SSERC is currently undertaking a review of its professional development and advisory service activities.
There are online surveys for both primary: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/TMDTRHX and secondary practitioners: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/TT9ZZ52.
Both surveys will be open until Friday October 6th. SSERC would welcome your comments and views.
This month we’ve introduced a whole new look to our site – what do you think of the new look header? You’ll still find all the original content, but we have expanded to include pages for Science and Maths. This made our menu a rather crowded so we’ve tidied it up a bit- just hover over a menu item to reveal any subpages. The subject pages are all organised to support the organisers within Curriculum for Excellence, and over the coming months we’ll be adding more and more resources to support your teaching. It’s going to be a big task, but you can help by letting us know about your favourite links via the Contact Us page.
This month we’ve added links to: SSERC (Scottish Science Education Research Centre); The Royal Society of Chemistry; Royal Academy of Engineering; BP Educational Services; CREST Awards; ZU3D Animation Software; Young Engineers & Science Clubs Scotland; My World of Work; Digital World; Marketplace; MakeyMakey; Explorify; Generation Science; e-Bug; Google for Education; Raspberry Pi Pioneers; The Universe of Engineering; Lego WeDo and Mindstorm; Food Standards Scotland. They all have some great teaching materials for both primary and secondary. Why not take a few minutes to check them out now – it could save you hours of planning time in the future!
Have you read Hello World! yet? It’s the digital magazine from Raspberry Pi and BCS/Computing At School for computing and digital maker educators across primary and secondary. It’s published 3 times a year and is now on issue 3 (back copies are still available). It’s free to UK educators and you can subscribe here for either digital editions or a print subscription delivered straight to your door (for those of you who prefer to read it old school style on the sofa with a cup of coffee).
Dumfries and Galloway schools can again apply for Edina Trust funding of up to £600 in session 2017/18 (that’s £100 more than last session); and if you applied last session the good news is you can apply again. It is really (and we mean REALLY!) simple to apply; and the best thing is that as long as your project is science based you are GUARANTEED the money. Yet some schools didn’t apply last session. Don’t loose out this year! If you need any help with your application please get in touch with one of the RAiSE Team – we’d love to help.
We have also added a link to a new crowd-funding platform called Rocket Dog, which specialises in helping schools raise funds to buy technology. Find the link on our Funding page.
Have you heard of ‘citizen science’? Wikipedia describes it as: ‘ scientific research conducted, in whole or in part, by amateur (or nonprofessional) scientists.’ In other words … getting your pupils involved in gathering scientific data for real research projects. You will probably have heard of, and hopefully participated in, the Big Garden Bird Watch organised by the RSPB, but there are lots of other opportunities out there. This month we have added a link to the Royal Society of Chemistry. In their Experimentation Hub they are currently running Mission: Starlight – a global experiment on UV protection. This involves quite simple experiments to find out which materials would be best to protect an astronaut from UV rays in space. The only specialist equipment you need are UV sensitive beads which you can buy for under a fiver on Amazon. It would be fantastic activity for any class but especially if your are going to be doing Space this session.
Did you take part in Safer Internet Day last session? This session SID will be on Tuesday 6th February 2018 (registration will open in October). We really hope you will all pop that in your diary, but it is still sometime away. Cyber resilience and internet safety is something we should be reinforcing throughout the year, so if you haven’t visited this topic with your class for a while why not check out the resources on our Cyber Resilience & Safety page. There are plenty of resources there to get you started.
Most schools in D&G have 2 Simple software installed on their network (you’ll find the folder in your Programmes Menu). It’s often used at early and first level, but there are also some aspects that will challenge older pupils. To see how you might use it across the stages, check out their scheme of work here.
Many of the online coding platforms offer home access for pupils. One of these is Kodable, and if you aren’t already using this feature you can find out how to here. Please remember that if you are using any online platform that requires you to create accounts for your pupils then you should complete a Privacy Risk Assessment and get Parental Permission. We are adding forms for the most popular sites (including Kodable) to our General Support & Reference page. If there is a site you would like to us to create a form for please let us know using the Contact Us page.
So far 2315 primary schools have registered for the Digital Schools Award programme with 468 successful having achieved the award – including our own Calside Primary in Dumfries, the first D&G school to gain the award. This month the programme was extended to include Secondary schools – well done to Sanquhar Academy for being one of the first to register. You can find out more about the programme here; and remember the RAiSE team will be happy to advise or support any school who is going through the award or thinking of registering.
You may have heard of Dumfries House, the stunning and recently renovated 18th century country house near Cummnock, and may even have visited it. But, did you know they have an amazing educational programme to support STEM education? This month the RAiSE Team visited the centre and were very impressed with the range and quality of their facilities. As well as educational visits of the house itself, there are six different training centres located on the estate providing learning experiences in: engineering; traditional and craft skills; hospitality and catering; gardening and food production; art and drawing; and, a residential ourdoor centre. With programmes suitable for both primary and secondary pupils they are worth a visit. You can take part in a day of activities for only £3 per pupil, and they may be able to help with transport. Find more information at their website here, or download their education flyer here.
Thursday the 12th October is Outdoor Classroom Day. There are lots of ways you can teach STEM outdoors and it’s a great way to enthuse your pupils. If you’re looking for ideas check out the Outdoor Learning Day site. There is inspiration from schools across the world, as well as resources with lesson plan ideas (we’re tempted to try Double Double Embroiled in Bubbles!), and you can even down load a certificate to record pupils’ participation. So far 19 schools in D&G have signed up; if you’re not one of them why not do it now? Get in touch with the RAiSE team if you want any support with your day.
Looking for a fun way to link H&WB to STEM? Then why not sign up to Run the Solar System? Run the Solar System is a ‘virtual race’ which involves journeying across the Solar System from the Sun to Neptune in just 10 kilometres, accompanied by music and audio commentary from science broadcaster Dallas Campbell. Take part wherever you like, whenever you like, and at whatever speed you like, with no time limit! It’s App based so it does depend on having access to Smart phones, however, it might be something you want to do personally as a fun way to increase your knowledge of the solar system while getting fit. Or share it with parents to use with their children (it could be done along side Beat the Street). If you do the daily mile then 10k would be the equivalent to just less than 7 sessions. It may be possible to share your audio commentary with pupils if you can connect your phone to a small speaker as you walk, or back in the classroom. Get started by downloading the free Racelink app for iPhone or Android.
Full STEM ahead!
Welcome back! Hope everyone has had a great summer, and are looking forward to Teaching Technologies in the session ahead.
We’re continuing to add to our site and outline the most recent changes below, however we have really exciting news …
With the support of funding from Education Scotland and the Wood Foundation, Dumfries & Galloway have now appointed a team of RAISE Teachers. RAISE stands for Raising Aspiration in STEM Education and the team, under the leadership of David Maxwell, Education Officer, comprises:
There are lots of exciting plans in the pipeline, one of which is to expand this site to cover all the STEM subjects and not just Technologies. Please spread the word and encourage colleagues to subscribe by email (and to add this site to favourites!). That way you’ll always be in the know about what the Team are up to. Look out for a full introduction to the team and their role coming to your school soon.
In the meantime, here’s what new on Teaching Technologies …
Microsoft have now created a section on their site specifically linked to the Scottish curriculum. We’ve updated the link on the General Support & Reference page to take you straight there. It’s definitely worth a look.
We’ve added a new section to the General Support & Reference page to showcase apps that you might find helpful. The first one to be added is a handy app for quickly accessing the CfE Es&Os and benchmarks. Please let us know about others that you find useful so we can share them too.
While still in draft status, you may find it interesting to see what is being proposed. You’ll find it in the General Support & Reference page
A couple of new pages have been added this month. We now have a page where you can find sources of Funding for your STEM projects. We’ve also added a new page for Developing the Young Workforce where you’ll find resources to help you make the connections between STEM subjects and STEM industry careers.
On the Video page we have added a new link to Into Film where you can find support and ideas for making films with children.
Until next time enjoy Teaching STEM!
It’s Inset time here in Dumfries & Galloway, and I have been lucky enough to have had the opportunity to share the Teaching Technologies resources with teachers from the Maxwellton High School Cluster as well as Wallace Hall Academy and Primary. I know some have subscribed to the blog, so very warm welcome to them!
One of the great things about talking to other teachers is the opportunity to share ideas and resources, especially when a teacher says they’ve used a resource and recommends it. So a big thank you to the very nice teacher from one of the Max High cluster schools (sorry don’t know your name!) who recommended Kodable.
Kodable provides “everything you need to teach programming”. It is free to get started and allows you to create accounts for pupils, set tasks and track their progress. You get access to a lot of content for free, however, you need to upgrade to a paid for package to access additional lessons and features. Why not have a look at it here.
I have also created a new page within Digital Literacy where I will share learning packs which explore an aspect of digital technology within the context of another curricular area or interdisciplinary learning topic. The first one looks at Creating a Glow Blog or Website. I would really welcome your feedback and suggestions for improvements or for other topics you would like developed. Please let me know what you think using the Contact Us page.
I look forward to hearing from you but in the meantime,
Enjoy Teaching Technologies!
Carol
There here! The new Experiences and Outcomes and Benchmarks for the Technologies curricular area were published last week. If you haven’t had a chance to look at them yet, links have been updated on the General Support & Reference page so you can find them quickly. These represent a significant change in the Technologies curriculum and I would urge you to take a look at them now. Re implementation, Education Scotland give the following advice:
These are exciting times for Technologies, and the new Es&Os and Benchmarks will support us in equipping pupils with the skills to take them from technology consumers to technology creators.
Food is a certainly an interdisciplinary topic – with one foot in Health and Wellbeing (diet & nutrition) and the other in Technologies (preparation & creativity). Education Scotland, as part of the improvements to their website, have recently updated their page on Food for Thought Support Resources and you’ll find a link to it on the Food page. Here you’ll find resources to support both H&WB and Technologies and there are some great visual resources you can use to support your lessons.
Have you subscribed to updates from Barefoot yet? If not, I’d encourage you to do so. Each week they have a spotlight on a particular activity, which they email out to subscribers. It’s a great way to try out something new; and their activities are always extremely well planned and highly engaging for pupils.
As teachers, we put great store in good handwriting. We know the benefits clear script brings to communication; and how much easier it will be for our pupils to pass exams in the future if they can write comfortably and clearly for extended periods of time. We plan regular handwriting activities from the moment pupils start school, and keep reinforcing posture, grip and formation throughout their education. But are we doing the same for keyboarding?
Keyboarding is to computers, what handwriting is to pen and paper. Like handwriting, keyboarding if a life skill. It needs to be taught and practised to gain fluency. Fortunately, the days of chanting ‘a s d f space’ while a class of S3s battered at their Olivettis (Google it!) are long gone. Now pupils can access structured and fun online activities to help develop their skills. This week I’ve added Typing.com to the Keyboarding page. Why not give it a go.
This week I’ve discovered the Microsoft Educator Community (you’ll find a link on the General Resources and Support page). If you have access to Office 365, but perhaps aren’t using it to its full potential, then this is definitely worth taking a look at. You’ll find resources shared by other educators, as well as resources and training materials to help you develop your own digital skills. You can also sign up for the Microsoft Innovative Educator programmes and gain recognition of your skills.
Wishing everyone a great Spring break, and until next term,
Enjoy (not!) teaching technologies 🙂
Carol
Just a quick update on what’s new in Teaching Technologies ….
Recently I’ve been supporting classes with setting up e-portfolios in Glow and using MS Excel. It’s really exciting to see how enthusiastic the pupils (and their teachers!) are about using technology. To support this I’ve added a new demo on working with e-portfolios and profiles to the Teaching Technologies video channel. However, do take a look at the Glow help pages where you’ll find really useful support specifically for e-profiles.
Have you seen the latest case study to be added to the Digital Learning Community’s Practice Pipeline? Maybe it’s just me, but sometimes these case studies, while inspirational, can be a bit daunting; a case of “they’re clearly experts at computing but I’m not so I couldn’t hope to achieve that!’ This one is different. It features Inverbrothock Primary in Angus, who are very much in the early stages of developing their skills (for both teachers and pupils). In the video staff and pupils share what they have been doing to get started with computing science. I love this quote from one of their teachers: “Do not be frightened. It is far more simple than it sounds and it is a lot of fun”. Watch in here.
A new addition to the site this week is a link to TechFuture Girls; an out-of-the-box after-school club that has been specifically designed to encourage girls to stay engaged in IT. Now you may have views about running a group which excludes boys, however it provides excellent resources (that require no previous experience) and may be appropriate for your school. Plus it’s FREE!
Finally, word about Teaching Technologies is spreading. Following the recent session I did with Heathhall staff the number of hits on the site has increased dramatically. The feedback from staff has been really positive and I know some are recommending it to their colleagues in other schools. This week it featured in the D&G Engage weekly update, which also caused a spike in activity. So, if you are new to the site ‘welcome!’, and I’m sure you’ll find something here to support your classroom practice. Do use the Contact Form to let me know what you think, share your own ideas, or to suggest content you’d like to see added. Don’t forget to subscribe by e-mail!!
Until next time,
Enjoy Teaching Technologies
Carol
PS I’m aware the rating system for resources is not working as well as I would like it to. Because of the way WordPress works it is proving a little tricky to resolve, so my question is: “Do you think resource ratings are a useful feature?” Tell me what you think below.
Thanks!
With the holiday Monday and inset days, it’s been a short week and not much has been added to the site. I did however have a really good session with the staff at Heathhall where I shared the Teaching Technologies website and videos. Thanks to them for taking some time from their inset activities to listen to me and also for their positive feedback.
One of the things which did come out of the session was that the ratings don’t appear to be working properly. This may be because you are limited within Glow blogs as to which widgets you can use for ratings. The plugin which is included in Glow seems to be designed for rating posts, rather than be used for individual content on pages; so that may be part of the problem. If you have a solution, please share!
Now that the site has been launched I hope that you will share your resources using the Contact Us page. Please also feel free to share the link to the site with your colleagues.
In the meantime …
Enjoy Teaching Technologies!
Carol
Tuesday was Safer Internet Day, so this week has been a busy one for me working with pupils of all stages reminding them of the importance of keeping themselves safe online. The pupils were great, and the majority had a really good understanding of the issues around using images online, but we mustn’t be complacent. It’s a message that needs regular reinforcing to be sure our children make good choices every time they are online.
Having a profile picture that helps people identify you (especially on Glow) can be really useful. But if you don’t like displaying pictures of yourself online then perhaps an avatar would be a good alternative? Avatars can be particularly useful for pupils – not only do they have fun creating them, but it is also a good way of managing their online profile safely. I’ve added a couple of links to sites which will allow you to produce an avatar for free in the Drawing page.
If you are looking for inspiration for your next technology project, then you might want to think about entering the K’nex Challenge. You’ll find a link with details on the Craft, Design, Engineering & Graphics page.
Have you considered registering for the Digital Schools Award? If you would like to know more about it, there is now a link on the General Support & Reference page or you can watch a quick video introduction here.
Finally, this week I have been trying to add ratings to each of the resources. I hope that over time you will be able identify the resources worth trying based on the experiences of other teachers. There is still a little fine tuning to do, but please give it a go and let me know what you think of it.
Enjoy Teaching Technologies!
Carol
Another busy week with lots of new content on the site …
As you are probably aware, Education Scotland have had a major revamp of their website. The old STEM Central website has now been incorporated into the National Improvement Hub, and I’ve added a link to the relevant page in Craft, Design, Engineering & Graphics. It’s worth having a look at. There are some very good downloadable teaching resources which include fully planned Learning Journeys as well as support resources and teacher information. In addition there are inspirational video to encourage pupils to follow careers in STEM industries, and videos to support STEM topics.
I was introduced to a new resource this week by a P5 pupil. He had this great circuit building kit consisting of snap together elements. You may already be familiar with this, but it was a new one on me, and struck me as a great way to overcome the problem of fiddly wires and tiny screws or springs which end up frustrating pupils and teachers alike. Circuits probably fall more into the Sciences but I’ve added it to the Craft, Design, Engineering & Graphics page as I can see it potential for design and engineering projects.
While browsing for suppliers of snap circuits, I discovered some alternative programmable micro boards which I’ve added to the Programmable Devices page. I particularly like the look of the Crumble which can be easily programmed using block coding. Another device aimed at the beginner is Code Bug which also uses block coding – plus it’s shaped like a little green bug …. a lot less scary than Arduino!
With Safer Internet Day next week, I’ve been looking at resources on netiquette (aka how-to-mind-your manners-online). Social media often gets a bad press, but its misuse is down to the people who use it rather than the media itself. I’ve added some articles to the Social Networking & Websites page which you might find helpful in teaching your pupils to be positive cyber citizens.
On the topic of online safety, have you heard about the Online Safety Live event being held in Dumfries in March? The UK Safer Internet Centre are delivering a FREE 2 hour Online Safety update on Thursday 9 March at 3 pm, at Cargen Towers, Garroch Loaning. Open to all who work with children and young people, this event will give you the latest in research, legislation, technology, tools and resources along with exclusive access to the presentation and resource materials.
Recently, I’ve been having a look at the App Library within the Glow Launch Pad and discovered some interesting resources. There are app tiles available for: Scotland’s Enterprising Schools; RM v-Me Avatar Creator; 360° Safe; and How Stuff Works – all of which could be helpful in delivering Technologies in your classroom or school. I’ve added links to the appropriate pages on the site, but you can also add them to your personal launch pad if you thing you might use them a lot. (If you’re not sure how to do this, check out my video demo on the Teaching Technologies Video Channel)
With content on how to be more efficient with your internet searches added to the Search & Research page, you’ll now find something on all the pages. Please use the comments boxes or contact form to share your feedback and add to the knowledge base.
Enjoy Teaching Technologies!
Carol
This week I’ve been looking for ways to make the site easier to work with and to help you find the resources you need quickly. I’ve therefore added icons beside the title of each resource to indicate which level it is best suited to. They’re pretty self explanatory, but just to let you know what they look like …
is for Early, 
for First, 
for Second, and 
for Third. Finally 
indicates a resource which is more relevant to teachers than pupils.
Of course these are just for guidance and a lot will depend on the experience and ability of your class, and the amount of support available to the pupils, but I hope they’ll give you a ‘starter for ten’. Please let me know which levels you’re using any of these resources at, and especially if you’ve had success at a different level to those I’ve suggested.
Everyone likes a free resource, and this week I discovered the James Dyson Foundation website (which you can link to via the Craft, Design, Engineering & Graphics page). They will loan an Ideas Box or Engineering Box to schools for 6 and 4 weeks respectively. They are completely free and the Foundation even arrange delivery and collection. In addition to the boxes they also have some very good downloadable Quick Challenge cards.
This week I also visited the P6 class at Noblehill Primary. They were a fantastic and enthusiastic group of young people and I really enjoyed doing some ‘unplugged’ activities from code.org with them. But what really made my day was the young lad who had created the most fabulous stop motion animation on his smart phone. He used Lego to create scenery and Star Wars Lego figures as the characters. He even recorded and added his own sound effects and music. It was absolutely brilliant and I can’t wait to have a go myself. He used the app Stop Motion Studio downloadable from Google Play (I think it is also available for iPhones). I’ve posted a link on the Animation page if you want to try it for yourself.
Enjoy teaching technologies!
Carol
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