Category Archives: BYOD

BYOD, iPads, news/updates

iPad Scotland Evaluation Study

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.

BYOD, iPads

iPad apps for Primary

Leave a comment

Thanks to: http://www.educatorstechnology.com/

There is an app for everything these days. From health apps to travel apps, iTunes market is teeming with all kinds of apps. It only takes one click in a search engine to find what you want but as we always say not every app can do what its developers preach , you need to have a critical eye to evaluate the apps that will work for you.

As teachers and educators, we are in a constant search for apps to use with our students and this is why we need to make sure we have recourse to checklists such as this one whenever we are to recommend apps. Educational Technology and Mobile Learning has even made it way easier for teachers to pick the apps they want from some pre-made lists of apps organized according to each subject area. You can check them HERE.

In today’s post , we are providing you with a list of great games designed to improve your students critical thinking and creative powers.Check them out below and don’t forget to check the list we have posted before on iPad  Apps to Develop Kids Critical Thinking.

1- Feed the Head

” The iPad adaptation of our classic surrealist toy! Poke the Head. Prod the Head. Tug the Head… but most importantly, Feed the Head. Like a living cartoon, the Head will unfold and transform in surprising, startling, and hilarious ways.”

2-Where’s My Water

“Where’s My Water? is a challenging physics-based puzzler complete with vibrant graphics, intuitive controls, and a sensational soundtrack. To be successful, you need to be clever and keep an eye out for algae, toxic ooze, triggers, and traps. ”

3- RoomBreak

“Room Break is an adventure game about escaping.The purpose of this game is simple.

Users will be detained to certain places and situations and they need to open the door of each room and escape.”

4- Cross Fingers Fee

“Mobigame, the team behind the multiple award winning EDGE for iPhone and iPod touch, returns in full force with Cross Fingers, a unique game which challenges you to combine solid pieces in a gigantic tangram puzzle”

5- Doodle Fit

“The task in Doodle Fit is simple: fit the given sets of blocks into the given shapes. Drag the blocks into positions in search for the layout that covers the whole shape. A level is complete when all blocks have been used and there is no more space free in the shape..”

6- Jelly Car

“JellyCar is a driving/platforming game for both iPhone and iPod touch. The game is about driving a squishy car through squishy worlds, trying to reach the exit. JellyCar features soft body physics for all of the objects in the world. Also your car can transform for a limited time to aid progression through the level “

7- Geared for iPad

“Geared is a radically new and innovative puzzle game; a unique addition to its genre. The first and only Gear-based game with absolutely no snap-grid. Geared delivers complete and total freedom to the player, bestowing every puzzle with a near infinite array of choices. “

8- 7 Little Words

“7 Little Words is FUN, CHALLENGING, and EASY TO LEARN. We guarantee you’ve never played anything like it before. Give 7 Little Words a try today!”

BYOD, Creative tools, featured tiles, Why go digital?

Get started with iPads/tablets

Leave a comment

62 ways to use iPads in the classroom

This is a great slideshow presentation called ’62 ways to use ipads in the classroom’ Some super ideas to get started.  Embed wouldn’t work, so click the link to view:

http://www.slideshare.net/deang33/62-interesting-waystouseanipadinthecla

space

The iPad user guide

The offical Apple iPad manual might be worth taking a look at.

How to Geek’s Complete list of iPad tips

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/14529/the-complete-list-of-ipad-tips-tricks-and-tutorials/

space

space

And here’s a great video on a project in the US that found students making great use of iPads for a range of activities:

BYOD, news/updates

BYOD

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

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

Digital Ninjas

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.