What a Disaster

Volcanoes, tsunamis, earthquakes, bushfires, floods…. What’s not to like about our Inquiry unit this term?  Not only is everyone excited about learning about extreme weather events and natural disasters, but they are SUPER excited that we are doing much of our learning on line!

This term we are trialing a digital CSIRO Double Helix education unit.  CSIRO have teamed up with STILE to create a fantastic suite of science units that are directly linked to the Australian Curriculum.  Students will complete much of their learning on their Chromebooks.  The unit is called “What A Disaster!” and will be accompanied by practical investigations and an independent inquiry.

Lessons will be released to students gradually and they will be expected to complete them in class time.  They will be supported by teachers and a learning partner, to ensure they have support to understand the tasks and the learning platform.  At the end of each unit, students will turn in their work for marking and teachers will regularly provide online feedback as they progress through the lessons.

Lessons are fun and engaging and tap into scientific experts via interviews and videos.There are a range of learning experiences for students to undertake which cater to a variety of learning preferences.  

Please ask your child to show you the unit via https://stileapp.com . To log in, they enter their email address (which is the student id number that they use in their chromebook login, followed by @schoolsnet.act.edu.au - eg 063765@schoolsnet.act.edu.au) and their birth date in six digit format, as their password (eg 1/7/06 becomes 010706).

We are asking that students do not work ahead at home, however if they miss lessons due to absences or fall behind in the work at school, we will ask them to get on line at home (with parent’s permission) and complete the unfinished work.

At the end of the unit we will ask students and teachers to do an evaluation so we can determine its effectiveness and consider whether we use other Double Helix online units in the future.  Your feedback is also welcome.

Mrs Layton