Shared Sharing Practice

Temperature sensors and relative interface software

Lesmahagow introduction

Jim Campbell teaches Physics at Lesmahagow High School. He uses temperature sensors and relative interface application software called Alba, to teach his S3 pupils about cooling by evaporation. The pupils perform experiments with different liquids.

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Teacher profile

Jim Campbell has been teaching for 28 years in two different schools. He has been at Lesmahagow High School for the past 17 years and is now principal teacher of physics, teaching S1-S4 pupils. 

Jim has been using computers since the 1970s. He has always kept up to date with technological development and uses ICT on a regular basis in his teaching. Some examples of the software used in the science department include Microsoft Excel for data analysis and presentation, interfacing software such as H—Still and Pasco and CAL packages for chemistry. 

Jim has an Additional Teaching Qualification in Computing and is the ICT coordinator for the school. 

School profile

Lesmahagow High School is in the village of Lesmahagow, South Lanarkshire. It is housed in a main modern block and an older two-storey building. 

There are 630 pupils in the school, 50 of whom are recorded as having special educational needs and approximately 120 have free school lunches. There are five pupils with English as a second language. 

There are approximately 170 computers in the school: 130 are connected in a local network, mainly sited in four dedicated ICT rooms, and there are 40 stand-alone computers, mainly sited in two dedicated rooms in the science and technical area. The school has an ICT coordinator. 

ICT training is available to staff though local education authority courses. Most teachers have recently completed New Opportunities Fund (NOF) training and others are in the process of completing their European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) courses.