Nestcams are an exciting way to use technology to capture and share events that take place outside the classroom!

Fitting a nestcam in most instances is a very straight forward process. To help you decide where to locate your nest box and what type of box to purchase click on the URL link below.

"Installing a Nestcam" Click here for more information

Before proceeding to install a Nestcam in your school grounds you should first discuss the matter with your Headteacher and Site Manager.

Science and ICT  - "Exploring the Outdoor Classroom"

"How can digital resources make a difference?"

There are still places for teachers interested in attending the second beach day at Cliftonville on friday 9th October. Book now!

Science Coordinators and teachers across Kent attended the first Beach Study Project Day at Seasalter on Tuesday 29th September 2009. During the day those present used digital resources to create resources and share their learning with others.

Before leaving and returning home the group had used a GPS Datalogger to publish a coastal route and published photographs of the beach on the NEN Gallery!

Click here to view our coastal route

Click here to view all photographs published on the NEN Gallery

Interested and want to find out more?

Contact:

Andrew Berry - ASK Primary Science Advisor   andrew.berry@kent.gov.uk

Friday evening saw the first Kent and Sussex Teachmeet, (highlighted in a previous post). It was an event for sharing great ideas. The evening was organised by Stephen Lockyer (twitter), Leon Cych (twitter) and Mark Warner (twitter) . Chris Thomas ran the Flashmeeting connection with 80 more teachers participating that way. 

Watch again at: Flashmeeting 

Mark Warner's Blog gives an excellent summary of what was shared.

Event sponsors:
Danny Nicholson - http://www.think-bank.com/
Teaching Ideas - http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/
Sums Online - http://www.sums.co.uk/
ICT Cover lessons (equipment) - www.ictcoverlessons.com

 ICT and the Outdoor Classroom

The I-Got U 120 data logger is a wonderful piece of hardware that not only calculates and displays routes created on the screen but also enables the user to add geo-tagged photographs and share these routes with other web users.

Simple to use and costing around £50 Teachers and Pupils can use the device to:

Record Field Work Trip

Share information about Historical sites (including local museums and galleries)

Create Maths Trails

Record and share information about wildlife habitats

For more information about the I-Got U 120 GPS Datalogger visit the Mobile Action website or click here to download a copy of the simple "GPS Starter Guide."

How can pupils use a Trip Map to share information?

Click here to view a route map of Ashford Oaks Primary School - School Grounds and to leave a comment

For more information contact: philip.bracegirdle@kent.gov.uk

It's ICT week on Teachers TV and they have a great selection of programmes for you. Highlights of the week include New Ideas in Primary ICT and Primary e-Safety - Five Classroom Tips. See below for more recommended programmes and new videos out this week. 

Finally this week, the ICT Hub is launching on Tuesday! Whether you struggle to format worksheets, or are a techie tweeting wizard, there's always more to learn when it comes to using ICT in the classroom. Which is why the ICT Hub is your one-stop online shop for building your ICT skills. With videos, features, resources and more, you'll enhance your knowledge and improve your lessons.

Teachmeet  is a unconference for teachers by teachers... a free evening event where those involved in education can share (and celebrate) their own classroom experiences.

Teachmeet for Sussex and Kent

"Learn something new, be amazed, amused and enthused. This is an informal gathering of those curious about technologies. Anyone can share cool ideas they have or great ideas they've trialled in their classrooms. "

What can you do? You can come along to linger, loiter, contribute, chat, meet new people, or give a two or seven minute talk.

 Friday 18th September (from 7-9pm), taking place in the Blacksmiths Function Room at The Hop Farm in Paddock Wood TN12 6PY.

To sign up and to find out more please visit http://teachmeet.pbworks.com/TeachMeetSuKe 

Sign up and be inspired!

All of the TeachMeets are dependant on support from sponsors for food, drink, venues, wifi etc. If you think you can help with the event above and would like to partner the most inspiring professional development events currently available, then your support would be appreciated.

 Book Now!

• Use their school grounds to develop their understanding that living things are suited to different habitats
• Use ICT to gather and classify information in and outside the classroom
• Use broadband tools to review their learning online with their peers and adults
• Use National Education Network resources to publish and share their learning with others

 Click here for booking details 

"Setting Challenges - ICT and the Outdoor Classroom"

Designed by ASK Curriculum Staff, RSPB Education Officers and Leading Teacher, "Kent Birdwatch 2010" is  awonderful opportunity for pupils to use ICT in and outside the classroom to develop skills linked to Literacy, Mathematics and Science.

To view the "Programme of Events" click here

For more information about "Kent Birdwatch 2010" contact:

Phil Bracegirdle - ASK ICT Hands on Support Consultant"

E-mail: philip.bracegirdle@kent.gov.uk 

Interested in taking part in the project and want to learn more?

How can I install a web cam in my school grounds?

 Kent Bird Box Twilight Meetings will be taking place across Kent in October/November. Led by Hands on Support Consultants, RSPB Officers and ICT Leading Teachers these meetings will be an opportunity for teachers to learn more about web cam technology and the 2010 planned programme of events.

For details about all the meetings taking part in Kent Partnerships during October 2010 contact.

Philip Bracegirdle - ASK ICT Hands on Support Consultant

E-mail: philip.bracegirdle@kent.gov.uk

 "ICT and the Outdoor Classroom"

The Kent Bird Watch 2010 project is an exciting opportunity for Key Stage 1 and 2 pupils to discover more about birds and their habitats.  Commencing in January 2010 pupils will have the opportunity to work with RSPB Officers, link each month with overseas schools and view “Bird cams” situated in school grounds and RSPB Centres around Kent.

Birds that visit our school grounds

For more information about the project visit the project web-site:

www.segfl.org.uk/microsites2/kentbirdwatch

or contact:

Phil Bracegirdle (ASK ICT Hands on Support Consultant)

E-mail: philip.bracegirdle@kent.gov.uk

Celebrate Roald Dahl's Birthday
www.roalddahl.com

Roald Dahl Day, 13th September, is the annual celebration of the genius and legacy of Roald Dahl.

The following website has teaching resources
www.randomhouse.co.uk

A review of studies of online learning has suggests: 

• Learners who took all or part of their class online perform better than just face-to-face
• Combining face-to-face and online is more effective than purely online or face-to-face
• Learners online spent more time on task
• How the online was delivered made little difference to learning outcomes
• Online approaches showed benefits across content and learner types
• Variation of online materials and medium produced largest improvements
• Giving learners control of their interactions with media and the opportunity for reflection enhances learning

Available at: www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf

The Cranbrook ITN will now start at 1:30 instead of 4:15 at Cranbrook CEP School Tuesday 6th October.

To see a full list of dates click here.

A Maths Dictionary for Kids 2009

Not sure of your perpendicular lines from your polyhedrons. This interactive website from the makers of Rainforest Maths may help explain the different terms. There are definitions of mathematical vocab, quizzes and pictorial explanations of different concepts. So why not put things in perspective and check out this website.

The summer term was very busy in Kent with 3 schools recently renewing their ICT Mark Status and 3 new schools being acredited. Congratulations to the following schools and a huge thank you to all those who helped to achieve this.

• Hamstreet Primary School (renewed)
• Herne CE Infant and Nursery School (renewed)
• Riverview Infant School
• St.George’s CE  VC Primary School, Malling
• Wentworth Primary School
• Woodlands Junior School (renewed)