Not all young people are ‘digital natives’ – inequality hugely limits experiences of technology Simeon Yates, University of Liverpool There is a belief that younger people are fully engaged with the digital world. But I am currently leading a project exploring people’s knowledge and use of online data, and the preliminary findings from our research […]
I recently discovered a new iPad / iPhone app called Seek by iNaturalist.. When I was a lot younger and out walking in the countryside I valued having someone with me who could help me identify the birds, trees, insects or wild flowers, who could give me their alternative names and perhaps some of the folk lore surrounding them. Sadly there are fewer and fewer people around like that anymore.
Today (10th December) would have been Ada Lovelace’s birthday. Sadly, a lot of people don’t know who she was but when you do a bit of research she is quite an amazing woman. It is well worth setting her as a research project for your pupils.
Here is a very interesting survey to capture pupils attitudes towards, and experiences of, environmental sustainability in schools. It is aimed at Year 5 and above, you get a report on your contribution and entered for a cash prize. It takes between 5 and 15 minutes, needs completing before Christmas. Green Schools Project and NUS […]
This week I have been introducing some Year 4 pupils to using green screen techniques. This particular class were pretending to be part of the Icena tribe and they had made some horses in order to go in search of the Romans. Time was limited but we managed to produce this short story which will […]
… within planetary boundaries. This is the title of a new website set up by Leeds University that attempts to “quantify the national resource use associated with achieving a good life for over 150 countries. It shows that meeting the basic needs of all people on the planet would result in humanity transgressing multiple environmental […]
Yesterday I was privileged to be able to attend the closing event of the 2016-18 Leeds Poverty Truth Commission and the launch of their HuManifesto. The event powerfully communicated how poverty dehumanises us and how we can all play a part in breaking down barriers, reducing isolation and increasing communication between people so that we […]
This has to be class blog of the week. This crazy teacher has written a whole blog post in haiku – that is pretty dedicated! http://4dm.aceprimary.co.uk/friday-19th-january
Children love an audience to show off their work to and to get positive responses. In fact, not just children! Classroom walls are good for showcasing good or excellent work but the audience is limited to pupils and staff in school and perhaps parents a few times a year. School or class blogs can create […]
Children are some of the most vulnerable to dirty air. The health effects include: asthma, reduced lung capacity and can even impact their brain development. Friends of the Earth have just relaunched their Clean Air Schools Pack, designed with teachers, it aims to transform KS2 pupils into budding scientists. It provides engaging lesson plans that take […]
I have been doing Lego animations with children for many years now particularly with year 5 and 6. I usually use I Can Animate with Hue web cams but sometimes use much simpler software and more basic cameras. This week, in one of the after school clubs that I run, I was pleasantly surprised by […]
An interesting dilemma today – year 1 children, using 2Paint a Picture teach them to use different size brushes, improve their mouse skills and, as it was Remembrance Day at the weekend, draw some poppies. And what is the dilemma? Should I just let them loose and see what they produce or should I show […]
It was with great sadness that we learnt that Tim Rylands passed away last Monday. Tim was an amazing inspiration to many educationalists and children, he was full of creative ideas and resources involving computing that made learning fun and effective. His presentations at events and his sessions in the classroom were not to be […]
I often use Pivot to introduce animation, it is a nice, simple to use program with no cameras or wires, clay or scenery. You can very quickly get across the idea of a timeline and the need for small movements to give smooth animations and children can produce stunning results in a very short time. […]
If you are a user of Chromebooks then you may like the “Share to Classroom” extension that allows you to easily share a webpage from your device to the whole class with a couple of clicks. Sometimes it can be so difficult to get your class all on the same page! This extension helps to […]
Earlier this year Google released “Team Drives”. These are a very useful addition to Google Drive but at first it may not be clear why. What is the point of Team Drives when you can share any folder with anyone you like? One of the issues with sharing folders in a community such as a […]
We all know that it can be quite difficult sometimes (or all the time) to engage boys in learning. One strategy being used at Allerton CE Primary is to use a “Football Manager” blog to encourage boys who are interested in football (and girls) to write and do arithmetic. I well remember working for 6 […]
When teaching animation the early lessons are focused on getting quick results with a story line and smooth animation. Making the Pivot stick characters move realistically and smoothly isn’t easy, the first results are often jerky and lack meaning. I like to challenge the children in their second session to use one or two characters […]