ICT Subject Leader Meeting Follow-Up Post (March 2012)

A big thank you again to all the subject leaders who attended the March ICT Subject Leaders' meeting. From my perspective it was really useful to meet with so many subject leaders (42 in total!) and discuss how you are using ICT to support teaching and learning.

Please find a summary from the feedback questionnaire  below.

Session	Question	Average score based on 35 responses.
1	Bristol Scheme of Work – An overview of the scheme of work focusing on how subject leaders can support planning and assessment in their school.	4.5
2	ICT + Literacy – Using ICT to enhance standards and enjoyment in literacy.	4.8
3	Websites/resources of the term - Sharing best practice.	4.8

Scale 1 = I did not find this useful                5  = I found this extremely useful

Things you found useful:

• having a subject leaders' blog is very useful as it provided an area where we could check for updated information and share our own planning/practice.
• publishing the agenda before the meeting was very useful.
• using an online booking form was very convenient.
• having all meeting dates for the year published at the end of term 1 enabled teachers to give their SMT more notice which increased the likeliness of them being able to attend the meeting.
• publishing all notes on the blog enabled subject leaders who were unable to attend to view information.
• publishing notes using Google Docs enabled subject leaders to easily share information with other teachers.
• The shared planning area was useful as it enabled subject leaders to see examples of best practice.
• being given time to plan with other subject leaders was useful.
• having the opportunity to meet with other subject leaders.

Areas you would like to focus on during the next Subject Leaders' Meeting.

• AST to model how to plan a lesson using the Bristol Scheme of Work.
• examples of how to use assessment tools in relation to the Bristol Scheme of Work.

Share ideas/resources section:

http://bristolprimaryictnetworkmeetings.blogspot.com/p/shared-ideasresources.html

It would be very useful if you could e-mail me any ICT planning so that I can add it to the shared planning area on the blog. (e-mail planning to chris.unsworth@bristol.gov.uk)

If anyone would like to write a post to share how they are using ICT to support teaching and learning in their school then please e-mail me and I will provide you with a contributor account.

AST Outreach Support

If you would like to request AST outreach support then please complete the form below and send it to kate.rick@bristol.gov.uk

AST Outreach Support Information

A member of the senior management must complete this request.

I look forward to meeting/working with you soon.

Best wishes

Chris

All comments posted are welcomed.

Summer Term ICT Subject Leaders' Meeting-: Thursday 21st June 2012, Time: 9:30 - 3:30 

Rebecca's excellent presentation.

Primary ICT Subject Leaders' Hub Network Meeting - 15th March 2012

Welcome to the second of the 2011-12 Primary ICT Subject Leaders'  Hub Network Meetings.

ICT Subject Leaders’ Agenda - 15th March  2012

9:00   –   9:30	Tea and Coffee
9:30   –  9:45	Welcome messages + Updates- A detailed overview of the status of ICT nationally and in Bristol.
9:45 – 10:15	Developing ICT Leaders in your school- How ICT subject leaders can support/coach other teachers to become leaders of ICT.
10:15 –  11:15	ICT Cross Curricular Resources - Using ICT as a tool to support learning across the primary curriculum. Delegates will be provided with links to resources and case studies examining how ICT can be used as a tool to support learning across the primary curriculum.
11:15 -   12:15	Tim Rylands and Sarah Neil inspired Interactive Writing Frames – Using Microsoft PowerPoint to create multimodal writing frames. Delegates will be shown how to use Microsoft PowerPoint to create interactive multimodal writing frames.
12:00 -   13:00	Lunch + Networking
13:00 -   13:30	Websites/resources of the term – an opportunity for delegates to share best practice/resources.
13:30 – 15:00	Individual/Group Planning- Delegates will be given the opportunity to plan with other ICT Subject Leaders. Delegates will be provided with examples of planning. (Optional) Bristol Scheme of Work Focus Group – An overview of the scheme of work focusing on how subject leaders can support planning in their school. This session is designed for teachers who are new to the role or thinking about implementing the Bristol ICT Scheme of Work. (Optional) Assessing ICT Focus Group – An introduction to assessing ICT. Delegates will be given the opportunity to share best practice and look at how schools from around Bristol assess ICT.
15:00 – 15:30	Reflection/Action Planning – Delegates will given the opportunity to reflect on the network meeting creating an action plan for supporting their school.

Click here to download a copy of the Subject Leaders' Network Meeting presentation.

Bristol ICT Scheme of Work on Prezi

Click here to download a copy of the SMART Notebook Presentation. 


Click here to download a copy of a software progression example.


Click here to view a video of how to create multi-modal writing frames using Microsoft PowerPoint.


Click here to view an alternative video of how to create multi-modal writing frames using Microsoft PowerPoint. 

Game Based Learning 
Here are some interesting views on how Game Based Learning or Gaming can support teaching and learning.

Via: Online Colleges Guide
 

Game Based Learning can:

• Encourage children to take ‘risks’ with their learning
• Develop problem solving skills
•  Improve childrens’ views on learning
• Improve communication
• Increase motivation/engagement
•  Develop creativity
•  Improve collaboration
• Enhance links between home and school life
• Overcome barriers referred to as the Digital Disconnect.

adapted from   Groff et al (2010) + Kirkland et al (2010)


Reading around the subject, I  found a number of interesting case studies where teachers have used Game-Based Learning to achieve some or all of the objectives mentioned above. I would recommend reading the following blog posts if you are interested in implementing Game-Based Learning strategies.


Tom Barret - http://twitter.com/tombarrett

Using Endless Ocean (Wii) in the Classroom – Making a Class Aquarium for Descriptive Writing

http://edte.ch/blog/2009/11/03/using-endless-ocean-wii-in-the-classroom-making-a-class-aquarium-for-descriptive-writing/

In this blog post Tom describes how he has used the Endless Ocean Wii game to stimulate descriptive writing with his class.


Marc Faulder- http://twitter.com/marc_faulder

Using Kinectimals to Support Play in the Early Years Classroom

http://edte.ch/blog/2011/02/20/using-kinectimals-to-support-play-in-the-early-years-classroom/


Marc used an X-Box Kinect and the game Kinectimals as a stimulus for a project looking at animal homes. Marc created a blog entry to reflect on how his Game-Based Learning strategies impacted on children's learning and his own professional practice.

(If you have not seen the Kinectimals game before - see  the YouTube video below!)




Guitar Hero - Collaborative Story /Biographies


http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/sharingpractice/g/guitarhero/introduction.asp?strReferringChannel=usingglowandict&strReferringPageID=tcm:4-478011-64


This blog post explores how the game Guitar Hero could be used to stimulate creative writing.

Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (Nintendo DS)


The Learning and Teaching Scotland website reports how Dr Kawashima's Brain Training  game was used in a primary school in order improve children's mental maths scores.

 http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/sharingpractice/i/improvingmentalmaths/introduction.asp?strReferringChannel=usingglowandict&strReferringPageID=tcm:4-478011-64




Using the game Myst to engage and motivate reluctant writers


http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/video/m/myst02p7markswritinghasimproved.asp?strReferringChannel=deletion

Another case study from the Learning and Teaching Scotland website exploring how the game 'Myst' can be used to engage and motivate reluctant writers.


Tim Ryland   http://twitter.com/timrylands
I find that I spend hours sieving through Tim Rylands website/blogs/Twitter posts for inspirational ideas.
Tim Ryland- the story so far....   http://www.timrylands.com/html/the-story.html


If you are looking for ideas of how you can use Game-Based Learning/Digital Literacy to raise standards then look no further. There are enough ideas here to last you a whole academic year!



How do you follow a Tim Ryland video? Well I'm not going to even try, but here are some examples of free on-line Game-Based Learning programs that I have been using this year with my class.

BBC's Gut Instinctshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/games/gut_instinct/pop.shtml

This game can be used to consolidate Maths, English or Science skills. I really like the way children can compete against each other safely online either at school or at home. There is an option to design your own Avatar which the children seem to really enjoy. By entering a Class League name you can create a 'virtual room' where up to 30 children can compete against each other.  The graphics and sounds are super and I particularly like the league position update after every round. I have thought about using this for homework as a Saturday morning challenge! 

Another similar on-line program is Tutpup which follows the same strict e-safety rules, but allows children to compete against peers from around the world. I also like the 'Hall of Fame' and 'Certificate' area which enable children to work through progressively more difficult levels. I have not trialed this with my class properly yet, but intend to do so during the summer terms.

http://www.tutpup.com/

Kodu - http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/kodu/

Kodu is a free program produced by Microsoft which enables users to design, build and play new games. The completed games are visually stunning and are completely created using the tools within Kodu. Completed games can be uploaded to X-Box Live and played either on a PC or X-Box. You can even control your Kodu characters using an X-Box controller. I have experimented using this program with a lunch time technology club that I run and have been amazed with the results. This type of Game-Based Learning challenges children to develop many of the essential 'learning to learning' skills that we hope will make them successful life long learners. Follow the links below to find out more about the educational benefits of using Kodu and for ideas of how to use it in the classroom.

http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/usingglowandict/gamesbasedlearning/gamedesign/gamedesignandlearning.asp

http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/usingglowandict/gamesbasedlearning/gamedesign/kodu.asp

Check out the Kodu Promotional video!

Another great thing about Kodu (especially for those of us who are not yet confident using Game-Based Learning strategies) is the large selection of video tutorials which are available on-line.

 If you are thinking about planning a Game-Based Learning experience, I would suggest you consider the following points:

-Game-Based Learning experiences need to be well planned

-Children need to have a clear set of rules/expectations.

-School Leaders must ensure that parents/carers understand the educational benefits of this type of learning.

-Teachers need to understand the technology being used.

                                                                                           Groff et al (2010)

Articles which I hope you might find interesting/useful

The impact of console Games in the Classroom

http://www.childrenliteracylab.org/uploads/website/docs/1818-1-Console%20games%20report.pdf

Games-based experiences of learning

http://futurelab.org.uk/sites/default/files/Games_based_experiences_for_learning_0.pdf

Games-Based Learning Experiences: Testing the principles with teachers and students

http://futurelab.org.uk/sites/default/files/Games_based_learnig_report.pdfn



I would welcome feedback on today's presentations and resources. Please compete the form below or e-mail me at chris.unsworth@bristol.gov.uk