As part of my planning I was thinking what to do during music sessions. My topic (The Very Important Bear from Learning Unlimited) has a lot of opportunity for using ICT to create mini movies in. I thought using a package similar to garageband would give my children an opportunity to compose music digitally and then use that music for parts of their movie somehow.

I remember being shown a package similar to garageband, but free and for windows machines on the whiteboard blog (link on blogroll). I found it again last night and it’s called myna. http://aviary.com/tools/myna

It seems, so far, to offer a lot of what I would like it do and it seems friendly enough for my class to use. I’m going to spend a bit of time having a play and seeing what it can do and what file formats we can save in.

I’ve been using wordle with my class this term for our class assembly.
It is a program which creates word clouds for text entered into the program. You can copy and paste text in, or type text in directly to the program. I find typing into word and then saving the list a better option as the program crashed a couple of times when being used on our school network.

Primary Pete @primarypete_ has created this video tutorial on how to use wordle.

Wordle from Peter Richardson on Vimeo.

I liked the program as I feel it highlights the design element of using IT in class. I like the idea of children selecting carefully their typeface/fonts that they work with for different projects and purposes.

Tom Barrett’s site edte.ch.blog has this interesting ways to use presentation created on it.

http://edte.ch/blog/interesting-ways/

And Ann Carnevale has ideas about how to use it in class also on her blog. http://anncarnevale.edublogs.org/2009/09/23/website-wednesday/

Finally, here are the examples from my class’s blog page of the wordles we created about our favourite foods.
http://blogs.wled.org.uk/uphallps-p7/2009/10/16/our-wordles/

I’ve just signed up for the teachmeet in East Lothian. The meeting is at the Seabird Centre in North Berwick on 4th Feb from 6.00 until 8.00.

On the website teachmeet describes itself in the following way.

“Learn something new, be amazed, amused and enthused. This is an informal gathering of those curious about teaching and technology. Anyone can share great ideas they’ve trialled in their classrooms, ask important questions or simply sign up to take part in learning conversations. Would be good to see and hear both Primary and Secondary Teachers.”

And it has a video too!

Here is the link to the site http://www.teachmeet.org.uk/ You need to scroll down the page to find a teachmeet near you. It looks very exciting and people who’ve attended them before seem to get lots of great ideas from them.

I’m looking forward to it!

As information technologies advanced, educators should seek new ways for students help students learn.

Phil Long is on a five-year mission to find out more about how technology can enhance active learning. In this conversation with host Jon Udell, he reviews lessons learned from MIT’s TEAL (technology-enabled active learning) initiative, and discusses the related work he and his team are doing at the Center for Educational Innovation and Technology at the University of Queensland in Australia.

IT Conversations | Jon Udell’s Interviews with Innovators | Phillip Long

MP3 audio

The whiteboard blog is a blog I’ve been following for about 7 months. It has introduced me to loads of free software to use in class with my children and also posts great videos and images to show on the interactive white board.

It’s creator is Danny Nicholson who is also on twitter @dannynic.

The link for the blog is http://www.whiteboardblog.co.uk/ It’s well worth scrolling through and picking up ideas.

A couple of the favourites my class enjoy working on are flockdraw – a collaborative art program, and quizbusters – a program based on the old favourite TV show Blockbusters

Links for those are http://flockdraw.com/ and http://www.teachers-direct.co.uk/resources/quiz-busters/index.aspx are the links for flockdraw and quizbusters respectively.

Just downloaded a fantastic book. It’s called Movemeon.  I found it had loads of great thoughts and ideas in, and because they’ve been collected from Twitter, they’re all ‘to the point’

To quote the author it’s

“A book with a difference, #movemeon is a collection of 140-character pearls of wisdom from educators using the social networking service, Twitter.

From behaviour management to interaction with colleagues, you will find practical advice and ideas contributed by classroom practitioners!”

It’s free to download from http://www.lulu.com/product/download/%23movemeon-2009/6170010

Tom Barrett has come up with a fantastic idea for using google maps to create maths maps. The idea, like many brilliant ones, is simple. You find an area (I did Edinburgh as it’s local, so I know it) and put in place markers in certain areas and attach maths questions to them.  Children can then work through them in and out of school and answer the questions.

Because of the way google maps is shared people all over the world can collaborate with these maps (including children as part of their learning). You can use different coloured markers for different levels of questions. I’m really looking forward to trialling it in school during our maths week.

Here is a link to my maths map. http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=100326449397226863158.00047b1da8e296c504701&z=11

Here is a link to the maths map area of Tom’s blog. http://edte.ch/blog/maths-maps/

And finally here is a link to Tom’s blog, which I think is brilliant. http://edte.ch/blog/

View Larger Map

I always try to have active grammar lessons. I dislike grammar ‘by the book’ as this seems to demotivate children and lead to a situation where a grammar point is grasped in the grammar sessions and then instantly forgotten about.  I try hard to have a range of active grammar lessons as this seems to help the children pick up the idea of the lesson and,more importantly, remember it for the rest of their writing lessons.

I find the Grammar for Writing book has lots of great activities in it and this is freely available to download from the DCSF website.  http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/node/153924

Another published resource I find useful are these books from Scholastic. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Grammar-Punctuation-10-11-Years-Photocopiables/dp/0590636707/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261343498&sr=8-2 These are out of print now but can be tracked down from online shops. Don’t be out off by the ‘Photocopiables’ tag, they have lots of active learning ideas in them.

A good literacy website is http://www.teachit.co.uk/index.asp?CurrMenu=124 This has a lot of activities on there, some totally free and some which you have to register for (but are still free). I think there’s a few resources on there you have to pay for too!

All practitioners in each sector, in each department and in all settings have a responsibility to develop, reinforce and extend the skills which are set out in the literacy experiences and outcomes (Curriculum for Excellence).

Teaching:My remit covers all schools in the region. Therefore I do not – cannot – use my time to teach basic literacy skills, although of course I work with colleagues to support them in meeting the learning needs of individual learners with literacy difficulties. I try to help students learn how to learn better, with the intention that they gradually build up skills which leads to independence. Regular Staged Assessment and Intervention meetings ensure that all learning and teaching is balanced and coherent. At each meeting we assess the effectiveness of our work and build on our knowledge of the child’s needs to plan for the future.

 Many learners find identifying key concepts very taxing. This is especially difficult for some learners with dyslexia who tend to think in global terms – the big picture – rather than noticing the detail (the wood not the trees). This can cause problems when analysing text, whether spoken or read. Mind Mapping is a most effective tool for those learners with visual strengths to plan and organise their thoughts.

I find that teaching a whole class how to make Mind Maps is an effective use of my time. In one school we recognised that two learners with dyslexia in one P3/4 class learnt best through visualisation and the use of images rather than words. We felt that those whose natural style of learning was more verbal, linear and ordered would benefit from the challenge of approaching planning in a different format.

So the class used Kidspiration to prepare a talk to the P1s on Road Safety. After exploring the software they taught others in the class about the various tools (aren’t interactive whiteboards wonderful?). The final assessment was for them to create a Wanted poster of a master criminal outlining the essential things the public should look out for.

Identifying key words is crucial if learners are to progress. The children were repeatedly told that there was no need to write beautifully presented sentences while Mind Mapping. Whether they have taken this radical notion on board is yet to be seen. It always astonishes me that children are so wedded to perfect presentation even when their teachers are very clear that the expectation is of good content not error free writing.

 Three other teaching blocks have also centred on developing note making.

A group of P7s with literacy and organisational difficulties learned how to access text with WordTalk. They listened to texts they found impossible to read but which was at their cognitive level. Highlighting key words was a challenge but when done collaboratively enabled them to make Mind Maps with Kidspiration. These they took back to class as plans for pieces of writing. This work culminated in the creation of an animation about the Solar System – to be processed over the holidays.

I supported another group of p7s in preparing pieces of writing on the theme, Homes of the Future. We viewed a video and designed an estate agent’s schedule describing the technological and environmental aids to support future living. Plans in the form of Mind Maps were put into the class Glow Group and the group used these to write independently in class. I shall continue to work with this group in the new year, not least to consolidate my own understanding of using Glow in a real setting.

A similar group at another school was learning about World War 2. They prepared and delivered a session to the rest of their class demonstrating how to use WordTalk. They now mentor their peers – and their teacher.

A group of P3’s used Clicker 5 to create text from grids about the Ancient Egyptians. I found this a difficult enterprise for various reasons  although the children seemed to enjoy the attention even if they are not empowered to use Clicker independently yet. They were thrilled with the pencils and badges I got from the British Museum. I hope they remember more than these though! I shall return to the school to monitor their progress later in the session.

An individual P5 pupil with significant auditory memory difficulties needed help to focus and follow directions.  He practised listening mindfully, repeating instructions to himself and rehearsing these aloud. He then completed tasks to demonstrate his understanding.

We also worked on creating a safe place (a cave) in his mind to which to retreat when he became stressed. Naturally I spent time with his parents and teachers so that his learning is reinforced at home and in class.

I used a similar approach to work with another 2 pupils in P6 with auditory and visual memory difficulties which caused severe sequencing and organisation problems. This time we identified sources of stress in the morning routine that meant frequent late arrival at school. We made laminated cards and prioritised the morning activities. It took some time to convince the children that watching TV was less crucial than getting dressed! Again, this is a long-term outcome that can only be effective if the child, family and school work together.

The imminence of Standard Grade prelims exams saw me supporting 3 learners with dyslexia who find planning and organising revision a real challenge. A traffic light system helped them identify subjects and topics on which they needed to focus. They made timetables incorporating study as well as leisure time in the weeks prior to the exams. It will be interesting to see whether they achieve greater success as a result of this intervention.

Assessment and Consultation: I continue to use the computerised assessment along with formative assessment to identify needs and design interventions. I have formally assessed and consulted about 25 pupils this term. In addition, I attended Staged Assessment and Intervention meetings with parents and staff for 13 other children.

Policy:

• Literacy Strategy sub-group: I am working with 2 colleagues to improve the Dyslexia Friendly Schools Pledge that 5 schools piloted last session. We aim to clarify the language and process of the checklist, make specific links with Curriculum for Excellence, HMIE guidance and current legislation.
• I liaise with the other literacy strategy sub-groups to ensure ‘joined up thinking’.
• There is ongoing work with a small working group writing guidance on effective use of the Books for All project.

CPD:

• Dorothy Crystal, the optometrist, spoke about her work identifying visual stress.
• 6 of the 8 modules of the ‘Hidden Dyslexia’ online course completed.
• Child Protection course.
• Planning and organisation skills – Occupational Therapy.
• CfE in practice course.
• Cluster meetings.

 Once more this has been a busy but fulfilling term.

The title sounds a bit soft, but there are many valuable findings in this article for educators, e.g.,

“As for college-goers, UC Berkeley psychologist Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton has found that cross-racial and cross-ethnic friendships can improve the social and academic experience on campuses. In one set of findings, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, he found that the cortisol levels of both white and Latino students dropped as they got to know each over a series of one-on-one get-togethers. Cortisol is a hormone triggered by stress and anxiety.”

Social scientists build case for ’survival of the kindest’

Posted using ShareThis

Now there is more evidence that a play-based approach to preschool and early childhood education is the way to go. We know from the first post in this blog that imaginative and open-ended play supports language development, cognition, and the development of self-control and self-regulation in a social setting. (Self-regulation is strongly correlated with success later in life.) This article from the Washington Post’s Emma Brown finds that early, play-based education also sustains and strengthens children in their emotional growth.

“Research has shown that by 23, people who attended play-based preschools were eight times less likely to need treatment for emotional disturbances than those who went to preschools where direct instruction prevailed. Graduates of the play-based preschools were three times less likely to be arrested for committing a felony.”

Read more

Working at Mount Tom has been challenging. The students at this credit retrieval school are disenfranchised by traditional high school systems. Many have emotional behavioral issues that make traditional schools difficult for them to excel at. Because they have many negative experiences with educational systems, teachers and classrooms they tend to be resistant to any approaches that include a teaching figure in an active role. It has been challenging to engage these students in an active role in their learning. I have been working with individual students in creating their own courses of study and trying to create curriculums that will be meaningful and engaging.
Yesterday, I feel like I finally made some real progress. One student has expressed an interest in science. He had been taking a biology course on the PLATO web learning system, and we had a few discussions about the Mount Tom system and approach to learning. He expressed that he had previously enjoyed his science classes in which he performed experiments and analyzed data. I asked him if he preferred experimentation to the Plato system and he said that he greatly preferred the hands-on, experimental approach.
When he came to the classroom, I set out the data collection equipment that was left by the previous teacher and explored what we had and how to operate it with him. Together we figured out how to operate the data collection and measurement tools. One interesting item we found was a light meter. Wanting to get started right away, we devised an activity in which we measure light levels in various on campus locations. We only had time to collect data, the next class meeting, I will ask him to analyze the data and write up his findings. I was very pleased how well this went. Although I am not certified to teach science, this actually worked to my advantage as the student and I can learn to use equipment and devise experiments in a collaborative manner. I was also wonderful to get to teach in a more active way rather than the school standard of creating work packets for students to complete. However, the most wonderful part of this development was to get a student that left school to take an active role in his learning and get positive experience in a learning environment. I am looking forward to our next class session and finding labs and activities to keep him engaged in learning and hopefully begin to enjoy his school experiences.

Researchers in the UK studied 3000+ children 9-16 y.o., and found that those who use social networking tools have higher levels of literacy:

“And what about the “LOL OMG c u l8r” informality of text and chat communiqués?

“Our research results are conclusive,” said Douglas. “The more forms of communications children use the stronger their core literary skills.” Or at least, the more children are accustomed to using the written word, the more confident and comfortable they will be with written communication in general.”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8392653.stm

Show and Tell really is a great foundation to build on with public speaking.  Young or old, speaking comes a lot easier when you are comfortable and know what your talking about.

This simple warm-up activity can really boost your student participation during a public speaking class.

Some of the advantages of having a show and tell include;

• learn to speak and listen
• learn how to be an audience and introduce themselves
• learn how to ask inquiry based questions
• learn to make connections between student responses
• anticipate and observe
• practice critical reasoning skills
• practice storytelling
• learn same and different
• use vocabulary- doll, computer, toy car, puppet
• use descriptive language
• say thank you
• increase confidence

Have a Great Weekend!

Flikr photos taken by my friend Phil Long on his visit to Windward in April 2009 to view our progress on Active Learning:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/longpd/page20

We outline three ways in which evidence-based practice (EBP) is formally embedded into the curricula for pre-registration Speech and Language Therapy students and experienced Speech and Language Therapists at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom. We describe key features of an undergraduate module, an undergraduate clinical placement, and a new Master’s degree program, each aimed at encouraging critical thinking and clinical problem-solving skills in students.

from Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention

To learn more about what the spirit of volunteerism can do, check out this video of Dave Eggers. He tells us all about the founding of 826 Valencia Street, a tutoring facility he started, dedicated to nurturing the written word, democracy, and the local public school. Don’t get me wrong this is 20 entertaining minutes of listening to Mr. Eggers discuss his unique idea and the impact it has had on the public schools in the community. Here’s a quote: “It’s been proven that 35 to 40 hours a year with one-on-one attention, a student can get one grade level higher.”

Once you click to view the video, click the box in the upper right hand corner to view the video full screen.

Click Here for the Video

Active Learning met behulp van een digiboard en   SKRBL ofwel: een groep leerlingen tegelijk laten ‘posten’op een digiboard.

[bron]

We just started a new exercise in my Creative After School class.  Over the next couple of weeks students will be working on a persuasive speech or a commercial.  As a warm-up activity I asked each student to find a random item within the classroom and quickly come up with some key selling points.  Students were asked to create a need for the product, discuss how it can benefit the consumer, and deliver their message in an engaging way.

I love how kids minds work!  Check it out!

Ecole Hoteliere Lavasa, having recently received academic certification from the finest and oldest hospitality school - École hôtelière de Lausanne of Switzerland, has already made waves in the arena of hospitality education.

They key? – well that would be the course itself.

Grounded firmly in its endeavour to create ‘leaders’ not just churn out graduates every year is LEH’s secret ingredient. The course prepares students not simply to ‘join’ the hospitality industry on graduating – but to ‘lead’ it.

“A careful balance of art and science, rigour and creativity, knowledge and imagination, prepares students to be future industry leaders ” – (EHL’s philosophy of learning)

Leadership enhancing components within the LEH course include:

1) Leadership training for the hospitality industry

LEH’s mission is to form the future leaders of the hospitality industry. In the hospitality industry where teamwork is even more essential than in other industries, being able to manage, lead, persuade, negotiate – are all essential skills one must possess. Those students who don’t possess these skills inherently – can develop leadership qualities over time and through the right training.

2) You can’t lead in a vacuum

The “hospitality experience” depends on team-work. You can’t learn leadership in a textbook. You need to be able to test it out, in a practical situation, whether you can listen to others, understand what they are thinking and feeling even if it is the opposite of what they are actually saying, and win them over to your point of view.

That’s why, at LEH, students work so often in groups in both their practical and academic courses.

3) Learning leadership through group work

At LEH, students are put into situations in which they can develop leadership skills from the very beginning. Working in groups, each member of the team is confronted with questions concerning role distribution, the need to listen and share, rivalry and conflict, and cultural barriers to getting things done. In addition, there are logistics of having to prioritize tasks and manage their workload and deadlines that are also an important part of leadership – and also depend on other people. Students learn that they can’t just say they want to lead and try to take over in an authoritarian way. They have to learn to listen and show that they can lead.

Says Annavi, a student at LEH, “The teaching methodology bridges the gap between merely remembering by rote and understanding forever. At Ecole Hoteliere Lavasa students think beyond the textbook and enter a new realm of learning through creative, interactive, multimedia presentations. I am developing as a leader of tomorrow by incorporating the technology we have today”.

Teachmeet in East Lothian

What is TeachMeet?

Learn something new, be amazed, amused and enthused. This is an informal gathering of those curious about teaching and technology. Anyone can share great ideas they’ve trialled in their classrooms, ask important questions or simply sign up to take part in learning conversations. Would be good to see and hear both Primary and Secondary Teachers.

 As far as we’re aware, there hasn’t ever been a TeachMeet in East Lothian. They’re such a fantastic opportunity for teachers to get together and share ideas, that we decided to just go for it and organise our own. TeachMeets have often focused on the use of ICT in classrooms in the past. While this is clearly important, we’d like to try and broaden the spectrum a little for our TeachMeet. We’d like to encourage presenations on any new ideas teachers have been trying out in our classrooms, whether they involve technology or not. This is why we’ve given our TeachMeet the ‘curriculumforexcellenceedition’ tag line.

 This TeachMeet is currently being put together by a few volunteers (Elise Sutherland, David Gilmour, Kirsty Robertson, Lynne Lewis, Tess Watson & Fearghal Kelly). If you’d like to help out, please let us know.

I have volunteered to do a 2 minute slot about Word Talk. The organisers are keen for others to be involved, You don’t have to ‘present’ anything (although speaking for 2 minutes is not too daunting). Just come along. It’s a terffic way of leanring something practical.

Tampilan Aplikasi WorldWide Telescope

Sekolah Anda tidak perlu memiliki teleskop besar untuk dapat melihat isi langit seperti gugusan bintang (galaxy) dan planet. Microsoft telah membuat dan menerbitkan sebuah aplikasi teleskop virtual bernama WorldWide Telescope (WWT) yang dapat diunduh/di download secara gratis di situsnya. Lewat aplikasi ini Anda berkesempatan untuk memberikan pengalaman tersendiri kepada siswa-siswi Anda untuk melihat secara detail benda-benda yang berada di luar angkasa, yang selama ini hanya dapat mereka lihat di buku dan televisi saja.

Menyusuri permukaan planet Venus/bulan dan Mars, saat ini bukan sebuah khayalan lagi karena Anda dan siswa Anda dapat melakukannya hanya dari komputer di kelas atau di rumah. Selain itu WorldWide Telescope juga menyediakan berbagai macam video petualangan luar angkasa seperti pendaratan di bulan oleh Neil Amstrong dan banyak lagi. Saya jamin, aplikasi ini akan mempermudah Anda dalam mengajarkan astronomi dan tata surya. Untuk menjalankan aplikasi ini Anda membutuhkan koneksi Internet seperti halnya aplikasi Google Earth.