Global Student - WEB 3.0 Student Community and Research Project

Inspired by SARK’s new incredibly inspiring and vibrant book “Juicy Pens Thirsty Paper”, Grade 4 students used book titles to describe their own personalities. The book is so colourful and “alive” with ideas for writing, the students took to these ideas immediately. I found the book particularly valuable because it is so visual which lends itself to blogging perfectl. It transforms post into something more than just words on paper! Students were invited to visit each others post and write a comment about each others personality based on the book titles. It became an interactive activity of sharing whilst providing valuable feedback.

More samples can be viewed by visiting www.ebonyburns.edublogs.org and navigating to the student blogs on the blogroll.

work from Horsham West Primary School.

Students at Heywood District Secondary College have been making banners for the school collective blog and blogs for their learning areas. They have taken off the prize for the competition which closed on August 25th 2008. Congratulations to all of the students who participated. When you visit the Heywood District Secondary College Blog you will be able to see student handiwork.

Check out September 2008’s competition which involves a Magic Genie who commandeers the school canteen.

I looked around the corner, nothing but the flickering of the candles burning low in their brackets. I looked behind; the dead body was still there, a most gruesome sight, its decapitated head lying next to the body. Its left arm was dismembered and blood was splashed upon the walls.

I moved ahead, my hands sweating, I gripped the pistol harder. Ahead around a bend I heard a moan, the crunch of bones snapping and the sound of chewing. I brought the pistol up in front of me. I moved slowly around the corner, there on the ground was another body although it was hard to recognise. Something knelt next to it; it’s back to me. ‘Ahh a zombie’, I sarcastically sneered to myself, “I’m getting sick of this. I squeezed the trigger three times. The zombie gave a moan and lurched to its feet, I fired again. My pride and joy, the customised Desert Eagle was having no effect upon it. I returned the pistol to its holster and stepped back. I reached across my back and unslung the semi-auto shotgun. The shells I had in it were number 3’s, they kicked like buggery. I brought the rest up to my arm and squeezed the trigger while exhaling. It kicked like a mule. The zombie gave a final groan as it collapsed to dirt floor its head now a mushy pulp.

I moved towards it and gave it a hard kick. No movement, it wouldn’t take long to regenerate maybe half an hour. I cursed myself for not bringing any explosives to put inside it’s body and blow the  thing up. Well there was nothing for it, I was going to have to try and reach the burial tomb to stop it. I just hoped I didn’t meet any vampires along the way. Another thing I had neglected to bring was garlic and a stake. I was assured this would be a normal run of the mill job, evil curse on a long forgotten tomb that had spawning undead that have been harassing the nearby village. This is the last time I get a job from those liars from the U.I.O.B. (Undead Is Our Business) company.

I loaded another shell and began jogging down the gloomy crypt tunnel. The gloom was making it hard to see, there must be a frost outside. Ahead I could see the raised stone coffin, there was a bedraggled human form slumped against it. I smirked, so the stupid necromancer had underestimated the physical drain in restoring life to the dead; he was probably an amateur.

I approached him cautiously, well I assumed it was a he; but as my trainers constantly reminded me assumption is the mother of all mess-ups. I kept an open mind.

I stepped up the four steps to the coffin and grabbed the hair of the necromancer whilst pulling his head up to look at his eyes. It fell off, I dropped it and spun on the ball of my foot bringing the shotgun to my shoulder. I quickly retraced the way I had come in my mind’s eye. I suddenly had a twinge of doubt; the hallway along the entrance, there had been some suspicious looking stonework.

I cursed myself for my lack of awareness; I was becoming too set in my ways. I bet that the stonework had been a secret chamber, bloody nobles them and their mysteries. I raced along the crypt, the dust rising up from my thudding boots. I felt it more then saw it, I had the sudden instinct to jump back. I obeyed. A storm of small darts flew across in front of me mere inches from my body. I jumped through just after the volley had ceased. Ahead I could see the entrance to the crypt; on my left I heard a growl. This was the moment when I would need bigger fan.

I kept running, frantically drawing my Desert Eagle and ripped the clip from it, I reached to my belt out a fresh clip. I rammed it into the pistol and kept running. Now I was ready, it wouldn’t be suspecting these homemade bullets. A sharp bark and I heard its teeth gnashing too close for comfort. I reached the entrance and turned while jumping backwards; my momentum carrying me out of the crypt while I emptied half the clip of silver bullets into the werewolf’s chest. It gave a moan stumbling towards me. I lined the sights up with its forehead and squeezed. One shot was all it took. The werewolf collapsed at my feet. I reloaded my Desert Eagle with ordinary rounds and replaced it in my holster.

I shivered; it was cold out of the crypt. I moved towards my car. An old white shitbox, it should have been replaced a long time ago but it had sentimental value. I went to the drivers door opened it and got in. It took a hard slam to make it close properly. I turned the keys and revved it a bit to warm the engine up. I put it into first and the car slowly gained enough speed to put into second. The steering was a bit stiff.

I managed to get home in one piece.

First thing tomorrow morning I would call the U.I.O.B. and tell them I was terminating my contract. I trudged up the stairs to my room, slung the semi-auto over a chair and put the Desert Eagle on the bedside table. I found it was safer to sleep with the guns loaded rather than not. Another piece of survival knowledge I learnt on the job.

You never know what is around the corner.

by Lachlan - Year 9  Goroke P-12

Looking back at it I can’t understand how I have been left behind my granddaughter tells me to get with the times but I can’t accept that life here in 2050 has to be so awful. I used to always love my life, the world that I lived in but now…I just don’t know. I knew how to work everything and I understood it, I had friends, I was able to go outside and get fresh air but now…?

To go for a walk you have to wear a mask the pollution is just that bad, technology is increasing everyday I just can’t keep up with it, friends…what friends? Everything you want now is in your house, you don’t need friends, you don’t need shops, and you don’t need anything.

If your hungry you just have to push a button on your fridge and the meal is there, if you need to buy anything you just do it over the internet, now there really is no reason at all for you to leave the house.

I go out every now and then; to have a look around, see what the world is looking like. The streets are usually bare with an odd person here and there, people don’t need to go out anymore, they sit at home in front of the T.V, why go out if you don’t have to they say!

When I was young you always wanted to go out, you wanted to see people, you wanted to go to the shops but now…that’s not the case. Everyone has changed so much. I can remember back to when I was young if you saw an old girl like me you would always help them, the kids now if they see me walking they almost push me over, not that there is many kids out now, the new thing is cyber station, game boys all those things you play at home, kids just aren’t like they used to be.

I guess there are a few good things that come from this, there is no crime anymore… really only because no one ever goes out. There is good health service now, if you have a problem you just have to hit a button on your wall and the help you need will be there. Our generations are so lazy now!

I used to look out my window when I was young and everything was green, the flowers were beautiful, yellow, orange, pink, and red. Now I look out my window and all I see is grey. Grey footpath, grey roads there are no flowers no grass…nothing. Our world is just full of grey black and white.

I walk outside…the streets abandoned, the play grounds lonely and cold, no one to talk to, and no one to see. The people in the shops just stare they don’t even wave.

It’s such a lonely world, I often think if I will be able to go on, no one to talk to, and no one to see. Always having things done for me never being able to feel independent again, would I be ok with that? I ask myself the question all the time I just can’t seem to get a clear answer.

I just want to be back in the time were the grass was green, you could see the sun shining and the kids playing at the play ground, you could walk down the street and have fresh air with people waving at you…I just want that time back. I want the world to be social again, without all the technology, without the pollution.

Its such a sad life…lonely…I just want to feel happy again, with the rest of my family and my old friends…maybe after this fabulous but lethal martini my pain will end and I will finally find happiness again were the sky is blue, the grass is green, the flowers are beautiful and were the world is full of colour again!

”Good luck to all out there I hope you feel happiness within yourself” (this will be the last thing that I ever yell to the world)

by Tiarne W

Tell me about how the project began?

The Cubby House Project began as a group discussion. Members of the group wanted to have fun and not sit inside all the time. Teachers wanted a real life competition that would challenge the students. As a group staff and students had discussions and decided that they  wanted to do something a bit different. Mr Whitworth made suggestions about what to do. He proposed that each school make a cubby house which was to be compared. The idea was that students would critically examine each school’s cubby house.

What research was required?

In first term we talked to the little kids about what they would want in a cubby house. Most of them said that they wanted TV’s, Play Stations and other ridiculous electronic devices. So we figured they should buy their own house. When we got some sense out of them they said that they wanted windows, a painted door, a sand pit and a walk way. They wanted the cubby to be painted using bright colours.

Another thing that we did was use the internet to check out Cubby House designs. There really wasn’t much variety in design. We saw a number of brands but basically they were all the same. This led us to come up with a different design.

What do you feel is unique about your design?

One of the things that makes our cubby different is that instead of the usual, gabled roof we have designed a small pitched, flat roof. We chose to use cement sheeting and weather boards because of price issues and because having different materials achieved a  different look to what we had seen on the internet. Instead of having a veranda we put a sandpit across the front. This seemed to make the place more fun.

What do you plan to do now?

We hope to make some money by selling the cubby house. The ideal situation would be that we cover costs of materials and labour. We think that a kindergarten might be interested. Given that the cubby is probably worth about $2000 we think a family could be interested in buying it for their kids.

Three things we could have done better!

1. We could started a bit earlier and that would mean we would have had more time to finish it properly.
2.  It would have been better if everyone was here on the days that we were scheduled to work on it.
3. We would have saved time if we had measured more carefully.

What were the highlights of doing this project?

1. Our building skills have increased from what they were.
2. The fact that we were making something for a real reason motivated us to work a bit harder.
3. It is great that we can now look at a finished product and be satisfied with it.

Today at Goroke P-12 College Prep, Grade 1, Grade 3 and Grade 4 students discovered how they could use ‘Paint’ to create a Magic Genie painting. Students took turns painting and using all the different brushes and tools.

It has been reported that a Magic Genie has taken over the canteen at Goroke P - 12. Chaos erupted as students clamoured to get their lunch orders to the Genie. Here are some of the news reports that came out of Grade 5 and 6 at Goroke today.

(Sorry guys! For some reason the code is not working here on the site. After what we thought was success it has all stopped working. Make sure to keep your Vokis on your blogs. We will beat this and get them up on display for all to see.
Mrs B. )

Year Seven students at Goroke P -12 College are going to make feature panels in Woodwork. As they work in ‘Paint’  they will be able to design what they want their panels to look like.

To begin the process the class used ‘Paint’ to come up with concept drawings that they will later use to inspire their paint work on the central panel.

Here’s a bit of fun that Grade 3/4 students at Wedderburn College have been having. In keeping with the Olympics theme we used wordle to create some great looking images that illustrate the country that each student was researching. They were also challenged to try to slip in their first name as well.

Here’s is the post from our Burners blog that shows how we did it.
To start off our activity we are going to brainstorm all the words we can think of that remind us of the Olympics. I am going to write them into a word document and show in on the Interactive whiteboard as the students are brainstorming. Once we have lots of words we are going to save the document into a shared folder on the server so that everyone in the class can open it up and save it as their own.