A new approach

Creating computer games in the classroom

2012-02-17T12:26:00.002Z

Whatever you think about computer games, making computer games is a creative process just as writing a story or painting a picture. All creative efforts require a substantial degree of intuition, logic, problem solving and fun. It is fair to say that we can learn and develop a range of skills from anything we create from scratch. Moreover making computer games are a good way of getting children interested in topics that they may not normally choose to spend time involving themselves in. Creating computer games can entice children to stretch their creativity and their intelligence. It is also making a tentative start on diversifying the ICT content taught in out classroom and it may even stimulate an interest in developing their own more complex games later on.

In this week’s sessions we have been exploring Gamemaker - the light version. Students were initially asked to create a game following the onscreen tutorial. This gave them hands on experience of the game making process, and it allowed them to learn the tools of the application as they progressed.
In the main they were successful in creating a basic game. Some were more creative from the outset, only following the tutorial when they needed help. It was interesting to see how their games differed when they were asked to just write suggestions of the progression of their game, outlining what improvements they would make to their original game with only the limitations of their creativity to stop them. I introduced them to Tim Rylands today too so hopefully he will inspire them to persevere in their voyage of discovery in the gaming in education process.

2012-01-18T10:01:00.003Z

This is a tagxedo of the image I found when I googled Mandy. I selected my blog address to create the final effect! This week my students are exploring a range of web2 applications that help them make creative images from text. Their task was to use the 4 applications I selected thematically and add them to their blog. The online applications I chose were: wordle, tagxedo, text-image and graffiti creator.

Creating images with text

2012-01-15T15:36:00.001Z

Below is a selection of on-line applications that allow you to create simple but effective images and shapes from text. Explore with them using a theme that you feel might help with your project. It is wonderful to explore the written word and even more amazing to discover how creative you can be by simply developing the concept of simple visual communication. We see text all around us from bill board posters to graffiti in the street, from signs and instructions to warning and encouragement in our workplace. Explore the power or words and text just for fun and see how creative you can be. I used the theme of gaming for my selection.

2012-01-15T14:56:00.004Z

The image above is created using text-image. You select any image that you fancy, choose the text that you wish your image to created from and click. It takes a few minutes depending on the size and complexity of you image. If you are clever enough you can copy the code and edit it to suit, maybe to get rid of the background. I stuck to the simple screen shot using the Snipping tool in windows 7 then uploaded the image to my blog. See the original below to see where it came from.

2012-01-15T14:41:00.006Z

The image of gaming

2012-01-04T13:22:00.005Z

Tagxedo is fabulous way to express yourself, using the magic of text with the power of image. In case you can't quite make out the text image below this is it! Check out this blog for some great ideas http://blog.tagxedo.com/

The Face of Gaming

2012-01-04T12:12:00.001Z

You may say that first and foremost games are ‘fun’. This is, of course, true, but games can be much more than that. Click on the Mr Toledano link below and take a look at some pictures of gamers playing and you will see fun in some of their faces. You may also notice another much more constant emotion: challenge. Games challenge in ways traditional linear media, from feature films to textbooks to PowerPoint presentations, generally do not, certainly not at such regularity with such power and impact. And in an age when politicians, parents and many educators feel that learning has lost its rigour, gaming presents a superb means to challenge young people. For a start, games seem to raise our expectations from the moment we launch them, like a Hollywood blockbuster, and then engage us for as long, sometimes longer. No matter what your own ideas and preferences about gaming are you will have an opinion about whether there is a place for it in education. Simon Egenfldt-Nielsen discusses the challenges of edutainment in his PhD ‘Making Sweet Music: The Educational Use of Computer Games’. Where he suggests the area of ECG is not yet well defined. He states that it is not enough that a player is more motivated, or that game culture is collaborative, or even to suggest that computer games as complex devices will somehow automatically transfer knowledge to the player. Rather he promotes the notion that it is how each of these elements helps constitute the activity educational use of computer games.

Integrating Games-based Learning: A Conversation with Tim Rylands

2012-01-04T10:23:00.000Z

From the Technology of yesteryear

2011-12-02T22:15:00.000Z

Michael Gove spoke to the Schools Network in Birmingham on 1st december 2011 at the first SSATs conference. He discussed his reforms in terms of school networks in general suggesting that autonomy drives improvement. He then went on to talk about as he put it 'networks of a totally different kind' the digital network. The full review is found on the DfE website. But what I liked in particular was a reference he made to a piece in the New Scientist below as it links nicely into the work my 1st years have been conducting over the last few weeks.

"If you were trying to build an iPhone using equivalent components from the 1980s, asks the author, just how big would that phone be? Running through all the parts - from the antennas to the batteries to the GPS to the gyroscope to the accelerometer to the cameras to the mobile computing capability and more - New Scientist concludes you would need a truck to haul around an iPhone built of 1985 parts. We've gone from an 18-wheeler to a pocket in just 26 years."

Excellent observations but what is more warming, considering the cuts in technology & education that have been made over the short time this new government has been in power, are his closing comments. He concludes;

The challenge for us is this: how we can harness the many exciting technological leaps that are constantly being made? We will be saying much more early in the new year. Make no mistake: this is a priority for me. I believe we need to take a serious, intelligent approach to educational technology if our children are not to be left behind. As John Chubb and Terry Moe put it in their excellent book on the subject, a genuine engagement with the wondrous world of technological innovation will see children's learning 'liberated from the dead hand of the past.' We owe it to pupils across the country to take this issue seriously.

I guess only time will tell.

ipads in Education

2011-12-01T16:24:00.001Z

Some kind person sent me this link so I though it only fair to share it again. I have always thought long and hard when spending money on ICT gadgets, sometimes I have spent wisely and there times not so. The ipad however is one the the former. It is such a versatile tool and one that can be used individually, with a small group and now with the AV adapter on the ipad2 you can share apps with the whole class!

Slide to Learn - Educators Guide to the iPad, iPod and iPhone

The story so far for Year 1 Educational Studies

2011-11-28T22:41:00.012Z

The new face of Glogster

2011-11-28T22:27:00.002Z

It's time to introduce Glogster, the Web 2 application that is both creative and innovative, to my Ed Studies students. There is no denying that it is a wonderful tool for collaborating and sharing information, yet again I'm inspired by the work of others as I check out what's new with the application. This time I stumbled across this YouTube video of 4th grade children in Hosmer School in Water town, MA.

Every day is a school day

2011-11-22T16:06:00.002Z

One of the best things about my job is that I never stop learning. Today my 1st year Ed Studies group were playing with 2animate to create animations of their favourite catch phrase. I asked them to put them on their blog and reflect on the process as normal. One clever student has given me a really cool way to add the active animation directly to the blog as blogger doesn't support gifs, using a cool website called TinyPic.com to grab the embed code!

Et voila!

Shift Happens

2011-11-15T16:13:00.004Z

I know that this is an 'old' clip but as I teach and learn about education and technology I feel that it still encapsulates some of the issues that education of today faces. When I say 'old' 2008 is old in terms of technological advancements. Yet this clip is still pertinent and applicable to today's learners. I have seen this used in an innovative seminar about the way in which technology should be shaping education and today a student found it on YouTube for her Wiki piece on Education of the Future.

A first year group's reflections

2011-10-25T13:51:00.002+01:00

Here you can see a bubbl.us activity being used to help 1st year students explore the concept of reflective learning. The students created this bubble collaboratively as they also got to grips with the tools that bubbl.us have in their free version of the app. They went on to produce their own bubble and embedded them on their own blogs. For some students this was a straightforward procedure, that was a mere progression from their activities on Facebook or their personal blogs, but for others there were a fair amount of concerns and anxieties to do with their perceived ICT skill set. Some of them don't realise just how skilled they are and that the skills they have are so easily transferable. My hopes are that this course helps to build their confidence as well as broaden their personal resources. Only time will tell!

A new year group

2011-10-18T16:20:00.007+01:00

Welcome to blogging Year 1 Educational Studies

To most of the this first year group it is their first taste of blogging. Although some do have a blog or even a collcetion of them! The favourite blog host seems to be tumblr and a nice collection of visually stimulating sites they have too! Tumblr seems to be the favourite host for blogs that display lots of images, although this may just be a coincidence. It would be interesting to evaluate some of the free blog hosting sites to see which is best for the job. A job for me when I get a spare moment or two, maybe...

See the list of top blog services

Click here for the full review

Steve Jobs

2011-10-18T07:10:00.004+01:00

As I am still smarting from buying an ipad just as the ipad 2 is announced, Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. The founder and innovative force behind apple died very recently and one begs to wonder what impact his death will have on Apples technological stampede. In August this year Steve Jobs resigned from his role as CEO of Apple, although this was not the first time he had done so. Incredibly in his early 20s Steve founded what is now the multibillion dollar company Apple. In 1985 Steve reigned from Apple to form a new company, neither company thrived as well as hoped leaving the market open for Microsoft’s Bill Gates to take a foothold in the Ed Tech market. By 1996 Steve jobs is back at the helm of Apple and the company begins to flourish yet again, with such wonders as the iPod, iPod Touch, iPhone and the iPad. What is next I wonder? See the timeline of the man that changed the face of technology.

To the new term...

2011-09-06T21:04:00.002+01:00

In honour of the start of term I have created a new wall display to brighten up the ICT suite. I decided to explore a topical subject again this year in the shape of "Internet Safety". We can't get enough of it, we can't say it in enough ways and we can't stress enough the importance of it. But are we all preaching for the same reasons? Well yes we all want children and young or vulnerable people to be safe and secure when they use the web. But to what end. As innovative teachers we would like to see good, effective, safe and varied use of the wonders of the web. This means to me that we need to educate our users, young and old to spot the dangers, avoid the pitfalls and recognise the rubbish. That is as apposed to just blocking it and banning it! It you hear of something good but you are unsure, try it, test it then get the LA to do the same. Don't give up, there are some wonderful Web 2.0 application out there just screaming to be used by our creative innovative pupils!

There is an amazing range of material to be found on the web that explores Internet safety in many different ways, including lots of interactive, fun games and activities. A list of my favourite sites can be found on my delicious account under peacehome/e-safety

Check out the finished product! Notice the game on the top of the table and the touch of Welsh on the cupboard door, not to mention the worksheets!

Where do the years go?

2011-06-27T12:49:00.003+01:00

My daughter is 21 in August and she has just completed her degree at Bath Spa University. As we wait patiently for her results to be published I reflect on years gone by. So much has changed in 21 years not only in my life as a mother and educator, but especially in the world of technology. As I gather memories for a project for her birthday I notice change in the storage of memories, from large photo albums that rarely get opened, to videos that can no longer be played (broken player in the loft!) and music on large plastic looking discs of all things (also in the loft, nothing to play them on). Now all my favourite memories are on my smart phone, and the things that I haven’t room for are stored on websites for instant access. But strangely today I’m collecting material for a paper based project. I was recently impressed by a first year student’s work on visual communication. She created a scrap book made from paper bags! A very inspiring project that also contained a step by step video guide to creating your own scrap book of memories. Although I’m probably better suited to a PowerPoint or Prezi – provisionality rules – I asked my student for help in creating one for my daughter and I hope that she appreciates the little step back in time J
A little wordle about my girl!

Gaming in Secondary Education

2011-04-30T19:51:00.001+01:00

What is new with Glogster and Eduglogster

2011-03-29T08:56:00.005+01:00

Just taking a look at what is new in Glogster and Eduglogster today and I am rapt when I see a Glog in the Best Glogs section called Catastrophe in Japan. It is exactly what you might imagine if you have used Glogster, a multimedia interactive poster full of information about the disaster. This powerful Eduglogster has be created to educate those safely far away and share the images of the horrendous disaster that has devastated the east coast of Oshika Peninsula, Tōhoku. With more catastrophic repercussions pending, who knows what the images may look like in the future?

If you would like to fundraise for this incredible cause Oxfam has some useful guidance to help you organise it.

ICT in the Outdoor Environment

2011-03-23T15:04:00.002Z

This week’s sessions for the PGCE primary students is designed to inspire cross curricular use of ICT and to encourage the use of the outdoor space available in school. We often see the outdoor classroom talked about in the early years classes; it is encouraged by all. But sad to say it is much more difficult for junior teachers to integrate it into their daily routines, mainly due to the pupil staff ratio. That said there are many wonderful opportunities for Outdoor Environment to be utilised across the whole primary school.

I set challenges across a range of subject areas; maths trails collecting digital evidence, adventure story writing using mobile technology, archaeological digs combining history and ICT, weather station and weather data from a local airport with suggestions of a weather broadcast of some sort using Skype and scientific enquiry using a selection of hand held microscopes that can be used to explore the natural environment without disturbing it. All in all the sessions seem to be going well, the students came up with some excellent ideas that will be developed upun in the next session. So watch this space.

I would love to start a tweet with the #tag #smupgce11 to get students resonses about the session ideas they took part in.

Also to check out http://www.delicious.com/peacehome/ICT_outdoors my bookmarks for the session

What we did learn though, is that it is not always a good thing to buy the cheapest product, for example the metal detectors used for the archaeological digs were really children’s toys and not very robust. So it is worthwhile researching for a good product so that your children will not be disappointed and can really learn from the experiences you provide.

FOSS for the classroom or just for fun!

2011-03-08T15:49:00.008Z

There are some really amazing free applications around at the moment that are just perfect for the classroom; especially the ever financially stretch primary environment. So for this week’s PGCE session I am compiling a list of my favourites for my impressive specialists to try out and hopefully add to. I love the little talking avatar that you can create in Voki and the best thing about this sort of web 2 tool, is that they are so easy to embed in your other applications. You can embed your Glog in your Blog, or your Voki on your facebook page and you can embed them all on your wiki. So the range and scope of audience is wonderful, although it does obviously mean that there are lots of safety issues to consider it doesn't mean that they should be avoided, just used purposefully and cautiously to keep your children safe and engaged in the ever evolving world of the web.

The Games Day

2011-03-02T17:12:00.001Z

Well the Gaming week with my 2nd Year Ed Studies students was quite a success according to the response at the end of the module. I was a little nervous on Monday to say the very least. Not having a clue about gaming myself was the main worry. I am always telling students that you don't need to know everything about the technology you are using, you just need to have clear learning objectives and identify skill development possibilities. I took myself at my world and embarked on two hour sessions of gaming with each group. They had a range of devices to explore, from sport on the xbox kinect to brain training on the nintendo DS and as they played they had a list of specific aspects to focus on, whilst enjoying the gaming of course. As the week progressed I introduced new rules and realigned the focus, I could see what was working and what wasn't. I realised that I needed to give much more input if I wanted them to think out of the box, so to speak. Initially they were thinking of how they could just included playing the game in the class as a tool for learning per say. They had difficulty in thinking of just using snippets or adapting the games use in order to fit it into a curriculum area. At first I felt that I was forcing my own ideas on them and possibly stifling theirs. However the follow-up session where they planned a whole lesson from the gaming day idea proved me wrong. There were some fabulous ideas were the games were used as a stimulus for exciting cross curricular activities. This is just the beginning. Each group created a wallwisher as they played take a look at their games day comments!

http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/gamesstationday

http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/es2d2011

http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/es2e2011

http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/es2b2011

2011-02-16T13:27:00.001Z

Debate Concludes

2011-01-27T14:31:00.001Z

Wow what a week this has been. The gaming debate is now over for year 2 educational studies. Each of the groups worked well to establish their points in a formal debate structure. It was much easier for some teams than others as unfortunately there were the usual absences leaving some teams rather depleted in numbers. However, in most cases, this did not affect the success of the debate. Overall the case for establishing games in education won the most points, the judges’ comments concluded that, in general, arguments were structured, speakers were well informed and often referred to appropriate research to back up their proposals and observations. To summarise, the research used suggests that there is still a way to go before there is any conclusive evidence either way to support or exclude the use of gaming in education. But for me the most interesting aspect of the whole week was the adaptation of the formal debate with the use of technology. One group in particular utilised the Internet to build their counter arguments and to make notes as their opponents spoke. This was the most detailed and intense (not aggressive) debating group, with each side utilising all the resources available to them. For example in one instance the pro-gaming team used BECTA to support their argument discussing measures that were in place to ensure that games were safe for use in the classroom, however the “against” team sought material to suggest that BECTA were no longer a credible source as the new government had instigated their demise in May 2010 (more is the pity I know, but the fact remains). It was the process that I loved however, the fact that I was witnessing the technology revolution; arguments can be challenged on the spot, live research streamed! Just wish I had captured it on camera too. Look out Question Time!

The Games Debate

2011-01-25T18:17:00.000Z

This is week three of the games in education module and the debating is well underway. I'm not intending to comment specifically just yet as there are still two groups to go. However, I just want to say that it is going really well...I hope that I have not jinxed it now though! It has been really fascinating to listen to the constructive arguments that each group has presented and the analysis of the debate given by the judges has been quite interesting too. I think that they are all developing informed opinions of the pros and cons of utilising 21st century resources in formal education situations. I look forward to writing my full evaluation later on in the week.

An undate!

2011-01-25T18:07:00.001Z

I had a mild panic last night. I have started reading the bible; 5 minutes a day, 5 days a week. And as you might follow I have been doing so on my Kindle. Well last night I duly turned on my e-reader and clicked on the link that would open the Bible. However I must have clicked something other than open, as to my horror it deleted the link! It was gone in a flash from my home page and therefore from my Kindle. I was too tired to check out any form of retrieval last night even though it does have Wi-Fi and 3G, so in theory it should have been a synch. This afternoon when I finally had a moment to myself I thought I would investigate. It took 2 minutes to power up my laptop and open the Internet browser. I turned on the Kindle at the same time - wow so I can multi task, and I was drinking coffee at the same time too! I selected my Kindle downloads and clicked send to my Kindle using Wi-Fi and as fast as I could glance from one screen to the other, there it was and what's more it even remembered what page I was on! So I need to retract all the bad things I said to my beloved Kindle in the thick of night, something about REAL books!

Just a little ditty

2011-01-23T20:28:00.003Z

As I got ready for church this morning I debated whether or not to take my own Bible with me. I am new to this church and I had noticed that lots of the congregation had their own Bibles and made notes in the margins. My copy is on my Kindle so I wondered if it would be appropriate to take such technology in to God’s house. I decided that I wouldn’t.

As I sat in church listening intently to the sermon our pastor was delivering, quite animatedly I might add. I glanced around at the congregation, when a young woman at the front caught my eye. There she was with her ipad on her knee, tapping away at the screen, glancing up at the pastor as she typed. She was either typing notes in her margins or sending emails, either way technology infiltrates every avenue of our lives so we had better embrace it! Maybe I’ll take my Kindle next week!

The Imagine Project

2011-01-23T20:11:00.002Z

I was reading about the Imagine Project (2010) as part of my ongoing research into Games in Education. The project, was a 2 year initiative funded by the European Commission under the Lifelong Learning Programme researching the use of digital games for learning, also known as Games-Based Learning GBL.

The main target audience for the project was policy makers: people working at key levels of national ministries responsible for school education, adult and lifelong learning, vocational training (employment), skills agendas, regional and local education authorities and other bodies responsible for strategic developments concerned including those agencies which promote ICT in schools.

IMAGINE (Increasing Mainstreaming of Games In Learning Policies) aims to show conclusively that games can succeed because they use sound pedagogical approaches in the development of valuable skills such as:

strategic thinking
planning; communication
application of numbers
negotiating skills
group decision-making
data-handling
eye-hand coordination

As the project only ended at the end of last year it will take some time before the recommendations filter into policy makers guide books, and yet more time before they have any impression on the majority of education establishments across Europe. I for one will be keeping a look out. My gaming module will be its own little research project and I am looking forward (albeit nervously) to the heated debate this week with the question of “Should video games have a place in education?” Watch this space!

Games in Education

2011-01-23T19:56:00.002Z

I have just started the games module with my 2^nd year educational studies groups. It seems to be going really well, although it is fair to say that some are enjoying it more than others! The first session was spent discussing what games meant to us as adults and how we saw the relevance of games in our lives. Whether we enjoy video games, what attributes good game should have, what sort of games we play, who we like to play games with. The students then created a PowerPoint to depict a moral dilemma, with choices throughout to engage and include the audience. This interactivity was an aspect that the students had identified as an important feature of a game. Last week the students were asked to play and evaluate, a selection of Channel 4 educational games designed for 14-18 year olds. The topics the games covered were varied and, in some cases, according to their evaluations, tenuous. After, what for some became a frustrating, thirty minutes, each students was asked to complete a written evaluation which was added to their groups gaming wiki. Here is the selection of on-line video games that I chose (with the help of my 15 year old son) for exploration.

2011 wow where did the time go?

2011-01-07T20:20:00.004Z

The new year and well, what's new about it? Once again I'm off to BETT to find out what the world of technology has to offer the education sector. I'm looking forward to the trip as I am taking quite a large group of students this time. I just hope that they get something out of it. I'm so enthusiastic that I worry their expectations will higher than the event can satisfy. I don't know why that should be the case, as I can always find something new and inspiring!

Oh and incidentally, about Christmas, what technology did santa bring you? Well I had an Amazon Kindle! Not that I had asked for one, but by wonderful chance some kind soul (paying attention to my needs) decided that it would be the prefect gift for me. I have to admit that it is something that I have never considered. My students provide me with enough on-line material to read so I had avoided even researching it. What a surprise when I opened it though! For a start it doesn't even look like a screen, which a guess is the main selling point, it looks like one of the sample phones on display in Car Phone Warehouse! It is so simple and effective to use. Downloading books & PDFs couldn't be easier. This week I wrote my notes on games in education ready for my lecture, saved it as a PDF and sent it to my Kindle...and there in seconds it appeared. So along with my favourite authors, I can read my own ramblings freely without carrying heavy books and scraps of paper! Where will it end?

I'm looking forward to this new module on Games in Education. It is a revelation for me as I'm not a gamer, but I have been interested in the impact gaming can have on learning for some time now. You never know I might become a convert!

The power of the web

2010-11-21T17:32:00.006Z

Today I was a marshal (the back runner in fact) in my running club's (Sospan Road Runners) annual MT10 in Pembrey Country Park, Llanelli. Running is what I do when ever I have spare time, it keeps my life on track and makes me feel alive. Today I was reminded of the fragility of life. I met a wonderful woman, mother and runner who I met last year at the same event. She ran today, as she did last year, in the name of her beautiful daughter Chloe, who died at the tender age of 14, in December 2007. Both her parents, Lesley and Paul, have set themselves a running challenge of 100 half marathons for Lesley and 100 Marathons for Paul. Along the way they intend to fundraise as much as they can. Here is were the power of the Web comes into play. They are using Web 2 technologies to help with the collection of their funds. I often hear of the negative aspects of the www, but this is one of the great ideas that have been born of the new generation of the web. A collaboration of fundraisers using the power of technology to take the pain out of collecting your sponsor money!

For the last few years instead of sending paper Christmas cards, I donate the money to a charity. So, if like me, you are looking for a charity to send your card money to you could try this one. And what's more you can then use the web to send e-cards, so it's a win win situation!

www.mycharitypage.com/paulandlesleybigmore

You can read the tragic story of Chloe's year long fight at www.chloebigmore.co.uk I could hardly see the screen by the time I had finished so be warned.

Looking back & forward together

2010-10-24T15:29:00.002+01:00

It is the time of the course that I like to get my first year students to discover the collaborative power of the Wiki. So I took a little journey myself. I had a look at what Curriki were up to these days. Curriki was the wiki that inspired me back in 2007 so it made perfect sense to begin there this year too. They have created a summery of their mission and their history in a neat little PDF this summer, which is worth a peek. Although there is funding from a variety of partners, they rely on members like us, educators, for content. It is individuals and organizations that are making world-class materials freely available to educators around the world. Curriki's approach of using technology to provide freely available learning resources, plays a key role in improving children's learning all over the world. So when you create something worth sharing, become a member and share on a world wide scale.

Making Progress - useful link

2010-10-24T15:05:00.006+01:00

Well I have finished my MA Ed. I handed it in, begrudgingly and with trepidation. But it has gone to its markers, and I hope they are gentle with it! I can’t believe I have done it at last. It seems to have taken ages, although I suppose the dissertation has only taken 10 months from start to finish. The topic of the dissertation was easy; it had to be Web 2 technologies! It filters through all I teach now so it seemed quite natural. And if you look back at earlier posts you can see how the research began. It is strange now though now it is done, it has left quite a void. The research for the literature review was very interesting, it help feed my habit and supplied me with new and exciting ideas for future teaching. It also provided a broader view of the impact Web 2 is having on education in general. It was great to hear how others were integrating Web 2 in their teaching and to read of their perceptions of the new wave. What’s next I wonder?

Our Reflections

2010-10-20T12:09:00.000+01:00

The Wonderful World of Web2

2010-10-11T10:03:00.002+01:00

On Friday I was lucky to be part of Careers West training day for teachers here at SMU. The training was conducted by award winning teacher and musician David Miller from Glasgow. David provided a range of Web 2 ideas for inspirational teaching across the curriculum. He introduced his audience to Twitter, Wall wisher, Story Bird, Prezi and lots of other great interactive collaborative resources.

Follow David on Twitter http://twitter.com/davidmiller_uk

I was a little disappointed that he didn't blog though!

The Ultimate Word Search Maker

2010-09-23T15:49:00.000+01:00

<a href='http://www.wordsearchmaker.net/wordsearchplayer.aspx?puzzleid=9f78c0a9-d148-466e-b410-74f924b0bd02'>Free Word Search Puzzles</a>Make Your Own Word Search

A new academic year

2010-09-15T14:30:00.002+01:00

I had a wonderful experience in London on Tuesday, Playful Learning with CEMP and Future Lab. There were some awe inspiring keynote speakers that really made you think of the pace in which technology has moved, and the shape of education following slowly in its shadow!

And now we begin a new academic year, new students and new challenges. At this time of the year I always question myself about all aspects of my life as a teacher and educator. What will I say when I meet the first set of new faces, will what I have to say have any impact on them? Well this year is no different. I am at my PC wondering what the challenges will be this time. For me the scary aspect of new students and their knowledge of ICT is the most daunting. What can I begin to tell them that they don't already have a head start on? Well hopefully it is all about application, and I don't mean computer application, but how they apply the knowledge that they have of ICT to develop their knowledge and understanding of all other aspects of education...Well here's to a new and exciting year. I'll keep you posted on the developments and any new ICTs that I am introduced to.

Web 2.0 Wordle

2010-03-15T22:36:00.008Z

Here is a cool link too for lots of great Web 2.0 tools to use in the classroom

Flickr Slideshow

2010-03-15T21:40:00.008Z

Flickr & Photo Booth

2010-03-15T16:00:00.004Z

I have joined Flickr at last. As I had advised a student to open an account for her Vis Com assignment I thought that I should really see what it can do. A friend had sent me a link to her family photos a few years ago after she had moved to Australia. I though back then it was a great idea and one I should investigate further! Hey ho that was about 4 years ago. The photos I have uploaded are of my son experimenting with Photo Booth on our Mac at home. I have created a slide show and have placed them in my sidebar. Here's one of my favourites!

Animations in Education

2010-03-10T11:25:00.013Z

Alice's Catch Phrase

Animation has had quite an influence on my practice over the last few years. As Visual Communication is part of my Educational Studies course in year 1 animation seemed like a useful and fun way of doing just that. This is the 3rd year that I have used 2Animate with the students and it still appeals as much as the first time! I love most of the 2simple applications anyway so it is easy to pass on my enthusiasm ans share one of their best products.

2010-02-28T13:06:00.001Z

In line with the topic I am covering with my 1st year Ed Studies students I received this week’s ICTOpus link where they are looking at ICT in primary science, using as a focus a 'blast-from-the-past' piece. This is an article by Michael Negus, first published in 1981, looks at the potential of the 'microcomputer' in the teaching and learning of primary science. This piece shows remarkable foresight. Editorial margin notes make comparison between Michael's piece and the Becta science entitlement document. They also look at what Michael failed to foresee - the use of the internet for cooperation and collaboration.

Education, yesterday, today and tomorrow

2010-02-24T21:08:00.001Z

In 1965 Gordon Moore predicted that microprocessors would double every 18 months (Moore’s law) leading to an order-of-magnitude improvement in performance every 5 years. Projecting ahead over the next twenty years, this rate of change would lead to the development of electronic technologies 10,000 times the power of today’s devices. He has since revised this prediction to a slightly slower rate, notwithstanding, the rate of growth in the electronics and computer industry has risen beyond imagination over that last 40 years. Its impact on educations is still being felt. Begging such questions as; ‘What will education be like in the year 2020?’ and ‘What should education be like in the year 2020?’ Technologies enable possibilities but they don’t determine future development. What positive implications will technologies have on education and society more generally?

How will ICT change the future of education?
Opportunity for Elearning Solutions in Third World Countries

The shape of technology in primary education today.

Year1's reflective Ideas

2010-02-17T12:38:00.002Z

These are the ideas developed today with Educational Studies about their use of blogs for reflection

Wise Kids

2010-02-04T09:49:00.003Z

This week I went to the Wise Kids conference on E-safety. (You could enjoy live feed throughout; Young People in a Digital World 2010 - Preparing, Supporting and Inspiring. This was an interesting aspect and one that has been refined since last year.) The only disappointment was the keynote speaker Dr Tanya Bryron was unable to attend, instead she provided a recorded interview. This turned out to be exceptional in my view and the highlight of the conference. An inspirational, intelligent, interesting woman that looks at today’s technological world with realistic eyes and an open mind. She considers the whole picture, something I have always thought many educational critiques fail to do. She announced that she is now reviewing her 2007 review, which should be another interesting read.

The most interesting and encouraging aspect to come out of the conference this year was the simple fact that we are now moving on from Internet lockdown in education. Recommendations for internet use in schools across Wales have been close to lockdown for many years. With Byron’s recommendations, it is has been a slow progress, but it is clear that education for safety is key. It is great to see and now maybe we can really utilise Web 2.0 technologies in our classrooms. I am looking forward to monitoring my new primary teachers as they enter the world of teaching to see if these new initiatives have had any influence on their practice.

Take a peek at Bett 2010

2010-01-24T21:57:00.000Z

At BETT 2010

2010-01-24T21:03:00.006Z

Well BETT 2010 did not disappoint. It was just as inspiring and captivating as ever. But for me the best part was meeting two of the most influential men I have yet to come across in the world of ICT in education. Tim Rylands and John Davitt, both completely by chance, although I did intend to seek them out. Rylands learning and creativity expert for both teachers and learners was keynote speaker for BESA in ‘Breaking the Bonds of Learning’, was incredible as ever. I introduced myself to Tim as he weaved his way to the BLI stand to do a presentation about The National Schools Film and Animation Awards before dashing off to present at an Apple event. Fortunately for me we met again at the wonderful 2simple party held that night where I was introduced to the wonderful Sarah who is obviously his inspiration. Meeting Davitt was even more of a surprise for me. My colleagues and I were observing a presentation at the Espresso stand, (partaking in a little champagne I might add), when I turned round to find him talking intently to my colleague! He too was invited to the 2simple party...what a night. Contacts made, inspiration at its fullest, awe struck and slightly under the effects of merriment the day couldn’t have been better. Oh and all the freebees too! My students had a great time at BETT, they tried the Dance Mat at LightBox, 2make a Super Story at 2simple, Roamer Too and oh so many more. Check out the The BETT Awards list of esteemed winners and the best in educational technology solutions.

BETT 2010

2010-01-13T11:38:00.003Z

Well it's opening day at BETT 2010 today. Later today I am planning to travel to London with two eager colleagues and eight 3rd year students for whom it is their first trip. I am keen to see the new initiatives that will be show cased this year. I am looking forward to sitting in on a few seminars as usual this year looking at creativity, innovation and Web 2 technologies. There were lots to choose from, but undoubtedly they will fill up quickly, so finger crossed and early queuing should prevail! Here are the initial choices;

Creativity – an education agenda - sponsored by Lightbox Education
Web 2.0 Pedagogies: 'Playfulness, Expression, Exploration & Reflection.'
ICT in the primary curriculum – an essential for learning and life

I’ll give you more details on my return!

Web 2.0 Schools Project

2010-01-05T18:10:00.004Z

At the end of the autumn term my 3rd Year BA students and Llangyfelach Primary School took part in the Web 2.0 project, cumulating in a World War II Wiki with year 6 and a Houses and Homes Blog with year 2. The day when well with the trainees planning and delivering a wonderful range of activities for both groups of children. The stresses and strains over the preparation of the day disappeared once the activities were underway, with a tightly run team effort. The children explored a range of new technologies such as Crazy Talk, Edu-Glogster, Podcasting with Audacity, film making and creating photostories. The year 2 children also had fun with the Roamer turtle and created their own games using 2Simple 2DIY, which was a great success. The children, although uncharacteristically quite at the start, were buzzing with excitement as their work was uploaded to the newly created wiki and blog.

Wordle!

2009-12-08T22:36:00.003Z

Heard of Wordle? I have heard of it, but like lots of things I just didn't have time to play. Well I played! This is a Wordle of my blog! Pretty isn't it. I can think of great ideas to use this little toy. You add your own text and edit fonts and styles until you are happy. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends.

Testing Crazytalk

2009-11-26T11:56:00.001Z

Glogster Timeline

2009-11-18T08:58:00.001Z

It's a catch phrase!

2009-11-11T12:21:00.003Z

These are two of the many great animations that my Ed Studies class created today. Their challenge was to create a catchphrase using 2Simple 2Animate. Not only did they have fun exploring the tools of the simple application, they got creative too! Just click on the image to see the animation, but use the back navigation button rather than close if you want to read on!

Web 2.0 edu Glogster

2009-10-31T18:45:00.002Z

Had a play with Edu Glogster and I think this will be a big hit with the children we have coming over to play next month. You can set up a virtual classroom of upto 200 students, each with their own login and password. A great tool that combines Web 2.0 technologies, fun and learning in one great activity. The user get to explore and present ideas on any curriculum subject or topic of their choice, allowing for innovative creative teaching and learning!

Web 2.0 Projects

2009-10-23T15:17:00.004+01:00

One of the features of the Year 3 BA course is an onsite teaching experience with children from a local school. Over the years I have tried to vary both the schools we use and the projects that we develop. In the beginning the projects tended to be quite prescriptive and used applications that were familiar to the classroom, such as Microsoft and Textease. As time went on I began to encourage my students to try more innovative technologies in their planning, Digi Blue cameras and Blogs for example. It seemed the ideal opportunity as they were in a relatively safe environment, that being there were 13 of them to teach and support 28-30 children, with both the class teacher and myself at hand in case there were any issues they had not anticipated. This time, without dictating the day’s proceedings to my students, I am trying to encourage them to explore a range of Web 2.0 and other innovative software rather than more traditional ICTs. Planning will take place next week, so here is hoping that last week’s Activity generator session inspired their creativity and innovative juices!

Guys if you are reading this check out the link above to Terry Freedman’s Web 2.0 projects book.

The Heart Wiki

2009-10-21T15:04:00.002+01:00

I set my students the challenge of employing their multiple intelligences (Howard Gardner) this week in a collation of activities designed to combine fun, innovation and learning. I set the task " the Workings of the Heart". Then using the ideas of John Davitt's activity generator I gave each group the way in which the task was to be presented.

these were the choices;

as a text message
as a sonnet
as a comedy strip
as a rap
as a sports commentary

See the link to their wiki for the results, very funny and some great use of ICT employed throughout!

http://baed2009.wetpaint.com/#

Glogster for Education

2009-10-21T14:54:00.008+01:00

It just keeps getting better! Just as I discover Glogster, I receive an email to tell me all about Glogster EDU. The glogster designed especially for education. It tells me that there is a new world of educational innovation awaiting me! I can't wait to begin to explore what it has on offer.

They boast that it was "...conceived to imaginatively, productively, and collaboratively respond to the dynamic educational landscape and exceed the needs of today’s educators and learners."

The bit that excites me the most is the virtual classroom...I am looking forward to testing that out on a group of students in the very near future...who will it be I wonder?

2009-10-20T15:26:00.002+01:00

Powered by Podbean.com

At last I have found somewhere to host my podcasts PodBean! PodBean is a podcast hosting service, you can create professional podcasts in minutes without any programming knowledge. The interface allows you to upload, publish, manage and promote your podcasts with just a few clicks of your mouse. We created out podcasts in Audacity then loaded them on to PodBean very quickly and easily. I had a few issues with it playing in SMU though, but is seems okay now!

Futurelab

2009-10-14T08:51:00.006+01:00

I went to a Futurelab conference last week called "Seen and Heard: Young people creating digital media". Futurelab is passionate about transforming the way people learn. Tapping into the huge potential offered by digital and other technologies, they develop innovative resources and practices that support new approaches to learning for the 21st century. The conference was lead by both the new and old from the world of technology, and from a range of fields of work. There were some very interesting speakers, and a few "workshops" that didn't really work for me, they were more of a platform for promoting their kit. Nevertheless each and everyone there had a view, an idea and a vision and the best part of the day was meeting and sharing ideas. The day was little like a Blog role play!

http://www.futurelab.org.uk/events/listing/seen-and-heard

Forget Blogs here come Glogs!

2009-10-06T14:32:00.002+01:00

Dr Ben Williamson on Enquiring Minds

2009-07-22T13:54:00.002+01:00

The Value the Blog!

2009-06-01T15:19:00.001+01:00

Tomorrow I am talking to an MA class about the use and value of blogging. Blogs for personal use and blogs for classroom use. I have a fabulous range of school blogs for them to check out so that they can see the technology in action. For my part I can see that the use of blogs with my students has had mixed reviews. When the students were actually in college and taking the ICT module they were quite regular bloggers, however I have noticed, (and I must admit I’m guilty too) when they finish the module they tend to stop.

http://www.sandaigprimary.co.uk/
http://listen2poems.blogspot.com/
http://www.woodlandwideweb.the-office.org.uk/blogs.htm
http://www.nextgenerationlearning.org.uk/ohnothingmuch/Tanyas-Blog/Welcome/

End of the Academic Year

2009-05-31T20:44:00.004+01:00

Well they said this term was the calmest! They said! The teaching is all but over, but it’s far from calm. Although it is just a matter of marking assignments it can be quite consuming. I wish I could be more efficient in term of time management, but I just get so involved. Each assignment has its merits, even those that are a challenge! I learn so much from them, not just the research they present, that goes without saying, it’s the way in which some are presented, with such conviction! I spend so much time reading, checking and evaluating, as feeling that I must give each one its worth, I just lose track of time. Before I know it the deadline is upon me and I’m panicking!

This year I changed my 2nd Year assignment, I made it more research based. I have had quite a good response from my undergraduates, the title was, ‘Discuss why ICT is a Key Skill and therefore an important element of primary education. Demonstrate your understanding of progression in ICT, use practical examples and reference to your school experience and appropriate literature.’ I have had some fantastic responses so far, and I feel that the research element has helped them put ICT into perspective in terms of their responsibilities as a new teacher.

Which brings me to the question do they really believe what they are writing? What are their beliefs about learning and teaching with ICT? Do they write what they think I want to hear? Even those that pose a good argument, I have my doubts as to their sincerity.

My 3rd year specialist have been experimenting with OPUS, and although we have had some software issues, they have produced some really useful resources. I’m looking forward to sharing them with my colleagues to discuss the content in terms of subject matter. Interesting stuff!

Diigo

2009-03-26T14:52:00.000Z

Changing the date and time of a post

2009-02-11T08:42:00.003Z

The date and time settings for a post are beneath the postediting field, just click the Post Options link.

2009-02-07T16:20:00.001Z

2009-01-27T22:00:00.002Z

Some of the good bits from BETT 2009

http://www.teachers.tv/ict

http://www.bettawards.com/Shortlist.asp

BETT 2009

2009-01-27T21:41:00.006Z

Well here we are it’s January again! Oh how time flies. I love January in so many ways, the start of a New Year, new ideas, new hopes for a more organised and calm life! Anyone who knows me well, will understand how unlikely that idea is, you can but hope. And then there is BETT. I really enjoy BETT and this year was no exception. I had a great time, wandering around for a day and a half in a daze just soaking up the atmosphere. Lots of the hype and excitement is indicative of a second-hand car sales fest, but there truly are some wonderful ideas on show. From those still the in embryonic stage such as the Future Schools showcase, to the old favourites that show up time and time again with just a variation on the theme, like voting systems and IWBs.

As usual I take a group of 4^th year students with me, we generally have quite an eventful time, this year was not to disappoint. Ignoring the fact that two students missed the train on the way down and had to get a later train, I tried to relax and enjoy. Slightly later than planned, we were all milling around the show trying to see all and miss nothing, when I received an excited text message to inform me that one of the girls had indeed won a complete voting system from Quizdom, software and all! Now that’s a result. The same two students caught the return train home by the skin of their teeth!

2008-11-14T14:10:00.005Z

My 1st year Educational Studies group have been looking at education and technology, past present and future. When I say past , it is a fairly resent past in terms of education, 10 years, but the shift in technology has been quite an eye opener for us. Their research has just demonstrated, yet again, the vast range of provision across the nation. In fact some groups took a boarder view, looking at the spread of technology across the globe. This is a link from one of the wikis.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_7110000/newsid_7117000/7117011.stm

Kids in the African country of Nigeria are testing cheap laptops, specially designed so they can be used in poor nations. They cost less than £100.

Each group have created a wiki where they have highlighted the key points from a given perspective. There are some really thought provoking issues on their wikis. Take a look and leave your comments, I’m sure they would be glad to see their wikis are being read.

edstudies.wetpaint.com
slateandchalk.wetpaint.com
wikigeeks5.wetpaint.com
wenglish-ed.wetpaint.com
futurama-education.wetpaint.com

On a similar thread this weeks chat from ITTE is the history of educational ICT and how there is a need to preserve some of our good practices and valuable literature; a job that Becta once did so well. I enjoyed this email below the most;

“Isn’t anyone looking at the history of educational ICT as an area for academic study? We all tend to be so future-oriented that we sit far too light to some of this stuff. There is more to it than a bunch of boring old farts sitting around saying “I remember when we used to write programs on punched cards...” As Larry Cuban so dramatically illustrated, perhaps there are some lessons to be learned. I have a hard time trying to persuade undergraduates (who did KS1 SATs) that education existed before the National Curriculum, and some of it at least was pretty good.

Follow me!

2008-11-03T14:42:00.000Z

It has been a quiet week so far, but the week is young. My bloggers are more confident and keen to explore what Blogger has to offer. It is amazing to see how creative the students’ blog are, I hope that this creativity will expand to their journals too! So far we have been exploring the ‘Follow this Blog’ function which is great; it allows a group of people to share their blogs which will work well in the primary classroom. I would like to ask each of my ‘followers’ to send me an idea for using Blogs in the classroom. At least this will test to see if anyone is actually reading my blog!

Bubbl.us

2008-10-22T10:55:00.004+01:00

OSS for Reflective Practice!

On the right tracks

2008-10-20T21:58:00.004+01:00

I attended an interesting conference today, organised by Wise Kids and WISP (Wales Internet Safety Partnership). I was inspired, entertained and reassured throughout. The two keynote speakers that made the biggest impression on me, were John Davitt and DK from MediaSnackers. John Davitt helped us to explore how we might break free from desks and screens and share the learning recipe in new and dramatic ways. We were engaged in an innovative workshop that got us out of our chairs, telling stories, generating and publishing a variety of creations in a number of formats – with various degrees of success. Each task was randomly generated by Davitt’s Learning Event Generators, our group had the joy of explaining ‘What Bannockburn means, as a blues song’, I only wish that I had access to the mp3 for my blog! DK on the other hand gave us a social media masterclass, here we had insights into why and how young people are using digital technologies and online platforms. One of the best things I took away from the whole conference is that I’m on the right tracks with my own teaching. They even used some of the same resources as I do! I just hope that I have some of the flair that they have and that I can captivate and educate an audience with the same zeal.

Media Snackers

How NOT to use PowerPoint!

2008-10-20T21:46:00.000+01:00

Death by PowerPoint

2008-10-14T17:40:00.009+01:00

As a member of the ITTE mailing list I happened upon a discussion about the pros and cons of using PowerPoint for teaching and learning. I was very interested by the discussion, as it is a topic that I feel quite passionate about, especially in primary education. I see my students using PowerPoint (PPT) regularly in their lessons with varying degrees of success. Some students seem to assume that the magic of the PPT will some how impart great knowledge upon the children with whom they are sharing it, with very little intervention from them. Most of us will admit that we have been put to sleep by a lengthy PPT, and will also admit we have used a PPT as a crutch to support a difficult or dry topic. But is it really magic?

An extract from Edward Tufte’s essay on PowerPoint
“In corporate and government bureaucracies, the standard method for making a presentation is to talk about a list of points organized onto slides projected up on the wall. For many years, overhead projectors lit up transparencies, and slide projectors showed high-resolution 35mm slides. Now "slideware" computer programs for presentations are nearly everywhere. Early in the 21st century, several hundred million copies of Microsoft PowerPoint were turning out trillions of slides each year. Alas, slideware often reduces the analytical quality of presentations. In particular, the popular PowerPoint templates (ready-made designs) usually weaken verbal and spatial reasoning, and almost always corrupt statistical analysis. What is the problem with PowerPoint? And how can we improve our presentations?”

Here is another link that is worth a look. It will make you think the next time you sit down to either create a PPT or watch someone else's!

Death by PowerPoint

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: tips

Where are we now?

2008-10-14T17:23:00.005+01:00

Well a new year and 10 months since my last blog! I feel like I'm in a confessional! I meant to blog regularly, honest I did, but time just seems to run away with me. I really hoped that this blog would help keep me organised. I saw it as a way of keeping all my inspiration in one place. I was amazed at first how addictive it was; I felt the need to blog. But, a little like fitness classes, you know you will benefit from it, and you know you will enjoy it, but the longer you are way from it the guiltier you feel and the less inclined you are to go back! Well less of the pontificating here I am and what do I want to share? Or why did I stop in the first place.

The first thing that hindered the success of my blogging was the lack of readers. It was very much like a personal diary, which I must say has its bonuses, but then it might as well be just that, if no one else is interested. So how do I rekindle my interest and have the courage to entice readers again? Write something interesting or informative, I guess that would be a good place to start...tomorrow?

Collaborative Technologies

2007-12-02T20:01:00.000Z

Collaborative software, software designed to help people involved in a common task, achieve their goals – Wikipedia accessed 2/12/2007. Quite a logical and simple definition of something that has become rather a revolution in today’s society. The attraction of the digital lifestyle has been made all the more popular by collaborative technologies especially in the digital native category. It would be a missed opportunity to dismiss such activities as irrelevant to teaching and learning, as I have said before, we as educators need to seize the potential of such tools to support and enhance our education system. We have begun to utilise these collaborative technologies in universities particularly by the use of VLEs to deliver and track content, to collect and share resources and generally bring it all together in an integrated environment.
So this week I am exploring the use of the collaborative wiki with my first year Educational Studies group. I hope to get them motivated in to using a wiki as a forum for their shared experiences.
I was impressed by an article I read in the Guardian last week about the development of Curriki. Curriki is an online environment created to support the development and free distribution of world-class educational materials to anyone who needs them. The article impressed that the Internet has proved to the great world equalizer, providing opportunities to collaborate on the development and delivery of intellectual assets on a global scale. Sounds a wonderful idea, and it is an inspiring concept worth checking out to see if you have anything worth adding to it.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o - if you have a few minutes, watch this video, let me know what you think.

A time for reflection

2007-11-20T13:33:00.000Z

I recently asked my 1st year students, particularly those that had taken an advanced level course in ICT or Computing, what they felt about their courses. Some said that although they enjoyed the course, they didn't feel that they had covered many relevant topics. I asked in what way relevant, they replied relevant to life! All agreed that the courses were lacking in creativity and did not cover the wide range of material that they thought would be most useful to them in the workplace. So what is missing and how do we fill this gap?

We are really educating and preparing our children for a life and a work place we can only imagine. Although we can say that for each new generation, the vast changes in technology over that last five years is almost immeasurable and makes it hard to visualise the next stage. That took me back to a project outline I read from ESRC seminar I attended in June. The project, developed by the London Knowledge Lab, is Learning from Online Worlds; Teaching in Second Life. The aim of the project is to develop theoretical accounts of learning in immersive social spaces and, based on these findings, to develop and test practical recommendations for teaching. They are focusing on how people learn in online social worlds, how to teach in these online social worlds, and also how cultural contexts impact on learning and teaching.

At the time, I had not even heard of Second Life, not that I have explored it personally even now. I do know however, Second Life is an Internet based virtual world, where, as an inhabitant you can create, explore, socialise and participate in individual and group activities, you can create and trade items and services with one another, indeed generate yourself a whole ‘Second Life’. Rather like a more social version of the computer game Sims that children have been playing for the last seven years or so.

I guess there is little argument that learning takes place in these virtual worlds, but the question is what is being learned and should we capitalise on it? And if so, how?

Being reflective

2007-11-17T15:38:00.000Z

I have now begun to encourage my students to use their blogs as a reflective journal. I say it like this, as some are reluctant to begin a truly reflective journal. To quote one student, 'I don't want to tell everyone what I am doing, can't I just be nice?' I can understand what she is getting at in a way, it is one thing writing a journal in diary, or as part of an assignment, but quite another to post your thoughts for, potentially, anyone to read. It is a new concept to apply the fun activities and skills explored on a 'MySpace' account, to develop a critical, analytical writing space for all to see and comment on. Not only are we expecting our students to become reflective practitioners we are hoping that they will be happy to share those reflective thoughts with their peers. Now I am having doubts about the project, time will tell. As I peruse their blogs I should be able to ascertain the level of authenticity and true reflection taking place. If nothing else though, their blogs are still a place that they can express themselves, it might be better if they are allowed to restrict the level of access by the wider world? Who said The Reflective Practitioner is the Effective Practitioner? Do you think he was a blogger?

I like a quote from the link in the last blog by Future Lab discussing the school from 2020 - 'Pupils will be able to look back at lessons at any time via special glasses, which will record their whole lives, creating a reliable "virtual memory".'- puts a new angle on being reflective and will save some pain at exam times too.

http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-schon.htm - donald schon (schön): learning, reflection and change

What will education be like 5 years from now?

2007-11-13T18:02:00.000Z

This was a question I was asked today at the photocopier. A great question though isn't it? I was at the EPICT Future Trends in Elearning Conference in September where we discussed just that. A keynote speaker, Thomas McCusker, Elearning Manager, Get Learning, Clydebank College, talked about education establishments, saying 'half of what students learn, will be outdated by the time they leave'. He talked about the Generation x, which he described as those born between 1982-2002, the digital natives I would say, he quoted some interesting statistics I think he said they were from http://www.didyouknow.cd/index.html, but it could be from http://www.didyouknow.com - which is under construction. The first link is a bit of fun though, and worth a view. Anyway here are the stats;
Generation x will-
Spend 10,000 hours playing video games
Send 200,000 emails
Watch 20,000 hours TV
Spend 10,000 hours on the Mobile phone
and Under 5,000 hours reading books - although they must do lots of other reading don't you think to manage all the other activities successfully?

http://www.tes.co.uk/search/story/?story_id=2394579

Quite a nice read along the same lines and does make you think about the way education is going.

Talk soon

Future Lab

2007-11-08T21:19:00.000Z

Just catching up on my emails today, some days it takes a little longer than others to get to the bottom of the pile as it were. There are some very interesting emails from ITTE that are asking some deeply forward thinking questions. I felt the need to place this link in my blog just in case there are readers out there that haven't checked it out as yet.

http://www.futurelab.org.uk/projects/beyond_current_horizons

There were other little gems too, one comment that consoled me was from Tony Fisher he said "...one person's 'last year' is another's 'in a couple of years' time', and another's 'maybe later, if at all'. We may have the tools to disseminate information quickly and widely, but that doesn't mean that rapid system change is an automatic consequence." After all the fraught research over the last few months into the place of Web 2 Technologies in education I feel somewhat refreshed!

Is the light coming on?

2007-11-06T21:38:00.000Z

At the start of the new term I felt the usual self-doubt that I know that lots of my colleagues feel. This time it was a little worse as we were starting a brand new degree. As the weeks unfold we are all still darting around not daring to pause for breath sometimes in case we start to think about what we are doing, as questioning it too much might cause even more doubt! But we keep going, each day learning new things about ourselves and our students. Some days it all feels right, like today, other days, you wonder why you bothered to even get up! But then you discover that something you said was remembered, repeated or simply enjoyed, and you know that you are on the right tracks. To all those out there in ITTE, the first term is always the worst, remember...we say it every year! And anyway it will soon be Christmas!

Reviving old material

2007-11-02T17:19:00.000Z

ICT is quite a difficult subject to plan for in ITT as each year the students arrive with a greater knowledge and better skills than the last, in general that is, each year I have had some students that have tested my skills obviously. But each year it does get harder to keep the content enjoyable for the students as they use these tools daily just for fun. I find myself struggling to keep up. Hence the blogging! Today I approached Graphical Modelling with my students, formally I would have had to develop their own skills, whilst teaching them how children will learn and develop their IT capability. Today though they just experimented with the world of Microsoft Publisher creating ebooks, with hyperlinks and animations, giving a dimension that non of them had explored before. All the while discussing, the possibilities in the classroom, and developing their creative side. Well if nothing else we all enjoyed it and so they said learned lots of new skills and ideas...sometimes that is all you can ask for, also it kept them away from PowerPoint for a while.

The first round

2007-10-31T13:44:00.000Z

Well that was the first round over. I took advice from Will Richardson in his book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. He suggested that I gave my students a topic to research first, which I decided would be something fun, so I gave the girls makeup and the boys cars. Quite sexist I know, but I thought it would be a good focus and would cause some discussion. Lots of the students stayed safe and looked at how the topic affected them, whether it was the fact that they didn’t use the product or whether they couldn’t live without it. Some students took a different approach as they researched their topic, they were guided by what they were reading, which was the whole point and showed that they were actually reading! We all created new blog sites successfully and with a variety of creativity, I am please to say. There are some little quirks with Blogger that I didn’t understand, such as when you choose a template, it does not always use a suitable font colour for the page background. For example, if you have a black background, a white font would be most suitable, you have to change the font colour yourself, which means that you can’t actually see the text on the editor page! (Obviously we just changed the font colour at the last minute.) The students seemed to enjoy the session, each was asked to comment on someone else’s blog, some comments were more appropriate than others, but this was just a test run. I hope to get the journal blogs going very soon though...I’ll keep you posted.

In the beginning!

2007-10-31T09:48:00.000Z

In the beginning I began my working life as a computer operator in an American bank. It was a fabulous start for me and one that was to start me off in the world of technology. Little did I know the strange path I would eventually find though. To start with the job was mainly operating very large, slow by today's comparison, main frame computers, that had the capacity to process what we now expect from something in our pockets. So, I guess I could be almost a digital native as I was only 18 when it all began...or am I kidding myself? Well if nothing else I became what we term computer literate, which was great because at the age of eight I could not read and my mother thought I was illiterate, so at least there was some progress. Well in terms of IT, progress is a major influence and now as an ICT lecturer in Swansea Institute, this word progress is something I take quite seriously.

Take a look at the link if you want so see a little bit about my work and Swansea Institute
http://www.sihe.ac.uk/education/staff/peacem.html

I am intending to get my 1st year students to start a Blog journal this term, my hope is that they will continue to blog throughout their time here at Swansea Institute. I will keep you posted and hopefully put their links here too. So watch this space!