Current research suggests that reading online results in lower understanding and less critical reflection. What might this mean for our students’ learning and for society?
These amazing zoos are bringing the animals in to our living rooms while we are social distancing.
San Diego Zoo: Webcams https://zoo.sandiegozoo.org/live-cams
Smithsonian National Zoo: Webcams https://nationalzoo.si.edu/webcams
Jigokudani Yaen-Koen: (Wild Snow monkey Park Japan) Webcam http://en.jigokudani-yaenkoen.co.jp/livecam2/video_en.php
Africam: Webcam with an elevated position over the water where the Big 5 are often spotted. https://www.africam.com/wildlife/rosies-pan-at-naledi-live-wildlife-channel/
Houston Zoo: Webcams https://www.houstonzoo.org/explore/webcams/
Atlanta Zoo: Webcam https://zooatlanta.org/panda-cam/
Cincinnati Zoo: Live stream feed on their facebook page at 3pm (local time), 6am our time. Previous resources at: http://cincinnatizoo.org/home-safari-resources/?fbclid=IwAR3ybGS6WKnHXccm4EFc_7H3UezlP0PCe2bPk_3cxX_jsGnM2GtEYXuKx8c
Georgia Aquarium: Webcams https://www.georgiaaquarium.org/webcam/ocean-voyager/
Monterey Bay Aquarium: Webcam https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/live-cams
Aquarium of the Pacific: Webcam http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/exhibits/webcams
Seattle Aquarium: Webcam https://www.seattleaquarium.org/live-cams & video collection: https://www.seattleaquarium.org/video
Thanks to Cindy Tait for this list
Taronga and Dubbo Zoo:
Webcam and video: https://taronga.org.au/taronga-tv
Mogo Wildlife Park:
‘ask a zookeeper’ a question. Even better if the students can make a video of themselves asking the question to put on their page.
https://www.facebook.com/mogowildlifepark/
https://www.instagram.com/mogowildlifepark/
Symbio Wildlife Park:
Keeper talks and animal feeding videos on their facebook and instagram pages.
https://www.facebook.com/symbiozoo/
https://www.instagram.com/symbiowildlifepark/
Featherdale Wildlife Park:
Has Featherdale TV but it is more an advertising channel, and segments on TV that have featured Featherdale animals.
https://www.featherdale.com.au/featherdale-tv/
Zoos Victoria:
Has live streamed cameras in their animal enclosures. They also have live streamed feeding times listed for each animal included.
https://www.zoo.org.au/animal-house/
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary:
Webcams in various Koala enclosures
https://koala.net/webcams If you scroll further down the page, they also have webcams for: Dingo, Dragons, Skinks, Perentie, Platypus, Birds
Eco Eggs:
Choook-cam https://www.ecoeggs.com.au/chookcam/watch-our-hens-live-on-camera
Phillip Island:
Penguin Burrow Camera https://www.penguins.org.au/attractions/penguin-parade/penguin-burrow-camera/
Thanks to Cindy Tait for compiling this list
The Australian Ballet is offering a free cinema-quality digital season to bring full-length performances to Australians at home.
The new At Home with Ballet TV digital season will beam our premium-quality productions right to your couch for free. They’ve hand-picked a selection of the most beloved and inspiring ballets, and each will have a limited two-week season on their streaming platform, Ballet TV. Absolutely free!
They’re kicking off the Digital Season with the luminous extravaganza that is David McAllister’s production of The Sleeping Beauty.
We’re all at home – but we’re all together. And together, we’ll dance our way through.
Each full-length production will be available for a limited time only.
The Sleeping Beauty (David McAllister)
Sun 5 – Fri 17 April
Cinderella (Alexei Ratmansky)
Fri 17 April – Fri 1 May
Romeo & Juliet (Graeme Murphy)
Fri 1 – Fri 15 May
Some great free history webinars and meetings for while you are at home if you are a member of HTA. http://www.htansw.asn.au/online-meeting-events?fbclid=IwAR0QZ_wi3aXid6B6c6vDQRc-mT34YgmjhV2tfMsfm-EhIzz5ww_sGSlyaCk
Also some links to free ebooks that you could put in your google classrooms if the topic is right. https://ancienthistoryresources.com.au/?fbclid=IwAR1RQTcDPVMVsOXT2xaiMaw-IUUfGbWmo6uKL_Rma7Rc83cLQmmNq-GAa8Q
Theatre fans are in for a treat as Andrew Lloyd Webber will be streaming a number of his famous musical theatre shows during the coronavirus lockdown. A new YouTube channel, titled The Show Must Go On, is launching to give those stuck at home because of the Covid-19 pandemic their very own West End and Broadway experience. The channel will air a different musical each week, starting with Andrew’s hit show Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat that will premiere on Friday (3 April).
It’s free to watch for theatre-lovers and will stream the show’s 2000 stage adaptation starring Donny Osmond, Joan Collins and the late Richard Attenborough, who passed away in 2014. Each show will be available for a limited 48-hour period online, with next week’s offering being Jesus Christ Superstar starring Tim Minchin, Chris Moyles and Spice Girl Mel C. The channel will also feature behind-the-scenes footage alongside its full-length shows and has been set up in the hope of raising donations for a number of charities, including Acting for Others, Broadway Cares and Actors Benevolent Fund.
The National Theatre is going to stream a free play every Thursday night !
As numerous theatrical institutions across the world have opened up their archives in response to increasing lockdown restrictions, all eyes have remained on one organisation: the National Theatre in London, which has the greatest archive of cinema-quality recordings of stage plays of any theatre on the planet, thanks to its formidable NT Live programme. It’s designed to beam productions from the NT into cinemas across the country, but there are of course no cinemas in operation at present. So the NT is switching to its YouTube channel. From April 2, under the banner of National Theatre at Home, every Thursday (7pm BST/2pm EST) will see a new National Theatre play released – free to watch for one week – along with bonus content including cast and creative Q&As and post-stream talks.
There’s a definite emphasis on family-friendly good cheer for the line-up so far, which kicks off with a big hitter: Richard Bean’s beloved farce ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’, starring a pre-chatshow-days James Corden. Over the next few weeks you can expect a string of family-friendly titles, though naturally there will be those hoping for some of the real NT Live blockbusters, notably ‘Hamlet’ and ‘Frankenstein’ starring Benedict Cumberbatch and ‘Coriolanus’ starring Tom Hiddleston.
The initial programme is:
April 2 ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’ by Richard Bean, starring James Corden.
April 9 ‘Jane Eyre’, adapted by Sally Cookson. Read our review.
April 16 ‘Treasure Island’, adapted by Bryony Lavery.
April 23 ‘Twelfth Night’ by William Shakespeare, starring Tamsin Greig. Read our review.
Additionally, the National Theatre will be rolling out National Theatre Collection study resources to pupils now learning at home.
Audible has made hundreds of its audiobooks free to the public to help parents looking to entertain their kids.
Audible is offering some of their audiobooks for free for parents in quarantine with their families. With many families staying home to flatten the curve amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, companies are offering alternatives and forgoing cancellation policies to support the work-from-home lifestyle. Audible is one such company, offering hundreds of their audiobooks to the public for free, announcing, “For as long as schools are closed, we’re open.” The free books range from preschool-friendly to adult titles.
All available titles can be accessed via desktop, laptop, phone, or tablet at
I usually access JSTOR through my NSW State Library Card and encourage my Stage 6 students to join the State Library and do this also. At the moment, the State Library is making an expanded set of content freely available through June 30, 2020 to participating institutions where students have been displaced due to COVID-19. Read here…
For our students who do not have a accounts…they can access this for free: