137 tech resources for teachers and students

Here is a link to another blog with some interesting links. There is a lot to explore in the new worlds of online education and here would be a good place to start  Some examples

Bartleby – Bartleby is a great reference site for teachers. The site’s published materials include encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri, quotation books, and well-known reference guides.

Moodle – This popular software package allows teachers to create free educational courses and websites. Moodle is a good place to teach an online course or create websites for students to study

TILT – TILT (Teachers Improving Learning with Technology) is a vidcast that broadcasts technology tips for teachers from other teachers.



137 tech resources for teachers and students.

Rapid greying of B.C. population projected

The rapidly changing demographics of BC continue. It seems now that our population base is aging faster than most of the rest of the country.  After about 15 years of dizzying population growth most school districts are now faced with declining enrollments.   It seems this condition is set to continue as well as total school enrollments across Canada were down almost one percent last year, with declines in every province (Stats Canada)

Seniors will outnumber children in B.C. within two years, according to new population projections from Statistics Canada.The latest figures show B.C.'s population will swell from 4.5 million now to between 5.8 million and 7.1 million by 2036. And the rate of growth of seniors is expected to be particularly strong, faster than the pace of the rest of the country.

The Statistics Canada report shows the proportion of seniors in B.C. aged 65 and up will climb from 15 to 24 per cent by 2036. The proportion of seniors in B.C. will pass that of children under 15 in 2012 – that's not expected to happen nationally until 2021.

Richmond Review - Rapid greying of B.C. population projected

Vancouver arts groups raising questions around community gaming grants

Arts groups are raising questions about who exactly is eligible for community gaming grants in the province now that announced changes are ready to start.
New Democrat MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert, the Opposition critic for arts and culture and MLA for Vancouver–West End said he was recently told by a bureaucrat with the B.C. Ministry of Housing and Social Development, which is responsible for gaming grants, that writing, dance, film, fringe, and other festivals would not be eligible for that funding this year.
“To me, all of those events qualify as things that have broad community support and are definitely community cultural celebrations, and so this shocked me,” Chandra Herbert told the Straight by phone.
In March, the ministry announced that although adult arts and culture groups would no longer receive the grants for 2010-11, fairs, festivals, and museums were still listed as eligible programs.
Chandra Herbert said no explanation was given when he asked why the decision was allegedly made to deny grants to many festival groups.
“Maybe the minister [Rich Coleman] would be willing to put on the record what those requirements [for festival grants] are, but really I think the minister needs to go back and say, ‘Listen, we made a mistake here,’?” he said.
Linda Tanaka, artistic director of the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, expressed frustration about the confusion surrounding the grant application process. “It’s wasting my time. It’s taking my energy,” Tanaka told the Straight.
Norman Armour, executive director of the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, told the Straight that the government has failed to communicate the requirements for grant eligibility. “I think it’s just very unprofessional and very unaccountable,” Armour said.

Vancouver arts groups raising questions around community gaming grants | Vancouver, Canada | Straight.com

No student performers means no arts grants

When the government outlined what sorts of arts groups would be eligible to receive funding from provincial gaming grants this year, it was a relief to some organizations.
The Ministry of Housing and Social Development said that adult arts and culture groups need not apply, but youth arts and culture groups would be eligible, and that a new subcategory had been created especially for museums, fairs and festivals. The province has allocated $120-million in gaming grants – money from the province’s gambling operations – with $11.5-million for arts and culture.
But it appears things aren’t that cut and dried for professional arts festivals or arts organizations that cater to children.
Kids’ arts groups are hearing that without active youth participation, they are ineligible for the gaming grants this year, even if the work is intended for a young audience and presented in schools.
Take Green Thumb Theatre: The award-winning theatre company for young people has in the past received $46,500 in annual gaming grants for its programming: $10,000 for its main-stage productions and $36,500 to support extensive provincewide touring.
But general manager Ivan Habel has been told by the ministry that without youth participation, his theatre company won’t get that money.
“No dice,” Mr. Habel said Tuesday. “It comes as a real worry in terms of how we’re going to continue to service the broader B.C. community over the year.”
Read the article at the Globe and mail, follow the link below.

No student performers means no arts grants - The Globe and Mail

Elizabeth Gilbert on nuturing creativity

Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses -- and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "being" a genius, all of us "have" a genius. It's a funny, personal and surprisingly moving talk.

About Elizabeth Gilbert
The author of Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert has thought long and hard about some large topics. Her next fascination: genius, and how we ruin it.

BCACMS annual conference

Just a reminder to our member schools that the BC Association of Community Music Schools annual conference is coming up this June 18 and 19, 2010.   This year the event is hosted by the Victoria Conservatory of Music.  Special thanks to Stephen Brown and his staff for organizing and hosting this event for us this year. Please check our members site for more info.

Arts Summit 2010

The Alliance for Arts and Culture, 2010 Legacies NOW and the City of Surrey are pleased to present Arts Summit 2010, Thursday, June 24 and Friday, June 25 at Surrey's Chuck Bailey Recreation Centre. This beautiful new facility is 30 minutes from downtown Vancouver by Skytrain, one block from the Gateway Skytrain station.

Program Highlights Include …
THURSDAY
Vanessa Richards of SFU will reprise her role at last year's Summit and host the two-day event.
Keynote Speaker Writer, social activist, and consultant Arlene Goldbard, author of  New Creative Community, The Art of Cultural Development, talks about cultural action as an instrument of the public good and the desire for coherent cultural policy. Learn more at Arlene's website.
Civic Leaders Panel: Join Max Wyman and a group of mayors and civic leaders in a discussion about what makes a community arts savvy and how they view and promote culture.
Public Art and Art in Public Places: Why is this such a hot topic? What are the issues? Should public art be ephemeral or lasting? How do you achieve a public art policy that serves artists and communities? The inter-municipal Necklace Project has been exploring this terrain. We look for the potholes and the high points.
New Tools: Take part in the launch of the Creative Cities Public Art Toolkit.
Planning & Action / Creating a Successful Provincial Policy: Join BC Arts Council's Gillian Wood and advocacy consultant Mark Marrissen in a conversation about creating a coherent and sustainable provincial arts policy.
Canada Culture Days  Take part in the planning as Trudy Van Dop and Axel Conradi introduce plans for the Canada-wide Culture Days.
Meet & Mingle  Enjoy a networking reception in the glass cube atrium and rooftop terrace.!
Read more »

Playing the Music in your Head

Tod Machover of MIT's Media Lab invented the musical technology behind Guitar Hero, and here he talks about what's coming next. Listen for some brand-new ways to interface with music -- to play it, compose it, enjoy it. Machover then introduces Dan Ellsey, a composer with cerebral palsy who uses some new tools to write and perform his own music. Onstage, Ellsey conducts his "My Eagle Song," in a soaring performance that underscores music's power to move you and give you chills. (Recorded March 2008 in Monterey, California. Duration: 20:35.)

Matthew McFarlane interview

Here is an interesting clip from CBC Radio One, an interview with Matthew McFarlane of CBC Vancouver takes us to a student music festival, He speaks with several young piano students taking part in a Kiwanis Festival and also an interview with the adjudicator.

CBC Radio, In the Field  scroll down to the May 4, part two (this will probably only be available online for a short time, maybe only this week?)