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Embed Plus
Embed Plus is an interesting tool that enhances the playback of YouTube videos on Chrome, WordPress, and more. Choose/crop the parts you want played, mark chapters and “sweet spots“, play scenes in slow motion…
Solihull Primary Schools I(nspiring)CT Training ~ Day 1
The first of our two days, working alongside teachers, and pupils, from across the Solihull area. Today we had a Key Stage 1, and early years focus, with children, and staff, at Castle Bromwich Nursery and Infant School. Continue Reading
Learning from (& with) some remarkable experts in Utrecht
When I saw your presentation “Back to Their Future” at the BETT-show in London, I got inspired. I thought it would be nice if my students, from Bernadetteschool, could meet you and work with you. I talked about this idea with Bob Hofman.
Sometimes a wish seems meant to be. After a few weeks it was certain: Tim Rylands is coming to the IPON “gewoon speciaal” conference in Utrecht. This was the start of something great that happened on April 10th.
My students, pupils with special needs, were invited, just like some students from other special need schools. Our connection was the social media circle from ICT+E where pupils designed their own social media protocol.
My students were a bit nervous because they are not speaking English and they are not used to big crowd. But your little film on Facebook helped them a lot. This teacher looks like a friendly one. We practiced some small English talk and we prepared us to work with the programs Lino-It and Tagxedo. We wanted to do some interviewing and present the answers in a lino- it.
Then you, Tim, started the program of the day. And they understood. Your sense of humour helped them to feel confident and inspired and after that they flowed out to the crowd, to interview people attending the IPON event.
There they revealed themselves to be confident students. They walked much more straight and their voices sounded more confident than ever before. They did the whole process by themselves. And they worked it out together. I didn’t have to help much. My task was to observe and to be proud.
After a long day we drove home. There was a lot of excited talk in the bus.” I did things I thought I wouldn’t dare” said one of them. Another boy told me, it was the day of his life. “After today I understand English,” said the third one. And they were proud that they participated in this special day.
Thank you for this Tim and we hope to meet again.
Diana Aben
Bernadetteschool, Oss (Take a look at our brand new website maybe).
A day later my students wrote a short impression about this day in Utrecht: Continue Reading
Pixlr ~ Photo Editing
One of our most used photo editors because of its power, and simplicity, Pixlr, is a useful tool in many contexts. Make changes, apply special effects, borders, colour changes & more, until chuffed with your masterpiece. Free and easy.
The Pixlr Editor, and the Express Editor, are complemented by the Pixlr-o-Matic. There are also apps for iPhone and Android devices. Pixellent!
Sonja Weed ~ OUTSTANDING ~ Thinking out of the box
We had an OFSTED inspection and I was being observed doing literacy by the inspector and by the head. The premise was that a mysterious parcel arrived in the classroom marked “do not open” “top secret” “danger”. Oh the FUN we had passing it round, shaking it, smelling it – trying to decide WHAT it could be. At this point, the head and inspector were NOT in the room.
The kids were climbing the walls when we decided to open up the box, in which was a threat from some spies who had been watching us (CIA – a letter written with an official Whitehouse letterhead).
They had heard that the teacher (AKA – me) had stumbled upon a secret plant testing facility (the previous day’s lesson, which included some great video as stimulus) and unless the children wrote some detailed descriptions of the plants there would be serious consequences…
So usual vocab a-la Tim Rylands style illicitation ensues (head and inspector now arrive) and the kids wrote the most AMAZING descriptions. So, the rest of the lesson ran really well.
I knew it was OUtstanding, support staff knew it was outstanding, my head said it was EASILY Outstanding but the OFSTED man said it was Good, with elements of Outstanding.
The reason? The fact that I didn’t use ICT as the stimulus instead of the box – he said it should have come as an email or a text.
No matter what we argued, he wouldn’t have it!! The WHOLE lesson, all the resources etc etc came out of that box. The whole reason the kids wanted to write was because of the BOX -an email just would NOT have done it!
So my point is (sorry for rambling on!) that somewhere, the function of ICT got lost in translation. Somewhere, people are forgetting that it doesn’t HAVE to be in every lesson, sometimes slate and chalk do just as well.
I know you agree, I just wanted to give you a real life example 
Thank you for sending this thoughtful, thought provoking, post Sonja. We were blessed to work alongside you, back in your days at Diocesan and Payne Smith School, in Canterbury, and we have followed your amazing exploits in imaginative, creative, powerful, use of technology. Folk might like to read your post about some of the things that flowed from your Myst III:Exile based project.
It is even more remarkable, then, to find that someone who values, (as you said, in the same way as we do) the remarkable things that can come from a cross between analog and digital experiences, got utterly misunderstood by someone who should be open to quality learning in ANY form.
Well done you, and we would like to wish you all the best in your new venture, and pastures new, and The Whitstable Cake Company. The world of education has lost a remarkable teacher, and learner…
The analog, and digital, world has gained a remarkable mind, mum, and inspirer. Go for it!
Harry Potter’s Renaissance Science, Magic & Medicine
Designed to accompany the Harry Potter Exhibition, organised by the US National Library of Medicine, the Online Education Resources are a touch of magic in their own right.
Follow the clues, to discover similarities between Harry’s fictional world and ours. Investigate the Potions section and find answers to things such as the difference between the Sorcerer’s Stone and the Philosopher’s Stone, and what Nicolas Flamel was really famous in history?
Examine the historical records in the Monsters section and find answers to investigate The Monster Book of Monsters that Hagrid used to teach the Care of Magical Creatures class in Hogwarts, and the creatures and monsters that Gesner’s Historiae Animalium included.
Mandrake is used in a potion for un-petrification in Harry Potter. Find out what Mandrake was used for historically in the Herbology section.
“There was a lot more to magic, as Harry quickly found out, than waving your wand & saying a few funny words.”
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, J. K. Rowling
Some practical and fun science experiments
In Home Experiments from scifun.org, science, and a bit of magic, work together to create some fascinating learning opportunities.
Investigate the science behind floating soap bubbles, explore acids & alkalis with red cabbage, do some wizardry using Bernoulli’s Principle, or bend water using static.
Each experiment is set out in a very clear way, including a list of necessary equipment (most of which can be found easily), some safety tips, and a look at the science principles behind what happens, and why.
Peanut Gallery Films ~ Inter Titles come alive
In old, black and white, films intertitles were used to convey some ikmportant elements of the film’s message to the audience. Text, which appeared in the middle of a filmed scene, would share a character’s dialogue, or describe something about the plot, to keep the film goers up to speed.
Peanut Gallery is a Chrome Experiment that lets you add intertitles to old film clips using your voice, then share those clips with your friends. It uses your computer’s microphone and the Web Speech API in Google Chrome to turn speech into text.
In old cinemas, the Peanut Gallery was a place of great mirth, and rumbustious merriment. What other excuse do you need to go and get storytelling in a fascinating way?
Danetree Junior School, Surrey
A full on day at Danetree Junior School, a four form entry junior school, situated in Epsom and Ewell, and the first junior school in the borough to become an Academy, as part of its partnership with Glyn School. A morning with 60 Y5/Y6 pupils and their teachers, then an afternoon with 60 Y3/Y4 pupils and their teachers, followed by a whole school twilight with pizza half-way through! Continue Reading
Soundslice ~ Visual Tablature
If you, or your students, are learning guitar tabs, Sound Slice gives the chance to watch, listen, rehearse, and play in a clever way.Tabs have never sounded so good.
Sound Slice lets you sync tabs with video so you can see (and hear!) them in real time. Try “100 Riffs~ A Brief History of Rock n Roll“, or strum along with Django, in “I’ll See You In My Dreams”.
You can even slow the whole process down, to give you a chance of keeping up!
Lark Partners, Suffolk ~ Day 2
A joyous second day with all the staff and children, from West Row Primary. We were also joined by the colleagues from neighbouring schools, and, following yesterday’s full on digital day, we had the opportunity to ‘push’ that to the background and go all analog. Continue Reading
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
