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!