Category: Community Posts

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Microsoft Whiteboard

This is a blog post about how you can use Microsoft Whiteboard with Teams.  (https://whiteboard.microsoft.com/) This video shows some of you the choices that you currently have for using Microsoft Whiteboard. There are two options main options, firstly to share a Whiteboard from a Teams meeting and secondly to create a Whiteboard and then share … Continue reading Microsoft Whiteboard →

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Flipgrid in the Remote P1 Classroom, Riverbank School, Aberdeen City

Aberdeen City CouncilFLIPGRID IN THE REMOTE CLASSROOM

Flipgrid, a video discussion platform, is used for different purposes in the remote classroom. Among them, to mention a few that we use in P1 at Riverbank school, are the following:

● As an engagement tool. In my P1 class in Aberdeen with 17 pupils, we have started using Flipgrid in Google Classroom, in today’s literacy assignment, children were to show their favourite book and tell us why. They show up, talk about their book and express their emotions. They improve their oratory skills, the possibility of adding stickers, backgrounds and other aesthetic enhancers is also an attractive feature to them.

● As a prompt: in Registration I upload directly from Flipgrid to Google Classroom as a short video (called shorts in Flipgrid) which is used as a conversation starter and mind engaging with the learners. Next week they will be having again prompts during registration: Things that they have learnt during confinement, even and odd numbers, using the connective “but”, using the connective “and”, something I did was it a subtraction or an addition, can you represent it graphically? They watch the video and they can choose to answer with a video back or in writing.

● As an assessment tool: Another Flipgrid they had last week The instructions were to tell us about their favourite book, mention the title and the author and tell us the function of an illustrator. The two key resources which support teachers to plan learning, teaching and assessment are experiences and outcomes and benchmarks. With this Flipgrid activity, the children should be exposed to, recognise. Describe, and make use of:

○ Recognize book words: cover, author, illustrator, theme, title etc

○ Share likes and dislikes

○ Enjoy choosing stories

Finally, let me tell you that for language teachers it is a great tool as well. It allows for fantastic feedback on pronunciation. But not only that, it can be used for presentations, acting, interpersonal communication, making connections, language and cultural comparisons. It is the perfect space for the students to practise their speaking skills and share their thoughts. The teacher can set goals and reflect on progress. Moreover, the teacher can use language to develop critical thinking, investigate, explain, and reflect. Flipgrid allows for the 4 Cs of education in the 21st century to be developed and encouraged in the activities you set. It enriches the learning experience greatly.

Flipgrid has got many other uses and functions. I would be very interested in hearing your experience with this tool.

Pilar Arqued

gw18arquedpilar@glow.sch.uk
@pilararqued
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Removing Barriers to Learning Computing Science at Speyside School

As a teacher of Computer Science I’ve always looked for ways to remove barriers to learning and make the curriculum more accessible. One of the biggest hurdles to this has been the complex nature of managing the installation and use of IDEs (Integrated Development Environments) to teach computer programming. Without a burning passion for the subject, you can forget getting a young person to download something like Microsoft Visual Studio or Eclipse at home.

A few years ago, whilst looking for a solution to my concerns I switched to repl.it to teach computer programming with the language Python. Repl.it is an online development environment which is completely browser based and requires no software installations on the user’s device. It is device and operating system agnostic, so it will work on desktops, laptops, mobile and tablet devices.

An example of the repl.it programming interface (Python 3.8)

An example of the repl.it programming interface (Python 3.8)

Over this period, I have transitioned from using repl.it to teach software design, to using repl.it to teach all practical elements of the course with support for creating rich web content using HTML, CSS and JavaScript and interrogating databases using SQLite. Students can easily share these projects with each other and with me. There are even tools to allow students to work together on the same project, allowing for latency free peer programming through repl.it’s “multiplayer” feature.

Repl.it provides tools for assessment, through their Assignments tool which provides the student with a set of instructions, a pre-populated piece of code as a starting point and a console window. The student can then submit the assignment to the teacher for written feedback and receives a notification when this is sent to them. Repl.it assignments also allow for test conditions to be set to provide some level of instant feedback to the student.

 

 

An example of an assignment in Repl.it showing student code, instructions, console and feedback area.

This has enabled my students and I to make a smooth transition from classroom teaching to remote learning for National 5 and Higher Computing Science during the COVID-19 lockdown. Although using online tools for home learning has always been a part of my pedagogical practice at this school, I’ve adapted my methods slightly. At Speyside High School, learners are currently using a combination of Google Classroom, Scholar, repl.it and YouTube videos that I have created to begin their new Senior Phase courses.

To create learning materials, I am using OBS Studio to capture my screen and webcam, which means I am then able to explain concepts to the students as if I was teaching a class and seamlessly flip between my course material and my live coding environment on repl.it.

The tools mentioned in this blogpost are all free to use for teachers.

Repl.it can be found at www.repl.it
OBS Studio can be found at www.obsproject.com

Marc McWhirter
PT Computing & Technical / Speyside High School
@SpeysideCS

Speyside High @speysiderector

 

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P1 Transition Support, Strathburn School, Aberdeenshire

 

We have used a variety of technology to support Transition for our new Primary 1 pupils.See-Saw Screen shot

 

See-Saw Screen Shot

We obtained Seesaw consent using Microsoft Forms, set up a P1 Transition group using avatar names and invited all new parents to it. Through this group we have uploaded puppet pal videos which include a school tour, delivered parental sessions on emergent literacy using sway, allowed P6 pupils to read out letters they have written to P1, used QR codes to create a treasure hunt round the school building that pupils can carry out over the Summer period as part of their daily walk, started to introduce HWB aspects of the curriculum to pupils via video and used the forum for sharing messages, introducing staff and ensuring parents/carers receive regular up to
date messages about plans and next steps. We are also considering using home learning codes to allow pupils to upload pictures of any transition work they might have done to begin engagement with them.

Sock Puppets Video

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Remote Learning, Strathburn School, Aberdeenshire

 

 

Literacy – reading

I am currently supporting a probationer and we are continuing our observations and meetings As part of her GTC profile. She has been using seesaw to create a fantastic online learning platform for her class however as part of this is also using TEAMS to meet groups of her children to teach Numeracy concepts to small groups or carry out Literacy Tasks.

Today I was invited to participate in a Microsoft TEAM meeting as an observer and was blown away by seven and eight year olds in a TEAM meet. The teacher was sharing her screen so all children had access to a shared text which they could read, discuss, and answer questions on. The children were safe, comfortable within the learning environment that the teacher has established and responded well to their teacher using technology effectively as they muted and turned on the microphone as required when it was their turn to read. I have been an advocate of Glow for many years and am delighted to finally witnessing it being used to its full potential!

thoughts on additioanl teaching qualification in Computing blog post header

Thoughts on the Additional Teaching Qualification in Computing, Jonathan Henderson and Emma Hedges

Jonathan Henderson, Lasswade Primary School, Midlothian, @MrHenderson321
Emma Hedges, Victoria Primary School, Falkirk, @MissHedgesVPS

We are delighted to be part of the first cohort of a new program of CLPL aimed at up-levelling primary teachers’ skills in delivering the Technologies curriculum. This online program leverages some of the UHI’s existing courses for cross-qualifying existing secondary teachers into Computer Science but provides primary teachers with the expertise necessary to deliver the computing curriculum up to SCQF Level 3. This course has been designed and supported by the British Computer Society, Microsoft, Education Scotland and the Scottish Government.

Currently, we are in Week 4 of the first 12 week module on Databases and Computer Systems, with a second module planned to start in September which will focus on Coding and Web Technologies. So far we have learned about Software, Hardware, Numbering Systems and Logic Gates, and we will soon be moving onto learning about databases and SQL. The work for each week is split up into sections which has contributed to making the course manageable to fit in around a full time teaching job. Each week has involved gaining new knowledge via videos and Sways. There have also been interactive elements such as mini quizzes and using what we have learned to complete tasks such as calculations involving binary numbers. There has been a feeling of satisfaction when we have been able to use our new found knowledge, or from learning from our mistakes, to complete these tasks.

We have also been given the opportunity to complete an additional entry-level Cisco course about Linux which many participants have signed up to complete.

So far, it has been fascinating to go further into subjects which are beyond the normal scope of the primary curriculum and refresh and update our understanding of computing. Through being provided with this opportunity we are once again in the role of the learner. This has been an interesting experience and has made us consider the different ways in which we can share what we are learning to the wide range of needs of our learners, as well as with our colleagues.

We are also enjoying the opportunity to network with colleagues from across Scotland as well as across primary and secondary education. It has been interesting to learn about the different backgrounds of our colleagues who are also enrolled on the course and to be able to interact with them online either on the UHI learning space or on Twitter. With the submission date of our first assessment approaching, we’re very much focussed on doing our best in order to get the most out of the course both for ourselves and for our pupils.

Find out more about the qualification here

 

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distance learning - examples of practice, falkirk. Blog post header

Distance Learning: Examples of Practice from Falkirk

Practitioners from across Falkirk have collated examples of how they are using digital tools for distance learning.  The document contains examples from primary and secondary educators and the tools and strategies that they are using to engage learners.

  • Victoria Primary School
  • Westquarter Primary School
  • Maddiston Primary School
  • Drumbowie Primary School
  • Carmuirs Primary School
  • St Marys Primary School
  • Kinneil Primary School
  • Dunipace Primary School
  • Bantaskin Primary School
  • Larbert Village Primary School
  • Deanburn Primary School
  • Carrongrange High School
  • Falkirk High School
  • Graeme High School
  • Grangemouth High School
  • Larbert High School
  • St Mungo’s High School [read more]
  • Denny High School

Distance Learning Examples of Practice from Falkirk

st mungos hig school distance learning examples blog post header

What distance learning looks like at St Mungos High School, Falkirk

St Mungo’s High School in Falkirk have produced a Sway illustrating what distance learning looks like in the school.

“We have shifted the emphasis during this period to digital applications that can be accessed and engaged with easily using a smart phone or tablet. We have also moved more towards creating videos as a way of communicating with our pupils and sharing content.”

The Sway has a number of short video examples from across the school faculties including Creative, Modern Languages, Health and Well Being, Science, Technologies and Pastoral.

Practitioners from across Falkirk have also contributed to a document illustrating what distance learning looks like in the authority. Find out more here.

https://sway.office.com/s/cKyrnndWhzvw7F3V/embed

Sway Link

you learning designing a robot with pen and paper

Robotics- Learning New Digital Skills In Context

This year we received an Education Scotland CLPL grant to train staff in digital skills; for part of the project we have been learning computer science and technology to do with robotics.  A grant from the DigitalXtra fund has also  allowed us to purchase robotics equipment from early years up for the cluster, and has …

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