ICT Support Section | Sharing our Learning in Dundee

Professor Anne Glover, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Scottish Government, has said that science, engineering and technology are not only essential for driving our economy – now and in the future – but are also significant parts of Scotland’s heritage and culture.

Here in Dundee, eminent local scientist Sir Philip Cohen has said of our city that it is no longer famed for “jute, jam and journalism” but “biochemistry, biomedicine and biotechnology.”

Young Dundonians with an interest in science may hold the key to Dundee’s future prosperity. Such a responsibility rests with us as teachers then, to deliver science topics in an active, confident way to inspire these scientists of the future.

Our local DSC – Sensation has loads of interesting exhibits and activities all year round and there will be lots of opportunities to do extra science activities in November at Dundee’s Science Festival. Look out for more news on this!

CPD for science teaching is also in the pipeline. CPD Online will have sessions on the ASE “Be Safe!” material for primary and early years staff, and also a secondary review and exploration of free online resources. Secondary sciences and social subjects teachers will also have the chance to sign up for Carbon Capture, a one day session to be delivered by SESEF (Scottish Earth Science Education Forum) later in the session.

Scottish Government is investing in science education, and we are definitely getting something right – see this article about science subject uptake in Scotland. Make the most of the resources being provided – our pupils and our city will benefit. Check out STEM Central and Do Science sites.

Even more importantly, please share your science lesson success stories here and what you are doing for Curriculum for Excellence delivery in the sciences. See the instructions on posting at the side. We can all learn so much from each other!

The Land of Me, Eric, Buddy and Willow have finally arrived in Dundee for some exciting adventures with our Early Level community! I think they’ll love it here as they’ve already enjoyed so many adventures with children throughout Scotland and England. Not content with being the birthplace of marmalade and the home of the fabulous new V&A building, our Dundee school children will now be welcoming three furry and feathery newcomers to our classrooms.

Following the incredible early success of The Land of Me project run by the Consolarium with our Dundee Nursery Schools, our Primary Schools wanted to get on board and continue to promote transition and active learning.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/-txFGOzPhek" width="693" height="560" allowfullscreen="true" fvars="fs=1" /]

The Land Of Me has been fully promoting ICT, Active Learning, Creativity and Language skills with our Early Level pupils in our Curriculum for Excellence. Pupils have been engaged and motivated to progress through the exciting chapters, discover the characters and continue their adventures away from the computer with the multitude of printable resources. They have been engage in imaginative play, collaborative tasks and have had great fun and enjoyment doing so! The animation is beautiful and it’s been a real joy sharing this fantastic resource with our community of early level pupils and practitioners in Dundee. Find out how Bernadette Donald from Wallacetown Nursery has been pioneering the use of The Land of Me.

Land of Me can be found in the Start Programs menu on Dundee curriculum computers. If you have any feedback about the resource I would love to hear from you. Just leave a reply to this blog post.