Issue no. 73 | November 2014

MY:24 AppInside: Backyard Science 2 2015 Online EventsTrop Jr FLY

You’re Skitting Me Sketch-O-Matic

The You’re Skitting Me Sketch-O-Matic – a digital sketch comedy writing tool inspired by the TV series – is an exciting new resource that supports students in learning the craft of sketch comedy writing.

Developed specifically for kids aged 9-14, the new Sketch-O-Matic is an educational web-based project tool that introduces students to the comedy genre and with advice from the pros, guides students through the process of writing their very own comedy sketch.

The Sketch-O-Matic features video clips from the You’re Skitting Me TV series – contemporary, Australian examples from which students can learn to identify the different types of comedy, can model their own work and, as a multimodal text, can deconstruct in order to make meaning.

Each of the stages feature never before seen footage of the writers, cast and crew talking about their knowledge of sketch comedy, how they work collaboratively and most importantly, how to entertain and engage an audience in order to make them laugh.

The resource directly supports the Australian Curriculum by providing opportunities for students to: further their understanding of how the selection of a variety of language features can influence an audience; create imaginative, informative and persuasive scripts that raise issues; report events and advance opinions; and use deliberate language and textual choices in the scripts.

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Motivating and engaging your students in the productive Modes of speaking, writing and creating has never been so entertaining!

WHAT IS COMEDY?

Please circulate

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Stage 1: Introduction to Comedy What is comedy? Stage 1 provides a concise definition of comedy and how comedy is created and used.

Stage 2: Types of Comedy (reading) Stage 2 outlines the different types of sketch comedy, using video examples from You’re Skitting Me to demonstrate the nuances of each type.

Stage 3: Ideas Lab (writing, creating) Comedy comes from chaos! In Stage 3, students are encouraged to use their own experiences, observations and interactions as inspiration for their comedic ideas - and write them down, using their digital scrapbook.

Stage 4: The Script (creating, writing, reading, speaking) Now, write! Stage 4 presents an online scriptwriting tool in which students can take an idea and develop it into an organised text by adding characters, dialogue and directions.

Stage 5: Collaborate, Evaluate (speaking) In the final stage, students are prompted to print their script, collaborate with their friends and read it out loud to a discerning audience. Was it funny? Did the audience laugh? If ‘no’, it could be time to go back to the Stage 3 drawing board! If ‘yes’...

Congratulations! Students are emailed a project certificate for their achievement of completing the 5 Stage process.

The You’re Skitting Me Sketch-O-Matic package is now available to buy from the ACTF Shop and includes: You’re Skitting Me – Series 1 & 2 (DVDs), ‘virtual’ student access tokens and a Sketch-O-Matic Study Guide, outlining the curriculum links and intended outcomes for students using the interactive tool.

Trop Jr is a rare launching pad for young filmmakers (aged 15 years and under) and a one-of-a-kind chance for kids to show off their sky-high imaginations and let their cinematic talents take flight.

From over 250 Trop Jr competition entries, the selected 16 finalist films will screen in front of thousands of people at the free, outdoor event at Sydney’s Centennial Park on 7 December, 2014.

Keep an eye on the ACTF’s Facebook page for event information and the special guest announcements to be released during November. Join in the fun, bring the whole family and don’t forget to say hi to the ACTF Education team!

Don’t miss fly: 7 December, 2014

To begin, students enter the closed Sketch-O-Matic website via a unique email token, provided to the school on purchase of the resource, and then work through the five stages which include:

WHErE DO I STArT?

Year Level: Middle Primary (4-5), Middle Years (5-9)Curriculum Study Areas: The Arts (Media Arts), English TV Series DVDs: $75Series 1 & 2 Sketch-O-Matic: $90Website access only – includes class set of 30 tokens for students and teachers. The Sketch-O-Matic Pack: $150Includes You’re Skitting Me TV Series 1 & 2 (DVDs) plus class set of 30 tokens for students and teachers.

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Have you attended one of our FREE Education Meets yet? Join the conversation, learn from industry experts and connect with like-minded educators in 2015 at one of our FREE webinars!

AC: English Productive Modes - Sketch Comedy in Practice Date: 23 February 2015 Time: 4-4.45pm ADET Venue: Online

Practical Tools in the Classroom - MY: 24 Digital Storytelling App Date: 16 March 2015 Time: 4-4.45pm ADET Venue: Online

All ACTF webinars are recorded and uploaded to our website, so you can catch up at any time! If you don’t want to miss out and would like to be kept up to date on our Events, subscribe to receive regular ACTF Updates via the ACTF’s website.

2014 is the 7th year the eLearning Association has held the eLearning Excellence Awards. The eLearning Excellence Awards aim to highlight and acknowledge examples of the best use of technology combined with the latest thinking in education, learning and training.

Each year the standard of entries has lifted and the ACTF is honoured to yet again be nominated and receive awards for the following online resources:

• Nominated - Best K-12 Award

- MY:24 App

- Dance Academy: Arts Education

• Winner – Community Sector Award for the MY:24 App

The ACTF Education team was also very excited to be acknowledged for their work by being awarded the eLearning Association’s, Team Achievement Award.

November 2014 | 3

Following on from the success of the Backyard Science: Primary Teaching Resource, the ACTF is excited to introduce 12 new science investigations for students in Years 4-8 to explore the three strands of the Australian Curriculum: Science - Biological Sciences, Chemical Sciences and Physical Sciences.

The Backyard Science 2: Primary & Secondary Teaching Resource, is a high-quality interactive teaching and learning resource for non-specialist science educators, and uses clips from the acclaimed Backyard Science television series (Beyond Distribution, Australia and Penguin Television). This innovative multimedia resource promotes the development of scientific literacy for children through teaching strategies for classroom investigation.

Central to each investigation are the video clips from the popular Backyard Science television series, showcasing experiments by children utilising everyday household materials in a fun, creative and exploratory way. The resource offers activity background and safety information for teachers to undertake experiments within the classroom, plus interactive quizzes that challenge students’ knowledge and understanding.

Primary & seconDary teaching resource

online events in terM one

Missed an actf education Meet in 2014?

awards: elearning

COPYRIGHT: The copyright proprietor has licensed the film (including soundtrack)

contained on this DVD-ROM for non-theatrical use only (such as educational institutions,

churches, libraries, government departments, and correctional facilities). All other rights

are reserved. Any unauthorised copying, exhibition or communication to the public of all

or part of the film is strictly prohibited.

Education Distribution by:Australian Children’s Television Foundation3rd Floor, 145 Smith Street, Fitzroy Victoria 3065, Australia

T: +61 3 9200 5500 F: +61 3 9200 5555E: info@actf.com.au W: www.actf.com.au/education

Year Level: Middle Primary (4-5), Middle Years (5-9)Curriculum Study Area: ScienceThemes/Topics: Adaptation, air pressure, analysing, biology, chemical, chemistry, reactions, communication, energy, evaluation, environment and sustainability, experiments, flora and fauna, forces and energy, life, lighting, magnetism, matter, mixtures, nature, physical, problem solving, reactions, safety, thinking processes

For Beyond Productions: Executive Producers: John Luscombe and Ron

Saunders, Series Producer: Richard Campbell, Group Production Manager:

Jenny O’Shea For Penguin Television: Executive Producer: Simon Jollands,

Co-ordinating Producer: Pauline Davis A co-production between Penguin Television and Beyond Productions Pty Limited.

Based on the book “Backyard Science” published by Dorling Kindersley Limited.

2003 Penguin Television and Beyond TV Properties Limited. All rights Reserved.

www.actf.com.au/education

Curriculum Study Area – Science

Primary and Secondary Teaching Resource

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The Backyard Science 2 (DVD-ROM) features experiments from the popular Backyard Science television series. This interactive resource uses video clips to showcase children utilising everyday household materials in fun and creative experiments. Through innovative and exciting activities, students develop insight into the knowledge and skills of science, and learn how to work scientifically. The resource contains:• 12 topics of investigations across 3 strands:

Chemical Sciences, Physical Sciences and Biological Sciences• Clips from Backyard Science television series

• Teaching activities and aligned student activity sheets for Years 4 to 8• Background information to science concepts

• Classroom quiz for each investigation• Equipment list and safety advice

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$90

In each episode of Bushwhacked! - Series 1 and 2 an important message about ecosystems and sustainability is explored. The Bushwhacked! - Study Guides highlight these messages while also exploring Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities as rich, strong and diverse.

The Bushwhacked! - Series 1 and 2 Study Guides support teachers and students to use episodes from the series by highlighting discussion topics and providing activities that help to deepen students’ knowledge of Australia, and develop an appreciation of Australia’s unique Indigenous people, their culture and their relationship with the land.

The discussion topics and activities included in these study guides are for teachers to use in their middle-primary to middle-secondary classroom and are aligned with content, knowledge and skills in the Australian Curriculum areas of English, Science, The Arts (Media), Humanities (Geography) and the Cross-Curriculum Priorities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures and Sustainability.

Please copy and circulate to: all classroom Primary teachers including Arts, HPE teachers and Curriculum coordinators plus teacher librarians; all Secondary school – Heads of Departments for English, Arts, HPE, Humanities plus teachers of Media, Social Education, Values Education, Student Wellbeing Coordinators and teacher librarians.

www.actf.com.au/education ABN: 93 005 986 952

3rd Floor, 145 Smith Street, Fitzroy, Victoria 3065

T 03 9200 5500 F 03 9200 5555 E info@actf.com.au

W www.actf.com.au

Sign up to our eNews today to get regular ACTF Updates: www.actf.com.au/news

to support cross curriculuM priorities

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School Holiday Storiesmy:24 free storytelling aPP

The school holidays are upon us and the ACTF’s App is perfect to get students engaged, entertained and learning in the school holidays

The MY:24 app is a digital storytelling tool developed with creative kids in mind, putting them at the forefront of a short audio-visual recount of their own significant life-changing event.

Inspired by the stories told within the MY:24 television series, the MY:24 app enables young people to creatively tell their own MY:24 story through a series of basic templates, using the in-built capabilities of their own mobile device.

The app encourages creative learning through ‘doing’ and

through ‘play’, using new and accessible technologies. So encourage your students to download the free app and get cracking to create their own MY:24 films during the summer school holidays!

If you’d like to integrate both the MY:24 TV series and app into your 2015 learning program, the ACTF has developed a range of support materials for teachers. These free materials are available for download from The Learning Centre on the ACTF’s website.

stuDy guiDes