uked magazine jul 2014
DESCRIPTION
July's UKED Magazine - Great articles for all educators This month's issue has a science theme.TRANSCRIPT
July 2014 Issue 7
Pedagogy
Overcoming the
generational
reluctance of
using tech
Guide
Collaborate
across the world
using Skype in
the classroom
Inspiration
Explore the
universe from
your classroom
Discussion
Improving the
standing of
sport in your
school
ukedchat.com
Supporting the Educational Community
[email protected] Facebook.com/ukedchat @UKEdMag
Cover Photo Credit:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lupuca/8720604364 by Lucélia
Ribeiro used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License.
The publishers accepts no responsibility for any claims made in any
advertisement appearing in this publication. Whilst every effort is
made to ensure accuracy, the publishers accept no responsibility
for errors, inaccuracies or omissions.
Issue 7: July 2014
Contributors
Danny Nicholson @DannyNic
Andy Knill @aknill
Ian Pratt @sciencelabman
Bryn Llewellyn @brynll
Becky Simmonds @beckylsimmonds
Colin Riddell @kimcheecolin
Alessio Bernardelli @asober
@Collaborat_Ed
Paul Wright @pw2tweets
Rebecca Stacey @bekblayton
Many images have been source under a Commercial Creative
Commons License. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/2.0 & http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
Pedagogy & Skills
15 Lost that Learning Feeling
Have your class lost their drive for learning? Ian
Pratt suggests ways to relight their fire.
23 Not the ‘Tech’ Generation
Alessio Bernardelli shares he insight into how to
help the self-confessed non-techie embrace it
into their teaching.
28 Engaging Boys
Paul Wright write some great advice about how
to keep boys engaged in their learning.
Discussion & Guides
4 Tour Space from your Classroom
A great set of websites to bring the cosmos into
your classroom and create a sense of awe.
8 Geography Resourcing
Good advice for Andy as he embarks on
collating resources for his subject area.
10 Life Skills
We discuss the importance of instilling life skills
and were you can get to access a great set of
resources.
16 A Mazy Run
Is sport central to your school’s ethos? Bryn
Llewellyn discusses the good and not so good
practice that he has seen over many years of
teaching and other roles.
20 STEM of the Dragon
Is sport central to your school’s ethos? Bryn
Llewellyn discusses the good and not so good
practice that he has seen over many years of
teaching and other roles.
30 Skype in the Classroom
Rebecca Stacey guides us thought setting up
Skype in your classroom and ideas for lessons
Regular Features
18 Bookshelf Talk-Less Teaching
14 Reading Corner
The What On Earth Wallbooks
32 ICTmagic Websites
19 Recently on UKEdChat.com
Subscribe by email for free at bit.ly/ukedmagsub
From the Editor Welcome to the July issue of UKED
Magazine. As the school winds down for
the holidays, we have a collection of great
articles and features to keep you inspired
all summer long.
There is a science theme to this edition,
and Danny Nicholson starts us off with an
exploration of space from your
classroom—a collection of tools and sites
to discover the wonders of the universe.
Andy Knill brings us back down to Earth
by discussing ways to find resources for
geography and how you can do the same
for your subject.
On page 10 we explore the important of
life skills and the new website where you
can get a great set of resources to help to
teach them.
On page 13 I look at a wonderful set of
books/posters which take a look at the big
picture.
Ian Pratt discusses how to rekindle your
classes for learning and enthusing them by
ensuring they are driving their own learning
forward.
Bryn Llewellyn responds to Sir Michael
Wilshaw’s recent comments on school
sport and suggests ways to improve what
you do in your school.
Becky Simmonds & Colin Riddell share
their experience of science education in
China and how it has changed how they
work in their own school.
Alessio Bernardelli writes a wonderful
explanation about how to help non-
techie teachers start on their digital
journey.
Helping boys engage with writing and
learning is a concern for many teachers
and Paul Wright offers some sound
advice on page 28.
Finally, Rebecca Stacey shares her
experience of using Skype in the
classroom to broaden students’ horizons
and much more.
Martin Burrett Editor
@ICTmagic @UKedmag
@UKEdMag @UKEdChat @UKEdJobs @UKEdResources
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Tour the Universe from your Classroom
By Danny Nicholson
I’ve often heard it said that the Interactive
Whiteboard can become your window on the
world, by bringing video and images from all over
the globe into your classroom. But it can also be
more than that – it can become a window on other
worlds, and take your class out past our
atmosphere into the Solar System and beyond.
If you are teaching a topic about space or the
planet, then there are many great tools that can
be used on your interactive whiteboard to show
your pupils what the planets look like and to
demonstrate how the planets move around the
sun in relation to each other. There are also some
excellent archive sites for images of other galaxies
and nebulae in deep space. Here are a few of my
favourites.
Astrotour
http://gunn.co.nz/astrotour
Astrotour is a very useful site that lets you view
how the planets in the Solar System move around
the Sun. You can see how some move faster than
others and use the dates to calculate how long it
would take some of the outer planets to complete
one orbit.
You can run it automatically, then change the
speed or pause it and step through slowly. You can
choose to view the whole thing with the sun at the
centre or to follow a particular planet. Click and
drag any planet, all the others will move in time
with it.
The controls at the side let you zoom in so you
can see a few planets more closely. You can also
make the planets bigger to make them easier to
see on an IWB.
Solar System Scope
http://solarsystemscope.com
Solar System Scope is a very impressive
interactive 3D Model of our Solar System. You can
zoom in and move the planets around the Sun to
see how they move in relation to each other.
You can switch between a heliocentric view,
geocentric view or a panoramic view of the Solar
System. Earth centred view is great if you then use
the play controls to move time forwards as you can
see the how day/night changes across the surface.
Heliocentric view is good for showing how we get
seasons as well as demonstrating the movement of
the Moon around the Earth in the course of a
month. The scale of the planets in relation to each
other is not accurate – nor is the distance apart,
but these are necessary changes to make the
whole thing fit on a screen and be useable.
It’s a little advert-heavy, but you can put the
website into full-screen mode to remove the
adverts.
Also make sure you check out Sun Moon Scope
(http://sunmoonscope.com) and Sun Aeon
(http://sunaeon.com) by the same team.
▼ Out of this world resource—Solar System Scope is
an amazing site for exploring our celestial backyard.
4
Image credits:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/58782395@N03/5518992555/
(cropped) by sweetie187 under Commercial Creative Commons
2.0 License.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/7309213060 &
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/6883342722 by NASA
Goddard Space Flight Center under Commercial Creative
Commons 2.0 License.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/s1ng0/5516159782 by Catherine
Singleton under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License.
Permission to use screenshot of http://solarsystemscope.com
given by M. Sadlon of http://inove.eu.com
Google screenshot was taken from http://google.com/sky
has been used inline with the guidelines at
https://www.google.co.uk/permissions/using-product-
graphics.html
Google Sky
http://www.google.com/sky/
Google Sky lets you explore the universe in the
same way that you would explore a Google Map.
You can zoom in on any area of space to view it in
more detail. Links along the bottom of the screen
take you direct to special features of interest such as
images from the Hubble Space Telescope of galaxies
and nebulae. You can also run Google Sky within the
Google Earth downloadable application. Also worth
a look are Google Moon (http://google.com/moon)
and Google Mars (http://google.com/mars) which
let you explore the surface of the Moon and Mars in
great detail and see where the various space
missions landed and explored.
World Wide Telescope
http://worldwidetelescope.org
This is a similar application from Microsoft. You can
download the client software or use it via the web
(requires Silverlight to be installed). The software
enables you to explore the universe, bringing
together imagery from the best ground and space-
based telescopes in the world and combining it with
3D navigation. There are also narrated guided tours
from astronomers and educators featuring
interesting places in the sky.
NASA Images
http://nasaimages.org
NASA Images was created to bring public access
to NASA's image, video, and audio collections in a
single, searchable resource. The site contains
everything from classic NASA photos to
educational videos and the resource is growing all
the time.
5
Children’s University Moon Phases
http://bit.ly/uked14jul02
The Children’s University of Manchester has
some very useful resources for different science
topics and the Moon Phases simulator is well
worth a look for any teacher trying to explain to
their class how we get phases of the moon - in
addition to getting out the torch and football!
National Schools Observatory
http://schoolsobservatory.org.uk
If you are a UK school, you can register to make
free use of a professional robotic telescope
designed for scientific research. The telescope is
located on the island of La Palma in the Canary
Islands, and is known as the Liverpool Telescope.
The site also has archive images and other
resources to help teach about Space.
Danny Nicholson is an independent trainer
and consultant. He is a former science teacher
and now delivers Computing and Science
training to teachers all over the UK as well as
overseas.
He is a PGCE Science lecturer for Billericay
Educational Consortium on their Primary SCITT
teacher training course, and also delivers
science and ICT sessions on several other PGCE
and B.Ed. courses. He is one of the authors of
Switched on Science for Rising Stars.
He regularly blogs about educational
technology at http://whiteboardblog.co.uk
and can be found on Twitter as @dannynic
Astronomy Picture of the Day
http://apod.nasa.gov
Each day a different space image or photograph
is featured, along with a brief explanation written
by a professional astronomer. It’s a great site,
albeit slightly random. Dip into the site on a
regular basis to provide a little awe and wonder in
your lesson. You can also view the archive and
search for particular images.
For ideas on how APOD is being used in the
classroom, a teacher’s guide is available online at
http://bit.ly/uked14jul01
Day Night Demonstrator
http://ictgames.com/dayNight/index.html
Primary teachers who want to demonstrate how
we get day and night should take a look at the Day
Night Demonstrator from ICT Games. This very
simple simulation lets you show your class how we
get night and day as well as help to explain
seasons and moon phases.
6
Collaborating with other educators enriches our teaching and
improves us in a myriad of ways. Social media now allows educators
to collaborate with each other from across the globe. Devote just
one hour to networking with other educators online and see just
how much you will learn and how much inspiration is out there.
Download the poster and get more information at
http://ukedchat.com/networking
Geography Resourcing
8 Image Credits: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/440672445 by WoodleyWonderWorks under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License.
by Andy Knill
I’ve been teaching for 26 years this month. My
main subject is Geography and resourcing ideas in
my subject have changed so much over the years.
When I was a pupil, textbooks were in black and
white. The only colour came from large maps on
the wall or the teacher’s slides or the filmstrips that
often melted as they were shown.
When I started teaching in the late 1980s,
reproduction technology had moved on from
Banda sheets, with black and white photocopying
becoming an option. Textbooks had colour
pictures, but size was limited. The biggest colour
images were drawn in chalk and then wiped off
straight after lesson ready for the next class. I
experimented with slide film, but usually took
prints to class to show case studies in colour.
Then the OHT technology was introduced, which
was great if there were enough acetate sheets, or
better still, a roll so you could return to previous
points for a few lessons before the whole thing was
erased to make way for new lessons.
Now I have access to the Internet, mobile apps,
books, YouTube and many more resources. The
issue has moved from ‘which
resources can I get hold of?’
to ‘which one should I
select?’ This abundance
of information is a
pressure in itself as we
try to keep up-to-date
with sources as our
subject area changes
rapidly with daily news
events.
None of this is unique to Geography, so how can
we help each other? There are many resource sites,
networks and recommendations to follow up on.
Two years ago I applied to go onto the Special
Interest Group (SIG) ICT for my subject association,
The Geographical Association. In my first meeting
my knowledge of apps and their use gave me a
responsibility, which led to a conference workshop
this Easter at the annual conference looking at
‘Starting with Apps’. I spent two busy days sharing
ideas about websites, items of software and apps
with colleagues from several countries. New entrants
to the profession and those less confident with
technology were finding the information available
overwhelming.
As a follow up to this information overload, I started
a Twitter account for the group @gasigict. The aim is
to share feedback from our meetings in one place and
to RT out information linked to a range of geography
topics. In just under two months we have gained over
360 followers, including geography teachers,
geography departments in schools and higher
education from the UK, Israel, Namibia, the USA and
many other places. There is an accompanying blog at
http://gasigict.wordpress.com which I will be
developing further. This will collate resources
discussed at our meetings and review a range of
materials.
The pictures included support a range of the points
mentioned. They are either original work that I have
done and used in lessons or screenshots based on
others tweets, again shared with classes on my IWB.
Please join us or if you are interested in setting up a
similar idea, let me know and we can exchange ideas
– I still have much to learn.
Andy Knill is Head of Geography at The
Albany School, in Hornchurch, Havering.
You can find him on Twitter @aknill and
@globalsolo. He blogs at
mishmashlearning.wordpress.com
Click here
to view
the picture
slideshow
http://bit.ly/uked14jul03
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Promotional Feature
Empowering the next generation to move
successfully into work and become a part of
the economy is vital to the future of the UK.
Barclays launched LifeSkills to bring together
teachers, businesses, young people and
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challenge of youth employment in the UK.
LifeSkills aims to give one million young
people the skills they need to successfully
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2015. One year into this ambitious
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independently reviewed its impact and some
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Highlights include the transformative
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10
http://www.barclayslifeskills.com
Image Credit:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/86530412@N02/7934039676 by www.stockmonkeys.com under Commercial Creative
Commons License. 11
Headline Work Foundation Findings:
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Author: Christopher Lloyd @Wallbook Review by Martin Burrett
In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams writes ‘the one thing sentient life cannot
afford to have is a sense of proportion’ and we in the educational world make a living out of chunking
often difficult and complex ideas and subjects into digestible chunks. But once in a while it is important
to take a look at the big picture to get a sense and to make sense of the details. Zooming out doesn’t
necessarily mean losing sight of the details. In fact, it often gives a new appreciation of the patterns
that cause the eddies and currents affecting the
elements.
A series of books which are designed to show the
big picture, both literally and figuratively, are the
Wallbooks by Christopher Lloyd, which fold out into
a timeline on many different topics
The books cover a range of science and historical
topics from the history of science & engineering, the
history of everything from the big bang to the
present today, to all the plays of Shakespeare. Each
book is beautifully illustrated by Andy Forshaw.
Taking the book of science and engineering as an
example, the book places key figures, events,
discoveries in to their proper temporal position. For
much of the chart, timeline is separated into different
areas of the world which give a wonderful sense of
the differences occurring in different locations
around the world. Each picture has a caption
explaining what the picture is and some extra
information about it.
For teachers who relish a good cross-curricular
resource, this would be a wonderful addition to your classroom. It can be used in a structure way to
explore ideas, people and places in a variety of subject areas. It is also a delight to explore in a more
structured way and ‘discover’ new information and seeing how it all fits together. A wonderful set of
books for both young and not so young inquiring minds. See more at https://whatonearthbooks.com
Reading Corner Reading Corner
A Timeline from the Big
Bang to the Present Day
£12.25*
http://bit.ly/uked14jul05
*Correct at the time of publishing
Wallbook of Natural
History
£12.25*
http://bit.ly/uked14jul06
Wallbook of Science &
Engineering
£17.50*
http://bit.ly/uked14jul07
Wallbook of
Shakespeare
£17.50*
http://bit.ly/uked14jul08
The What on Earth Wallbooks
Browse some of the great resources that have been added
Browse teaching resources from the UKEdChat community
Share your creativity by sharing your resources
ukedchat.com/resources
@UKEdResources
School Monsters
By @ICTmagic http://ukedchat.com/PEN00007
E-Safety Resources for KS1
By @letsjustwaitfor http://ukedchat.com/PCO00001
5 Minute Plan for Planning
By @eylanezekiel http://ukedchat.com/WSR00003
Basic Slide Builds
By @ESLweb http://ukedchat.com/PCO00002
Mandarin Sport Vocabulary Cards
By @ICTmagic http://ukedchat.com/PLA00001
Adverbs Prompts & Practice
By @UKEdChat http://ukedchat.com/PEN00015
They’ve lost that Learning Feeling... Kindling their Curiosity
How many times do you hear a pupil fishing for
the answer to the question you have just asked?
How many hands go up to say, “Sir, I am Stuck!”
and “Sir I can’t do this!”, or similar.
I am a Middle School Science teacher with 15
years in my present post. About 3 years ago I
stopped giving pupils the answers and returned
their questions with another question. At first
pupils found this difficult, but now it is part of life
in my classroom. I based questions simply around
a round how, when, where, why and of course
what if. The last question is a personal favourite,
what if you heat it up? What if you cool it down?
What if there was an extra cell?
For those of you who have been teaching
Science for some time you may remember a
strategy called C.A.S.E (Cognitive Acceleration
through Science Education). This model allowed
pupils to work in a way that asked questions,
predominantly the ‘WHY?’ of what was
happening in the Science around them.
Experimental tasks created cognitive conflict - it
raised questions and didn’t give answers - until
much discussion and thought had taken place. It
encouraged pupils to think, to ask questions, to
find answers for themselves – skills which are
vital for scientists and most other walks of life.
Perhaps a similar strategy will return in the near
future!
At the present time pupils in my class find the
challenge of thinking that little bit too much. It
seems a step too far to think for themselves.
They want answers, but are not prepared to put
in the effort to find them. Perhaps they have
become used to getting answers given to them;
perhaps a Google search provides instant
answers to all life’s questions. But the passion for
finding out for themselves seems to be lost.
At a time when success in lessons depends on
pupil progress, is there still a place for creating
questions, for providing the stimulus yet not
direct answers, for creating those moments of
cognitive conflict?
by Ian Pratt
I am a firm believer in the idea that children learn by
exploring their surroundings, both inside and
outside the classroom. It is a life skill. It is something
that makes us successful in life and not just at
school. Learning is not simple and it requires
thought. While I do not expect my children to have
all the answers, want them to ask questions. Be
curious. Explore the ‘Why?’ ‘Where?’ and ‘how?’
Finding the right hook for a lesson is often the key to
stimulating your students’ curiosity. I have found
that simple quick videos and demonstrations are a
great start to the lesson and this by no means
applies only to science.
Image Credits:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dalbera/3814187129 by Jean-Pierre
Dalbéra used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/juhansonin/4367101013 (cropped)
by Juhan Sonin used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License.
▲ There are so many ways to excite your students
in science and all subject areas
Ian Pratt is a Middle School Science teacher
based in Bedford. He is a Google Certified
Teacher who loves to incorporate technology
into his lessons. He has been teaching for 25
years and now has a range of subjects as well as
Science in his teaching toolkit. Ian has presented
at BETT 2013, and enjoys taking part in teach
meets and other collaboration opportunities.
The wonderful Steve Spangler Science site at
http://bit.ly/uked14jul04 has some great, short
experimental videos that show some experiments
that kids can try for themselves, just like magic
they question automatically what is happening
and why. What are your feelings on this? Let me
know @sciencelabman on twitter.
A Mazy Run PE, School Sport & Physical Literacy
Earlier this month, Sir Michael Wilshaw caused
yet another furore, this time incurring the wrath
of teachers with responsibility for PE and School
Sport. The Ofsted publication, ‘Going the Extra
Mile: Excellence in Competitive School
Sport’ (bit.ly/uked14jul09) brought into sharp
focus the high proportion of British Olympic
competitors who had been educated in
independent schools. This observation, accurate
though it is, played into the hands of those critics
who point out that our recent Olympic successes
have mainly been limited to ‘sitting down sports’,
usually associated with more affluent members
of our society.
Having only worked in state schools, I was
invited to QEGS Junior School (bit.ly/
uked14jul10) in Wakefield last year, where I was
genuinely overwhelmed by the importance
placed on PE, as well as the opportunities and
resources available to their Learners. I left,
knowing the gulf between state and independent
schools was greater than I had ever imagined and
I could see why parents would choose to send
their children to such places of learning.
In this video (bit.ly/uked14jul11), Sir Michael
says there is a link between doing well on the
playing fields and in the classroom. Most
educators of PE and School Sport, whether they
are working in state or independent schools,
would not disagree with the link between success
on the playing fields and in the classroom.
However, there were many who questioned Sir
Michael, who seemingly chose to ignore the
other factors involved. Some of the tweets
following a post from Victoria Derbyshire of
Radio 5 Live blamed the Government for selling
off school playing fields. Others blamed Gove and
the current Ofsted regime for forcing Head
Teachers to focus purely on core standards,
treating PE as a second-rate subject, regardless of
the Government’s oft-stated desire to create an
Olympic Legacy. Sadly, too many primary school
leaders are choosing to focus only on numeracy
and literacy, supplemented by guided reading
and phonics sessions every morning, thus
inevitably squeezing PE into a limited afternoon
timetable.
Fortunately, in England we do have School
Sports Premium Funding, which allows schools
some flexibility in how they spend their
allocation. For example, Burley Oaks Primary
School (bit.ly/uked14jul12) are innovative by
using some of their funding to employ a Health
Mentor for 2 days a week. That said, there are
many other state schools who buy in coaches
from outside agencies simply as cover for PPA,
with little in the way of CPD for staff,
sustainability and a genuine sporting legacy.
The week before the publication of ‘Going the
Extra Mile: Excellence in Competitive School
Sport’, Physical Education and School Sport
(PESS) South Wales hosted their conference,
‘Physical Literacy: the Game Changer’, allowing
educators and learners to showcase their work.
Primary schools in Wales do not have funding for
Primary PE and Sport Premium, but what they do
have are passion and creativity, two terms
commonly over-used in education, but not in this
case. To find out more, search the hashtag
#PESSConf14, visit sportwales.org.uk, and check
out their work on Physical Literacy (bit.ly/
uked14jul13).
Sir Michael may well urge state schools to look
to their independent counterparts for inspiration
and ideas, and I can see why. However, the term
‘a level playing field’ does seem somewhat
erroneous in these circumstances.
Ignoring the politics for one moment, it is
wonderful that the £750m funding for Primary PE
and Sport Premium has been extended to 2020.
By Bryn Llewellyn
16
However, this funding needs to be spent wisely
and in my opinion, it must also link to health,
otherwise we will be missing a huge opportunity
to make a real difference, especially in terms of
tackling the problems associated with inactivity
and obesity.
With this in mind, readers may wish to explore
@move1hour, visit http://designedtomove.org
and view the infographic at bit.ly/uked14jul14.
Then talk with your colleagues and ask
yourselves if the ethos in your school is right and
if you are doing enough to emphasise the
importance, not just of PE and school sport, but
physical literacy, health and well-being. Then
share your successes and ideas, whether or not
you work in the state or independent sectors.
Bryn Llewellyn has over 20 years
experience working in state schools,
including three half Deputy
Headships.
He now works as an independent
advisor for various organisations,
including http://evolvesi.com.
For details of Bryn's work
visit brynllewellyn.wordpress.com
and connect via @brynll
Active Learning Games
Unique Active Games that Improve Learning in Numeracy & Literacy
What is Tagtiv8?
Tagtiv8 involves active learning in order to develop Learners' confidence with words, phonics and spelling, as well as numbers and other areas of mathematics.
Our games have an impact on standards in Literacy and Numeracy, as well as providing opportunities to improve physical and emotional well-being.
Pupils are encouraged to compete and collaborate, solve problems and apply strategy through our engaging, educational games.
Learners are encouraged to compete and collaborate, solve problems and apply strategy.
How do you play Tagtiv8 games?
Tagtiv8 games are easy to organise and play.
Our ever-expanding bank of free session plans and ideas are shared with you via email and links to Google Drive.
How does Tagtiv8 promote creativity?
It’s not all about Tagtiv8 and our ideas.
Learners are encouraged to devise and develop their own games.
Learners can send their suggestions to [email protected]
The best games are published and shared with other Learners… with prizes on offer!
How will you be spending your School Sport
Premium Funding?
“An innovative way to make best use of your School Sport Premium Funding.”
“Tagtiv8 promotes active learning. The games allow teachers to ‘reclaim the sports hall’ not just for PE, but for Literacy and Numeracy too.”
“Tagtiv8 games are a great resource for staff CPD in Physical Education.”
Email: [email protected] Call: 020 3370 4272 or 07506 523354
Twitter: @tagtiv8
Author: Isabella Wallace and Leah Kirkham
The voice of a teacher is arguably one of the most important
assets in the armoury of tools required every day. It’s so precious,
in fact, that it should be protected and used with great care as it
can convey so many messages throughout the school day.
In fact, sometimes we can all over-talk when we are in teacher
mode; we get carried away labouring our teaching point that
pupils switch off to the main idea we’re trying to convey. We’ve
all been in meetings when someone in higher authority is
rambling away their really important message, only to suddenly
realise we’ve been mentally somewhere else for the last ten
minutes, with no idea what the person is going on about.
In their book ‘Talk-Less Teaching’ by Isabella Wallace and Leah
Kirkham, explore techniques on which teachers can draw to help
pupils embed learning and make progress without the need for
long periods of teacher talk to keep the class spellbound. Indeed,
the authors offer valid reasons as to why talking too long can
reveal problems with this method of teaching: talking can be misused as an alternative to thoughtful
planning, meaning that differentiation goes out of the window; long teacher-talk sessions mean less
thinking time for pupils; lack of getting feedback from your learners, to demonstrate any progress; and
ultimately can result in a sore throat.
Tailoring your teaching to the needs of every learner can sound like a challenge, but the book
encourages chameleon teaching, where you adapt for the different needs of each group of pupils. This
makes sense, but it’s also about being aware of the subtle signals which pupils convey back to you and
adapting mid-session (yes, going off-plan if needed) using strategies offered in the book like The
Wonderball, Boarding/landing cards, or The Walking Chocolate Bar (disappointingly, no real chocolate is
used for this exercise!). There are many strategies on offer throughout this useful book supported by
example resources and illustrations created by
Sally Townsend.
We sometimes review books which are ideal
mainly for primary or secondary teachers,
however this book can be used across all phases
of teaching with the strategies offered being
easily adaptable for the pupils you have the joy
of teaching. The main forte of this book is the
variety of practical activities which place the talk
and focus on the pupils learning rather than
relying on your most valuable asset as a person –
your voice. This book will give you the confidence
to step off your soapbox and engage your pupils
further in their own learning journey.
Talk-Less Teaching: Practice, Participation and
Progress is published by Crown House Publishing
and is priced on Amazon (bit.ly/talklessteaching)
at £16.99* for the paperback and £10.44* on
Kindle.
*Correct at the time of publishing
Talk-Less Teaching: Practice, Participation and Progress Bookshelf Bookshelf
▲ Go to bit.ly/talklessteaching to view
this book on Amazon.
18
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Join the Thursday night discussion on Twitter at 8pm (UK) using
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19
Guilin is built around these mysterious outcrops to
provide the most surreal back drop.
Having returned to Guangzhou we arrived at the
International Teenager Science and Technology
Practice Festival – where many students began to
arrive from all over China. This was an opportunity
for us visit a local school in Guangzhou.
A bus duly delivered us to the School of
Guangdong - Experimental Middle School.
Following lunch we had a talk from the Vice
Principal and a group of students. The students
and some of the teachers then took us on a tour of
the school. Nearly all of the students board. With
over 3000 students, a sizeable part of the school is
given over to their dorms.
The students showed us around many of their
classrooms and we got to sit in a watch what
would be the equivalent of a year 9 music lesson
with students playing home sweet home on the
recorder!
It was very interesting to see the approach of the
schools we visited to practical science. Science
seems to go hand in hand with technology in China
- the Science labs weren’t labs like we expect in
the UK - more like work shops were the students
learn about electronics and manufacturing - true
STEM at work. They were very proud of the
electric cars and robot that the students had been
building recently in their equivalent of STEM club.
We were made extremely welcome at school and
came away feeling inspired and intrigued by the
prospect of future a partnerships.
Speaking to the students, we were struck that
although many of them were boarders, they
actually lived less than half an hour away from
their parent’s homes. It seemed incredulous to
the same students that they would waste at least
an hour of study time a day commuting from
home to school. In, I suppose what we might call a
growth mind set or ‘grit’, the students were
determined to put in the hours needed to make
sure that they achieved at the highest academic
levels for themselves. The school, parents and the
Chinese state have succeeded in getting the
message across that the best way to improve your
life chances is to be educated. That was a message
wholeheartedly embraced by the students of the
schools that we visited.
STEM of the Dragon By Becky Simmonds & Colin Riddell
In June 2013 Outwood Grange Academy took 5
science fair projects to the Big Bang Yorkshire and
Humber at the Yorkshire Air Museum. The projects
had been completed by KS3 students as part of
extracurricular enrichment and had only been
entered as a chance for the students to show off
their work and enjoy the STEM activities on offer
at the exhibition.
Everyone was delighted when one of the students
was awarded the prize for best KS3 science project
and put through to the finals of the National
Science and Engineering Competition in March
2014, and then astounded when she also won the
best practical science prize across all age groups
for her project on where to store bananas – the
prize which funded our trip to China.
In July 2013 four students from Holly Lodge Girls
College were awarded the best practical science
prize at the regional North West Big Bang for the
STEM Club project they carried out in transforming
E. Coli bacteria with the pGlo plasmid.
Both schools were very excited to discover this
award was courtesy of the University Of Bradford
and a trip to Guangdong Province in China to take
part in the International Teenagers Science and
Technology Practice Festival. We are very grateful
to Dr John Baruch from the University of Bradford
and our Chinese hosts for making this amazing
opportunity available to us.
Having met each other for the first time on the
plane from Istanbul to Guagnzhou we embarked
on a once in a lifetime opportunity which allowed
us to experience so much of the Chinese culture
and education system in that region of China,
especially as the only English competitors in the
practical science competition.
Our first full day in China entailed a tour of part of
Guangzhou followed by a flight to Guilin in
Guangxi province. If we needed a reality check
that we were in China this was it. The scenery
around Guilin was breathtaking. The whole region
is characterized by Limestone Karst Mountains
that are the remains of a 200 million year old
seabed. The ancient coral has been uplifted to
about 600m above seal level. It’s strange - if this
this scenery was in the UK, It would be green belt
or national park with no possibility of anyone
building anywhere near it. In China the City of
Taking part in the competition it was again very
apparent how students had combined science and
electronics in their projects. It was very clear that the
schools are doing their best to equip the students
with the skills that they need to contribute to the
growing Chinese economy.
During our last afternoon at the competition we
were teamed up with Chinese students and tasked
with producing a meal from a set of supplies, a cast
iron wok and wood fired stove - A Chinese barbecue
meets ready steady cook! It turns out that young
people the work over rely on their parents to do the
cooking – this was a learning curve for both British
and Chinese students!
Coming back from the trip we have put into practise
some of what we have learned. Outwood Grange
Academy has definitely adopted some of the STEM
ethos which we saw in the Chinese approach to
practical science. We have begun to liaise more with
the DT department to develop the engineering skills
of our students and prepare them for future STEM
careers.
The Outwood Grange Academy Science Fair, already
boosted by the amazing prize which we had won, is
becoming a STEM fair and will be celebrating the
work of students in DT, maths, ICT and psychology in
November 2014. This year Outwood Grange had
success in the science and engineering sections of
the Big Bang Yorkshire and Humber; entering
science, maths and DT projects and hope to build on
this next year across all disciplines within the
competition. As Becky says “ Visiting China
broadened my view of science; in a large school with
over 150 teacher staff I did not speak to many
colleagues outside of my department on a regular
basis. Since returning I have gone out and made links
within DT, maths, psychology and ICT, to the benefit
of our students. I would recommend that other
science teachers do the same.”
Image credit: Image was provided by Colin Riddell
Becky Simmonds @beckylsimmonds, teacher
of science at Outwood Grange Academy.
A biology specialist, I have been teaching
science and A level biology since 2003. I have
a love of extracurricular enrichment, both in
science in terms of projects and competitions,
and in other areas of wider school life.
Colin Riddell @kimcheecolin, is the Lead
Learning Innovator and Teacher of Science
with a specialism in A Level Biology at Holly
Lodge Girls College. Colin has been teaching
since 2007 with a fervor for promoting STEM
to the girls at Holly Lodge through STEM club,
organised events with STEM ambassadors,
colleges and universities.
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Host: @rachelswinburne
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11th Sep 2014 P4C (Philosophy for Children)
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13th Nov 2014 Geography
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2nd Jul 2015 Design & Technology
PE
4 Jun 15
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I can’t use technology in the classroom...
I’m from a different generation!
If you’ve ever thought, or said, that technology is not
for you, that you do not get it, or that you are from a
different generation, I sincerely sympathise with you,
I really do! Using technology is not always the
simplest of things and there is always the possibility
that things might not work the way we tried them
just minutes before and that if things go wrong we
will not be able to fix them, so it is much easier to
give up and leave technology in education for the few
geeks who not only get it, but actually enjoy it.
But allow me to shift your attention to another
problem. If you think you’re from a generation where
technology doesn’t play a pivotal role in your
everyday life, what generation do you think the
young people you teach belong to? And what kind of
exposure to technology do they get in their life
outside school? A large number of young children will
have received all sort of digital “toys” this Christmas,
from tablets to iPod Touches, and high-tech devices
are very much part of their everyday life before they
even begin school these days. That’s the generation
you teach, but what is the difference between the
tools they have available at home and what is offered
to them in school?
IT’s just about fun and no substance, or is IT?
Sometimes we seem to miss the point when people
who use technology in education talk about
engagement, making learning fun, creativity, etc… but
there are some important considerations and
observations to be made on these points that are
often confused for lack of substance. Take gaming, for
example - many parents would not see any learning
benefits whatsoever when their children play video
games. In fact, a good percentage of parents see
computer games as hindrances to real learning, so
they limit the time allowed on consoles, tablets and
other devices (note that I am not saying that having a
balance on the type of activities children do at home
is a bad thing here). It is interesting to note how
many of the parents who see video games as threats
are perfectly happy to see their kids in front of the
telly for hours on end without raising questions about
the implications of that.
So, are video games bad, or good? Many would
say they don’t add any real value on the learning
journeys of our young people, but I would beg to
disagree. I have seen many examples of the
opposite happening. My favourite game of all times
is Civilization, a great strategy game that took you
at the very beginning of a civilization that you had
to develop to modern age and beyond. Games like
these not only offer opportunities to learn about
history and other subjects, but they also develop
problem solving and numerical reasoning skills. I
remember getting so ingrained in the game that I
would often find myself still stuck in front of the
screen at five o’clock in the morning. Now you
might say that this is really unhealthy and I would
agree with you, but the point I am trying to make is
that video games obviously have the power to
engage children to levels that no other tool has yet
been able to achieve. So, perhaps the right
question to ask is not whether video games are
good, or bad, but rather how can we design
learning experiences that reach the same level of
engagement? Is it even possible?
Let’s consider for a minute what elements are in
the majority of video games. Some common
features are:
• A lot of action. Children rarely have to wait for
something to happen in video games, as they are
always very rich in action.
• Children constantly fail! This is especially true of
games with levels, like Angry Birds, for examples. In
these games kids keep getting it wrong, but don’t
seem to be phased by that, because they know
they can try the level again and again until they get
it right. My four year old boy is much better than
me at playing Angry Birds now, just to give you a
practical example. This ‘failure’ produces an
attitude that allows learners to take risks without
worrying about the consequences and don’t take
this statement out of context, please. It doesn’t
mean they don’t care, if things go wrong! In fact,
they care so much and they want to improve so
much that they are willing to spend a lot of time
refining their skills, so that they can knock all
piggies in one shot (in the case of Angry Birds).
By Alessio Bernardelli
23
• They get immediate feedback. Instantly, you can
get a lot of details about your performance with
video games. So, you have failure, but you also see
what you need to do to get better immediately.
• The best games, the viral ones, are immersive. To
give a classic example, Tetris was an overnight
success because it fully engaged your brain. You
had to give your full attention to the game, if you
wanted to beat your personal and overall score of
other players.
Are our lessons designed with those elements in
mind? Would they at least improve engagement if
they were, or would a ‘boring’ topic in science still
remain ‘boring’ for our students?
Using technology at home can have some really
nice side effects too. In fact, I remember when my
nephew was 10 he needed to find out how to go
through a particular challenging part of one of his
Nintendo Wii’s games, so he sat at his dad’s
computer, went on Google and searched for what
he thought he needed to know. What really
impressed me was the way he was searching, as he
wasn’t aimlessly opening all the pages the search
engine spat out, but he was selectively looking to
identify the key words and sentences he was
looking for before opening a page. He discarded
some of the top pages immediately from the
context of the text he read and when he realised
his search wasn’t producing what he needed, he
changed his search criteria and eventually got
exactly what he was looking for.
Another example of how embedded technology is
in many young learners is a seven years old boy
who sat with his dad at the table in front of me in a
very long train journey. We started chatting and he
told me he really likes Maths, so I started to show
him some Maths apps I had on my iPad. I
eventually showed him MyScript Calculator, that
turns your hand written calculations into typed
numbers and gives you the result. Seconds after
showing him how scribbling over the numbers
deleted them, this clever boy shouted “Look! You
can just draw a line on the numbers and they
disappear.” In other words, he found a much
quicker and more effective way of deleting previous
operations than I had come up with having used the
apps many more times than he did. Because
learners start using technology at such a young age
these days, they find it a lot more intuitive than we
do. My two year old boy can use Minecraft (bit.ly/
uked14jul21) very well to create and destroy
buildings. He can turn the iPad on, find FaceTime
inside a folder, open it and video conference with
my mum in Italy without any help from an adult,
and he’s been able to do so since he was one and a
half. It is hard to ignore such examples of how
technology is used at home by many children.
Another initiative forced on me
I hope I have raised a few important points that
will have made you think about where learners
come from in terms of technology and the reasons
why the way they use technology offers them really
high levels of engagement. But many experienced
teachers seem to resist change very strongly and
often like to remind less experienced ones that
they’ve seen it all before. A new kit came out,
everyone followed the bandwagon, it made no
difference and got replaced by the next new craze.
So, what’s the point?
I will tell you something else that I have seen
before, over and over again. Integrating new
technologies in education has nothing to do with
age, experience, nor background. It has all to do
with willingness to learn and develop. I have been
coaching and training teachers in the use of
emerging technologies in education for the last
seven years and I have never had anyone who
embraced change come back to me saying it was
worthless. When you meet teachers who are one
year from retirement, but still get excited about a
new tool you’ve shown them that could enhance
the way learners collaborate in their classroom, the
whole idea that “technology is not for me,
because…” doesn’t really stand.
Is it possible that the majority of those who give up
do so because they are not really sure what to do
with technology and have not been given
appropriate training and time to embed the change
effectively? If you are reading this and you are in
that category, I sympathise with you, as I said at the
beginning, and I believe your SLT is asking you to do
something quite unreasonable in integrating
technology without sufficient support.
Another common critique of technology in the
classroom is that it is just a waste of money to buy
really expensive kit to replace things and tools that
already work effectively. I couldn’t agree more and
if new technologies are simply employed as
substitutes to existing tasks it is completely
pointless. Let me give you an example. A lot of
science teachers get quite excited about using
smartphones and iPads as data logging systems.
Although it is true that handheld devices have a
range of sensors within them and that there are
quite a few apps that harness the power of these
sensors, existing data logging systems that many
schools already use probably do the job already
and better in most cases. So, an iPad used in
science lessons exclusively as a data logging system
becomes a glorified and very expensive sensor, as
well as a waste of money in my opinion.
Redefinition
Modification
Augmentation
Substitution
The SAMR model is a description of what
technology integration should produce in a school
or individual teacher.
S is for Substitution and it describes the starting
point of many, who begin implementation by using
technology as a direct substitute with no functional
change. This is the stage that causes frustration and
that could potentially reinforce an unwillingness to
change. After all, who would want to start using an
iPad just to create worksheets on Pages? This is just
another word processing app, so all of a sudden the
same task that you could complete in Word within
minutes, becomes really cumbersome. No one
could blame you for not seeing the point in moving
to iPads, if that’s all they have to offer.
Enhancement
Transformation
A is for Augmentation where technology is used
as direct tool substitute with functional
improvement. Using the same example as above,
you could create your worksheet using Pages on an
iPad, but you could now share it directly with all
your students using Air Drop. So, you might have
had to learn a few new features and how to type
on a screen as opposed to a keyboard, but you
have some improvements in functionality that will
hopefully encourage you to want to discover more
about the potential of iOS devices.
M is for Modification and it describes the stage of
implementation where educators use technology
for significant task design. A classic example is the
time when PowerPoint started to be used to
replace acetate presentations. Suddenly things
could appear on the screen at the right time and
with animations, making presentations more
catchy, effective and incredibly easy to adapt for
different audiences.
R is for Redefinition and this is the stage every
educator should aim at. Redefinition implies a use
of technology that allows learners and teachers to
create new tasks that were previously
unconceivable. I would argue that this should be
the only reason to drive change and technology
integration, because if you can do the same tasks
without the technology as effectively, there is no
way you will be able to convince anyone of the
need to change. But when you have devices that
are as portable as a small book, but that have far
greater computational power than the Apollo
spacecrafts, redefinition is not only an option, it
should be a priority. Front and rear cameras,
combined with powerful video editing apps like
iMovie, offer whole new ways for learners to
record and report findings and information, just to
give an example. Many other apps can truly
change the way learners work and interact with
teachers and peers.
Join the debate
UKEdChat Weekly discussions on Twitter
Thursday 8-9pm Look for the #UKEdChat hashtag
Find out more at ukedchat.com
Starting the journey
Here are a few ideas to start your journey towards
Redefinition of learning tasks. If you have iPads in
your school there are a range of great apps that
allow your learners to become creators of
knowledge as opposed to simply consumers of
knowledge. Start from highly engaging apps like
Puppet Pals that allows you to create stories with
little characters preloaded in the app. As you move
the characters around and change their shape by
pinching, you can also record a narration and
dialogues. Children can even become the
characters themselves by taking their photos and
cutting around their shape to be part of the story.
When all scenes are recorded you can download
your story as a video in your gallery, or upload it on
YouTube. Another great use of Puppet Pals is to use
it for paired reading and you can see an example of
this in this Blog post (bit.ly/uked14jul22).
Or why not use Aurasma for peer assessment?
Get your learners to create video feedback on their
peer’s work and use an image from their work (like
a diagram, or picture they drew) to trigger the
video message in the Aurasma app. This makes
your learners’ work look like the Harry Potter’s
newspapers, where pictures come to life and, since
you can add your ‘Auras’ to your school channel,
parents can follow your channel and watch these
video feedback from home. Aurasma works on
Android devices as well as iOS ones, so it is a really
comprehensive app. Finally, coming back to games,
why don’t you let your learners work in small
groups to create amazing worlds in Minecraft on
iPads, or Android tablets? In this post (bit.ly/
uked14jul23). I show how my boys recreated the
Olympic Games in Minecraft and worked
collaboratively to make various games, from
fencing to hurdle racing. They even researched the
colours of different flags to add them to their world.
In another post they are shown creating a medieval
castle after researching some of its features on the
internet. In both cases they took the initiative and
were not prompted to generate these creative tasks,
they simply wanted to work together and build
something. In the process they learnt new skills and
acquired new knowledge. Harness the power of
games like Minecraft in your lessons and you will
motivate your learners to become more independent
learners. In Minecraft you can develop numeracy
skills too. In fact, you could get children to work on
constructions that must have a certain volume, area,
etc… that you determine. You can challenge the more
able and talented learners to work with fractions and
percentages to build additional buildings, crops, etc…
as fractions, or percentage of existing ones. Or even
get them to build buildings from real places to scale.
These are just a few examples, but my advice is to
start with one or two new ideas to try and then
measure the impact in your classes. It will be worth it.
Why change?
So, why would you change?
Change for your students and do not be afraid to get
things wrong and learn new things with them. If
anything, you would be demonstrating to them that
you are willing to do the same things you are asking
them to do, i.e. learn new skills and apply them.
Use your learners’ expertise, as they are likely to
know a lot more about technology than you do and
they find it very intuitive, so when you get stuck don’t
be afraid to show it and ask your students for some
help. You are there to help them learn how to learn
and apply skills within your subject, not to teach them
ICT. So, use technology as a tool not as something you
26
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have to teach, there are IT teachers for that in
Britain.
Enjoy the process and allow your learners to
become creators of knowledge. When they create a
great piece of work make it public and showcase it
to boost their confidence. Giving them a true and
global audience can have a great effect on their
motivation and effort. Websites like YouTube and
Facebook are not the works of the devil and they
can be used very effectively when we educate
learners instead of banning them from using such
tools.
A patient that needs life saving surgery would not
expect to hear from his doctor that he’s going to
die, because the surgeon didn’t update her skills
and knowledge to the only new procedure that
could treat his disease, since the surgeon was only
a few months from retirement. So, why should our
learners expect to hear a similar argument from
their teachers?
If you embrace technology and change with the
aim to redefine education, you will see the benefits
and begin a journey that will take you to new
heights in your career and in your professional
fulfilment.
Alessio Bernardelli is a multiple award winning
teacher of Physics. He is the Co-Founder of
CollaboratEd.org.uk and also works as a
consultant for the Institute of Physics in the
roles of Network Coordinator, Teaching and
Learning Coach and Editor of Talkphysics.org.
Alessio was Head of KS3 Science for over 5 years
and he also worked with NGfL Cymry as a Field
Development Officer and with TES as the
Science Subject Lead. Alessio is an Official
iMindMap Leader, a Peer Coaching Facilitator
and a TASC Specialist with years of experience
in developing teachers’ through effective CPD,
coaching and mentoring. You can follow Alessio
on Twitter as @asober, or @Collaborat_Ed
Traditional Ways to Engage Boys
I’m an IT teacher, or a Computer Science teacher, or
what ever you want to call me now - actually Head of
Department is probably a safe title! When I started
teaching I was a huge advocate for the use of ICT
tools to engage all learners, I was fascinated by the
potential of the iPad to change the landscape of
teaching and learning. I think that potential exists, but
it’s going to be a slower road than I first thought.
A challenge: Engaging learners, boys in particular is a
difficult thing, and I’ve learned that in actual fact I
needed to embrace the methods that have been
around a very long time (and add in the new ones) in
order to be successful. That’s exactly what I tell
trainee teachers I work with. So what traditional
methods have I found really engage boys in their
learning?
A conversation I’ve had with recent PGCE students…
PGCE Student: “That group, those boys just come in
every lesson and don’t want to learn! Nothing is going
to work on them. I give them the worksheets and
they do nothing!”
Me: (Deep breath) Well, let’s start by assuming that
they do want to learn, that they are interested in
having their attention grabbed and they’d like to be
made to go ‘ahhhh’ by a new idea. What you have to
do is look at what you do to make them interested.
PGCE Student: “What can I do?”
Me: Think about what you would normally do to
engage them, make a list of the types of activities
you’ve tried that have failed and keep that list. Force
yourself to NOT use those activities, and to think of
new engaging activities.
Over the course of an intensive hour long meeting
my PGCE student and I explored some opportunities
to try some more traditional methods of engaging
boys, such as…
By Paul Wright Colour cards: Boys are often visual creatures.
They like ‘obvious’ so things like colour cards can
prove hugely useful in engaging boys to share
their opinion and knowledge. Boys are often
reluctant to answer group or class questions (their
fear of being made foolish is huge amongst
youngsters, and in particular boys). I’ve found that
a simple option such as holding up a card at the
same time as everyone else can go some way to
removing this initial ‘fear’.
Traffic light cards help - Red, Yellow and Green.
Easy to make at home from coloured card or cut
paper laminated. Simple, effective and useable
over and over again throughout your career.
Competition (house points): Look for
opportunities to make things competitive, either
in groups or pairs. Bu be careful with individual
competition as it can backfire and work against
engagement if a learner struggles to ‘win’ at all.
Pair up learners carefully, thinking about
strengths. Then think carefully about your
questions or activities, try and plan something you
know a ‘difficult’ student could get right. It’s a
great way to start the ball rolling and get them
involved if they see they can contribute something
to their pair or team.
Mind Maps: Give boys opportunity to doodle
down their ideas. If coursework can be assessed
this way then use it as a bridge to build up to
further more detailed writing further down the
learning road.
Puzzles and Games: Puzzles and games work
really well with learners - boys in particular. Think
carefully about the type of puzzle and game, but
don’t discount the value of a well planned
challenge to engage a reluctant boy in their
learning. I’d avoid too complex word based
puzzles with less able learners. Go for visual first.
Paul Wright is Head of Computer Science and ICT at Stoke Park school in Coventry. He’s a happy survivor of
many Ofsted inspections, but remains more interested in how his colleagues & students rate his teaching.
Frequent contributor to #ukedchat and #SLTchat as well as a seen EduSketchnoter and blogger.
With many resources for teachers available on his blog he's now working with a UK stationery company to
design low cost educational resources that will support teaching practice covering literacy, questioning and
independent learning. Find out more or contact Paul via @pw2tweets and http://tips4teaching.co.uk
Relating work to the real world
Boys often struggle to see the ‘value’ in what
they are learning because it’s abstract and it’s not
connected to what they see as their ‘real’ world.
So, where possible look for real world
connections to their learning. “How many iTunes
downloads can I get with…” etc or “An app store
discount of 20% applies to new app purchases,
how do I work out…” - Keep it Real.
AFL: Well marked work, with good feedback,
can’t be praised enough. It’s possibly the most
valuable tool you have. Find a way to mark work
effectively. Give learners areas to improve and
then give them DIRT time in which to act on the
feedback you’ve given them. Keep feedback and
improvements clear for boys. List the things they
need to complete, draw boxes next to each point
and write ‘tick when you complete these’ above
them.
Calling home: At the first sign of a learner struggling or
falling behind - call home. Be positive, but ask for home
support in helping the learner achieve their potential. At
first, boys will likely see this as working against them,
but with some explaining they’ll see it’s for their benefit.
Praise: Stickers, verbal, what ever works for you. Praise
boys when they do well, when they show interest, when
they get a question right! They need to be shown
they’re getting things right in order to encourage them
to continue to engage.
To my trainee that looked like a huge list, so I sketched
it out and left a copy with them to go over in their spare
time. In truth, it’s the tiny tip of the iceberg of things you
can do to engage boys in their learning.
Keep at it people, and do remember that boys DO want
to learn, they do want to be inspired, they want that ‘oh
wow’ moment when a new idea is explained. You just
have to think hard about just how you engage them.
Good luck! ▼ Mapping it out—Wonderful art work by Paul
shows us how ‘doodling’ can be a useful tool.
This was a Skype chat with Wilderness
Dave – a contact made through the Skype
in the Classroom website. Here we
rehearsed questions which the children
then asked the adventurer, whilst he
shared images, pictures and video
footage from his recent journey into the
rainforest. He can also be found at
http://wildernessclassroom.com
Skype One Big Adventure
Using Skype in the classroom always creates a
buzz! It always, without exception, receives an
incredibly enthusiastic response from both staff
and children. It gives an authenticity to learning
as it brings the 'real life' into the classroom –
and allows schools from all areas of the planet
to stay in touch and share experiences.
Since we began using Skype we've managed to
have expert session from real life Amazon
explorers, chatted to children across the other
side of the world about their school and
favourite books, created simultaneous lessons
ideas for children continents apart and held
partner talk with schools in the next county! We
have been able to create world maps which
show people we have spoken to, brining
meaning to those maps and atlases and
exploring countries we would never otherwise
be able to visit.
For this article I thought it would be useful to
consider what benefits using Skype could bring
to school, discuss starting points and point you
in the direction of useful resources.
By Rebecca Stacey
Why would you?
Well... in a short answer why wouldn't you?
Skype allows you to link with people all over the
world – connecting with experts, other schools
and teachers in countries that could be
anywhere. It is incredibly easy to use (once over
the initial hurdle) – and requires very little set up.
The money is spent on a decent camera /
microphone – and many schools have those lying
around anyway.
What will you need?
A decent webcam and microphone and a
computer that has a good broadband signal.
We also use the school iPads – and in the ICT
suite have a combined webcam with microphone
which works well. In classrooms though you
might need to have a microphone which can be
held by the person speaking.
Getting Started—Create a Skype Account:
Use a different one to your own account / email
– link it to work email and make it either a school
or a class email. Download the software to the
school computer from http://skype.com.
Test your school settings
The easiest way to check that Skype will work in
your school setting is to arrange a quick Skype
chat with a local school – whether that is just
teacher to teacher, or a quick test with a class to
chat about a book or activity. Technical hitches
can quickly deflate even the most enthusiastic, so
Image credit: All images have been supplied by Rebecca Stacey
30
Here children from a partner school in Abu-
Dhabi pointed out our school on Google Earth.
This partnership lasted two terms for us and
allowed the children to share books, experiences
and their school life with other children around
the world.
test out the connections and get your school tech
support on side. Usually it's a case of unblocking
the website and then making sure that the
computer you use isn't situated in the only area of
the school to not get a decent broadband signal.
Skype has very easy ways to test the signal in the
options as well – so do make use of that!
Sign up to Skype in the Classroom
Once the initial testing and technical hitches have
been sorted you can begin to look for connections
that can build into a real learning opportunity.
Begin with the excellent Skype in the Classroom
web page (http://education.skype.com) – create
an account either for your class or your school and
begin browsing. It is worth spending time with this
site, as the information it contains is vast. Think of
a topic that is coming up in your school and start
with that, or alternatively, think of a theme or a
country that you wish to learn about.
▲ There are hundreds of resources and even more
helpful users on the Skype in the classroom site.
Rebecca Stacey has been teaching for ten
years. Currently Deputy at Queensbridge
Primary in Hackney, previously a consultant
for all things ICT at Hackney. She has a
particular interest in using technology,
particularly for connecting and strengthening
language and communication. She is about to
make the move into headship, leaving inner-
city London for rural Cumbria! Read her blog
at http://digitalclassrooms.co.uk and on
Twitter at @bekblayton
Best UK Educational Tweeters Nominate your favourite UK educational
tweeters and help us build a list of the best
people for teachers to follow.
The results will be published in the
September issue of UKED Magazine
Go to bit.ly/uktweep14 for info
http://projectnoah.org
A great citizen science site where users can
upload and view photos of animals or use the
free Apple device and Android Apps. It's a
great way to do real science with what you
already have in class. Check out the education
section for more ideas.
http://skoolbo.com
This is a must try site which provides an
amazing 3D world which teaches English
and maths core skills. Players race against
two other randomly chosen online players
of a similar level.
The best sites from
http://www.nitrotype.com
This is a fast, action packed typing game
where you can race your car against other
typists in real time online. Use your WPM
to increase your MPH! Earn cash to buy
upgrades.
Check out the UKedchat Educational Apps directory
for the best apps for teaching and learning.
Go to
ukedchat.com/eduapps
View thousand more at ictmagic.wikispaces.com
http://memplai.com
Make collaborative videos in your web
browser with this amazing site. Just upload
your images, videos and audio and invite
others users to edit your project with you. As
the files are stored online your students can
access the project from home or at school.
The videos do not have watermarks and they
can be easily embedded into your site or blog.
32
http://ed.ted.com
TED is a superb, inspirational organisation
that hosts some of the best speakers of our
time on a range of fascinating topics. Now
TED has a set of amazing videos to use in your
classroom to astound your students.
http://apowersoft.com/free-online-
screen-recorder
This is a useful online screen capture site
which uses Java to record the whole of your
screen or a selected window without a water
mark or logo. When you have completed the
capture, the WMV format video file is
downloaded to your computer.