Author: George Milliken

March 25, 2022

Save the Pacific Northwest tree octopus activity

Welcome

We want to alert you to our very important activity this week: we want the learners of Scotland to help us save the Pacific Northwest tree octopus!

This website has lots of great info about the octopus and ways for you to help it:

Octopus website

Once you’ve read a bit more about the octopus – have a think about how you could use your digital literacy skills to find out more about it and use this info to create some posters, slides and websites to raise awareness of the octopus’ plight and help save it!

tree octopus

Let’s get started!

Wait a minute, though… tree octopus?

Before you go making any resources we want you to check some things:

Who created the page and wrote the information?
Does it have pictures or video that show you the tree octopus?
Are there links to other sites about the octopus?
See inside the page

Teachers click here

What next?

Hopefully, you spotted the clues that the tree octopus isn’t real pretty quickly and pointed this out to your teacher!

We think that by learning some of the skills used to make the fake info on this website, you’ll be better prepared to spot other info like this and know how to check it for accuracy.

We want you to create your own fake animal awareness campaign. You’ll need to think of an animal and then imagine it living in a biome, or habitat, that isn’t it’s natural home… like a mountain-dwelling narwhal or Arctic elephant!
Then you’ll need some facts that sound believable, even though they’re not true – so things like what your imaginary animal eats, where it sleeps and how big it is.

Finally, you’ll create some online content, maybe using slides, websites, blogs or even a video.

You can share these with us on twitter: @DigiLearnScot

Activity 1 – fact finding and note making

Use your web browser to find out three (or more) facts about an animal
Then pick a biome it wouldn’t normally live in and find out three facts about that place and how animals normally survive there
Make notes of this info as you go – it’ll come in handy later

teachers might want to use some of these ideas to expand upon the features of fake news and unreliable sources:
Digital Media Literacy: The Blur Between Facts and Opinions in the Media (gcfglobal.org)

Digital Media Literacy: What is Fake News? (gcfglobal.org)

Activity 2 – photo manipulation

The photos on the octopus site were faked and so are many other photos online and in newspapers and magazines too.
Read this page to find out more about manipulated photos

You don’t need fancy software to edit photos, here are some tips:
PowerPoint – remove background
Keynote – instant alpha

Start with a background photo of the place your imaginary animal is going to live – add it to your app
Then add the photo of your animal
Now, use either the remove background in PowerPoint or instant alpha in Keynote, for example, to cut out any background on your animal picture
It should now look like your animal lives in the place you have as the background

Here’s my mountain-dwelling narwhal from earlier:

Activity 3 – making fake news

You now have an imaginary animal, some facts about it and a photo proving its existence – now all you need to do is put it together and share it with the world to convince them of it’s existence!

You could have a look at these:
https://www.beano.com/games/random-animal-mash-up
https://switchzoo.com/newzoo/zoo.htm

There are lots of great tools for creating and sharing content online, here are just some of them:
Sway

Glow blogs

Slides

Sites

We can’t wait to see your fake news imaginary animals on twitter!

ALL CREDIT FOR THE OCTOPUS CONTENT TO THE SITE’S OWNER: Save The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus (zapatopi.net)

March 23, 2022

Cyber Resilience and Internet Safety Activities

Welcome to our cyber resilience and internet safety learning activities. Use the activities below to check your knowledge and understanding of today’s session.

Activity 1: consume create communicate

Activity 2: cyber resilience

Activity 3: internet safety

March 8, 2022

TLP enquiry posters for assessment and feedback

These posts have been selected from the PLL TLP as they focus on assessment, feedback and tracking. You can view the original images on the TLP flickr site by clicking on them. All credit to the post authors.

Interested in participating in the PLL Teacher Leader Programme?

Find out more

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March 8, 2022

TLP enquiry posters for learning

These posts have been selected from the PLL TLP as they focus on learners, learning and engagement. You can view the original images on the TLP flickr site by clicking on them. All credit to the post authors.

Interested in participating in the PLL Teacher Leader Programme?

Find out more

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

March 8, 2022

TLP enquiry posters for teaching

These posts have been selected from the PLL TLP as they focus on teacher knowledge and skills (pedagogy). You can view the original images on the TLP flickr site by clicking on them. All credit to the post authors.

Interested in participating in the PLL Teacher Leader Programme?

Find out more

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

March 8, 2022

TLP enquiry posters for planning

These posts have been selected from the PLL TLP as they focus on planning, device/platform provision and family engagement. You can view the original images on the TLP flickr site by clicking on them. All credit to the post authors.

Interested in participating in the PLL Teacher Leader Programme?

Find out more

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

March 2, 2022

This is Digital CLPL programme: planning and resourcing learning

Back to This is Digital page

Reading and watching

This episode of CLPL focuses on the elements to consider when planning and resourcing lessons with digital.

How does digital make learning more accessible
Using the SAMR model to make learning more relevant and engaging
How dual coding resources and learning content can make learning more effective

Accessibility

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) states that:

A child with a disability has the right to live a full and decent life with dignity and, as far
as possible, independence and to play an active part in the community. (Article 23)
Every child has the right to an education. (Article 28)
Education must develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full. (Article 29)

SAMR

SAMR (substitution, augmentation, modification and redefinition) was developed by Dr R. Puentedura, following research into how the use of digital technology was transforming classroom-based teaching and learning (JISC, 2022)

The SAMR Model: Effective Technology Integration in Classrooms

Dual coding

Dual Coding is an excellent strategy that learners can employ to aid learning and revision, however, practitioners can employ the same strategy when developing materials for learners.

Discussion points

To enable more effective and meaningful discussions during the webinar, please consider your thoughts on these points beforehand:

Is it worth the time to make learning more accessible or engaging?
How long do you typically spend looking for resources online? Is it time well spent?
What skills do your learners need to access digital tools, such as accessibility ones?

March 2, 2022

This is Digital CLPL programme: delivering learning

Back to This is Digital page

Reading and watching

This episode of CLPL focuses on the elements to consider when designing and delivering lessons with digital.

Creativity in the classroom
How and where does digital feature in Bloom’s Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)?
The TPACK model for relevant learning and meaningful outcomes

Creativity

These documents are central to embedding creativity in Scottish edcuation:

And this is internationally-recognised:

Creative Thinking – PISA

HOTS

Digital should enhance the learning (this may require new modes as explored in episode 2 with SAMR) and central to that is digital’s power to make learning more personalised to the individual learner and enabling them to make realistic products that can be shared with a relevant audience.

Blooms Taxonomy Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching

Discussion points

To enable more effective and meaningful discussions during the webinar, please consider your thoughts on these points beforehand:

How can we be more creative in the class?
How does this affect our learners?
How can digital support our learners be more independent?

Using flipped learning approaches can develop learners skills, knowledge and confidence – enabling them to make more informed decisions over how they learn. The use of digital platforms can also enable learners with particular learning needs or preferences, particularly around literacy.

Digital platforms make it easier to share instructions, content (such as videos), and activities with learners – complementing, or even replacing, existing paper-based systems, such as jotters and worksheets. Using digital platforms for learning enable us to create video tutorials that can be viewed by learners before attending lessons, allowing them to start with prior knowledge, and also to revisit any ideas they were unclear about, at a later time.

Flipped Learning – DigiLearn (glowscotland.org.uk)

March 2, 2022

This is Digital CLPL programme: preparing for learning

Back to This is Digital page

Reading and watching

This episode of CLPL focuses on the rationale for using, or not using, digital technology in learning. An Education Endowment Foundation report in 2021 states that:

Effective use of digital technology is driven by learning and teaching goals rather than a specific technology
New technology does not automatically lead to increased attainment
Pupils’ motivation to use technology ≠ more effective learning

So, if digital does not intrinsically enhance learning then why do we use it?

Collaboration helps “build social capital among teachers and other educators improves student learning… it also improves the ability to initiate and implement change, as ideas spread and last beyond a few individual brainwaves.” – A. Hargreaves and M. T O’Connor

In the same paper they also state that “The strongest case for digital technology in education or life, however, is when it uniquely provides something of value that cannot be offered in any other way.”

This session will outline the expectation of the programme that ideas and resources are shared between participants but also with the wider teaching community.

Read the full paper

John Hattie Learning Intentions & Success Criteria

Teacher Collaboration: Spreading Best Practices School-Wide

Discussion points

To enable more effective and meaningful discussions during the webinar, please consider your thoughts on these points beforehand:

Examples of interesting practice you have done or witnessed
How digital fits into other approaches, such as flipped learning, tapestry or retrieval practice
The standards and expectations you have for learners when using digital in class or at home

February 14, 2022

Scottish Government Have Released £1.3m Capital Spend for Computer Science Equipment in Scottish Schools

The Education Secretary has announced up to £1.3m for Computing Science education in Scottish schools. Schools will be able to use this money, which will go directly to them, to buy physical computing resources to support engagement with Computing Science in the BGE stages. They are able to access £2000, with additional £500 available for resources that will be incorporated into transition events with associated primary schools or pupils with additional support needs.

She also announced two appointments to the new teacher-led the University of Glasgow ‘STACS’ initiative, which aims to help prepare pupils for careers in tech.

Read the full announcement here