Category: ELC

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Spotlight on early level Digital: Outdoor Play

Join us with Mairi Ferris from Thrive Outdoors – Inspiring Scotland in this 60-minute online session, to explore how digital technology can be used effectively at early level to creatively support interactions, experiences and spaces within our outdoor environments. This webinar is for practitioners working with early level learners across a variety of settings in Scotland.

The session will include creative examples from practice, centered around Curriculum for Excellence early level Digital Literacy Experiences and Outcomes, to illustrate what learning with and through digital technology outdoors may look like across a variety of settings.

Creativity is about much more than expressive arts, it is the ability to wonder about things, to see them or use them differently. Creativity is vital for all learning. Think about the creativity involved in the everyday problems we face. Consider the pace of change in our world and how we need to ensure our children are equipped with the right skills for their future. The foundations are built from the child’s earliest years. Creativity is crucial within science, technology, engineering and mathematical learning (STEM). It is also essential to language and literacy development. Realising the ambition: Being Me (page 24)

We will also refer to National self-evaluation framework, How Good is Our Early Learning and Childcare Quality Indictor 3.3 Developing creativity and skills for life and learning (including digital skills), to help us identify strengths in the ways we are currently working and areas where we could do more to improve outcomes for children and their families.

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

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.

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

Sign up via Eventbrite here.

 

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Spotlight on early level Digital: Transition

Join us in this 60-minute online session to explore how digital technology can be used effectively at early level to support horizontal and vertical transitions within our ELC settings. This webinar is for all ELC practitioners working with early level learners across a variety of settings in Scotland.

Strong collaboration between practitioners, teachers and partners is also important in designing a continuous curriculum experience for babies and children as they journey from one phase of their education and care to another.   Realising the ambition: Being Me (page 52).  

How can we strengthen practitioner collaboration? What digital technology do we have access to that can help?

This session will focus on practical use of digital technology to capture the all-important child’s voice, ensuring transitions are meaningful to the child, supporting their social, emotional and mental wellbeing, and we will also focus on how digital technology can support the 5 Cs structure when intentionally planning your transition programme (child centered, communication, consistency, collaboration, culture).  Realising the ambition: Being Me (page 96).

Part of the session will document examples of practice from current practitioners of where they are creatively using digital technology to support transitions within their settings.

We welcome you to familiarise yourself with How Good is Our ELC, Quality Indicator 2.6: Transitions (page 35) and Realising the ambition: Being Me Section 8: Transitions matter to me (page 89).  

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. 

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

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

Sign up via Eventbrite here.

learning with and through programme

This is Early Level Digital programme webinars

This four part programme is currently delivered as a RIC offer. Please note your interest to your local authority digital lead.

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

In this four-part professional learning programme, explore and play along with us (the Digital Team at Education Scotland), to extend your knowledge of how early level learners can effectively learn with and through technology, linking to current guidance and policy (Realising the Ambition, Curriculum for Excellence, How Good Is Our Early Learning and Childcare). 

In the first session, we explore examples of effective use of digital technology and the creative ways in which practitioners are harnessing digital technology to support intentional and responsive planning at the early level. 

In session two, the programme will focus on Curriculum for Excellence early level Digital Literacy experiences and outcomes in more detail. You will be invited to look inwards at your own knowledge and skills and/or learning provision in your setting, to identify what is currently working well and where there is room for improvement. 

In session three, the programme will focus on Curriculum for Excellence early level Computing Science experiences and outcomes in more detail, and we will ‘play a long’ together, exploring unplugged computational thinking and online computing science resources for early level learners. Again, in this session you will be invited to look inwards at your own knowledge and skills and/or learning provision in your setting, to identify what is currently working well and where there is room for improvement. 

The fourth session will allow practitioners to share their journey and the impact this course is having on their professional learning and also on children’s experiences. Participants will be asked to share very a brief* presentation/video/sketch note/blog post, demonstrating how they have developed their effective use of digital technologies in their setting. 

*A couple of minutes, guidance on structure will be provided. 

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. 

This four part programme is currently delivered as a RIC offer. Please note your interest to your local authority digital lead.

02 March AM, PM and evening, NCSC Childminders in Scotland session and play-along for children (early level)

As childminders, you want to create a safe and secure environment for the children in your care. As we become ever more reliant on digital technology it is increasingly important that you protect data (on children, and families), finances and also the integrity of any digital systems you use, including email, communication channels and databases.

This webinar is for all childminders working in Scotland. It is run by the National Cyber Security Centre and supported by the Scottish Government, Education Scotland, Scottish Childminding Association and the Care Inspectorate, as part of Cyber Scotland Week. It will provide you with advice and steps you can take to minimise the likelihood and impact of a cyber attack, and information about where to get help and advice if you need it.

Join us to identify a handful of steps you can take to minimise the potentially costly and disruptive effect of a cyber incident, and better safeguard the children in your care, as well as your business’s finances and reputation.

Part of the 9.30am and 1.30pm sessions include a story ‘Monkey Cow’ by Stuart Spendlow and a hands on activity for children, focusing on creating secure passwords. To take part in the children’s activity, you will require some resources to hand:

• bag/box

• random household objects/ toys

• post it notes/small pieces of paper

• pens/pencils

Please click on one of the time slots below to join us in one of the 50 minute interactive online sessions for all childminders in Scotland and the children in your care.

Click here to sign up to the 9.30am -10.20am session

 

Click here to sign up to the 1.30pm -2.20pm session

 

7PM SESSION IS FULL SIGN UP NOW CLOSED (shorter childminder only session, no children’s activity)

 

When you have signed up, a join link will be sent to you via the email you use to sign up.

The link will ask you to join an online Microsoft Team’s meeting. No log in is required.

Celebrating and Sharing Learning Digitally

Making home learning content accessible: Padlet/Thinglink/Sway 

In the following three session recordings, we explore how ELC practitioners can use a range of digital tools to help make home learning content more accessible, in an engaging early level friendly way. 

*Please check with your local authority before using any digital tools/apps that are not part of the Glow core apps to ensure they are GDPR approved or if there is an alternative tool/app. 

Digital tools explored include: 

Sway (via Microsoft Office 365 within Glow)– how we can use Sway as a digital storytelling tool, to create accessible and interactive learning stories full of rich media including photo, video, voice recordings, and embedded web content.

Thinglink- how we can augment images with additional information and links, via interactive tabs, allowing you to bring your ELC setting to life digitally.  

 

Padlet -how we can create an instant, real-time collaborative environment, where families with the link can communicate, mark make, share media, and interact together.  

QR codes can also be a quick and effective way to share digital content with families by turning your video link into a small barcode that can be scanned by most smartphones.

Capturing and Assessing Learning Evidence

Supporting early level learners to digitally document their learning: enhancing early level literacy with digital technology. 

In this introductory session recording (part 1 of 2), we explore the Digital Literacy Experience and Outcomes (that sit within the Technologies Curriculum) and where they overlap with the Literacy and English curriculum.  You will find out about a range of digital tools that exist to support learners to document their learning, by allowing them to creatively capture their voice and interactions.  The session will be brought to life by real examples of rich media footage captured by whiteboard recording, green screen, interactive digital books, lip syncing and storytelling apps. This webinar also focuses on how the media can be collated collaboratively by practitioners and then shared with parents and carers via Glow. 

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

This session recording (Part 2 of 2) provides a guided demo on how to use the digital tools that are covered in part 1. 

Embedding Digital Learning Through Play Pedagogy

Digital technologies provide opportunities for us to design unique learning spaces for the children. Bringing resources and experiences virtually into the setting can lead learning well-beyond what was originally planned. 

Realising the Ambition | Learning resources | National Improvement Hub (education.gov.scot) (page 79) 

 

Learning with and through digital technology opens so many possibilities for creativity. Realising the Ambition tells us that creativity is about much more that the expressive arts, it is the ability to wonder about things and see them or use them differently, a crucial element of STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths). 

Embedding Digital Literacy & Computing Science through play pedagogy  

This 60 minute session recording introduces you to the Digital Literacy and Computing Science organisers within the Technologies curriculum at early level.  Our national policy and curriculum documents tell us digital should be at the heart of good learning and teaching and through current examples in photo and video format, this session will demonstrate what this might look like.  We will explore how the Digital Literacy and Computing Science experiences and outcomes can be embedded across the early level curriculum through a practical play-based approach. Early level Digital Literacy and Computing Science can be further explored below. 

 

How Good is Our Early Learning and Childcare (HGIOLEC) QI 3.3: Developing creativity and skills for life and learning, theme Developing digital skills (page 45). 

How good is our early learning and childcare? (education.gov.scot) 

 

Some challenge questions to consider include: 

  • What can we do to ensure we are enhancing learning through the use of digital technologies?​ 
  • Are children encouraged to recognise a range of technologies and their purpose in the setting, at home and the local environment?   
  • Do children know how to operate simple technological equipment?