Day 47 - The Missing Link

It was very apt that today, being a leap year meant that we could experience a 29th February. A rare occasion that needs to be remembered and marked in some way. It certainly turned out to be an interesting day in the classroom, but also most notable because a solution for the 'missing link' within our community engagement with iPad was fulfilled. TrilbyTV.

TrilbyTV is a digital signage solution https://app.trilbytv.co.uk/public/view/EC433ADC-4A7B-4D18-8C5A-C61508E4FA80 that allows the teachers and more importantly the students to upload and share the work they have done in the classroom to the screens around the school. Celebrating good work but also raising the awareness of the endless creativity that goes on behind closed doors. Notwithstanding, raising self esteem and pride taken in the work as a contributory factor too in choosing to have a manageable and simple storage solution.

Day 1 of the trial - before embarking on the trial the SLT wanted to have some answers to three  crucial questions:

1) Would the management of the system be too cumbersome for the teachers?  Work/life balance is high on the agenda especially when taking on new initiatives contributes to a drip feed then flood of additional demands. 

It turns out it couldn't be easier! One person is allocated as administrator but teachers and students sign on effortlessly through a QR code link. Secondly, video created in the classroom can be uploaded from photos quickly with the tap of three icons and with adding some tags, that's it. Once the video is moderated (again this is a simple tap process) the video is playing on the screen in the foyer, library or classroom.

As the students can be shown how to add work, it gives the student a voice in determining whether their work is of high enough quality to be shown to the whole school community. Peer assessment follows close behind and opportunities to exploit the possibilities of evaluation and refining work done is endless.

2) Could the work be accessed by everyone including parents and governors (and dare I say inspectors?) 

Yes, yes and yes. Through simple tagging work can be allocated to one or multiple categories, so for example, Lime class, book reviews and library. Because the work is stored on the Trilby Cloud (based securely in the UK) the original copy is always accessible (so storage on the devices isn't a worry) and can be seen by using some very clever links in a web browser, embedded code in a blog or website or even as a scanable QR code.

3) Would the investment in the kit be too prohibitive to consider for a small school? 

TrilbyTV offered us a free months trial, but after the first twenty minutes we knew that this solution would give the school flexibility to tailor the use of the system to the needs of our learning community. Neil, demonstrated the features with ease and everything worked beautifully. He even offered a solution when we hit against wanting to display still images. Although the creation of a image streaming facility is under development by the boys (and girls) at Trilby HQ. In the meantime, a nifty little app called Replay  https://app.trilbytv.co.uk/public/view/EC433ADC-4A7B-4D18-8C5A-C61508E4FA80 

would enable portfolios of art work and images to be turned into a movie file stylishly. Having said that, a not inconsiderable slice of the budget will need to be allocated if the Trilby system was adopted. In terms of our children approximately £5 per year per child. 

So how can the Trilby TV enhance teaching and learning in the school. Some thoughts...

1) Celebrating the children's work in a safe, dynamic but relevant way
2) Time saved by TA's putting up static displays when QRcodes can be incorporated to make the work come alive! Work is displayed in real time ever changing reflecting the varied curriculum.
3) Work done in Book Creator can be exported as a movie file and so can easily be added to the video stream. Digital portfolios can be built or children's work given a real audience.
4) Endless possibilities for sharing the work with parents', governors' and the wider community.
5) The pride of seeing self authored work on the screen is highly motivating. Sending the message that quality work gets noticed... every child can achieve excellence.
6)  Learning at our school is fun and rewarding. Students become more confident learners.
7) Teaching at our school is creative and challenging. Everyone has the opportunity to achieve.
8) Responsible learners are encouraged as acceptance and inclusion in the variety of work that is displayed mirrors the aims of the school. Individuality is recognised.
9) The work is seen, heard and listened to - with honesty and respect.
10) Everyone's work is celebrated and if mistakes are identified they are learnt from.

So many compelling reasons. So, let the uploads commence!

Day 46 - Sharing success...connected, collaborative and creativelearners

HIt is sometimes the atmosphere in a school that makes the place special. The intangible sense of belonging and striving for a common purpose. The harmony that is created from cooperation and a collective philosophy shared amongst both staff, pupils and parents. Today's digital work typified this relationship, giving me the realisation that the layers of skills are building to provide the students with a flexible and creative way to learn and show their understanding.

How were the students & teachers  (& parents' ) connected, collaborative and creative learners
Firstly Showbie contained the basic scaffolded resources. This was for teachers too as this app allows the teacher the freedom to tailor the resources to the needs of their pupils.

1) Year 3&4. Book Creator - was the vehicle that was chosen to showcase the layers of learning. Shared and opened in Book creator allowed every child the chance to get started and frame their understanding of the task.

2) Padlet - https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/padlet/id834618886?mt=8 gave the class the opportunity to 'magpie' their ideas and support all learners.  This was used so that the class worked on a joint document at the same time and enjoyed the thrill that their contribution was as valued as their peer.

3) Green Screen by Do Ink - https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/green-screen-by-do-ink/id730091131?mt=8 The children were paired with their learning partner to film themselves walking a tightrope.
The video was either shared back to Showbie or using Airdrop shared with others in the class.
Further, the classes compilation of work was added to a shared album in created photos which was then shown using Apple TV during parents evening on the big screen in the hall. The slideshow function in albums made the work look special by adding an effect and background music. This was also shared on the screens in the library and in the reception area to celebrate the learning throughout the school.

4) Collaboration between pupils' was seen during the Year 1&2 session using the green screen when some Year 5 & 6 pupils were associate cameramen allowing their skills to be consolidated.

5) Staff continue to share resources through iTunes U or Showbie  providing the foil for confident learning both in terms of digital competency and open-mindedness to trying new tasks. Pedagogy is challenged and as a result refined.

6) Year 1 Students worked using Adobe Voice - https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/adobe-voice-show-your-story/id852555131?mt=8  collaborating with their class mates to form the outline and structure of their recount text, then using the app retell the story in a series of voice overs with images taken from the original plans. Finally the final work was shared with the Year 6 pupils using the Apple TV.

Wherever the students were working today, connections were being made through guided discovery where creativity was celebrated through the collaboration that has been forged between the school community. Reinforcing that the two schools previously existing on two separate sites are becoming one school, strong and confident.

Day 45 - Control Freak

How restricting is a curriculum? Historically in determining a curriculum, whether a National or individualised specification, decisions are made about the relevance of what is studied. Tradition and political persuasion would have been the main deciding factors, taken by someone in authority or at least with a powerful voice. It's amazing to think that in our current society there is so much to understand but who is to say what's more important to know... what about the plethora of information that isn't even mentioned? No wonder teachers can be such control freaks, especially in our world of information overload. Knowledge can be accessed via Google or we are bombarded through tapping into the internet in some form.

So this week, the teachers have been asked to plan activities that are inspired by a single book. The  whole school is using 'Man who walked between Two Towers' by Mordecai Gerstein. Although it recounts the events of 1974, it is so modern and relevant to today. So the doors of creativity have been unleashed and the learning has only been restricted by the possibilities and opportunities offered.

Before half term, the teachers attended an Inset day where they were introduced to Adobe voice, Yak-it and the green screen. The day was spent preparing resources using the apps so that using the app with the children would be more familiar. The sense of achievement for the staff was palpable. This enthusiasm and confidence has been reflected in the classroom, opening up the possibility to approach the usual in a different way.

An iTunes U course was created and the staff added as collaborators so that the diversity of resources appropriate for different age groups could easily be accessed and shared to enrich the experience for all the students.

Before embarking on any of the plans it was important to assess whether access to the right tools would support a fully active class. There's nothing more disappointing when the excitement is built only to wait in line! So, as a precaution and also for sensible budget a wall was painted green to provide a great space to interact with.

I used Dulux -Puppet which is readily available on the custom made paint mixing station. It is a fraction of the cost of the pop up green screen that is perfect when mobility is important.


So what have I used in the classroom today?  Working with Y3-Y6 

1) Green screen to recreate their own tight rope walking experience!

The results were really effective and will be the starter for some creative diary writing tasks. 

2) Adobe Voice was used to recreate a task that explains the active and passive voice in a sentence. This difficult task was made achievable as it was first scaffolded with an example made by the classes teaching assistant. Then working in pairs from the examples given in Showbie, the focus was on the skill of explanation and the degree of clarity and understanding reached was obvious. Working in partnership with a learning partner was the icing on the cake! 

3) Hopscotch - the challenge for the students was to write the code for a game that was based on the book. Most Incorporated two buildings and a character walking a tight rope. The various hurdles and obstacles to conquer included the wins, seagulls and the police! 

4) Finally, as the week is off timetable, the students are all collating their own digital exercise book. The book was first sent via Showbie as a template, then opened iin Book Creator so that all the tasks can be added to the pages to personalise the book. The three tasks all needed be completed in the time allocated. 

The amazing confidence and skill demonstrated by the pupils did not come as a surprise to me as I had been building their digital skills and knowledge, but it certainly shocked the pupils. They could identify clearly the progress that they have made but as a bonus they said that they had so much fun, so in fact any curriculum isn't restrictive when a mobile device is allowed to transform the way and approach to learning. So being a control freak can sometime pay dividends! 

Day 44 - Unrestricted learning.

I hate technology! It can be so frustrating when the work that is planned doesn't quite stream seamlessly or occasionally drops off the Apple TV. Thankfully, these are rare now with infrastructure that is up to the demands of the users. Conversely, technology is the reason that a great many students are able to achieve more than they thought possible...it seems at times the skills align and the work that is produced is transformational. This can come as a surprise to the students especially when the task was perceived as 'easy'!

I know, as a professional,  that this is a result of appropriately scaffolded work that allows the students to build their confidence over time and experience the right amount of challenge along the way so they get to the stage that, like driving a car, actions are second nature, as easy as breathing...

What did I use in the classroom today? (apart from Showbie to resource and assess the work)

1) Explain Everything - to complete a self guided tutorial on how to divide fractions. The idea of division and fractions can strike fear into the most happy go lucky student. So it is an excellent opportunity to consolidate understanding. Research proves that by verbalising maths, students make stronger connections and gain a deeper understanding. By talking through the process the brain recalls the work more freely. So, having completed the class practice, opened from Showbie their examples directly into Explain Everything, it was a case of a quick voice over with their chosen pointer to accentuate the key skill of using the inverse operation. The gentle pressure of having to put the thought process into their own words can make such a transformation in understanding.

2) Explain Everything, iMovie and Yak-it was also used to add a professional touch to a Safer Internet Day promotional video. The initial introduction of the movie was made to look a cut above the usual by videoing  the writing of the title onto a plain black background and then once saved in Photos could be dropped into the start of the iMovie at the editing stage.

3) Keynote & Book Creator - comic book competition (2)  it's important that the work completed on iPad is held up to scrutiny and quality work must be produced. It is the most important aspect of the work. Today, the comic book creation was made professional and taken to a higher level using the skills in Keynote. Previously, the students have been shown instant alpha. This was a skill that they needed to make their work look excellent; professional.

The first attempt saw an image searched from safer edited closely, using the editing tools in photos, but it left a square border around the character. By importing the original image onto a black slide in Keynote and using instant alpha, the edges are reduced to the character itself, layered with the background, again in Keynote and finally brought to the front, the overall effect was enhanced and transformed to the level of a digital artist...this discovery was shared with the class using Apple TV so that others could appreciate the difference in the final comic. The students appreciated that there was a obvious difference between the two and wanted to emulate the modelled comic. I can't wait to see the end result.





4) Hopscotch - the task was open ended and unrestricted.

This interactive computer screen that when touched flashes up the advice for keeping safe online made in Hopscotch

iMovie and Hopscotch combined to make a useful and informative movie to promote online etiquette.

Positive ways to make a personal statement on the characteristics of a responsible global citizen using wordfoto

Day 43 - Expert Learners?

When do skills become knowledge and when does knowledge transfer to mastery of a skill?

This dilemma is one faced by teachers day in day out. The spiral curriculum and rate of children's development affect the mastery of skills. At least that's what i say to reassure myself when year 4 can't easily recall fractions! When can you truly say that a child has mastered a skill...as a believer in life long learning, I would say you never truly master any skill, you refine and build on your experiences to make what ever you are doing the best it can be at that moment in time. Or else how would I have been able to begin to 'master' integration of the iPad into the curriculum? It's a journey of discovery that leads ultimately to a stage where you can satisfactorily contribute. I digress...

What have I used in the classroom today apart from Showbie to share and mark resources?

1) Book Creator: particularly for ease of the voice capture feature. 

Today in the classroom, I have worked with Y1 through to Y4 students. The lower KS2 students were focusing on comprehension skills. Not surprisingly, back in September, they were lacking the skills to complete a text based comprehension. Since then, I have feed them a varied diet of comprehension skills. Identification of key words, being able to sequence a series of pictures after reading a text, finding the odd one out, recording the work as a mind map and today recording their answers in an interview scenario. The key here is to identify the skills like pieces of a  jigsaw. Eventually,  the students piece together each skill and see the whole picture. Mastery is close by... marking the work produced today, it was evident that the students had progressed.



2) Adobe Voice - Capturing the knowledge of individuals understanding of a class project.

Year 1 made a group animation on their current 'Wheels' project. We gathered the vocabulary even coping with an amphibious vehicle! This was animated with the students independently working on choosing the appropriate icon from the wordbook. I then modelled how to use the Adobe voice app and they were off...25 minutes later they had a animation that they shared with reception. Bursting with pride!

Year 1 & 2 collaborated on a similar project but this was based on George Stephenson. The animation was arranged choosing icons and text to show their understanding. Demonstrating that the students had really taken on board the finer details of their project.

Year 1 & 2 Students working together to build their own animation on George Stephenson. 

The lesson for me was that in order for the students to become informed digital citizens, those who possess the skills to communicate, collaborate and confidently show their understanding. Skills need to be presented to them almost like pieces of a dismantled jigsaw puzzle, so that when the individual has matured, practised the skills, seen the relevance of using the skill and been given plenty of opportunities of experiencing the skill. It will, one day, perfectly slot together and reveal a complete picture.

That is the day that makes teachers continue in the profession, as it makes everything worth while...

Day 42- Bare Bones

Drafting is defined as a preliminary version of a piece of writing...discovering the bare bones or essence of a genre of writing. This all sounds quite romantic and high brow, to an adult perhaps. As for those who enjoy using language, the word 'draft' still has connotations of giving the writer the freedom to try out ideas, to experiment and be creative!

However,  to a Year 5 or 6 student, drafting means a waste of time. It's the time spent before getting down to the actual task. Why should you spend time having ideas only to dismiss them later in the process? That's just daft.

Today, with all the Key Stage 2 students the tasks I set had refining ideas as a central learning object. This wasn't always immediately evident to the students as in order to be successful the students needed to use prior knowledge, refine ideas, collaborate and get feedback from their peers and be disciplined enough to go with an idea that may not have been their first choice. This process ultimately produces a more robust end task as a result. The students just thought that I was holding them back before doing the 'real task.'

After a class visit to Butser Farm; an iron age re-enactment village the children had experienced first hand the way of life for our ancestors living at this time. Previously in English and as part of the computing curriculum, these students had been working on designing and writing an advert. The advert creation focused on the skill of writing, persuasion and the spoken word.

What did I use in the classroom today? 

1) Teleprompter - https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/teleprompter-pro-lite/id578104295?mt=8

The self chosen groups were tasked with making a TV advert to promote a Bronze age artefact of their choice. The teleprompter would form a layer of resource that will enable the advert to be filmed with a professional edge. The ability for the students to add in their persuasive devices, like exaggeration and alteration was proof that the previous literacy skills lesson had sunk in!

2) Safari - images from Butser were chosen for the background of the advert. These images are copyright proof as they come from first hand sources. The children were shown how to carry out a safe search to ensure the image they chose was able to be shared legally.

3) Green Screen - Do Ink https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/green-screen-by-do-ink/id730091131?mt=8 The fun and easy to use app allows the transformation of the built in iPad camera to become a magical transportation to a new world...any place. The first experience of this is truly a wow moment!  when the camera , on video function, is turned to something green, the image chosen is superimposed on the area - eat your heart out Harry Potter!

4) Book Creator Competition to make a comic
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/book-creator-free-make-books/id661166101?mt=8

Year 5 & 6's previous work on comic book features are being brought together and refined into the creation of a single comic strip. Today, the students worked with all media to trial and experience with ideas. Collage, pencil drawings and Lego comic creator all enabled the students to begin to piece together their entry for the competition.  Deadline March 31st, 2016. soon we'll explore graphic design on iPad, but one step at a time! the drafting stage is the play that is essential for the connections to be made and experience to inform decisions.