‘We remember ANZAC’ resource kits were sent to all schools in Australia this week.
They have been produced by the Department of Veteran Affairs in preparation for the upcoming 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli landing.
The kits themselves do not have ISBN’s but can be downloaded using their SCIS record numbers or by title.
Primary resource 1689387
Secondary resource 1689388
There are three books over the two kits that do have ISBN’s. Bibliographic records have been created for them in case schools wish to split up the kit.
The SCIS Catalogue is a valuable starting point for school staff looking to identify books, digital resources and websites to support the curriculum, and subscribers are encouraged to use it as a selection aid for locating resources that are required for a particular purpose in a school. While providing catalogue records is core business, SCIS recognises the value of enhancing the catalogue record where possible with any information that may help school staff discover and review resources of interest.
In July 2011 SCIS added enhanced content services from Syndetics Solutions and LibraryThing for Libraries to the SCIS Catalogue, via a subscription with Thorpe-Bowker. The bibliographic records in SCIS OPAC are enhanced to display additional detail about resources, including plot summaries, author notes, awards and reviews. This content is delivered to SCIS by linked data based on ISBN.
Figure 1: If using SCIS Catalogue as a selection tool, consider using the Subject Headings and notes
The SCIS Catalogue bibliographic record display provides a link to Google Books. The Google books link/s (if any) will appear at the bottom of the display.
There are three possible links:
Entire book is viewable
A portion of the book is viewable
“About This Book” information is available.
These links will enrich search results with lists of relevant books, journal articles, web page citations and links to related works and full text when available.
Figure 2: Google Books link in SCIS Catalogue record
Social bookmarks links in SCIS Catalogue
Individual records from SCIS Catalogue can be saved directly to selected social media services as bookmarks. The persistent website address (URL) for these records will be in the format http://opac.scis.curriculum.edu.au/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=1411770 where the bibID is the SCIS number for that record.
Note that you will need a subscription to the social bookmarking service you wish to use, and anyone accessing these SCIS records from your bookmarking service will need to be a SCIS subscriber.
The social bookmarking services currently supported include delicious.com, diigo.com, facebook.com, google.com and StumbleUpon.com.
Figure 3. Social bookmarks links in SCIS Catalogue full record screen
Images linked to Google Books are not available for download from SCIS. The book cover image from Thorpe Bowker located within the catalogue data (if available) can be downloaded into your library management system from our orders page or via your system’s z39.50 connection. Subscriber schools may also display the images on the school website including blogs, wikis, online newsletters and the school intranet.
Syndetics content in SCIS Catalogue
Through the subscription service Syndetics, SCIS offers additional descriptive and evaluative information where available including:
It’s that time of year again. Christmas is rapidly approaching and end of year celebrations are just around the corner for Australian and New Zealand schools.
To read about some of the quirkier aspects of Kiwi Christmases past and present, schools can visit New Zealand History Online [SCIS 1486174]. New Zealand schools will also find Christmas resources on TKI. Schools interested in Australian Christmas traditions can visit the Australian Government site [SCIS 1637519]. Anyone looking for a more general history of Christmas could explore the BBC’s site [SCIS 1235815].
New Zealand students can write a letter to Santa from the New Zealand Post website. Australian students use Australia Post [SCIS 1637538], where there is also a range of interactive games and lesson ideas.
Wombat Divine by Mem Fox and Kerry Argent
There are a number of Christmas themed websites with student activities from craft ideas, recipes, jokes, videos, music, stories, colouring sheets and interactive games. Primary Games: Christmas [SCIS 1637543], Disney’s Spoonful: Christmas [SCIS 1485028] and Activity Village: Christmas crafts [SCIS 1481860] are three of the best.
If you are looking for some creative ideas for Christmas displays in your library it is worth visiting the Creative Library Displays blog.
And we can’t forget about all those classic Christmas stories. Wombat Divine written by Mem Fox and illustrated by Kerry Argent [SCIS 1436850] is one of our favourites.
To search for further Christmas resources in SCIS select a subject search and search one of the SCIS headings listed below [SCIS login required].
Christmas
SCIS Subject search for Christmas
Narrower Term
Christmas entertainments
Santa Claus
Related Term
Jesus Christ – Nativity
Other useful subject headings
Carols
Christmas cookery
Christmas decorations
Christmas trees
Christmas music
Christmas services
Post by Clare Kennedy, RMIT industry placement 2013
Stacey encouraged teacher librarians to download the apps for Scootle [Android and iPad] and Scootle community [Android, iPad and iPhone].
Want to participate in creating a national collection?
Stacey also asked for voluntary reviewers with a good understanding of the Australian Curriculum, and a keen interest in digital and online learning. If you are interested in reviewing online resources and providing advice, or if you find something great that you think fits the Scootle criteria, get in touch at: stacey.hattensen@esa.edu.au.
What is an app? App is an abbreviation for application software. Oxford Dictionary defines an app as “a self-contained program or piece of software designed to fulfill a particular purpose; an application, especially as downloaded by a user to a mobile device. The term app came into prominence with the introduction of the mobile devices and smartphones. Generally an app performs one dedicated task, or presents a discrete amount of format.
With the ubiquity of tablets, smartphones and ‘phablets’ and the move towards ‘bring your own device’ in schools, apps are increasingly becoming resources used by students and teachers. GarageBand, Know your skin, iMovie are good examples of apps being used in Education.
Garage Band is an app being used in Schools
Schools are also using dedicated sets of tablets with story making, art creation programs and apps which cover many more curriculum areas. There are periodic table and anatomy apps, language and math apps and many more. To find out more about educational apps Scoop.it! is a good source of information. Android Apps in Education and Apps for learning are two sites to explore.
More and more schools are buying apps and libraries are looking to catalogue these resources so that students and staff need to search in only one place to find school resources.
Apps is a new subject heading introduced to SCIS this term.
Recent SCIS workshops and presentations have focused on the challenges facing school libraries in their management of digital content. As a key service provider and partner with Australian and New Zealand school libraries SCIS is committed to helping schools deal with collection management issues, and provides catalogue records for e-books, websites, apps, audio books, learning objects and digital video.
Anzac Day, 25 April is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand honouring the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli during World War One.
The National Library of Australia’s Trove provides links to digitised newspapers which you can search by State and newspaper title, and their picture library has a wealth of images. See Papers Past for New Zealand newspaper search.
To search for further ANZAC resources in SCIS select a subject search using one of the SCIS subject headings above [SCIS login required].
Our favourite recent addition to SCIS with an ANZAC subject heading is the beautiful picture book Anzac biscuits by Phil Cummings and illustrated by Owen Swan [SCIS 1598353].
The Australian Government, working in partnership with state and territory governments, the non-government school sectors and Education Services Australia have released a collection of resources for school teachers, specialist professionals, parents and students to develop safe and supportive schools.
The Safe Schools Hub (SCIS no: 1601867) is underpinned by the National Safe Schools Framework, which aims to ensure that all Australian schools are safe, supportive and respectful teaching and learning communities that promote student wellbeing. The Hub provides the tools and knowledge that will enable all members of the school community to develop the skills to:
nurture student responsibility and resilience
build a positive school culture
foster respectful relationships
support students who are impacted by anti-social behaviour
Visit www.safeschoolshub.edu.au to explore a range of practical examples, resources and activities to assist you in making your school a safe and supportive school. You can also register on the website or email sshub@esa.edu.au to receive regular updates on news and resources for safe schools.
An introduction to the National Safe Schools Framework
The GR8 debate was organized in celebration of the National Year of Reading and explored how digital technologies such as iPads, social media and the instant internet culture impact upon our core, traditional abilities and views of reading and writing. Both sides battled it out with a diverse array of serious and humorous academic arguments
How Sunshine College celebrated Book week by looking at banned books
“The students were shocked that their favourite books had not been allowed in some places, including their much-loved year 10 class text, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Suddenly, they could feel deliciously naughty while defending freedom of speech. They raided the shelves to find their favourite banned or challenged books. They then decided which passages to read, discussing, arguing, and testing them on each other.”
Anita Vandenberghe in her previous article talked about the philosophy of displays – what is the story behind it? Why should we have displays and would people even notice them? In this issue she highlights the practical side of display. Where to start, what topic to choose, where to get ideas, what material to use and how to prepare yourself?
Welcome to 2013 and the Lunar New Year in the Chinese Year of the Snake.
‘The Snake is the sixth sign of the Chinese Zodiac, which consists of 12 Animal Signs. It is the enigmatic, intuitive, introspective, refined and collected of the Animals Signs. Ancient Chinese wisdom says a Snake in the house is a good omen because it means that your family will not starve.’
In the world of colour AkzoNobel declares Indigo (SCIS no. 1592774) is a striking statement colour for 2013 associated with wisdom and honesty which enhances your environment. However Pantone Color of the year 2013 is Emerald Green (SCIS no. 1592779)
2013 is also the International Year of Statistics, (SCIS no. 1592783) a worldwide event supported by more than 1,400 organizations. More than 100 scientific societies, universities, research institutes, and organizations all over the world have banded together to dedicate 2013 as a special year for the Mathematics of Planet Earth. (SCIS no. 1592783)
Pope Benedict XVI declared that a Year of Faith (SCIS no. 1592806) will begin on October 11, 2012 and conclude on November 24, 2013. World Youth Day 2013 (SCIS no. 1592887) to be held in Rio theme is… ‘Go and make disciples of all nations’
