISTICS
The seven deadly sins of statistical misinterpretation

Several common mistakes people make when interpreting statistics, probability and risk, and how to avoid them. (The Conversation contribution by Winnifred Louis and Cassandra Chapman, 29 Mar 2017.)

COMPUTER EDUCATION
Digital Technologies Hub
Activity suggestions and other resources to support teachers, students and parents in pursuing the coding and other digital elements of the Australian Curriculum. Financed by the Australian Government.

WOMEN
Women in Tasmania
Tasmanian government website containing links to the Tasmanian Women's Plan 2013-18 and other policies, programs and resources related to women (media release, 18 Mar 2018).
See also the Women in Tasmania Facebook Page.

LITERACY AND NUMERACY
Learning Potential Resources
This federal government website augments the Learning Potential app in giving parents ideas on how to improve their children's literacy and numeracy skills at home. (Media release, 20 Feb 2017)

MEDIA LITERACY
5 Ways Teachers Are Fighting Fake News
Research shows students need to be taught the critical thinking skills necessary to distinguish between fake and genuine news stories. (NPR, 16 Feb 2017)

THE CURRENCY
New $10 banknote

A new $10 banknote will be circulated in September 2017.
The following RBA pages for teachers and students deal with notes and coins generally:
Learning About Banknotes
Activities and interactive games

BULLYING
Bullying No way!


Schools can register to participate in Bullying No Way!'s National Day of Action to be held on Friday 17 March 2017. (Media release.)

ONLINE SECURITY
My Guide
My Guide (2MB pdf file) is a short guide from the Australian Government's Stay Smart Online website that encourages people to develop safe online security habits in relation to:
privacy
passphrases
suspicious messaging
surfing safely
online finances and payments
tablets and mobiles
backups and protection
reporting scams

EDUCATION POLICY
5 Big Ideas in Education that Don't Work
The University of Melbourne's Professor John Hattie examined over 1,000 analyses of interventions to improve learning, finding five common ideas that should be examined very critically:
judging schools by minimum achievement standards
using achievement tests to measure schools and countries
believing that school choice improves outcomes
believing that small classes improve outcomes
believing that more money improves outcomes

More new and useful sites in the
Useful sites archive