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Wednesday, October 20, 2010 8:27 AM

Vital CPD 4 ICT - adding value to teaching

This is a shameless plug for Vital , professional development ICT development aimed at teachers. Vital is delivered by the Open University and funded by the DfE (at least for now!). Vital offers flexible courses and case studies, with guides to new technologies...
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Friday, December 18, 2009 8:35 PM

British Pathé? Great ... but can you get it to work?

After reading the ' Pathe Returns ' blog post by a colleague, you may have tried to find out more whilst sat at your home computer and wondered why it doesn't seem to work. Well, British Pathe is a commercial organisation that (quite rightly...
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Saturday, November 07, 2009 12:03 PM

Interactive games v real games ... Northfleet Tech' proves why it's got an ICT Mark!

Interesting way to get kids engaged with fitness ... see the BBC take on it by clicking HERE . When you work in schools and discover the number of kids sat out of games with notes or without games kit, you can only applaud this innovative approach. ....
Posted by Sophie
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Saturday, October 24, 2009 5:26 PM

ICT Suites ... dead or alive?

“Schools have successfully created a demand from teachers to be able to use ICT to improve learning in other subjects but are rarely able to meet it. Most primary and secondary schools have chosen to centralise the bulk of their ICT resources in networked...
Posted by Sophie
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Thursday, November 27, 2008 9:25 PM

Learner Voice - its in the can!

I love this idea, so I thought I'd share it. Now on the market are a number of cheap and attractive coloured small voice recorders that can be used for learners to comment on displays. Some have a multi-message recording feature. All you need to do...
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Sunday, November 16, 2008 8:25 AM

Innovation is risky ... what happens if it doesn't work?

Reading last weeks TES, I came across an article in which OFSTED is reported to have given a 'thumbs down' to themed lessons. Two Essex schools highlighted by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) as innovative and "putting together...
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Tuesday, November 11, 2008 5:36 PM

Should we be afraid ... very afraid?

If you have a spare couple of hours, I recommend you read the ' Enquiring Minds ' [PDF] report from Futurelab. Enquiring Minds is a joint project between Microsoft and Futurelab , and is to be commended for pushing back boundaries with a radical...
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Thursday, November 06, 2008 9:17 PM

Cramster - a viable concept for 'out of school' teaching and learning?

I'm always on the look out for interesting ideas in the Web 2.0 world, and am intrigued by the concept behind Cramster , a free online study community (portal) that claims to bring together those who want to learn and those who want to teach. It appears...
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Saturday, October 11, 2008 7:15 PM

Becta Web 2.0 Research Report

Web 2.0 technologies for learning at KS3 and KS4 Becta commissioned the University of Nottingham in conjunction with London Knowledge Lab and Manchester Metropolitan University to research Web 2.0 technologies for learning at Key Stages 3 and 4. The purpose...
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Saturday, October 11, 2008 6:40 PM

Stuff that's caught my eye! - 111008

Schools Radio Network Schools are invited to register now with the Schools Radio Network – a new initiative - and give their students a national voice. SchoolsRadio.com encourages students up to age 18 to create and share their own audio programmes with...
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Tuesday, September 09, 2008 8:44 AM

14- 19, keeping track when students move around!

A continuing trend in education is the need to support 14 - 19 choice, and to achieve this schools join consortia to improve the range of courses on offer. This presents two problems: How do you move them around? How do you know where the student is?...
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Saturday, July 19, 2008 7:13 PM

If you read just one book ...

Last week Jerry, a colleague handed me a short book, What's Next: 21 Ideas for 21st Century Learning by Charles Leadbeater , and published by the Innovation Unit . Jerry was emphatic as he placed it on my desk ... "This says what I believe ....
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Saturday, July 19, 2008 7:25 AM

Assessment is for Learning

Thanks to Ewan McIntosh for highlighting the following Assessment is for Learning guide on the Learning & Teaching Scotland (LTS) web site. Thought I'd pass it on!
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Thursday, July 17, 2008 9:31 PM

Harnessing Technology:Next Generation Learning - New Strategy in a nutshell!

I thought that I would try to summarise the key features of the revised and updated e-strategy Harnessing Technology: Next Generation Learning ; a sort of ' Reduced Shakespeare Company ' version for those who don't have time to read the document...
Posted by Sophie
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Tuesday, July 15, 2008 6:35 AM

Learning in class?

The chart above is taken from the recently published revision of the e-strategy, Harnessing Technology: Next Generation Learning . It shows the learning experiences of children taken from MORI survey evidence. Its quite an indictment that the most common...
Posted by Sophie
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Friday, June 27, 2008 4:48 PM

Ikea Primary Capital Programme Bid? The flat pack school? Where's the Allen Key?

Times Online has a news item that shows work beginning on building Britains first flat-pack school in Manchester. Delivered from Switzerland and shipped on 20 trucks, the three storey school is built from 600 computer cut panels. St Agnes CE Primary School...
Posted by Sophie
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Friday, June 27, 2008 4:38 PM

Disarming Britain

Channel 4 has produced a 3D game for young people called ' Dead Ends ' as part of its ' Disarming Britain' season. You play on both sides of the law, as Keith Wilcox, a new gang recruit caught in a deadly situation he can't handle...
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Friday, June 27, 2008 4:30 PM

Google Oil!

Thanks to Ewan McIntosh for highlighting this little gem for Google Earth . The ( kmz ) file overlays world oil consumption on to the globe of the earth. Below are some pics so you get the idea. Wow, what a way to show the 'inconvenient truth'...
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Thursday, June 26, 2008 6:03 AM

Scrapping subject lessons? replaced by themes ...

I picked up this interesting report of a school in Totnes that has created a foundation year aimed at helping children to become good learners. Whilst the report claims they are scrapping subjects, the story affirms that children still cover the subjects...
Posted by Sophie
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Friday, June 13, 2008 8:19 PM

Shine - talent in all young people!

Shine is a national celebration of all talent in all young people providing creative ways to celebrate and showcase students' achievements during Shine week from 30 June to 4 July. Shine is the place for teachers to show off too. Do you have a hidden...
Posted by Sophie
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Tuesday, May 27, 2008 7:59 PM

Exploratree - tools for thinking! ... FREE!

One of the highlights of a recent visit to Cramlington Community High School (In Northumberland, ... not Newcastle. Thanks Ray for the correction to my previous post) was the early preview of Learning 2 Learn software. One of the most impressive features...
Posted by Sophie
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Tuesday, May 27, 2008 7:39 PM

Adventure Rock's the CBBC!

Thanks to the NAACE newsletter for highlighting a great (and safe) interactive virtual island " Adventure Rock " aimed at 6 - 11 year olds. The game requires a download, and allows children to explore and discover on a virtual island. There...
Posted by Sophie
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Saturday, May 17, 2008 6:55 AM

Managing ICT - Value for Money

The Dept. for children, schools and families (DCSF) has published guidance for schools on the strategic management of ICT. The information can be found on their Standards website in the Value for Money (VfM) section . Advice includes: I CT Development...
Posted by Sophie
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Thursday, April 03, 2008 3:43 PM

Assessment for Learning? Learning to Learn?

I have been involved in a long-running debate around assessment for learning (rather than assessment of learning). Indeed, I believe I have a good understanding of the concept thanks to my colleague Jerry Owens from the secondary transformation team,...
Posted by Sophie | 2 comment(s)
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Thursday, February 07, 2008 7:43 PM

New Line Learning Academy + Samsung Q1 = 1:1?

Saw this interesting video produced by LANWAY in partnership with the New Line Learning Academies in Maidstone. The video is clearly a commercial for both the devices and the partner company, but this is exactly the sort of partnership that adds value...
Posted by Sophie | 3 comment(s)
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Wednesday, February 06, 2008 7:12 PM

So, ... I'm out of touch?

My recent post, ' struggling with technology ' prompted an interesting comment from someone closer to the chalk-face than me, and I must admit it caused me to reflect. The essence of the comment is contained in the following excerpt. "That's all very...
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Saturday, February 02, 2008 8:11 AM

Struggling with technology?

According to a Teacher Voice Omnibus Survey report published by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) , a third of teachers struggle to use the technology schools are equipped with and want more support and training. Since the survey...
Posted by Sophie | 6 comment(s)
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Saturday, February 02, 2008 8:00 AM

'Repurpose, Create and Share' - call for Bids

Are you using and sharing digital resources for learning and teaching? Becta and the National Education Network invite English schools to join a programme to: exploit online digital resources create new materials to support learning and teaching for secondary...
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Wednesday, January 30, 2008 7:44 PM

Technophobe Teachers?

The following is an opinion from Andrew Pinder , Chair of Becta in an extract from an article in the Times 7Jan 2008 : "State schools spent £1 billion on cutting-edge information technology last year but 80 per cent of them are failing to make full use...
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Friday, January 04, 2008 12:29 PM

Intel pulls out of One Laptop Per Child Project.

It would seem that a 'philisophical difference' between Intel and the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Project has ended in divorce. It was well known that whilst Intel was on the board of the OLPC project, it was also touting its own solution, the Classmate...
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