Collaboration – West Lothian Digital Learning Team

Robotics and STEM Education at Kirkhill Primary School

P5 pupils at Kirkhill Primary school have been working with First Step Robotics, to explore and develop their skills in STEM education, through the use of Lego Spike Robotics kits.

Pupils have been using problem solving and coding skills to build, test, code and trouble-shoot a range of robotic systems to solve real-world problems.

One example of this was building and coding a taxi to travel to different locations to collect passengers. This particular project involved including mathematical calculations to work out the distance the taxi had to travel.

“I like that we get to build creations and use our art skills.”

“I like robotics because I like programming. Programming is important in case you work in robotics in the future. Programming tells the robot what to do. It’s useful for later on in life for jobs.”

Pupils from Kirkhill PS and other local schools are showcasing some of their work at the First Step Robotics family open day on Saturday 21st June. Pupils and families across West Lothian are invited to come along, see some of the amazing projects and even have a go at some hands-on robotic challenges.

Celebrating Success with Seafield Primary

We are delighted to announce that Seafield Primary School have recently achieved their Digital Schools Award, recognising the dedication and innovative work of pupils, staff and the whole school community.

Pupils across the school use a range of digital devices to access digital tools and resources to support, enhance and share their learning, such as MS Learning Accelerators, online games for consolidation of learning, Seesaw for sharing, MS Teams for collaboration, Adobe Express for creativity and so much more.

The links below, showcase some of the fantastic ways Seafield staff and pupils have been using Digital Technology to support and enhance learning and teaching.

Digital technologies at seafield ps

Digital Award Application Sway

Accredited by Education Scotland, The Digital Schools Award Scotland is a national award to promote, recognise and encourage a whole school approach to the use of digital technology.

We know there are schools across West Lothian who are working towards their validation this session, so look out for more announcements soon!

Congratulations once again to Seafield PS! We can’t wait to see how you continue to use these skills.

Wildly Creative with Adobe Express and Five Sisters Zoo

Primary 6/7 pupils at Seafield Primary have been using their creativity skills and their new enthusiasm for Adobe Express, to create their entries for a competition with Five Sisters Zoo.

Their creations showcased their skills in using various creative elements, including images, videos, audio, voiceovers, background music, animations, and transitions. The result was a series of beautiful, professional-looking videos, about Red Pandas.

Adobe Express

Seafield PS have really enjoyed using Adobe Express to showcase learning across a range of topics in class, for individual projects and in champion roles across the school. Pupils have demonstrated dedication, enthusiasm, and incredible creativity in designing their projects. Staff have also praised the inclusivity Adobe Express offers, allowing pupils to participate in video creation without needing to be in front of the camera. We love seeing your fantastic creations—keep up the amazing work!

IoT in Schools – Data Literacy Project: Reflections from our Data Detectives

This week, pupils from Deans Primary and Boghall Primary presented their findings and reflections from their recent Internet of Things Data Literacy Project.

The project began a couple of months ago, with an introductory lesson delivered by Tommy Lawson from the University of Edinburgh, during which the pupils explored the sensors and the data collected from their learning environments. They then spent a few weeks using the sensors to help improve their learning environments, before presenting their findings.

Boghall Primary Update

Boghall pupils used the new Sound Sensors to explore the noise level in the hall over breakfast club and lunch times.

They are now planning on introducing music to the hall specifically during breakfast club, to see if it can help reduce the noise level. We wonder if different types of music will have a different effect?

Deans Primary Update

Deans pupils began by using the data to identify where the sensors are located.

” We were looking at the motion detector on one of the sensors, the motion was flat, so we thought it was in a cupboard but the light sensor was quite high. The light was mostly on at 7 and went off between half 8 or 9. We thought it might have been in the cleaners cupboard because it was on at different times from when we were in school.” – P7 Pupil

They have also been working with Cambridge University on a computing project, using the Microbits to create their own sensors, which they will then compare with the IoT sensors. We wonder if the data will be the same?

“The real challenge was trying to get the temperature to code, so if you put it in your hands it would heat up, and show the number, but it was quite tricky” – P7 Pupil

We are very impressed with the learning taking place with both of these schools, and we can’t wait to hear what else you find out from continuing this project. Well done all!

The Sky is the Limit with Adobe Express

Primary 7 at Southdale Primary School were recently visited by the Sky Up team as they explored the latest teacher-led resource from Sky Up – The Edit.

In the Fiction lessons, learners gain an understanding of the design process behind film trailers and an insight into the skills required to work in the TV, film and media industries. They work collaboratively to produce their own 30-second film trailer, unleashing their creativity and digital skills, with the help of Adobe Express.

A special event to showcase the final trailers will take place soon and we can’t wait to see them!

Sign up to Sky Up and register for The Edit to receive your free lesson guides and resources. Booking are also open to attend the Sky Up Academy Studios with your class.

Don’t forget that Adobe Express are also hosting Teacher Training and Live Lessons this term.

We went on an Elf Hunt… and over 4500 West Lothian students found them all!

We were delighted to continue our annual tradition of a live reading of a Christmas Story by Greg Welsh, Head of Education (Primary, Early Learning and Resources).

Over 200 teachers joined us on Microsoft Teams, from schools all over West Lothian, to hear We’re Going on an Elf Chase by Martha Mumford, followed by a chance to share some Christmas jokes.

Thank you to everybody who voted for the story and who joined us live.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Connecting Classrooms using Microsoft Teams

The Digital Learning Team recently visited Westfield Primary School to find out how they were using Microsoft Teams to enhance their curricular offerings for pupils across P3-7 in their school as well as those in Torphichen Primary School.

Connecting the two classrooms using Team’s conferencing capabilities offers learners a wider circle of peers to learn with and from, providing opportunities for cross-school peer assessment and collaboration.

Learners told us how they enjoyed sharing their learning with another school and that they found lessons were fun and engaging. Primary 7s also valued the opportunity to build relationships with each other ahead of moving on to secondary school next year.

Teachers have been using a range of digital tools, such as ActivInspire or Microsoft Whiteboard, to plan engaging learning experiences which are accessible and meet the needs of both in-person and remote learners.

In addition to the P3-7 offerings, a small group of P7 learners meet on Teams once a week to work together on Numeracy and Mathematics projects. They use a shared Microsoft Whiteboard to communicate their ideas, collaborate, solve problems and discuss their thinking.

One P7 learner shared that even when they decided to work independently for a while, everybody shared their working on the Whiteboard so that as a group they could collectively check each other’s answers. This ensured they were able to confidently move on to the next part together as a group.

P7s dive into Adobe Express at Pumpherston and Uphall Station Community Primary School

I can really see the potential for using this in class, it’s engaging all my learners in different ways.
P7 Teacher

Our Digital Pedagogy Officers were supporting at Pumpherston and Uphall Station Community Primary School this week, team teaching in P7.

The aims for the session were to:

Foster collaboration through digital tools and platforms
Enhance engagement using digital tools to present learning and information
Build confidence in using Adobe Express for creativity

The highlights of the session included:

Learners engaged and enthusiastic about using Adobe Express, and excited to discuss how else they can use it in the future to enhance learning.
Learners found the interface and usability easy to navigate, building confidence with ALL learners. Usually shy learners were excited to share their learning and the Adobe Express tools with their peers and teachers.
Learners were confidently exploring tools on their own, working out how to add animations to still images, and including buttons and links to their webpages.
Learners were excited to share their creations through Teams, and enjoyed exploring each others creations, providing feedback and next steps as ‘comments’ and ‘reactions’.

Webpage example 1

Webpage Example 2

Sparking Imagination with Adobe Express

This week, the Digital Learning Team worked with Seafield Primary in creatively enhancing learning and teaching using Adobe Express, following on from our staff input last week.

Some of the highlights from the day include:

Learners actively supporting each other to share tools, tips and ideas, such as removing backgrounds from images, or adding outlines to text to enhance the visibility.
Learners working collaboratively to create projects with real-life purposes. One fab example of this was some P7 pupils recording nursery rhymes, adding animations, sharing the video as a QR code and then creating a bright, attention-grabbing infographic to share the QR code.
Learners able to confidently articulate the purpose of learning and able to discuss the benefits of using Adobe Express.
Learners able to draw upon their previous knowledge and learning, to share detailed information, demonstrating their depth of understanding.

One class explored the video, animation and graphic features to share learning. They identified some key features of a successful and informative poster as needing bright, bold colours, large text, short statements, related images and animations or eye-catching features.

“I like making videos in Adobe Express, because it’s fun and interesting. It’s quicker to use, and more fun than PowerPoint, because there’s more things to learn, it’s newer, you can draw and add animations.”
P7 pupil

“I like when we could add my voice to my character”
P4 Pupil

Adobe Express is accessible through the tile on your school Glow launchpad.

Click here for more information.

Unleashing Creativity with Adobe Express

Recently, the Digital Learning Team joined Education Scotland on a visit to find out how schools were integrating Adobe Express into their classrooms. We found some very exciting lessons going on across P5-7 at Bankton Primary School in Livingston.

What made the lessons stand out was the seamless integration of digital tools that enhanced the high quality teaching and learning which was already going on in the classrooms.

Highlights included:

Each lesson featured clear learning intentions and success criteria.
The environment allowed for learners to collaborate, support, and share ideas freely.
The projects had a distinct purpose. Most learners articulated, in their own words, the reasons behind their video or poster creations and their intended audience. This understanding guided their choices of creative elements within Adobe Express, allowing for thoughtful and intentional design.
Learners drew upon their research and discussions from previous lessons, weaving this knowledge into their projects, which showcased not only their creativity but also their depth of understanding.

“I think Adobe Express is great because it helps you to create an image. You can choose what you want it to look like and you learn a lot. It’s fun making things and I like it. There’s still so much to learn on it. It’s easy to delete it if you don’t like parts of it. You use lots of creativity!”
P5B Learner

Adobe Express is accessible through the tile on your school Glow launchpad.

Click here for more information.