ICT Weblog

Free eBooks

2007-03-26T14:16:00Z

Recently I met with Don Johnston (and I don't mean the American actor from Miami Vice) the educational company that supports struggling learners in literacy and provides resources and tools to help students release their potential and a parental support group called KITES (Kids Inclusive Technologies Educational Support) from West Dunbartonshire. The aim of the meeting was to look at the resources that have been given to children with learning disabilites and how to get the best out of them. Many schools have provided laptops and software to assist with pupils learning but the lack of training and understanding in how to use these is holding them back. The KITES group have an onerous task of supporting parents whose children have this equipment and software to complete homework tasks and projects.

We looked at the software SOLO which had many features that would build confidence and independence in students. One such feature in the package Read Our Loud that I found useful (and not just for struggling learners) was the ability to organise and clarify content simply by using the highlight tool. The software extracted the highlighted information and this was then able to form a new document where you could add your own notes.

The emphasis of this meeting was on literacy and the parents were asking if there was anywhere to access reading material online. One such webiste that provides free eBook is the Gutenberg Project which was founded in 1971 by Michael Hart. There are over 2 million eBooks availale for download, all of which have their copyright expired in the USA. The books can be downloaded in different formats such as RTF, TXT, HTML and in a format readable on PDA's.

Atomic Learning free tutorials

2007-01-08T13:40:00Z

Atomic Learning provide web-based software training through a series of tutorials on a wide variety of applications. This year they are offering BETT attendees the opportunity to access the workshops on their website free for a limited period of time.

The most recent workshops highlight blogging and podcasting, which may be of interest to those wanting to inform their colleagues of their experiences at BETT.

The blogging workshop starts of with the basics, looking at what a blog is and when the whole concept of blogging originated. It looks at the different types of blogs you can create and a step-by-step guide on how to set one up. Atomic Learning have used the tool Blogger for their examples.

In the Podcasting workshops, again they cover Mac and PC. They look ate creating podcasts with iLife which incorporates iTunes and Garageband and for the PC version they cover creating a podcast with Audacity.

To access the tutorials go to www.atomiclearning.co.uk and enter the following username and password:

Username: BETT07 Password: atomic

The resources are only available free unitl 12 February 2007.

We would be interested to know what you thought of this material so please leave a comment below and tell us how you used these resources and how beneficial they were to your learning.

Gaelic Masterclass 22nd - 24th November 2006

2006-11-28T15:08:00Z

Last week there was a Gaelic Masterclass in the Stirling Management Centre. 50 secondary teachers attended and recieved workshops on interactive whiteboards, powerpoint, podcasting and digital video. After being bombarded with information they then selected an area in which they wanted to create resources with to take back to their establishments and hopefully use.

You can get access to the presentation and notes for the interactvie whiteboard session and the notes for the PowerPoint session here. The interactvive whiteboard notes are based on the SMARTBoard software and tools.

A Curriculum for Excellence and online resources

2006-10-30T15:24:00Z

A part of the Orkney Learning Festival I delivered a seminar on A Curriculum for Excellence and online resources. The session looked at some of the material that is available online and how they can be used in a classroom situation. It also highlighted how these resources contribute to the purposes and principles of ACfE. The seminar focused on learning environments and teaching and learning approaches using ICT. One example of a learning environment was the Ticket to Space project. An online learning environment that runs for 6 weeks on the subject of earth and space. It contains teacher guides and resources and allows pupils to communicate with each other through the use of a blog. The activites allow them to learn as part of a group or work individually. The technology used for learning encourages them to communicate in different ways and in a different setting. Find out what pupils across Scotland have been doing in the Ticket to Space blog.

We also looked at social networking and investigated some of the uses of tools such as Flickr, You Tube and Bubbleshare.

Here are the links to some of the other resources that were demonstrated.

Ticket to Space

Scottish History Resources

Mapping the World

Click Musical Keys

Karaoke Player

If you have been using online resources in you class and have found them to be an effective tool for teaching and learning let us know about by commenting below.

Orkney Learning Festival

2006-10-30T15:07:00Z

Last week staff in Orkney had the opportunity to attend the Orkney Learning Festival which ran over two days. The learning festivals focus was on A Curriculum for Excellence and consisted of an exhibition, a variety of workshops, group sessions and a keynote speech from May Sweeney, the National Co-ordinator for A Curriculum for Excellence.

The festival started with an introduction from the Director of Education, Leslie Manson who discussed what A Curriculum for Excellence means for Orkney. He highlighted the key priority for Orkney being a focus on what we teach and how we teach it.

He talked about the National Debate outcomes and how A Curriculum for Excellence emerged from the number of comments received from this debate on the need to review the school curriculum. Marilyn Richards, Head of Quality Development outlined the areas that Orkney would focus on in relation to ACfE. There are a lot of interesting projects arising from this such as their joint project with Shetland Isles where teachers from primary will be seconded into secondary and vice versa. There will be a great deal of coaching and mentoring taking place and Orkney will look at the approach Shetland have taken in international projects, their behaviour support approaches and the work going on in their Early Years units.

May Sweeney asked delegates to think about what they are already doing in the classroom that already matches the four capacities of ACfE. The ICT in Education website looks at what teachers are already doing in the classroom with the use of ICT and how it ties in with ACfE. If you are using ICT with your pupils that demonstrate them becoming successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors leave a comment below telling us about it.

ICT at the Learning Zone

2006-09-19T13:33:00Z

Another part of the Scottish Learning Festival is to highlight examples of innovative and interesting work form various schools. You can find in Learning Zone A:

Information on an online tool, Phrasebox, for those seeking to improve their vocabulary and grammar.
A project called 'Bear Hunt' where video cameras, still cameras and PowerPoint were all used in Sanday School.
What's new on Early Years Online? You will be able to see the range of resources and other new content on the Early Years site.
Ticket to Space, an online event based around Earth and Space. Pupils from St Agnes's Primary talk about their involvement with the project.
No need to go the City Halls to hear music, you can listen to The Scottish symphony Orchestra through the use of video conferencing.
Religious Observance is launching their new website.
There are a few interactive whiteboard presentations aimed at Primary and Secondary.
Find out about Podcasting in 20 minutes flat.

In Learning Zone B you can:

See a demonstration of LT Scotland's online services.
Find out what a Bee-Bot is see it in action.
Hear how St Mungo's has implemented live radio broadcasts into their school lessons.
More on interactive whiteboard in Primary with Whitecraigs Primary showing us how to create a stimulating and enjoyable learning environment. The secondary demosntration shares tips and techniques on using this versatile technology in a secondary science setting.

Find out more on the SETT website.

ICT seminars at SETT 2006

2006-09-19T12:50:00Z

The Scottish Learning Festival is here, packed full of seminars, keynotes and exhibitors discussing and promoting good practice in teaching, learning and leadership across Scotland. There is plenty to inspire and encourage the effective use of ICT in teaching and learning. Here are some of the seminars you may wish to attend. If you have attended any of these let us know what you think by leaving a comment.

Aspiration to Inspiration –a seminar on the changes needed to school culture in order to realise the full potential of ICT in the classroom.
Creating Communities – Ewan MacIntosh will take you through the possibilities of creating communities using technology to bridge the gap between primary and secondary.
The Powerful Tool of ICT Taking Gaelic forward – looks at the future developments of Gaelic Medium Education and the role of ICT.
Using ICT in Adult Numeracy – details of a collaborative project run by King’s College in London.
Find out about the professional development opportunities and the tools that will be available to Scottish Schools through Glow.
Experience a yucky sensory story in ICT: Inspiring Creative Teaching for Pupils of all Abilities.
Radiowaves, a web-based radio station is being used in Fife. Find out the benefits of this innovative project.
The Comenius Schools Project uses ICT in day-to-day classroom learning and teaching.
Why not attend the Dial M for Learning seminar that talks about the use of mobile phones to engage young adult literacies learners and deliver learning materials to them.
Still looking for ideas to use the interactive whiteboard? Then find out how St Thomas of Aquin’s teachers have used them in the past, present and what they have planned for the future.
Bored with delivering PowerPoint presentations then find out to use the animation features to create interactive learning experiences.
Are you a primary teacher looking for new resources, then BBC Jam could be your answer.
Maximising the Potential of ICT to Support Effective Teaching and Learning will talk about the power of ICT to develop collaborative and inclusive learning.
In Touch with Learning focuses on using a ‘touch’ plasma screen with young children and parents.
There are plenty of seminars on the use of web 2.0 technologies. To Blog or not to Blog? See how one school has been using this technology as part of their French lessons. Infants can Communicate, is about a project to develop communication skills in infants. Collaboration in an online environment also covers technologies such as blogs, wikis etc.
FInd out how ICT can increase children's confidence and competence in using language in Using ICT to Support Language Acquisition. In Promoting Inclusion through Teaching with ICT you can see how standard educational software is being used in primary schools to create inclusive activities.

These are just some of the seminars that cover the use of ICT to support learning and teaching. For more information and other activities available please see the SETT website.

Virtual Worlds in education

2006-09-12T09:40:00Z

It has been brought to my attention by a modern languages teacher in Newton Stewart this morning about a website called 'SecondLife', a virtual world for anyone to take on an online role in a virtual world and interact with others in a virtual environment. There is also a 'SecondLife for teens'. Sounds like fun.

However I think this type of online interaction will have mixed views. Some may think it is for people who lack social skills on a face to face level while others may see it as fun and a way to improve communciation skills. With this in mind, can this type of environment be put to good use within education? Certainly within the modern languages sector it could have many advantages but as with all new technologies there are disadvantages and safety issues.

Is this the way learning should be steered with an emphasis on online interaction? What other subjects would benefit from such a learning tool?

A Curriculum for Excellence - developing projects

2006-08-23T22:32:00Z

We have been thinking of ways to support schools to initiate A Curriculum for Excellence projects. Don Ledingham has floated some ideas in his blog and these ideas are beginning to be firmed up. The idea is that pupils embark on individual projects that interest them or that they are passionate about and the plan it to include 3 curricular areas. The plan is to introduce these projects from P6 to S2. We are fortunate this year in that we have Emma Griffiths seconded to us one day a week through the Innovative Teacher Programme. Emma's remit is to promote the use of technology in Learning and Teaching and to develop a network of teachers using technology innovatively. A sizeable remit for someone with limited time. The projects would be ideal for Emma to support as:

She would be involved in supporting a national initiative and as a result would hopefully be welcomed by schools - she would not be seen as introducing an additional initiatve
The projects promote innovation and would compliment and benefit from close working with other projects in the authority, including the projects using new technologies led by Ewan and others.
It would provide a valuable and achievable focus for the Innovative Teacher Programme.
It would provide valuable, measurable feedback to the authority about the benefits and possible barriers to learning in this way.

Our next steps are to work with Don to invite schools to participate and to plan how we establish a baseline to measure the findings from the initiative.

Blogging to support Assessment is for Learning

2006-08-22T11:20:00Z

I met with Robert Whiteside, a teacher from Haddington Infants in East Lothian and a long-time enthusiast for technology in Learning and Teaching. He had been working with his P2 class last session on animation with some very successful results and had some ideas on how he could develop technology further this session. He has the opportunity to work with all the classes in the school for some time each week and thought about the potential for using blogging as a tool to open dialogue about learning in line with Assessment is for Learning - initially with the P3 classes in the school. The aims of the project would be:

To encourage children to reflect on their learning
To open dialogue about learning inviting and providing feedback
To involve children in identifying and initiating next steps
Learning driven by children

The potential for opening dialogue between teachers and their pupils and personal learning planning online is an attractive one. Parents dialogue with their children and their learning is another potential benefit and literature/workshops to communicate the initiative to parents are planned - finally they might get an answer to the question 'What did you do at school today?' We hope to communicate our progress through this initiative and invite any who have already tried similar projects to share their experiences.

Look out for more Animation projects from Robert and his class - I think there are full scale productions planned this year!

A new term, a new start - exciting times!

2006-08-17T20:50:00Z

I am Karen Robertson and work for East Lothian Council. I have been invited to contribute to the LTScotland weblog, particularly in connection with the work we are doing to begin to implement A Curriculum for Excellence in our schools. I think many of us are in the same situation. These are optimistic times, promises of prioritising the curriculum, working with projects to promote creativity, innovation and to value all the achievements of children and young people we work with. Technology is a driving force in this time of change, particularly the New Web Technologies as they are known - weblogs, podcasts, online image and video publishing, personal webspace. As someone who has worked with technology in Learning and Teaching for a number of years, the prospects are exciting but are not without their challenges.

Our schools are back. I hope to blog about our progress as we begin to move forward - ideas, approaches, challenges, successes. I hope we can open a dialogue for those also 'dipping their toes in the water!'

Internet Safety

2006-07-26T10:58:00Z

The Herald has reported that the SQA has introduced a new qualification about internet safety. From the start of next term pilot schools across the country will test this new course which covers areas such as cyber bullying, protection against viruses, identidy theft, spam, hacking, copyright and much more. Teachers concerns over pupils safety on the internet has risen dramatically over the years as more of them are now using computers at home as well as in school, especailly with the use of chat rooms and the possibiltiy of them giving them out personal details.

The ICT in education website also contains information in their ICT advice section on the how to ensure that your children are safe on the internet.

How do you ensure that your children in and out of school use the internet safely? Do you think it is a good idea to have a course specifically designed around this subject?

Image sharing software

2006-07-11T10:37:00Z

If you are looking to add images to your website or a weblog, instead of having image after image to scroll through why not use Bubbleshare, a free application that allows you to display your digital photos in a slideshow format. All you have to do is create an account and start uploading your pictures. You can then add speech bubbles, caption and audio as well, then simply select the way you would like the pictures displayed. Bubbleshare will give you code to copy and paste into your blog or website and hey presto you have your digital photos displayed online.

This album is powered by BubbleShare

I have seen an example of this software beign used in the Interactive Chatting Teddies weblog. You will have to scroll down a fair bit to see the Bubbleshare examples. The weblog was set up to encourage communciation in Argyll Primary Schools.

Beginning Blogging

2006-03-24T19:02:00Z

I have just returned from a two day Masterclass course that looked at New Technologies. As part of this we worked with blogs, wikis and podcasting. I have been thinking about establishing my own blog (other than contributing to this LTS one) for some time now and as a result of this course I have eventually taken the plunge. If you visit it then please offer some comments in relation to my ramblings about education and in particular the place of ICT therein. My blog can be accessed here:

Hot Milky Drink

The group on the course have also made a collective blog. Have a look at this too...it has lots of excellent ideas and resources:

Masterclass group blog

Computer Games again...

2006-03-19T19:31:00Z

As a I have siad in earlier posts I have a great interest in exploring the learning opportunites that are inherent in the console/PC based games that learners spend hours upon hours playing. Marc Prensky seems to have championed much of these arguments but for those of you who are looking for a reference point with some academic basis then may I suggest James Paul Gee's text: What Video Games have to teach us about Learning asnd lIteracy. A very interesting and thought-provoking read.that you can find out more about from the following link:

James Paul Gee text

Anyway, the main thrust of this post is to share a site that I disovered. It's a showcase of a new game that will be released in the near future. It is called Spore and it is mind blowing. Many of the strategy based games that I have seen are incredible but Spore is something to behold. Just how many ways can we use this as a context for learning? Have a look and see what you think...

Preview of Spore

Enquiring Minds: Process or Product?

2006-03-09T19:44:00Z

I have just been reading the NESTA Futurelab newsletter and discovered a very interesting research project called Enquiring Minds. The blurb on the website says, 'Enquiring Minds is a three-year research and development project investigating how children can shape their own learning, by changing the emphasis from what they learn to how they learn.'

The ever-increasing range and accessibility of technologies is something that I think will undoubtedly change and influence the way in which teaching and learning will evolve. The website has a wiki that you can contribute to. I'm very excited about the way in which technology is dynamically challenging and changing education and I'm sure that projects such as Enquiring MInds can and will inform and influence our practice.

If you are interested in this then the URL is:

http://www.enquiringminds.org.uk/

Computer games and guitar playing!

2006-03-05T15:51:00Z

Anybody fancy developing the electrifying guitar skills of Eddie Van Halen or Jimmy Page? Then try Mr Fastfinger at :

http://www.guitarshredshow.com/

Again, a really entertaining computer game/interactive story but here you can also take tutorials with Mr Fastfinger and learn from tablature. Some of the guitar licks he teaches are really, really tough but some are accessible to even the most basic of guitaists...such as myself. If you remember a song calles 'The Devil went down to Georgia' by the Charlie Daniels Band then you'll enjoy the challenge of defeating the accordion playing demon who has hypnotised the pink dwareves.

Computer games in education

2006-03-03T12:03:00Z

I have a real interest in what computer games can offer us in terms of teaching and learning with digital learners. I think that many PC and console based games are excellent and can offer many links to curricular and skills development if used with a little bit of imagination. Here is a link to an online Flash based problem solving game made by a Czech company called Amanita design. If anyone is my age (late 30ish) or onwards you might remember those bizarre Czech animations that used to appear on out TV screens. One of the games featured on their website reminds me of that. It is totally engaging and a great tool I feel for discussion and problem solving. Possibly even a stimulus for design of characters, settings or even of games themselves by learners. Have a look at it: http://www.samorost2.net/samorost1/. Persevere with it and before long you'll be hooked.

Investigating Digital Literacy 2

2006-03-01T13:28:00Z

In relation to my first post about developing digital literacy skills I now include some examples of the student responses to the task:

Student 1

What has today's workshop done for you in raising your awareness of the importance of developing your internet literacy skills?

This was an eye opening workshop for me and one which poses many questions as to how I am going to tackle this in the classroom. I myself have learnt today about how you can tell if a website is a personal one or not with the word 'user' or a '~' in the URL. I didn't know this.....how can I as an educator help children use the internet properly if I myself don't have the basic knowledge or understanding to begin with! Again, as was pointed out on the Alan November page, I don't tend to research web page sources and authors to check for authenticity but how do I know that it is not Joe Bloggs writing his own personal opinions and not researched facts etc. The answer is I don't know that and if I don't familiarise myself with this practice then how can i expect children to? I have learnt today that I need to be more aware on the internet myself...as I do take things by face value. It is so easy to type into a search engine a keyword and use information on the first 3 or 4 results but today has highlight for me greatly the importance of expanding my research not of only the topic itself...but its original source and then to taking in other sources and ideas for a balanced view. Yes, this will take up more time but it will allow for a more balanced and informed view on any topic.

Why is it important that we develop internet literacy skills in children?

I think the importance of developing these internet literacy skills in children cannot be stressed enough. If we do not develop these skills are we not hindering our childrens development rather than helping them? In teaching them these skills early on in school we are setting them up with tools they will use for the rest of their life when using the internet.....it will become an embedded practice that they will do automatically. Without these skills, i believe, we are exposing impressionable young minds to take the first thing that comes to hand and believe it is true. The internet is an extremely valuable resource...when used properly, and i think that this workshop has proved what can happen if it isn't.

Student 2

Today's input has been very beneficial for me. I used the internet for research during my last placement but I realise now how much I neglected literacy skills.

As teachers, we wouldn't set tasks in any other curricular area without giving children the necessary skills and ICT should be no different. I think a demonstration like the Holocaust example was a very good way of showing how misleading the internet can be. It may be an idea to do such a demonstration with something the children know definitely happened so they can see how important evaluation of research is.

We are always trying to encourage children as independent learners and stimulating their metacognition and this is a brilliant way to demonstrate the reliability of research, not only on the web but in books, newspapers etc.

I will definitely bring internet literacy skills into my next placement even though it is in the Upper Stages. I now see how vital these skills are before using the internet.

Student 3

Everyone knows that the internet holds loads of information on any subject imaginable. The vast amount of information means that children can easily be subjected to false, strongly opinionated and inaccurate information. From a young age is it very important to show children that this can and does happen. It may be a good idea doing an exercise like this (on a simpler lever, depending on age/level) which, in my opinion, really emphasised how much different sources of information can vary.

The internet should not be the only "information giving" resource in the classroom, There should also be relevant, accurate books, articles, dvd's, documentaries, magazines. Giving children free access to research a topic on the internet can be dangerous, so it may also be a good idea to give a list of acceptable web pages that they could choose from, however it is still vitally important that children know and understand that what they read on the internet may not always be true and reliable, giving pupils examples of how they can tell reliable from unreliable information will benefit them enormously and allow them to gain balanced, accurate information about the topic in hand.

Investigating Digital Literacy 1

2006-02-28T16:05:00Z

As part of the holistic approach to preparing students in terms of developing technical and pedagogic skills and awareness we have a focus on exploring critical literacy skills in B.Ed2. I first became conscious of the importance of this at the Fusion 2000 conference in Glasgow where Stephen Heppell, who was bemoaning the lack of creativity and innovation in the use of ICT in a curriculum which he felt valued the uniformity of standardized aims, then went on to advocate that as educators we should be focusing on how powerful learning tools such as computers can allow us to focus on: "…the meta-level things about their (children's) ability to judge, to make choices, to critique, to deconstruct." Fusion (2000).

Since then people such as Alan November and David Warlick have really helped to crystallize my thinking in relation to the importance of internet literacy with my students in terms of their developing professionalism and teaching skills. One of the tasks that I have created for the students is added below. Please feel free to have a look at this and and to offer any comments about whether you think an activity such as this is hitting the mark. I have also added some student feedback from the peer learning sets that we use in our VLE so that you can get a flavour of what learning may have been achieved in this session.

Developing a critical awareness of digital texts

Should we believe anything and everything we read on the Internet?

The internet offers us thousands upon thousands of sources of information texts. Unlike published books, many of these sites have bi-passed any quality assurance measures. As a result anyone can post their ill-informed opinions, prejudices etc.. on the Internet and gain an immediate world-wide audience for their thoughts. The MIICE Toolbox offers a good starting point for us as developing professionals and as teachers to be aware of this aspect of Internet based texts.

Outcome 5: Investigatory Learning

Level 2

1.3 Are learners aware of issues such as bias, copyright and whether or not the information is current when they are making use of digital sources of information?

Level 4

1.3 Are learners increasingly aware of and able to articulate the criteria by which digital information is judged, such a up-to datedness, bias, copyright, fitness for purpose and relevant technicalities?

Task 1

We are going to investigate a particular aspect of the Holocaust in the Second World War. The issue in question as a result of the content of the following websites is whether the 'camps' were places of mass extermination. To do this we have located some websites for you to refer to in order to develop your knowledge and understanding. Visit the links below to start your investigation (start with Link 1).

Revising the Holocaust Myth : Visit this site and read the first page that appears on your screen. Visit the first three links that are in the second paragraph.
The Diary of Anne Frank : Visit this site and take time to browse through the different headings. The overview is a good place to start. Find out why Anne was hiding...
Survivor Stories : Visit this site and read through some of the stories of how these people managed to survive the Holocaust.

Now that you have looked at these pages take some time to consider what the dual message that is being offered here can mean for teaching and learning when using Internet based texts? The below link is an actual account of this very scenario where a 14 year old American boy submits a piece of course work based on the Holocaust Myth. Read the full article reflect on the techniques and issues that Alan November highlights in order to test the validity, bias and appropriateness of Internet based texts. Try some of the techniques out if you wish.

Alan November: Teaching Zack to Think

* Please note: the original URL of the Arthur Butz site was no longer active. In order to track down web pages that have been online in the past you can use resources such as Wayback Machine that allow you to access an archive of webpages that have been online in the past.*

What does this example tell us about the Internet and the need to develop critical awareness at a very early stage in learners? Visit the appropriate discussion forum and offer your thoughts on this subject. You may wish to comment on how this activity has maybe opened your eyes in terms of how the Internet can and is being used and what this means for your future engagement with Internet based Information Texts. You will also want to consider what this will mean for you as a class teacher in terms of developing strategies for that will enable children to become much more critical and evaluatory in their use of Internet based Information Texts.

ACTIVote

2006-02-28T09:18:00Z

In some of our schools we have been piloting ACTIVote since the beginning of this session. ACTIVote helps teachers to encourage all pupils to involve themselves in the lesson. It helps to generate discussion and gather opinions/answers from every child, not just the ones with their hands up. It provides teachers with instant feedback of pupil understanding and can be used as an assessment tool.

Questions can be prepared using the Question Master software, or alternatively you may ask ADHOC questions. Both of which can receive feedback. Feedback can be displayed in various formats immediately on screen or may be exported to a spreadsheet for further analysis.

Allocating the devices - the active pods - is a two stage process. Each device must be named so that each pod can be uniquely identified. Once this has been completed the devices are registered by the Device Registration Program. Devices can now be used in either anonymous or named mode. The latter requires the devices to be registered and allocated from a User Database.This mode is more complex to use but it provides more detailed feedback on user responses. User details can usually be imported from management information software, such as Pheonix.

You can use the voting system at any time on the whiteboard. Whether you are using software or the Internet you can request your pupils' opinions about any topic. Basically you display the question on the whiteboard and the choices or options that the pupils can vote on. Each user (or group of users) will then place their vote and the results can be displayed in various forms on your whiteboard.

It is still early days with this pilot and although there is an overhead in familiarisation and preparation, the impact on pupils is encouraging.

Avatars and animation

2006-02-22T12:54:00Z

An avatar is an image that represents a user in a multi-user or virtual reality environment.

These can be used to great effect in animated learning sequences.

An example of this is Seonaid, the online news reporter for the Scottish Executive bringing news and politics to a younger generation. Seonaid was produced by the DA group with the aid of their T2 Animation software. Avatars such as these can be used as eLearning mentors in an interactive application that animates and personalises content delivery using a computer-generated character.

History Tutor is an example of using eLearning mentors to make learning more memorable and engaging. In this demo, you can take an interactive quiz and learn from one of history's greatest playwrights.

You will find this demo and related information by clicking on the following link:-

History Tutor

To download the Demo click on History Tutor (7.5Mb) on the left hand side. You will need the Flash player to run the demo and it can be downloaded from here as well.

These files are zipped (compressed) and will need to be unzipped to extract all files.

To run the demo, double click on the start.swf file.

Crack the binary code!

2006-02-20T08:29:00Z

There are many reasons why we should learn the binary code. It helps us to recognise and use different number systems, it allows us to explore coding and increases our understanding of how the computer works. In this blog we will examine two completely different approaches to learning binary: one method will follow the traditionalist route (behaviourist) and the other method exemplifies discovery learning where each individual has to construct their own learning.

Each method will appeal to different types of learners. The first will have a broader appeal and is the one that most children will probably feel more confident using, whereas the second method involves more physical activity and a 'try and see what you find' approach. This method will appeal to kinaestetic learners and could be adapted to many different topics.

Method 1 - if you like reading and following instructions (drill & practice) and are quite logical choose this method by clicking Binary 1

You will need a plugin (An add-on that allows the browser to display additional types of content) and that can be downloaded by clicking on the link below:

Opus plugin

Method 2 - if you like trying things out by yourself (discovery learning) and following fairly simple instructions choose this method by clicking Binary 2

If you have time, try completing both methods which will improve your understanding. Once you have completed either method (or both) you can try the following binary test :-

Click here

Accelerated Learning and the use of templates

2006-02-16T11:21:00Z

There is an alternative to the online version of the 'Buddy' scenario which can be set up on your own computer or on a school network. This and another scenario called 'Percy', which looks at the structure and organisation of the processor in an innovative way, can be accessed from the following website:-

http://masterclass.ea.dundeecity.sch.uk

From the Home page, select Masterclass Resources, then Online Resources, then Authoring Tools. All the details for downloading and setting up can be found here.

One technique adopted within these scenarios is the use of Word templates to assist with the information gathering exercises. Using a template, which is a structure or layout created within a Word document, helps to guide the user as to how the information should be entered. These are similar to writing frames. Some of these templates have been adapted for the Talk element in SG English and can be downloaded from the links below:-

Talk 1 - Template

Talk - Famous Person

Talk - Serial Killer

Also on this website are two new Case Studies that look at how interactive whiteboards are beng used in one of our Nursery schools and one of our Secondary schools. To view either of these - select Case Studies from the Home Page.

Welcome from the February Blogger

2006-02-03T11:08:00Z

Hello, my name is Kenny Stewart and I am one of Dundee City's ICT Staff Tutors. During the month of February I am going to be making postings (if that is the right phrase) on the ICT Weblog. My main focus is the Secondary sector but I have been involved with projects and Case Studies within Early Years and Primary as well.

Throughout this month I hope to highlight some of the findings from my research into The Digital Application of Accelerated Learning Techniques and how these techniques can be introduced into your classroom. This research was carried out on behalf of the GTC Scotland as part of their Teacher Researcher Programme. Anyone interested in this programme or reading the report should go to the following website address:-

http://www.gtcs.org.uk/gtcs/research.aspx?MenuItemID=418&ID=&selection=8

My first blog will introduce you to the use of an Authoring Tool called Italco, that I found to be extremely useful for putting together digital learning sequences. Italco was produced as part of the EU project - ITALES. An authoring tool can be regarded as any software or service that authors may use to create or modify Web content for publication. The authoring tool was used to produce an example of scenario based learning, which reflected the adventures and events of 'Buddy' from the novel by Nigel Hinton. This novel is one of the texts that is used by English departments in S1 and S2.

Basically the user (learner) takes on the role of a reporter and is trying to find out as much as they can about Buddy. Each location in the scenario contains a combination of information, activities and exercises. To travel from one location to another involves a financial cost and the learner must complete exercises correctly to receive a financial reward.

In a similar vein to the services that may well be provided by SSDN, this application requires a plug-in to be installed on your machine. It will be of interest to practioners to see how easily this installation can be carried out. If you are not sure what to do - contact your IT personnel.

To download the plug-in and view the scenario, go to the following website address:-

http://itales.edm.luc.ac.be/italco/Scenarios/start.html

The list of scenarios available appears on the right hand side and if you scroll down you will find the Buddy one. It starts off at a pavement location where you must watch out for the cracks and try and avoid stepping on them. You will be briefed about superstitions and then you can try the sequencing exercises on fairly common superstitions. Try it and see how you get on!

Any problems or queries contact - kstewart431@dundee.biblio.net