Kent ICT Blog

Two-thirds of 5-7 year olds now use the internet at home, rising to over three-quarters of 8-11 year olds and over four-fifths of 12-15s.

Of these, one fifth of 5-7 year olds use the internet without an adult present, as do almost half of 8-11 year olds and two-thirds of 12-15s.

12-15 year olds say they spend an average of nearly 14 hours a week online.

Over a third of 12-15 year olds say they mostly access the internet in their bedroom. During this time they could encounter inappropriate or even potentially harmful content.

Find out what you can do to help children enjoy the internet safely this summer by watching or reading Ofcom's guide to show parents and carers how to use parental controls and filters to manage their children's access to digital TV and internet content. The guide also encourages parents and carers to talk to their children about what they do on the internet and how to use it safely.  The video and guide can be found here: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/advice/guides/media/

 Heidi Barton

Louise Thomas (St Ethelbert's Ramsgate) suggested that we should have a number square that demonstrated decimal numbers. It also supports negative numbers.

Features includes:

1. Number range: -15 000 to 15 000
2. Negative numbers
3. Decimal numbers
4. Hide one box at a time
5. Hide all boxes and reveal one at a time
6. Colour fill boxes
7. Clear squares in white or with columns of red
8. Column and row highlighter
9. Increase/decrease number of rows (moves to bottom of screen for younger children)

Click here to try it now. Thank you Louise!

Any feedback on possible changes very welcome!
James:)

ActivInspire is a new software from Promethean that can be used on ANY interactive whiteboard.

There are two versions:

• Free 'Personal' version for teachers, students.
• Professional version - free to users of Promethean, but £99 per board for non users (normally £299).

Please note:

• I have downloaded Activinspire and am running it along side ActivPrimary3, so don't worry about it replacing what you have.
• The differences in the two versions are the features available on each. You can see a comparison chart here

ActivInspire incorporates both ActivInspire Studio and ActivInspire Primary. 

Primary

Studio

You can switch between the two using the Configure panel on the Dashboard (shown below) The Dashboard is shown when you open the software. The switch becomes effective next time you start ActivInspire.

Dashboard

With ActivInspire, now every teacher and students can have access to Promethean's excellent resources that come with the software and also  the thousands of ready made (FREE) flipcharts and activities to use with the ActivInspire software on Promethean Planet 

Find out more about ActivInspire

http://bit.ly/p2v7c - Just downloaded ActivInspire? Check out these bite-sized Activtips on 'how to do' common software functions.

I just discovered Lancaster castle have some 360 degree panoramas. http://www.lancastercastle.com/html/castle_tour/default.php but you need Java to use them.

Carolyn

Are you giving out too much personal information e.g. name, school, phone number, email address? Does it matter?

Over the weekend I came across http://www.123people.co.uk and decided to search for my name (Mandy Barrow) to see how much of a presence I have and other Mandy Barrows have on the internet. Most of what came up was not a surprise e.g. Woodlands, however, there was one entry that did concern me so now I have changed the privacy settings on that 'offending' site.

Please take a moment to check how much information about you is on the internet, by searching your name on  http://www.123people.co.uk 

For information on safeguarding your personal information online visit: 

Keeping your information personal on social networking sites - from the ICO Information Commissioners Office

Mandy:)

Make a Difference

www.educatormovie.com

The Safer Practice with Technology document  has been updated and provides advice on appropriate and safer behaviours with technology for adults working in paid or unpaid capacities in schools. The document is based on frequently asked questions, suggested by a variety of staff who may be working in establishments including Newly Qualified Teacher’s, Teaching Assistants, Midday supervisors and volunteers. It is intended to be used to stimulate discussion within establishments to consider potential situations that may occur. The document could be used to help formulate Acceptable Use Policies or to be used as part of an induction process for new staff. The document aims to help all staff consideer and be aware of appropriate and professional behaviour and potential dangers online.

Please note that this document is currently only available online (not in a hard copy) but could be distributed to staff as a pdf document if schools do not wish to print the document. The document is constantly being revised due to new questions and changes in technology, so any comments or suggestions for future editions should be sent to Rebecca Avery, e-Safety Officer.

For more information about e-Safety please visit www.kenttrustweb.org.uk?esafety.

Mandy:)

View the following places in 360 degree interactive panoramas:

• The Roman Colosseum Italy
• The Great Wall. China
• Petra Jordan - the forgotten City
• Taj Mahal, India
• Machu Picchu, Peru
• Christ Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro Brazil
• Chichén Itzá, Mexico

http://www.panoramas.dk/7-wonders/

Mandy:)

Last week Platt school used FlashMeeting (a free secure video conferencing for schools)  to show there music presentations across the internet to Chantry Primary and St. John's Comprehensive and The Malling School. They needed a wide angle webcam and opted for Creative Live Cam Optia Pro which "made all the difference".

The Creative Live! Cam Optia Pro records video up to 1.3Mp and still images at 5Mp out of the box without the need to install any drivers. However, installing the drivers and software, which takes around 10 minutes, has smart face tracking technology. This lets the Creative Live! Cam Optia Pro identify a face and follow it, making it the main focus of the whole image no matter where it moves.

Do you have any recommendations for ICT equipment or software used in your classroom?

Mandy:)

Flashmeeting
http://flashmeeting.e2bn.net/

 The charity Booktrust will be delivering more than 2 million free books to every pupil in reception and Year 7 by Christmas, through their Booktime and Booked Up programmes.

The Booktime programme for reception-aged pupils (4- to 5-years-oldand Booked Up programme for Year 7 pupils (aged 11-12), are both run by the independent national charity Booktrust, with the aim of encouraging reading for pleasure. The programmes continue to be supported in England by the DCSF (Department for Children, Schools and Families). Both programmes are free to all participating schools.

The Booktime programme, which is run in association with education and publishing company Pearson, will this year give a copy of Puffin’s Mr Big by Ed Vere and The Booktime Book of Fantastic First Poems edited by June Crebbin. The packs will also contain guidance material for parents and carers to encourage sharing books with children.  

The Booked Up programme allows each child to make their own choice of book from a selection of 12 titles. The programme encourages Year 7 pupils to read independently and supports reading for pleasure as children make the sometimes difficult transition from primary to secondary education.

For more information visit
http://www.booktime.org.uk/

Mandy:)

A Smart Table is a multitouch/multiuser table for primary education.

Tom Barrett is a teacher who is using a SMART Table in his classroom. His first post, "SMART Table in my classroom- Days 2-5: Teething Problems" provides some insight about potential problems teachers might face when introducing this sort of technology to students. After using the Smart Table for 3 months now he has again written about his experiences of using this new technology -   "SMART Table in my Classroom - My Conclusions".

You can see two introductory videos, including a tour of the Smart Table here.

Mandy:)

BBC Primary History

www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/

The BBC have created a brand new website to support primary history.

“It covers 6 primary history topics - Ancient Greeks, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Children in Victorian Britain and Children of WW2 - with a photo and video library and an interactive timeline, plus quizzes, activities and games.”

Mandy:)

Here is a list of some of the many websites mention at the Kent ICT Conference. Please feel free to leave a comment with any I may have missed

www.fightingmalaria.info - panoromas of Central hospital – district of Kangaba
Can navigate yourself or waite for a running commentary.

http://www.switcheroozoo.com/ Visit nine different habitats and make new animals in each. While you play, you can read facts about each of the animals in your current combination. Learn more about the animals by reading their Profiles in the Resources section.

http://www.wordle.net/ - why not copy and paste pupil's work into it and see which words they most often use.

http://www.wordsift.com/ - A bit like wordle but with more features. Copy and paste text into it. Shows 50 most common words in the text. Click on any words and then move down the page to see more information about each word. You will find images, a word web with definitions and if you go further down the page you can find example sentences from the text that use the word.

http://taggalaxy.de/ - type in a word to browse through Flickr photos in 3D worlds with this flash application. Please remember to review before showing pupils.

http://bambuser.com/  - Stream video live from your mobile (iphone) to the web

 www.ideastoinspire.co.uk - the name says it all.

http://voicethread.com/ - record children talking on a particular topic.

http://etherpad.com/ - real time collaborative writing. Each person (up to eight) has their own colour highlight.

We wish Tim a speedy recovery after being taken to hospital with a poorly knee following the conference today

Mandy:)