Cameron ‘to abandon plans to change forest ownership’
It looks as though the government may be about to do a u-turn on the sell off of forests. See “Cameron ‘to abandon plans to change forest ownership’” Hug a tree to celebrate!
Author Archive for: redkitecomputers
Entries by redkitecomputers
Pupils as teachers – Digital Leaders
An exciting way of teaching teachers how to “do” ICT is underway in Bradford at Bowling Park Primary. Chris Mayoh with help from James Langley (Education Bradford’s Curriculum ICT team) have started a “Digital Leaders” programme. This involves the pupils showing the teachers what resources are available, what can be done with them and how […]
UK Digital Skills Gap – some musings
That good old question has come up again – Are schools teaching the wrong things, as far as information technology is concerned? Terry Freedman has written an article in his blog on this topic and concludes with some useful questions. I agree with him that schools should not be about providing “fodder for industry” and […]
Bus Lanes and car sharing
Terry Wogan always used to rant about bus lanes that had no buses in them whereas cyclists are always cursing the cars that use the bus lanes illegally. Leeds City Council have just announced that they are going to put cameras on bus lanes to catch and fine bus lane abusers. This may help with […]
English as an Additional Language
About one in ten pupils in England are learning English as an additional language. They may be immigrants, refugees or the children of overseas students or professionals working in this country. I have been in primary schools where there are over 26 different first languages spoken and I have heard of schools with even more! The […]
Chemistry Add-in for Word
For all you science teachers out there – a new add-in for Word has just been released that makes it easier to insert and modify chemical information, such as labels, formulas and 2-D depictions, within Microsoft Office Word. You will need to read the documentation to get the best out of it but it looks […]
Using Film in Education
Using Film in Education – Yorkshire Seminar Friday, March 18, 2011 from 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM (GMT) Bradford, United Kingdom A seminar for professionals working with young people in schools and communities demonstrating how film can radically improve how you engage with young people and impact on their learning. Location: National Media Museum, Pictureville, […]
World Maths Day 2011
World Maths Day is the world’s largest education event where students (aged 4-18) compete in real time against other students from around the world playing mental arithmetic games on the World Maths Day website (www.worldmathsday.com). World Maths Day encourages students of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to have a go at maths in a fun, […]
Schools of Sanctuary
We like to think of Leeds as a warm, welcoming city and our schools as welcoming and safe havens of learning. Leeds City of Sanctuary are committed to making our city a haven for anyone who needs its protection by creating a network of people and organisations right across the city, united in making our city […]
Phishing warning
Wikipedia describes phishing as “… the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication“. During the last week one particular new form of phishing has come to my notice through people I know who have almost […]
Big Garden and Big School’s Birdwatch (part 2)
I hope some of you have managed to spend some time relaxing and watching the birds! I was out walking locally on Saturday and managed to see a tree creeper and a great spotted woodpecker along with lots of the usual woodland birds. As a result I didn’t have time on Saturday so on Sunday […]
Forestry Commission sales
The coalition government has announced plans to sell some or all of the public forest estate in England. Currently the Forestry Commission is responsible for its care. They haven’t always done the best job but in recent years they seem to be getting it about right. And the skills and knowledge they have is applied […]
Free ICT CPD
Naace has made available free ICT CPD for Teachers, Classroom Practitioners and anyone passionate about ICT In Education. It can be found at http://www.ictcpd4free.co.uk/
Five predictions for 2011 that will rock the education world
2011 will be the year that we start to look for real leadership for educational technologies, and start to look into using new technologies to do “amazing” and “magical” things The Education Futures website has five predictions for the key stories that will rock the education world in 2011. It’s American but it could apply here as […]
Big Garden and Big School’s Birdwatch
Those of you who know me or have read my previouse blogs will be aware that I am passionate about the environment and about engaging our young people with the natural world, as well as with ICT. The annual RSPB Birdwatch is the perfect opportunity to combine both. The Big School’s Birdwatch is on the […]
Yesterday, today and tomorrow – New Year thoughts
Yesterday is but a dream and tomorrow is only a vision. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well, therefore, to this day. (A quotation that is quoted in “Dangerous Love” by Ben Okri)
The Weather
The British do have a real thing about the weather. I’ve recently been involved in setting up a weather station, we’re still in the process of deciding what information to make available on the website but you can see it by clicking here. On a recent visit to the school almost everyone was saying how […]
Every Child Outdoors
The winter weather we have been experiencing, plus doing my back in, has meant that I have been able to sit watching the birds in my garden more than usual. Despite the back, I have been able to top up the bird feeders and replace the ice in the bird bath with fresh water most […]
Junior Librarian
I’ve been recommending, installing and providing training on this software for years now but over the last year I haven’t done much with it. Having been asked to provide some training this week I have just been going through my “lesson plan” and been reminded of what an incredibly useful tool it is for schools if […]
Christmas celebrations
It looks as if Christmas is getting closer! And here are two very Christmassy events: 11 December 2010 – Handel’s Messiah Venue: Leeds Town Hall Orchestra: Manchester Camerata Choir: Leeds Philharmonic Chorus Conductor: Mark Hindley Soloists: Sarah Power (Soprano); Julliane Young (Alto); Philip Smith (Baritone); James Greer (Tenor) 16 December 2010 – Lord Mayor’s Carols […]