ICT Staff Tutors

Some of our team attended the ICT and Inclusion event organised by CALL Scotland this week. Held in Dundee, the event showcased ICT software available for children with additional support needs, as well as offering short seminars on people’s experience of making the currciulum more accessible to all, with the aid of ICT.

Alan Yeoman from 2Simple software presented on ‘2CreateaStory’, ‘2CreateaSuperStory’, ‘2DesignandMake’ and Purplemash. These were fantastic resources that could be used with all children, not just those with additional support needs. All terrific resources to develop Literacy in particular, the software did what it said on the tin! They are simple to use, but very effective and I could definitely see children being motivated to use them, irrespective of age or ability. Purplemash- the online web-based branch of the company has a wealth of resources that will be available on Glow from August for all teachers to use!

Two of the other sessions that I attended – ‘Communication Friendly Schools’ and ‘Audio Resources’ gave excellent practical advice and examples of making schools, classrooms and lessons more accessbile to all children, but in particular those who have difficulty accessing the curriculum. I particularly like the posters created to illustrate the four capacities of CfE using ‘Boardmaker’ (a simple pictorial representation). I definitely think I will use these in class.

The audio resources highlighted the effectiveness of WordTalk in Microsoft Word to make written / read texts more accessible for children. WordTalk is a resource within Word, and with some customisation, can be used fairly easily.

With only a couple of weeks remaining in my post as ICT Staff Tutor, this event married up perfectly my two roles – showing me a national pespective of excellent ICT resources that can be used to enhance learning, whilst giving me valuable ideas to adapt and adopt when I go back into class after the summer.

P5/6 at Charleston Primary, Dundee have embarked on a fabulous cross curricular project using Nintendo Wii game Mario Kart as a learning context.
On visiting the class last week, the children were fully engaged in their learning, with a duel taking place on the Wii whilst I was there – under the watchful eye of the Wii ‘Moderator’.
The class teacher has planned a superb programme of work for the class, which covers all areas of the curriculum in an imaginative way that has fully engaged the learners.
Based around a ‘Moving Machines’ topic, the teacher has a large learning journey on display which details what they have achieved so far, and what they will be doing next. The project covers everything from testing different road surfaces for resistance, to making their own junk model ‘karts’, and adopting the role of sports reporter as they take notes during races, and write newspapers articles on what they have seen.
Having drawn up their own ‘wee’ wii rules at the beginning of the project which have been signed as a contract, the pupils adhere to these and are working collaboratively for the benefit of their race team.

Hatching Eyepet

Five LTS PS3 Eyepets have been housed in nursery and primary schools across Dundee. Used in the Early Years, the Eyepet is a fantastic resource, being used across the establishments as part of nurture groups, to enhance transition programmes and to motivate unenthusiastic writers.

The staff picked up their new eyepets last week, and even hatched one of their own! All were very enthusiastic and keen to get started with their GBL projects. We look forward to seeing all the fantastic learning, using the eyepet as a stimulating and engaging learning context.

A new glow group has been set up for the schools / nurseries to share their experiences and children’s learning. You can request access by clicking here

3D Image of the Statue of Liberty in Google Earth

At a very well attended in-service yesterday here in EDS we achieved the Learning Outcomes for the Google Earth Introduction, in spite of some technical difficulties at the start.

Google Earth is an immense program involving many different components and tools.  At its simplest it can provide a very exciting way of exploring our planet, Mars and the Sky at Night.  But with all the various tools it can be customised to provide a rich experience in many different ways, by adding information and pictures of one’s own but also by making use of the vast array of add-on resources on the Internet.

It obviously has a place in the Social Subjects but also has uses in Numeracy and the wider understanding of our environment.  Real time information about weather can be superimposed and recent events such as the Chilean earthquake are quickly added to the available resources.  There are myriads of pictures of places all across the globe as well as the ever growing number of Street Views.

For staff in Dundee the presentation and list of resources links are now on the Primary and Secondary M drives and in the Web 2.0 Glow Group.

What a lucky bunch at Hillside Primary! Having won a set of Activexpressions, I was out during the inset day giving training on using the learner response devices in class.
Using pre-made resources from Promethean Planet or building flipcharts using the Flipchart Builder in ActiveInspire are really quick ways of providing motivating resources for children.
I think staff at Hillside were pleasantly surprised at how easy the Activexpressions were to use, and how quickly and effectively they could be integrated into learning activities.
Having used them last year with my P7 class, I really appreciate the impact they have on pupils’ motivation and willingness to participate in class discussions. They really do offer the potential to fully engage all learners, irrespective of age, ability or attitude!
I wish Hillside all the best with their expressions and look forward to hearing about all the fab activities they are organising with their new resource, and what impact they have on pupils’ learning experiences.

ActivExpression

June Jelly
18th February saw primary and secondary teachers come along to EDS to a CPD session on ICT for delivering the Sciences’ experiences & outcomes. Tracey Stewart, our QIO who looks after Sciences in Dundee, Helen Jack, our Curriculum for Excellence Staff Tutor, and I, helped set the participants on an exploration of ICT that can help support Science learning and teaching.

We looked firstly at the many resources and software at our disposal on Dundee Schools’ network, such as ActivInspire and Comic Life.  Next, we looked at the many Glow Groups, both national and local that can help, and the many great resources that are available from the national Glow site. We looked at the many national Science based Glow Meets coming up this term.
Helen took us through the process of using the online Curriculum for Excellence planning tool, which can save SO much time and effort when we are, for example, tying together Sciences outcomes with the associated literacy, numeracy and health & wellbeing outcomes that will all be delivered together in a lesson.
Tracey showed us round SSERC’s Science 3-18 site and how it has been structured around the experiences and outcomes, with more resources being added all the time.
Teachers then had time to explore the many ICT resources highlighted by Ollie Bray at SSERC’s conference in November, as well as dipping into all the other possibilities. This had been made easier by links to everything in the twilight being listed in the ICT Glow Group on a new Science page. Check out this page if you were not able to attend the CPD session. Let us know what you find useful.

Science Page in ICT Glow Group

Web 2.0 CPD went very well last week. Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, Social Networking are very familiar to some people but now also seem to intrigue those people not in the know.

Blogs are like diaries.  Whereas diaries tend to be private, blogs are usually public and are intended to be read.  Pupils using blogs are often surprised to find that their writing has been read by total strangers.   A selection of Scottish educational blogs can be found at

http://www.scotedublogs.org.uk

Wikis on the other hand are more permanent structured pieces of writing.  They might well be used for reports or the development of a project.  In appearance they are similar to a conventional web site.  Pages can be added and indexed but unlike an ordinary web site they can be edited by users.  Wiki systems usually keep all the versions of the pages so that pages can be rolled back if the latest revisions are unacceptable for any reason.

http://educationalwikis.wikispaces.com/Examples+of+educational+wikis

is a list of wikis.  Bear in mind that the links in this directory have not been vetted.

http://midsummerdreaming.wikispaces.com/

is a class wiki created by a Perth school.

Social Networking is the current Internet fashion exemplified by Facebook, Twitter, Bebo and My Space.  Pupils use them and so teachers should at least be aware of their existence and what that implies.  Not surprisingly, a warning has been recently issued to the teaching profession to avoid contact with pupils on such web sites.

For all sorts of reasons, it is important for teachers and pupils to set their security options correctly on these sites. February 9^th is Safer Internet Day. The theme this year  is ‘Think Before You Post’ – an appropriate motto for all Web 2.0 users. Click here to find out more about this.

http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/(X(1)S(ipcq1445b3r05qb055a2gw45))/saferinternetdayuk/default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

For decades, modern language departments have found penpals for their pupils, and linked to European schools to help develop language and an appreciation of the culture in the country where that language is spoken. It’s not only in language learning, however, that these links can benefit. Every subject (or topic area) can benefit from an international stimulus.

The etwinning portal both demonstrates this and helps teachers to make links with European schools. There are examples of appropriate projects, and kits of resources for many subjects, and levels, that allow you to derive most benefit from the partnerships you establish. There is online space available (safe and secure) where you and your pupils can share and collaborate with pupils abroad. It really is worth exploring the site and what it can offer you and your pupils. Make it your New Year resolution to widen your pupils’ horizons within your secondary subject, or for your primary class, by registering and using the etwinning portal.

If you want to go wider than just Europe, visit the Global Gateway

With the aspirations of Curriculum for Excellence ( I have the Building the Scottish Curriculum diagram in front of me as I write), who can ignore these readymade opportunities for “broadening of experience of the world” (Values), “opportunities for personal development”, collaboration, “understanding of the world and Scotland’s place in it”? If that doesn’t convince you, etwinning and other international projects, give a new slant to your subject, whatever it may be, and can give a boost to both your own and your pupils’ interest and motivation. ICT makes this as simple as logging on. Give it a try in 2010.

From June Jelly:
I was lucky enough to go to the annual conference of SSERC (Scottish Schools Equipment Research Centre) in Dunfermline’s Carnegie Conference Centre today, with Tracey Stewart, our QIO in Dundee with responsibility for Science. It was a day that married my two loves of ICT for teaching and learning and Science and we both came home with lots of ideas to take forward back in Dundee.

Ollie Bray from LTS gave a powerful overview of many ICT possibilities for use in teaching and learning generally, and for Science in particular…. from free web-based resources to the use of mobile phones in the classroom and lots more. He is going to post his presentation on his blog www.oliebray.com  Citing the progression from chalk on slate, to paper and pencil, and then pen, by pupils over time, there was plenty of advice for ICT reticent teachers to let their pupils take the ICT skills lead if need be, while the teacher concentrates on leading the learning. Uploading to Glow is just the next stage in how pupils might record their learning! Check out Ollie’s blog yourself for the presentation argument and all the ideas for use in science lessons.

The next ICT/Science highlight was Ian Birrell’s launch of SSERC’s 3-18 website to support Curriculum for Excellence for Science at all levels. This site can be accessed using teachers’ Glow login details. It has two main foci: Curriculum Resources and CPD. It will be welcomed warmly by teachers since It is fully searchable across all curriculum areas in Curriculum for Excellence, all SCQF Levels from Level 4 to Level 7, and hosts an increasingly wide number of resources and exemplars. Check out its clean new look at http://www.science3-18.org

Science will always involve hands on practical activities but ICT can enhance the understanding and fun of learning in science, as in all subjects.
We hope to be able to share more fully some of the ideas covered at this conference in a CPD session next term, so, Dundee teachers interested in delivering science lessons enhanced by ICT, keep an eye on CPDOnline!

Ollie’s photo of Ian launching the new www.science3-18.org website, from http://twitpic.com/r5hjz

Recently I  delivered a CPD session at Clepington PS on Photostory 3. This was very well received by staff and they were really enthusiastic about the possibilities of using the software to enhance learning and teaching that already takes place in the school.

I was impressed by an email received from a P1 teacher only a few days after the session. She had already been using Paint with her P1 class and they had created images to support the story. She imported these into Photostory 3 then the children recorded a song using an Easi-speak microphone. The results  you can see for yourself. The class are over the moon at being movie makers!Clepington3bearsp1b