Archive for May, 2009
A life on the ocean wave…
Like Prof Heppell I love sailing. As Stephen shared with me at BETT in January, it is the joy of beating the wind and harnessing it to help you explore.
I enjoyed a first sail of the year with Sarah, my dad and my daughter, Ellie.
We were down in Plymouth and that’s, as @SephieG said in a Twitter to me, “Where you can hear the sea and see the Sound!” 
Lost! International Missing Children’s Day 25 May 2009
Loved this Joke I found recently. But, there is a serious side too…
The boss wondered why one of his most valued employees had not phoned in sick one day. Having an urgent problem with one of the main computers, he dialed the employee’s home phone and was greeted with a child’s whisper Continue Reading
Oakdale Junior School, London Borough of Redbridge II
A second day with the gorgeous staff of Oakdale Junior School, who, like their children yesterday, were up for a laugh, but also for a challenge or two.
Despite Sarah’s joke about using Gadwin to crop out the frowns, there were only smiles today.
For wanderings beyond Wordle, and more… Continue Reading
Oakdale Junior School, London Borough of Redbridge
We have been really looking forward to our chance to work with the staff and children from Oakdale Junior School, in the London Borough of Redbridge. And, what a sparky bunch. Smiles, laughter and all up for a challenge.
Oakdale have become well known for their games based learning, especially Nintendo handheld gaming consoles. Futurelab’s article on them HERE shows the real joy they are creating across the whole school.
21st Century Literacy
A different day for us. A great event organised by MGL looking at different ways to use ICT to inspire and motivate. It was hosted at the delightful Fazakerley Primary School.
Thank you to John Mann, of MGL, his colleagues, the visiting staff and to the staff and children of Fazackerley, including headteacher Jenny Carter, for a great few sessions of creativity.
We were focussed on “21st Century Literacies” today. John Connell and Doug Belshaw have some enlightened thoughts on this area. Read John’s thoughts HERE and HERE, and Doug’s HERE.
There’s tons of stuff below here so make sure you Continue Reading
“To Inspire the Able, Gifted & Talented” Conference, Essex
Enjoying the sunshine and smiles today in Colchester, invited by Louisa Sliwa and her team, here in Essex.
Today, we mentioned the different ways to do a Google (or other search engine provider!) search effectively. One way, of course is to move away from the “letter box” and use Google’s Advanced Search.
The other is to search using extensions. (See our post Extensions. Ex Tension) to search by a particular file type. The options have broadened further now with the new Options option in Google options!
Sunday now. Fun days ahead…
It is Sunday and I have just sat down to plan my lesson for an observation this week. My head is still buzzing with so many ideas from Tim.
The two day experience at Perthcelyn School was a very uplifting, inspiring experience during a time when many teachers can so easily be disheartened by the increasing stresses that come with our job.
Tim brought us back to reality and reminded us of what teaching was all about. Continue Reading
Now THIS is what it’s all about!
Dear Tim,
There have been a lot of people putting up blog posts and wikis about their Myst experiences. Some have gone at such a great speed that I think they have missed out on many of the stunning powerful possibilities of the process. They have also not seen the powerful way YOU work.
I wish these people had taken more time and, even, not put those plans online as it makes me worry others will run through the experience rather than sometimes wander “aimlessly” and be surprised by the amazing results.
I wanted to drop you an email, from Diocesan and Payne-Smith School, to thank you for coming to see us at school in November last year and to let you know what we have been up to in our classroom. I decided against jumping straight into using Myst in my classroom as I needed some time to think about what you had shown us. Continue Reading
Mountain Ash Cluster III
An excellent way to end this week and our tour of South Wales so thanks to all the staff from Carnetown Primary, Abercynon Infants, Abertaf Primary, Ynysboeth Infants, Ynysboeth Juniors, Perthcelyn Pimary, Penrhiwceibr Primary, Penguelan Primary, Darran Las Primary, Glenboi Primary, Caegarw Primary, Miskin Primary, and Moutain Ash Comprehensive.
Mountain Ash Musings from the Man Morgan
Hi, whoever is wishing to read this! As you might guess, if you DO read this, I’ve never blogged before.
As a cluster we decided to invite Tim to demonstrate his approach and inspire our staff and pupils in literacy.
We received much more than that!
His approach, in one way, is quite unique but the variety of aspects within the approach can easily be developed and used by ALL staff.
Little things, such as the use of the ‘empty coffee cup’, the ‘acting out’ of the children’s thoughts, variation of voice, the way the pupils were encouraged, etc were all ‘props’ that were used to extract the thoughts of the pupils.
The use of the game is a fantastic way of focusing and stimulating the pupils, discovering the ideas and thoughts that are already within them. But, it is NOT what Tim is about.
Mountain Ash Comprehensive School
A fast paced session at Mountain Ash Comprehensive School with the great setting of a HUGE screen and excellent lighting to create a really immersive atmosphere.
Thank you to Alyson Mckay and Charlotte Sage, for recording their thoughts on observing today’s sessions:
We found the workshops very valuable as they gave us a good insight into how we can inspire children to write creatively using an interactive stimulus.
As well as our events, we like to share interesting, and more often than not, FREE tools, resources and ideas, some old, some new, and we hope you might find something useful. We'd love your thoughts. Tim & Sarah
