Year1's reflective Ideas

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

Wise Kids

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

At BETT 2010

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

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

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!

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.