Author: Eva Wilkinson

Bongles Text image

Exploring early level Cyber Resilience with The Bongles and the Crafty Crows.

The Digital Team and The Bongles have joined forces in partnership with Cyber Scotland, Cyber Aware and the Scottish Book Trust to introduce younger learners to develop understanding of cyber awareness at early level, through the publication of the new Bongles book ‘The Bongles and the Crafty Crows‘, produced by Edinburgh based Story Learning Ltd.

Who are the Bongles?

The Bongles are a group of monster friends who live on a paradise-like planet.

They reuse and repurpose items that wash up onto their planet’s pristine shore and turn trash into treasure.

The rhyming stories are full of slapstick and silly humour, which both children and adults alike will find funny. The quirky and whimsical watercolour illustrations are sure to capture the attention of young readers.

The Bongles and The Crafty Crows – The newest book in the series helps children to learn about cyber resilience in a fun-filled way.

Story Summary

Three wooden crates wash up onto the shores of Bongle Island.

The Bongles really want to keep this new found treasure safe from the crafty crows.

Will the crows outsmart the Bongles’ padlocks and passcodes?

Will the crows take the crates full of treasure and keep it all for themselves?

‘The Bongles and the Crafty Crows‘ story book was included in the P1 Bookbug Family bags for every primary one child in Scotland in 2023/24!

There is also a variety of practitioner-created learning and teaching resources to accompany the story, a downloadable PDF of the book and an animation on the Bongles website  and links to recordings of previous educator information sessions and children’s ‘read alongs’ at the bottom of this page.

You will also engage with this story in the 3-part series of early level Cyber Resilience and Internet Safety webinars, This is early level Digital – CRIS and through various cyber events throughout the year, which will be advertised here, on the blog.

Upcoming read alongs for children and webinars for educators during Book Week Scotland November 2024:

The Bongles and The Crafty Crows Accessible Read Along. 

Educator Webinar. The Bongles & The Crafty Crows learning resource: supporting early level Cyber Resilience

AM Read Along – The Bongles and The Crafty Crows

Scottish Book Trust Event: Draw your own Bongles with Dean Queazy

PM Read Along – The Bongles and The Crafty Crows

December 2024

Na Bongles agus na Starragan Carrach, Foghlam Meadhan Gàidhlig – Leugh Còmhla ris an neach-aithris Linda NicLeòid!

February 2025

Educator Webinar. The Bongles & The Crafty Crows learning resource: supporting early level Cyber Resilience

More dates to be added!

 

The Bongles and The Crafty Crows articles and related links:

Early level learners paving the way for a cyber secure nation (linkedin.com)

Teaching Children Cyber Security Skills Is An Investment In Our Future – TeachingTimes

CyberScotland Week – Cyber Scotland 

Three random words – NCSC.GOV.UK 

The Bongles and the Crafty Crows Campaign Report November 2023

Previous webinar and read along recordings:

YouTube player

 

YouTube player
YouTube player

This is early level Digital. Spotlight on: Making Data Visible. (Live Webinars).

This is early level Digital. Spotlight on: Making Data Visible.

Via Forms and Excel within Microsoft Office.

Do you have access to Microsoft Forms and Excel within your ELC setting but are unsure how they can help you to gather, visualise and analyse data? Please join us in this 60-minute practical demo session, for beginners, where we will focus on how you can use Microsoft Forms and Excel to gather data more easily, better understand what the data you are gathering is telling you and how you can share this visually with children, colleagues and families.

In this session, we will demonstrate how to create a Forms Survey, how to view responses and how to export the results into an Excel file, where you can drill down deeper to interpret and analyse the data you have collected by exploring charts, pivot tables and slicers.

The demo session will be a take place within Glow, however you do not need a Glow log in to join this session.

*Please check with your local authority digital team or organisation lead officer for Information Security on protocols for gathering and storing data.

This session is for ELC practitioners working across a variety of settings in Scotland.

The session will be repeated 5 times throughout the year with morning and twilight options.

A Glow login NOT required to join.

Click here to select one of the morning or twilight webinar dates.

You may also be interested in This is early level Digital. Spotlight on: Practitioner Collaboration. (Live Webinars).

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This is early level Digital. Spotlight on: Practitioner Collaboration. (Live Webinars).

Spotlight on: Practitioner Online Collaboration.

Do you have access to Microsoft Teams within your ELC setting but are unsure how it can help you? Please join us in the 60-minute practical demo session, for beginners, where we will focus on how you can use Microsoft Teams as your one stop digital shop with your ELC team, for organising, sharing and collaborating on content and for assisting communication. For example, you can all work together, in real time on planning documents, staffing rotas, risk assessments and shared calendars.*

You can communicate via audio calls, video calls, private chat messages and Team posts, and start conversations centred around a particular document.

You can also utilise Teams with practitioners from other settings, to support children’s transitions and to plan and work together on community events.

In this session, we will demonstrate how to create your own Staff Team and how you can use it to connect with your fellow practitioners to distribute information, communicate and work collaboratively on documents.

The demo Team you will see in the session will be a Team within Glow, however you do not need a Glow log in to join this session.

*Please check with your local authority digital team or organisation’s lead officer for Information Security on protocols for file sharing.

This session is for ELC practitioners working across a variety of settings in Scotland.

The session will be repeated 5 times throughout the year with morning and twilight options.

A Glow login NOT required to join.

Click here to select one of the morning or twilight webinar dates.

You may also be interested in This is early level Digital. Spotlight on: Making Data Visible. (Live Webinars).

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The Digital ELC Practitioner Toolkit – Anytime/Anywhere CLPL

The ELC Practitioner Toolkit provides an introduction to digital collaboration and communication, including support on the tools available and approaches to consider. It is a flexible ‘anytime, anywhere’ pathway allowing you to tailor your learning to your needs. There are also links to further professional learning pathways and our live webinars.

Self-directed professional learning can be included towards SSSC Continuous professional learning records for registration.

The Digital ELC Practitioner Toolkit – Anytime/Anywhere CLPL (pre recorded)

Supporting early level learners to digitally document their learning

A guided demo session to support early level learners to digitally document their learning

Create interactive, accessible learning stories with Microsoft Sway

Introducing QR codes to access learning

Productivity Suites

Microsoft Office 365 and Google Workspace are the two most commonly used platforms across Scotland that allow easier and more effective communication and collaboration between ELC staff teams. These platforms allow you to plan learning, update colleagues and attend events, at cluster, local and national levels. With more ELC practitioners working at different times throughout the day, making the most of these time saving tools can really help to improve workflow and decrease workload. 

Find out more about Microsoft Office on our YouTube Microsoft Office Playlist . Please also see the Microsoft Learn Educator Centre.

Find out more about Google Workspace on our YouTube Google Workspace Playlist. Please also see Google for Education.

If your setting/LA are Apple device users, you can find out more about Apple here on our YouTube Apple Playlist.  Please also see the Apple Education Community.

 

If your setting/LA are Glow users, you can find out more about Glow here, on Glow Connect.

Spotlight sessions: Improving my own Digital Literacy Skills (live webinars)

Spotlight on ELC: Practitioner Online Collaboration.

Spotlight on ELC: Making Data Visible.

All Spotlight on ELC Sessions (Live Webinars). 

Back to ELC home page

16 May 19:00, ELC Practitioner Play Along, with Barefoot Computing #CSscot23

Be part of #CSscot23 by joining the Education Scotland Digital Team in a short 30 minute evening ‘Play Along’ session and be introduced to the concepts and approaches of Computational Thinking with Barefoot Computing, through fun, interactive activities.

We use Computational thinking strategies in our everyday lives and may not even realise it! Computational thinking is about learning to solve problems, with or without a computer. These problem-solving skills not only support the computing science curriculum but also play a part in many other areas of the curriculum and our lives, from PE to storytelling, maths and baking! Join us to find out more.

This session is suitable for all practitioners working with early level learners across a variety of settings.

Please have a pen and paper and small piece of playdough/plasticine to hand, to take part in the hands-on activities.

Barefoot resources for early level learners can be accessed here. For more information about Barefoot please watch this short video.

Sign Up

15 May 19:00, ELC Practitioner Code Along, with Scratch Jnr #CSscot23

Celebrate #CSscot23 with the Education Scotland Digital Team, by joining a short 30 minute evening ‘Code Along’ session to explore the free online block-based coding app Scratch Jnr.

 

Scratch Jnr provides an introduction for early level learners to experiment with programming their own interactive stories and games through block-based coding, with endless opportunity to problem solve and express themselves creatively.

 

This session is suitable for all practitioners working with early level learners across a variety of settings.

 

Please download the app prior to the session and ‘Code Along’ with us.

The app be downloaded here. For more information about Scratch Jnr, please click here.

If possible, it would be more beneficial to join the session on one device so you can watch the demo and ‘code along’ with us on another device that has the Scratch Jnr app downloaded at the same time.

 

Sign Up

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This is early level Digital – CRIS

(Cyber Resilience and Internet Safety).

When we use the internet we either consume, create or communicate. Each of these behaviours has different levels and types of risk. Join us in this series of three webinars to explore how we can support early level learners to gain knowledge and confidence in Cyber Resilience and Internet Safety. This webinar series is for all ELC practitioners working with early level learners across a variety of settings in Scotland.

The sessions will include examples from practice, centered around the Curriculum for Excellence early level Digital Literacy CRIS Experiences and Outcome,

I can explore, play and communicate using digital technologies safely and securely. TCH 0-03

illustrating what invitations to explore, play and communicate safely and securely may look like across a variety of ELC settings. 

We will also refer to National self-evaluation framework for ELC, How Good is Our Early Learning and Childcare Quality Indictor 2.1 Safeguarding and Child Protection.

We welcome you to familiarise yourself with Curriculum for Excellence early level Digital Literacy Experiences and Outcomes prior to joining us. 

Each session is accompanied by optional follow up reading/professional development centred on the Cyber Toolkit, coordinating with each session.

Attendees will be invited to submit a short blog post illustrating how the programme has impacted practice,

The examples of practice included in the session content will be ELC focused, however this session is for all practitioners working at early level across a variety of settings. 

Glow login NOT required. 

Each session will be repeated three times throughout the year 23/24 with morning and twilight options.

To get the most from this course, it is advised that you join the sessions in numerical order.

Session 1 (60 minutes) This is early level Digital, CRIS – Consume 7.9.23 & 9.1.24 & 16.4.24

Session 2 (30 minutes) This is early level Digital, CRIS – Create 3.10.23 & 20.2.24 & 30.4.24

Session 3 (30 minutes) This is early level Digital, CRIS – Communicate 7.11.23 & 12.3.24 & 14.5.23

Tech for helping the planet. Tech She Can assembly recording.

Access an exciting Earth Day assembly recording from Tech She Can and explore how creative technology is solving problems and inventing useful tools to help the planet.

During this session recording, children will explore the role technology plays in helping us to protect our planet and fight climate change. They are also crucially introduced to a variety of green careers within tech that they could potentially pursue in the future.

You can access a recording from the session on 18.04.23 here.

This assembly is aimed at Second level learners but could still be enjoyed by younger and older learners with teacher support. There will be an open-ended and adaptable challenge activity at the end of the session.

Find out more about Tech Che Can with this link: TechSheCan website and you can also explore a variety of short animated lessons here Animated lessons – TechSheCan.

 

This is early level Digital CLPL

Welcome to the This is early level Digital range and spotlight sessions of CLPL.

This CLPL is for all ELC practitioners working with early level learners across a variety of settings in Scotland.

The examples of practice included in the session content will be ELC focused, however this session is for all practitioners working at early level across a variety of settings. 

A Glow login is NOT required to join the sessions.

Sign up via Eventbrite and receive a join link to an online meeting within Microsoft Teams. 

This is early level Digital ( a four-part programme and currently a RIC offer, please speak to your local authority digital lead to note your interest).

Spotlight on early level Digital: Transitions.

Spotlight on early level Digital: Outdoor Digital

This is early level CRIS (a three-part programme)