Pupils from three schools in Northern Ireland sing carols for BBC Newsline… From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: supply teaching. For a different topic see in a sentence. The blog is also related to: high school.

Young people are bypassing security systems at schools to gain access to banned and dangerous sites, experts warn…. From BBC News. Full story

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School children from across Guildford design a calendar offering simple tips on how to help address climate change…. From BBC News. Full story

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Pupils left without classrooms after a fire at their school will have lessons in community buildings in the new year…. From BBC News. Full story

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A few weeks ago I introduced the E.M. Spectrum to my yr 10 classes (14-15 years old) by asking them to produce activities that we would broadcast on our very own online “TV” channel http://www.livestream.com/croesyphysics

Needless to say they were very excited by the idea, especially because they were given complete choice on the type of activities they could create, the groups they were working with and even the software they could use. So, we got activities ranging from News Reports and Revision Songs to Documentaries and Comics. The whole process was highly enjoyable for them, to the point that some pupils who normally would not be that interested in the subject and that would find it difficult to focus on the work given became those who were always working very hard at their project and even came back at lunch time several times to make sure they could complete the activity in time to be broadcast.

Our pupils used a range of sources of information to produce their activities. Many used the internet, but most also checked their facts on Science Textbooks and made sure that their content was both relevant to the AQA Specifications (our examination board) and scientifically sound!

As I mentioned above, all groups had complete choice on the software and format they were using. So, some groups used Photo Story 3 to record short documentary-like videos.Photo Story 3 is very easy to use and very intuitive. It basically lets you choose a sequence of photos and record an oral narration on each frame. Other groups used Songsmith to create lovely revision songs. If you are a teacher, you can download Songsmith free by joining the Partners in Learning Network. Songsmith gives you a choice of musical bases and by singing to the software your voice is recorded and the base is turned into the melody you’ve created. You can then export your song in Movie Maker and add background images, text and effects, like our yr 10 pupils did.

One of the highlights of our show was the News Report created by our pupils using only PowerPoint 2007 and Movie Maker. Michael asked permission to ITV News to use their music and he then produced the most amazing PowerPoint presentation I have ever seen. In this presentation he included the videos created by the other Reporters in Movie Maker and it looked really professional, as well as containing really good Physics. I think the most powerful message we could get from work like this is that we don’t really need to spend thousands of pounds in highly expensive equipment, nor have a state on the art recording studio in our school, because what really makes the difference is the creativity and engagement of our pupils.

Some other groups used Community Clips to record their presentations directly from their computer screen. Community Clips is a very useful free tool from Microsoft Research that lets you record a video of whatever happens on your screen. You can also narrate what’s going on and your voice will be captured by Community Clips. A Good example of use of this software were the instructions made by our pupils on some useful websites for revision, towards the end of our show!

So, how did we broadcast? Well, we used a free software called Procaster that lets you broadcast live directly on your Livestream channel. But the great thing about Procaster, and what makes it stand out from any other free broadcasting tool, is that you can choose to show just your webcam view, your screen, or a lovely 2-D or even 3-D mix of the two. The result looks very professional and the quality and speed of streaming is also pretty impressive for a completely free service. Your Livestream channel is also free and there is the option to let your audience interact with the show and with each other via the chat built in the channel. You can also link the channel to your Facebook and Twitter to maximise advertising possibilities. Our E.M. Spectrum show went live on Thursday 17th December 2009 at 20.30 (U.K. time) but it’s now available on demand in our Croesy Physics Livestream channel. Please, watch it and have fun!

Croesy Physics Livestream Channel

Have you ever used live streaming software, or websites? What was your experience?

We had a very Special Viewer during our live broadcast, Les Foltos, the Director of edLAB
Puget Sound Center for Teaching who commented: “Dude.  Really great.  Or as you said it, Bringing Physics to Life is Amazing.” Les also asked our pupils: “What is the benefit of sharing your work in this online show?” and this are some of their comments.

Michael: the benefits are that we are in control of our learning and the research that we did to produce the “TV show” allowed us to take everything in and understand all about what we were learning.

Niall: some of the benefits would be the new and great technologies and software and being able to watch the show on the internet.

Jess: the benefits are that your parents can see it and get involved with what you’re doing in school. Also, it was more fun knowing that lots of people can see it!

Schools in Cambridgeshire could lose hot meals following a council proposal to stop subsidising them…. From BBC News. Full story

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He parted his lips—
not for a kiss, but to tell her how
she looked her most majestic
in the shadows, her naked flesh, pearled
white with spots of sweat, glowing softly
in the luminescent blue of the room,
or in the deepest, cleanest ocean,
naked limbs pretzel’ed all around
each other. Tangled; intertwined.
A place where even moonlight
couldn’t be itself, but bursting
streams of sunlight, rolled and wrapped
around celestial cratered curves, barely
permeating through her thick
navy curtains. When he caught
that soft glimmer, he wanted to
tell her how he gleaned himself
through her eyes, how for once
he admired his own face
when he found it
reflected in her deep, dark,
dilated pupils, and for what
he hoped that she herself
had seen in his. But all
she heard was, “You
look better with
the lights
off.”

A primary school in the Isle of Man is evacuated after a fire broke out in the kitchen of the nursery area of the building…. From BBC News. Full story

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Zip It, Block It, Flag It could become the Green Cross Code of the Internet following the launch this week of the UK Child Internet Safety Strategy.

Alongside the launch of a new digital code for young people’s use of the Internet: Zip It, Block It, Flag It was the announcement that Internet Safety is to become part of the national curriculum for Primary school children (it is already part of the curriculum for Secondary schools) from September 2011.

This is in recognition that the Internet is an important part of young people’s lives inside and outside of education.  In education ICT has held a central place since the launch of the National Grid for Learning in 1998 with this recently reinforced by the Rose Review of the Primary school curriculum which further highlighted the importance of the educational uses of ICT to primary school children.

Outside of education most children have some level of access to ICT in the home and children are going ‘online’ at a younger age.  Both parents and children report safety concerns with using the Internet and recent research by the DCSF found that just over half of those children who experienced harmful or inappropriate content took some action. 

Fears about Internet Safety are frequently voiced in the media in relation to the use of the Internet in the grooming and sexual abuse of children.  The Strategy therefore also details plans to update the ‘cyber skills’ of those working with children and provide guidance to Internet providers on how to ensure that children do not access inappropriate content. The Zip It, Block It, Flag It motto is designed as a reminder to young people to keep themselves safe online, while the CEOP reporting button, through which people can report  any ‘abuse’ or inappropriate content they encounter online  is to be further developed.

Pupils drank from a bottle of ethanol stolen during a science lesson at a Northamptonshire school, it is revealed…. From BBC News. Full story

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(This was actually reported by a teacher)

After Christmas, a teacher asked her young pupils how they spent their holiday away from school.

One child wrote the following:

We always used to spend the holidays with Grandma and Grandpa.

They used to live in a big brick house but Grandpa got retarded and they moved to Arizona…

Now they live in a tin box and have rocks painted green to look like grass. They ride around on their bicycles and wear name tags because they don’t know who they are anymore.

They go to a building called a wreck center, but they must have got it fixed because it is all okay now, they do exercises there, but they don’t do them very well.

There is a swimming pool too, but they all jump up and down in it with hats on.

At their gate, there is a doll house with a little old man sitting in it… He watches all day so nobody can escape.

Sometimes they sneak out, and go cruising in their golf carts.

Nobody there cooks, they just eat out.

And, they eat the same thing every night — early birds.

Some of the people can’t get out past the man in the doll house.

The ones who do get out, bring food back to the wrecked center for pot luck.

My Grandma says that Grandpa worked all his life to earn his retardment and says I should work hard so I can be retarded someday too…

When I earn my retardment, I want to be the man in the doll house.

Then I will let people out, so they can visit their grandchildren.

PRICELESS….
Forward to all your “retarded grandparent” friends

Hello,

You are invited to watch our online show on the E.M. Spectrum on Thursday 17^th December at 20.30. You can access our online channel at:

http://livestream.com/croesyphysics

Our Yr10 Physics students have worked on different activities of their choice to produce a “TV show” to be broadcast on the internet. The show will include various Physics demonstrations and revision activities on the Electromagnetic Spectrum and it should be very suitable for other Yr 10 pupils who are preparing for that topic and for Educators interested in the use of new technologies in Education. So, please forward this email to your pupils, colleagues, friends and relatives who might be interested!

Croesy Physics Channel

Croesy Physics Livestream Channel

I will broadcast live from my home the work of my pupils, which has been pre-recorded in class. My pupils and I are quite excited about this project and they are putting together a nice set of resources. It is the first time we attempt something like this in the Physics Department at Croesyceiliog School and we would really appreciate your participation and feedback on the outcomes!

Please, join us on Thursday 17^th December at 20.30

http://livestream.com/croesyphysics

Thanks,

Alessio Bernardelli (Deputy Team Leader of Science, Croesyceiliog School)

Christopher Mead, in last week’s episode of  Waterloo Road was definitely not a sex offender, despite one pupil’s threats to brand him as such in a blackmail attempt and despite another’s misinterpretation of his behaviour arising from her own damaging formative experiences.  Over the last few weeks, away from TV comprehensive school dramas there have been a number of news reports of court cases involving teachers convicted for grooming and or sexual activity with children. The teachers in these reports are no Christopher Meads, who, unwittingly attract false allegations as they naively set off to rescue pupils from sleazy back street lap dancing clubs.  In courts of law they have been demonstrated to be  sexual abusers from whom children need protecting.

Back in September there was the case of Matthew Knott, who not unlike Waterloo Road’s Christopher Mead was a Science Teacher from Greater Manchester.  He was jailed for grooming a 13 year old girl for sex (not one of his pupils).  He did this by setting up a false identity, ‘Jessica’ in order to chat with his victim online and persuade her to meet him.  Using his own identity he arranged to meet the girl, and picked her up in his car, drove her to his flat and ‘told her’ to have sex with him.

Move forward to November and there is the case of Kenneth Anbany who taught in a school in Exeter.  After his arrest he claimed he was “bit over familiar at times”.  This would appear to be a gross understatement, as this ‘over familiarity’ involved driving one of his 15 year old pupils to a wood and asking her to have sex with him.  During the investigation other pupils described how Anbany would behave in a sexual way towards them.  He admitted charges of sexual activity and causing or inciting a child to have sex.

At the end of November newspapers reported on the case of a female offender, Madeleine Martin from Cheshire, who was sentenced to prison for 32 months. The Internet is involved in this case too, as she and her 15 victim, a boy at her school began communicating via facebook before the relationship became sexual.  She was, as the Judge said at a “low ebb”, however the boundaries of acceptable behaviour became completely ‘blurred’ as she paid for him to get a tattoo, and had sex with the boy.  Both are, of course, illegal.

Earlier this month the case of John Cope was reported in national newspapers.  An IT supply teacher at a private school in Brighton, he communicated, using a mobile phone with his female pupil, sending her sexually explicit texts.  In his defence he claimed he was trying to help his pupil through a difficult time, though one wonders how he thought sending texts about flavoured condoms and oral sex was going to achieve this.  He was found guilty of sexual grooming.

This select sample should not be used to suggest that in every school there lies a sexually predatory teacher intent on grooming his or her pupils.  The media, to varying degrees sets the agenda as to what news we get to read about.  The behaviours described in these news reports are clearly cases where the boundaries were not just blurred but completely transgressed by teachers who were in positions of authority, and in most cases had a duty of care over the young people they taught.  They behaved in ways which they must have known were inappropriate and illegal. 

Mead’s efforts to engage students by giving tutorials, in contrast, appears to be a manifestation of ‘personalised learning’ which is highly valued in contemporary educational policy discourses.  Of course he needs to ensure this personalised learning is properly sanctioned and overseen by the school.

As for his attempts to rescue Vicki MacDonald from a Lap Dancing Club; surely that appears to be positively heroic?

Some state schools in England are trying to steal the best pupils in breaches of the admissions code, a report suggests…. From BBC News. Full story

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Pupils at a new 7.5m primary school completed under Aberdeen’s 3Rs project mark the move with a special performance…. From BBC News. Full story

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Hey guys ! Did you see that ? Following a previous post

Ok , I was going to say, tommorrow, ALL OF US , go smoke on it.. but its against luxembourgish law finally and blablabla and I don’t know what, checked out a new group on facebook created by the PupilsCommittee, you know, the committee of the students.. Actually we don’t want to mess with the country but with the school

So lets SUPPORT THE PUPILS COMMITTEE they are WORKING FOR US this time! and we should help them!

Join this group : http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=206408744152
Why? Well in the description it sais they are willing to tell the school to make us something like a

BUILDING for smokers..

or a roof.. I hope its true , and that is why i am giving you the link!
Hey, what color should that building be ? xD I LIKE purple..

Essex Police say they did not properly proof read a leaflet sent to every school in the county…. From BBC News. Full story

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The Pupils Committee had a meeting with Mrs Vassilaccou today! Yes I was there, just under their feet (lols..first floor) ..

You know what I heard? MRS VASSILACCOU, THE HEADMISTRESS , COULD NOT SEE THEM…

although they had an appointment, she said : Oh, no , there is no appointment, i told the Finish I would go and eat cake with them… and left.

That is so IRONIC!! Guys , and dolls xD (this is the musical this year isn’t it?) lets give the school back what it deserves!! If the Pupils Committee can’t do some stuff cause they have not so much freedom!! we secretly can, support them! Join us! , leave a comment to show that we CAN! Let our voice be heard!

Did you check VOiCE? what is that? Pupils Committee? any help , thx!

A pilot scheme to cut carbon emissions by encouraging school pupils to cycle to school more often is hailed as a success…. From BBC News. Full story

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by sylvia 

So we’ve got this Holiday Party coming up on Friday, we’ve got our dresses and our shoes, we’ve got appointments to get our hair did, Bianca has secured a babysitter after so much drama, and we are ready to get our drinkin’ and dancin’ on. 

But I have a problem. 

I don’t know how to wear eye makeup. 

No one ever really taught me how to wear make up, I didn’t really start wearing it until later in high school, and even then, it was just very basic stuff – you know, to look fresh and fun, not to cover up any pimples or anything. 

I never learned how to wear eye makeup, though.  I taught myself the art of mascara or whatever, because my eyes literally disappear into my face without any mascara – literally.  A few years ago, I started experimenting with eyeshadow, but still stuck to the basics. So I’ve got those things covered. 

But because I wear glasses everyday, all the time, I guess I never really tried too hard with the eyeliner.  And I’m probably a good candidate for eyeliner, as my eyes are small and close together (and I have a lazy eye, too…please, boys, form a single line!) 

But when I’ve experimented with it (last night is a good example) I look like a really jacked up drag queen with no makeup skills who has been crying and wearing too much eye makeup.  Think Tammy Faye, but not as classy or sophisticated. 

So for this party, I plan on not wearing my glasses (and subsequently squinting and still not seeing all night) so I want to my eyes to “pop” (thanks again, Tyra), but I plan on wearing some bright red lipstick, so I don’t want to get too bold. 

I thought about getting my makeup done, but I don’t think I’m that kind of person.  Apparently, I’m the type of person that likes to look like a jacked up, poorly-skilled drag queen.  I mean, I really want to learn how to do it myself. 

So I watched some videos last night, and it seems so simple and then I try it and BAM – raccoon eyes. 

Here is an example of an attempt I made: 

Up close, it doesn't look too bad and are those WRINKLES?!?!?!

So am I supposed to apply eyeliner to the upper and lower lashes?  What is this about the water line?  I mean, doesn’t the liner basically just drip off in two seconds because it’s wet? 

Check out that pupil

Here’s a picture of my lipstick, which I’m including because I took a picture.  I’m finding I really enjoy taking pictures of my individual features, vs. looking at the whole thing at once.  I guess it’s the facial version of the belly project.  Maybe by doing this I can learn to love and accept my whole damn face: 

Can you see my moustache?

So, does anyone have any recommendations for making my eyes pop while being seductive and demure, yet not detracting from the bold red lip I am putting out there?  I mean, I want to to do something different than my every day look, but don’t want to look busted.  I still have a few days to practice, so I am open to suggestions! 

Kisses!

Lauder becomes the latest community in the Borders to get a new 6.6m primary school, which accommodates 275 pupils…. From BBC News. Full story

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We had 2 more passes on Friday.  Congratulations to both Paul Tait and Alastair McConville who passed with Phil after taking an Intensive Driving Course.

Paul Tait

Paul said: “Phil was an excellent teacher who didn’t get frustrated when I became a bit angry with myself. His calmness helped me and I can’t thank him enough.Great price and well worth the money, I wish I had done it sooner.”

Alastair McConville

A former world champion boxer from Shropshire has been giving boxercise lessons to pupils as part of a motivation course…. From BBC News. Full story

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By Cara Sulieman

A SCOTTISH teacher has said that school kids should be encouraged to use Wikipedia for school research, despite doubts over the accuracy of the information on the site.

Ollie Bray, deputy head teacher at Musselburgh Grammar, said that pupils should use it to learn how to evaluate the credibility of information.

But the online encyclopaedia has a reputation for being unreliable as anyone can edit the information it carries, and parent groups say it makes their kids “lazy”.

There have been a number of high profile mistakes on the site – just last week Thierry Henry’s entry had to be locked as angry users vandalised his profile after his handball during the France Ireland football game.

Discussion

But Ollie insists Wikipedia is a valuable teaching tool – and reckons it is better to teach pupils how to use it properly rather than ban it.

He said: “We, as teachers, should be looking at these disclaimers and working with young people to discuss why articles are disputed or contradict themselves.

“If we start with the belief that everything is subject to opinion, then we can work on how to validate it.”

He suggests teachers and pupils study the “discussion”, “source” and “history” tabs on the website.

The discussion tab will show the youngsters how much debate goes into reaching a compromise when changing disputed facts.

Better access

And he thinks that these skills should be taught alongside internet safety and responsible use, as biased information could also be seen as “inappropriate content”.

He said: “There is extreme content on the internet, but kids only find it because they go looking for it.”

And the teacher – who is currently working for Learning and Teaching Scotland as a national adviser for emerging technologies – also wants kids to have better access to sites such as YouTube, which is banned in some schools and allowed in others.

He said: “Why is it fair that children in East Lothian can get access to hundreds of hours on Channel 4, National Geographic or the Scottish Parliament, when other schools and teachers have not got access to these resources?

“It means that children don’t get to benefit from it, or the teacher or head has to spend time procuring resources which are available for free.”

IT savvy

But the internet site has been blamed for making Scottish schoolchildren lazy, with parents worried that their kids are relying on someone else to do all the hard work for them.

Eleanor Coner from the Scottish Parent Teacher Council said: “Children are very IT-savvy, but they are rubbish at researching.

“The sad fact is most children these days use libraries for computers, not the books. We accept that as a sign of the times, but schools must teach pupils not to believe everything they read.

“It’s dangerous when the internet is littered with opinion and inaccurate information which could be taken as fact.”

Although Wikipedia is edited by its users, the site monitors the changes and responds to inaccuracies when it can.

A disclaimer on the site says: “While Wikipedia articles generally attain a good standard after editing, it is important to note that fledgling, or less well monitored, articles may be susceptible to vandalism and insertion of false information.”

See more of our pictures at our Flickr site and videos at our dedicated channel,  Deadline TV.

Light reflector tags are presented to children at a school on the Isle of Man as a part of an initiative to cut road accidents in winter months…. From BBC News. Full story

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