Wordprocessor

Example skills: getting to know keyboard, put picture on, make bold, use styles/fonts, saving, using spellchecker

• A short bush poem.. just create the headline or the whole poem if you have time. Start from the experience in the bush focus on the sights, sounds
• Write newspaper headlines for a bush disaster or for pests that are damaging our native bush
• Write a conclusion for an investigation you have been carrying out

•  Use computer to design a bush conservation poster
• Draw an imaginary creature with adaptive features

Spreadsheets

Example Skills: Entering Data, graphing, answering questions/theories using data collected

Example questions: Should all deer in the wild be killed? Should all possums in the wild be killed? Should all stoats in the wild be killed? Check out to see if people think that one pest is worse than the other? If so… why… what are your conclusions.

• Graph the above
• Make a table and sort it into different orders

Example skills: Entering info in database, graphing, sorting data into sets

Example questions: See Investigation Questions above

• Prepare a database on native/introduced animals with fields such as: Name, type, habitat, Native or Introduced, when introduced, what it contributes to the ecosystem, how it defends itself etc

• Search on keywords on the WWW for information, to find answers to questions. Search on sites to do with native bush. Conservation Dept., Forest & Bird etc. Compare some native bush sites in other countries with ours.. do you see any large differences, how is the country you’re comparing administrating their native forests compared to New Zealand
• Check out sites on possum skin use... do you think we should be doing this to animals? When is it OK to kill an animal for its fur or is this wrong?
• Locate tourist sites featuring native bush/fauna. Which sites do you think best 'seel' their product? Look at the design of the sites and ask why some sites have better impact than others. (Check out what makes a good Internet site at: see great links page) Design your own web site from principles you have learned.

Presentation Software

Skills Examples: Recording voice, editing recorded sounds, putting sounds into a ‘talking book’

• Use some of the ideas in the Wordprocessor section but make some of them an oral presentation or slideshow
• Talking book about “how/why we think our bush should be conserved”
• Presentation of some of the main ideas/conclusions groups have drawn from the unit

Using Other CD's

Look up CD’s for information (NZ Encyclo, Encarta, Kingfisher Micro (has two reading levels) etcOther Forms of IT

Listening/watching post

• NZ Wildsouth films (available at National Library)
• Adventure in the Bush (available at National Library)
• Mountain View on the Edge - Bush survival (available at National Library)
• My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (Great music for movement) Brian Eno (National Library)

Digital Camera/Video Camera

• Record your camp... put images into a slide show and play to parents.. photo diary or activity diary
• Record observations of flora/fauna

ICT Technology (Communications Technology)

Skills comparing different types of CT. Compare the ways of finding information to discuss the strengths/weaknesses of each. Continue over the year to send E-mails, faxes, have conference calls with a pen-pal class. Either as individuals/groups/ whole class.

• Fax to native bush expert a drawing for identification~ drawn or written or both
• Send a fax with questions
• Conference Phone: Carry out a similar process to above.
• E-Mail: one of the schools who already have carried out the topic. Check out any of the collaborative project sites mentioned on the links page (Also see links below)

Away from the Computer

• Prepare a Debate on issues that this topic has raised i.e. New Zealand is not good at conservation! All possums should be killed for there fur! All cats should be electronically tagged!

Resources

Keywords for this unit

Use a thesarus or encyclopaedia for more: Native, bush, forest, jungle, woodland, plant, animal, life-cycle, habitat, specific names of species, Conservation Dept, preservation, Forest & Bird, history of, zoo, reserve, National Park, wilderness, park, Botanic Gardens, fauna, flora, biodiversity,

Places to find info or organisations

Internet, museum, yellow pages, firms that maufacture products, National Library

Internet Links

Other Resources

• Computer, software as needed, printer

• Microphone if using Presentation software