ICT Staff Tutors

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

Space Pivot    Climbing    Winners   

Ardler Primary and Nursery held their very own animation assembly to showcase fantastic Pivot animations which had been made by pupils throughout the school from Nursery all the way to P7. The staff and pupils were amazed at the fabulous work achieved by everyone. It really was great to see how CPD for staff was translated into classroom practice. See the links above to view a selection of the Pivot Animations.

Dundee College Education Support Assistance students have recently taken part in a glow meet session to support the students who were about to embark on their school placement. To prepare the students for stepping back into the classroom they engaged in a glow meet, Glow’s video conferencing tool, with Longhaugh PS. Longhaugh’s P1a class along with their teacher, Lesley-Anne Weir, and the classroom assistant, Michael Robertson, carried out their daily activities while the students watched from the comfort of their college classroom where they were supported by their Dundee College lecturers, Debbie Thom and Peter Gilmartin. Michael engaged with the pupils and the class teacher while the students watched, discussed and agreed on questions to ask Michael and Lesley-Anne at the end of the activity. They all then took part in a question and answer session. The students asked about planning, working as part of a team, the different roles of a classroom assistant and Michael’s daily routine.
Debbie Thom, Dundee College Lecturer said,” The students gained so much knowledge by observing and asking questions. Well done to Longhaugh PS for pioneering this”. They were learning about the role and responsibilities of an Education Support Assistant in a Dundee Primary school prior to going out on placement and the whole glow meet experience gave them a huge insight into how an ESA works in a classroom. The ESA students have a glow group within Dundee College and the videos taken from the glow meet session have been uploaded there for them to view and discuss in future.
The links made between Dundee College and Longhaugh PS will be continued with another glow meet session planned for the Play and Early Education NC students later this month. They will watch an Early Years Practitioner working with pupils in an Active Learning Room at Longhaugh PS and will also be involved in a Q & A session.

James Robertson has translated Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox and A. A. Milne’s classic Winnie The Pooh into Scots. This Thursday, 5th November, S2 pupils at Menzieshill High School will have the chance to learn from James about the challenges that writing in the Scots language raises.  Pupils across Scotland will also have this opportunity, thanks to the Glow video-conferencing tool, Glow Meet. The Glow Meet is being held in the National Glow Group, Writers’ Workshop.
This Glow Group sits at national level but is a project hosted by Dundee City. Other authors in future events will include Gill Arbuthnott, Catherine MacPhail and Dundee’s own Nick Hesketh.  For more information, see the Writers’ Workshop Glow Group.

Move over Aardman Animations! There is a promising young animator in town! A pupil at Jessie Porter Nursery in Dundee, has made a fantastic animation using the DigiBlue Movie Creator. Based on his ’self-penned’ story Lizzie the Hedgehog, the 4 year old, made characters out of plasticine and his setting out of a cardboard box to bring his gorgeous story to life.
Working with the very enthusiastic staff at Jessie Porter, the youngster managed to move the characters and operate the camera himself to create a wonderful short film. Along with his fabulous narration, the movie (which can be seen on the Dundee 21st Century Literacy Glow Group) is real testament to the ‘user-friendliness’ of this software. It is also an excellent example of CfE in practice, where the child’s interests are at the very heart of learning.

Well, all the ICT Staff Tutors are back in the office fresh from the Scottish Learning Festival at the SECC in Glasgow. The annual event really is a showcase of excellent practice, as well as innovative new resources to enhance learning and teaching. I have to say that hearing some enthusiastic practitioners, has really inspired me with lots of fab ideas to pass onto the schools and teachers I work with, but also to take back into my own classroom practice.

There was a superb presentation on a Guitar Hero project from Gavinburn Primary School, that I attended. The project really was all encompassing with cross curricular links fully explored. Everything from creating a group single using Garageband, to recording a podcast of a french ‘interview’ was organised by the P7 teacher. If the confidence of the children who presented at SLF was any reflection of the project, then it must have been a huge success.

Of course, the wonderful practice here in Dundee was also celebrated when Louise Henderson (ESO) delivered a seminar on using Glow in the Early Years. It really did highlight how forward thinking Dundee is as an authority in it’s use of Glow.

For me, the biggest hit of the two days was one of the new products from Promethean. ActivArena dual pens were just sensational, and their potential to promote teamwork, collaboration and cooperation (amongst other things) is just endless. Of course, as active learners, myself and ICT Staff Tutor Lorraine Munro had to have hands on experience using the new software (see pic). Two learners use the board at the same time, with two pens. You work together to achieve designated tasks – very worthwhile, and GREAT FUN!

Arena in Action!