If you're interested in making your ICT lessons more interesting, or helping someone else to do so, you could do a lot worse than buy this excellent how-to guide: 'Go on, bore 'em: how to make ICT lessons excruciatingly dull'  

A real bargain at 4.99 GBP (or your currency's equivalent), this book looks at the ten main reasons why boring ICT lessons are boring. There is also a cheaper electronic version available, which means instant gratification! So what are you waiting for? You can read the full table of contents and an extract, and order the print or electronic version, from here:

Web 2 Projects book update

The free eBook I published about a year ago, 60 Web 2.0 Projects, has been very popular, with around 11,000 downloads to date. However, new applications have become available, some of the links in the book no longer work, and new projects have been undertaken. For these reasons I am hoping to update the book and bring out a second edition. 

Would you like to contribute?  

I am not looking for ‘best practice’ as such. The most-valued aspect of the current book is the wealth of ideas it contains. (Teachers, being the creative type, can always adapt the ideas to their own circumstances, such as by making the assignments simpler or harder for a different age group.)  

The reason I say this is that many people, especially new teachers, are a bit backward in coming forward when calls for submissions are made, thinking that they have little to contribute. In fact, it is often the case that it’s the newer teachers come up with ideas that more established ones wouldn’t have thought of! 

The current edition is still available. In the second edition, I should like to also include information about what barriers there are to implementing Web 2.0 in the classroom, and how people have overcome them; and what people’s favourite Web 2.0 applications are. 

If you would like to contribute, you will find an online form for that purpose. It should take you only a few minutes to complete. The deadline is midnight British Summertime on 30 September 2009.

(If you contributed to the first edition, you will be receiving an email any day now.) 

If your entry is included in the next edition of the projects book, it will be available to anyone who wants it, on the internet.  

I have to declare a bit of a vested interest in undertaking this update now, as opposed to some time in the future. I’ve been invited to give some talks on Web 2.0, so now seems like a good time to update the book. Obviously, I will be mentioning the eBook in my talks, which should lead to people downloading it and, therefore, seeing your contribution. 

If you are considering submitting something, but are concerned about whether it is appropriate, just get in touch and ask me. Or simply complete the online form, which will probably take you a similar amount of time anyway. 

Virtual Balloon Race: Collaborators Wanted!

On the subject of Web 2.0, Bill Lord, the Literacy Regional Advisor for Yorkshire and Humberside, in England, tells me that Huntingtower School is running a virtual balloon race.  The staff in Key Stage 1 (5 to 7 year-olds) are looking at finding ways of developing more relevant and vibrant use of information technology across the curriculum.

Bill’s suggestion to the Key Stage 1 team has been to look at web 2.0 as a way of using Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to fire up their children as writers. The three classes are set up with twitter addresses and will micro blog daily in the way that Martin Waller’s class uses @classroom tweets.

The addition to this is using twitter, email and any other contacts to set up links with schools across the world in a geography topic – they will have a random element in that it is impossible to know who will volunteer to get involved but the children will be able to communicate with other children across the world. The pupils will have a competition between the classes on how many classes they can swap tweets or emails with and the distances involved. There is also a key element of teaching e-safety within this as well.

Simon Bourne has joined his class up to the race recentlyand he has suggested a wiki to collate everything on as well.

The classes are desperately seeking primary classes across the globe to link with and would be grateful if anyone can pass on the details of schools for the project.

You can contact Bill on Twitter or by email. 

Your Justice, Your World: Reviewers Needed

Sophie Bessemer has emailed me to tell me about this new resource. It has sections for students and parent as well as teachers. As you might gather from its name, YJYW is designed for use in Citizenship and similar classes.

I've had a quick look, and I think that with a bit of tweaking it would also be useful in the Society, Health and Development Diploma, since that has a substantial legal element.

The site contains resources such as ideas for extension work and role play, links to useful organisations, comprehensive glossaries and downloadable activity sheets. I need at least one primary specialist and at least one secondary specialist to review the site. The review does not have to be the length of War and Peace! A few paragraphs addressing issues such as accuracy and usability of the resources, ease of use of the website and so on are all that's needed. If you're interested, please email me your review. In so doing you will be assumed to be happy for me to publish your name and a bit about you, e.g. Freda Blogs is a teacher of Citizenship at a school in Essex. (You don't have to cite the name of the school if you'd rather not.) Feel free to provide a website or blog address so that people can visit you or your place of work. Your email address won't be published unless you ask for it to be.

I will also assume that you agree with the terms and conditions. You will retain the copyright.

Now, by so doing you will gain instant fame, though not, alas, fortune. However, you can bask in the warm glow of knowing that your reflections may help others. The only thing is (there is always a catch, isn't there?), I need the review by 24 September. It would help me if you could let me know if you intend to submit a review.

Menu for success

Wikipedia editing

According to an article in the UK’s Daily Telegraph, Wikipedia is undertaking a two month trial in which ordinary users will not be able to edit the pages pertaining to living persons. Instead, the edits will become ‘flagged revisions’, and will be adjudicated by editors.

I’d like to be able to say I wholeheartedly welcome this move, except for the fact that as far as I can tell, we don’t know who these editors are (I’ve looked in several articles, and found only one with the author’s name. But if you think I may have just been unlucky, please let me know.) Why should we assume that some unnamed editor knows more about a particular person than anyone else?

As always, Wikipedia will continue to have to be used with caution and, as is good practice anyway, its articles cross-checked with those in other sources. So, two cheers for Wikipedia for (in my opinion) moving in the right direction.

Myguide

According to a press release from the Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF),

Children’s Minister Delyth Morgan [recently] launched a new facility on myguide, a free and easy-to-use tool to help parents and carers catch up with their children when it comes to the Internet.

myguide helps provide the next step in the Government’s implementation of Dr Tanya Byron’s review of internet safety. myguide can be used independently, with the support of a friend or family member, or with help from experts in one of the thousands of UK online centres based in libraries and community organisations.

myguide has now added an interactive guidance course and quiz to help families manage the risks while enjoying the benefits of the web. It includes many of the top parental concerns about the internet, from phishing and spam to online rogue traders and extremist websites, from chat rooms to music file-sharing, and from stealth marketing to safety filters. The site stresses the importance of open family discussions and where to go for additional information and help.

I’ve had a look at the myguide website. You have to register in order to take its courses. I have to say that I was disconcerted that I was asked to provide my date of birth or other memorable date. In my opinion, given that identity thieves regard someone’s birthday as a key piece of information, an official site like this should explicitly tell people not to give their real date of birth.

Once registered, however, I was impressed. As you might imagine, it meets all of the accessibility requirements as far as I can tell. For example, the text on the screen is read out loud, and you can change display settings such as the font size.

I started a course in internet safety and it was thorough without being patronising, with some good graphics. Moreover, when you are asked a question, you are then given feedback on your answer.

I also liked the fact that a record is automatically created of the courses you start and finish, a kind of (very) simple e-portfolio. Also, for those without an email address, registering here provides them with one.

I think if I were still working full time in a school or Local Authority I would recommend this resource to parents, and even colleagues. Well worth a look.

Dystalk

On the subject of internet safety, I was recently invited to give a talk, on video, for the Dystalk website, which is for parents of children who are looking for information on how to optimise their child's learning. The talk is called Managing Children’s Use of the Internet and Technology.

Know It All

And still on the subject of internet safety, Nina Howse, of Shinyred, has emailed me to say:

I’m writing on behalf of Becta, to let you know that Professor Tanya Byron has launched a new set of resources to help primary schools keep children safe online, which I thought might be of interest for your blog or for the Computers in Classrooms newsletter?
 
Developed through funding from the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA), Becta and the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) the resources have been designed to make sure all primary school employees are able to understand, tackle and teach e-safety issues to children. They include a unique learning animation aimed at young children. A full version is available at www.childnet.com/kia 
 
The resources are part of a set of award-winning 'Know IT All' resources including ‘Know IT All for Parents’ which Childnet has produced, sponsored by Becta. They were developed as response to the recommendations made in the government-commissioned report by Tanya Byron, which called for  greater effort on the part of schools and government to educate and support young people in using the internet and digital technologies.

The launch of the new resources

I’ve had a quick look at the website, and it seems pretty good. There are free resources, such as a DVD, and a guide to e-safety websites which you can filter according to which aspect you are especially interested in. One thing I thought really good is the way they have taken extracts from various Programmes of Study in the National Curriculum and indicated how you could bring e-safety teaching points into it.

With sections for primary and secondary schools, parents, trainee teachers and volunteers, the Know It All website is definitely worth looking at.

Terry’s Two Minute Tips #14: For new ICT Leaders

And on the subject of videos, I’ve recorded another two minute tip, on the subject of what kind of things a new ICT Co-ordinator (Technology Co-ordinator) or other leader of educational technology in a school might do in their new job.

I will be publishing an article to go with it soon, but in the meantime you can view it online.

Young Rewired State

My thanks to Miles Berry, who has drawn my attention to this video of the recent Young Rewired State event.  The idea of the event was to take a group of young people along to Google’s offices where, working with mentors, they would suggest new applications.

I suppose a cynic might regard this as a way for Google to acquire new ideas, but I think that kind of jibe could be levelled at any organisation that decides to work with schools. As long as everyone gains something, I see no problem, and judging by the video it was an extremely useful experience for the youngsters.

Some of the ideas suggested were very creative. For example, one young man wanted to explore whether there was a correlation between the inspection reports about a school, and its examination results.

My only criticism would be the lack of girls featured in the video. Whether that was a reflection of the gender balance at the event itself or of the people who were willing to be interviewed on camera, I don’t know, but it was noticeable. For example, all of the mentors were male.

We need more women in technology-related fields, and in my opinion events like this could provide a great opportunity for girls to see and work with female role models. I hope this might be able to be addressed next year.

My BETT seminars

I mentioned earlier that I have been invited to give some talks. Two of them will be at the BETT Show in January 2010. Here are the details of the presentations I will be giving, in case you would like to book for them online at the BETT Show website in due course:

Amazing Web 2.0 Projects

What are ordinary teachers doing in ordinary classrooms with ordinary kids to raise their achievement in and with ICT? This presentation will give an overview of projects which have used Web 2.0 tools to bring excitement back into the classroom!

Date: Saturday 16 January 2009

Time: 12:30

Duration (mins): 45

Room: Club

Venue: London Olympia

Session Code: CL43

If you would like to contribute to the second edition of the Web 2.0 Projects Book, please complete the online form.

Driving Your ICT Vision: what can advanced motoring techniques teach us about achieving our goals?

People talk about vision and strategy in relation to ICT, but how do you go about achieving what you want to? Ideas developed in the field of advanced motoring can provide a practical way to lead ICT in today’s schools.

Date: Friday 15 January 2009

Time: 13:15

Duration (mins): 45

Room: Club

Venue: London Olympia

Session Code: CL33

Look out for more information about both of these presentations and two further ones in the near future. In the meantime, see the news item about the Web 2.0 projects book, which is relevant to the Web 2.0 seminar.

As for the advanced motoring one, here’s a challenge. A large part of advanced motoring is being able to spot and anticipate hazards. A hazard is defined as anything that is actually or potentially dangerous. Have a look at this photo, and see how many hazards you can spot.

Now check your answers against the annotated version of this photo.

Since writing ICT in the White Paper on building a 21st century school system, a few people have commented in response to an announcement I made about the article’s impending publication. I’ve summarized their comments here, with permission.  

Ray Tolley drew my attention to an article he has written on the same subject. Like me, he struggles to find anything new in the White Paper, saying: 

“However, it seems to be propounding 'more of the same' rather than looking to new approaches. I cannot see throughout the document how 21st Century Schools will be any different to what we have NOW, never mind in the future.” 

Bob Harrison, Education Adviser for Toshiba Information Systems (UK) Ltd, informed me that the term “ICT” appears 14 times in the White Paper, and 5 of them are in the case studies. 

That was quite interesting to discover. I searched for the term “ICT”, and also “online” and “digital”. I didn’t go so far as to count the number of ‘hits’, but it seemed to me that searching for those quasi-synonyms increased the number of occurrences. 

In fact, the 5 references to ICT in the case studies occur only in two of the case studies. Furthermore, one of the schools used crops up a lot – at least, I seem to see it mentioned a lot. Nothing wrong with that of course, except I should have thought that with the number of schools awarded the ICT Mark or who are on the SAT’s ICT Register, there must be a few more examples out there! Indeed, I am sure that many of the readers of this newsletter are doing a fantastic job, so the DCSF should have asked me! 

I thought the case studies were a bit mundane, but perhaps that’s because I have come across these practices before. I am, however, grateful to Bob for mentioning the case studies because their omission from my article is, well, an omission! Case studies have the potential to make a possibly otherwise-dry text come alive.  

Finally, Allison Allen, of Outstream, makes the following points: 

“ ICT is implicit in this paper – and thus plenty of room for underestimate/misunderstanding. Where it is explicit, it is done by examples & they appear focused on the learner (i.e. curriculum), where still implicit (the majority) the areas are on the much wider for example admin, communication and improvement areas.  This is where there needs to be examples and  case studies – maybe a parallel drawn to Becta Self-Review Framework.” 

I think these are very valid points. The main text can only take you so far. Also, I would ask why there aren’t more video case studies. Maybe it’s just me, but I am actually put off by slick videos made on huge budgets. I like the raw quality of a video made on a cheap camcorder and uploaded to YouTube or TeacherTube!  

Anyway, thanks to Allison, Bob and Ray for commenting in the Naace list in response to my announcement, and for permission to reproduce their comments here. Thanks also to Bernadette Brooks, General Secretary of Naace, for permission to reproduce the comments. To find out more about Naace, visit the Naace website. Naace is a subject association for ICT in the UK, and has thriving discussion lists and good events. I’ve been a member for around 11 years and was on the Board for a while, and spent a year as Chair. 

The end of Becta et al? Or, Should the Centre for Policy Studies be abolished?

The Centre for Policy Studies is a conservative (note the small ‘c’) think tank. It has published a document called ‘School Quangos: a blueprint for abolition and reform’, in which the authors look at each of the education-related non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) in the UK and argue that they should either be radically changed or abolished altogether.

I think it is always useful to scrutinise the work, and the value for money, of these kinds of organisations. However, this report is spoilt for me by its obvious partisanship. This is evidenced in a single sentence:

“Independent [i.e. fee-paying] schools should not be subject to inspection.”

If the authors really were as concerned about value for money as the document suggests, this sentence would not have appeared. If parents are being asked to pay for their child’s education they have every right to expect the school to be held accountable, and I don’t see why that should not be the case for independent schools as well as state-funded schools.

The report does not look at technology specifically, but it seems to me that one of the key issues is not whether the organisations provide value for money according to some narrow criteria, but whether they do so when the wider social costs and benefits are taken into account.

For example, if you take the myguide website mentioned earlier, I do not see how its setting up and running can be cost-effective, in ordinary accounting terms, considering that its resources are completely free for people to use at the point of consumption. However, if its instructions on how to spot internet scams prevents some people from losing money, and helps to reduce identity theft, then it probably is cost-effective.

The value of NDPBs is that they are able to take a wider view than an organisation that has to always balance the books in a narrow way. However, I do think the principle of scrutinising them is a good one, if only from the point of view of Milton Friedman’s (the economist, and no relation) rubric. He asserted that when people buy goods and services, they have one or both of two main motivations: to maximise value for money, and to minimise expenditure. However, your incentive to do either depends on whose money you are spending, and on whom you are spending it. Thus we obtain this table:

Looked at like that, nobody in public service has any incentive to spend taxpayers’ money on a third party (schools, teachers etc) in a way that guarantees value for money or which minimises expenditure. Personally, I think it’s a bit of a cynical viewpoint, but Friedman does have a point. Surely, though, the answer is not to simply abolish public sector organisations but to ensure that they are accountable – which, indeed, they are.

I suspect that the publishers do not actually want too much of a debate. Otherwise, why publish the report in August, when a lot of people in education are on vacation? Still, it’s always good to debate these sorts of issues, and by producing a report containing statistics ‘proving’ that lots of educational organisations are not giving value for money, the Centre for Policy Studies has perhaps provided the valuable service of getting people to think about such matters.

If you’re starting back at school this week, here are a few articles you may find useful:

Getting Off To A Good Start

Welcome advice to new teachers

Reboot. Restart. Rewrite

5 minute tip: Starting a new job

Making A Good Impression

Dare To Be Different

We are all aware that the “sleeping dragon” has awoken, and that in the foreseeable future people and businesses will have much more interaction with their Chinese counterparts. It will then be sensible – perhaps even necessary – for Mandarin to be one of the Modern Languages studied in school. In the meantime, Adrienne Blaser evaluates some websites for teaching yourself the language.

With various parts of the world changing, language has become a vital exchange between cultures. Bilingualism, the ability to speak two languages, is becoming a common trend. Although many say that Mandarin Chinese is a difficult language, truly the biggest challenge is finding the right place to learn. Since there are so many great sites out there to learn Mandarin, picking the select few was definitely a challenge.

Livemocha

Livemocha has become one of my quick favourites as a free site unless you decide to buy one of their Travel Crash Courses.

When you first come onto the site, its warm coffee colours greet you. Livemocha is simple, clear, and without advertisement for other sites or products. What makes this site special is that it doesn’t just teach you one language; it’s a site for multiples such as Japanese, Korean, English, Spanish, and Portuguese and each having at least a 101 (beginner) and 102 (intermediate) program. Not only are they brain testers, but each course consists of 3 units with 5 or 6 lesson in each unit. That might sound easy, but in a single lesson you must learn phrases, including the pinyin (pinyin is the name for the system that makes it possible to read and write Mandarin Chinese without characters, by using the Roman alphabet), characters, proper pronunciation, and the English meanings, review them, write them, and then speak them.

Speak you say? Yes, this site expects you to practice speaking, by recording it on your computer microphone, then putting it out to the Livemocha public for reviewing. Sure, it might seem like no big deal but once you get a bad review about your tones, you go right back to the lesson to review each sentence, and then do it again.

What truly helps besides seeing the language in its different forms is the pictures. Each phrase has a picture, or in some cases pictures with bubbles to show who is speaking.  I find that overall this site is for those starting from scratch who don’t want to be babied and plan to work diligently to learn their selected language.  It takes lots of time and hard work because really this is like a college course, you don’t start out from numbers and colours, instead you start from nouns and go to negatives.

Adrienne explained what this meant, in an email to me. Unfortunately I was unable to reproduce the Chinese characters in HTML, so I have taken a screenshot of her explanation instead:

For each lesson besides the required exercises, there are optional exercises for even more practice. In case you’re still looking for options to study, you can make your own flashcards or use ones made by others. Livemocha also offers chatting between language learners, with a handy dandy translator conveniently located on the side. Making friends comes with learning a new language, cultures are blended and bonds are made. I don’t know if I’ll ever meet any of my friends face to face but I can still say that I have friends that live across the world. 

This site takes all the methods of learning and puts them together in a manageable way, and I know they are still expanding their site. The opportunity to teach is planned to be going to be available soon. Not only will future teachers be able to practice but they could earn credits or money. Although you must be invited to become a Livemocha teacher, consistently leaving instructive reviews or making helpful flashcard sets boost your teaching score and increase your chances. 

Web address: http://www.livemocha.com/

Rating: 5 

ChinesePod

Another distinct site for learning Mandarin Chinese is ChinesePod. This site is more based on individual study because of its many podcasts. Personally, I find podcasts to be an extreme help in learning. The great thing about podcasts is that they go where you want to go and you don’t need internet access to do it.

ChinesePod has a variety of levels, ranging from Newbie, to Advanced. You can sign up for the level you think suitable and download the lessons of your choice. Most of these podcasts include conversations, in which helpful teachers like Jenny and John explain what individual words mean and how they are put together. Since most people can’t just learn by ear, each podcast comes with the dialogue from the lesson and notes, which includes pinyin, character, English meaning, and extra vocabulary.

Back on the website ChinesePoders can join a study group, like Chinese short texts, or watch a video channel like Pinyin Program for more practice.

Even though I love the thought of podcasts I wish that Chinese pod had a little more on their website, like follow up lessons or more grammar. They do have a glossary section and grammar guide with a pinyin chart, to help with pronunciation. On ChinesePod there is a conversation help thread where you can talk to your fellow learners and ask questions. Overall on this site there is minimal advertising and everything is basically clear and uncluttered. ChinesePod does cost money after your first seven day trial. The Basic plan with free podcasts costs $9 a month, but I remember when everything was free on ChinesePod. The highest plan, which includes ten minutes daily phone conversation with a teacher, customized study plan, and a personal needs analysis, cost a whopping $199. ChinesePod still has a way to go until I pay nine dollars a month, but I am still loving the podcasts from my seven day trial, which are very helpful. For the beginner, ChinesePod is more a site for picking up phrases in a conversation being able to understand it and respond correctly than starting from scratch and learning proper writing grammar.

Web address:  http://chinesepod.com

Rating: 4

Zon

My final choice for one of my favourite Mandarin Chinese learning sites is extremely different from those previously looked at. Zon, is an educational learning site made for kids in school. As in a virtual community, you make your own avatar arriving as a tourist in “China”, with only the bare essentials.

When you are still a tourist you learn about Chinese myths and legends.  From there you must navigate your way through the airport (that is just as painful as the one in reality) and to a hotel. Along the way you meet other people who may be just like you, having a hard time understanding how to get out, to experts working at their job. As you progress through the site you learn about Chinese language, customs, and even how to separate currency. Although it may take you days, eventually your avatar will be promoted to Resident or even Citizen where you can buy a car, rent an apartment, or own a business.

Basically, it’s like you are living on the other side of the world without your parents, while sitting in front of your computer at home. Zon isn’t only used at home, many schools use Zon for students to learn about Chinese language and culture in a fun and educational way.  This site explains how to navigate through the game, and once you read how, the way is clear. There is a news blog that keeps you updated on changes and problems going on, and the community forum helps build friendships and answer questions. The animation showed real architecture from China and it truly felt like you were there.

I think that this site is really important for younger kids learning Chinese because when you’re young, sitting down and listening or having to concentrate really hard isn’t exciting or motivating. But working towards a goal like buying your first car is. Some improvement could be that the how-to is explained as you go along in case getting lost becomes a reality.

Web address: http://enterzon.com/

Rating: 4

Honourable Mentions

http://mandarintube.com

http://www.choosechinese.com/

http://www.mangolanguages.com/   -- check your local library to see if they are registered

http://www.guavatalk.com

http://www.chinese-tools.com/learn/chinese

http://www.bpchinese.com/

http://www.nciku.com/   --- this site is a great dictionary Chinese to English and English                        to Chinese -- helpful for extra studying

Adrienne Blaser is 14 years old. She plays tennis, the violin and loves to read. She one day hopes to learn many languages, hopefully one being Chinese, which she is currently teaching herself.

By Terry Freedman

Jack Alibi knew how to work. He also knew how to work a scam. Sure, going legit was good, but it took time. Lack of time was something Alibi had plenty of.

He knew from the wire that the local school was being rebuilt, and that they were looking to put in a heap of technology. As far as Alibi was concerned, selling computers was like a licence to print money.

He staked out the school and got to know the movements of the big cheese, a classy dish who barely looked old enough to have left school, let alone run one. One night he waited in a doorway for her to pass.

As she did he started walking and brought himself up alongside her.

“Hey, honey”, he grinned. “How about a little coffee?”

She didn’t respond, except maybe her pace stepped up a notch.

Alibi went into phase two of his plan.

“I hear you’re looking for high tech stuff. Maybe I can cut you a sweet deal.”

She ignored him, but he continued.

“That stuff costs a lot of lettuce. That means less to spend on a fancy office and all the trimmings. Maybe I can help out.”

She stopped and glared at him.

“Oh yeah?”, she said. “And why would you wanna be helping someone you don’t even know?”

“On account that I’m community-minded. Besides, I’d hate to see a classy dame like you being taken for a ride. I can get what you need at a whole lot less.”

She remained motionless, but a quick glint in her eye let Alibi know she was interested.

“OK”, she said. “Let’s suppose I’m interested, which I ain’t. But let’s be hypothetical. What are you offering, and what’s your rake-off?”

Alibi was ready for that: he’d done his homework.

“I get all the tech you need, on a no questions asked basis. Hypothetically. As for me, I work on commission, 5% of the value of the merchandise. That hardly pays my rent. But Like I said, I’m community-minded.”

She looked at him like he was something that was tossed out in the garbage the night before.

“Yeah, I can see you’re all heart. OK, muscle head, you talk big, but maybe that’s all you do? Talk, I mean. My guess is that this ‘merchandise’ is old cast-off junk, right? That ain’t no use to me. I just took over running this joint, see? I’m the new broom around here, and there’s gonna be one hell of a big sweep. No jackass like you is gonna louse things up for me.”

“OK, sister, I get the picture, but you got me all wrong. I tell ya, lady, this stuff is so new it uses technology that ain’t even been invented yet.”

She reached inside her bag. Alibi’s hand went instinctively to inside his coat. She pulled out a packet of gaspers, put one to her lips. He lit it for her.

“I tell you what I’m gonna do”, she purred. “I’m gonna think about it.”

She drew on the butt and let out a plume of smoke.

“Well, I thought about it. No.”

“No? How come?”

“Well, Buster, I just remembered the advice my daddy gave me when I was knee-high to a cricket.”

“Oh yeah? And what might that be?”

“Never accept suites from strangers.”

Kevin Mc Laughlin discusses his reasons for using four (free!) applications – Audacity, Edmodo, Animoto and Voicethread. In this article, he assesses their usefulness from an educational standpoint.

I have always used technological tools to enhance my teaching, create enthusiasm and raise standards in my classroom and I am constantly reviewing the effectiveness of the tools I find, or am pointed to by followers on Twitter. However I need to ask myself a very important question before using them.

Why would I want to use this tool for teaching?

I will focus my answer on my use of Audacity (open source sound editor) and three online tools - Edmodo, Animoto and Voicethread.

Using Edmodo

Edmodo is described as ‘a private communication platform built for students and teachers’. With it you can set up a secure, private class account and share files, links and notes, post assignments and send alerts, and grade students’ work. It took me no longer than a few minutes to set up my class and then demonstrate to them how to use it and what we were going to use it for. I use it for posting homework, spellings and details of upcoming school events and my class use it for collaborative project work and sharing ideas and links to resources. I can also respond to their questions and guide them in their learning through the site’s Twitter-like message service.

Using Edmodo has helped raise standards in ICT in my class as I post mainly technology-related assignments such as Science PowerPoint presentations and video animation projects for Literacy. It has also helped my class to practice their English skills as my students will not use their first language (Spanish) to message me or each other.

Edmodo is incredibly useful and another teacher in my school has recently started using it effectively with her class. I have also received a lot of positive feedback from parents who find it helpful as they can see what homework their child has and when it has to be handed in.

Using Animoto with Audacity and Movie editing software

Animoto is a fantastic slideshow presentation tool that I have used with my class during a recent Literacy topic. I wanted to use this for the specific purpose of enhancing creative writing skills through a spoken presentation, the tool itself would provide part of the platform for the children to present their work.

Animoto is quick to set up and within minutes your class can be uploading their images and watching their results. It allows you to use provided background music or if you wish your own music or sounds.

Another tool I use regularly with my class is Audacity, a free sound file editor, and we have used this to create podcasts, and sound effects for school assemblies. It is incredibly useful and no school should be without it. The children in my class are quite adept at using it and after writing and editing their presentations they recorded their ‘voice-overs’ using audacity.

After they had done so and their work was saved I transferred it to a movie editing tool (such as Windows Movie Maker or iMovie if you have a Mac) to create their final video presentations.

Voicethread

Voicethread is another tool that I have only recently started using but wished I had discovered earlier in the year. I would describe it as a collaborative documentation tool that has many uses in the classroom. We used it to document a school excursion and I asked my class to create the documented story in Spanish so that the Spanish tutors in school could use it. Again it is easy to set up and takes no time to learn how to use it.  There is a growing list for its use in the classroom on this site.

I have mentioned only four tools I use with my class although I use many more. Each tool has a place in my classroom and each achieves a purpose I have thought carefully about. I want my class to learn how to use these tools because I understand the effectiveness each can bring to their learning and creative thinking.

After using them in class I am convinced of their validity in the classroom to enhance learning and teaching.

Kevin has started work in his new school as a Primary Teacher this month. He has a great interest in using technology (tools) to enhance his teaching and the learning of his students.  He can be contacted through

http://twitter.com/kvnmcl

http://www.kevinmclaughlin.wordpress.com

Neil Howie describes this course and how it differs from the one it is often confused with, the European Computer Driving Licence, and discusses its potential usefulness for the ICT teacher.

I have started to undertake the European Pedagogical ICT licence (EPICT) course, and am finding it very useful in bringing back to the fore things that I should be using in my teaching yet, for one reason or another, don’t always.

There is a series of modules that are aimed at assisting teachers to develop their pedagogical approach to using ICT within the classroom. It is not about developing one’s skills with software or keeping up to date with the latest happenings in the hardware or software market. Too often, once we’re in the job we focus on what’s the newest piece of kit and how to stay abreast of what’s going on in the real world and bring this to the classroom. Whilst this is important, (for example, my article in this issue of Computers in Classrooms, ‘Learning new software – Adobe CS4’ demonstrates some of the techniques that I use for this), it’s the pedagogical use of these new innovations that we often don’t take time to consider.

This is why this course is both excellent and different. I’ve been told that it can be confused with the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL), presumably because two words are the same and they both relate to ICT. They are however completely different. Having passed all the ECDL a few years ago in one day, it is a skills based course in the likes of word processing, spreadsheets and databases that I would see as now aimed at good KS3 students, weak KS4 students, or those adults who are just starting out with computers. The EPICT is aimed at educational professionals who wish to further develop (or if you are an ICT teacher, re-visit) their approach to using ICT in a classroom setting.

For those in the UK they can register through a provider with a list at the EPICT UK website . Being in international education I am using a newly formed organisation ‘your WITS’, run by an experienced and very qualified ICT teacher, Peter Napthine from his base in Brazil. YourWITS has set up fifteen EPICT modules using a moodle based system, from which registered users can access all the materials needed for the course, as well as forums for each module (and general forums).

What I think is great, and often is forgotten when using any online course, is the response time, and appropriateness of the response. Whilst it is great to be able to access materials over the internet whenever one wishes, the real value of such a course is when the tutor/facilitator (and other course members if appropriate) gives prompt and useful advice and/or positive criticism. This is certainly the case with yourWITS, and makes taking the courses feel that one is both learning/re-learning, as well enjoying the experience of it.

To highlight what is on offer here is a list of the modules available through yourWITS:

• Locating and Incorporating On-line Resources
• Electronic Communication & Collaboration
• Creating and Using Interactive Resources
• ICT and Special Needs; Effective Use of VLEs
• E-Assessment; Presentation Technology, IWBs and Interactivity
• Literacy and ICT; Numeracy and ICT; ICT and Creativity
• Publishing on the Web; Digital Images
• Spreadsheet Models
• E-Safety
• Games and Edutainment; and ICT and Strategic Innovation.

The first three, and last are compulsory for the Gold Award, with the remaining optional. In order to attain the Bronze award one has to complete 3 modules (including at least one compulsory module), the Silver award if after completing 6 modules (with at least 2 compulsory) and the full EPICT licence (Gold Award) is achieved after successfully completing 8 modules (4 compulsory and 4 optional).

As an ICT teacher I have started this course in order to both directly facilitate non-ICT teachers with their use of ICT, and act as support for them should they wish to further develop their ICT skills.. Whilst this is still the overall aim, I have been pleasantly surprised at how it has made me think about the pedagogical aspects of my lessons, which I may have taken my knowledge for granted for too long. If you have the opportunity then studying for the EPICT is I feel a worthwhile investment of one’s time and money.

Websites:

http://www.epict.co.uk – EPICT in the UK

http://www.yourwits.com – EPICT for the British International Schools market

Neil Howie is Deputy Principal at the British International School, Belgrade, Serbia. He has been teaching ICT for over ten years in the UK, Nigeria, Serbia and Austria. He is an Adobe Education Leader, Microsoft Master Instructor, and Member of the Institute of IT Training. His latest blog is at http://nhowie.co.uk; he can be contacted via greenmars (at) g (dot) ho (dot) st.