Last week I became a Splash ambassador. Splash is an Australian website run by the ABC which collates high quality content to share with Australian educators, parents and students. It includes videos, audio clips, games and interactives which can be used across all year groups.
I was part of the initial group which worked with ABC in the conception days of Splash. It was a great opportunity to have some input into what would become the Splash website and also see the process of building the website from brainstorming ideas to having students involved to find out their needs of the website. We even got to vote on the name!
So why have I become a Splash ambassador? Well, here are a few reasons.
- You can trust Splash. We all know what it is like in a classroom when you want a video or information at a moment notice. We also all know how easily we can get into trouble when using YouTube without checking through all the video first. At least with ABC Splash I trust that the videos and materials are related to education and have been through a process to be placed there. I can confidently allow students to browse the resources and know that they will not come across unsafe material.
- It is Australian. So often I look for resources online and get stuck with geo cached resources I can’t use in Australia. All of the resources on Splash are available in Australia and there is also lots of Australian made content. It also means there are resources specifically designed for Australian audiences and related to local events.
- The quality of the resources are high. The Splash resources are selected with educators in mind and are very high quality. You only need to look through the video to see documentaries that are filmed by professionals and often come directly from the ABC.
- It is ever changing. There are lots of resources that are continually being uploaded to the website. I have Splash on my RSS reader and enjoy flicking through the new resources which are added every few days.
- There is a great variety of resources from videos, audio to games and interactives.
- They think about teachers too. The teacher section not only has lesson plans and resources to support them but also some great articles from amazing educators around Australia who share their insights, expertise and provoke us.
As an ambassador I am certainly in good company as I join many great educators who share their love of Splash. You can catch these educators on twitter and Google+ using the #SplashEd hashtag as they share how they are using Splash in their schools and universities. I will be tweeting using that hashtag and you can also find me on Google+ where I have set up a community to share resources. I will also be reviewing a Splash resource every week which I hope you will find useful.
If you want to find out more about Splash you can go to the website, follow them on Twitter and join their group on Facebook.
