Wallwisher in the classroom

To blog or not to blog!

One of the ideas of blogging is to imprint your ideas on a new and wider audiences (and save paper), that the printed test alone can reach. I am under no illusions though, my blog is not read by many, but for me, my blog is a place to collect and share ideas even if it's only for me! I read some great blogs, and then I place a sample of my finds here on my blog. I guess that most people are now using Twitter for this sort of concept; that’s a place for those able to be more concise that me! I digress, something not allowed on Twitter! (maybe they have something there!) My initial point was to share and save paper– re-blog, however an idea that Tim Rylands shared with me this week and that is to create a PDF from a blog post.  You can make a professional looking document from your blog, or blogpost to put up on a wall display, or to have as evidence in hard copy.  They do look quite professional, however they don't allow you to have any say in the design or layout.  Check out the button on the top right of my home page Joliprint creates a nice looking page from your blogpost and could be used quite effectively in a classroom if you want to print the children’s post for a different purpose.  He also mentions other applications that provide a similar service check out his post

Some great new titles for Primary ICT

At last there are some great titles for using emerging web technologies in the primary classroom!  I have been suggestive, for a number of years, about the great opportunities for using Web 2 in the primary setting.  However, there has been some resistance, especially from LAs that manage schools web access.  My students have also been quite sceptical at times, although they do humour me to some extent.  The concerns range from internet safety, access to the relevant sites, time restraints and expertise. None of these concerns are to be scoffed at I know, but we must provide our primary school children with the skills they need to be successful learners of the 21^st century otherwise we are not fulfilling our obligations at educators.

These two new titles for 2012 give great practical examples of how to actually integrate innovative ICT tools in the classroom.  Barber & Cooper, “Using New Web Tools inthe Primary Classroom”, have written a practical guide for enhancing teaching and learning with new web tools.  Their book is written for those interested in the application of new web-based ICTs to primary teaching.  It has been specifically designed for anyone who works in the primary classroom or who is training to do so.  It is divided into 2 sections; the first section justifies the use of Web 2.0 tools, laying the ground work for the second section which gives specific and tangible ways in which these technologies can enhance classroom practice.  “The Really Useful ICT Book” from Jesson and Peacock is more of an overall technology across the curriculum guide – but it is up to date and incorporates a range of new tools as well as the more traditional ICT resources that many of us are more familiar with.  Both are well work a look.

Creating computer games in the classroom

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.

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

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.

 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.