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July 2014 Issue 7
Supporting the Educational Community
Pedagogy
Guide
Inspiration
Discussion
Overcoming the generational reluctance of using tech
Collaborate across the world using Skype in the classroom
Explore the universe from your classroom
Improving the standing of sport in your school
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Issue 7: July 2014 Subscribe by email for free at bit.ly/ukedmagsub
Pedagogy & Skills
Discussion & Guides
15 Lost that Learning Feeling
4 Tour Space from your Classroom
Have your class lost their drive for learning? Ian Pratt suggests ways to relight their fire.
A great set of websites to bring the cosmos into your classroom and create a sense of awe.
23 Not the ‘Tech’ Generation
8 Geography Resourcing
Alessio Bernardelli shares he insight into how to help the self-confessed non-techie embrace it into their teaching.
Good advice for Andy as he embarks on collating resources for his subject area.
28 Engaging Boys
We discuss the importance of instilling life skills and were you can get to access a great set of resources.
Paul Wright write some great advice about how to keep boys engaged in their learning.
10 Life Skills
16 A Mazy Run Contributors Danny Nicholson @DannyNic Andy Knill @aknill Ian Pratt @sciencelabman Bryn Llewellyn @brynll Becky Simmonds @beckylsimmonds Colin Riddell @kimcheecolin Alessio Bernardelli @asober @Collaborat_Ed Paul Wright @pw2tweets Rebecca Stacey @bekblayton
Is sport central to your school’s ethos? Bryn Llewellyn discusses the good and not so good practice that he has seen over many years of teaching and other roles.
20 STEM of the Dragon Is sport central to your school’s ethos? Bryn Llewellyn discusses the good and not so good practice that he has seen over many years of teaching and other roles.
30 Skype in the Classroom Rebecca Stacey guides us thought setting up Skype in your classroom and ideas for lessons
Regular Features The publishers accepts no responsibility for any claims made in any advertisement appearing in this publication. Whilst every effort is made to ensure accuracy, the publishers accept no responsibility for errors, inaccuracies or omissions. Many images have been source under a Commercial Creative Commons License. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/2.0 & http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Cover Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lupuca/8720604364 by Lucélia Ribeiro used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License.
14 Reading Corner The What On Earth Wallbooks
18 Bookshelf Talk-Less Teaching 19 Recently on UKEdChat.com 32 ICTmagic Websites
From the Editor Welcome to the July issue of UKED Magazine. As the school winds down for the holidays, we have a collection of great articles and features to keep you inspired all summer long. There is a science theme to this edition, and Danny Nicholson starts us off with an exploration of space from your classroom—a collection of tools and sites to discover the wonders of the universe. Andy Knill brings us back down to Earth by discussing ways to find resources for geography and how you can do the same for your subject. On page 10 we explore the important of life skills and the new website where you can get a great set of resources to help to teach them. On page 13 I look at a wonderful set of books/posters which take a look at the big picture. Ian Pratt discusses how to rekindle your classes for learning and enthusing them by ensuring they are driving their own learning forward.
Bryn Llewellyn responds to Sir Michael Wilshaw’s recent comments on school sport and suggests ways to improve what you do in your school. Becky Simmonds & Colin Riddell share their experience of science education in China and how it has changed how they work in their own school. Alessio Bernardelli writes a wonderful explanation about how to help nontechie teachers start on their digital journey. Helping boys engage with writing and learning is a concern for many teachers and Paul Wright offers some sound advice on page 28. Finally, Rebecca Stacey shares her experience of using Skype in the classroom to broaden students’ horizons and much more.
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Tour the Universe from your Classroom By Danny Nicholson
I’ve often heard it said that the Interactive Whiteboard can become your window on the world, by bringing video and images from all over the globe into your classroom. But it can also be more than that – it can become a window on other worlds, and take your class out past our atmosphere into the Solar System and beyond. If you are teaching a topic about space or the planet, then there are many great tools that can be used on your interactive whiteboard to show your pupils what the planets look like and to demonstrate how the planets move around the sun in relation to each other. There are also some excellent archive sites for images of other galaxies and nebulae in deep space. Here are a few of my favourites. Astrotour http://gunn.co.nz/astrotour Astrotour is a very useful site that lets you view how the planets in the Solar System move around the Sun. You can see how some move faster than others and use the dates to calculate how long it would take some of the outer planets to complete one orbit. You can run it automatically, then change the speed or pause it and step through slowly. You can choose to view the whole thing with the sun at the centre or to follow a particular planet. Click and drag any planet, all the others will move in time with it. The controls at the side let you zoom in so you can see a few planets more closely. You can also make the planets bigger to make them easier to see on an IWB.
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Solar System Scope http://solarsystemscope.com Solar System Scope is a very impressive interactive 3D Model of our Solar System. You can zoom in and move the planets around the Sun to see how they move in relation to each other. You can switch between a heliocentric view, geocentric view or a panoramic view of the Solar System. Earth centred view is great if you then use the play controls to move time forwards as you can see the how day/night changes across the surface. Heliocentric view is good for showing how we get seasons as well as demonstrating the movement of the Moon around the Earth in the course of a month. The scale of the planets in relation to each other is not accurate – nor is the distance apart, but these are necessary changes to make the whole thing fit on a screen and be useable. It’s a little advert-heavy, but you can put the website into full-screen mode to remove the adverts. Also make sure you check out Sun Moon Scope (http://sunmoonscope.com) and Sun Aeon (http://sunaeon.com) by the same team. ▼ Out of this world resource—Solar System Scope is an amazing site for exploring our celestial backyard.
Google Sky http://www.google.com/sky/ Google Sky lets you explore the universe in the same way that you would explore a Google Map. You can zoom in on any area of space to view it in more detail. Links along the bottom of the screen take you direct to special features of interest such as images from the Hubble Space Telescope of galaxies and nebulae. You can also run Google Sky within the Google Earth downloadable application. Also worth a look are Google Moon (http://google.com/moon) and Google Mars (http://google.com/mars) which let you explore the surface of the Moon and Mars in great detail and see where the various space missions landed and explored.
NASA Images http://nasaimages.org NASA Images was created to bring public access to NASA's image, video, and audio collections in a single, searchable resource. The site contains everything from classic NASA photos to educational videos and the resource is growing all the time.
Image credits: https://www.flickr.com/photos/58782395@N03/5518992555/ (cropped) by sweetie187 under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License.
World Wide Telescope http://worldwidetelescope.org This is a similar application from Microsoft. You can download the client software or use it via the web (requires Silverlight to be installed). The software enables you to explore the universe, bringing together imagery from the best ground and spacebased telescopes in the world and combining it with 3D navigation. There are also narrated guided tours from astronomers and educators featuring interesting places in the sky.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/7309213060 & https://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/6883342722 by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License. https://www.flickr.com/photos/s1ng0/5516159782 by Catherine Singleton under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License. Permission to use screenshot of http://solarsystemscope.com given by M. Sadlon of http://inove.eu.com Google screenshot was taken from http://google.com/sky has been used inline with the guidelines at https://www.google.co.uk/permissions/using-productgraphics.html
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Children’s University Moon Phases http://bit.ly/uked14jul02 The Children’s University of Manchester has some very useful resources for different science topics and the Moon Phases simulator is well worth a look for any teacher trying to explain to their class how we get phases of the moon - in addition to getting out the torch and football!
Day Night Demonstrator http://ictgames.com/dayNight/index.html Primary teachers who want to demonstrate how we get day and night should take a look at the Day Night Demonstrator from ICT Games. This very simple simulation lets you show your class how we get night and day as well as help to explain seasons and moon phases.
Astronomy Picture of the Day http://apod.nasa.gov Each day a different space image or photograph is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. It’s a great site, albeit slightly random. Dip into the site on a regular basis to provide a little awe and wonder in your lesson. You can also view the archive and search for particular images. For ideas on how APOD is being used in the classroom, a teacher’s guide is available online at http://bit.ly/uked14jul01
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National Schools Observatory http://schoolsobservatory.org.uk If you are a UK school, you can register to make free use of a professional robotic telescope designed for scientific research. The telescope is located on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, and is known as the Liverpool Telescope. The site also has archive images and other resources to help teach about Space.
Danny Nicholson is an independent trainer and consultant. He is a former science teacher and now delivers Computing and Science training to teachers all over the UK as well as overseas. He is a PGCE Science lecturer for Billericay Educational Consortium on their Primary SCITT teacher training course, and also delivers science and ICT sessions on several other PGCE and B.Ed. courses. He is one of the authors of Switched on Science for Rising Stars. He regularly blogs about educational technology at http://whiteboardblog.co.uk and can be found on Twitter as @dannynic
Collaborating with other educators enriches our teaching and improves us in a myriad of ways. Social media now allows educators to collaborate with each other from across the globe. Devote just one hour to networking with other educators online and see just how much you will learn and how much inspiration is out there.
Download the poster and get more information at
http://ukedchat.com/networking
Geography Resourcing by Andy Knill I’ve been teaching for 26 years this month. My main subject is Geography and resourcing ideas in my subject have changed so much over the years. When I was a pupil, textbooks were in black and white. The only colour came from large maps on the wall or the teacher’s slides or the filmstrips that often melted as they were shown. When I started teaching in the late 1980s, reproduction technology had moved on from Banda sheets, with black and white photocopying becoming an option. Textbooks had colour pictures, but size was limited. The biggest colour images were drawn in chalk and then wiped off straight after lesson ready for the next class. I experimented with slide film, but usually took prints to class to show case studies in colour. Then the OHT technology was introduced, which was great if there were enough acetate sheets, or better still, a roll so you could return to previous points for a few lessons before the whole thing was erased to make way for new lessons. Now I have access to the Internet, mobile apps, books, YouTube and many more resources. The issue has moved from ‘which resources can I get hold of?’ to ‘which one should I select?’ This abundance of information is a pressure in itself as we try to keep up-to-date with sources as our subject area changes rapidly with daily news events. None of this is unique to Geography, so how can we help each other? There are many resource sites, networks and recommendations to follow up on. Two years ago I applied to go onto the Special Interest Group (SIG) ICT for my subject association, The Geographical Association. In my first meeting my knowledge of apps and their use gave me a responsibility, which led to a conference workshop this Easter at the annual conference looking at
Click here to view the picture slideshow http://bit.ly/uked14jul03 ‘Starting with Apps’. I spent two busy days sharing ideas about websites, items of software and apps with colleagues from several countries. New entrants to the profession and those less confident with technology were finding the information available overwhelming. As a follow up to this information overload, I started a Twitter account for the group @gasigict. The aim is to share feedback from our meetings in one place and to RT out information linked to a range of geography topics. In just under two months we have gained over 360 followers, including geography teachers, geography departments in schools and higher education from the UK, Israel, Namibia, the USA and many other places. There is an accompanying blog at http://gasigict.wordpress.com which I will be developing further. This will collate resources discussed at our meetings and review a range of materials. The pictures included support a range of the points mentioned. They are either original work that I have done and used in lessons or screenshots based on others tweets, again shared with classes on my IWB. Please join us or if you are interested in setting up a similar idea, let me know and we can exchange ideas – I still have much to learn.
Andy Knill is Head of Geography at The Albany School, in Hornchurch, Havering. You can find him on Twitter @aknill and @globalsolo. He blogs at mishmashlearning.wordpress.com
Image Credits: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/440672445 by WoodleyWonderWorks under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License.
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Promotional Feature
http://www.barclayslifeskills.com Empowering the next generation to move successfully into work and become a part of the economy is vital to the future of the UK. Barclays launched LifeSkills to bring together teachers, businesses, young people and others to make a significant impact to the challenge of youth employment in the UK. LifeSkills aims to give one million young people the skills they need to successfully move from education to the workplace by 2015. One year into this ambitious programme, The Work Foundation independently reviewed its impact and some of the findings are shared in this article. Highlights include the transformative influence on increasing confidence of the young people participating, with over 80 per cent saying they felt more confident that they could succeed and 83 per cent now able to identify potential future jobs that match their skills. About LifeSkills Teachers can access free, non-branded resources and Barclays volunteer workshops (all via http://barclayslifeskills.com) that include a mix of practical job-hunting and interpersonal skills across three different areas: • People Skills: including self-awareness and self-confidence • Work Skills: write a CV, personal presentation and contacting employers • Money Skills: essential financial education such as budgeting and money management.
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Resources have been written by teachers, endorsed by City & Guilds and each deliver key skills which align to both relevant curricula and employers’ needs. Work Experience Research from the Education and Employers Taskforce (March 2013) demonstrates that the more interactions a young person has with a business, the more likely they are to move into employment. [Source] LifeSkills aims to support businesses to offer both work experience and apprenticeships, increasing the number of opportunities available for young people to understand the world of work. Over 1,499 businesses have signed up to offer young people work experience or apprenticeship opportunities via LifeSkills, including large corporates and small and medium sized businesses up and down the country. “LifeSkills volunteers have come into school to deliver numerous workshops to my students – including work skills and money skills activities. The co-ordination and organisation of workshops was fantastic – so quick and easy, and volunteers were great and very knowledgeable. Lesson plans are fantastic, and carefully tailored for different age groups. I can’t believe that this programme is free – I recommend other teachers to get involved” Anne Morley, Careers Mentor, The Sir Robert Woodard Academy
Headline Work Foundation Findings: Young people reported that the programme had made them better or much better at: handling new situations and new people confidently (87 per cent)
understanding what they wanted to achieve in the next five years (75 per cent)
having the ability to convey their strengths to others (83 per cent)
having awareness of the range of jobs available that match their interests (83 per cent)
understanding when they can afford something or when they should wait to buy it (74 per cent)
understanding the types of sectors and industries that they would like to work in (82 per cent)
Richard Sykes, CEO, ISS UK & Ireland commented: “ISS is delighted to be associated with the launch of the LifeSkills programme. As the fourth largest private employer in the world, it’s important that we support such initiatives. The growing facilities management sector is bucking the economic trend and can make a real difference in helping to get UK Plc back on its feet. As a company we’re passionate about helping young people to bridge the gap between education and the workplace.”
For more information or to register and start using LifeSkills today and visit
https://barclayslifeskills.com/sign-up/teachers/
Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/86530412@N02/7934039676 by www.stockmonkeys.com under Commercial Creative Commons License.
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Reading Corner
The What on Earth Wallbooks
Author: Christopher Lloyd @Wallbook Review by Martin Burrett In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams writes ‘the one thing sentient life cannot afford to have is a sense of proportion’ and we in the educational world make a living out of chunking often difficult and complex ideas and subjects into digestible chunks. But once in a while it is important to take a look at the big picture to get a sense and to make sense of the details. Zooming out doesn’t necessarily mean losing sight of the details. In fact, it often gives a new appreciation of the patterns that cause the eddies and currents affecting the elements. A series of books which are designed to show the big picture, both literally and figuratively, are the Wallbooks by Christopher Lloyd, which fold out into a timeline on many different topics The books cover a range of science and historical topics from the history of science & engineering, the history of everything from the big bang to the present today, to all the plays of Shakespeare. Each book is beautifully illustrated by Andy Forshaw. Taking the book of science and engineering as an example, the book places key figures, events, discoveries in to their proper temporal position. For much of the chart, timeline is separated into different areas of the world which give a wonderful sense of the differences occurring in different locations around the world. Each picture has a caption explaining what the picture is and some extra information about it. For teachers who relish a good cross-curricular resource, this would be a wonderful addition to your classroom. It can be used in a structure way to explore ideas, people and places in a variety of subject areas. It is also a delight to explore in a more structured way and ‘discover’ new information and seeing how it all fits together. A wonderful set of books for both young and not so young inquiring minds. See more at https://whatonearthbooks.com
A Timeline from the Big Bang to the Present Day £12.25* http://bit.ly/uked14jul05 *Correct at the time of publishing
Wallbook of Natural History £12.25* http://bit.ly/uked14jul06
Wallbook of Science & Engineering £17.50* http://bit.ly/uked14jul07
Wallbook of Shakespeare £17.50* http://bit.ly/uked14jul08
Browse teaching resources from the UKEdChat community
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E-Safety Resources for KS1 By @letsjustwaitfor
School Monsters By @ICTmagic
http://ukedchat.com/PCO00001
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5 Minute Plan for Planning By @eylanezekiel
Basic Slide Builds By @ESLweb
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Mandarin Sport Vocabulary Cards By @ICTmagic
Adverbs Prompts & Practice By @UKEdChat
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They’ve lost that Learning Feeling... by Ian Pratt How many times do you hear a pupil fishing for the answer to the question you have just asked? How many hands go up to say, “Sir, I am Stuck!” and “Sir I can’t do this!”, or similar. I am a Middle School Science teacher with 15 years in my present post. About 3 years ago I stopped giving pupils the answers and returned their questions with another question. At first pupils found this difficult, but now it is part of life in my classroom. I based questions simply around a round how, when, where, why and of course what if. The last question is a personal favourite, what if you heat it up? What if you cool it down? What if there was an extra cell? For those of you who have been teaching Science for some time you may remember a strategy called C.A.S.E (Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education). This model allowed pupils to work in a way that asked questions, predominantly the ‘WHY?’ of what was happening in the Science around them. Experimental tasks created cognitive conflict - it raised questions and didn’t give answers - until much discussion and thought had taken place. It encouraged pupils to think, to ask questions, to find answers for themselves – skills which are vital for scientists and most other walks of life. Perhaps a similar strategy will return in the near future! At the present time pupils in my class find the challenge of thinking that little bit too much. It seems a step too far to think for themselves. They want answers, but are not prepared to put in the effort to find them. Perhaps they have become used to getting answers given to them; perhaps a Google search provides instant answers to all life’s questions. But the passion for finding out for themselves seems to be lost. At a time when success in lessons depends on pupil progress, is there still a place for creating questions, for providing the stimulus yet not direct answers, for creating those moments of cognitive conflict? Image Credits: https://www.flickr.com/photos/dalbera/3814187129 by Jean-Pierre Dalbéra used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License. https://www.flickr.com/photos/juhansonin/4367101013 (cropped) by Juhan Sonin used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License.
Kindling their Curiosity I am a firm believer in the idea that children learn by exploring their surroundings, both inside and outside the classroom. It is a life skill. It is something that makes us successful in life and not just at school. Learning is not simple and it requires thought. While I do not expect my children to have all the answers, want them to ask questions. Be curious. Explore the ‘Why?’ ‘Where?’ and ‘how?’ Finding the right hook for a lesson is often the key to stimulating your students’ curiosity. I have found that simple quick videos and demonstrations are a great start to the lesson and this by no means applies only to science.
▲ There are so many ways to excite your students in science and all subject areas
The wonderful Steve Spangler Science site at http://bit.ly/uked14jul04 has some great, short experimental videos that show some experiments that kids can try for themselves, just like magic they question automatically what is happening and why. What are your feelings on this? Let me know @sciencelabman on twitter.
Ian Pratt is a Middle School Science teacher based in Bedford. He is a Google Certified Teacher who loves to incorporate technology into his lessons. He has been teaching for 25 years and now has a range of subjects as well as Science in his teaching toolkit. Ian has presented at BETT 2013, and enjoys taking part in teach meets and other collaboration opportunities.
A Mazy Run PE, School Sport & Physical Literacy By Bryn Llewellyn Earlier this month, Sir Michael Wilshaw caused yet another furore, this time incurring the wrath of teachers with responsibility for PE and School Sport. The Ofsted publication, ‘Going the Extra Mile: Excellence in Competitive School Sport’ (bit.ly/uked14jul09) brought into sharp focus the high proportion of British Olympic competitors who had been educated in independent schools. This observation, accurate though it is, played into the hands of those critics who point out that our recent Olympic successes have mainly been limited to ‘sitting down sports’, usually associated with more affluent members of our society. Having only worked in state schools, I was invited to QEGS Junior School (bit.ly/ uked14jul10) in Wakefield last year, where I was genuinely overwhelmed by the importance placed on PE, as well as the opportunities and resources available to their Learners. I left, knowing the gulf between state and independent schools was greater than I had ever imagined and I could see why parents would choose to send their children to such places of learning. In this video (bit.ly/uked14jul11), Sir Michael says there is a link between doing well on the playing fields and in the classroom. Most educators of PE and School Sport, whether they are working in state or independent schools, would not disagree with the link between success on the playing fields and in the classroom. However, there were many who questioned Sir Michael, who seemingly chose to ignore the other factors involved. Some of the tweets following a post from Victoria Derbyshire of Radio 5 Live blamed the Government for selling off school playing fields. Others blamed Gove and the current Ofsted regime for forcing Head Teachers to focus purely on core standards, treating PE as a second-rate subject, regardless of
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the Government’s oft-stated desire to create an Olympic Legacy. Sadly, too many primary school leaders are choosing to focus only on numeracy and literacy, supplemented by guided reading and phonics sessions every morning, thus inevitably squeezing PE into a limited afternoon timetable. Fortunately, in England we do have School Sports Premium Funding, which allows schools some flexibility in how they spend their allocation. For example, Burley Oaks Primary School (bit.ly/uked14jul12) are innovative by using some of their funding to employ a Health Mentor for 2 days a week. That said, there are many other state schools who buy in coaches from outside agencies simply as cover for PPA, with little in the way of CPD for staff, sustainability and a genuine sporting legacy. The week before the publication of ‘Going the Extra Mile: Excellence in Competitive School Sport’, Physical Education and School Sport (PESS) South Wales hosted their conference, ‘Physical Literacy: the Game Changer’, allowing educators and learners to showcase their work. Primary schools in Wales do not have funding for Primary PE and Sport Premium, but what they do have are passion and creativity, two terms commonly over-used in education, but not in this case. To find out more, search the hashtag #PESSConf14, visit sportwales.org.uk, and check out their work on Physical Literacy (bit.ly/ uked14jul13). Sir Michael may well urge state schools to look to their independent counterparts for inspiration and ideas, and I can see why. However, the term ‘a level playing field’ does seem somewhat erroneous in these circumstances. Ignoring the politics for one moment, it is wonderful that the £750m funding for Primary PE and Sport Premium has been extended to 2020.
However, this funding needs to be spent wisely and in my opinion, it must also link to health, otherwise we will be missing a huge opportunity to make a real difference, especially in terms of tackling the problems associated with inactivity and obesity. With this in mind, readers may wish to explore @move1hour, visit http://designedtomove.org and view the infographic at bit.ly/uked14jul14. Then talk with your colleagues and ask yourselves if the ethos in your school is right and if you are doing enough to emphasise the importance, not just of PE and school sport, but physical literacy, health and well-being. Then share your successes and ideas, whether or not you work in the state or independent sectors.
Bryn Llewellyn has over 20 years experience working in state schools, including three half Deputy Headships. He now works as an independent advisor for various organisations, including http://evolvesi.com. For details of Bryn's work visit brynllewellyn.wordpress.com and connect via @brynll
Active Learning Games Twitter: @tagtiv8
Unique Active Games that Improve Learning in Numeracy & Literacy What is Tagtiv8? Tagtiv8 involves active learning in order to develop Learners' confidence with words, phonics and spelling, as well as numbers and other areas of mathematics. Our games have an impact on standards in Literacy and Numeracy, as well as providing opportunities to improve physical and emotional well-being. Pupils are encouraged to compete and collaborate, solve problems and apply strategy through our engaging, educational games. Learners are encouraged to compete and collaborate, solve problems and apply strategy.
How do you play Tagtiv8 games?
How does Tagtiv8 promote creativity?
Tagtiv8 games are easy to organise and play.
It’s not all about Tagtiv8 and our ideas.
Our ever-expanding bank of free session plans and ideas are shared with you via email and links to Google Drive.
Learners are encouraged to devise and develop their own games. Learners can send their suggestions to ideas@tagtiv8.com The best games are published and shared with other Learners… with prizes on offer! How will you be spending your School Sport Premium Funding? “An innovative way to make best use of your School Sport Premium Funding.”
Email: hello@tagtiv8.com Call: 020 3370 4272 or 07506 523354
“Tagtiv8 promotes active learning. The games allow teachers to ‘reclaim the sports hall’ not just for PE, but for Literacy and Numeracy too.” “Tagtiv8 games are a great resource for staff CPD in Physical Education.”
Bookshelf Bookshelf
Talk-Less Teaching: Practice, Participation and Progress
Author: Isabella Wallace and Leah Kirkham The voice of a teacher is arguably one of the most important assets in the armoury of tools required every day. It’s so precious, in fact, that it should be protected and used with great care as it can convey so many messages throughout the school day. In fact, sometimes we can all over-talk when we are in teacher mode; we get carried away labouring our teaching point that pupils switch off to the main idea we’re trying to convey. We’ve all been in meetings when someone in higher authority is rambling away their really important message, only to suddenly realise we’ve been mentally somewhere else for the last ten minutes, with no idea what the person is going on about. In their book ‘Talk-Less Teaching’ by Isabella Wallace and Leah Kirkham, explore techniques on which teachers can draw to help pupils embed learning and make progress without the need for long periods of teacher talk to keep the class spellbound. Indeed, ▲ Go to bit.ly/talklessteaching to view this book on Amazon. the authors offer valid reasons as to why talking too long can reveal problems with this method of teaching: talking can be misused as an alternative to thoughtful planning, meaning that differentiation goes out of the window; long teacher-talk sessions mean less thinking time for pupils; lack of getting feedback from your learners, to demonstrate any progress; and ultimately can result in a sore throat. Tailoring your teaching to the needs of every learner can sound like a challenge, but the book encourages chameleon teaching, where you adapt for the different needs of each group of pupils. This makes sense, but it’s also about being aware of the subtle signals which pupils convey back to you and adapting mid-session (yes, going off-plan if needed) using strategies offered in the book like The Wonderball, Boarding/landing cards, or The Walking Chocolate Bar (disappointingly, no real chocolate is used for this exercise!). There are many strategies on offer throughout this useful book supported by example resources and illustrations created by Sally Townsend. We sometimes review books which are ideal mainly for primary or secondary teachers, however this book can be used across all phases of teaching with the strategies offered being easily adaptable for the pupils you have the joy of teaching. The main forte of this book is the variety of practical activities which place the talk and focus on the pupils learning rather than relying on your most valuable asset as a person – your voice. This book will give you the confidence to step off your soapbox and engage your pupils further in their own learning journey. Talk-Less Teaching: Practice, Participation and Progress is published by Crown House Publishing and is priced on Amazon (bit.ly/talklessteaching) at £16.99* for the paperback and £10.44* on Kindle. *Correct at the time of publishing
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STEM of the Dragon In June 2013 Outwood Grange Academy took 5 science fair projects to the Big Bang Yorkshire and Humber at the Yorkshire Air Museum. The projects had been completed by KS3 students as part of extracurricular enrichment and had only been entered as a chance for the students to show off their work and enjoy the STEM activities on offer at the exhibition. Everyone was delighted when one of the students was awarded the prize for best KS3 science project and put through to the finals of the National Science and Engineering Competition in March 2014, and then astounded when she also won the best practical science prize across all age groups for her project on where to store bananas – the prize which funded our trip to China. In July 2013 four students from Holly Lodge Girls College were awarded the best practical science prize at the regional North West Big Bang for the STEM Club project they carried out in transforming E. Coli bacteria with the pGlo plasmid. Both schools were very excited to discover this award was courtesy of the University Of Bradford and a trip to Guangdong Province in China to take part in the International Teenagers Science and Technology Practice Festival. We are very grateful to Dr John Baruch from the University of Bradford and our Chinese hosts for making this amazing opportunity available to us. Having met each other for the first time on the plane from Istanbul to Guagnzhou we embarked on a once in a lifetime opportunity which allowed us to experience so much of the Chinese culture and education system in that region of China, especially as the only English competitors in the practical science competition. Our first full day in China entailed a tour of part of Guangzhou followed by a flight to Guilin in Guangxi province. If we needed a reality check that we were in China this was it. The scenery around Guilin was breathtaking. The whole region is characterized by Limestone Karst Mountains that are the remains of a 200 million year old seabed. The ancient coral has been uplifted to about 600m above seal level. It’s strange - if this this scenery was in the UK, It would be green belt or national park with no possibility of anyone building anywhere near it. In China the City of
By Becky Simmonds & Colin Riddell Guilin is built around these mysterious outcrops to provide the most surreal back drop. Having returned to Guangzhou we arrived at the International Teenager Science and Technology Practice Festival – where many students began to arrive from all over China. This was an opportunity for us visit a local school in Guangzhou. A bus duly delivered us to the School of Guangdong - Experimental Middle School. Following lunch we had a talk from the Vice Principal and a group of students. The students and some of the teachers then took us on a tour of the school. Nearly all of the students board. With over 3000 students, a sizeable part of the school is given over to their dorms. The students showed us around many of their classrooms and we got to sit in a watch what would be the equivalent of a year 9 music lesson with students playing home sweet home on the recorder! It was very interesting to see the approach of the schools we visited to practical science. Science seems to go hand in hand with technology in China - the Science labs weren’t labs like we expect in the UK - more like work shops were the students learn about electronics and manufacturing - true STEM at work. They were very proud of the electric cars and robot that the students had been building recently in their equivalent of STEM club. We were made extremely welcome at school and came away feeling inspired and intrigued by the prospect of future a partnerships. Speaking to the students, we were struck that although many of them were boarders, they actually lived less than half an hour away from their parent’s homes. It seemed incredulous to the same students that they would waste at least an hour of study time a day commuting from home to school. In, I suppose what we might call a growth mind set or ‘grit’, the students were determined to put in the hours needed to make sure that they achieved at the highest academic levels for themselves. The school, parents and the Chinese state have succeeded in getting the message across that the best way to improve your life chances is to be educated. That was a message wholeheartedly embraced by the students of the schools that we visited.
Image credit: Image was provided by Colin Riddell
Taking part in the competition it was again very apparent how students had combined science and electronics in their projects. It was very clear that the schools are doing their best to equip the students with the skills that they need to contribute to the growing Chinese economy. During our last afternoon at the competition we were teamed up with Chinese students and tasked with producing a meal from a set of supplies, a cast iron wok and wood fired stove - A Chinese barbecue meets ready steady cook! It turns out that young people the work over rely on their parents to do the cooking – this was a learning curve for both British and Chinese students! Coming back from the trip we have put into practise some of what we have learned. Outwood Grange Academy has definitely adopted some of the STEM ethos which we saw in the Chinese approach to practical science. We have begun to liaise more with the DT department to develop the engineering skills of our students and prepare them for future STEM careers. The Outwood Grange Academy Science Fair, already boosted by the amazing prize which we had won, is becoming a STEM fair and will be celebrating the work of students in DT, maths, ICT and psychology in November 2014. This year Outwood Grange had success in the science and engineering sections of the Big Bang Yorkshire and Humber; entering science, maths and DT projects and hope to build on this next year across all disciplines within the competition. As Becky says “ Visiting China broadened my view of science; in a large school with over 150 teacher staff I did not speak to many colleagues outside of my department on a regular basis. Since returning I have gone out and made links within DT, maths, psychology and ICT, to the benefit of our students. I would recommend that other science teachers do the same.”
Becky Simmonds @beckylsimmonds, teacher of science at Outwood Grange Academy. A biology specialist, I have been teaching science and A level biology since 2003. I have a love of extracurricular enrichment, both in science in terms of projects and competitions, and in other areas of wider school life. Colin Riddell @kimcheecolin, is the Lead Learning Innovator and Teacher of Science with a specialism in A Level Biology at Holly Lodge Girls College. Colin has been teaching since 2007 with a fervor for promoting STEM to the girls at Holly Lodge through STEM club, organised events with STEM ambassadors, colleges and universities.
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I can’t use technology in the classroom...
I’m from a different generation! By Alessio Bernardelli If you’ve ever thought, or said, that technology is not for you, that you do not get it, or that you are from a different generation, I sincerely sympathise with you, I really do! Using technology is not always the simplest of things and there is always the possibility that things might not work the way we tried them just minutes before and that if things go wrong we will not be able to fix them, so it is much easier to give up and leave technology in education for the few geeks who not only get it, but actually enjoy it. But allow me to shift your attention to another problem. If you think you’re from a generation where technology doesn’t play a pivotal role in your everyday life, what generation do you think the young people you teach belong to? And what kind of exposure to technology do they get in their life outside school? A large number of young children will have received all sort of digital “toys” this Christmas, from tablets to iPod Touches, and high-tech devices are very much part of their everyday life before they even begin school these days. That’s the generation you teach, but what is the difference between the tools they have available at home and what is offered to them in school? IT’s just about fun and no substance, or is IT? Sometimes we seem to miss the point when people who use technology in education talk about engagement, making learning fun, creativity, etc… but there are some important considerations and observations to be made on these points that are often confused for lack of substance. Take gaming, for example - many parents would not see any learning benefits whatsoever when their children play video games. In fact, a good percentage of parents see computer games as hindrances to real learning, so they limit the time allowed on consoles, tablets and other devices (note that I am not saying that having a balance on the type of activities children do at home is a bad thing here). It is interesting to note how many of the parents who see video games as threats are perfectly happy to see their kids in front of the telly for hours on end without raising questions about the implications of that.
So, are video games bad, or good? Many would say they don’t add any real value on the learning journeys of our young people, but I would beg to disagree. I have seen many examples of the opposite happening. My favourite game of all times is Civilization, a great strategy game that took you at the very beginning of a civilization that you had to develop to modern age and beyond. Games like these not only offer opportunities to learn about history and other subjects, but they also develop problem solving and numerical reasoning skills. I remember getting so ingrained in the game that I would often find myself still stuck in front of the screen at five o’clock in the morning. Now you might say that this is really unhealthy and I would agree with you, but the point I am trying to make is that video games obviously have the power to engage children to levels that no other tool has yet been able to achieve. So, perhaps the right question to ask is not whether video games are good, or bad, but rather how can we design learning experiences that reach the same level of engagement? Is it even possible? Let’s consider for a minute what elements are in the majority of video games. Some common features are: • A lot of action. Children rarely have to wait for something to happen in video games, as they are always very rich in action. • Children constantly fail! This is especially true of games with levels, like Angry Birds, for examples. In these games kids keep getting it wrong, but don’t seem to be phased by that, because they know they can try the level again and again until they get it right. My four year old boy is much better than me at playing Angry Birds now, just to give you a practical example. This ‘failure’ produces an attitude that allows learners to take risks without worrying about the consequences and don’t take this statement out of context, please. It doesn’t mean they don’t care, if things go wrong! In fact, they care so much and they want to improve so much that they are willing to spend a lot of time refining their skills, so that they can knock all piggies in one shot (in the case of Angry Birds).
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• They get immediate feedback. Instantly, you can get a lot of details about your performance with video games. So, you have failure, but you also see what you need to do to get better immediately. • The best games, the viral ones, are immersive. To give a classic example, Tetris was an overnight success because it fully engaged your brain. You had to give your full attention to the game, if you wanted to beat your personal and overall score of other players. Are our lessons designed with those elements in mind? Would they at least improve engagement if they were, or would a ‘boring’ topic in science still remain ‘boring’ for our students? Using technology at home can have some really nice side effects too. In fact, I remember when my nephew was 10 he needed to find out how to go through a particular challenging part of one of his Nintendo Wii’s games, so he sat at his dad’s computer, went on Google and searched for what he thought he needed to know. What really impressed me was the way he was searching, as he wasn’t aimlessly opening all the pages the search engine spat out, but he was selectively looking to identify the key words and sentences he was looking for before opening a page. He discarded some of the top pages immediately from the context of the text he read and when he realised his search wasn’t producing what he needed, he changed his search criteria and eventually got exactly what he was looking for. Another example of how embedded technology is in many young learners is a seven years old boy who sat with his dad at the table in front of me in a very long train journey. We started chatting and he told me he really likes Maths, so I started to show him some Maths apps I had on my iPad. I eventually showed him MyScript Calculator, that turns your hand written calculations into typed numbers and gives you the result. Seconds after
showing him how scribbling over the numbers deleted them, this clever boy shouted “Look! You can just draw a line on the numbers and they disappear.” In other words, he found a much quicker and more effective way of deleting previous operations than I had come up with having used the apps many more times than he did. Because learners start using technology at such a young age these days, they find it a lot more intuitive than we do. My two year old boy can use Minecraft (bit.ly/ uked14jul21) very well to create and destroy buildings. He can turn the iPad on, find FaceTime inside a folder, open it and video conference with my mum in Italy without any help from an adult, and he’s been able to do so since he was one and a half. It is hard to ignore such examples of how technology is used at home by many children. Another initiative forced on me I hope I have raised a few important points that will have made you think about where learners come from in terms of technology and the reasons why the way they use technology offers them really high levels of engagement. But many experienced teachers seem to resist change very strongly and often like to remind less experienced ones that they’ve seen it all before. A new kit came out, everyone followed the bandwagon, it made no difference and got replaced by the next new craze. So, what’s the point? I will tell you something else that I have seen before, over and over again. Integrating new technologies in education has nothing to do with age, experience, nor background. It has all to do with willingness to learn and develop. I have been coaching and training teachers in the use of emerging technologies in education for the last seven years and I have never had anyone who embraced change come back to me saying it was worthless. When you meet teachers who are one year from retirement, but still get excited about a new tool you’ve shown them that could enhance the way learners collaborate in their classroom, the whole idea that “technology is not for me, because…” doesn’t really stand. Is it possible that the majority of those who give up do so because they are not really sure what to do with technology and have not been given appropriate training and time to embed the change effectively? If you are reading this and you are in that category, I sympathise with you, as I said at the beginning, and I believe your SLT is asking you to do something quite unreasonable in integrating technology without sufficient support.
Another common critique of technology in the classroom is that it is just a waste of money to buy really expensive kit to replace things and tools that already work effectively. I couldn’t agree more and if new technologies are simply employed as substitutes to existing tasks it is completely pointless. Let me give you an example. A lot of science teachers get quite excited about using smartphones and iPads as data logging systems. Although it is true that handheld devices have a range of sensors within them and that there are quite a few apps that harness the power of these sensors, existing data logging systems that many schools already use probably do the job already and better in most cases. So, an iPad used in science lessons exclusively as a data logging system becomes a glorified and very expensive sensor, as well as a waste of money in my opinion.
Transformation Redefinition Modification Augmentation Substitution
Enhancement The SAMR model is a description of what technology integration should produce in a school or individual teacher. S is for Substitution and it describes the starting point of many, who begin implementation by using technology as a direct substitute with no functional change. This is the stage that causes frustration and that could potentially reinforce an unwillingness to change. After all, who would want to start using an iPad just to create worksheets on Pages? This is just another word processing app, so all of a sudden the same task that you could complete in Word within minutes, becomes really cumbersome. No one could blame you for not seeing the point in moving to iPads, if that’s all they have to offer.
A is for Augmentation where technology is used as direct tool substitute with functional improvement. Using the same example as above, you could create your worksheet using Pages on an iPad, but you could now share it directly with all your students using Air Drop. So, you might have had to learn a few new features and how to type on a screen as opposed to a keyboard, but you have some improvements in functionality that will hopefully encourage you to want to discover more about the potential of iOS devices. M is for Modification and it describes the stage of implementation where educators use technology for significant task design. A classic example is the time when PowerPoint started to be used to replace acetate presentations. Suddenly things could appear on the screen at the right time and with animations, making presentations more catchy, effective and incredibly easy to adapt for different audiences. R is for Redefinition and this is the stage every educator should aim at. Redefinition implies a use of technology that allows learners and teachers to create new tasks that were previously unconceivable. I would argue that this should be the only reason to drive change and technology integration, because if you can do the same tasks without the technology as effectively, there is no way you will be able to convince anyone of the need to change. But when you have devices that are as portable as a small book, but that have far greater computational power than the Apollo spacecrafts, redefinition is not only an option, it should be a priority. Front and rear cameras, combined with powerful video editing apps like iMovie, offer whole new ways for learners to record and report findings and information, just to give an example. Many other apps can truly change the way learners work and interact with teachers and peers.
Starting the journey Here are a few ideas to start your journey towards Redefinition of learning tasks. If you have iPads in your school there are a range of great apps that allow your learners to become creators of knowledge as opposed to simply consumers of knowledge. Start from highly engaging apps like Puppet Pals that allows you to create stories with little characters preloaded in the app. As you move the characters around and change their shape by pinching, you can also record a narration and dialogues. Children can even become the characters themselves by taking their photos and cutting around their shape to be part of the story. When all scenes are recorded you can download your story as a video in your gallery, or upload it on YouTube. Another great use of Puppet Pals is to use it for paired reading and you can see an example of this in this Blog post (bit.ly/uked14jul22). Or why not use Aurasma for peer assessment? Get your learners to create video feedback on their peer’s work and use an image from their work (like a diagram, or picture they drew) to trigger the video message in the Aurasma app. This makes your learners’ work look like the Harry Potter’s newspapers, where pictures come to life and, since you can add your ‘Auras’ to your school channel, parents can follow your channel and watch these video feedback from home. Aurasma works on Android devices as well as iOS ones, so it is a really comprehensive app. Finally, coming back to games, why don’t you let your learners work in small groups to create amazing worlds in Minecraft on iPads, or Android tablets? In this post (bit.ly/ uked14jul23). I show how my boys recreated the Olympic Games in Minecraft and worked collaboratively to make various games, from
fencing to hurdle racing. They even researched the colours of different flags to add them to their world. In another post they are shown creating a medieval castle after researching some of its features on the internet. In both cases they took the initiative and were not prompted to generate these creative tasks, they simply wanted to work together and build something. In the process they learnt new skills and acquired new knowledge. Harness the power of games like Minecraft in your lessons and you will motivate your learners to become more independent learners. In Minecraft you can develop numeracy skills too. In fact, you could get children to work on constructions that must have a certain volume, area, etc… that you determine. You can challenge the more able and talented learners to work with fractions and percentages to build additional buildings, crops, etc… as fractions, or percentage of existing ones. Or even get them to build buildings from real places to scale. These are just a few examples, but my advice is to start with one or two new ideas to try and then measure the impact in your classes. It will be worth it. Why change? So, why would you change? Change for your students and do not be afraid to get things wrong and learn new things with them. If anything, you would be demonstrating to them that you are willing to do the same things you are asking them to do, i.e. learn new skills and apply them. Use your learners’ expertise, as they are likely to know a lot more about technology than you do and they find it very intuitive, so when you get stuck don’t be afraid to show it and ask your students for some help. You are there to help them learn how to learn and apply skills within your subject, not to teach them ICT. So, use technology as a tool not as something you
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have to teach, there are IT teachers for that in Britain. Enjoy the process and allow your learners to become creators of knowledge. When they create a great piece of work make it public and showcase it to boost their confidence. Giving them a true and global audience can have a great effect on their motivation and effort. Websites like YouTube and Facebook are not the works of the devil and they can be used very effectively when we educate learners instead of banning them from using such tools. A patient that needs life saving surgery would not expect to hear from his doctor that he’s going to die, because the surgeon didn’t update her skills and knowledge to the only new procedure that could treat his disease, since the surgeon was only a few months from retirement. So, why should our learners expect to hear a similar argument from their teachers? If you embrace technology and change with the aim to redefine education, you will see the benefits and begin a journey that will take you to new heights in your career and in your professional fulfilment.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/wonderlane/3200278405 used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License. https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattwareham/9109691433 by Matt Wareham used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License. https://www.flickr.com/photos/24498081@N06/10081683216 by connor2nz used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License. https://www.flickr.com/photos/24498081@N06/10081810016/ by connor2nz used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License.
Alessio Bernardelli is a multiple award winning teacher of Physics. He is the Co-Founder of CollaboratEd.org.uk and also works as a consultant for the Institute of Physics in the roles of Network Coordinator, Teaching and Learning Coach and Editor of Talkphysics.org. Alessio was Head of KS3 Science for over 5 years and he also worked with NGfL Cymry as a Field Development Officer and with TES as the Science Subject Lead. Alessio is an Official iMindMap Leader, a Peer Coaching Facilitator and a TASC Specialist with years of experience in developing teachers’ through effective CPD, coaching and mentoring. You can follow Alessio on Twitter as @asober, or @Collaborat_Ed
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Traditional Ways to Engage Boys By Paul Wright I’m an IT teacher, or a Computer Science teacher, or what ever you want to call me now - actually Head of Department is probably a safe title! When I started teaching I was a huge advocate for the use of ICT tools to engage all learners, I was fascinated by the potential of the iPad to change the landscape of teaching and learning. I think that potential exists, but it’s going to be a slower road than I first thought. A challenge: Engaging learners, boys in particular is a difficult thing, and I’ve learned that in actual fact I needed to embrace the methods that have been around a very long time (and add in the new ones) in order to be successful. That’s exactly what I tell trainee teachers I work with. So what traditional methods have I found really engage boys in their learning? A conversation I’ve had with recent PGCE students… PGCE Student: “That group, those boys just come in every lesson and don’t want to learn! Nothing is going to work on them. I give them the worksheets and they do nothing!” Me: (Deep breath) Well, let’s start by assuming that they do want to learn, that they are interested in having their attention grabbed and they’d like to be made to go ‘ahhhh’ by a new idea. What you have to do is look at what you do to make them interested. PGCE Student: “What can I do?” Me: Think about what you would normally do to engage them, make a list of the types of activities you’ve tried that have failed and keep that list. Force yourself to NOT use those activities, and to think of new engaging activities. Over the course of an intensive hour long meeting my PGCE student and I explored some opportunities to try some more traditional methods of engaging boys, such as…
Colour cards: Boys are often visual creatures. They like ‘obvious’ so things like colour cards can prove hugely useful in engaging boys to share their opinion and knowledge. Boys are often reluctant to answer group or class questions (their fear of being made foolish is huge amongst youngsters, and in particular boys). I’ve found that a simple option such as holding up a card at the same time as everyone else can go some way to removing this initial ‘fear’. Traffic light cards help - Red, Yellow and Green. Easy to make at home from coloured card or cut paper laminated. Simple, effective and useable over and over again throughout your career. Competition (house points): Look for opportunities to make things competitive, either in groups or pairs. Bu be careful with individual competition as it can backfire and work against engagement if a learner struggles to ‘win’ at all. Pair up learners carefully, thinking about strengths. Then think carefully about your questions or activities, try and plan something you know a ‘difficult’ student could get right. It’s a great way to start the ball rolling and get them involved if they see they can contribute something to their pair or team. Mind Maps: Give boys opportunity to doodle down their ideas. If coursework can be assessed this way then use it as a bridge to build up to further more detailed writing further down the learning road. Puzzles and Games: Puzzles and games work really well with learners - boys in particular. Think carefully about the type of puzzle and game, but don’t discount the value of a well planned challenge to engage a reluctant boy in their learning. I’d avoid too complex word based puzzles with less able learners. Go for visual first.
Paul Wright is Head of Computer Science and ICT at Stoke Park school in Coventry. He’s a happy survivor of many Ofsted inspections, but remains more interested in how his colleagues & students rate his teaching. Frequent contributor to #ukedchat and #SLTchat as well as a seen EduSketchnoter and blogger. With many resources for teachers available on his blog he's now working with a UK stationery company to design low cost educational resources that will support teaching practice covering literacy, questioning and independent learning. Find out more or contact Paul via @pw2tweets and http://tips4teaching.co.uk
Relating work to the real world Boys often struggle to see the ‘value’ in what they are learning because it’s abstract and it’s not connected to what they see as their ‘real’ world. So, where possible look for real world connections to their learning. “How many iTunes downloads can I get with…” etc or “An app store discount of 20% applies to new app purchases, how do I work out…” - Keep it Real. AFL: Well marked work, with good feedback, can’t be praised enough. It’s possibly the most valuable tool you have. Find a way to mark work effectively. Give learners areas to improve and then give them DIRT time in which to act on the feedback you’ve given them. Keep feedback and improvements clear for boys. List the things they need to complete, draw boxes next to each point and write ‘tick when you complete these’ above them. ▼ Mapping it out—Wonderful art work by Paul shows us how ‘doodling’ can be a useful tool.
Calling home: At the first sign of a learner struggling or falling behind - call home. Be positive, but ask for home support in helping the learner achieve their potential. At first, boys will likely see this as working against them, but with some explaining they’ll see it’s for their benefit. Praise: Stickers, verbal, what ever works for you. Praise boys when they do well, when they show interest, when they get a question right! They need to be shown they’re getting things right in order to encourage them to continue to engage. To my trainee that looked like a huge list, so I sketched it out and left a copy with them to go over in their spare time. In truth, it’s the tiny tip of the iceberg of things you can do to engage boys in their learning. Keep at it people, and do remember that boys DO want to learn, they do want to be inspired, they want that ‘oh wow’ moment when a new idea is explained. You just have to think hard about just how you engage them. Good luck!
Skype One Big Adventure By Rebecca Stacey Using Skype in the classroom always creates a buzz! It always, without exception, receives an incredibly enthusiastic response from both staff and children. It gives an authenticity to learning as it brings the 'real life' into the classroom – and allows schools from all areas of the planet to stay in touch and share experiences. Since we began using Skype we've managed to have expert session from real life Amazon explorers, chatted to children across the other side of the world about their school and favourite books, created simultaneous lessons ideas for children continents apart and held partner talk with schools in the next county! We have been able to create world maps which show people we have spoken to, brining meaning to those maps and atlases and exploring countries we would never otherwise be able to visit. For this article I thought it would be useful to consider what benefits using Skype could bring to school, discuss starting points and point you in the direction of useful resources.
Why would you? Well... in a short answer why wouldn't you? Skype allows you to link with people all over the world – connecting with experts, other schools and teachers in countries that could be anywhere. It is incredibly easy to use (once over the initial hurdle) – and requires very little set up. The money is spent on a decent camera / microphone – and many schools have those lying around anyway. What will you need? A decent webcam and microphone and a computer that has a good broadband signal. We also use the school iPads – and in the ICT suite have a combined webcam with microphone which works well. In classrooms though you might need to have a microphone which can be held by the person speaking. Getting Started—Create a Skype Account: Use a different one to your own account / email – link it to work email and make it either a school or a class email. Download the software to the school computer from http://skype.com. Test your school settings The easiest way to check that Skype will work in your school setting is to arrange a quick Skype chat with a local school – whether that is just teacher to teacher, or a quick test with a class to chat about a book or activity. Technical hitches can quickly deflate even the most enthusiastic, so
This was a Skype chat with Wilderness Dave – a contact made through the Skype in the Classroom website. Here we rehearsed questions which the children then asked the adventurer, whilst he shared images, pictures and video footage from his recent journey into the rainforest. He can also be found at http://wildernessclassroom.com
Image credit: All images have been supplied by Rebecca Stacey
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test out the connections and get your school tech support on side. Usually it's a case of unblocking the website and then making sure that the computer you use isn't situated in the only area of the school to not get a decent broadband signal. Skype has very easy ways to test the signal in the options as well – so do make use of that! Sign up to Skype in the Classroom Once the initial testing and technical hitches have been sorted you can begin to look for connections that can build into a real learning opportunity. Begin with the excellent Skype in the Classroom web page (http://education.skype.com) – create an account either for your class or your school and begin browsing. It is worth spending time with this site, as the information it contains is vast. Think of a topic that is coming up in your school and start with that, or alternatively, think of a theme or a country that you wish to learn about.
Rebecca Stacey has been teaching for ten years. Currently Deputy at Queensbridge Primary in Hackney, previously a consultant for all things ICT at Hackney. She has a particular interest in using technology, particularly for connecting and strengthening language and communication. She is about to make the move into headship, leaving innercity London for rural Cumbria! Read her blog at http://digitalclassrooms.co.uk and on Twitter at @bekblayton
▲ There are hundreds of resources and even more helpful users on the Skype in the classroom site.
Here children from a partner school in AbuDhabi pointed out our school on Google Earth. This partnership lasted two terms for us and allowed the children to share books, experiences and their school life with other children around the world.
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http://apowersoft.com/free-onlinescreen-recorder This is a useful online screen capture site which uses Java to record the whole of your screen or a selected window without a water mark or logo. When you have completed the capture, the WMV format video file is downloaded to your computer.
http://ed.ted.com TED is a superb, inspirational organisation that hosts some of the best speakers of our time on a range of fascinating topics. Now TED has a set of amazing videos to use in your classroom to astound your students.
http://projectnoah.org A great citizen science site where users can upload and view photos of animals or use the free Apple device and Android Apps. It's a great way to do real science with what you already have in class. Check out the education section for more ideas.
Make collaborative videos in your web browser with this amazing site. Just upload your images, videos and audio and invite others users to edit your project with you. As the files are stored online your students can access the project from home or at school. The videos do not have watermarks and they can be easily embedded into your site or blog.
http://www.nitrotype.com This is a fast, action packed typing game where you can race your car against other typists in real time online. Use your WPM to increase your MPH! Earn cash to buy upgrades.
http://skoolbo.com This is a must try site which provides an amazing 3D world which teaches English and maths core skills. Players race against two other randomly chosen online players of a similar level.
Check out the UKedchat Educational Apps directory for the best apps for teaching and learning.
Go to
ukedchat.com/eduapps 32