Category Archives: Subjects and Themes

Online Networking and Web 2.0 Technologies for the classroom – Glow Meet

The Wonderful World of Online Networking and Web 2.0 Technologies

4pm, Tuesday 8 February via Glow Meet.

A lively introduction from multi-award winning Teacher of the Year David Miller to the collaborative world of WEB 2.0.

The session will provide an insight into the learning and teaching potential of some popular online technologies, including social networks, and offer starting points for immediate classroom use!

http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/otir/onlinetools

Game to Learn Conference – Scotland’s largest game based learning conference Free CDP for all Scottish Educators

On Saturday 19 March 2011 at the Universtity of Abertay Dundee, the Consolarium offers a lively CPD event for teachers as well as a celebration of the diverse and innovative practice in game based learning and game design that has been happening in schools across Scotland. Over the past few years the LTS Consolarium initiative has been working with partner schools across Scotland to help nurture the idea that commercially available computer games that have been developed for entertainment can be used to help create appealing, purposeful and challenging contexts for learning.

http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/newsandevents/educationnews/2011/educational/january/news_tcm4646383.asp

This conference will allow us to share the innovative and effective work of some of the many practitioners in Scotland who have embraced game based learning. The knowledge and experience that will be shared by our colleagues from schools will then be complemented in the afternoon by a range of differentiated hands-on activities aimed at developing delegates’ own confidence and competence in this field. These activities include developing computer games design skills from the early stages through to S6, exploring treasure hunting via geocaching and a game based learning dance session.

This conference promises to deliver an exciting and inspiring CPD experience for those involved in education and Curriculum for Excellence. Delegates can choose from 16 morning seminars and 10 practical afternoon workshops, listen to inspiring opening and closing keynotes and spend time engaging with fellow educators and industry representatives including Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft.

This event has been organised and developed in partnership with JISC Regional Support Centre Scotland North and East.

Full details and registration can be found at http://www.gametolearn.org <http://www.gametolearn.org/>

Keep up to date by following @consolarium and @gametolearn on Twitter.

Angel Wings – exploring issues of mental health

Artlink Edinburgh has a new publication and accompanying teaching materials designed to support teachers of P4 to S3, available via the national Health and Wellbeing Glow group.

Angel Wings is an engaging story, which explores issues of mental health through the eyes of a young boy [Matthew]. It explores the warm and positive relationship with his mother and close family, the way that he understands mental ill health and how he experiences the issues that arise out of his mother’s episodes of mental ill health. The story is beautifully crafted by Anne Donovan after she worked with parents and carers to inform the story. It is real life in the form of fiction. Visit the Mental, Emotional, Social and Physical Wellbeing Glow group to download the publication and accompanying teaching materials.

An app’s an app for a’ that

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2011/01/18135558
The complete works of Robert Burns, Scotland’s National Bard, have been made available free of charge on the iPhone for the first time.

An iPhone app allowing enthusiasts around the world to download and instantly access Burns’ poetry has been developed by the Scottish Government.  The app includes a searchable database of every poem written by Burns, a summary of facts about the poet’s life and a guide to hosting a Burns Supper.

Brilliant bairns become Burnsian bards

Hundreds of pupils from across South Ayrshire wrote poems to celebrate the opening of the new Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway.

Competition judges Matthew Fitt, Itchy Coo, and Nat Edwards , RBBM Director, challenged pupils to write a poem for Robert Burns and be crowned Scots Poetry Champion.

Using Glow technology, pupils from Alloway and Kincaidston primaries filmed a Scots Language Poetry workshop with Scots expert Matthew Fitt, which was then made available to all primary school pupils and teachers in the region.

Winners Lewis Doak and Beth Murdoch from Alloway Primary School, will have their poems performed by the Chemical Poets at the official opening of the new Museum on 22 January.

Admission to the museum is FREE on that day and everyone is welcome to come and listen.

RBBM Director Nat Edwards said: ‘’I was really impressed with the standard of entries and congratulate pupils and teachers on their excellent efforts.”

Itchy Coo Director Matthew Fitt said: “A lot of hard work from both pupils and teachers went in to this competition.”

Drama, Psychology and the Holocaust – risk taking and Curriculum for Excellence

Yellow bib project shows pupils how genocide could occur.

A group of S1 pupils was deliberately ostracised and discriminated against by staff at a secondary school, in a project designed to show how genocide could occur.

The 20 Dumbarton Academy pupils, from a cohort of 120, wore yellow bibs for a day, designating that they were inferior and would have fewer rights than their peers.

Some found the day upsetting, but staff, pupils and researchers were united in praising the project, and the school hopes to run it again.

The experiment, based on Jane Elliott’s famous “blue eyes/brown eyes” experiment of 1968, took place in spring 2009, but came to wider attention at the recent Scottish Educational Research Association annual conference

Click here to see the full TESS article.

Family Legends Viral Video Competition – Scottish Book Trust

Scottish Book Trust are running a competition for all new media students, creative types, animators, film-makers and anyone handy with a video camera.

You can win an Apple iPad for making the most entertaining, creative and inspiring short film or animation on the theme ‘Family Legends’.

Family Legends Viral Video Competition http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/family-legends-viral-video-competition-win-an-ipad

Award for creative language learning – deadline January 31st

The European Language Label (ELL) is an award for innovative language-learning projects.  It rewards creative ways to improve the quality of language teaching, motivate learners and make the best of available resources.

To be successful, projects must demonstrate creative thinking and lead to improved teaching provision and learner achievement.  They must be innovative, effective and replicable by others in the UK and other countries.  This year the judges are particularly looking for projects that involve:

· Language skills as a preparation for work

· Language learning in the community


If this describes your project, why not apply for an award?  Applications are invited from schools across the UK.

The deadline for application for the European Language Label 2011 is 31 January 2011.

In addition to the European Label, which can be used on corporate stationery, all award winners receive prizes of books, vouchers or teaching materials from a range of sponsors as well as a certificate signed by the Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth.  The awards will be presented at a prize-giving ceremony in summer 2011.

More information, including details on how to apply, is available from http://www.cilt.org.uk/home/valuing_languages/european_language_label1.aspx

Pupils performing at Celtic Connections

North Ayrshire Traditional Young Musicians to play Celtic Connections

Talented young musicians from North Ayrshire schools are tuning up to perform at the internationally acclaimed Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow. This is a good opportunity for the North Ayrshire Traditional Music Group to showcase their talents in a professional music venue and to play alongside top professional musicians.


http://www.north-ayrshire.gov.uk/NewsArticles/CelticConnections.aspx


The concert takes place on Wednesday 26 January 2011 at 11 am in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.