File Share: Four pages of online resources

The Kea Conservation Trust

(keaconservation.co.nz) is on a mission and has a range of resources available to learn about and help to protect our unique mountain parrot. From facts about the species to projects and activities to videos and images, this site has plenty to explore.

Find information to support learning about conservation at the Department of Conservation’s Get Involved (doc.govt. nz/get-involved). There are activities, videos and a newsletter to encourage young people’s interest in nature. Search education resources by age, curriculum level and habitat.

Conservation Station: Creating a More Resourceful World

(learntoconserve.com) is an educational programme promoting energy and water conservation. There are lesson plans, videos and teacher guides for discovering how new technologies are making smarter, more energy-efficient ways to live.

The Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust promotes marine and freshwater conservation. It oversees two education programmes, Experiencing Marine Reserves (emr.org.nz) marine education and Whitebait Connection (whitebaitconnection.co.nz), each offering a range of learning materials. Watch the rise (and fall) of the biggest settlements in the world at The Largest Cities Throughout History (bit.ly/ largestcitiesvideo). While the video’s creator takes some licence with the data, this is a fascinating visual representation of how and where cities have developed, from 3,000 BCE to today’s modern metropolises.

The UK’s National Archives (nationalarchives.gov.uk) has a collection of over 11 million historical government and public records, from the Domesday Book to modern government papers. Materials include paper and parchment, electronic records and websites, photographs, posters, maps, and drawings and paintings.

Every year Kiwis send 157,398 tonnes of food to landfill, much of which could have been eaten. Love Food Hate Waste (lovefoodhatewaste.co.nz) has tips, advice and recipes to help us reduce our food waste and save money, as well as posters, videos, how to guides, research, and more. What is the impact of recycling just one drinks can? Find out at Life of a Can (bit.ly/lifeofacan), which explains the benefits of aluminium and why it’s so important to recycle it. Learn fun facts about the metal and see if you can become a ‘Can-do’ champion with the site’s interactive module Cantown. Explore the story of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia at AIATSIS (aiatsis.gov.au). Here you’ll find curriculum resources, podcasts, blogs, information and guides, as well as a searchable collection of more than one million items, to learn more about the culture and the people.

Convert a face photo to a cartoon style picture with AI ‘cartooniser’ program Image to Cartoon (imagetocartoon.com). Just drag and drop the image containing a face, let the AI do its stuff and create the cartoon. There’s also Image to Sketch (imagetosketch.com) and Image to Caricature (caricaturer.io).

SculptGL (stephaneginier.com/ sculptgl/) is an amazing 3D digital sculpting tool. Use online or download, it offers a range of digital sculpting techniques (like brush, inflate, smooth, twist, and drag), meshing and dynamic topography, as well as file import and export, and a collection of tutorials. Have all sorts of interactive fun with cells at Cells Alive (cellsalive.com). There are heaps of puzzles and games, videos and images, study aids and tutorials, worksheets and presentations for learning about Cell Biology, Microbiology, Immunology, Microscopy, Viruses, Bacteria, and more.

The Amoeba Sisters (amoebasisters. com) are on a journey to demystify science, mostly biology concepts, with a mix of humour and learning relevance. They have created videos, GIFs, handouts, resources, lectures, and comics. There are also teacher tips, playlists and a blog to enjoy. Interested in drama? There are heaps of free (and some paid for) resources for educators at Drama Resource (dramaresource.com), including lessons, strategies, tips, and videos. Check out the extensive list of ideas for dramarelated games across a number of categories.

10-Minute-Plays (10-minute-plays.com) is a free archive of, yes, you’ve guessed it, scripts of plays lasting 10 minutes. Browse titles by Playwrights, Comedies, Dramas, Monologues, and Cast Size. If you like the sound of a script, view a description and the contents, and download as a PDF.

INTERFACEONLINE.CO.NZ

Fancy yourself as a bit of a Banksy?

Stencil Graffiti Creator

(stencilgraffiticreator.com) lets you generate fun and creative street art. Upload an image and it’ll convert it into a simple, stencil design. Add colour, tweak the shading and select your background – like a wall, garage door or tiles – and download the result. Learn how people across the world have seen their myths and legends in the stars at Figures in the Sky (figuresinthesky.visualcinnamon.com). It compares how 28 different cultures see the night sky, from Western constellations, to Chinese, Japanese, Māori, Navajo, and historical cultures, such as the Aztecs and Egyptians. For advice and help on staging school theatrical productions on a tight budget try Theatre on a Shoestring (upstagereview.org). From classroom activities to directing and designing, there are a blog, glossary, play database, photo gallery, and links offering information and inspiration for successful plays.

Resize images for specific social media platforms with Social Image Maker (socialimagemaker.io). From Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to YouTube, Twitch and LinkedIn, simply choose the right templates to create the appropriately shaped images. You can also add and edit text.

Quote Maker (quoteslyfe.com/quotemaker) is an easy way to make visually attractive picture quotations. Type in the quote and, if required, add the author. Click ‘Generate Quote’. You can change the font and background. When you’re happy, download the result as a jpg file.

Whether it’s a profile, landing page, form or portfolio, create a simple, one-page website with Carrd (carrd.co). To start, select a category and template – or begin with a blank page. Edit the text, images and content on screen. Check the desktop and mobile views. Save and publish when you’re done. Need some sound effects for a project? Noizer One (noizer.one) has a selection of everyday and common sounds. There are locations (café, playground, farm), backgrounds (rain, waves, birdsong), and a host of others (clocks, fireworks, hairdryer). You need to set up an account to download files.

Collaborate using screen, video, and audio messages using Bubbles (usebubbles.com). Through either the site or a Chrome extension, you can capture videos and screenshots of what you’re working on, add voice messages and written notes, save and share for comment.

Design professional-looking logos in a matter of seconds with Hatchful (hatchful.shopify.com). Pick a category (games, tech art, food, health, etc.) and visual style, add a name and slogan, and identify context for using the logo. The site will generate several options. Choose one, tweak and edit as needed, You’ll find almost every tool you need to work with PDFs in one place at I Love PDF (ilovepdf.com). Merge, split, compress, and rotate PDFs, add watermarks, and turn images into PDFs. You can also edit, convert to Word, unlock, add page numbers, and sign a document and request signatures.

Edit and convert PDF files with PDF 2 Go (pdf2go.com). This all-purpose tool lets you perform a number of edits (merge, split, sort, rotate, etc.) and improvements (compress, protect, unlock) to PDF files, as well as convert to and from several different file formats, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and JPG.

From Wondershare, PDFelement (pdf.wondershare.com) offers tools for viewing, protecting, annotating, merging, converting, signing, and organising PDFs. The all-in-one app is available for iOS, Android and Windows devices. Use it for all your creating, editing and scanning PDF needs.

Try to successfully run a small music studio and record label with Beats Empire (play.beatsempire.org). Use your skills and decision making to analyse market data and trends about musical preferences to sign artists, book gigs, record songs, attract new followers, and dominate the charts.

What impact do your choices have? Find out how seemingly harmless choices can have harmful consequences at Parable of the Polygons (ncase.me/polygons/). Choosing between triangles and squares, playing this interactive will help students explore and discuss topics of bias, segregation and diversity.

Can you read your way to solving the case in 5 Minute Mystery (5minutemystery.com)? Read each mystery and select the clues that lead to the suspect. Once you’ve found all the clues, try to identify the culprit. Submit your clues and solution to earn points. You can set up a league to track students’ results. Oh, My Dots (ohmydots.com) offers online ‘connect the dots’ games. Choose from the game templates or filter by style, type (numbers, letters or roman numerals), tag or the number of dots. Press to play and join the dots. Or create your own unique game. Play online or print to use offline.

Play the role of a journalist covering a breaking news story in BBC iReporter (bbc.in/3yLFklQ). Learn how to spot real stories, dodge fake news and how to filter and interpret information and media. Gameplay is fun and a bit light-hearted, but it takes critical thinking and media literacy savvy to succeed.

Feed the Dingo (bit.ly/3yODvo2) challenges players to build and maintain a balanced desert ecosystem. Starting with a blank slate, they must add and manage plants and animals over 12 virtual days. At the end of each day, feedback is given as to which plants and animals are healthy, in danger, or have died. Story Time with Ms Booksy (youtube. com/c/coolschool/) is a place where superheroes, storytellers and mean-o villains come together to learn, laugh and play. From classic nursery rhymes and fairy tales with a twist to kids’ songs to arts and crafts, there’s plenty for younger students to enjoy.

Engage your students about words, letters and vowels with Phonics Man (youtube.com/c/PhonicsMan). Using kid-friendly subjects and characters, like gaming, Fortnite, rap and sports, these videos teach about sight words, reading, the alphabet, counting and correct letter sounds.

Mr. R.’s Songs for Teaching (youtube. com/c/mathsongs1) has classroomsuitable songs written and performed by a primary school maths and science specialist. From counting and letters, to days of the week and bones in the body, to senses and seasons, videos introduce and reinforce multiple topics.