Category Archives: news/updates

Cool stuff, English/ Literacy, Expressive Arts, Health and wellbeing, Images, Languages, learning/teaching resources, Mathematics/numeracy, news/updates, Religious and Moral Education, Sciences, Social studies, Study skills, Technologies, Video

Our Cloud Share-Pinboards for video and image sharing

May 17, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

Our Cloud Share

A mini Pinterest?

This is probably best described as basically a mini-Pinterest, if anyone is familiar with that site. Pinterest is used to gather images and videos from all over the web and they are displayed on Pinboards.

This site is an Education version for Cfe but works in the same way, with users able to add a wee bookmarklet (button type thing) to their internet bookmarks bar and then browse the web and click the button to pin stuff to topic boards on our site.

It makes it so easy to share videos and images and pave the way for ‘flipped’ learning. It is fully responsive, meaning that it is designed for iPad/tablet and smartphone display and it enables revision and study anywhere at any time because of that.

What is there so far?

We have added almost 300 pins so far and that included videos on just about every aspect of Higher English courses as well as loads of Maths videos that basically talk users through worked solutions to Maths questions from SQA past papers.

We have also done a few literature boards on school favourites like Of Mice and Men and Edwin Morgan poetry and it is already shaping up into an amazing collection of content.

How can you use the site?

You can use the site just to look at what others have added by browsing the homepage to view the most popular items or by clicking on a CfE category to view what has been curated under subject areas

Why not sign up and add your own stuff?

Anyone can join the site and add some boards and pins of their own choosing. Just find video (you tube and vimeo) and images around the web and then click the bookmarklet that you drag to your bookmarks bar and the rest is magic. You will all be familiar with different areas of the curriculum and could find videos specific to your courses and then pin them to boards you create.

We will end up with a smashing resource

This would really help the site as a whole, as we would end up covering loads of topics and have a massive collection of web content that has been gathered and curated by teachers who know what they want for learning in Scottish classrooms.

It is really quite easy!

We promise you it is easy to do and, though we are hoping to knock a video together to demo it as well, we are confident you will manage. You can sign-up with Facebook and Twitter or email and then you will be able to add boards, drag that wee share button to your bookmarks bar and start pinning to your boards.

What sort of things should we pin?

We need Primary and early years stuff, especially, mainly because we have added a lot of secondary content so far, but basically any video (You Tube and Vimeo) or image from a website can be added. Though it is only images from websites, the images then take you to the website when you click on them so it is a handy way to save websites for later use and organise them under topics.

How might teachers use the site?

Well, we imagine a primary teacher planning to teach the second world war as a topic. She would be able to gather images from all over the web and pin them to a board she creates called WW2 or something.

There are bound to be videos and images galore for that and the end result would be a smashing collection that displays beautifully and is there for the next time she teaches it. Pupils can use the board for homework and they can sign up to add stuff they collect on the topic.

A great way to share pupils’ creativity

Pupils could also create their own images and videos to demonstrate their learning and then pin them to the very same topic board afterwards. How awesome would that be? There’s even a built in comment and rating system for collaboration and feedback.

The boards are also public, so they can be viewed by everyone else as well, even users who just want to look at the site content and not actually create boards of their own or add any pins. Space? Vikings? Victorians? Any topic/area of the curriculum can be a board. You just choose a grouping for your content and then add pins to it from all over the web.

FAQs?

Why not just use Pinterest?

Well because it is too busy with other content in broad categories and doesn’t focus on the curriculum. Learning would get lost and browsing Pinterest would have everyone distracted by all its mass of other content.

Why not just use Glow?

Have you ever tried to add a video to Glow? It is far from easy. This is not replacing Glow either. This is a resource. Glow provides tools.

Why do we need this site?

Because the future is visual. Videos and images have to be the future of learning content because of the move towards mobile devices. Most people now browse the web from mobile devices, rather than desktops. Text does not work so well on mobile devices so information has become visual.

What if a teacher wants to add a Powerpoint?

We would like to add this functionality but, for the moment, the site only supports videos and images. However, you could change it into a video and add it to You Tube or add the separate slides as images.

What if someone includes something rubbish?

We have added a ratings system to the site so that users will be able to rate every pin and add comments to correct misinformation or respond to the resource. Popular content will then display first.

Give it a go

BYOD, iPads, news/updates

iPad Scotland Evaluation Study

January 15, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

During 2012, Scottish Government commissioned the University of Hull to evaluate the impact of iPads on learning. The research was undertaken with several schools across Scotland via a number of iPad pilots.

The headlines findings from the study show that:

The ownership of a personal mobile device, like the iPad, facilitates many of the pedagogical aspirations set out in Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence framework.
The adoption of mobile technologies on a personal basis significantly increases access to technology for students, both inside and beyond school, with many attendant benefits for learning which include greater motivation, engagement, parental involvement, and understanding of complex ideas.
Personal ‘ownership’ of the device is seen as the single most important factor for successful use of this technology
Teachers are equally engaged by the use of a device like the iPad which has a low learning curve enabling them to use it immediately as a teaching tool and a learning tool for themselves
The use of the device is contributing to significant changes in the way teachers approach their professional role as educators and is changing the way they see themselves and their pedagogy:
Parents also appear to become more engaged with the school and their child’s learning when the iPad travels home with the student

The file below is hosted in Dropbox, which is currently blocked by Perth and Kinross web filters. The file itself is too big to add to our site and Our Cloud is working to get these blocks to popular cloud storage such as Dropbox removed. For the moment, please download the file from home/mobile device and bear with us.

Employability, Learn to code, news/updates, Online Courses, Why go digital?

Skills warning as IT employment booms

January 15, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

ICT Employment is booming and our young people do not have the skills to fill these positions.

It is reports like the ones below that are fuelling our drive to meet the needs of our young people by offering a more flexible approach to the senior phase that allows for study of non-traditional qualifications, particularly in coding/programming for web, app and games development.

ICT jobs are booming

Our world has changed so much as a result of digital technologies and the web that it stands to reason that the jobs associated with keeping that world going will require a new level of technical skill that is in keeping with the advancements.The big tech companies do not have enough coders/programmers to meet their needs and we are finding ourselves in the unusual position of having a boom industry that cannot find people to fill the hundreds of thousands of jobs out there.

Education has to meet this need

There is a lot about present curricular content in ICT that hasn’t quite kept pace with changes in the rest of the world. Our current curricular courses simply do not meet the needs of the sector in terms of providing skills that are required. And they are required now.

Perth and Kinross is launching a number of online courses for session 2013/14 and more details on this initiative are coming very soon, in time for course choice selections.

We are working with a number of partners to offer relevant and flexible courses that could allow enthusiastic learners to gain skills that would propel them into further study in coding/programming or offer them the skills to get a job straight from school in a sector that is crying out for them. The courses will focus on skills in areas like: Jquery, javascript, Python, Ruby, CSS and many can be undertaken by complete beginners.

Fancy launching your own startup?

Remember that the big success stories of recent years were launched by young people from bedrooms. Facebook, Reddit, we can all recall examples of passionate young coders who had the creativity and skills to change the world. Our courses will give students the know-how to create a mobile app if they so desire. Examples of previous students in one course saw a young man with no previous coding experience go on to launch a fitness App that sold 130,000 downloads in a a few months.

Here’s why we need to do this:

Via:

The IT and telecoms industry requires 129,000 recruits a year to fill the positions needed to fill vacancies and take the roles of departing staff.

Without the next generation of software experts, and strategy and planning professionals coming through the implications for one of the UK’s main growth areas could be severe, according to e-skills UK.

The latest Technology Insights research indicates that IT employment over the next eight years is forecast to grow at almost twice the UK average and the level of ICT vacancies is on the rise.

The number of advertised jobs hit a low point of 82,000 a quarter in 2009 but by last year was already back up to 116,000, with the skills most in demand being around SQL, C, C#, .NET and Java.

The report described the importance of the IT and telecoms sector not just for its current contribution to the UK economy but also to ensure future competitiveness.

“Today, the IT & Telecoms industry accounts for 8% (£75 billion) of the UK’s total Gross Value Added (GVA). In addition, the previously un-assessed economic contribution of the internet is now said to be worth an estimated £100 billion to the UK economy,” the report stated.

“The ICT supply chain, as a sector in its own right, clearly offers the UK continued economic opportunities, but perhaps of equal if not greater significance are the potential opportunities across the rest of the economy resulting from businesses in all sectors of the economy maximising their use of ICT, broadband and internet access,” it added.

Recent research by MicroScope also revealed that recruiting skilled staff was one of the channel’s top concerns, an issue that is also impacting vendors and distributors as well as resellers.

Karen Price, CEO of e-skills UK, said that the IT and telecoms sectors were vital to the economy now and in the future.

“With IT employment set to grow at such a pace, it is vital that we continue to invest in the skills of those working in technology, and create new routes for young people to enter exciting and challenging careers in the industry,” she said.

And there is this article, which elaborates on the growth in the ICT sector:

Via http://www.computerweekly.com

How clear can it be? We need to upskill our young people

The employment of IT professionals will grow twice as fast as the average across sectors up to 2020 with 129,000 new recruits needed every year to meet demand for IT and telecoms workers.

Research from e-Skills UK found that last year there were over 116,000 jobs advertised every quarter compared to 82,000 every quarter in 2009.

The latest Technology Insights research report from e-Skills revealed that the highest levels of employment growth are in areas such as software professionals, IT managers, and IT strategy and planning professionals.

Development, design and support roles are those most advertised, and the most common technical skills requirements are SQL, C, C#, .Net and Java, according to the findings.

“Technology Insights 2012 shows how important IT and telecoms is to the competitiveness and economic growth of the UK,” said Karen Price, CEO of e-Skills UK.

Skills in the web, mobile and social networking sectors continue to be in demand despite the economic slowdown in recent years. Figures from a European Commission report expect the UK will have a shortage of 100,000 people to fill IT jobs in the next few years. In Europe, including the UK, the skills shortage is expected to reach 700,000.

Recruitment company JM Group recently said IT contractors with digital skills can earn £500 per day as the expected shortage of IT professionals with the right digital skills begins to unfold and demand continues to increase.

news/updates

Our Cloud is on You Tube

January 8, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

Our Cloud will be making considerable use of video support.

This really is the only sustainable option going forward and it will not be possible to achieve what we want to this year, unless support and training is delivered, predominantly, online.

To that end, we have set up a You Tube channel and hope to pack it full of helpful videos to support digital technologies in our schools.

There are a few there already to get started and we hope that it will grow considerably in the coming months.

space

What if we cannot access You Tube in school?

All secondary schools should have access to You Tube now. This change was actioned recently. For primaries, the situation is more complex, as you will appreciate the need to protect younger pupils from some content. The PKC Our Cloud channel has been unblocked for all primaries, so you should be able to access all of our own content. If primaries wish to have You Tube unblocked fully, Head teachers must make this request and complete the necessary paperwork. This can be done and will be done via ICT support should you request it.

So even primaries can get You Tube if they want it?

Yes! Just complete the forms and ICT support will make it happen.

BYOD, news/updates

BYOD

January 7, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

Want to use your iPad in the classroom? We are getting there…

Perth and Kinross is making major inroads into the whole BYOD agenda. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) refers to people using their own ‘devices’ (iPads and tablets/ smartphones/ laptops) to access the internet at work or school where, typically, this would not have been possible before.

So what are we doing about it?

Well, we are very busy taking this forward. At the moment, we are running pilots at Strathearn campus in Crieff and Fairview school in Perth. The pilot is going well and we hope to have finished the pilot by the end of February. We are also going to be running a pilot with a primary and early years focus at North Inch Community Campus.

So what happens after the pilots?

We are having lots of meetings with ICT people and are working on new policies that will allow us to roll out BYOD across the authority. We know that many of you will have received shiny new tablets for Christmas and we are working very hard to put the necessary legal protection in place to allow you to use these devices in school. We wish we could just make it happen today but there is a good bit of work to do to make this happen safely and effectively.

So will we see BYOD in 2013 in Perth and Kinross’ schools?

Yes! This is very much our intention and Our Cloud will keep you posted on developments and support schools and users as we begin to roll out policy across the authority.

Please add comments below to add your thoughts on BYOD

Collaborative tools, Cool stuff, Creative tools, Digital storytelling, Images, news/updates

Pinterest for learning and teaching

November 15, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

‘Curate’ the best bits of the web

Content curation is big news. There is simply too much information on the web and we need tools to break it down into manageable and useful chunks. Like a museum curator would collect the best pieces to show off in a collection, we are starting to want to do that with the information available on the web and Pinterest has certainly proved popular.

Pinterest has created a bit of a storm since it launched and has millions of enthusiastic users who like its simplicity in gathering nice images from all over the web and arranging them onto virtual boards.

In the Classroom?

We see great potential in using Pinterest in the classroom: to arrange images into topic boards, it has the potential to replace the topic box and gather together image links to content from all over the web into nicely-organised topics.

Getting started

Check out this video introduction to Pinterest for teachers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRPNEA3WhKA

news/updates

Ryder Cup Resource

October 26, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

Perth and Kinross Council is working with Stirling Council and the Scottish Government to develop a resource pack that will support the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles. The pack will be online and we are considering the development of a mobile app to support the resource.

More details coming soon, but it is hoped that the resource will be published in the first half of 2013, giving plenty of time for schools to plan for using it.

BYOD, Cool stuff, Employability, news/updates, Working with others

Digital Ninjas

October 2, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

What are these Ninjas all about then?

Digital Ninjas is a good idea. Well, we think so, anyway. Our ‘digital natives’ pupils have grown up with computers in a way that their teachers and parents did not. We all know of toddlers who can swipe a touch screen and select a smartphone/tablet picture, video or app. This techie stuff is so natural to our children and young people that it is not unusual to see a two year old swiping the TV screen in an attempt to reach additional content.

Teachers are busy

There aren’t many jobs where you have to meet with 30 clients at a time for a full day. Most jobs have some desk time and a chance to grab a coffee or a chat with a colleague. Teachers are busy. All of us at Our Cloud are, or have been teachers in the recent past. We know what it’s like to get new initiatives arriving at our CPD sessions week after week and feel unable to imagine having the time to begin most of them. CfE has brought its challenges and you are finally beginning to get your head round that and now you are expected to become a tech-geek IT whizz and transform all your Powerpoints into You Tube videos and screencasts…really?

Not just another initiative

The thing with digital and mobile technologies is that they aren’t just another shiny new concept that will disappear in a few months to be replaced by something even shinier. These devices are now so universally embedded in our daily lives that we cannot afford to ignore the benefits they can bring to school life. Think of the shopping you order and track online and the old friends you Skype and Facebook with. What about the homes you don’t have to trawl estate agent windows for because you can see them on S1 homes or Right Move and then look them up on Google maps? Or the dwindling bank balance that you can monitor via the bank’s mobile app? We could go on and on, couldn’t we?

So here’s the good idea

If we think of secondaries for now, we have 4th, 5th and 6th year pupils with a no fear attitude to, well, pretty much everything, but especially gadgets and computers. You will all know young people who run their own websites and can sort out most technical issues that happen with audio, video and computers with an ease that you marvel at. These young people are in all of our schools and they can help.

Scenario

Michael is in fifth year and studying Chemistry. He has a great relationship with his teacher, Mr McDonald and decides to become a Digital Ninja for Higher Chemistry working alongside Mr McDonald. Mr McDonald shares all his present course resources with Michael and gives guidance to and monitoring of all Michael does with the resources. Michael is studying the course anyway and works throughout the term to transform the paper resources, presentations and homework tasks into digital resources and courses fit for display on the very shiniest of tablets.

Mr McDonald gets so enthused by the way things are going that he allows Michael to use his smartphone in class to film experiments and upload them to the Our Cloud You Tube channel. Heck, Mr McDonald even finds himself recording audio podcasts onto his own smartphone instead of creating revision notes in Word for the upcoming exams.

The result?

If this comes off two things will happen. Firstly, Mr McDonald will have a fully-digital Chemistry course for next year’s classes (they might be doing different exams, right enough but the core stuff will be the same!) Secondly, and perhaps most exciting, Michael will have spent a lot of time focusing on his Chemistry course content and turning it into lessons for his peers’ revision and next year’s students. Imagine the deep learning that Michael will benefit from? We might just see an impact on attainment as well and Mr McDonald is bound to be convinced of the benefits. Next year, he will ‘flip’ his classroom and give core information as homework via You Tube video, allowing his class time to talk to students and guide and shape their learning.

Sounds like a good plan?

We will be in touch with schools soon to launch this project.
If you would like your PKC school to take part in our pilot, please get in touch via the comments filed here
We will start with secondaries and are looking into offering SQA qualifications in digital media to those who sign up.
We will need support from schools in monitoring progress but we will do our bit with that too.
We will try to get some useful devices in place for those who become Ninjas.
We aren’t promising iPads but we will see what we can do!
We will provide support and training to all Ninjas at the start of the project and will meet regularly via web conference
All Ninjas will receive recommendations via reference to add to their e-portfolio/ Linked-in profile and, ultimately, employability credentials

We want to make life easier and not more difficult. We are passionate in our belief that digital technologies will make a teacher’s professional life easier and can imagine a not too distant school day that might just involve chats with colleagues.