marlyn's blog

A wee fun thing.

2008-02-22T22:33:00.004Z

I saw this used by Ewan at Teachmeet 07 and thought what fun it might be in class.
Anyway thanks to Mr W for the details, gleaned at Teachmeet North in Perth this week.
Couldn't get it to sit in my Edublog, so am experimenting here. Try putting in few names and then hit the button.

Click here for full screen version

Playing with voki 1of 3.

2007-12-01T00:52:00.001Z

These posts need to be seen/heard in order to make any sense. The sound breaks up a bit, misses the odd number and syllable, but there's educational potential.
Lesson Intro:-

Playing with voki 2

2007-12-01T00:43:00.001Z

The middle

Get a Voki now!

Playing with voki 3.

2007-12-01T00:04:00.000Z

The end

I know nuffin!

2006-08-15T22:49:00.000Z

For someone who is always wanting to put the C in ICT , tonight I failed in my attempt to link with those who are the real communicators. I could not get the html/java to work on my blogs to produce,( no matter where I placed them) the wee snapshot of them at http://www.mybloglog.com/buzz/members/marlyn/ but I know someone will help.

Learn something every day!

2006-08-03T21:47:00.000Z

My Great Grandmother, at 90, said to me that she made a point of learning something new every day. At 25 as I was then, I wondered why, but didn't question. But now I do it too, though the difference is, that I have to record it somewhere to remember it. She didn't!
So what did I learn today? I learned that many people in education are concerned about the internet behaviour and safety of our children, but that there is not much real help out there for how to tackle an ever increasing problem. I'm not writing about paedophile interest necessarily. Peer groups cause disquiet too. We as professionals have a 'duty of care' though most of this stuff is not happening in schools, but there has been a 'knock on' effect in some. As a firm believer in the C in ICT, education is the name of the game, but I am beginning to be a wee bit concerned as I try to write plans to cover this in ICT, PSD and Health, that the old adage....'You can lead the horse to water....' will apply, and they will not act upon it and as a result be no safer, despite having been 'educated'.

Been busy!

2006-08-01T21:51:00.000Z

Been missing the therapy that this blogging thing has become. What have I been doing?
Writing an essay! It's the holidays I know, but when is a class teacher ever going to be able to work on the Chartered Teacher Programme except when she is not teaching! And paying £650 for the priviledge! Sno real is it? Am I daft or just approaching an impecunious retirement?
On a more positive note, my little chickadees continue to send their mail about their holidays and what Campbell bear is doing. Isn't that super? Guess they're hooked too!

Small fry for clever people!

2006-07-18T22:11:00.000Z

Not for me,takes me a while! Today I discovered how to send pictures from my phone in my garden, to my computer in the house. Then I found out how to send sound files that I had recorded on my phone. Then I discovered how to send sound files from my computer to my phone. Then I found how to send documents to my phone and vice versa, and how to see them properly. A eureka moment! Now thinking.....clever stuff....classroom. Mmmmmmmm

Technology saw me through it!

2006-07-09T09:57:00.000Z

Remember that AifL 'test' I was wittering on about a few weeks ago? Well I swithered about this for a while and then thought I'd publish to give those reflective teachers out there some encouragement. I know that some of what goes on in my classroom is good stuff, but, as a 'golden oldie' am never sure if it measures up to all the new rulers. Experience counts for more than we think, though. So, I could only do what I normally do, but with one or two modern bits thrown in, just to highlight the additional breadth that the technology can bring to the curriculum, increasing the level of involvement and achievement for the children.

But now the end is nigh! I had chosen to forget that the Promethean board and the Activote pods were on loan from the Authority, so deeply were they embedded in my day. Now, they have to be returned. I did explain that if anyone had attempted to collect them before the end of term, I would have to be surgically removed from the top of the board, and my little chickadees would bite kneecaps! So now it's back to my old film screen and much less exciting times. It'll take more than a bottle of wine and a big bar of chocolate to get over this loss! Hari kari could be an option!

They won't give it up!

2006-06-28T22:52:00.000Z

My little bloggers won't! They decided unanimously. They've made up a rota of where Campbell bear can be for the holidays. Who can pass him on to the next one, etc. He is the vehicle, after all. So, rather than individual posts they thought they would email me with his pics etc Well, we'll see what happens. Chris found that her students went off the boil in the hols, though that didn't happen with mine at Easter. Campbell emailed his pics at 7.30 this morning! I have a responsibility too. There's all these photos, sound files and video clips that I have promised to get on the blog, over the hols.
Because their Homework projects about places that had hit on the blog were fabulous and they had been such superstars, my Headteacher decided they were due an extra treat, and I concurred, so today, we had a lovely time in Southend. We had ice cream and chocolate cake at Muneroy tearoom. We went to Columba's footprint, Keil caves, saw and talked about Dunaverty Rock and the event that happened there. Wow they remembered from our Knights and Castles project! The best bit happened when Jamie asked me at every stop.'Are you still enjoying yourself Mrs Moffat?' and I could answer truthfully. 'Yes'
Oh I'm going to miss them! Wee splendid people. Is that navel gazing Ian?

Social networking...yeh right!

2006-06-28T21:56:00.000Z

We have sent a letter, by post this time, to parents of over P3, about safety on the net, social networking, cyberbullying etc. I prepared a very edited presentation to parents, though it was not well attended, those who were there, were shocked, and I have been using my P3's to talk to the P6 year group to remind and discuss the rules for safety, and what to do if they are feeling threatened. We are including these lessons in our health programme for next term, and in our CPD sessions. What more can we do? Listening!....
I've been shouting 'Give them the tools!' Well we gave them the skills this time and at home the parents are giving them the tools! But I remember the first time I used a saw, my Father was at my elbow, encouraging me to use it safely. The first weeks I rode my bike to school he was there a bit behind in the car, for days, to make sure I was able to handle it, though I didn't know that, till 20 years later. It's a whole new ball game!

Oh the pain!

2006-06-20T21:13:00.000Z

Ok, some of it was in my back, but when you have been communicating, developing and learning online, and your ability to to sit on your computer chair is too painful, means that facility is removed, it's a different kind of agony! Anyway, now, with three pillows, on the chair, feel my pain! So much for the ergonomically designed chair! Went back to work yesterday and, having had my first absence of substance in 5 years, the guilt was hard to take. My little chickadees sent cards and wishes and on my return confided they had missed their technology. I had hoped they would still have kept the blog going because I had furnished the supply teacher with the secret password, to allow them iGear access. (Primary children are not supposed to have individual access) When the Depute head went into the classroom, she was amused to see written on the blackboard.."Secret Password".....and the actual word! Helpdesk and another password, soonest, please. You have to smile though! My heart goes out to the terribly sincere and hardworking supply teacher.
Would be interested to hear from those who have had a look at www.bebo.com . We have been having some probs there. Did you know that every school in the UK has a page there? Ours is horrid and our school would wish it known that we, in no way, condone the language and behaviours exhibited by some of our pupils, in their postings, and are attempting to address these with information and example.

A great ( nearly) finale.

2006-05-31T22:48:00.000Z

Friday was wonderful! Children who had not met before talked and played together. They brought their teddies to the picnic! Some were huge! We met the Tighnabruaich Primary 1/2/3 at A'Chleit beach, in the rain! Neither Morag or myself had to raise our voices a decibel. They knew one another already, through the blog. They had a common aim, to reunite Campbell Bear and Spencer bear for a brief period, and to set up the picnic. My lot had 6 digital cameras with them, and snapped anything that stood still. Before we left school I asked the children what we should be taking with us, and one wee spark said 'Your computer', so I asked him why and he responded 'Because these cameras we borrowed from the infants don't have much memory and we might need to download the pictures to get some more'. So I told him 'Aleady packed!' We did have the church hall as a refuge for lunch and wet sand is better for building sandcastles! Despite the dismal day, not a one asked if it was time to go home, in fact they had to be dragged away. We grouped them reliable from one school with the not so, from the other. There was one really nice incident, where Bethany and Maryann noticed that Jade(might be Jodie) seemed to be on her own and asked me if they might go and get her to join their group. Later back in her school she said that two nice girls had come to play with her. I know Morag feels the same about her class, although she is leaving them shortly for pastures bigger, but I have to say how pleased I was with mine. So now before the hols, I know I can take them out of school and rely on them. Well done Primary 3! I have to say that because I know they read this at home.

Blossoming blogs and reporting.

2006-05-31T22:06:00.000Z

Well it's not as if I haven't been blogging! Not here though. There's been so many new Bloggers that just needed that first posting or comment to get them communicating. Andrew will save me some time though, help me getting the feeds sorted out so it won't take as long to follow up. Won't he?
Been doing the class year reports. 50 hours for 25 reports. New format. Probably spend too much time thinking and trying to get it right, ( I kept a detailed diary of my time), but my fellows tell me since, that they must be about the same. Someone, somewhere, who never had to write a report, about a real child in the last 20 years said 1 hour per report. It's OK though, we get an afternoon or morning out of class to do them! When I came back to teaching in 1990, there were 15 entries per child and half of them were ticks. Correct me if I'm wrong, please, I think there are now 87 of which 15 or so are comments. My Head tells me that it took her 2 and a half hours to to read/ check my reports. My response , of course must be be, " That's a tiny bit less than it took me to write them!" But then she has more to read. Take the pay, do the job! There is no implied crit. of the designer of this, just disgust that the system/ Authority require it! Some of our less computer literate staff are completely stressed out by the whole experience. Of course, I know that we have other hours allocated from our 193 or is it 5 that we have to do each year in our own time. Give me a blank sheet of paper and I'll soon tell you about yer wean! They have that in the secondaries so I see from my son's reports, and those that are not computer literate in our local Grammar...still handwrite and the office types them up....eh? And prints! (We have a leak in the Grammar School office.) Had to take some time to make sure everyone had a printer that worked with their system, 'cos we still have a mixture, not yet upgraded to macos 10!!!! and had the ink to do it.

Blogging and the children.

2006-05-18T22:52:00.000Z

4 Primary 3's have now created their own blogs. 12 now have accounts. Ict lesson today was about safety and tonight was about sending guidance messages to parents, comment moderation, and word verification directing them to Andrew's blog such that they can take the headers off and hopefully prevent them seeing something I'd rather they didn't just yet. I would not have believed that 7/8 year olds could have taken this thus far. Really hope the parents are as vigilant as we are in school. Pleased to have given them the skills, but know they are not yet ready to handle some of the potential outcomes. On the other hand..mostly the same children have mobile phones..unsure as to where my responsibility begins or ends. I hope to have some guidance from the eLive conference next week.

P3 like green!

2006-05-15T23:52:00.000Z

You might wonder if they are being ecologically sound...but in this instance, no! Sorree! They are looking for my excel printout from our Mental Arithmetic that we did from the 'podding' as they call it. (Activote.) Red means they got it wrong, and green....causes a collaborative clap, and much excitement. They applaud number 17 for getting it right the second time. They cheer when the whole line comes in green. They think they are anonymous, and they call out for number 13 to answer. Some of this works against the AiFL theory, but I can allow waiting time, and they enjoy it so much. I can see who isn't doing the business and quietly teach. Green means I am vindicated ......doing my job....targetting the needy and not boring those who already know! So when it all goes green....put your ear plugs in! I'll be cheering with them! Getting close......

Primary 7 in touch folder joins the 21st Century.

2006-05-10T18:06:00.000Z

For some years now I've administered a discussion folder on eolas, for the Kintyre and Gigha Primary sevens, who are all going to secondary at the same time. It was very time consuming going through the masses of postings nightly, removing anything unsuitable, and informing schools. We couldn't get, despite many enquiries, an admin account for another to take it over. All the postings had to be dealt with retrospectively and timeously.......so......There's another use for a blog....Set up one this afternoon with "Fusions" for Noreen to manage. See? Took less than an hour to get to the first posting.

Blog on!

Spontaneous applause!

2006-05-03T22:14:00.000Z

When the children listened to the postings of sound on the teddies blog, that's what happened! I'm so pleased I was able to deliver! With help!
A loud cheer went up when they saw the sitemeter....over the thousand in just over a month!
I asked for a caption for the picture of the Tighnabruaich class and got a whole page of writing, with the explanation that it needed to be explained, for others to read, who they were, and what they were doing, and why their picture was on our display. So that's Ok...My caption wasn't good enough! It just said P1,2,3 from...Critical analysis from P3. See the comments they made on the sound files. There are 5 with blog accounts at home now!
A picture...I didn't set this up...or take it. Fun though!

Other good stuff...I got a box of lovely chocs from Maryann's Mum this morning, saying thanks for sending the digital camera home. Seems she spent a fortune entertaining a certain bear over the weekend, but enjoyed it. They took approximately 70 photos!!! Maryann had Spencer on local radio. Now is that enterprising, or what? They played Return to the Kyles for him.

Repeated this Thursday between 2-3pm...Argyll FM
Not so good stuff....I had my AifL test this morning...well, don't suppose that's what it is supposed to be called...but I was being assessed against those criteria...my friend and colleague/line manager was put into the situation of assessing my teaching and writing a report. We were issued with a document illustrating 10 steps to AifL...previously..how formal...how unnecessary...if I were being monitored informally, it would give me more points, and more would be known about what really happens in my classroom. Probably got 2 out of 10 in that snapshot! Upsets all of my workmates too, peculiarly the ones who are the best teachers! They are the most forward thinking, reflective teachers and therefore, the most insecure in their self belief. I'm told "All teachers deserve this" Quote from head of service. I think it was meant to refer to positive feedback, but is that what will happen in all cases? Mmmmm....wonder how it is being dealt with in other schools. Some have written the reports from continuing observation, without this formal assessment, it seems. At least, most of the class behaved themselves...so that's good. Isn't it? Maybe I got 3 out of 10 then.

Testing... testing.....testing...and....Eureka!!

2006-05-01T10:31:00.000Z

Oops! I'd copied the file naming style just a bit too literally. I included the inverted commas of the example on the hosting site. Who's a silly billy?
listen here
Yet another go with sound and help from John the kindly communicating skyping blogger from Sandaig!!
Hope I can remember how to do this again though. Wasn't getting any younger while I muddled about by myself!!

Blogger's been down...aaahhhh! Withdrawal symptoms.

2006-04-24T21:31:00.000Z

So it is not apparently publishing comments. Anyway further to my last posting....I'd had a conversation by email, with Lynne Horn who just posts her sound files like any other file to the tobermoryhs blog..so thought I'd give it a try. Chancer..you might say. Well yes, if there were an easy route so that I could have the children do their own! She is on edublogs though, and if it were the case...as easy as that...mmmm...rather than a host for sound...got enough problems with the hosts for pictures, in school...might be the time to change??? Advice would be good! I'm creating Mpg3 files by the dozen...

Another way to spend a weekend!

2006-04-23T20:28:00.000Z

Was wondering if it might be possible to pull in a sound file, as I believe it works like that on some systems.....It couldn't be that easy could it?

trial run1.MP3

Users/marlynmoffat/Desktop/MZ000001.MP3

No I didn't really think so. Now if Andrew reads this he may remember giving some advice about hosting.....trouble was I couldn't remember where that was....mail... blog ..somewhere.

Curriculum par excellence!

2006-04-20T22:42:00.000Z

Question to class. I need someone who can write in French to post the questions you made up with Mrs Black for Flappy. ( We wanted to respond to the new Tobermory blog, because their teacher had posted on our blog)) Answer...I don't need to write in French because the letters are the same, but they make French words, and Flappy will understand. Yo! Go do it then!
Creating a wall display....gotta do that ..Liam made a buggy for the bears with Christy . So we have to have the evidence of our technologicals. It's on the blog already. So having printed off the picture to be seen by the whole school next to his beautiful drawing...I wondered what he had done with his report. He told me it was on the blog. No paper copy. I sent him off to look at the blog and what he had written and he came back to me later and suggested that instead of writing it down again, he could copy and paste what he wrote. He was a wee bit stuck as to where to. So suggested a new Appleworks...(We have to let the rest of the school know what we are doing.) Later he came back with what he had printed..."I made it as big as I can so people will see it" Woweeeee!!!!! For Liam....For primary 3!!!!
I could get emotional about this....is it the teddy....the blog...the children..my class...communication...? Yes! When I see/hear their excitement..
But back to earth. I still have to do my forward plans, and I don't know where they are going, because every day brings a new revelation.

Tools that work!

2006-04-19T19:27:00.000Z

My warcry!

I always have claimed I wanted that for the children, but I'd like it too. Over the hols an airport had decided to misbehave, for no apparent reason, and with the afternoon planned for online activity of various sorts, couldn't get online! Jumped through fiery hoops and then switched the whole lot off...airport and all. And after 45 mins of effort....put it back on reselected and rejoined the network, on 11 machines ...et voila! Just in time to shut down. Now can you imagine the kind of chaos that might have been in some classrooms....I had other things for the children to do...but that was our timetabled ibook, blogging time....gone.
Today....having reinstalled the Software for the promethean board, to work with 10.4.5.....It appeared to do so...on one of the machines I use...but it won't on the other....dumped and reinstalled and again.....still won't on the other. Latest version and updates! Well, on the machine that will open the activities...it won't retain the relationship with the activote pods that we had so loved...Had to get them to recognise twice....still wouldn't retain when an activity was opened. ...so had to revert to an older slug of a machine to make use of the mental arith this morning, and couldn't use the pods for ad hoc stuff on the website we were to explore, since the machine didn't have Flash8 that was needed...to navigate and make full use of!
Think how much worse this is for a less confident teacher....with a difficult class....who knows less about the system.....who was doing this for the first time....
I'm a busy class teacher...this I could do without too....and my class deserve better. I compliment them constantly on their patience. so they now make a thing about displaying it.....but I want to SCreeeeeeeeeem!!! So we didn't get time to record their fab stories...I said I was sorry about that....and one wee soul said....That's OK. We'll do it tomorrow. Oh the confidence of youth!

Is it really the holidays?

2006-04-13T22:30:00.000Z

Now always remember...they are 7 years old. They have bullied, cajolled and convinced their parents of the importance of what they had to do for Spencer bear. Who had the bigger learning curve to comply with? The children in class knew how to put in my email address, and search for an att.. Beautiful pictures and excellent writing have arrived in my inbox....collaborative learning on a different level....homework with a difference, too. Now wonder....Why did it have to be done? What has it achieved? Honourable people who want achievement for their children, supported them. Putting the C in ICT! That's what it's all about! An' it's not always about computers!
Talking, discussing, collaborating, and doing!!! This time it's Mums and Dads and offspring..to get to that point. They have risen to a challenge splendidly! I imagine they have gained some respect from their children too, by making the effort. The street cred for them is unquantifyable. Thank you to parents of P3.

Sometimes you're down...

2006-04-08T23:27:00.000Z

So the song goes...but...then you get a photo of a talking crow from Tobermory sent to you, or a photo of a dog and its teddy friend from academia...Oh really? Yes! There are still imaginative adults out there who actually relate to children properly, in this cynical and suspicious society.

So now my class want to learn some French to talk to Flappy. This bloggy thing is growing like the beanstalk!! How will we handle dogspeak?
What I hadn't bargained for was the parental knockon effect. So there I am, shopping in Tesco....If we have Spencer to stay what do you want us to do?
How do I att a picture to email to you? Put on the blog? Does my P3 need her own blogger account? How do I do that for her? Can you handle video? It's really important who Spencer goes to next...where do you need me to take him?
And the really good thing....All the children who have had the boy to stay...have emailed me with the diary. Are they not just special? Don't they just deserve a bit of my time to make sure their Aunties and Grannies, wherever they live in this world, can see what they have done. Am I proud of them? Too true!!! As I keep saying...Give them the tools! (That work!!!!!!!)

Another blogging day in Argyll.

2006-03-30T20:56:00.001Z

Went into a lovely, quiet, anticipatory classroom, this morning, the sort of environment that most teachers would envy. On the way to my desk I casually mentioned that I could do with a volunteer to connect up my computer and calibrate the whiteboard. 25 hands raised. So I chose one who hadn't done it before. 3/4 ,minutes later, twas done. They went online and checked the sitemeter..I don't do that for them anymore...they had atlases and a map and listed all the places that had looked at what they had done....they made labels for the big map in the hall in appleworks and printed them, to show the rest of the school where their hits had come from..The children constructed...they wrote ...collaborated...they photographed....imported their photos in iphoto..and they cropped...they copied and pasted their work...into their new postings.....I just supervised and encouraged....Ready to post...to see their work..they did the login...ACCESS DENIED.....they thought they had done something wrong..reassurance required..tried again using my ID...the igear window came up in the place where the slideshow used to be...6 attempts..boy are they patient, giving me encouragement by then. Maybe this time. Try again Mrs M. Did in the afternoon...ACCESS DENIED. Should have had the video camera running..Their attitude to this is better than mine. They think it will be better tomorrow. I just came home and posted their pictures. They need to see their work tomorrow, so they will be encouraged to do it again! You could give up so easily when you are seven.....

Children do that to you!

2006-03-28T23:09:00.000Z

Take your breath away! Teachers can do that too...when they feel constraints have been lifted. My ties to the paper doctrine were loosened today, when, in discussion with our head teacher, it seemed my "off the wall thinking" might actually fit with the latest initiative!...Gee whizz! Still got to get it to match the 5 to...no the 3...to something...to prove though.
In class today, I mentioned, in passing, when a child had picked up her photo for the teddy blog, that she would not see the picture in the space for the post, and she replied " No I know, it'll be html!" I asked, "What's that?" and she replied that it would be computer language for it to understand the picture. If you are not impressed, you should be! She is seven! Give them the tools!!!!!
Morag's got the html bug...as well as a nasty cold..clever person that she is! She saw the html for the sliding titles on the teddy blog..picked up on the fact that she could copy and paste it into her own title bar and it worked. Check it out at Morag's blog
Don't you just love working with thinking individuals? Not an anorak in sight!!

Not up to speed..but speeding up!

2006-03-26T22:02:00.000Z

My Bluetooth tablet arrived thanks to the Masterclass fairy. It was set up and running in 5 minutes. My class regard all of our new ICT tools with excitement...so they were quiet and interested....Maybe it will?...Do you think we can? How do we? Why does it have no wires? What can it do? So the first thing I did was to pass it round, having opened the Promethean software on the whiteboard, to see what they might make it do. We had some sit round the corner so they could not see the board and draw faces..just fun...then we had them able to see the board and had a wee chat about hand/eye coordination and how we need more than one of our senses to function in most situations. We then did some experimentation with other progs and a website or two, checking out the blog and the sitemeter using it. They found some limitations and there were times where they felt the need to type rather than write. Anyway...just new..much more to explore.

A wee visitor arrived on the doorstep on Thursday, bearing flowers, so the next phase of the teddy blog begins. ...Great excitement...children took the boys to lunch, assembly, and photographed. Morag and I spent the weekend trying to find ways of getting sound on the teddy blog....and we have..but we want the children to read/sing to both schools .....but we don't think we will be able to see it in school...the usual problem...the infrastructure/firewall won't allow. It's not yet working as we would like but we know people who will help...We think we need a Masterclass in bloggstuff! Mpg files and movie on blog. If you read this and can help.....listening! So much has happened in three weeks, and that's why the children like it....immediate responses. Big audience. Watch their space...yet again.

What a busy week!

2006-03-19T23:23:00.000Z

The teds have gone global! It takes such a long time for wee ones to type in their comments, so our next ploy is to improve keyboard skills. Just on time the software fairy arrived....with a wee programme that might help "Speedy keys" from SEMERC, so we'll see how we get on. The children have been tracking the visitors to the teddy blog enthusiastically and coming up with all sorts of notions to make it better. Sent them away on Friday, because they were hanging about so long after school to talk about it, I might have needed to give them tea! The more this goes on the more I realise how little I know in the great scheme, and this enthusiasm must be fed!!!!

I'd been spending many hours working on building a school website, having had a couple of days training on Dreamweaver/Photoshop Elements and Flash....I know... industry standard progs, that take months to get to grips with, properly and add several hours of support, from Maggie. When the site is uploaded to the server it is jumping about incontrollably, yet it looked ok. Maggie, from her position of superior knowledge spent many more hours rejigging and redoing my mistakes, which at the time of doing, were not at all obvious. I ostensibly, have a half day a month in which to do this to conform with the school improvement plan. I was able to work with the knowledge I had been given,but was trying to run before I could crawl. By the time I lift the material from its many and varied sources, the morning is over, and none of it is prepared for web. Dreamweaver is aptly named! Dream on! I try to do this as a fully class committed teacher....marking and planning already take place, too often, outwith the classroom, and without the children being present to get the right feedback. So I fail there too.I can master Dreamweaver. I know I can....When? Oh and ..If I am run over by a bus tomorrow...who will finish it or even maintain it, if this level of skill is needed.
I hear that the Argyll & Bute QIO's are to be given templates for their web presences. If they are to have a template, why not the schools? After all why does the school want a website? All the reasons you can come up with, don't involve skilling up a member of staff to create it. So just this week a solution may have arrived on my desk. Time to be independent. Web blender from TAG. Sooo simple. The children in my P3 could do it...You know what...they might yet!
And I hope you'll note from the heading that I have been mucking about with html just a bit. I suppose this proves that, at this great age, I am still trainable! :-)

Am I nuts or what?

2006-03-11T13:09:00.000Z

I suppose I must be..What other explanation can there be for spending a Friday night creating a blogger ID for a bear, cute though he might be? The class thought it would be best if Campbell and Spencer bears could post for themselves...These bears have skills you could not imagine!
In the morning the first thing the children asked to do was to log onto talking teds to do a quick check on who had been to see, but our system was down..Is it working yet? rings in my ears. So we used the whiteboard for an activity downloaded from Promethean about India, since we had had a visitor from Delhi on this blog....and they are tracking enthusiastically. We got out the atlases and found out where it was and later in the day I showed them some film so they could get a feel for the sights and sounds of India. Being able to show on a big screen added a greater dimension and the discussion generated was of quality.
This week has highlighted the lack of basic world geography....and they are now working on a 'Need to know' basis, so they are not being taught, but are learning!
Some children had gone home on Wednesday and emailed the urls of the two blogs to relatives abroad, and when we had a hit from Brisbane, great speculation.....Could that be Kyle's uncle? Where is that? How long would it take to get there? Why does an email go so fast? How does it get there then?
Nuts? No! I'm just working on a "Need to know" , to try to be one step ahead of them.

Are you gobsmacked?

2006-03-09T23:28:00.000Z

I was asked today, by one of my class, and, yes I was! Jumped up and down and shouted Wow! Then they asked me how to spell it to put in an email! So I know I am still needed! What did they do? The lesson today was copy and paste...how a graphic behaves in a writing programme and how you copy a bit of writing into a drawing programme. We were using Appleworks 6. They had the two windows open. Meantime there were a few working on the class email account for the first time. Our system went into slowest mode so I suggested to the group on email that they quickly copy the address that they were sending to..and relaunch....so they did..I was diverted elsewhere..as one is in a class of 26..and got to them later. So what had they done meantime? They had copied and pasted the email address of the people they were sending to into the address bar,in a new window.....because they had copied the address...so they pasted it into the address! Now this may not seem to be gobsmacking to many...but they are 7 years old and they will need skills like this and much more and that was a WOW! Well done Bethany and Kyle.....I know you look at this blog at home!

Blog on regardless!

2006-03-07T11:08:00.001Z

We learned how to get on the web and we use a stylus pen to use the IWB. Sarah wilknson.
My favorite thing is lwb because you can use the pods.Shannon
I enjoy using the pods because the board recognises your pod from your desk. Christy
I like using the stylus because it is recognisesed by the board. Kyle
I am getting beter at Numbersup on the ibook.Bethany
My best thing is to calibrate the iwb. Stuart O
I learned so much with the white board and I enjoy using it. Eryn
I am getting better at I.C.T. time. I am getting better at different things I couldn't do before. Tayler
I love the IWB becase you can do anything. Kieran
I am getting better at the pods . My favourite thing is the pods. ChloeGillies.
I am getting better with the I.W.B and the pods and calibrating the I.W.B ScottI
I lke using the computer and the pods and the i.w.b. Campbell.

Quiznights at Castlehill

2006-03-06T15:12:00.001Z

Iam going to buy something to do with P3s castle project.It is a sword and shield.Knights used this equipment in the old days. Joseph

We learned how to use pods and it is so much fun! Maryann

My favourite thing is the board and the pods. Chloe M

Primary 3 are very very patient....but then they have to be when our technological efforts are thwarted yet again! Our first attempt at class blogging was soooooo slow! The children were itching to go...their comments were ready. They were totally tickled by the maps in the sitemeter...quote.." This means the whole world will be able to see what we write!" But in the hour that we had with our connection so slow, we had three attempts at posting our photo...and numerous referrals to igear login and only managed 3 of the 26 intended comments. Lots have gone home tonight with the blog url to try a comment from home....so we'll see. They want their own blog.....They want Campbell bear to have his own blog!
Anyway I promised I'd complete the posting at home... As always in Primary 3...It's watch this space!

Nuffin much!

2006-02-27T17:40:00.000Z

And what did you do in school today? I hope my class were more explicit. They started the morning with a quickfire addition game from the Shared Flipcharts...speeded up. We then went onto a multiplying by 5 flipchart I had downloaded from the Promethean site...There's a link over to the right. We then had some ad hoc questions using the Activote pods on multiplying by 10. and finally in pen mode we did our whiteboard sums on a squared grid, children working in their jotters , some setting the sums and some doing them correctly on the board for the others to check their answers. I could then wander round in a leisurely fashion and help where necessary, and discuss learning outcomes and strategies. Sounds almost like teaching!
After break we talked about why using the board and the pods was better than the blackboard, and in this all were agreed. The lesson was conjunctions..so they had to think of two things and write the sentences and join them. So we did this in Comiclife on the board, dragging with the stylus and putting the comments into a bubble, on their own photograph.
In the afternoon we listened to some freeplay music in itunes and attempted to match the mood and tempo of it to some pictures in iphoto, on the board.
After that we had a look at how to search for things on google and looked for resources for our Knights and Castles project. (I stress that you check them out first so there are no dodgy links sneaking in on an innocuous title. I know the firewall is there, but just in case.) So I knew where we were going even if the children didn't think they were being guided!! So we dressed a knight in his armour. Had a wander round Nottingham castle, heard from some of pages squires and knights and, then went to the interactive jousting from the Victoria and Albert Museum. At the end of the day we had 10 minutes for another adhoc pod session...General knowledge...true or false.
I'm home with only half an hour of marking to do, from the phonics and I didn't need to clean a board before I left!
Which is why I have time to write this!
So I expect they will say, when asked the inevitable question.......'Nuffin much!' But then learning doesn't have to be painful. Experience doesn't have to be bad to be learned from. More than a dozen went dashing to the postits on my table to write down the urls...so I can expect more parents to be complaining about the ink their children use in an effort to prove that they've learned "nuffin much" today!

Putting the 'C' in ICT

2006-02-26T01:32:00.000Z

Tonight, Morag, my fellow Masterclasser and I spent some time trying to get the links on our blogs to work. Now with her support, whilst we talked on Skype, they are done. I hope they will be of use. html is an alien thing to both of us, but tonight we proved that two heads are better than one (Hers is younger and quicker than mine.) if they both have the same songsheet!

Link..link.liaison,liaison...connect connect....relate relate
.apply,.coalesce,.bond, agree, associate.....

Does this qualify?

2006-02-24T23:33:00.000Z

It does take a bit of time to explore the potential, but well worth the effort, to get the best out of it. You'd have to see the children's faces to believe it. I like the fact that it produces an interactive element to so many of the things we do ordinarily. What we are doing now in our classrooms with these new tools is yet to be measured, but I am sure someone somewhere will try to measure, and that frightens me as a creative person, as confirmed by yesterday's INSET.

Ask the audience!

2006-02-20T23:33:00.000Z

The pod fairy arrived! Seen one of these? If you had been on "Who wants to be a millionaire" you would have. My class now think they have won!! They were very patient in the setting up phase. ACTIVote pods..They can't copy! They have to think....and sometimes fast, if I have set the timeout. I can see who isn't answering correctly and teach to that group. I can also see who is not dealing in the time frame. I wonder how many lessons we teach to children who already know.....So I spent the time with the ones who didn't and then the red turned to green in my printout in Excel. Deep joy! The entire class was exxxxstatic and I was vindicated as a teacher, when we tried the same thing again a day or two later. The children think they are anonymous...because they see on the board that we are running in that mode, but, of course, I have the numbers of who has what pod ... There's not much material out there ,of worth, for a primary three so I had a bit of a learning curve, to create some and just getting to grips with ad hoc (spur of the moment) questionning. The best thing is that the children don't see this as learning. They just absorb it. Isn't osmosis wonderful?

Granny's sayings.

2006-02-18T21:56:00.000Z

"God will supply all your needs"...but Granny couldn't help adding "not your wants". Well I had wanted one of these for 3 years, and luckily was in touch with sympathetic Authority staff who thought I might get my head round it enough to make some use. So I have been loaned a Promethean Interactive White Board. "Everything comes to he who waits" It is hard for schools on a tight budget, to buy one board and projector for one or two classes to use if they do not have a computer room, when they might buy 4 machines to upgrade existing ones, to put in a trolley for the whole school to use.
I go into some schools and blow the dust off projectors and whiteboards...and weep for the lost opportunities!
I worked with an old film screen for two years ...at least the children could interact with the computer showing on it!
But now, since "God helps them that help themselves", too, my life, and that in my classroom, has changed. I learned how to use it and to produce resources particular to my class needs, by doing some online tutorials. The children calibrate it for use. They are so motivated and we now use it mostly, instead of a blackboard, locally, and with web material popping in to enhance the lessons as appropriate, in every area of the curriculum. (Great when the class supply the URL's) The only problem is, that so many of the things that I am now doing, that cover lots of strands everywhere, are not written down in planners, to be ticked and dated in advance. So can I get away with noting the history...like a record of work we used to do 30 years ago? Could it not be called creativity, and then it would be included in a "NEW" initiative?
"Possession is nine tenths of the law" To have it taken away now would remove my right hand.....My class will bite the kneecaps of whomsoever tries, and it will be hard to shift if I am prostrate on top! Oh and then I got another present....more to come......

Keepy uppy!

2006-02-18T07:10:00.000Z

Well I'm trying! No sooner have I got a grip of a newer development ...and something else that looks more inventive , can educate more efficiently, needs more of my CPD time (now there's a laugh) to investigate, comes on the scene. Why do I feel so punished for being interested in doing the best I can, and in not catching up always, feel I am failing, at every level. Teachers after the probationary support period, are so busy just doing the job......innovation nowadays, is actually reinventing the wheel, from when I trained, with the particular exception of ICT development. Where is the AIFL for teachers? My learning outcomes are worthy...but don't ever get to match the intentions.