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Take advantage of the latest interactive whiteboard software from your whiteboard manufacturer.

Many Shropshire schools are running interactive whiteboard software that was supplied with their whiteboard. New, updated software has been developed for all whiteboards with improved functions and resources. Check below to find out how to update your school’s software to the very latest available.

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Tony’s session leading the team on Higher Order Thinking raised a number of questions.

Do teachers take enough risks in their questioning? Do we allow pupils the latitude to address higher order thinking skills by asking questions to which we DON’T know the answers? Analysis that there might not even be an answer, or that more information might be required to find an answer and subsequently deducing what other information might be necessary, to make an evaluation of the validity and reliability of the final outcome.

ICT helps to scaffold lower order-thinking skills so that higher order ones can take place. Let’s not throw out creativity.

For homework, Tony suggested that we might like to distil the Nesta “Thinking Skills Review” for teachers, and even further for children. We agreed to at least have read the document for next week, and it might be an idea to start using a wiki (DJ will set up) for this document creation.

(…to be continued)

This article really got me thinking, just think about the potential for schools to be able to purchase machines at this price. Or even for parents, you could start to get to the situation where every pupil has their own laptop, and then they can start to make decisons about when it is appropriate to use it.

We know that Mark Klekot at Stiperstones gave his students pda’s, case study and they made a huge difference.

Following the UK reference in the first article I went to look at the Ndiyo Project. Another good read. I saw a system similar to this at Community College Bishops Castle, but am not sure where they are at with it.

Just think of the potential class sets of laptops for less than £3k…..

need to add to it!

Gantt Project is a FOSS application that enables easy production of Gantt charts. Relevant to KS3 Strategy ICT Units 9.x, it would find uses in any area where sequential planning takes place. Design and Technology colleagues might find it particularly useful.

The Standards website, ‘Primary: Learning and teaching using ICT’ resources page has assembled a number of sources of mainstream information all on one web page. Check it out and add to your favourites.

Originally posted by Steph Woods

A link to a list of Open Source software. For those not in the know, Open Source is free software - free to have, free to amend, free to do what you like with. Try some software, post some comments about it on this blog.

This is one of my favourite reads in the blogosphere. Konrad Glogowski is a Language Arts teacher and PhD candidate in Ontario. His list of categories aligns closely with many of the things I regard as important in blogging specifically, and education/literacy generally. Lately he’s talking about connectivism, a name that has been coined for what I used to think of the holisticity of learning. “Everything is just a part of everything anyway” 60s singer Donovan told us, and principles of connectivism point the same way. More on this at another time, but take a look at the “blog of proximal development” - you might find it as thought-provoking as I do.

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Here’s some more of Konrad’s writing that strikes a nerve for me, that learners can’t really take ownership of words in a textbook that they can’t interact with. How much emphasis should be placed on transmission models of learning? If knowledge is just handed out on a plate (or in a book) could it not encourage learners to be lazy, just to learn enough to pass their assessments? I prefer to teach leraners to think, to help them to develop the thought processes that they need to become autonomous lifelong learners.
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This is the text in a poster I have just received:

An exclusive offer for DiDA students

The use of digital applications will be critical to the successful completion of the Edexcel suite of DiDA qualifications. The Macromedia Studio 8 software offered at an exclusive price to DiDA students includes:

• Flash Professional 8
• Dreamweaver 8
• Fireworks 8
• Flash Paper 2
• Contribute

All the software is full copy, Studio 8 version and available from Ramesys at £75 per copy excluding VAT + delivery.
Students can buy this software at this exclusive price, as can LEA’s and Schools who are preparing to deliver the Edexcel suite of DiDA qualifications.

To take advantage of this 80% saving:

Call: 01902 390844
or Email: dida.enquiries@ramesys.com
and place your order.