It took four hours on the bus from Auckland to Rotorua through some amazing scenery. My first impression was that it was a pretty cool little town but once I’d had a look around Rotorua I was pretty dumbstruck. It is absolutely stunning here……so what if it’s a little pongy from all the sulpher. It totally rocks!
In the evening I experienced a Polynesian Spa and I’m pretty convinced that my joints, hair, nails and skin have benefited from all the minerals in the water. From my hotel I practically step outside my front door and step into the hot baths unlike a priest named Father Mahoney who trekked 80 Kilometers in 1878 from Tauranga to Rotorua to bathe in a hand-dug, fern and manuka-fringed thermal pool exactly where the beautiful Polynesian Spa is now.
Father Mahoneys’ arthritis was greatly alleviated from bathing regularly in the pool so the hot mineral spring water now have quite a ‘therapeutic’ reputation. All I can say is that the view from the pool took my breath away and I felt wonderful afterwards :0)
I was delighted to run two breakout sessions at the Rotorua Convention Centre for the Learning@School Conference#latsconf. My first session was ‘Google Earth in a Social Science Context‘ and my second was ‘Use of Online Games in Primary‘ (with a bit of Web 2.0 flung in).
The teachers that came to both sessions were lovely and reaffirmed to me that Kiwi’s are the nicest people on this earth. Nothing is ever a problem, they always seem to be laughing and having fun and I can honestly say I’ve witnessed more random acts of kindness in these two short weeks than in my whole life.
There were a couple of moments that stood out for me this trip and get a special mention. The first was drinking an AWESOME smoothie at lunchtime – the sweetest, most yummiest thing ever. The second was taking my shoes off at the end of the day and walking back to my hotel in my bare feet. There was something so comforting about doing that.
I LOVE that the pavements here have no dog poo on them. How amazing is that eh? Clean streets.
Looking forward to my two sessions tomorrow then the real fun starts – I’m going backpacking from Friday.
Just when you thought the Final Fantasy series couldn’t possibly reach any higher (though it always has to be honest) the first and second games have been released on the iPhone and Touch.
It’s been many years since I was introduced to the Final Fantasy series with Final Fantasy VII on the PlayStation 1 – Quite possibly the most addictive and spell binding game I’ve ever played.
Character, plot, music, sound fx and of course, graphics were sewn together to make an absolute work of art.
Final Fantasy III is available on the Nintendo DS and can be sourced easily and at a relatively small expense now. Games VII and VIII are still exclusive to the Playstation 1 which is a shame but may change with time.
Now…where does Final Fantasy come into the classroom on iPhone/Touch, PlayStation or DS? I hear you ask…To me, the answer is in every element of the game. There’s the reading of text (both conversational and directing), problem solving (map reading, in game puzzles), memory skills, numeracy (based on character health during battle and the in game currency), character creation, story telling, creative writing, podcasting reviews, recording character voices (which are not available in the game – it’s text speech only), fan art, game creation and language learning (the game can be played in a number of different languages).
As with all games the key to effective learning is not in the act of playing but in the use of the game as a tool for engagement. In my experience the Final Fantasy games will have pupils glued to your whiteboard (if you can project your iPhone), or to their Touch’s (if you are lucky enough to have them in class) with fresh and exciting learning as a result (not to mention the enjoyment you will have playing an old favourite, or a new addiction)
My only reservation would be the cost of the game on the iPhone/Touch…currently this hasn’t been set but I imagine it will be at the higher end.
As many of the tools used in the Teach-It are hosted and accessed by the general public we at Do Be, and the teachers using these tools have little or no control over what the public decide to do with them. As is the nature of Web 2.0, we gain the most from it when we are invited to interact with these tools in such a way that we provide data (words, pictures, sounds etc) and the tools in turn provide us with rich content that can be used to enhance learning and teaching in our classrooms.
We are aware however that on this basis, there may be elements of these tools/websites that can be unsuitable for a younger audience. Not on the part of the tool creators themselves but from the public providing the data.
An example would be Wordle…fast becoming a widely recognised tool suitable for use for all manner of learning from literacy to self assessment and even CV creation. We all want to be able to use Wordle in the classroom but there are many other people using Wordle for different reasons, many of which are simply recreational. These ‘Wordles’ are then posted on a public gallery from which their content can be viewed by anyone and that includes your pupils. These public ‘Wordles’ may include words that are unsuitable for children (or anyone for that matter) and so the knee jerk reaction tends to be a complete ban of Wordle across a school or even an entire authority.
At Do Be we believe in helping teachers with both ‘Responsible Use‘ guidelines as well as solutions where these guidelines are not enough. In the case of Wordle I would like to bring a solution to your attention which will allow you to continue to use this tool in class without the worry of inappropriate material being accessed:
The Wordle front page will never feature images or links that are inappropriate for classroom use. Therefore, it’s possible to configure “site-blocking” software to keep Wordle safe.Simply have your networking administrator block the following base URLs: http://www.wordle.net/galleryhttp://www.wordle.net/nexthttp://www.wordle.net/random Your users will not be inadvertently shown anything that’s not safe for classrooms. If your filtering software only blocks per domain, then you’re out of luck. It should be noted that the chances of stumbling across inappropriate public material in Wordle is not possible when following theTeach-ItWordle Lesson Ideas. I hope this helpsStephen
I recently had the pleasure of working with teachers in the Borough of Havering, London. The 7 schools that attended were given Teach-It packs and virtual access by their very kind LEA www.haveringict.edublogs.org.
HUGE thanks and many hugs to Dave Smith@haveringict who is leading the project and Naree Salee who organised practically everything to help the day run smoothly :0)
I was delighted at how enthusiastic and motivated staff were and I’m really excited about working with them to link Teach-It to the National Curriculum. Here is what I covered over the half day that we worked together: Teach IT Havering (PDF)
Dave Smith sent us an email afterwards simply saying ‘Great product, great delivery, great company’.
Some teachers have been in touch since with information on how they are using the Teach-It so far:
Ann Penn has used Wordle in class to create a simple but effective display using the children’s suggestions for connectives which they thought was ‘cool’ while Jenny has used PicNik – linking it to her literacy lessons with work on creative writing – landscapes. ‘It was very effective‘ she said ‘and very simple‘, ‘but most importantly the children loved it’.
Since our training some teachers have asked for advice on helping pupils to use the internet responsibly as some sites in Teach-It require teachers to lead lessons more than others. We have decided to produce this information and put it on the virtual version of the pack. So Havering staff please bear with us and we’ll have this to you asap.We look forward to working with Havering in the future and watching the legacy of the Teach-It unfold.
Here is some video footage of one of the teachers rockin’ with Guitar Hero!:
It’s been a busy start for Stephen and I this week. We were invited by David Innes (Enterprise Officer Aberdeenshire Council) to exhibit at the Aberdeenshire Learning Festival #alf09. We had a great time and the food was gorgeous. I particularly liked the Aberdeen Angus beef stew.
Jamie Andrew was one of the main speakers at the conference. He survived for five days perched precariously on an icy ledge at the summit of an alpine mountain while winds raged to 130 km per hour, and temperatures plummeted to minus 30 degrees Celsius. Jamie survived the ordeal, but at great personal cost. Ten days later his hands and his feet, damaged by frostbite, were amputated. Amazingly, only three months later, Jamie emerged from hospital, walking on prosthetic legs.
Since then Jamie has defied all expectations by running the London Marathon, returning to climbing using his own design of prosthetic ice axe, climbing Ben Nevis, revisiting the Alps, reaching the roof of Africa, and learning to ski, snowboard, sail and paraglide, raising tens of thousands of pounds for charity in the process. His humble and unassuming manner, coupled with a positive attitude towards life and its challenges make Jamie an extraordinary example of bravery and determination. He now does lots of work in schools telling his inspirational story to others. Jamie has also written an award winning first book, “Life and Limb”, it tells the tale of his remarkable story. He is a truly amazing human being and it was fantastic to hear his story.
We work with many Aberdeenshire schools using our Do Be Learn-It MP4’s. It was great to meet teachers running their own unique projects and enhancing learning and teaching using our technology.
Not only did we meet fantastic teachers we also met some fantastic companies. Juliet from Creative Star caught my attention. She specialises in the delivery of creative workshops and resources to motivate people to get children learning outside. Check her website out www.creativestarlearning.co.uk
The teachers were blown away by Teach-It and the lesson ideas it offers. I found Aberdeenshire teachers to be very forward thinking. Some teachers explained they weren’t very confident using ICT in the classroom but what I loved was there was still a willingness to learn to engage their pupils in this way. Teachers are aware that education and the way pupils want to learn is changing and they need to be getting creative and innovative in their classrooms.
I am sure Teach-It will be landing in Aberdeenshire very soon.
Heading out to annual Scottish Leaders Conference tomorrow and Friday. Looking forward to sitting in on Dr Carol Craigs key note on confidence and wellbeing. I’ll keep you posted!
Since the launch of our Teach-It and due to it’s huge success throughout a vast number of UK schools so far, we’ve been busy working on the Teach-It 2.
Filling the pages of my, already packed ‘Technovation Journal’ with fresh experiences, experiments, tutorials, hints, tips and tricks from an unending stream of the latest web 2 applications, I stumbled upon Prezi.
This incredible little tool, used for the purposes of making presentations, easily outstrips both Powerpoint and Keynote as an impressive and easy-to-use presentation app.
Being web based there is no need to install anything on computers or servers giving you permanent access to your presentations for both editing and showcasing and (in it’s basic form) it’s also free meaning you can enjoy this highly adaptable tool in the classroom without impacting on your budget.
I’m now developing a series of Prezi Lesson Ideas focussing on literacy, numeracy, science and expressive arts so watch this space!
In the meantime, here is a ‘Prezi‘ I made for you to watch. Enjoy and let me know what you think?
You will require the latest version of Flash to play this…get it here!
Here’s a great opportunity for some 21st century learning and an idea for using your blank Teach-ItLesson Ideas…
With the moving image at the heart of what so many young people engage with today, from music videos, television and cinema to animation and the self made You Tube phenomenon we feel this years National Schools Film Weekhas to be an excellent basis for engagement in (or in this case) out of, the classroom.
This year’s dates are: England, Wales & Northern Ireland – 15-23 October 2009 Scotland: 2-6 November 2009
National Schools Film Week (NSFW)provides teachers and their students the opportunity to see a wide range of films at local cinemas entirely free-of-charge. From major urban centres to small towns, NSFW extends education into local cinemas, giving teachers the opportunity to use the power of film to cover many different subjects.
I checked and my own local cinema is taking part up here in Dunfermline Scotland!
The festival is available to any school and every pupil, with last years attendance numbering 410,000.
Bookings of all sizes are welcome as long as there is space in the cinema!
How can I use cinema in my teaching? Learning which takes place beyond the classroom walls plays an important role in students’ social and cultural education. By providing free film screenings, along with a rich programme of educational events and a wealth of high quality, curriculum-based online resources to support learning, National Schools Film Week ensures these opportunities are available to students of all backgrounds. Learners at any level can gain immensely from the cinema experience whether they are at Higher level Film Studies or a Year 1 child seeing their first-ever big screen film.
Think CfE - The experience of film goes far beyond the cinema. Before a screening, teachers can involve their whole class in preparing for the event, for example, by researching the history of the local cinema, investigating current films’ releases or exploring the issues that feature in their chosen film. Back in the classroom, Film Educa’ion’s curriculum–focused teaching materials make it easy to incorporate film across a sequence of lessons or even a whole term, whether exploring issues presented onscreen or developing an understanding of the language of film. Whatever your focus, film can provide a valuable, accessible and engaging mode of delivery to learners.
So, aside form the enjoyment of this event itself – if you are using ourTeach-Itwhy not take your blank Lesson Ideas and create lessons based on this event. Mail them to us and we can help to refine them for use throughout the rest of the year.
Glasgow saw it’s first glimpse of the newTeach-Itthis week as Stephen launched to classroom resource in John Paul Academy.
JPA are leading the way inTechnovation, 21st Century TeachingandCPDas staff have been given the resource as part of their personal and professional development as well as their active classroom resources this year.
The project, led by Technical teacher and ICT enthusiastFrank Bannon(Twitter – MrBTec) is designed to help staff develop their knowledge and practical application of the technologies pupils are using every day. The Teach-It will help all staff to learn how to use 5 key technologies for use in the classroom as part of the new curriculum throughout the year.
The launch, carried out as a twilight session was a huge success with a full turnout of staff including P.E teacher Charlie (who I met a few days later at a mutual friends wedding!). Staff were shown the Teach-It in both paper and online format and given time to discuss it’s use in each of their subjects.
As always we look forward to next years CPD training day – TheDo Be Use-Itin which the Teach-It will be used to it’s full potential by the staff at JPA, creating rich content for use in the classroom as well as for whole school projects, blogs and even GLOW.
Thanks to Head Teacher Vincent Docherty for his belief in the Teach-It and toFrank Bannon (Twitter – MrBTec) for his tireless efforts in setting this whole project up. The eyes of Glasgows education network are on you!
Lately I’ve been playing Touch Physics again…I blogged a while back about this great app and only recently rediscovered it’s childish yet scientific fascination.
A great little game for the scientist in you!
Touch Physics is a fantastic little game that allows the player to manipulate a given environment using the basic laws of Physics:
Motion Gravity Mass Force Energy
Combining Science with the most basic Art skills the aim of the game is to get your Ball to the Star and complete the level.
Throughout the full fifty levels your ball starts in any and every kind of scenario. It may be static, at the top or bottom of a hill, trapped in a box, on top of a triangle, inside another shape, on a see-saw and so many more. From here your job is to create shapes and actions that will allow your ball to travel around the screen and reach the star.
Solutions include building walls to protect the ball from falling off screen, constructing a see-saw on which a larger shape can be dropped sending your ball towards the star (if you’re lucky!), creating shapes that will push your ball out of a hole or off a ledge and creating slides and /or hills to navigate varying heights.
Using very attractive artwork that emulates crude chalk marks on backgrounds of crumpled paper, polystyrene and wood this will appeal immediately to your pupil’s as well as your own inner child while challenging the natural scientist in all of us.
You can download a Lite version of TouchPhysics for free in the App store for the first 5 levels. The full version has 50 levels with the promise of more to come.
Ideas for use:
• (Individual) Pupils tackle levels, working their way through the levels to the end.
• (Group) Pupils work in groups to tackle each level, taking shots in turn.
• (Group) Pupils complete each level then discuss each element of Physics involved.
• (Group) Pupils recreate levels using physical objects in class/school.
• (Class) Pupils tackle levels on paper first, planning their solution then attempting each in turn.
• (Class) Teacher tackles each level following Pupils instructions.
Ideas for application:
• Try projecting your iPhone to the White board using Honlai’s QingBar MP101 iPhone projector. • Use multiple iPhones for individual/group learning • Collatescreenshots from your iPhonethen project them to the White Board and invite pupils to solve the levels using the pens.
We hope you enjoy this iPhone app and find many ways to enrich the learning in the Physics classroom. To finish we’ve included a neat video of the game in action:
While writing the newTeach-Itresource for schools we’ve had a tremendous amount of pleasure in trying all the various applications we promote as learning tools in the classroom. Among them is Pixton, a free comic software that allows you to create astounding comic artwork in just a few simple steps.
Below is our own attempt to create something. This took just over half an hour and serves as an adveret for our services as well as a meet the team. Just think of the links to Literacy,Numeracy andThe Arts that can be found in a small piece of work like this…
and let me know what you think?
