Next Generation Learning Campaign January 28, 2008
Posted by cre8tor in Continued Professional Development, Developing and training teachers and students.add a comment
The Next Generation Learning campaign is about using technology well to make learning a more exciting, rewarding and successful experience for people of all ages and abilities. I have signed up the school to this and have committed to send a weekly newsletter via email (linked to the school VLE) with 3 technology tips to try.
Putting technology at the heart of learning will improve education and training in the UK – inspiring learners, engaging parents, enabling teachers, motivating employees and giving school and college leavers the skills businesses want. This is a campaign led by BECTA.
One of my medium term targets is to get the school to achieve the ICT Mark. This is the new quality mark that recognises schools who can demonstrate they use ICT to support all learners and all school activities. This could be an objective for me to guide Blackpool Secondary schools through this process as the CLC Secondary Teacher.
Audacity January 28, 2008
Posted by cre8tor in Creative use of ICT, Developing and training teachers and students.add a comment
Some members of my department mentioned that they wouldn’t mind putting together some podcasts for Year 11s to use for their revision. I showed them how to use Audacity to create Audio very simply. For the more advanced I showed how you could easily add other sound tracks for either background music or to emphasize a point to make the points more memorable. To help them with this I quickly showed them a number of great sites for free sound clips and effects.
Office Planning January 28, 2008
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Planning Wizard used in Year 10 Business and Communication Studies for students to plan their own office environment after covering theory about open plan and cellular office and discussing the different needs of different types of business. Also thinking about the motivation of employees and how the working environment can have an impact on productivity. This tool could also be used in a number of other subjects when discussing work space.
After an initial pilot by me I briefed other staff in both Business and ICT about the success and gave them a demo and links.
I am also experimenting with Google Sketch Up to check out its flexibility and ease of use to gage how it could be used in the classroom.
Forums January 26, 2008
Posted by cre8tor in Creative use of ICT, Developing Student Attainment, Developing and training teachers and students.add a comment
I have used Forums within Business Studies to form part of homework to provoke discussion about a topic, an issue or news stories we have covered in class. I have also used it as a way to conduct peer assessment where students comment, give feedback and using a mark scheme grade each others work. Students can comment on each other comments where they disagree or want to clarify the discussion points.
This has also been used in othe subjects now after some informal training with interested teachers who heard what I had been doing.
Online Questionnaires January 26, 2008
Posted by cre8tor in Continued Professional Development, Creative use of ICT, Developing and training teachers and students, Experience outside the classroom.add a comment
I have helped a wide variety of staff to develop online questionnaires to help them gather feedback quickly and easily from parents and staff. These have ranged from transition questionnaires to gain feedback from Year 7 parents to PSHE questionnaires to gage curriculum feedback from students.
I have also used surveymonkey.com in the classroom to allow students to collect Market Research information as part of the Business and ICT curriculum. Students have found this really useful and has also ensured students deal with real data and more of it. Many students post their questionnaires on Forums or email thems to their sample which acheives an excellent response and is far easier and quicker than asking individuals.
Camtasia and Captivate January 26, 2008
Posted by cre8tor in Continued Professional Development, Creative use of ICT, Developing and training teachers and students.add a comment
I have started to use Camtasia over the past year to produce tutorials and vodcasts that students can use to develop their ICT skills and complete coursework. This has been great as a way for students to have a teacher there with an explanation 24/7 and they can even download and watch on their video Ipods. It also allows me as the teacher to spend more time with struggling students and helps students develop their indpeendent learning skills.
I am also looking to start using Camtasia for students to use as a way of explaining why and how they have used software as an alternative to endless screen shots.
At Trinity Academy I introduced Captivate as a tool for the Business, Information Technology and Enterprise (BITE) to produce interactive tutorials and tests. A brief overview of the software was given during a department meeting which led to 6 of the department producing learning resources.
Video January 26, 2008
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I have used video in a variety of contexts including students producing Health and Safety videos, Revision guides and topic summaries as well as acting act business scenarios.
Using video has led to other staff becoming interested in using it within their subjects which have naturally provided me with the opportunity to give informal training on how to organose the activity and also give them suggestions on how they could produce a series of lessons to include video production and editing.
Animation in RE January 26, 2008
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I demonstrated to the RE department how they could use animation as an activity for students to demonstrate learning. Whether it was recreating a story from the bible, looking at different traditions in other a variety of religions or simply as an outlet to explain or argue the students own point of view.
Due to being at a very early stage we simply used Microsfot Movie Maker and a web cam to produce the animations. Before I left I suggested for them to look to use a variety of programs including I Can Animate (Kudlian) which I considered easy to use and very cheap for a specific animation software.
ICT across the Curriculum Inset Training January 26, 2008
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I have also run an INSET event giving staff many ideas on how they could use ICT. The content included covering aspects such as video, audio, animation, vle’s, video conferencing. It also highlighted some top resources from websites to organisations. The training was very successful and gained me the reputation of “I.T. Guru” and led to development of basic ICT skill workshops ranging from interactive whiteboard training to basic use of powerpoint. The training also introduced the possibility of integrating and using technology that students have access to in new and innovative ways for example use of mobile phones and hand held gaming platforms such as Playsattion Portables.
Enterprise Inset Day January 26, 2008
Posted by cre8tor in 14-19 Agenda, Developing and training teachers and students.add a comment
At Trinity Academy I was charged with organising an Enterprise training experience to allow staff to gain a better understanding what the requirements were from a 14-19 Agenda perspective and from being a Business and Enterprise specialist school. The activity included a number of activities and highlighted how in many cases staff were already acting in an enterprising way and encouraging this behaviour in students. The use of ICT to facilitate Enterprise were also discussed.
Blogging training January 26, 2008
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To meet the need to allow teachers to develop their own understanding in their own time and in a time and place to support them I developed a blogging training resource. This helped support sessions that I ran but also allowed me to direct students to the blog for them to develop their skills (which actually led to 60 year 7 and 8 students developing their own blogs at lunch and in their own time). To see the blogging guide please click the image below.
Personal Learning Blog January 26, 2008
Posted by cre8tor in Developing Student Attainment, Developing and training teachers and students, Motivating older students.add a comment
In an effort to improve attainment, gather effective data to enhance my teaching and improve student skills as reflective learners I piloted the use of blogging as a way of enabling students to do this effectively. This also improved the use of their ICT skills and opened up different possibilities for both personal and academic use of ICT. This small project led me to give departmental training on blogging and how it could be used in different areas of the curriculum. For example producing a diary of a First World War soldier in History, as an alternative way of presenting short stories in English and so many applications in other subjects, especially an alternative to the sometimes over used powerpoint presentation! Click below to see the example blog.
