Categories
ed tech media news newspapers websites

Interesting news sites

Here are some interesting sites that present or aggregate news – useful for senior students, global relations & journalism classes and for news items in many curriculum areas.

 

News360

Informative multisource news in a user friendly format. Different news sources and different media are provided for news items – select and compare them. Read news in categories – science, politics etc; add your own categories; save items to read later; share stories; choose local news. A good resource to compare world perspectives on a particular news item.

News items are ranked for credibility & personalised (with accounts). Mobile apps available. http://news360app.com/technology.html

http://news360.com/

 

Hubii

Discover what’s happening around the world. Displays headlines on one side and a Google Map on the other which shows various news publishers of that headline. Zoom in and see who is publishing or search a location and see what’s happening there. Use the Mapfilter to search for specific kinds of news eg. tech news. Use the Search Cloud to see what the world is reading & writing about. Add your own sources. Includes a language filter.

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/search-browse-international-news-based-location-hubii/

www.hubii.com

 

BBC Live World Map

Worldwide – most popular stories now. Use left-hand menu to read news from world regions.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp/hi/live_stats/html/map.stm

 

Newsy

Multisource video news from around the world. 2 to 3 minute video clips of news items are read, amalgamating information from various global sources. The source of the information is credited as the item is read. Sources include Xinhua, Al Jazeera, New York Times, The Guardian, CNN, Human Rights Watch….Mobile apps available.

http://www.newsy.com/

 

Newseum

Museum of news and journalism in Washington, DC. Choose a location and read the headlines of selected newspapers from that country or region.

http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/default.asp

 

Longform

Collects outstanding new and classic non fiction articles of substantial length – proving that internet users do have the patience & attention spans to read in-depth materials. The site can also be browsed by categories eg. science, war, politics, arts & culture, editor’s picks etc Search the archive for topics, authors, time periods, publishers, tags. iPad app available.

http://longform.org/

 

Longreads: “the best long-form stories on the web”

Explore topics; new articles posted daily.

http://longreads.com/

 

100 articles that every journalist should read about journalism

A useful resource for those interested in journalism; a 2011 project by students of La Trobe Uni. with global contributions.

http://www.upstart.net.au/2011/10/13/100-articles/

 

Summly app for iPhones

Provides summaries of news stories & other text; swipe to see full article. 17 year old British developer Nick D’Aloisio: “We can really become the de-facto format for news on mobile. People are not scrolling through 1,000-word articles – they want snack-sized information.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20181537

 

ABC News

Great resources on Aust’s own portal.

Easy to select news stories – choose a tab for text, video, audio or photos.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/

News in 90 seconds – video: http://www.abc.net.au/news/abcnews24/news-in-90-seconds/

Top stories of the day – audio: http://www.abc.net.au/news/audio/

ABC NewsRadio – listen live: http://www.abc.net.au/newsradio/audio/streaming.htm?layout=popup

Links to other ABC news programs – Big Ideas, 7.30, Foreign Correspondent, Four Corners etc

Links to other parts of the ABC website – Environment, Science, Health, Technology…

 

Australia Network

Part of ABC International, broadcasting to 46 countries across Asia & the Pacific.

Aust. Network News: National and global.   http://www.abc.net.au/news/australianetworknews/

Includes Newsline, Australia Network’s flagship current affairs program – videos of news items range from 4 mins to 10 mins. http://www.abc.net.au/news/australianetworknews/newsline/

Also available: Learning English video programs for a range of levels – includes Passport to English, English Bites, Living English…   http://australianetwork.com/learningenglish/

 

ABC Radio Australia

Radio programs from the ABC broadcast locally and to Asia/Pacific; news items; videos.

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/

ABC Radio Australia: Learn English online

Learn topical Aust. English in context. Courses are offered with narration in Chinese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Khmer; download audio and text lessons for free.

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/learn-english

 

Categories
ed tech Science resources websites

Good science resources

Total solar eclipse in Aust. Wed. 14 Nov 2012 (Cairns region)
The eclipse will begin 5.45am (Cairns Qld time) and finish 7.40am. Totality (when the moon completely covers the sun) will last about 2 minutes, starting at 6.38am. 
 
In Canberra:
Partial solar eclipse starts 7.10am. Maximum eclipse 8.04am. Ends 9.03am.
62% of the sun’s width will be covered.
Good animation of Canberra view & info about future Canberra solar eclipses: http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/australia/canberra
 
Several stars and planets will be visible during totality (near Cairns). There are an average 2.4 solar eclipses each year around the world. The next solar eclipse (an annular eclipse – moon is smaller and silhouetted against sun) will also pass over Aust. next year on 10 May 2013 – but we will have to wait until 23 July 2028 for the next total solar eclipse, which will pass over a large part of Aust. including Sydney.
 
Guide to the 2012 total solar eclipse – Clear & interesting info & pics; safety tips: http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2012/11/07/3624663.htm#e
How often do solar eclipses occur? – Good article; map with years: http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2012/11/06/3624600.htm
Live streaming: http://www.ustream.tv/cairnseclipse2012
http://eclipsecairns.com/
 
NASA solar eclipse website: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/solar.html
Nov 2012 eclipse: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEmono/TSE2012/TSE2012.html
NASA eclipse website: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEdecade/SEdecade2011.html
Paul Floyd’s astronomy and space website: http://nightskyonline.info/

Some interesting science resources:
 
100 useful websites for science teachers
A US focus but a comprehensive list for different levels.
http://www.forensicsciencetechnician.org/100-best-websites-for-science-teachers/
 
ScienceDaily
Amazing amounts of science! Latest research and findings – news, articles, videos, images, books. Click a topic and see all the resources on that topic. “ScienceDaily is best known for showcasing the top science news stories from the world’s leading universities and research organizations. These stories are selected from among dozens of press releases and other materials submitted to ScienceDaily every day, and then edited to ensure high quality and relevance”.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/
Includes strange science news: http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/strange_science/

Scirus: the search engine for scientific information only
“Scirus is the most comprehensive scientific research tool on the web. With over 545 million scientific items indexed at last count, it allows researchers to search for not only journal content but also scientists’ homepages, courseware, pre-print server material, patents and institutional repository and website information.” (from the home page).
The home page has a link to the latest scientific news from New Scientist. Not all articles found on Scirus will be full text.
http://www.scirus.com/
 
Ptable: An excellent interactive Table of Elements
iPAd app also available. Click on the element to reveal photos, videos, info.
http://www.ptable.com/
http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/web2mailcom-cool-periodic-table/
 
ABC Science
Lots of good resources here – Explore by topic, In depth features, Quizzes and games.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/
Ask an expert – Email your questions: http://www.abc.net.au/science/askanexpert/
News in science: http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/
Science archive – Browse by topic or date:
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/archive/?site=science&subsite=news&section=2012
Videos: http://www.abc.net.au/science/video/
Dr Karl – Intriguing science facts and trivia: http://www.abc.net.au/science/drkarl/

CSIRO
Cutting edge research and info from Aust.’s top scientific organisation.
http://www.csiro.au/
CSIROpedia: Discoveries and innovations by CSIRO scientists and engineers. http://www.csiropedia.csiro.au/display/CSIROpedia/Home
Achievements A-Z: http://www.csiropedia.csiro.au/display/CSIROpedia/Achievements+A-Z
Achievements by impact area (eg. environment; farming; health): http://www.csiropedia.csiro.au/display/CSIROpedia/Achievements+by+impact+area
News @ CSIRO – Quick news & updates: http://csironewsblog.com/
CSIRO Publishing – excellent resources: http://www.publish.csiro.au/home.htm
Scienceimage – High quality science and nature images. Includes access to CSIRO’s database of film and video productions. “Every image held at the scienceimage site is supplied with a short caption, scientific notes, source and copyright information. This level of detail and dedication to scientific accuracy helps to make scienceimage one of the most valuable resources for scientific images online.”
http://www.scienceimage.csiro.au/

Categories
books libraries

Moving from Print to Digtial

There is a lot of talk around this topic and many schools are at various stages of the move. An article on the Education Week website puts forward some interesting thoughts on this issue. The material is US based but the concept of going digital is the same for us all.

Report: Schools Should Move from Print to Digital Content by 2017

“The textbook was the best technology we had… 50 plus years ago,” said Doug Levin, the executive director of SETDA, during a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington. Levin was joined by SETDA officials and representatives from states like Utah and Virginia, which are put forth as case studies for digital content policy in the report, titled “Out of Print.” Levin went on to list the trends changing how instructional materials are designed and delivered, like the Common Core State Standards, budget pressures and student demographic changes, among others.