What's+new??

31 May 2017
=Latest Newsletter now available here=

6 February 2017
=Latest Newsletter now available here= Includes great PD for principals....

2017
Year of the Fire rooster new links and information on the Home page

3 November 2016
=Latest Newsletter now available here= Broken links on the video clips page fixed

=3 October 2016=

28 July
=Latest newsletter now available here=

11 May
=Latest newsletter now available here=

=7 April 2016=

Front page updated with new links for the Year of the Red Fire Monkey
Broken links removed or fixed.

17 July 2015
=Latest newsletter - now available here=

10 March 2015
=Latest newsletter - now available here=

May newsletter now available here
=3 April 2014=

3 new videos on how to integrate the cross curriculum priority of Asia into:

 * ==The Arts - middle secondary==
 * ==Geography - junior secondary==
 * ==Grade 5/6 with economics, maths, english and more==

Is your school worth showcasing?
DEECD is in the process of producing a series of short DVDs which seek to show what Asia literacy looks like in practice in Victorian schools. We are looking for principals and teachers who are willing to showcase their work.

The aim is to show practical examples of good practice across a range of learning areas as well as effective whole of school approaches and showing examples of teachers who have developed Asia knowledge and confidence.

The areas being considered are:
 * English (Literacy at the primary level)
 * History
 * Geography
 * Maths
 * Science
 * The Arts
 * Sister schools as a practical way of building Asia literacy/International Education

If you would like to be considered, please email Allan Goedecke goedecke.allan.m@edumail.vic.gov.au

16 April
Victorian schools are invited to participate in the drawing competition for the 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG) to be held in Nanjing in 2014 (hereinafter, Nanjing 2014). Teenager group (13-18 years old) · All artworks must be created independently by the children reflecting the theme. Artworks from the Teenage Group should advocate “harmonious, green, sportive, healthy and happy lifestyle” in the form of paper drawings (including Chinese painting, oil painting, gouache painting, watercolour painting, engraving, animation, comics and illustration, etc.). · The smallest specification should be 30cm x 42cm and the biggest should be 44cm x 68cm. · Chinese painting works should be done on paper no larger than 69cmx138cm, preferably vertical in orientation. · No author name will appear on the works. · Entries will not be returned. For each candidate group, certificates will be awarded in the following categories: 1. Awards of Winning (20) 2. Awards of Excellence (30) 3. Awards of Finalists (200) The winners of the Awards of Winning and Awards of Excellence will be awarded licensed merchandise of Nanjing 2014 and the winners of the Award of Winning will be invited to participate in the summer camp held during the 2nd Asian Youth Games, Nanjing 2013 and given tickets to games. The winners of the Award of Winning will also be invited to Culture and Education Program NYOGOC organised by NYOGOC. NYOGOC will be responsible for competition-related expenses in China for invited children and youth representatives during the award ceremony and summer camp. The winning artworks from the categories of Award of Winning and Award of Excellence will be published and the prize winners will receive a copy for free.
 * Opportunity for students to join the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing.**
 * Theme of the competition:** Join the YOG, Embrace the Future
 * Goal of the competition:** Promoting the Olympic values: excellence, friendship and respect
 * Hosting organisation:** Nanjing Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (NYOGOC)
 * Submission closes:** 31 May 2013
 * Award ceremony:** August 2013, including winning works exhibition and summer camp
 * Grouping:** Children Group (6-12 years old)
 * Competition requirements**
 * Further information:** [] <[]>
 * Registration forms:** [[file:NIYDC registration forms.pdf]]
 * Prizes:**

10 April
==Lots of new apps are now collated on the Apps page. They include lots of apps for Asia Literacy across the curriculum and languages.It also includes a number of other useful sites that have lists and links to other apps, and there is a master list of apps you can search by language, learning area, country, app name, description and whether it is suitable for ipad or iphone. Only FREE apps make the master list!==

Apps for Asia literacy now available here
==

12 March==

March newsletter now available here
=19 February= =Ideas for connecting language and art and libraries from the PD at Zart Art= ====Ideas, videos and handouts available here

==== =1 February= =Newsletter is now available here

=

=Happy New Year 2013! The year of the Snake!= New additions to Units of work for: Korea - units and podcasts Vietnam - units China - Units Japan - Units

= = =10 December= =New pages, new links and LOTS MORE RESOURCES= =Key additions can be found at the:=
 * ==Video Clips page which has a range of videos to inspire you, your colleagues and students==
 * ==resources page which has lists of books to buy, borrow or read and where to do it! Also the OLE for students==
 * ==online resources page which provides links ABOUT ASIA and/or a range of Asian countries but are NOT COUNTRY SPECIFIC==
 * ==21st C Technologies page which** contains great sites, apps etc that are useful **** for teaching and learning generally. **==
 * ==Units of work pages on the sister Studies of Asia Wikispace which has units, lessons, resources that are COUNTRY SPECIFIC==

9 December
==7th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art is now open in QLD. See here for BRILLIANT links you can use in your class==

=6 December= =New page to link lots of inspiring video clips - see it here=

3 December - an index of items from newsletters is now available in a searchable list
=30 August - BSW L21CSV network curriculum meeting=

=5 June= =View new animation from the AEF on Asia literacy= []

[|Click here]

=12 April= =New extracts from //Encountering the Chinese// here=

=29 February= =Mapping the cross curriculum priorities of the Australian Curriculum= =A sample guide from Essex Primary School is available here=

=26 February= =New Asia Literate Rubric guide with changes to reflect the Australian Curriculum and the 3 Organising Ideas has now been uploaded here=

=30 January= =Opinion pieces in The Age:= //**'But Asian literacy is not just about language**//. It's not even mostly about language. Most Asian languages are hard to learn, plus there are a range of structural issues working against them - the lack of qualified teachers, the streaming of native and non-native speakers in a competitive HSC environment, and the lack of a general culture of learning foreign languages in Australia.

**//Asian history and culture, on the other hand, can and should be familiar to every student leaving an Australian school.//** The history of Japan or Singapore, Korea or Indonesia is fascinating stuff. And it has a direct impact on how people in those countries act every day. Read more: [|http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/learning-more-about-asia-is-smarter-than-lamenting-the-language-gap-20120129-1qnrr.html#ixzz1ktiDHxyB]

=in response to Sunday's piece:= []

=24 January - a clip to inspire and challenge your staff= 7 provoking minutes from the 7.30 report on Australia's need to learn about Asian cultures and Asian languages. Show it to your staff to kick off the new school year!!! See it here [] Some excerpts: DR MICHAEL WESLEY, DIRECTOR, LOWY INSTITUTE: 'I call it the English speaking conceit. Expecting to be able to rely on English in any meaningful or serious negotiation with an Asian counterpart is like agreeing to play poker with someone who has a mirror on the ceiling and can see your cards.... DEBORAH CORNWALL: But lifting our Asian literacy levels is now a matter of national interest....Indeed for all the obstacles in trying to boost Asian literacy among schoolchildren, observers say the challenge goes much deeper. ...Australians in the main remain largely disinterested in the politics and cultures of our northern neighbours. MICHAEL WESLEY: It goes a long way past languages. Asian languages are hard. I think we need to be realistic about how many Australians are actually going to feel the interest and dedication to undertake that sort of study. If you haven't been told anything about Indonesia in your entire school career why would you suddenly have, you know, a road to Damascus moment and say, 'I need to learn the language of this country'. DEBORAH CORNWALL: For the next generation of Australians the new cultural meccas are less likely to be Paris and New York but cities like Kolcutta, Beijing and Seoul and the big shock for every Westerner is that English will no longer be the global passport that it was. MICHAEL WESLEY: Are we equipping Australian kids with the skills that they will need to be able to actually spend some time there, work there, study there, join rock bands there? Or are we going to continue giving them the same diet of education so that ultimately they will just pass through these centres like kids at a candy store window but being unable to really participate in cultural and intellectual life of these places.

=23 January 2012 HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!!!= Welcome to the Year of the Dragon! According to the Chinese horoscope, there are 5 types of dragons – Metal Dragon, Water dragon, Wood Dragon, Fire Dragon and Water Dragon.

2012 is the year of the Water Dragon which symbolises optimal growth and expansion.

The following website has pre-school teaching resources with a dragon theme: []

Wishing You a Happy and Prosperous Chinese New Year! =

= =22 December= =New religious and cultural diversity unit of work with student work samples about Thailand, Phillippines and India= =See them here=

= = =20 December= =Everything you need to know about China in 10 minutes!= This 10 minute animated video gives a great overview of China from many points of view. See it at the bottom of the page here or on Youtube at []

=9 December=

Looking for some intellectual stimulus for you and your students over the break? Try:
SBS CQ Cultural Intelligence - The Media and Diversity Debatefor an intelligent and critical look at the media and asylum seekers. Great for English, Media and Humanities students (and teachers!)

The forum airs at **8.30pm on Thursday December 22 on SBS TWO**

SBS CQ seeks to feed into this space with intelligent debate, new perspectives on our media environment. In this forum media practitioners, academics, politicians, community advocates and commentators reflect on how media shape and represent our views and values.
 * In the context of heated national debates about asylum seekers and immigration, as well as the (predominantly polarising) commentary that followed the announcement of this year's federal multiculturalism policy, it is timely to host a discussion on the media’s role in these debates and in reflecting Australian diversity. **

The forum guests include ex pollies Amanda Vanstone; media practitioners, including //Go Back to Where You Came// //From// producer Michael Cordell and journos from the Daily Telegraph, The Australian and commercial TV current affairs; community advocates and ex-refugees, including Bahati Masudi from Go Back; and commentators and key thinkers, including Julie Posetti, Ien Ang, Tanveer Ahmed, Ghassan Hage and Andrew Markus.

=5 November= =Chinese perspectives and values - see here=

=4 November= =Lovely online reading of some Chinese folk tales suitable for lower primary here= =

=

=29 September= =New document National Statement on Asia Literacy in Australian Schools is now available=

= = =18 July= =Lists of literature for Malaysia - see them here=

=8 June= =New netvibes pages for Indian Epics - the Ramayana and the Mahabhrata - interactive activities and animations for these amazing stories.

=

7 June
=New webquest for India and Trade - Year 9 humanities=

All countries now with hotlinks to data for each country
=22 May= =New resources for ANCIENT CAMBODIA - KHMER= =See here=

21 May
=New resources for Cambodia= =Literature lists here= =New netvibes pages here= =New Units of work material here=

=20 MAY= =INCREDIBLE RANGE of fabulous widgetswith explanations for use available here. Use these to enrich you ultranet and other online learning spaces=

=19 May= =New Page on food and activities for China - primary level= =Click here=

=28 APRIL= =A new Unit of Work using a LOTE (Italian in this case) to teach about Asia.= =See it here=

=12 April= And **new pages for China** - general cultural introduction to China and China newsfeeds and cartoons with activities on another page too. Use the links and be patient with the HUGE number of resources avaialble for you and your students to explore each day

=11 April= =New Level 4 Unit of work - general Asia uploaded here=

7 April
=Last night's PD on Wayang Puppetry was a GREAT success= All the notes and images can be found here

[]
Business in plea on Asian languages Dan Harrison // March 31, 2011 // BUSINESS leaders have written to federal MPs to emphasise the importance of Asian languages, amid fears a program to support the teaching of languages in schools could be cut in the May budget. Funding for the $62 million program, which supports the teaching of Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian and Korean, is due to run out this year. The letter writers include Australian Industry Group chief executive Heather Ridout, JPMorgan chairman Sir Rod Eddington and former Business Council of Australia president Hugh Morgan, who warn that Australia's ability to compete in Asia will suffer if the program is cut. The world's wealth is moving to Asia - we ignore this fact at our peril, the letter says. We do our children a deep disservice if we fail to equip them with knowledge of the cultures and the languages of not only the fastest-growing region in the world, but the region that is on our doorstep. A government-commissioned report released last year showed the decline in the study of Indonesian was so dramatic that if current trends continued, there would be no students studying Indonesian at year 12 in five years. An Asia Education Foundation report last year estimated there were just 300 students who did not have a Chinese family background studying Chinese nationally in year 12, and that Japanese teaching had fallen 20 per cent in 10 years, and showed that participation in Japanese had declined 20 per cent over the past decade. The business leaders argue the national curriculum, due to be finalised later this year, should prepare students for the modern economy by developing increased cultural literacy, with a particular focus on Asia. Australia's engagement with Asia is one of three cross-curriculum priorities embedded in all learning areas in the national curriculum. The Coalition has questioned the focus on Asia, and suggested it comes at the expense of a recognition of European contributions. A spokesman for School Education Minister Peter Garrett said the government was committed to teaching the languages of key regional neighbours and funding would continue into 2012.

24 March
=Are you old enough to remember this story being read in the 1960s in Victorian schools?= =Still a great folktale that you could use with your students.= =The five Chinese brothers= =media type="youtube" key="uPc8DUUKdR4" height="293" width="255" align="left"= View it here if you cant access Youtube media type="custom" key="21661508"

=23 March= =Updates and notes from PD sessions - Zoo, NGV Asia Literacy and ICT and ASIA have been uploaded= =

New video clips on [|Asia skills]
=New information on what is Asia literacy=

=30 Jan:= =Links to the new Identities website for English= =[|http://identities.asiaeducation.edu.au]=

=Jan 27:=

Art Gallery of NSW Terracotta Warriors exhibition
[|First Emperor classroom activities] You can download the beautiful handrawn paper dolls of a warrior and his horse and armour to use as a classroom activity.

=Jan 17:= =New links and resources for teaching about Dragons added to those already existing.=

Jan 10, 2011
=A useful checklist for teachers and schools in dealing with cultural diversity and intercultural understanding= =Units overviews and whole school ideas for studying Thailand. See here= =New links to units of work for Cambodia, China, Singapore, Japan, Thailand. See the Studies of Asia units of Work Wiki=