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.

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!