Wednesday, 7 December 2011

Sliderocket

Our year 4 students have been using Sliderocket to demonstrate their learning during their work on oceans.

The platform looks a useful addition to our work. It's relatively easy to use and has a helpful option to duplicate presentations. This means that students can work in groups and then duplicate the presentation to personalise their own section.



Thanks to year 4 students and teachers for working so hard on this project. I think we'll be coming back to look at Sliderocket again, especially if an education specific solution can be designed.

Monday, 5 December 2011

Kellett Tellit

Well done to the Kellett Tellit team for producing a very readable and informative edition of their termly magazine, which can be read below. Good to see some stories looking at environmental issues, too.



Monday, 19 September 2011

What next for the iband?

The premiere appearance of our iBand at last term's summer concert caused some comments and interest, not least among some of the students; one pupil arrived at school for the new year and sought out Mr Cox to find out how he could sign up for the band!

Some valuable lessons were learnt in the preparation for our performance of Lady Gaga's Poker Face, including how to make the most of limited rehearsal time, and the importance of being able to set up quickly and independently.

Maybe we need a space dedicated to this type of musical performance and expression. The clip below is now top of our wishlist!


Wednesday, 14 September 2011

Personalised Learning.... and frozen yoghurt

"Personalized Learning is the tailoring of pedagogy, curriculum and learning environments to meet the needs and aspirations of individual learners, often with extensive use of technology in the process."

Personalised Learning is in the spotlight at the moment as teachers here begin to wrestle with what it really means. The availability of technology, although still limited within the primary school in terms of one-to-one connectivity, alongside the development of our virtual learning environment, iLearn, means that true personalised learning is now within our grasp.

But what does personalised learning actually mean in this world of multiple intelligences, different learning styles, neuro-plastic brains and all those things which teachers are becoming more aware of? The Wikipedia definition above is a good starting point, stressing as it does the word individual, and noting the aspirations and needs of those individuals, as well as the use of technology.

I have been trying to think of it in terms of the experiences our students have and yesterday it came to me.

During a trip to Central, my son dragged me in to Yoppi. Yoppi is a frozen yoghurt shop and it was the first of it's kind I had ever visited. It was a fascinating experience. Not only did I get to taste a very pleasant dessert, but I also gained some insight into what personalised learning is and why it is so important to our students.

How so?

Firstly, Yoppi looks new. It's attractive, shiny and modern and looks inviting. It's a shop that makes you feel welcome. Secondly, you as the customer can tailor your yoghurt to your requirements or needs.

There are three parts to the overall process. Firstly you can choose from any of four yoghurts to go in your pot. You can add them individually or you can get the machine to blend them for you. Two of the yoghurt flavours appear to be staple, in that they don't seem to change much, but the third and fourth flavours look like they change regularly. More of that later.

Having added your yoghurt to the pot, choosing as much or as little as you like and remembering that it's likely although not necessary that you will have added some of the flavours which are considered a staple, you then can choose from a huge number of toppings to add interest and taste to your choice. In other words, you can personalise your choice to your own desires whilst keeping the yoghurt as a base.

The last stage of the process involves your choice being weighed (evaluated or assessed if you like!) before you pay the bill, which of course is dependent on size.

At this point you can enjoy a totally individual taste, tailored to your needs, aspirations and desires!

Not only that, but you can also influence how your future experience might be by taking part in the voting system to add different flavours when they are changed during the next week. The opportunity to do this encourages customers to become empowered and engaged with the process.

And as for the technology, well, there's free wi-fi! What more could you ask!

The parallels with education are clear. This new type of food experience offers it's customers the opportunity to customise (within the confines of the staple flavours), enrich and personalise, seek evaluation, and influence future choices.

This is exactly what personalised learning should be about.

We could learn a lot from the frozen yoghurt experience. I'll be going back again next week just to make sure!



ICT Learning Journey

At the end of last term we had a training day that focused on the technology journey that our students experienced from Reception to Year 9.

The presentation is featured below and allows you to see some of the technologies that students use to enable their learning. There is a substantial amount of embedded video within the Prezi so it may take a while to load!




Tuesday, 30 August 2011

Digital Photography Competition 2011

In the madness that always descends at the end of each school year, the Digital Photography Competition got lost amongst the masses of other things going on.

To put that right, here are the winners and commended entries. Well done to all those that entered, please keep taking pictures and enjoy your photography. It's a hobby that will stay with you for life!






New year, new challenges..

As I said to the new reception parents at yesterday's coffee morning, our new intake of 4 year olds are likely to be the most tech-savvy/literate/immersed group of students we have ever had. Keeping those students engaged and enthused about their education in this tech-infused world is a huge challenge for teachers trained in institutes shaped in the last century.

As ever, this is the beginning of a long journey and ensuring these students continue to thrive, enjoy, and make the most of this incredibly exciting digital world available to them is always at the front of our department's thinking.

Welcome to the new academic year.

Tuesday, 14 June 2011

Parent tech Coffee Morning - Emerging Technologies

Here's the presentation from our latest Parent tech Coffee Morning. Please note that many of the videos in this presentation are loaded within the Prezi to ensure they play in high quality. Because of this the presentation may take some time to load completely. Use the left and right key on the keyboard to scroll between screens.




Thursday, 26 May 2011

Parent Technology Coffee Morning 4 - Mobile Learning

Here's the presentation that was given to parents at last week's Technology Coffee morning. It was a fascinating experience with so many people sharing their opinions and experience.




Tuesday, 24 May 2011

Paramore in Hong Kong

The news that Paramore will be playing Hong Kong in August reminded me of the time we created some Lip Dubs in our Computer Club.

I just had to go back and find the one of Paramore's "That's What You Get". It was great fun to make!





Thursday, 12 May 2011

iBand

Last week our lunchtime iBand activity started. 12 students from years 4 & 5 will be experimenting with handheld technology to see if they are able to produce a musical piece worthy of public performance.

They are using a number of different apps to produce their sounds, which are listed below with UK prices.

iPhone, iPod and Ipad Music/Sound Apps

iShred Live by Frontier Design Group - Free

Percussions+ by Crimson Technology – GBP3.99

Pocket Organ C3B3 by insideout ltd. – GBP1.79

SoundGrid by Vitaliy Pronkin – GBP1.79

iPhone and iPod Music/Sound Apps

Bassist by MooCow Ltd. – GBP2.39

Cowbell Plus by Frontier Design Group – GBP0.59

Guitarist by MooCow Ltd. – GBP2.39

Guitar Studio by Frontier Design Group – GBP2.99

iGOG Massive Drums by Wave Machine Labs Inc. – GBP1.79

iShred by Frontier Design Group – GBP2.99

Melody Bell by CONIT Co., Ltd. – GBP0.59

NLog Free Synth by Rolf Wohrmann - Free

Piano Studio by Frontier Design Group – GBP2.99

Real Bongos by Armin Heinrich – GBP1.19

Saxophone musicofx by mode of expression, LLC – GBP0.59

Theremin by Frontier Design Group – GBP0.59

iPad Music/Sound Apps

3D Drum Kit by Benjamin McDowell – GBP1.19

Well done to all those students involved. They've made a great start and who knows, they may well be up to the standard below at some point in the future.




Wednesday, 23 March 2011

Parent Technology Coffee Morning 3 - e-safety

Last week saw our final Tech Coffee Morning for the term. The focus was e-safety and over 40 parents attended to look at a range of issues.

The Prezi below can be viewed to look at some of the ideas covered by clicking the play arrow and waiting for the presentation to download.

One of the clear messages from the morning is that we need to develop resilient, ethical digital citizens who use technology in a positive way. Trying to lock down their access and control what they do is not the way to do this.





We also looked a little at net monitoring software and discussed that whilst it might be appropriate for some families it is not appropriate for all.

For those interested in further reading, you may find some of the links below useful:




Many thanks for all those who attended this session. Dates for next term will be confirmed shortly.

Tuesday, 15 February 2011

Parent Technology Coffee Morning No. 2

Our second Parent Technology Coffee Morning was even better attended than the first one with 56 parents arriving to discuss Games Technology. We were also joined by Frankie Tam from the Hong Kong Digital Games Based Learning Association.

The presentation highlighted why games are an important aspect of child development and how, as one of the most dominant forms of media in young people's lives, parents need to be able to understand the importance and intricacies of many of the games our students use.

We also brainstormed some of the concerns that parents have about gaming. The word addictive was used and we discussed what that really meant. Did it really mean addicted in the clinical sense or did it mean "liked a lot" or "would much rather be doing"! I inferred that parents might be less concerned if they thought their children were "addicted to reading" but to my surprise parents showed that they would be concerned by that too.

Research into the effects of games was touched upon as well as the way the media covers the issue.

Positive aspects of gaming were looked at and we watched a video of some of our students explaining the intricacies of Club Penguin.

We also looked at the way we use games to stimulate learning here at Kellett.

The Prezi shown can be accessed below;



Resources from the session

Key Text;

Don't Bother Me Mom--I'm Learning! by Marc Prensky (Feb 14, 2006) - available in HK stores but you may have to order it

Other texts;

What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. Second Edition: Revised and Updated Edition by James Paul Gee (Dec 26, 2007)

Fun Inc.: Why Gaming Will Dominate the Twenty-First Century by Tom Chatfield (Nov 15, 2010)

Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World by Jane McGonigal (Jan 20, 2011)

These books will help to gain a better understanding of aspects of game playing.

Areas for development at home

Design


Play

Little Big Planet; (PS3 PSP) http://www.littlebigplanet.com/

As in our first session the 75 minutes seemed to fly by and the audience was very positive and engaged with the discussion, offering their thoughts and feedback regularly.

Many thank to all those that attended.

Our next session is set for Friday 18th March and will look at the topic of e-safety.

Monday, 7 February 2011

Hong Kong 21st Century Learning Conference

Next week sees conference season kick off with the 3rd Hong Kong 21st Century Learning Conference taking place at West Island School. Nearly 30 teachers from across Kellett will be attending to participate in a number of sessions and forums.

Big hitters Stephen Heppell and David Warlick will be the keynotes and I'm delighted to say that Katrina Hall has been chosen to present a session on the use of iTouch Apps in the Primary Classroom. Katrina has previously presented at the 2nd Hong Kong 21st Century Learning Conference on Games in the Classroom as well as on the use of mobile devices at the Hong Kong Handheld & Mobile Learning Festival at the University of Hong Kong.

The trailer for the session can be seen below;