Day 53 - Connected Learning

Today, the students were the teachers.

The oldest pupils in the school were assigned to creating their own version of a tutorial in Scratchjr to enable the less experienced KS2 pupils to gain confidence in using the code blocks. The task was simple, but the outcomes varied and ambitious.

Having been given an exemplar of a voiceless video which clearly showed the series of taps necessary to make a simple scenario. Our pupils were inspired to push the boundaries and layer the complexity of their presentation whilst maintaining the clarity and simplicity required.

The tutorials all underwent scrutiny and peer moderation, pre tested for accuracy and clarity. The tutorials were a mixture of Adobe Voice, iMovie and Replay. Each being chosen for the additional features of marking up, ability to add a voice over or editing which ensured a slower pace. These video tutorials were added to Trilby TV and shown on the sharing screens around the school. This added to the impact of the message and raised the status of their work.

It's important that the skill of clear communication isn't underestimated as the success of any task is to be able to connect with the audience/learner effectively. 

The feedback from the students about their new teachers was resoundingly complementary. Many scoring 10:10 for their teaching abilities. 

The next stage of this sharing is to allow the younger students time to perfect their skills and then allow them to become the teachers of the coding knowledge to the keen beans of key stage 1. With the work uploaded to Showbie it was evident that the students are experts in their field. 

What did I use in the classroom today? 

1) Year 3&4 benefitted from their coding experience but they also were able to consolidate their data handling skills using tables in numbers to determine the identity of small mammals. Having used precision measuring and understood intervals they correctly assigned the correct name to the rodents  from given information 

2) Showbie - digital portfolio creation. A nifty feature of Showbie is the teachers ability to assign excellent work or tasks that show progress to be quickly assigned into the students digital portfolio. The feedback that is given is recorded and stands alongside therefore. This provides a full picture of the students ability to understand. The students were asked to select pieces of work that they themselves believed showed their skills to the best effect. A uplifting experience when a student realises just how much progress they have made! 

3) Working with year 1 today was a chance for them to demonstrate their skills in programming. In order to write programs one needs to recognise that  instructions are at the heart of the process. Algorithms that allow a computer to act in an expected way , predicting the behaviourvif simple programs. for example when playing a game. This was demonstrated clearly to them using a link from BBC Bitesize computing the students accessed their link via a bespoke course iTunes U and sent a screen shot of their success back into Showbie. 

4) Finally, with year 1&2 the usefulness of time lapse was demonstrated by quietly planting an iPad in the room to capture the previous lesson. The thirty minute footage played back in under 1:30mins having been edited in iMovie allowed the class the opportunity to see their (exemplary) behaviour in a busy classroom...until the device was discovered! 

After discussing how time lapse could work and it's uses, the students were asked to pair up and experiment with time lapse whilst drawing a picture. Refining and improving their skills of camera work as they progressed. The first attempts will be used as the spring board for a project after Easter. 

Day 52 - Calm

Year 5&6 are an enthusiastic bunch and work in a flurry of noise and excitement. Today however, it was calm.

Making the most of the circumstance I was keen to exploit the environment to push the usage of iPad as a tool to evaluate and refine learning. Making the tasks done on iPad as the centre to the learning sandwich rather than the tray of fancies at the end...The tasks planned centred on maths investigations which were mini assessments of prior learnt topics, disguised as a murder mystery.

The work was scaffolded and distributed through Showbie  split into smaller tasks to ensure the skill of deduction and evaluation of the task would be emphasised.

What have I used in the classroom today? 

1) Showbie, mark up tools available in the pro version which allows the pupils to annotate their work to show understanding.

2) Camera - to take screen shots of their maths work from their exercise books.

3) Scratchjr - The tutorials that were made by the pupils to guide their younger peers in this new coding app were made in a variety of video apps.
- iMovie to allow screen shots of the steps of the coding sequence to added to with a voice over, text titles and the visual speed manipulated to ensure understanding.
-Replay screen shot images sequenced with additional titles to add an extra layer of understanding.
- Adobe Voice the simple and effective communication of edited screen shots with added voice overs.



All of the above apps are able to shared to photos and therefore the final stage of sharing back to Showbie is easy and seamless.

4) Numbers  - measurement assessment for Year 3&4 to assess their accuracy in measuring to the nearest mmm and combine their data handling skills of reading a table to illicit the correct information form a set of intervals.

In the classroom and after school at a staff meeting...


5) Trilby TV - Student ambassadors are a necessary part of any student engagement programme as it is the way that students can share their video captured in the classroom directly from the classroom to the digital signage around the school The motivation and self esteem gained by seeing their work on the main screens gives them additional boost as a different audience begin to assess their and they understanding. This gives the student the added impetuous of ensuring their work is of the highest quality. A worthy and meaningful motivation.


As the staff were signed on to Trilby TV easily with a QR Code link which enabled them to swiftly begin to engage with the sharing of the work going on in the classroom. The Easter egg hunt images made a quick and easy Repaly movie clip to ensure everyone can relive the seasonal events. Gardening club images also had the replay make over which was a wonderful example of what is possible in a very short time.

A bonus of shared links to public sites means that the QR generator frees up the teachers from additional steps of generating a separate QR code which can be used to make displays interactive or books come alive! Again the staff's renewed motivation to embrace and include mobile technology into the classroom is refreshed.

All in all this made today a very productive day of learning, deepening the engagement levels with the learning but in a calm and very effective way.

Day 51 - Quality

Learning objectives are specific and focus the mind whilst channelling the learning environment to ensure an aim is achievable. Is it important to always 'purposefully lead' the learner in the correct direction with appropriate resources, tools and presentation ideas? What happens if interpretation gets in the way? Who is to say taking a longer route to the end product isn't valid? Or is that just creativity? Usually time limits imposed by timetables takes care of the latter, but it is when understanding is shown in unexpected ways that I believe deeper learning takes place.

When a digital strategy is being introduced into a new environment or even when ideas are being refreshed a certain amount of follow my leader activities are used to give a flavour of the possibilities. This is true for both staff and pupils. However, transforming a learning environment into an autonomous decision making process; creativity and skills need to combine to allow learners to express themselves. Quality work that has grown and developed through refining and evaluating ideas, checking that the presentation is appropriate and communicates meaning clearly. This stage cannot be under estimated as it is through evaluation and timely but critical feedback that development happens.

What have I used in the classroom today? 

1) Numbers - Year 3/4 handling data task to interpret data. Taking the 24hour clock and combining graphical representations the task was to tally up one day's activity into hours which when added to a template table, set up with a formula to calculate a total, gave a picture of a whole day. Even with discussions on how many hours make a day, some pupils had forgotten that they only had 24 hours to work with! This demonstrates to me that understanding was lost, for some pupils, through using the technology. Or that this misunderstanding was intact highlighted through the error. Making it important that any feedback for these pupils focused on the mathematical knowledge.



2) I can Animate (Lite) https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/i-can-animate-lite/id950631539?mt=8 - in this activity I wanted to show that an activity is a culmination of steps. So building up the keywords as the volcano vocabulary was added to a cross section. The important part was the LO: recognising the vocabulary associated with a volcano but also the capturing of the steps. Through stop frame animation these steps can be captured and replayed as a mini movie clip which illustrates the layering of ideas. This was shared to photos and finally added back to the appropriate file in Showbie for assessment.

3) Skitch - Y5/6 were hunting out the features of persuasive devices in a promotional leaflet. So from the authentic text examples given the hunt was on to pinpoint and highlight the features. Annotating and drawing attention to the exact word formation and construction of the language was all important. This called for an app that would capture the text and easily add a note or caption for additional emphasis. I choose to introduce Skitch although other pdf annotation apps can do the same job. https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/skitch-snap.-mark-up.-send./id490505997?mt=8 What interested me was the just how difficult the pupils found it to identify the exact words and not to generalise too widely. The precise nature of the task made the learners focus and discount unnecessary information. A skill that is worthy in itself as a discerning digital citizen, being able to sift out extraneous text and images to clearly see meaning. The pursuit of quality is multi faceted and complex.

Day 50 - Learning walk

The days spent teaching are amongst the most incredibly satisfying and rewarding times of my life. I am constantly amazed and humbled by the students ability to be enthusiastic and my colleagues to be ready to go the extra mile to ensure the children in their class are cared for. Teaching is a vocation and you have to give yourself completely to ensuring the students have the pastoral, social and intellectual fuel that they need to participate positively within the learning community. After listening to a senior teacher dealing with a disciplinary issue, I was impressed with the sensitivity that the issue was dealt with. This particular teacher knew the children and empathised with their plight but also managed to tread the line between being a disciplinarian and mentor.

This got me thinking, when do we get feedback as learners? When is this feedback relevant and when is the feedback the catalyst for refining practice? On my fiftieth day at school, it is interesting to take the time to see how much change has happened in the pedagogical practices and whether there is any evidence to support a shift towards a transformed way of learning using iPad.  

What did I use in the classroom today? 

1) Showbie - remains my number one app for sharing, collecting and assessing the whole range of resources and types of work. 

2) Top Trumpit - usually I shun these specific and limiting apps, as I believe that creativity is stifled by the restrictive way some apps are set up However, in this case the app was perfect as it was the very narrow way that volcano data was handled. It also enabled the less able readers to access the facts without being held back by the language. Each card was saved into the photos which was accessed in...

3) Pages - The trump cards were added to a single document that could then be collated  and air printed direct from iPad to the photocopier so that the sets could be played between friends, this feedback made the difference as the individual task became a shared experience. 

4) Numbers - the volcano facts were a rich source of numbers to crunch using the data handling capacity of numbers. The students were asked to convert the various heights, eruption rates and dates into graphs. Making interpretation easier and the quality of the talk surrounding the graphs raised to a different level. 

5) Green Screen  - a group of students who for various reasons found communicating using text difficult, this restriction is removed when they are able to express their understanding using visual techniques. The volcanic facts were spoken in front of the green screen which changed to the specific volcano being explained. The teamwork to film, set up the film and be the talking head took real understanding and the comprehension levels from this group was as high as the rest of the written text based assignments. Finally the four clips were edited together in iMovie.  After subtitles and editing the sound levels the finished video was shared on the classroom screen via airplay and simultaneously uploaded to Trilby Tv to share with the whole community in the library. 

Year 1 have been working independently in their classroom with their teacher to show their understanding by using words, pictures and sounds. Its the way they decide to put their knowledge forward that counts. The decision making process of what to include and what to leave out gives endless possibilities as a confident communicator. So, to continue this theme of arranging text and images, we used an app that allowed the images in their photos to be reworked and made into a short recap of their learning process. Revisiting learning opportunities and consolidating understanding through recounting an experience. 

 6) Replay - five photos selected and annotated to give a snapshot of the 'best bits' of the term so far! 

Learning walks ( literally walking through the classrooms to see what's actually going on at a specific time)  are effective ways to get a snap shot of whats happening in the classroom. A quick thermometer of how the learning is progressing. I took my own learning walk down the corridor and found every classroom was utilising their iPads to enhance and support learning. An incredible way to celebrate fifty days of teaching at the school... all being instigated by the class teachers independently. Progress indeed. This art task was being photographed as a record for the children to see how they can improve their work, the slideshow made in Photos  ready to be played on the class screen using airplay and the Apple TV.  

Year 3 and 4 Geography task 

Year 5 Five Kingdoms Task.

Day 49 - Pupil Mentors

Ideally, when developing a project where embedding mobile technology is at the heart of the curriculum, to ensure longevity within the learning community each stakeholder must be able to get involved. Staff are compelled to do so, as part of the development plan it is an initiative that has been agreed and has the backing of governors.  It's also crucial for the student to have a major stake in making the process a success. This conundrum can be quickly dismissed and end up being the obvious candidates or the usual 'good eggs' ;  it is important that in any community of learners that everyone has the chance to shine and take part.

So it got me to thinking about pupils as mentors. At my last school, it was open to all and a healthy cross section of pupils came forward lured perhaps by a shiny lapel badge. Slightly biased towards the boys but not exclusively. So which qualities should the student possess and then how and who do you pick? If last weeks cross curricular learning demonstrated all pupils were willing to be part of the fun and help their peers along...perhaps its deeper than that?

Digital leaders need to feel confident that they possess the skills to communicate effectively with their peers and adults.

They are ambassadors for doing the right thing, the embodiment of being a confident, connected and collaborative learner.

Task 1: Opportunity to shine: 

Application of skills. Year 5&6 are used to programming in Hopscotch. They love it and get absorbed by the challenge of creating a game or scenario that they control. So today, I introduced Scratchjr. In this coding app for young children, the blocks of code known as 'sprites' are used to control the program, building the coding blocks by tapping on the correct category.

I purposely chose this app as it gives a tutorial that is accessible by all. You don't need to be able to decipher and read instructions, or in fact speak English as the 'follow my leader' style of tutorial supports all learners with its visual presentation.

So the task was simple, follow the tutorial and replicate the programme. It used all the features of the programme and so was a compact way to navigate the programme and be introduced to the skills.

This was for Year 5&6 easy to do and they quickly submitted their templates work. Moving swiftly onto designing their own more elaborate and multi layered simulation.

With Year 3&4, following the tutorial was less easy, as it was their first attempt at programming beyond learning the individual blocks of code, algorithms and debugging devices.

My task was not made easier as success was evident in the focus and concentration that it took for all of the students to complete the course of instruction. For the majority, the tutorial was too quick so when the video was reduced into bite sized pieces of information success soon followed. The proof will come when their recall is tested on a new project! I was so proud of their resolve to succeed that any one of them could be a digital ambassador.

Day 48 - Look!

Having installed Trilby TV yesterday, I was curious to see how the children would react. It was a case of pressing play and seeing their work on the screen, stand back (prime an iPad with time lapse activated) and watch. The results were exactly what I had hoped...some were lured by the captivating background music, some sat and beckoned in their friends but most gathered to look.



So what was shared on the screen today?

1) The year 3 & 4's had been building their sill set towards making an advert for an object made in the bronze age. They had visited a recreation of a Bronze age farm at Butser so they had experienced  first hand, the life and had connected with the images used. So, working as teams they finished filming their final adverts. All used Showbie to access their resources and check their task. The green screen wall was put to good use, a teleprompter was authored and set up and on another iPad and of course their was the actor! The script which was rich with persuasive text features like alliteration and exaggerated emphasis (flattery) was scripted on to teleprompter lite so the groups could effortlessly & professionally film their shoots. One quick tap and the work was shared to photos and then Airdropped to the other group members. Each then adding their video to their personal Showbie file. Today however, the video was also quickly up;faded to Trilby Tv and shown within two minutes to the screen in the library..."this is really cool!" was the comment that echoed around the classroom.

2) iMovie - organise pictures and text to communicate a story or instruction - this dry phrase is a statement from the computing curriculum. Year 1 tackled it by making a Movie of their interpretation of the book "Wolves" by Emily Gravett. The children re-created the book by staging and acting out, again in front of the green screen their interpretation of how the wolf was being portrayed. Their literacy skills and digital literacy skills combined to produce a short iMovie. At the editing stage , the short self filmed videos were clipped and given subtitles, the group added a background soundtrack and in addition did voice overs to make the whole project audience friendly. Within seconds it was shared to Trilby TV but also back in the classroom , using Apple TV their work was shared with reception class on their class screen. The QR code generated in Trilby TV is on the classroom wall just so that the class can revisit their work at any time.

Wolf Walk by Year 1 

3) Year 2 worked on producing a recount of the "Man who walked between Two Towers" by M Gerstein an independent version of adobe voice empathising with the tight rope walker, again, effortlessly shared in both Showbie for assessment and onto the digital screens for a wider audience perspective. Peer assessment at its most honest and powerful. Enabling progress to be made in honing  skills to ensure that the work done on iPad isn't seen just as a 'treat' but accepted as a bone fide way to learn that challenges and demands the highest possible levels of interaction.

Why would you ever need paper? Was a questioned posed today by a teacher who, for the first time had started to comprehend the huge implications on her pedagogy when iPad was available for her children to use in their classroom. It is true that the iPad can easily remove the need for paper and pen, but in the best school's their curriculum embraces the iPad as tool which can offer ways of learning that is just not possible with a pen and paper. This transformational approach is why I believe that giving the tools directly to the students is paramount; they will reward teachers with endless and unimaginably creative ways to express their understanding.

I love my job.