Hillside FLaT Project

Final post - Sustainability

2006-12-29T17:02:00.000+00:00

As the formal part of Hillside's Future Learning and Teaching project draws to a close (January 2005 - January 2007), this post will outline the plans for 2007, ensuring that ICT (including social software) and Multiple Intelligences developments continue, allowing teachers and pupils opportunities to access information and learn in new ways, and for pupils to show that they meet assessment criteria for National Units in meaningful settings (ie relevant, contextualised, audience).

Key commitments for 2007 include:

Video blogging (intranet only) - this will allow pupils to generate evidence for a range of Access PSE units. This will be done via laptop with built-in camera, and on-screen prompts/questions. Pupils will have the opportunity to give opinions on their care package via this method, prior to a Looked After Review meeting
After-school Computer Animation club based around creating an animation using Mediastage
Creating a bank of mp3 files for Access German, using some of Accelerated Learning theory
Offering pupils Video Conferencing facilities, based on learning opportunities via the Global Leap database, and possible eTwinning link-ups
Pupils leaving at the end of Fourth Year will continue to have the opportunity to 'burn' work onto CD-ROM, to take with them
Fourth Year pupils who participate in our Parenting programme (based around our Real Care Baby II), will be encouraged to blog their experiences
Some homework will be provided on mp3 files, with pupils allowed to take an mp3 player overnight with them to their unit
Continue to work with Fionna Balfour (CALL) and hopefully other agencies and 'edubloggers' to develop an online resource which supports those interested in Learning 2.0 and Assessment 2.0 (for want of a MUCH better phrase). This includes providing advice on the amending of National Assessments (NABs)
If possible within pupil internet access constraints, provide a class with the opportunity to build up an RSS-feed home page eg Netvibes
Collaborate online with educators, via Skype, Google Documents etc to create content useful in the delivery of Personal and Social education
Provide school staff with twilight CPD opportunities eg RSS, Social Bookmarking
Encourage classes to create audio and visual content via podcasting, and contributing audio to the freesound project and images to Flickr (under Creative Commons license)
Work with care staff in the school to develop DJ/mixing facilities, for pupils to utilise as part of their 24-hour curriculum.

This is the final post on this blog. For reference, however, it will not be deleted. From January, all updates, experiences, opinions, links etc will be through my fortnightly podcast, Booruch, available via iTunes or at http://booruch.libsyn.com/.

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Project update - October 2006

2006-10-13T10:09:00.000+01:00

As we approach the last term before the end of the formal period of the FLaT project, I thought that a brief review and next steps would be useful.

The Craft teacher has finished working of his amended assessment (NAB) and this will be used with my class in the new term.

I had a further meeting with Fionna at the CALL Centre. We looked at each other's ideas of resources for amending materials and assessments, and how our ideas for sharing what can be done, or is happening in centres throughout the country rough outline, could compliment each other.

By January, an interactive website will be up and running, which will contain resources, links, case studies (audio/video), opportunities for educators to add their experiences, and support for those interested in amending materials. Further details will follow after the October break.

Class 3 took part in a Victorian Child Criminal Video Conference with The National Archives in Kew. Pupils examined documents and photos from 19th Century London, and then constructed some metaphors which they then incorporated into a poem. Each pupil produced a poem, which was emailed to Eukaria, in Kew.

Global Leap and JVCS continue to provide excellent Video Conference support, therefore we have booked a further session where we delve back to the First World War and converse with someone on 'the front'.

Based on podcasts that I have reviewed for my Booruch podcast and that pupils have listened to in their studies, I and primary teacher John Johnston have constructed (and continue to update) an education podcast directory, giving educators and students access to useful audio and content.

I am very interested in Joe Dale's PowerPoint advice. He fights the 'death by Power Point' groan by taking visitors to his site through tutorials on how to add 'drag and drop' and 'triggers' to slide shows; transforming the software. I am particularly interested as I have experimented with assessing via Power Point. The advanced techniques (with Joe's 'hand-holding') will be part of what I produce at the end of the project.

Media Studies at Access 3 has been introduced into Class 3's curriculum, as we strive to be in a position to potentially offer each of the Access clusters. Learning will form the basis of a media production in terms 2 and 3.

I am regularly meeting with care staff at the school as we integrate music into the 24-hour curriculum. We have identified staff with DJing/production experience and are currently considering which additional resources (compatible with the iMac/Garageband) are needed. It is expected that initially, pupils will have an after-school opportunity to work with staff who are trained in using the equipment based in the Multimedia room.

Next month, a company (working with the Partners in Learning fund) are sending their 'Diary Room in a Box' for staff and pupils to record their experiences of the Podcasting project. This resource, or a similar use of the iMac (and iSight camera) appears to me to be a way of recording pupils 'Leisure Time Activities' out-with the formal curriculum, thus illustrating objectives and outcomes from the residential units' numerous positive, educational evening activities. Further details to follow.

July 2006 - update

2006-06-12T12:18:00.000+01:00

I continue to work with the Craft instructor to amend NAB materials. We are working on an assessment item within the Working with Craft Tools unit (Access 3). We are focusing on using ICT to enable 'drag and drop' matching tasks, which are more easy to access and respond to (while ensuring that Performance Criterion remains unchanged). These assessment tasks will be up-to-date and should promote pupil independence. Time constraints are worked around by meeting during time set aside for the monthly ICT drop-in session in my classroom.

We plan to make use of of time during the cross-curricular Activity Week to provide an option which utilises Garageband, iRiver, Logo, Comic Life, Audacity, Digital Camera etc. The pupil group will be challenged along the lines of:
""Your group are going to produce a 30 minute Radio show. In it will be your top 5 songs at the moment; your news, views and interviews; and a song or track that your group have produced. You can use the digital camera to shoot some video that will go along with the audio. You can keep a photo-diary of the day, which will be turned into a humourous comic strip."

We have used the Simply VR software to attempt to produce 360 degree Art and Craft images in order to allow pupils to showcase their efforts and to build up examples of work for their personalised S4 leavers CD-ROM. Unfortunately, the images taken by the digital camera are too large and I can't seem to reduce it. Therefore we will try to apply our animation skills (using StopMotionPro) to achieve a 360 image.

Our Radiowaves station (Hillside Beatbox) has a couple of new stories on it. Pupils worked in English to write a match report on our recent cup final. Our Green Team (Eco Schools) recently visited Craigencalt Ecology Centre. Upon return to the school, Class 3 decided that some follow-up questions were necessary in order to inspire the group for next sessions environmental activities. Therefore we set up a Skype call to Ronnie at Craigencalt. All questions were planned and sent to Ronnie in advance. The Skype call was recorded using Hot Recorder. After the call, pupils were then able to use Audacity to carefully select the key parts of the conversation, which was then uploaded to our Radiowaves station, where it remains one of the 'Featured Stories'.

Pupils in Class 3 continue to be encouraged to search for appropriate educational podcasts during their studies. Recently, during some Social Subjects research (Marine conservation) and pupil went into iTunes and searched for this term. They then selected two shows from the ten listed (DiveFilm podcast) for listening to in the coming weeks. As usual, they will be encouraged to give feedback to the producers in terms of production values, and any follow-up questions.

One of the static class teachers spoke to me about the challenge of teaching Long Division. We searched on the Web for examples of good practice. One of the strategies that we agreed to try out was to use the enhanced podcasts produced by Millthorpe School. These podcasts have audio and video, and are humorous and in a context. In August we will allow the class to access the Long Division show, evaluate its impact, and feed-back to the producers along with some follow-up questions from the pupils.

During a separate Social Subjects project, myself and a pupil visited the Royal Museum in Edinburgh. We took photos of relevant Ancient Egypt artefacts, which the pupil then tagged, commented on, and added notes to using the class Flickr account, when back in the classroom. The pupil was 100% on task, and became aware that using social software (where anyone on the Web can see the photos and his comments/interpretations etc) means taking care over content. The Flickr task helped to reinforce his learning (in a sense helping anonymous, future learners searching Flickr using Ancient Egypt related tags). I plan to explore the potential for using Flickr tasks like these as assessment tools. I discussed assessement options with the pupil and he agreed that I would contact a History teacher, who will be asked to visit the class Flickr page and 'mark' (comment) on the pupil's work ie accuracy of notes, appropriateness of tags.

After our recent success in Video Conferencing with The National Archives in Kew, we have used the booking system at Global Leap to once again engage with their staff (in September), this time as we learn about Victorian Child Criminals' Poetry. Having an event like this in the diary helps to sustain a positive, focused ethos in the class. It reinforces that staff are committed to creating enhanced learning opportunities, and builds upon previous success (both academically and socially ie being able to interact purposefully with a 'new face'. I'm aware of new technology (particulary associated with the new Macs) which means that soon the bulky equipment needed for good quality Video Conferencing may no longer be necessary. With the support available, I'm confident that at least one other teacher will make use of the booking opportunities available at Global-Leap.

The last Access Network meeting (held at the end of June) continued to provide support to those who are considering amending NABs. One influence on future direction (of amending NABs) is that a number of SQA subject reviews are taking place, therefore I will focus on those units which we currently deliver that are not currently subject to review. For example, Social Subjects NABs have been rewritten and show a great improvement; although I'll still be giving advice on alternatives as Social Subjects assessments, in particular, can be made more accessible and meaningful through, for example, blogging or the creation of a podcast. By the start of September, those pupils who are working on an Independent Study Contract will be discussing with me how they will show that they have met the evidence requirements of an Access 2 or 3 Social Subjects unit. This approach remains intensive. For example, I've noted that pupils need to set themselves a couple of targets towards the end of the previous lesson (in the day). Often this means that they have break time to consider their work so that a productive 45 session follows. The class is typified by movement, discussion and drafting, and although often appearing like a booruch; pupils remain 'on task' for the lesson, have clear ownership of resources and learning, and appear to learn more (with some freedom to move there learning in different directions).

During Independent Living (PSE) we continue to use a Rogerian, person-centred approach. The current unit is entitled 'My Home'. Pupils worked together to choose the order in which the 7 sections would be tackled, and then chose 2 learnings styles/modes for each section eg 'Moving On' was selected first, to be studied primarily via discussion and a visitor to the school. This continues to be very labour-intensive, though you learn to make the most of resources and external links. I believe that this element to Class 2's ethos is only sustainable with classroom support, good health, and receiving all 'Preparation and Correction' periods. Over the summer, I will consider one more subject that this approach could be realistically used with (eg Media Studies). The Rogerian approach was 'done to me' during a Masters unit at Moray House; delivered by tutor Richard Hendry. I decided to try it out with PSE, as pupils require a degree of ownership of a life skills programme and due to the existing programme being well structured, though 'dry'. Class 5 have started work on a whole-class animation in French which will allow them to script the language that they have learnt during Unit 1. Set in Paris, the characters are ... snowmen.

For the 'Where I Live' section, pupils were to dream of their ideal living environment (lead-up work had been done by immersing ourselves in the excellent The Real Game). The chose to each produce an animation. Therefore, I gave them the following task: Produce >30 second animation (with £0 budget) entitled, "Welcome! Let me show you around my new home." This block of animation (where the classroom assistant and myself are now comfortable with this media) was noticeable by pupils improving their planning (storyboarding), selection of resources, and control/manipulation of filming.

My weekly podcast has just reached it's summer holidays (21 episodes in 6 months). Show 21 gives an overview of what's best in the Web 2.0/new media world at present and also sees me reflect on podcasting within Hillside. Of note, my colleagues now have access to the database of educational podcasts that I've built up during this year. This will go live on the Web at the end of the summer (as a result of collaboration with a fellow Scottish 'edublogger'). The second batch of Independent Living podcasts are booked in for recording during August and September, for release at http://independentlivingpodcasts.blogspot.com during October. ETwinning, RSS, and the edublogger community help me to keep an international focus. Relating this to my conviction that genuine collegiality and collaboration is central to 21st Century teacher professionalism, I will continue to host a fortnightly Skypecast over the summer ('Podcasting in the Classroom'). So far, the 3 conversations have covered resources, benefits/constraints, project ideas, and sharing of best practice.

One focus for the FLaT project has been to offer pupils and class teachers the entire range of Access 3 clusters. Media Studies (Analysis and Production units) has been introduced to Class 3 during the last term. The key textbook is GCSE Media Studies (OCR) by Longman; ironically a bit out-of-date as it has nothing on social/new media, although any text over 6 months old would probably suffer in this respect.

Recently, I met with an Enterprise in Education representative. We sketched some plans for the year ahead and discussed appropriate Enterprise packages and contacts. It is expected that myself and our Craft teacher will develop a couple of links from next session. Two classes have worked on Enterprise activities this term, without any FLaT support, so I'm considering how we can collaborate with external organisations to enhance the experience for pupils and build on the toehold within our curriculum. The Food and Drink Challenge would enable us again to work with local business and possibly Further Education.

Learnng via interactive 'off-timetable' events will continue into session 2006/7. The Teenage Health Promotion morning is booked to take place at the school in September, and The RealCare Baby and parenting programme looks likely to be funded, and find its way into our PSE/after-school curriculum from October. This report (and a previous introductory programme run at Hillside) has convinced me that pupils will benefit from this kinesthetic approach.

Class 5's Maths class in the school benefits from a high level of team-teaching. One period a week is given to 'ICT Maths'. As the term drew to a close, I decided that a way to 'cement' the pupils' learing of multiplication by 2 digits would be for them to collaborate to produce a 2-page comic, using Comic Life (bundled with new Macs) which in a fun way would teach the reader how to tackle such a calculation. The pupils were given a 10 minute tour of Comic Life, and as 'digital natives' (well, 2/3rds were) spent the next 30 minutes genuinely collaborating on a meaningful task. Two of the boys were particularly encouraging of the classmate who wasn't too confident with the technology. The task was fun (making me do silly poses and making daft statements) and it brought the step-by-step process alive. The end result was produced within a period; though as all of this should be about the 'teach' and not the 'tech', it is important to consider, in advance, WHY the technology is being used and if it an efficient use of time and resource. I regard Comic Life as another tool in the toolkit. It is not 'the answer', but there will be a time-and-a-place (particularly in Modern Foreign Languages).

First venture into Skypecasting

2006-05-19T11:10:00.000+01:00

Click here to read about this (it is a posting on another of my blogs).

Update - April 06

2006-04-30T17:57:00.000+01:00

Amending NABs

Two Hillside staff and two colleagues from across the River Forth met on Friday to discuss amending of some National Assessment Bank (NAB) materials. In particular, we were interested in linking Enterprise Education materials with Outcomes in the Access 3 Enterprise Through Craft cluster, and the Access 2 PSE unit, Using Support Services in the Local Community. We examined: language used in NABs, how to used technology to give pupils with Additional Support Needs more control over their assessment ie using text-to-speech and recording voice comments in any assessment via Word, if there were any parts of the existing NAB which were not necessary ie was not stated in the Performance Criteria.

The 'get together' will be mentioned at the next Access Network meeting and hopefully another meeting will be arranged for after the summer. In the meantime, I search for colleagues who would be willing to rewrite some NABs via a wiki. I'll also need to avoid scheduling meetings for holiday weekends, which is difficult as Local Authorities seem to have increasingly varied holidays. The FLaT steering committee at Hillside will also continue to work on amending assessments such as Access Social Subjects, and RMPS. We will also need to discuss how we will share our ideas with the wider Scottish community delivering Access clusters.

Clay animation

A group of pupils have committed themselves to working on an animation project over this term. They are getting familiar with Storyboarding, ordering props, and building their set and characters.

MP3 players in the classroom

I am trying this out with my class over the summer term. One pupil is listening to a 3-hour long audiobook while he is redrafting an English essay. For him, anyway, it seems to help him to concentrate (he often interrupts his work to engage in unconstructive conversations). In English, one pupil from Aberdeen (home of the Doric) listens to some Access to English stories that contain Scots via the MP3 player. He follows the text at the same time. One further use is where the pupils have learnt some new German phrases. They record themselves and then listen again at the start of each lesson. They also have the option of listening to the version recorded by myself (I'll need to politely ask my German colleague to contribute to this to add authenticity).

Presentation to CALL Centre conference

On Thursday, 27th April, I gave a talk on 'Podcasting in the Classroom', emphasising the relationship with Multiple Intelligences and the potential to develop communication via the 'read (listen)/write' Web. Click here to listen to the audio. I am offering educators training on using podcasting in their work with pupils and adults. Sessions will be held in October and November (email me at dafc1885@hotmail.com for further details).

Podcasts for PSE

These podcasts (on Drugs, Housing, and Careers) are going through a final edit and will be available on the Web during May. They should be relevant and informative, with links available via the host site. The URL is still to be confirmed, but will be at libsyn, probably under 'independent living'.

The education podcast directory that I have been constructing over the past 4 months will go online during May. My own weekly education podcast continues, and can be subscribed to.

Other news

The second Video Conference takes place during the second week in May. I'm still finding it difficult to arrange for 'bridging', but I'm enjoying the steep learning curve involved with this technology.

The Independent Living after-school sessions (two per week this term) are running well. At present, we are concentrating on establishing this part of the curriculum and recognise that ICT needs to be better integrated. The model for this will be the way in which Class 2 uses ICT within its timetabled Independent Living lessons.

The monthly ICT 'drop-in' continues. This month we looked at RSS and how it can be used to keep teachers 'in the loop' with regards to developments in knowledge related to their subject. Due to wireless connectivity problems, it has been decided to hold these meetings 'on site'.

eTwinning workshop in Prague

2006-03-26T14:53:00.000+01:00

Had a wonderful time in Prague, meeting with teachers from across Europe. The aims were:

To create an international group of eTwinning ambassadors;
To share experience and ideas about international projectsTo form new eTwinning Partnerships;
To practice the use of eTwinning portal and other ICT tools supporting eTwinning partnerships and projects;
To promote eTwinning action in European countries.

I would strongly encourage colleagues who are interested in a European dimension to their classroom (and using ICT to make it real) to apply for the forthcoming workshops. The reason that they work so well, is the significant resources invested in the events. As well as being treated royally, there are many support staff (from Brussels, host nation, and others), and the social events in the evenings allow for genuine friendships and parnerships to form and develop.

Things to think about in eTwinning (or any informal twinning) include:

Do you have compatible technology?
Would Skype be a better way of communicating rather than email?
At what stage do pupils encounter the same curriculum?
At what time in the year is it appropriate to twin (or to start planning)?
Will you communicate in English, or a 3rd language?
What are the pedagogical justifications for the project?
How will you involve colleagues in your school or members of the community?

With regards to blogs, podcasts and wikis; I heard no mention of usage by colleagues, though there was some awareness. I think that some tools on TwinSpace are wiki-like.

There are two possible Czech links that I will try to develop further: one with younger pupils and cross-curricular; the other with older pupils. I'll use the eTwinning portal in the meantime to try to find partners for the two podcast ideas that I'm keen on.

Whichever project goes ahead, it'll be starting in early September.

Meeting to amend assessments

2006-03-21T11:13:00.000+00:00

I would like to invite colleagues to come to Hillside School on Friday, 28th April at 1pm for an afternoon of Access NAB amending.

If you share my experience of certain NABs being poorly-written and not meeting students' needs, then come along. We will take a selection of NABs at Access level; work in pairs or small groups; and produce NABs which we feel would more appropriate (as well as verifiable by SQA Moderators). Those which we are happy with would then be sent to SQA to go through the verification process. A later discussion would take place on further amending, and on how amended NABs may be shared with colleagues.

Lunch will be available.

If you are unable to attend but would be willing to contribute online and in your own time, then please get in touch.

I hope that you will be interested in attending and in sharing your ideas and experience. If so, please confirm your attendance (to noble_d@hillsideschool.co.uk) along with any curriculum areas that you feel we should focus on.

eTwinning Professional Development Workshop in Prague

2006-03-10T20:45:00.000+00:00

From the 23rd to 25th March, I will be at this conference.

"eTwinning is a new scheme enabling you to work with other schools in Europe through Information and Communications Technology (ICT). It can be a simple and straightforward way of finding partner schools and working on a range of exciting curriculum projects." (from eTwinning website)

I am aiming to develop some areas of the FLaT project, as can be seen from the following excerpts from my application to attend the conference:

"I wish to gain contact/s which would lead to the establishment of two eTwinning podcast projects. Firstly, one in which I would collaborate with a teacher to tackle certain Mathematical concepts which have traditionally been difficult to grasp. We would produce a bank of podcasts, which would attempt to enhance understanding. The podcast may, for example, make use of background music (see Accelerated Learning theory, or Verbcast) to create a positive climate and pupil receptiveness.

Secondly, I would wish to work with a colleague to support each other in producing a tourist podcast for each village or town in which the school is located. Classes would collaborate via Video Conference or email to plan the structure and production of the podcasts. The completed recordings, available online, would allow visitors to the village/town to download the show to their mp3 player and receive a guided tour as they walk around the area (see http://www.visitdublin.com/iwalks/ for example)."

I will blog here during my trip.

February update

2006-02-17T21:25:00.000+00:00

Amending of National Assessment Bank (NAB) materials

I've been experimenting with amending NABs (whilst considering Multiple Intelligences theory). I will start to systematically rewrite and build up a resource of amended assessments (at Access 2 and 3 level) from August this year until next January. At the moment, I am pretty sure that blogs, podcasts and animation will feature in some of these, though I will have to consider improving some assessment items using more 'traditional' technology.

Use of GarageBand to enable pupils to meet performance criteria

This week the school will take delivery of the latest iMac. This comes with iLife 06, an application which contains GarageBand 3. Although I have very little experience of this audio software, I am aware of it's reputation and growing number of features. We see this being used with our Sound Box (music); fully in the production and uploading of podcasts; and in soundtracking movies and animation produced by the pupils. As we look to the possibility of formally launching Access 2 - Intermediate 1 Music in the school from August 2006 (during timetabled lessons, or the 4-5pm After School 'slot'), I am excited by the potential for GarageBand to be the main resource. Does anyone have any experience of GarageBand being core to the delivery of Music?

Podcast directory

I am building up a directory of Podcasts which I have listened to and feel could be of use to teachers in their classroom. At the moment, there are around 25 podcasts which I have evaluated and noted key details on (eg length, location, area of curriculum). This database should be available online by July. Although the funding for my Podcasting work comes from Microsoft/SQA's Challenge Fund, I feel that in terms of promoting alternative ways of accessing learning (and the ability to harness the technology to motivate and promote inclusiveness through pupils producing content that can be listened to by THE WORLD!), this work is now a natural extension of the core of our FLaT project. My weekly show on 'Education Podcasting' can be downloaded at Booruch (or iTunes).

MP3 whole-class activities

Pupils in class 2 are currently studying 'Smoking'. They are to consider what they have learned and discussed over the past month (including about the Smoking in Public Places ban in Scotland), to produce a 10 minute podcast which gives: key information, a range of views, and their conclusion. They are using MP3 players to record content, and Audacity to edit it. Competent work will be published on iTunes. One pupils has been talking to staff about their views on boxing. He asked to use an MP3 player to record these for later (more accurate) transcription.

PDA latest

Two staff have been studying (remotely) towards a PDA in Online Learning from Lauder College. Due to time pressures, both are leaving further study until later in the year. Lauder have been supportive in this.

Using MediaStage to create an ePortfolio of creative work

Class 2 pupils have started learning how to create computer animation using MediaStage. They have watched examples from Northwood Primary and were impressed. They are motivated to create animation which incorporates video walls. We can then embed photos (including 360 degree) and video (of, say, their clay animation movies). Therefore the viewer is treated to an informative movie which allows them to click to see clear evidence of creative work, possibly with commentary from the pupil. The pupil would leave the school with this as the centrepiece of their leaving CD-ROM.

Other news

All teachers recently recieved INSET on a Triads/S.A.F.E model of peer observation and support, and on how to deliver lessons which consider Visual, Auditory, and Kinisthetic learning styles

With the FLaT room now built (and the animation room nearly ready), Care Staff will be offered training so that they can make use of the resources outside lesson time. We are aware of a number of staff who are creative and motivated to provide learning opportunities for the pupils. Those teaching staff not involved in the steering committee will now receive INSET on using the resource to promote learning via better meeting pupils' needs.

We have had technical problems with the IC3 online learning resource. Staff access has been fine, and progress is clear. However, pupils have had difficulty with screens freezing. Great effort continues into solving this problem, however in the meantime we have made greater use of the new beginner PC Passport textbooks.

The group of teachers which meets monthly to plan Positive Steps PSE lessons now have the confidence to almost always develop a Power Point show to improve delivery of sessions.

Our Science teacher encourages pupils to enter the Audio Innovation competition.

I am looking into the best way of pupils reflecting on their Work Experience and Leisure-Time activities. Will this be via a private blog or just a Word-based diary on their area of the network (or be paper-based)?

Class 2 will participate in a video conference with The National Archives in May. They will learn more about the Atlantic Slave Trade, as part of their Social Subjects studies.

Colleagues continue to make use of the monthly ICT drop-in sessions; asking about PowerPoint, wikis, del.icio.us, podcasts, blogs, clay animation etc.

The next Access Network meeting takes place on Friday, 24th February. Here, colleagues are made aware of developments, above, which they may wish to further consider for their classroom.

FLaT room photos now up!

2006-02-10T08:20:00.000+00:00

Click here

Collaboration and influence

2006-01-29T18:15:00.000+00:00

I've been working with our Craft instructor to amend some Access 3 Craft and Design National Assessment items. We have grabbed time here and there, although the pleasing thing is that he now has the knowledge and skills to complete this task himself, and to put his own ideas into practice.

The Science teacher came to see me during one of my now regular ICT 'drop in' sessions. Within the hour, we had reviewed The Naked Scientist podcast; considered possible uses of podcasting re: assessment of his pupils; and enabled him to set up his own blog! He sees the possibilities from blogging in terms of being a reflective practitioner (who is aiming for Chartered Teacher status), and promoting the discussion of eco-awareness in schools (eg EcoSchools).

I am now looking at the power of wikis, particularly after an experience last week. One of the managers was browsing our 'Rewards Scheme' (a 3-year old initiative to 'promote positive behaviour'). He noticed an anomaly in the Excel file (hosted on our network), and made a change. He informed me that he had made the change, and we discussed the appropriateness of this (it was brilliant, and saved me some work!). I will now use my own wiki to collaboratively plan work with external agencies (see podcasting project).

One of the steering group now runs a very healthily attended after-school music club. This is raising interest in advance of resourcing the FLaT room. Two boys who are due to leave soon (and therefore will miss out on using the resource) are keen to record some songs using the laptop and Audacity.

A photo of the finished FLaT room should be posted next week.

Podcasting Reflections #2

2006-01-26T23:13:00.000+00:00

Click here to listen to my second weekly podcast. The next one will be on Friday, 3rd February. You can access the series at iTunes by clicking here.

Podcast project - Podcasting Reflection #1

2006-01-23T11:34:00.000+00:00

Click on the title to listen to my first podcast series, where I talk about useful Podcasts, tools, and my offshoot project - introducing podcasting into the classroom. You can subscribe by copying the following link into your 'podcatcher' - http://booruch.libsyn.com/rss. The blog is at http://booruch.libsyn.com.

Issues arising from meeting on Monday, 16th January

2006-01-19T11:24:00.000+00:00

We are nearly ready to start resourcing the FLaT room. There is going to be a cross-over in resources between the FLaT project and the Podcasting project. Over the next 2 weeks we are going to research and discuss the following. Please help if you can!

* should we buy a class set of iPod (Shuffles?) or MP3 players?
* do we need to invest in GarageBand AND Cubase?
* following the MacWorld announcements, do we an ibook G4 or an imac?
* would a Mac connect with our PC network, and our internet connection?
* is there a place for an iPod Video player in the classroom?

The Independent Living programme has been relaunched, and is being delivered to the S3 group. So far the education/care team joint planning and delivery is working. I think the difference is mainly down to greater management overview and co-ordination. It appears that we may have finally found a model which successfully extends the working week.

Pupils in Class 2 are now choosing for Podcasts to be part of certain areas of PSE and RMPS lessons. There is now a lot of completed pupil work in Art and Craft. This means that within the next month pupils can start to use Media Stage to create 'virtual galleries' of their work. Our Science teacher has received some input on podcasting and is interested (like myself) in the idea of pupils using mp3 technology to record, for example, experiment results (assessment), with the potential to send the file for possible inclusion in a Science podcast (eg The Naked Scientists).

Two more staff have commenced ICT training.

Critical analysis of podcasting at Hillside

2005-12-16T15:02:00.000+00:00

The work stimulates the following ‘Intelligences’: Musical (selecting an appropriate piece of music for the various segments of the podcast); Logical/mathematical (sequencing of chosen segments); Linguistic (putting thoughts into spoken word, for maximum impact and appeal); Spatial (organizing segments of spoken work and music using GarageBand); and Interpersonal (networking, interviewing, working with expert for first time, meeting a target as a team).

We feel that podcasting is much more of a media tool than an ICT one. It should allow us to facilitate parts of the Media Studies cluster in a cross-curricular way eg by producing a news report on ‘The Road to War’ (Social Subjects unit). It is a ‘low-threshold, high-ceiling’ activity, and will focus us on our development of a Music curriculum, in that the class was very motivated to choose an appropriate track to soundtrack their segment. They evaluated the ‘free music’ that was on offer. With the availability of the ‘sound box’, boys will be able to compose their own podcast soundtracks.

Creativity was evident at the planning, recording, and sequencing stages. There were tangible results at all stages of the project, with a finished podcast produced within the allotted time. There was collaboration, sharing of goals, and respectful turn-taking. Pupils were on task for a much greater percentage of the time compared to average. It provided an alternative to the written word, although a great deal of thought had to go into verbal contributions eg consideration of audience, sustaining interest, and working within time constraints. Communication skills were developed through interviewing and debating. Pupils understood that much of this good work would be left on the ‘cutting floor’, however they seemed to grasp the idea of selecting good content (12-15 minutes maximum). It provided a way of showing knowledge and understanding of a topic (which I feel I could assess) in a more worthwhile and comfortable way than, for example, a written test or whole class, teacher-pupil oral questioning.

I will consider how certain NAB assessments (maybe in RMPS, Social Subjects, and German) could be rewritten in a way that a podcast can be planned and recorded to meet the Performance Criteria.

The podcast website (linked through iTunes podcast directory) will need to be developed and maintained, with visitors being able to subscribe to future productions. I will use Michael Geoghegan’s book on podcasting to help, as well as studying how our original site was set up. Pupils may be encouraged to include requests for further information in their future podcasts, for example asking any people with stories related to the ‘Road to War’ to get in touch with the teacher. Additional pupil-led podcasts may be produced if a further (non-FLaT related) funding application is successful. Podcasts may be ‘healthy living’ related, or otherwise. Already we have witnessed the possibility that one or two pupils have the potential to benefit from media-related work experience in S4 eg through the BBC Talent initiative. It is vital for continuity and whole-school influence, that this tool is promoted as a central part of the FLaT project, even though it is too recent a concept to have been directly referred to in the FLaT application. At present, participation in the production of one podcast will be a feature of a target in each pupil’s IEP for Spring 2006. From Easter 2006, a podcasting after-school club will a) assist in the lengthening of the school week, and b) help to widen access to this opportunity in a safe, educational way.

We feel that it would be important for some link to be made with the Apple Masterclass, in order to obtain an iBook, and to arrange further training in digital technologies in the classroom. Sessions need to have a simple structure eg allowing pupils a choice of, say, 3 angles to approach their planning. We would need to purchase an iRiver due to the CD quality of voice recording, as opposed to the standard .WAV file. Pupils will continue to rehearse their contributions with the aim of reducing the amount of content which is script-based. Finally, monitoring of content is vital in our setting and everything to be podcast to the world must be played-back to senior management beforehand.

Video Conference with the Royal Observatory, Greenwich

2005-12-07T22:37:00.000+00:00

Our first video conference (VC) took place today. This was between Class 2 and The Royal Observatory, Greenwich (ROG). The session was all about the Moon, and had been booked 2 months previous via Global Leap. The time since the booking had been spent identifying an appropriate location (as FLaT room is being finished), working with our IT guy on firewalls, protocols, ports, network hardware etc, and communicating with Clarissa at the National Maritime Museum, Mike at Global Leap, Stuart at Learning Teaching Scotland, and Jim and others at JVCS, Edinburgh. The reason for relying on so many people working in the field of video conferencing was that our connection with Greenwich did not appear stable, therefore we had to register (as a guest initially) with UKERNA which is a VC booking service available to the UK, though not as yet Scotland. JVCS used the UKERNA 'bridge' to guarantee our connection.

The class entered the room at 9.18am, unaware that Graham Dolan from ROG had called us (and been automatically connected) at 9.15am. It was a surprise to find him inviting us to sit down and introduce ourselves in our own classroom with him 500 miles away! Seriously, it is important to be on time; sessions and connections are limited eg the UKERNA 'bridge' was set for 9.15 - 10.00 (yes, we did lose him at 10.00). Layout of the room (seating, light, background, complexity of foreground) need to be gravely considered and we benefited from our class of 3 being able to fit into the view of the V500's lens without being too distant. Graham, spoke about the moon and it's: views, stages, orbit, craters, eclipses, landings, gravitational pull etc. The session was interactive, though pupils had very little prior knowledge and were happy to listen and watch. Graham made use of PowerPoint slides as well as hand-held contraptions. Next time we will project the VC onto a white wall as it was difficult to see some of the objects that he was holding when there was a split screen. The benefit of communicating information on the class, their backgrounds, and stage of education was vital, as it allowed Graham to differentiate.

Afterwards, the session was evaluated. Key positives from staff included, "worked really well", "allowed all boys to interact", "showed genuine interest", "(pupils were) respectful", "eliminated petty interruptions", and "positive experience". All pupils strongly agreed that, "I would like to take part in more video conferences", "This was a good use of my time", and "I would be confident to work with other young people using VC".

We will continue to work with Global Leap, UKERNA, and LTS to provide our pupils with video conferencing opportunities. Soon, we will look at establishing a link with a school via the British Council, though in the meantime we are still planning a VC in the new year with Rathmore Centre in Antrim. Next time we will: book a longer slot to allow for introductions and plenary, work on improving 'upload 'speed, work with the 'far end' to see objects more clearly, and ensure that content is linked specifically to the curriculum at an appropriate level.

Critical Analysis of Approach - November 2005

2005-11-23T23:58:00.000+00:00

Strengths in relation to learning and learners

Animation is established in 2 classes, leading to: embedding of ICT, offering different ways of learning and working, Multiple Intelligences theory in action, the facilitation of a range of learning styles, pupil experimentation, new experiences, cross-curricular projects. Alternative forms of assessment have been introduced eg video assessment in joint English/Science work. Food Preparation, Art, and RMPS enjoy alternative assessments. IC3 has a strong emphasis on initial assessment and pinpoints where learners need to focus, it is structured (step by step) and takes learners to another level of ICT skill. IC3 skills have been applied to work in Science and English.

Staff have weekly/monthly ‘drop ins’ for advice on ICT and embedding it into schemes of work and targets, pupils can copy work into an ePortfolio, and an eTwinning project has broadened some very limited horizons. Video conferencing has motivated pupils to be in class and to experiment with this media. Pupils have a greater choice of National Units to study. Two teachers have been motivated to take up the challenge of learning about Online Learning.
Some pupils can now access homework ‘anytime, anywhere’.
My experiences are shared with educational community via FLaT blog
There are a range of opportunities for pupils to learn outwith school time via the Virtual Learning Environment.

Limitations in relation to learners and learning

Despite regular ICT Inset, much of the technology is new to the teaching staff. Some are unsure of where it fits. If initiatives are not written in to the School Development Plan, then the impetus may be lost. Delays to building work have led to aspects of the project being rerouted or delayed. Developments in Music provision have been especially delayed. Pupils are not yet adequately trained in Video Conferencing. The ‘trial and error’ nature of animation work, though valid, is time-consuming. The gap between whole staff FLaT Inset and project start-up was too long. Pupils are not yet aware of Multiple Intelligence theory and some pupils prefer traditional methods of assessment eg written. IC3 is thorough and therefore S4 pupils recently introduced to it are not going to fully achieve qualification. Some pupils are not at the moment taught by those staff who are on the FLaT steering committee. Learning about Online Learning is time consuming, therefore benefits will be over the medium term. Homework blogging pages are not as editable as a normal Word document, therefore it is harder to facilitate those with ASN.

Constraints

Culture change is over the long term
Time required for evaluations
Wireless technology does not work at local hotel
In UK, Video Conference upload speeds are relatively slow. Also, firewalls are notoriously difficult to work around
Low rate of internet access in low income, excluded households

Proposed next steps

Small steps in development of pupil use of animation and video conferencing
Use video conferencing within the school's Green Team
Seek additional facilitators of Video Conference sessions
Evaluate pupil experiences of alternative assessments
Provide more ‘hands on’ practice for all teaching staff
Approach management to dedicate one Inset per year solely to FLaT aims
Approach management to incorporate main FLaT aims into School Development Plans
Ensure that all Music equipment is ready to be purchased as soon as FLaT room is available
Timetable two afternoon training sessions in Video Conferencing (each for ½ of the school).
Regularly feedback animation experiences to staff group so that new work is informed
Encourage trained staff to use the language of Multiple Intelligences with their pupils
Remind steering committee that pupils may wish to work and be assessed in traditional ways and to facilitate this
Timetable and advertise monthly 'drop in' sessions for teachers
Encourage Online Learning staff to share/implement learning at stages during course.
Speak to ICT Network Manager about alternatives to Blogger re: improved layout of blog
Recommend to management that a wireless (homework) laptop is made available to each unit by August 2006
Identify local meeting place with wireless technology.

eTwinning with Rathmore Education and Guidance Centre, Co. Antrim

2005-11-03T23:38:00.000+00:00

Pupils in Class 2 at Hillside today started preparing for their eTwinning project. They decided on personal information to share with their link class; also the three areas of local life that they will research, what they hope to get out of the collaboration, and their research target for the next week. Finally, pupils had the choice to search the internet for images of Co. Antrim, or to photo-blog the school (at http://hillsidelearning.blogspot.com). The project has been designed to use PowerPoint and email, although Treasa and myself are considering the potential of using the weblog as a central communication tool (we will certainly use it as a 'learning log' for our work).

October holiday developments

2005-10-25T22:44:00.000+01:00

Things are moving pretty quickly. Development of the FLaT room is taking place and should shortly be ready for installation of the digital music equipment.

We have booked a Video Conference session with the National Maritime Museum (NMM) for Wednesday, 7th December. The topic for our first video conference is "The Moon". We have established a dedicated connection for our Polycom equipment and a test call with NMM will be placed on the 8th November. Matthew at MSE-Scotland, and Mike Griffiths at Global Leap have been providing great support in ensuring a successful experience.

Our eTwinning initiative with teacher Treasa Farrell from Antrim has been established. The project will run from 7th November to 23rd December, and involves group collaboration between Class 2 at Hillside and a group of students from Rathmore Educational Guidance Centre (just outside Antrim Town), who work with Treasa in Northern Ireland. Pupils will introduce themselves (via group email), collect data on their locality, then make a presentation to the other group. We expect to complete the link with a "show and tell" video conference in January. Note that as this project is taking place withing the UK, it is not formally recognised as an eTwinning link

Despite some 'teething problems', all Class 1 pupils (and several other pupils and staff) will commence the online IC3/PC Passport course on 31st October. This resource is provided by Momentum, and supported in Scotland by Scotsys, of Bellshill.

The Access Network YahooGroup is now operational. We have 7 members at the moment, and have been recently been discussing proposed changes to Scottish Group Awards (SGAs).

I will be meeting with Paula (Care Manager) wb 31st October to set out the strategy for successful implementation of the (already trialled) Independent Living programme. This provides an enhancement to the school week, and leads to certification (via alternatives to written assessments).

Review of progress - October 2005

2005-10-04T21:12:00.000+01:00

The group looked at recent progress and the immediate aims.

Media Stage has been purchased; this resource provides wonderful cross-curricular opportunities as well as enabling aspects of Access 3 Media Studies to be delivered.

Major work will be done over the October holidays to build the FLaT room (including Sound Box). This development will enable music resources to be purchased during November and December, and Music as an Access subject to be facilitated in the new year.

Recent training days have led to a great increase in the use of PowerPoint to deliver lessons. There is anecdotal evidence of application of Multiple Intelligence theory eg German animation. Linked to the FLaT aims, two members of staff are working to develop an old classroom. ICT and MI theory are informing their choices. During the next staff meeting (late October) Peer Assessment and Team Teaching discussions from the last training day will be ‘firmed up’ and acted on. A link has been established with Ewan McIntosh (MFL and ICT expert). He will visit the school in December to work on Podcasting and Movie Making with one class.

Video diaries will be introduced into the recording of the boys’ Independent Living programme, however the main target here is for teaching staff to work closely with Care and Unit Managers to ensure that the programme is working effectively first of all. IC3 eLearning is now available to all staff (and one class group). IC3 learning is now available via both text and on-screen. Two members of the teaching staff are working on the PDA in Online Learning via Lauder College’s VLE .

Several opportunities to amend NABs have been taken. Our MFL courses in S3 and S4 are being developed to allow access via ICT to encompass Multiple Intelligences. Hillside Homework weblog (http://hillsidehomework.blogspot.com/) has been developed to facilitate homework for 2 classes. This allows anytime-anywhere access to extension work.

Via the Access Network, a YahooGroup has been set up. This currently has 7 members and allows for sharing of information and learning resources.

It is expected that Video Conferencing will be available in the school by the end of October, with Global Leap sessions being booked immediately. The ICT consultant will be approached for advice on how to work around the problems encountered in our first attempt to conduct FLaT/ICT meetings “off-site”.

Finally, an eTwinning link is being established with a teacher (and her pupils) in a similar setting in Northern Ireland. The project/s will be outlined during October and will probably involve at least 2 classes.

Latest news

2005-09-25T23:55:00.000+01:00

Two classes are at the moment involved in planning a clay animation on German "Introductions". They have analysed some animations from America (via the Tech4Learning website) and have been working on resource lists, storyboards, and scripts.

David attended SETT 2005 in Glasgow, and met Darren and Maria from FLaT. He also spoke with a couple of FLaT "mentors", receiving encouragement and advice. Thanks to the FLaT team for organising the 'get-together'.

Media Stage has been purchased for the FLaT room at Hillside. David and Tony have been discussing this excellent software for some time. A good deal was negotiated at SETT following a comprehensive demonstration which clearly marries Multiple Intelligences with current ICT developments. The challenge as ever will be in fulfilling its cross-curricular potential, although it should certainly advance our efforts to provide meaningful Drama, Music, and Media Studies in the school.

Management at Hillside have announced that completion of the FLaT room is now the number one priority for the maintenance team.

One further main interest which was nurtured at SETT was the use of Podcasting in schools. Hillside already run a Radiowaves internet radio station, however there appears to be some excellent ideas coming from across the 'Pond' eg building up a store of mp3 Podcasts which would be available for download onto a personal MP3/iPod. If the Podcast was about a health issue, then this method of communication could reduce embarassment etc.

Output from our FLaT project will be shared with the wider educational community. The main way of doing this will be via the Access Network. This group now has it's own YahooGroup (to join send an email to accessnetwork-subscribe@yahoogroups.com). Shortly, electronic copy of some Hillside-produced Access materials (not NABs) will be posted to the YahooGroup, thus being available for download by members of the group.

Animation in the Curriculum - planning meeting

2005-09-05T11:44:00.000+01:00

The first of these monthly meetings took place today. Three teachers got together to plan a task which utilises clay animation and the application of Multiple Intelligences theory. The group decided that their students would be expected to plan, resource, and film a short stop-motion clay animation based upon their current German topic - "Hallo und Auf Wiedersehen".

Pupils will initially be asked to evaluate 3 animations downloaded from the Tech4learning website. They will examine our Clay Animation Kit and decide upon further resources needed. The final part of the planning stage will see the students create a storyboard and script. They will then be ready to start filming using StopMotion Pro and Audacity.

Hillside's first "off-site" meeting

2005-06-27T10:53:00.000+01:00

This finally took place on Friday, 24th June at a local four-star hotel. The short delay in arranging the meeting was due to "hotspot"-finder websites displaying inaccurate search results ie stating that a local hotel/bar had wireless access, when upon arrival I discover that they don't and have never heard of the facility!

However, Tony had contacted this particular hotel and everything had been arranged. We were concerned as to the experience of the staff, however upon arrival it seemed that the technology should work, as there were many laptops in use in the bar.

With Matthew (IT support) on the mobile, we tried everything, but to no avail. We carried on with some items on the agenda, however our advice would be that until wireless and business really get their act together, using wireless to arrange an off-site meeting is fraught with technical issues and will probably not be an efficient use of staff time, despite the "change of scenery" and more social setting.

Video Conferencing and Clay Animation training

2005-06-21T20:00:00.000+01:00

This training took place on Monday, 20th June from 1.30-3.00pm. Thirteen staff took part, including management, teachers, and care staff. The structure of the session was as follows:

•FLaT project developments
•introduction to Video Conferencing and Stop Motion animation
•introduction to collaborative Video Conference task and Animation task
*Video Conference task (One group collaborates with other group in different room on the planning of a 3 second clay animation with sound)
*Stop Motion clay animation task (produce 3 second movie)
*plenary.

During the Video Conference, staff clearly noticed the issues surrounding background noise/movement, and of more than one person talking at a time. The session allowed the FLaT steering group to gain invaluable experience, and awareness of the meticulous planning needed to facilitate and effective point-to-point conversation.

The animation session was very accessible. Staff enjoyed the hands-on experience and 'shot' the 45 frames very quickly. Most were quite pleased with the end result. More importantly, many staff could see the benefits of using this technology in their curricular area.

Latest developments

2005-06-08T08:41:00.000+01:00

Purchase of StopMotionPro
Purchase of SimplyVR
Installation of Hello (file transfer), Storyboard Pro, Microsoft scripting, and CAMStudio (screen activity recorder) software
Registered with Global Gateway via British Council
Purchase of clay animation kit
Purchase of Howard Gardner texts (following his seminar)
Purchase of Mustek DV5000 camera
Purchase of Abby FineReader 7.0 (OCR software) and Scanner
Ongoing contact with Global Leap (Video Conferencing) re: setting up of our V500 hardware and establishing of "far end" link
Contact made with Stuart Oliphant - Video Conference manager at LTScotland
Animation room complete
Preparation for building of main FLaT room complete
Second meeting with the Call Centre in Edinburgh has taken place (see http://accessnetwork.blogspot.com). Access 3 Art NABs amended and validated by SQA; Trial of amended Food Tech NABs
Two 4th Year pupils leave with CD showcasing some of the work that they have produced
Staff training to take place on Monday, 20th June - introduction to animation and Video Conferencing
Two members of staff ready to commence Online Learning PDA at Lauder College
Contact made with Spanish school re: cross-cultural project (subsequently cancelled)
Off site Multimedia meeting (at local HotSpot) to take place on Friday, 24th June.