Greythorn Primary School. A SLAV/Connect Web 2.0 winner

Congratulations to Duncan Exton of Greythorn Primary School who was a SLAV/Connect Web 2.0  competition winner. Duncan explains how his blog came about:

The thinking blog started as a result of several attempts at individual blogging that lacked focus.  I chose to focus on thinking curriculum in the guise of philosophical questions.  I gathered references at school relating to philosophy for primary school students as there was nothing  much on the internet.  The classroom blog was used as a best practice example for part of the year before I introduced individual students  to blogs.

Greythorn 1

Each week I featured a topic, often using  digital content from Digilearn as links.  The class would watch a video about a subject, discuss the subject and write their responses to the thinking questions in their individual student blogs.

In this way students had a clear focus with their blogging.  They are covering loads of curriculum including writing, ICT for creating and communicating, thinking curriculum and managing personal learning.  Their blogging has formed an excellent body of work for assessment and reporting to numerous dimensions.  Students are becoming more analytical in their thinking processes and using examples to promote a point of view.

We use comments to promote communication amongst students and promote positive interaction in the Web 2.0 realm.  In the future I hope to expand the thinking community with many more classrooms in order to promote thinking dialogue between students, and to promote the idea of Web 2.0 communication.  I have created a separate blog entity in order to do this, specifically for thinking blogging.  I will be able to add teacher users to this blog so that content may be added and that the community will expand.

Greythorn 2

I am not sure how I will use the prize of the Nintendo Wii we won in the classroom.  I will need to interact with the games first before I use it in the classroom.  It will be a focus during next year without a doubt.  Our school is also purchasing Nintendo DSi’s which should complement the introduction of the Wii.

Congratulations to Duncan and Greythorn Primary School for a wonderful unit of work creatively delivered. We look forward to hearing about how the Wii has been used for learning and teaching.

iPod touch for learning

One of the most useful handheld devices for learning is the iPod touch. Australian iPod touch guru Jenny Ashby shows how the tool can be used in the classroom:

iPod touch 1

Jenny’s recent presentation “iPod iLearn” goes into more depth about how to set up, implement and use iPods in the classroom. Although Primary in focus, there is plenty for Secondary teachers to take from this presentation:

View more documents from jjash.

About a year ago, the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) produced an iPod Touch Research Report that includes the recommendations:

On Planning and Implementation

Develop technology projects that focus on the power of visual media and social networking, as they significantly influence literacy, numeracy and life chances for disadvantaged students.

Ensure that innovative projects using emerging technologies provide adequate time for teachers to become familiar with the devices and their functionality, prior to introduction and implementation in the classroom.

Identify clear, precise learning goals that support a culture of learning and skill development in the classroom, as essential for effective implementation of emerging technologies.

On Teaching and Learning

Promote mobile handheld devices, like the iPod Touch, that stimulate learners to want to learn and provide a means to pursue knowledge independently.

Introduce handheld mobile devices like the iPod Touch to support personalised learning and to assist literacy and numeracy in ESL, ‘at risk’ and reluctant learners.

Promote a limited number of handheld devices per class, as opposed to 1:1, to encourage teachers to engage with group work or team work as a successful pedagogy.

Introduce the iPod Touch to classrooms as a tool to stimulate teachers to rethink their pedagogy by considering how to integrate portable devices with learning functionality in curriculum activities.

Develop curriculum plans that involve greater learner autonomy and independence when using handheld mobile devices in the classroom.

Integrate mobile devices with other technologies (such as interactive whiteboards, laptops, Nintendo Wii) for purposeful learning in the classroom, so they are not just add-ons.

On Professional Learning

Provide greater access to well-structured professional learning sessions to promote widespread teacher ICT capacity and confidence.

Promote online collaboration as an effective mode of teacher networking for sharing knowledge and the transfer of good practice.

On Technical Support

Include a budget item for DEECD technical support at the school or cluster level to better support emerging technology projects.

Conduct a technical needs analysis, prior to project start-up, of issues that may impact on successful implementation of innovative projects.

Provide one identified technical conduit within the ITD Branch of DEECD for critical issue liaison involving emerging technology projects.

If you decide to investigate using the iPod touch, or are already using them, then the blog post “50 educational apps for the iPod touch” by U Tech Tips will prove useful.

50 ipod touch

And thanks to @AuntyTech, here is another list of over 170 iPod touch or iPhone apps (beware that some do cost) that keep students connected to the classroom, no matter where they are:

iPod apps

The beauty of iPod touch apps (applications = programs) is that there are many that are free and quite a lot that can be used in educational settings. The iPod touch has the potential to become a revolutionary tool in the classroom.

Games for learning wiki

Victorian Northern Metropolitan Region Ultranet Coach Anesti Anestis has provided Bright Ideas with information about a Games for Learning wiki.

Homepage
Homepage

Anesti explains, ‘It is a site to find, make and play games.  Teachers involved in gaming can share their experiences and findings in applying games in the classroom.’

Getting started
Getting started

With information on

  • Free stuff
  • Gamemaking software
  • Gaming sites
  • Getting Started
  • Nintendo DS
  • Nintendo Edu Titles
  • Nintendo Wii
  • Presentation and Resources
  • XBOX
  • XNA Game creators
  • there is plenty of support for schools that are considering introducing gaming for learning.