Useful_Links

toc =Useful Links=

I've added a few links to get you started, and there are more on the [|Blog]. Don't think you have to read them all and act on everything they say... a good strategy is to read one or two, and follow the links in the posts. That way there is a kind of theme to your reading, and you often end up miles from where you started. You will just about always find you've enjoyed the journey... and don't be afraid to post comments as you go. Cool Cat Teacher wrote a really good post about commenting called "[|How to comment like a king (or queen!)]" - it's highly recommended reading and should encourage you to start chipping in as you read!

Feel free to sign in and add any more that you think could be useful to other probationers.

Podcasts
Yes! You can now justify buying a new iPod on educational grounds... I'll be speaking to my school's business manager tomorrow!

Audio
To be added later...

Video
Teachers' TV - They Didn't Teach Me That

=Officialdom...= [|General Teaching Council for Scotland - Newly Qualified Teachers] [|Learning and Teaching Scotland] - One of the best resources you'll find. [|Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)] - The exam board. Course arrangements, mark schemes, and so much more. [|Scottish Executive Education Department] - Our leaders... [|Her Majesty's Inspectors of Education (HMIe)] - ...their representatives in the field! [|Perth & Kinross Council] - The local authority for Perth & Kinross.

[|GLOW] - The new name for the Scottish Schools Digital Network... it's coming, and it promises to be the most revolutionary ICT in education project in the world...

=Really Useful Blogs (in no particuar order)...= [|edu.blogs.com] Ewan McIntosh's site [|The Tree House] Interesting and relevant article about Bebo and their work with NSPCC and ChildLine. [|Guide] to setting up a classroom blog Order From Chaos A guide to the whole Web2.0 thing written by someone who is a complete newcomer... as such, it is very approachable.

=INSET Links=

The following links are ones I put together for a staff training session.

Here are some links that you might find useful. They cover a wide variety of topics and are no more than a starting point for you to investigate what is going on in the Blogosphere!

Start here...
[|Why Blog?] - An interesting and thought-provoking tale of three teachers... [|Ten Habits of Bloggers That Win] – Really good practical advice for improving your own blogging skills. [|How To Approach Commenting] – If you don’t comment on other people’s blogs, you aren’t really taking part in the Blogosphere! Here’s how to do it with style… [|Avoid Time-Wasting!] - Some practical tips...

Must Reads:
[|2 Cents Worth] – David Warlick’s regular blog… arguably the most influential edublogger on the net. [|edu.blogs.com] – One of the better commentors in the Blogosphere. Ewan’s posts cover a wide range of subjects. Like [|this one on design and GLOW]. [|Cool Cat Teacher] – Probably the most useful and widely read edublogger in the world.

Where Next:
[|Do Blogs encourage Reflective Practitioners?] - Thoughtful article... useful for Part One of the Chartered Teacher path. [|East Lothian's exc-el Site] - Lots of blogs listed on the left hand side of the page... written by a variety of staff in East Lothian (everyone from the Head of Education to a peripatetic guitar tutor!) [|ICT Weblog] – Keeping it real… well, relating Blogging to AifL and ACE… [|Weblogs In The Classroom] - An Australian meta-site that covers everything from the pedagogy of blogging to practical examples and lots of links. Highly recommended!

Outside The Box:
[|Presentation Zen] – I love this site. It’ll make you think twice about how you use Powerpoint or produce worksheets. [|Why Marketing Should Write The Manuals] & [|How To Get Users To RTFM] – Don’t restrict your browsing to education only sites… you can pick up lots of good hints and tips by looking at other types of communication. [|How to use PowerPoint] - This link should be mandatory reading for every teacher that uses Powerpoint or Keynote!

Teaching Tips
[|Starting the Year] & [|Starting the Year Part 2] – Excellent hints and tips for new teachers and old hands alike… even with the American slant! [|SixSmarties] – A quick and dirty blog created at a Masterclass workshop in Stirling. It does show just some of the possible uses for blogs in the classroom. [|Julie Michelle K] - A fellow probationer writes... in Glasgow.

A couple of my efforts:
[|Battlefields Blog] – this is a site I’ve set up to keep parents informed about an upcoming school trip. The intention will be to use it to post photos when we are in France. [|Higher English Blog] – This is the blog I use for my Higher English Class. I can post Homework on it and it’s waiting for the pupils when they get home! (ain’t I nice)

Light Relief
[|Mr.Chalk] – A teacher writes… er, takes the mickey actually… [|Random Acts of Reality] – One of the best ‘real life’ blogs around. The trials and tribulations of a London Ambulance driver… fascinating, funny, and sometimes really thought-provoking.