web 2.0
Programming on an iPad #compSci #RGCdevicetrial
At the start of the #RGCdevicetrial I was very cynical about the effectiveness of iPads in education. I did not think they were suitable for use in secondary school classrooms. I saw them as content consumption devices, tailored for personal use only, and an expensive gimmick destined to gather dust in a department store cupboard […]
Read MoreBreaking out of the silo? The VLE formerly known as Glow
I’ve been out of the Glow-sphere for eighteen months now. In that time I have been waiting patiently for parental logins, sighing knowingly when my 8 year old daughter describes forced IT lessons using Glow as the medium (and if she realises they’re forced, something is seriously wrong with using Glow to enhance learning and […]
Read MoreUsing Edmodo to Engage Learners From Day 1
Over the past week I have been introducing my S3, S5 and S6 pupils to their myriad Edmodo groups and getting them to set up their profiles, communication preferences and folders. Compared to last session (BE: Before Edmodo) the learners have hit the ground running with regard to interacting with their peers and making a […]
Read MoreImproving learner-teacher dialogue using Edmodo
On Friday afternoon I heard some great news. My school is to extend the trial of Edmodo until Christmas, allowing other teachers in my department to experiment with using Edmodo to positively impact their learning and teaching. This may prove to be the beginning of a big change in whole school policy as, up until […]
Read MoreThreshold adventurers, my reflections on #SLF11
On Wednesday this week I attended my first Scottish Learning Festival at the SECC in Glasgow. The first seminar was entitled Literacy Through Technology. HT of Dalmarnock Primary Nancy Clunie explained how the school first used blogs, wikis, then a dedicated website to engage the entire school in an international exchange through the Comenius programme […]
Read MoreWhen you’re not on a cloud you fall a long way
This will be a quick post. I’m having to re-jig my work processes. It really is a bit of an unfortunate pain, and would be entirely unnecessary except for more strict work ICT policies. Anyway, to summarise these policies bar any kind of social networking or cloud file sharing and insist that files are transferred […]
Read MoreCurriculum for Excellence: ICT, Science, Literacy (CSI Web Adventures)
I have been a little self-obsessed recently due to a job interview and as a result have let the blog updates lag a little. My email inbox is also becoming home to a variety of tweets that I marked “useful”. I hope to work through the inbox over the next few weeks, sharing anything which […]
Read MoreSevere weather teaching?
With snow falling steadily outside and roads already being closed for public safety I expect quite a few Aberdeenshire schools to be at least partially closed today. Last year a number of teaching days were lost and schools criticised for not ensuring alternative teaching opportunities were available. As a Computing teacher it seemed an easy […]
Read MoreWhat I’ve learned this week #5
Another quick week – today I’m out of school meeting with other Computing teachers or faculty managers in the authority. I enjoy these meetings as there are usually one or two new ideas or resources shared. 1. Found out about Quia – an eAssessment web application which can deliver resources, tasks and surveys to entire […]
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