E Portfolio in support of Blackpool CLC Application

Next Generation Learning Campaign

cre8tor — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 19:38:20 +0000

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

cre8tor — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 19:17:03 +0000

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

cre8tor — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 18:31:15 +0000

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

cre8tor — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 14:45:21 +0000

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

cre8tor — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 14:39:27 +0000

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.

Ripley TV and Radio

cre8tor — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 14:07:13 +0000

Launched this week the call to develop a Ripley TV and Radio stations. The vision is to have students running their own TV and Radio station by organising themselves and producing news articles about all things Ripley, from sport to articles about new staff and extra curricular activities. Initially, all media will be recorded and edited but eventually the opportunity to stream live using mogulus.com.

Camtasia and Captivate

cre8tor — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 13:40:11 +0000

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.

CPD VLEs

cre8tor — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 13:25:10 +0000

In January 2008 I completed my University Certificate in Virtual Learning Environments from the University of Central Lancashire.

I am also completing a Masters in Education with a focus on successful implementation of Virtual Learning Environments within secondary schools. This is through the University of Cumbria.

Video conferencing

cre8tor — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 13:18:40 +0000

The first time I used video conferencing in an Educational context was 7 years ago while working at BAE Systems. We used it as part of the 2 week work experience project I organised for 20 Year 10 students. This allowed students to communicate with employers of BAE Systems all over the world to gather information for their ‘Bid’ they were working on.

As a teacher I have used video conferencing to allow students to receive presentations from business people who would otherwise find it hard to spare a day coming to the school but are more than prepared to give up an hour through video conferencing and using WebEx. More recently I have been investigating using MSN and Skype to allow students to collaborate and work with businesses.

I have also faciliated the Science department with Year 8′s to take part in a video conference with 4 other schools where each school took it in turns to present a project they had been working on.

Ripley Business

cre8tor — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 13:05:55 +0000

Although this Blog has been taken over somewhat by the development of the school VLE Moodle I developed it to improve home school communication from the business department. Click here to view Ripley Business Blog.

Through Ripley Business and other communication I have developed good relationships with local business to become involved in the curriculum to help bring the curriculum to life.