Category Archives: News

SMART

SMART Exemplary Educator

Almost every classroom in Aberdeenshire is equipped with a SMARTboard

The software that works with the SMARTboard is always being upgraded, and the Learning through Technology team regularly run training sessions for any teacher to bring their SMART skills up to date.

Our lead trainer and SMART EXEMPLARY EDUCATOR is Susan, and earlier this year she submitted a short video to SMART In Canada to see if her work would qualify to be awarded a place at an international conference.

During the school holidays Susan travelled to Calgary in Canada to meet 77  other educators from 22 countries for a fantastic week of keynote presentations, hackathons, networking  all crammed into days that started at 6am and finished not before 7pm

Susan said the highlight for her was participating in the Hackathon and seeing the passion and determination the developers at SMART have to provide their customers with the very best end product.

The video made by Susan  can be found here and gives a tiny flavour of the trip.

We support schools in various ways with SMART training, your first port of call should be Aberdeenshire events to see if there is a training event near your school. Or call Susan at the Learning Through Technology team to discuss your specific requirements.

 

 

Scholar

Scholar logo used with permission

Scholar logo used with permission

All the data for Scholar users including teachers will be at your school now.

Could you please ensure you pass login details to students studying courses supported by Scholar?

If you require any training for staff or students then please contact any of the Learning through technology team and we will arrange support.

Please remember even if you do not use Scholar as part of your lesson planning, by giving login details to students you give them a resource that is relevant to their studies

OneNote Profiling

It is great to report that at last we can see the light at the end of the tunnel with regards to the installation of the tile into RM unify that will allow a profiling template to be automatically generated.
Light at the end of the tunnel
The Learning Through Technology team met with RM on Friday. The delay has been caused by Microsoft , but Microsoft are  at last to release the API tools ( tools that allow RM to insert and amend code) that will allow the tile to be made available. Microsoft will release the tools in the next 2 weeks then RM tell us there will be a development time of around 10 days and we will be good to go….at last.

In the meantime simply continue to record any profiling evidence for learners to store in their personal OneDrive account, or in their My Work folder on the school server, ready to load into template.

BBC Micro:bit

image

EDIT- 23rd August:

Jim from the Learning Through Technology Team sent out a spreadsheet last week to all secondary schools requesting a contact and S1 data, could you please ensure this is returned by Wednesday 26th August to secure Micro:bits for all your S1’s

The BBC micro:bit is a pocket-sized computer that you can code, customise and control to bring your digital ideas, games and apps to life.
Measuring 4cm by 5cm, and designed to be fun and easy to use, users can create anything from games and animations to scrolling stories at school, at home and on the go – all you need is imagination and creativity.

The BBC micro:bit is completely programmable. That means each of its LEDS can be individually programmed as can its buttons, inputs and outputs, accelerometer, magnetometer and Bluetooth Smart Technology.

The BBC and partners are developing a wide range of support resources for parents, teachers and group leaders. These include projects and ideas on using the device straight away, so children can get coding in minutes.

There will be examples of both formal and informal learning resources. Informal learning resources will be usable outside the school environment, whether that’s at home, events or enthusiast groups or clubs.

We have been informed by the Scottish Government that they are in discussion with the BBC re their MICRO:BIT launch and they are very keen that they get this right in Scotland and that all S1 pupils receive their micro:bit.

They have suggested to the BBC that rather than every secondary school (362) applying separately, instead  local authority representatives would apply on behave of the local authority. This would reduce the risk that some S1 pupils would not receive the micro:bit and also help co-ordinate the dispatch of the micro:bits.

Susan is at a meeting on 9th September where this will be discussed, further information will be posted shortly after.

Free Office Software for School AND Home

Glow users can now download 5 copies of Microsoft Office. This can be done by clicking on the Download Office Now tile on RM Unify. This tile can be found by scrolling through RM Unify using the arrows on the right hand side of the page (see pic below).

Office can be downloaded on Windows, Mac and Mobile Devices. Office 365 ProPlus is also available for Tablet and Mobile phone users

Apple Mac users now get Office 2015 for Mac

Guidance , prepared by the Scottish Government can be found here: https://glowhelp.wikis.glowscotland.org.uk/Microsoft+O365+Downloads 

If you cannot see the Download tile from your Shared Launchpad, please contact Jim or Susan (In Shared Launchpad scroll to the very end of the available tiles)

Technology Impact Review

Education Scotland launched the Technologies Impact Review and the National Technologies Network (NTN) on the 9th of March. In the document they report that the concept which emerged from the review is of ‘digital technologies at the heart of learning’

The publication and presentations from the launch event can be found at the link below

http://goo.gl/j5lVoR

Changes to Glow Login page

Returning Glow users from the summer holidays will notice that the Glow login page has been completely updated and refreshed:-

  • The Username and Password fields are now much larger
  • There is a bigger Sign-In button – This change and the one above will make it easier for younger pupils to log on
  • There are less links on the page, making the screen clearer and less cluttered
  • There is a new purple background colour scheme in-line with the Glow branding guidelines
  • There is a new, improved @GlowScot Twitter feed
  • There is a new Service status button which takes you to the Glow Service Status page on Glow Connect for information about known issues and service updates

There are no changes to the URL, users should continue to go to http://www.glow.rmunify.com to sign in.

For up to date GLOW news please  visit Glow Connect

Team News

Welcome to the new Learning through Technology Team News Blog.

Here you will be able to find the latest information regarding the use of technology in your classroom.

Latest posts will appear at the top of the page but you can also search for previous posts. To search for previous posts you can choose from one of the options that can be found at the bottom of this page:

  • Search Box
  • Recent Posts
  • Tag Cloud

Alternatively, all posts are categorised and these categories can be found along the top menu.

Please contact the Learning through Technology Team if you have any issues with technology, if you would like help or advice  and we will support you.

james.mclean@aberdeenshire.gov.uk

susan.sey@aberdeenshire.gov.uk