GridClub
GridClub - which, as its name suggests, forms part of the National Grid for Learning - is the official Scottish Executive Education Department's free online education project for 7-11-year-olds.
The GridClub website has a wide range of activities, puzzles and games designed to make learning fun. It also offers clubs where children can interact in a protected, mediated environment at home and in school. The resources can be accessed at any time simply by going to www.gridclub.com and clicking on the Have a Go section.
Schools in Scotland ranging from the Papa Westray Community School in the Orkney Isles to Cornton Primary School in Stirling have already logged on and are taking full advantage of the hundreds of free resources GridClub has to offer.
GridClub's clubs are also free. The clubs are run on Oracle's Think.com protected website and are a fully mediated area where children can communicate with each other by sending stickies (post-it style notes) and e-mails to each other. The aim of the clubs is to help children develop their ICT and literacy skills as well as to encourage responsible participation in an online community.
'When I went on Art Factory I thought it was so cool because I like it when you can see your own pictures and I like the motion things and the heads. I really think it's cool. Yours sincerely, Lauren.
Not only is GridClub devoted to children, it also has a special Grown Ups section dedicated to parents and teachers. Here, parents and teachers can check against an index list of GridClub activities to see where they fit in to their children's education.
Teachers will find sample lesson plans on the GridClub site covering topics such as:
- Joining in Debates and Conversations within GridClub
- Publishing Content
- Creating Conversations
- Sending E-mails.
All these activities are carried out within a protected environment for children, which creates a global learning community that connects students and teachers, providing tools that foster communication and collaboration.
GridClub is managed by a partnership of 4Learning (the educational arm of Channel 4), Oracle and Intuitive Media.
If you are interested in registering your school for GridClub, go to www.gridclub.com and click on 'Register here'. Alternatively, e-mail gridclub@channel4.com or call the helpline on 020 7306 5568.