Category: Scottish Borders

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How Eildon West is Transforming Teaching with AI.

In the Eildon West Cluster in the Scottish Borders, we’ve been exploring how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can support teachers in their daily work. Through a series of Continuing Professional Learning (CLPL) sessions, created by Suzanne Pritchard and Krista Ainslie,  we’ve been learning together about how AI tools can make teaching more productive, creative, and accessible for all learners.

Our Learning Journey

Our journey began with a simple goal: to understand how AI could genuinely make a difference in the classroom. Each session has been designed not only to introduce tools but to explore how they can be adapted to real-life teaching scenarios.

AI for Productivity: We kicked off by diving into tools that can make a teacher’s day easier. Imagine cutting the time spent on lesson planning or analysing assessments by half. Tools like Microsoft Co-Pilot and Magic School AI have shown us how to generate tailored lesson plans, automate feedback, and even speed up administrative tasks like email correspondence. Teachers shared how these tools helped free up time to focus more on their students rather than paperwork.

AI for Creativity: Here’s where things got exciting. We explored Adobe Express to create stunning visuals for lessons and LM Podcasting for turning ideas into engaging audio content. Teachers experimented with these tools to transform lessons—whether by creating bespoke graphics for a science unit or crafting podcasts for history projects. The creativity unleashed during these sessions was infectious, with everyone sharing ideas and inspiring one another to try something new.

AI for Accessibility: One of the most inspiring parts of our learning journey has been seeing how AI can break down barriers for learners. Tools like text-to-speech, automatic translation, and differentiated resources showed us how technology can make education more inclusive. During one session, teachers used AI to quickly adapt materials for learners with additional support needs, creating materials that catered to a variety of learning styles and abilities.

Some AI Tools We’ve Tried

As we’ve started incorporating AI into our practices, we’ve experimented with a range of tools, including:

  • Magic School AI: A tool for simplifying tasks like lesson planning and grading.
  • ChatGPT: Helpful for generating ideas, simplifying complex concepts, and drafting resources.
  • Adobe Express: Perfect for creating visuals and multimedia content.
  • Microsoft Co-Pilot: Streamlines tasks across familiar platforms like Word and Excel.
  • Quizlet & Quizizz: Tools for gamifying assessments and creating tailored study materials.

What We’ve Learned

Our sessions have shown that AI isn’t about replacing good teaching—it’s about supporting & enhancing it. From saving time on administrative tasks to opening up new possibilities for creativity and accessibility, AI can help teachers focus on what they do best: supporting learners to be the best that they can be.

We’ve also found that effective use of AI requires collaboration and sharing best practices. Writing clear prompts, adapting outputs to fit specific needs, and understanding the ethical implications of these tools are all essential parts of the process.

Looking Ahead

AI is developing at a rapid rate and our work with AI is just beginning. While we’ve already seen the benefits it can bring, we’re also aware of the need to keep learning and adapting as the technology evolves. By sharing our experiences, we hope to encourage more conversations about how AI can fit into the everyday reality of teaching, here in the Borders and the world beyond.

If you’re interested in learning more about what we’ve been doing or have ideas to share from your own experiences, we’d love to hear from you. Let’s keep learning together.

Krista Ainslie – krista.ainslie@scotborders.gov.uk, gw09hillkrista@glow.sch.uk

Suzanne Pritchard – spritchard1@glow.sch.uk

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Digital Evidencing of Self-Evaluation in Tweedbank Primary School ELC.

Tweedbank Primary ELC was one of the first ELC settings to be awarded with the new DSAS Digital Learning Through Play Award in ELC, earlier this year. In this blog post, Early Years Officer Amy Simpson shares a practice highlight on the whole team approach to digitally evidencing key identified areas for improvement, at Tweedbank Primary ELC.

 

Our aim is to ensure self-evaluation is an ongoing, enjoyable and collaborative process.

Previously, we used a physical floorbook to document our self-evaluation, using HGIOELC and Care Inspectorates Quality Framework.

We used this alongside our Nursery Improvement Plan to focus on key areas of development.

To improve this model, we created a Padlet space to allow all staff to to input into self-evaluation evidence into key identified areas of improvement.

This is done in real-time and allows for staff to upload in the moment, and reflect collaboratively at protected self-evaluation time.

From moderating this approach, the quality of input has improved massively with the different media options available and staff being able to upload not only text (like a physical book), but photos, videos, voice notes… and even GIFs!

Our next steps for improvement are to include pupil and parent voice within this evidence to reflect the full settings input.

Padlet example

Each member of staff can access the Padlet via a shortcut on their iPads and add evidence below each identified area for improvement on an ongoing basis. As highlighted by Amy, the Padlet updates in real time, making the contributions of others instantly visible and the quality of evidence has improved with the variety of media formats available.

This blog post was submitted by Amy Simpson, Early Years Officer, Tweedbank Primary School ELC, Scottish Borders, November 2024.

Amy and the ELC Team at Tweedbank can be contacted at gw19simpsonamy@glow.sch.uk   /  TweedbankPS@scotborders.gov.uk

 

Scottish Borders Council Context.

Inspire Learning is SBC’s Digital Learning Transformation Programme and has to date delivered an Apple iPad to every teacher, ELC practitioner and every P4 to S6 pupil across all Borders schools, as well as class sets of shared iPads for the use of every P1 to P3 pupil and Early Years. The programme continues to support teachers in the best use of the technology in the classroom and is committed to achieving a uniquely high digital skills and education baseline for all Borders teachers through an extensive, bespoke package of professional learning and development.

Practitioners in SBC access Padlet via the free single sign on version in Glow. Your organisation or local authority may not use Padlet and instead use an alternative tool.  Please remember to check with your organisation or local authority digital lead before exploring new apps and platforms to ensure GDPR compliance. 

 

Remote Learning – What is Working? Berwickshire High School in Scottish Borders.

In this guest blog post, Derek Huffman, PT Pedagogy / English Teacher from Berwickshire High School in Scottish Borders, South East Improvement Collaborative, shares what is working well in remote learning and what they can take back to the classrooms as a whole school team when learners return.

One of the many issues facing teachers during ‘remote learning’ is maintaining high levels of student engagement. It is understandable why, when left to their own devices, a student might reach for their PlayStation controller rather than their school iPad. What can we do to fight this?

At Berwickshire High School, our student engagement spreadsheet suggests that, in some areas, teachers are consistently keeping students coming back for more. After discussing with staff what is working, I found that, though no two people are doing the exact same thing, there are some key commonalities. 

I’ve pulled these together, with some exemplification, in this seven-minute video:

Where it’s working, teachers are focussed on the following:

  • Simplifying: reducing the amount of ‘stuff’ students are facing to what is essential. What is simplest way to word the Learning Intentions? Do you need that extra slide?
  • Using the success criteria like a checklist
  • Having a ‘consistency of experience’ for the students: students know that at this time, they go here, where they’ll experience a lesson with a common structure – starting with daily review, going into a discussion of the Learning Intentions and Success Criteria, followed by teacher modelling and time to complete a task, and ending with a plenary where the teacher checks that the students have learned what they should have.
  • Giving brief, regular, useful bits of feedback that outline next steps

None of this is rocket science, but it works. The good news is that these are all the exact same things we should be doing in our actual classrooms. If we can focus on getting this right during these wild times, just think how much more effective we’ll be as teachers when we bring what we’ve learned back into our classrooms!

The majority of teachers I know are being too hard on themselves at the moment. It’s important to remember that we are doing our best, and if you are struggling, call someone. Send an email. We’re all in the same boat and if we row in the same direction, we’ll get there.

Derek Huffman , PT Pedagogy, Berwickshire High School

gw09huffmanderek@glow.sch.uk

 

 

Peebles high school STEM blog post header

A Devastating Fire, A Global Pandemic and The Evolution of Digital Teaching in the Biology Department at Peebles HS.

Iona Minto, PT STEM and Teacher of Biology takes us on the journey of how digital teaching has remarkably evolved at Peebles High School in Scottish Borders.
In this Sway you can find out how the Biology staff embraced the introduction of Scottish Border’s Inspire Learning Programme (1:1 devices) and how they have worked together to support one another through a peer to peer professional learning support network.
In this Sway, Iona also details
  • the digital tools that have helped them to work better as a department so far
  • the initial response to school closures in COVID-19 Lockdown
  • features to support pupils
  • what digital learning and teaching may look like moving forward at  Peebles High School
  • and lots of practical examples of what the learning looks like

iona.minto@glow.sch.uk      @MrsMintoBioSci