Find out how to say a word you’re unfamiliar with, at the web site Forvo.

Forvo describes itself as: “the largest word pronunciation dictionary in the world, now with translations. All the words in all the languages pronounced by native speakers”. Read the rest »

If you're a new arrival, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed and so be notified when the blog is updated. Thanks for visiting! Cheers Ta!

Thank you to Marie Knight for recording her thoughts on today:

“Having seen Tim in action on training days and conferences,  I am, at last, standing in the hall of my school, watching Tim doing what he does best: Working with the kids and being shot by Mr Walker. (Just a normal day at Newlands then).

Looking at a landscape from Myst IV the children come out of their shell. It gives those children who often are the ones struggling with the academic structure of the day coming out with amazing descriptions, bold enough to speak out loud, explain ideas and develop their sense of achievement. Read the rest »

Wordnik is “a dictionary aiming to collect all the words in the English language: 1.7 million so far! Examples, pronunciations, user notes, and more”.

“Wordnik is a place for all the words, and everything known about them”.

Wordnik’s  goal is “to show you as much information as possible, as fast as we can find it, for every word in English, and to give you a place where you can make your own opinions about words known. Read the rest »

Today, we were lucky enough to be back working alongside staff and children at Newlands Primary, Ramsgate, Thanet in Kent, joined by colleagues from Priory Infants, Chilton Primary, Newington Primary, Upton Juniors, Ellington Infants, St Joseph’s Catholic Primary, Dame Janet Infants, Christ Church C of E Junior, St Ethelbert’s Catholic Primary, Bromstone Primary, St Mildred’s Infants, and Dame Janet Junior.

There is a lovely atmosphere in the school. Each class is named after an animal: Reception – Lemurs and Meerkats, Year 1 – Badgers and Squirrels, Year 2 – Giraffes and Lions, Year 3 – Elephants and Tigers, Year 4 – Leopards and Zebras, Year 5 – Koalas and Pandas, Year 6 – Dolphins, Otters and Seals.
Read the rest »

In Bb 2.0 is a collaborative music and spoken word project conceived by Darren Solomon from the band Science for Girls, and developed with contributions from users.

The videos can be played simultaneously — the soundtracks will work together, and the mix can be adjusted with the individual volume sliders.

To find about YouCube and more… Read the rest »

Having spent Monday working with our staff and showing us how to use the magical world of Myst and other IT resources to improve involvement and the desire to write, … Tuesday was about the children! The day that Tim went “live” with our children.

It is a brave man that will stand in front of 80 children and 20 adults and model a 90 minute writing lesson, so… Read the rest »

Day Two and what a delight! We had the pleasure of working with over 200 Beaver Green pupils, and their teachers. The day started with a very mature set of Year 4 pupils, more than 70 of them, in the hall, where they shared their ideas with confidence and skill as we explored a virtual world in Myst IV:Revelation. This was followed by the Year 5 classes exploring the upturned ship in Myst IV, again demonstrating high levels of  good behaviour, respect for each other and keenness to extend themselves – well done!

To find out what happened… Read the rest »

After a day off, recuperating from a remarkably busy BETT (more on that later), we are back down to Kent for a two day visit to Beaver Green Community Primary School, Ashford.

Thank you to Andrew Macey, headteacher, and Claire Beyzade, ICT Co-ordinator, for inviting us to their school, to work with such an enthusiastic group of teachers and teaching assistants. Read the rest »

BETT this week, and, in some ways, the highlight of our year.

Sarah and I are busy folks, popping up here and there through the week.

I am doing 4 presentations about The National Schools Film and Animation Awards at the BLI stand (C50) (Wednesday 13:55 Thursday 11:35 Friday 12:45 Saturday 12:10)

I am then off to present at an Apple event on Thursday afternoon.

Also taking part in the BESA Keynote – ‘Breaking the Bonds of Learning’ 12:30-13:30 on Wednesday. Read the rest »

So you’ve been playing in the snow and now you think you have what it takes to survive in the Alaskan wilderness eh? Then try out Discovery’s Frontier Alaska. You better make some smart decisions if you want to stay alive.

If you are feeling really confident, why not get climbing and tackle the ultimate challenge – Play the world’s first online multiplayer Mount Everest climbing interactive in Everest: Beyond The Limit.

Try, as we did, to work through as a group or class.

It can be slightly frustrating when you make a mistake. But, at least we get the chance to start again, unlike in real life.

Tis wild and woolly down here in, normally gloriously-sunny, Zummerzet.

I am sat out in the, ironically titled, summer-house – all snuggled up and warm, whilst outside many inches of snow have painted the scenery a crystalline white. Beautiful

There’s snow business like snow business.

From the earliest memories of our childhood, many of us can remember hearing the phrase “no two snowflakes are alike”. This discovery was made in the small rural town of Jericho, Vermont, USA, by Wilson A. Bentley (1865-1931).

A self educated farmer, Bentley attracted world attention with his pioneering work in the area of “photomicrography”, most notably his extensive work with snow crystals (which we commonly call snowflakes). By adapting a microscope to a bellows camera, and years of trial and error, he became the first person to photograph a single snow crystal in 1885. Read the rest »