“Blogs and Online diaries should be part of school curriculum ” says Thinktank October 8, 2008
Posted by Joan MacRae in : Access, Additional Support, Alternative Assessment, Curriculum, Home Teaching, ICT, inclusion , add a commentCharles Leadbeater introduced his lecture at the Scottish Learning Festival on 25/09/08 with a You tube clip of a teenage boy playing guitar in his bedroom. The clip had had 49 million hits!
A report in the Guardian 6/10/08 points out the claims of the Think tank, Demos, (with which Leadbeater is associated), that young people “are being failed by adults who are not paying proper attention to this new medium.”
“The study.. considers how their enthusiasm and skills can be encouraged.”
“The report makes recommendations to help adults cope with the changing online environment and calls particularly on schools to help youngsters understand the long term implications of living their lives in a semi-public way.”
“Schools should prepare young people for an era where CV’s may well be obsolete, enabling them to manage their on-line reputation .” says the report, “we need an educational response that extends beyond the focus of safety towards broader questions of privacy and intellectual property.”
I was personally concerned about the information my teenage daughter was relaying about herself on Facebook, especially when she realised that her boss had added herself as a friend.
Politicians see youngsters as apathetic and unreachable, according to the Guardian.
“The (UK )government is pouring money into this because they feel young people should be making themselves heard”…”but bloggers say it feels contrived.”
Barack Obama in the United States, on the other hand, is said to be the first ‘Youtube politician’ because “he gets that you can’t control it. His campaign team get that its about the enthusiasm”…”he encouraged (young voters) to exercise their creative urges online, instead of simply dictating his ideas to them.”
Supporting diversity and equality through improved access June 20, 2008
Posted by Hilery Williams in : Access, ICT, Resources, inclusion , add a commenthttp://www.jisc.ac.uk/news/stories/2008/06/techdis.aspx
JISC reports on groundbreaking work that will provide support for delivery of resources to disabled students and staff.
The JISC TechDis Service has joined forces with the Publishers Association to provide resources which have the potential to transform the delivery of learning materials to disabled students and staff.
These two resources, developed in collaboration with the RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People) and several major publishers, will support the delivery of materials in alternative formats to meet the needs of people with a range of disabilities, a crucial requirement for equality of access for all students and staff in education and research. One of the resources – Publisher Lookup UK - will enable education providers and publishers to source electronic formats of textbooks for students with disabilities more quickly and efficiently than existing processes allow.
Good news for people needing to circumvent the barrier of print. And good news too, ultimately, for learners in countries whose libraries and schools are shockingly short of resources because of poverty and/or conflict. How terrific it must be to be a teacher in an African classroom to come across text books online. It will revolutionise children’s learning world wide. (And yes of course there are issues about connectivity and access to computers but that is being addressesd too, not least by the World Bank.)
A Poor Deal for Special Needs June 17, 2008
Posted by Hilery Williams in : Access, ICT, inclusion , 1 comment so farSoapbox | E-learning | EducationGuardian.co.uk
Mick Archer, editor of Special Children magazine, maintains that pupils with special educational needs are not getting adequate access to suitable ICT resources, and nowhere is this more pronounced than in mainstream secondary schools. According to a recent survey by the British Educational Suppliers Association (Besa), more than half of secondary Sencos (special educational needs coordinators) felt they were under-resourced in appropriate curriculum software and digital content. This reflects a more widespread resource crisis, as technological innovation gathers pace and schools struggle to keep up. This month a new survey from Besa will highlight the huge discrepancy between the use schools believe they will be making of new technologies in 2010 and current use.
…
Organisations representing children with SEN are tired of being treated as the Cinderellas of an education system that claims to be “inclusive”. Increasingly they are arguing for SEN funding to be ring-fenced or for individualised funding where the money is attached to the child.
The article does not clarify whether the survey pertains to the whole of the UK or to England alone. The reference to SENCO’s implies the latter - no surprises there. However, it is an interesting question as to whether children with ASN are being appropriately provided for.
Power of the blog put to the test June 6, 2008
Posted by Hilery Williams in : ICT , 1 comment so farTESS reports that a National schools’ intranet should provide a wider audience for pupils’ work, and a place where teachers can find inspiration too
‘Learning from other teachers is a major part of professional development, and the national schools intranet is helping to spread the word. East Lothian has developed eduBuzz, an active educational community of 1,500 people, designed as a forum for teachers and a platform for sharing resources.
Even if it is the only national schools intranet in the world, Glow is far from being a step in the dark. Its early phases drew heavily on lessons learnt in the implementation of large IT projects elsewhere, and there has been a clear focus from the start on taking the time to get things right.
Even at this late stage, as the system is rolled out across the country, there are parallels to be drawn and lessons learnt, believes information analyst and former teacher David Gilmour – and sometimes in unexpected places.’
David Gilmour will deliver the seminar Making Glow Happen on September 25 at the Scottish Learning Festival, the largest CPD event of the year. SECC, Glasgow.
GO David!!
EAST LOTHIAN SCHOOLS LEAD THE WAY ON INTERNET SAFETY TRAINING June 2, 2008
Posted by Hilery Williams in : ICT , 1 comment so farIn June this year, East Lothian Council, in partnership with Lothian and Borders Police, will be hosting a series of Internet safety and responsible use training sessions for parents with pupils in P5 - S6 across the county. This is in response to growing concerns, expressed by individual parents and parent councils, about how to make sure young people use the internet safely and responsibly. The sessions are also designed to show parents how they can protect their youngsters from on-line dangers.
The training sessions will be led by Ollie Bray (Depute Head at Musselburgh Grammar School) and PC David Gunn from Lothian and Borders Police. Both Mr Bray and Mr Gunn are accredited Ambassadors of the Child Exploitation Online Protection Agency (CEOP).
The training session has already been piloted within the Musselburgh Cluster and received positive response from over 200 parents. The content of the evening includes background information on new technologies and information about computers and mobile phones and the law. But the main part of the presentation involves Mr Bray taking the parents into some ‘real’ social networking spaces that young people use. This includes Habba Hotel, Teenspot, MSN Instant Messenger and Bebo. The session also gives advice on how you can protect your home computer and advice on on-line gaming.
Everybody who attends the training will have access to a comprehensive on-line handout.
The sessions will be held at:
* Preston Lodge High- 3 June 2008
* Ross High - 10 June 2008
* Dunbar Grammar - 11 June 2008
* Knox Academy - 18 June 2008
* North Berwick High - 24 June 2008
All training sessions will take place between 7 - 9pm.
Ollie Bray, Depute Head at Musselburgh Grammar School, says:
‘This is a very exciting time for East Lothian to be leading the way in Internet Training for staff, parents, families and pupils. We are going to use the feedback we gain from these sessions to inform good practice nationally through the Scottish Learning Festival.’
These evenings will start promptly at 7pm and have a limited availability. If you have any queries or you would like to book a place on one of these sessions, please email Tess Watson, (Acting Education Support Officer) at twatson at eastlothian.gov.uk or log onto http:edubuzz.org/blogs/internetsafety
Expert says txt is gr8 4 language May 21, 2008
Posted by Hilery Williams in : ICT, reading , add a commenthttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/7410201.stm
The BBC reports that a linguistics expert has rejected claims that texting by mobile phone is bad for language and literacy skills. Professor David Crystal argues that such condensed messages enhance and enrich language skills. He called it an “urban myth” that school work was riddled with text speech, and said in fact students knew when to use it in the right context. The honorary professor of linguistics at Bangor University said texting was widespread across all age groups. Prof Crystal said that texting had had a bad press, and it was merely another way to use language.
Whilst researching his book - Txtng: the Gr8 Db8 - Prof Crystal said the oldest example of texter he had found was an 86-year-old grandmother in the United States.
It was also a misconception that text messages were all made up of abbreviated words, he said.
Why US is in awe of our get up and Glow April 29, 2008
Posted by Hilery Williams in : ICT , 1 comment so farEleanor Carnell and Hilery Williams are Glow Mentors in East Lothian and would be delighted to talk to people about this exciting development that will alter the way we teach and learn across Scotland.
Milton Chen, Fulbright Scholar and executive director of the George Lucas Educational Foundation visits Scotland recently.
His role in the foundation set up by Star Wars film-maker Lucas is to look at innovation in US schools and colleges, but also to look further afield. What brings him to Scotland is admiration for the landmark scheme currently being established throughout the country as schools link up to a digital network now known as Glow.
‘In terms of rapid educational reform, the foundation hasn’t seen much like it - and the not-for-profit organisation recognised the achievement by naming Laurie O’Donnell, director of learning and technology at Learning and Teaching Scotland, as one of its elite “global six” educational pioneers last month.
‘Chen can barely contain his envy at the ambition shown in Scotland. “You have a different way of looking at education policy - and, in particular, a willingness to invest. In the US we often look as investments as too expensive.” A national schools intranet makes perfect sense, he says. In fact, anything else is crazy. “If you were operating an organisation of 100 different offices around the country, you wouldn’t allow each to make its own decision about what hardware and software they use.”’
Pupils to start the school day with Nintendo March 17, 2008
Posted by Hilery Williams in : Curriculum, ICT , 1 comment so farThe Herald reports that primary pupils are to start the school day with a dose of Nintendo gaming to boost their learning ability, it was revealed on Friday. The children will play “brain training” exercises on the DS game console before going into their normal lessons. The scheme is to be used in 16 schools following a successful pilot in Dundee.
Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) the body responsible for the development of the curriculum, is to extend the project around the country next month. Derek Robertson, LTS Development Officer for games-based learning, said: “The initial pilot project that used the Nintendo DS and Dr Kawashima produced fascinating results. “Not only was there a significant improvement in attainment in mental maths but there was also an improvement in concentration levels, behaviour and self regulation in the learning process. “It will be interesting to see how this applies on a larger scale.”
LTS is working with Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education and the University of Dundee to carry out a larger pilot of the scheme, with 16 schools using the game every morning and another 16 acting as the control group.
When did you last write a letter? March 12, 2008
Posted by Hilery Williams in : ICT , add a commentTechnology and the death of handwriting
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7262873.stm
The BBC reports that the art of handwriting is being threatened by the rise of the machine, research suggests.
One in three children struggle with their handwriting and almost one in five slip into text message language when they do put pen to paper, according to a recent survey. Meanwhile, one in five parents surveyed for My Child magazine’s Write a Letter Week said they last penned a letter more than a year ago. If the figures are representative, this apparent demise of handwriting could have serious implications for educational achievement.
Professor Rhona Stainthorp, who is conducting research into children’s writing abilities, says there is growing evidence those who write faster and more legibly get better marks.
Connected 20 - latest magazine now online March 6, 2008
Posted by Hilery Williams in : Access, Additional Support, Curriculum, ICT, inclusion , add a commenthttp://www.ltscotland.org.uk/connected/articles/20/index.asp
The latest issue of LTS’s flagship Connected magazine is now available online.
The Spring edition looks at the roll-out of Glow with Laurie O’Donnell, director of learning and technology spelling out what it means for authorities. Professor Kay Livingston explains the importance of an international education and reveals details of the Confucius Classrooms coming to Scotland. There are also articles looking at personalised learning and providing technology to support pupils with additional support needs, the launch of a new music programme, a debate on healthy eating and all the latest education news from across Scotland.
As ICT is increasingly embedded into the day-to-day experience within schools and the curriculum, Connected has also evolved to showcase education at its best across the integrated learning landscape.
Powered by FireStats