ResourceLink E-News

							August 2011
                           An online copy of e-News is available on the ResourceLink Portal
                           homepage (for BCE schools) and also on the ResourceLink blog at
                           http://resourcelinkbce.wordpress.com/ (for BCE and RI schools).

              Farewells
              Denise Cadman has recently retired from ResourceLink. Many of you would have had
              personal contact with Denise in her library roles, on the phone, or by email over the years.
              Denise will be greatly missed and will be remembered for the generous, supportive and
              community-minded approach she has taken within and beyond her role. Denise worked
              for Brisbane Catholic Education for 28 years in the Library and ResourceLink at Dutton
              Park, at St Peter’s School, Rochedale and Chisholm Catholic College. We thank Denise and
              wish her well in her retirement. We welcome Denise’s temporary replacement, Rochelle
              Worbington to ResourceLink, as our Library Information Officer.

              Another special farewell this month is to Vicki Tanzer as she commences her retirement.
              As ResourceLink has been a part of Vicki’s directorate over the past eighteen months, we
              would particularly like to thank her for her support. We have appreciated Vicki’s insights
              and advocacy for our new centre.
              ResourceLink Blog Launch
              ResourceLink has launched a new blog at: http://resourcelinkbce.wordpress.com/
              The blog will provide online access to some of our resources, and will also feature regular
              articles on a range of topics, including Web 2.0 technologies, new resources, and creative
              ways to manage information. Some of our recent posts include 12 Reasons Teachers
              should use Diigo; Info-what? Developing visual literacy through infographics;
              Design Thinking – transforming the classroom, the school yard, the world!; Creative
              Commons – A Virtual Treasure Chest of Content; and ICTs – Incredible Creativity Tools for
              Students. You can register for email updates, so when a new entry is posted you receive
              an email alert. You can also post comments and suggestions on the blog by clicking ‘Leave
              a reply’ at the bottom of each entry. We look forward to hearing from you soon!
              Children’s Religious Music Index
              By popular request we have made this searchable index which is a wealth of religious
              music available to schools through the ResourceLink Portal and the ResourceLink Blog.
              This Religious Music Index has been created to assist APREs and teachers to quickly find
              quality religious music by religious themes, student age groups, albums and
              artists. Currently this index is built on Microsoft Access and therefore it is not available to
              Mac users, however, this issue is being addressed.

              Kids Connect
              Kids Connect is an annual technology conference run by kids for kids. This year’s
              conference, held at the Brisbane Powerhouse, was organised by the Year 7 Students of St
              Thomas’ Primary School, Camp Hill. Members from the ResourceLink team were very
              excited to be invited as group facilitators at this event. Working with a group of twelve
              students, we explored the varied history of the Brisbane Powerhouse; from a Power
              Station, to an abandoned building to the dynamic and creative arts centre it is today,
              using the Web 2.0 tool Capzles. You can read more about our experience on our Blog, and
              access the Kids Connect Youtube channel.

              Forests
              2011 is the United Nations International Year of Forests. We have
              developed a collection of digital resources for classroom learning and
              teaching. These resources can be accessed at the following web address
              http://www.wix.com/bvantrier/forest or via the ResourceLink page.
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Refugee Resources
ResourceLink has developed a resource to support schools in their teaching and learning
around the issue of Refugees. Launched in time for Refugee Week, this resource provides
fertile inquiry questions and ideas to explore these concepts using current children’s
literature. Students are challenged to find out: What is a Refugee? (Years P-3); What
would it be like to walk in the shoes of a refugee? (Years 4-7); How do Australians
embrace Refugees? (Years 8-10); and How do Australia's refugee policies reflect Catholic
Social Teaching? (Years 11-12). This resource is accessible through the ResourceLink Portal
or online at http://www.wix.com/bvantrier/refugeeweek2011#

Design Thinking
Brisbane Catholic Education recently hosted international speaker and educator, Ewan
McIntosh for three days of professional development in the area of Design Thinking. Ewan
spent two days working with a number of schools, developing their understanding of the
Design Thinking Process. ResourceLink is collaborating with Education Officers from the
North and South Service Centres to create a resource that captures some of Ewan’s
teachings so that this approach might be taken further by other schools within the
Diocese. To read more about Ewan, check out his blog.

Digital Resources on Eucharist
Together At One Altar is a quality online resource for school age children in Years P-12 in
Australia to develop their understanding of, and formation in, the Eucharist. Writing
teams of Australian Religious Educators representing most states collaboratively
developed the content for this resource and Franyework Multimedia transformed these
content and teaching suggestions into an online resource. It is to be noted that the Qld
writing team prepared the content for the Yrs 4-6 section of this resource. As teachers
use this resource with students, it is recommended that the Become One Body, One Spirit
In Christ DVD-ROM is used to support their own professional development in this area.
This DVD-ROM is available through ResourceLink.

World Youth Day
The Brisbane Catholic Education Staff Pilgrimage sets off for
Madrid on August 8th. Be a part of the spiritual journey of these
pilgrims by accessing resources at the BCE Pilgrimage website
http://www.wix.com/bvantrier/wyd2011bcestaffpilgrimage ,
and share thoughts, prayers and reflections. See photos and
video from the journey daily at
http://bcewydmadridstaffpilgrimage.shutterfly.com/.

Religion and Ethics
The New Religion and Ethics Course has been developed to respond
to the changing demographics of students, parents and staff in
schools and the needs to enhance the strategic support offered by
BCEO for senior secondary religion courses. Currently three online
units are available to schools: The Australian Scene, Spirituality and Ritual and Good and
Evil. Each unit includes an introductory movie clip, quality content, detailed lesson plans
and digital pedagogies. Click here for access to this course through the Religious
Education portal. Professional learning opportunities to engage with this course are
available through iLearn. Contact Cathy Whannell for further information on 3033 7588.

Meet the puppets
Our large collection of over 5,000 religious resources includes puppets - Mary, Joseph,
Noah, John the Baptist - which you can borrow. We also have resources to assist you with
using puppets to tell Bible stories to children. Contact us for more information
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