Alphabet Thinkers Keys

Here's a great little video by our P2 students using the Alphabet Thinkers Key to organise their research on Neil Armstrong as part of their study on Famous People.

An A-Z of Neil Armstrong

Another Great Application

I'm pretty sure it was Lee Kolbert who first pointed out what a great web site Today's Meet is. Originally designed to run as a back channel during conference presentations, this excellent tool offers a time limited, Twitter style communication platform that could be used by classroom teachers.

Last week I asked our teachers to use Todays Meet to think of ways that it could be utilised to help teaching and learning.

This is what they came up with;

• If you are watching video footage as a stimulus, children can enter their first responses as they watch the footage, note taking on a forum basis
• I can see this being used as a homework tool. Set a problem to be solved and the children respond and can see all other responses
• I'm wondering if this can be used across a year group so all three classes could see peers comments on a common topic e.g. Cross class collaboration
• This would be great for evaluating artists' work. All children can respond to the art work at the same time as well as responding to each other
• It could provide a platform for older pupils to have discussions for group homework. Providing an open "room" for ideas to be easily shared.
• Students could post arguments for science ethics topics, either for or against and then discuss in class
• Students can make a brief comment on a text I have set them for homework!
• It would be amazing as a homework tool for our Big Talk Topics - children can post comments about the topic as well as the 'dinner talk'
• Real time peer assessment of presentations.

These are just a few ideas complied over a rushed Friday - there's clearly lots of scope for using this tool and we'll be trying out some different ways in the coming weeks. If anybody is using this in an educational context, please let us know!

P5 Games Based Learning

P5 pupils have spent time in their ICT lessons investigating the simulation Rollercoaster Tycoon. This game, which is rather old now, is an excellent means of showing how game play can work within the curriculum.

Students have to design a theme park from scratch, planning where the rides are positioned and ensuring they have the funds to purchase them. They also need to manage the staff, ensuring there are enough to run the establishment, co-ordinate publicity, set a research budget and manage their finances.

The type of organisational, planning and strategic skills outlined above are crucial if players are to succeed in Rollercoaster Tycoon... in fact, these skills are pretty crucial in the real world too!

As part of their work, P5 students are also carrying out tasks in Literacy, using the game as a stimulus for writing. In may ways this is similar(not quite on the same level!) to the groundbreaking work carried out by Tim Rylands in the UK using the computer game Myst.

From next year all year groups at Kellett will have a simulation/game playing module built into their ICT studies, with Key Stage Three students looking at elements of games design too.

There is a groundswell of opinion amongst experts that this type of work will become far more common in schools. Influential voices such as Marc Prensky and Derek Robertson are keen advocates of games based learning and research studies looking at the use of games such as Dr Kawashima and Nintendogs are already taking place now.

Sneak Preview!

Here's a sneak preview of one of the ICT pages from this year's School Magazine which is busily being put together at the moment. The background of the pages are from a photo of the manipulated image of the building inauguration which appeared on the noticeboard outside the Music Room earlier in the year.

The idea of the pages is to convey how new technologies and applications are impacting upon the ICT curriculum. Hence, students using digital video equipment feature prominently, as do many of the applications we use on the internet; eg blogging, our Ning site and essentials such as Google Earth, Sketchup and Voicethread.

The finished publication will be ready early next term, but you can check out one of the ICT pages now!

E-Learning During School Closure

With the school temporarily closed, the teachers have been working hard to ensure there's plenty to do over the next few days. P5 teachers pictured contemplating their learning objectives.

All year groups have homework provided on their individual pages, which can be accessed via the Useful Websites section here.

The specialist teachers have also provided homework which can be found on their pages; Art, Chinese Studies and PE all have lots of activities for you. If you're reading this you've already done some ICT! Why not carry on down the page and follow some of the links to sites such as Brainbox Challenge and the National Geographic channel. The archived site to the right also has plenty of info for you to look at.

It's good to see the Year 6 teachers using a Web 2.0 platform to communicate with students. The Kellett Ning now has audio by Miss Nichol and Miss Hitchcox reading their class text, as well as links to a popular video sharing site! The forum is available for students in Year 6 to post their homework too.

I wonder if anybody is able to give an audio or video response!???

You Should Be Dancing....

P2s are continuing to work with Bee Bots trying to get them to move in a synchronised way... almost like dancing! They need to plan their routines carefully, using appropriate terms, such as 'forward' rather than 'that way' and then input their commands accurately, otherwise the Bee Bots might stand on each other's feet!



One of our Bee Bots has now been named Barry after the main character in the film Bee Movie. Well done to Max for being the first to work out the answer.



It was nice to hear from Nicole Sprainger who runs the blog Bee Bots Down Under It looks like they're doing some really exciting things in schools there.

Games Based Learning

As a keen advocate of games-based learning (first lesson in 1989!!) I was delighted to be able to hear Derek Robertson from Learning & Teaching Scotland speak during my recent visit to the UK. Derek is pioneering games-based learning with evaluative research in Scotland, and is envied by many, not just because he has a great job, but because he has a cupboard full of 500 Nintendo DS consoles!

At Kellett we have begun to immerse ourselves into games-based learning; P5 students completed a module stemming from the use of Rollercoaster Tycoon last year, covering a number of areas in their Literacy work. We hope to repeat this work during the summer term.

As time progresses more modules will be introduced, and as we move into secondary our students will look at aspects of game design.

Games companies are beginning to pay more attention to education in general and many games are now designed specifically with education in mind. Nintendo, for instance have developed a number of games which fall into the mental agility category, the most famous of which is probably Dr Kawashima's Brain Training for the DS. Derek Robertson's project on using Dr Kawashima in schools looked at aspects of Numeracy in three Primary Six classes. His research certainly makes interesting reading and food for thought for the sceptics!

The latest game which could make an impact in the 'Edutainment' stakes is another mental agility tool for the Nintendo DS; Professor Kageyama's Maths Training. This game aims to offer the opportunity to practise maths skills on a daily basis using the Nintendo dual screen to provide answers. If any pupil gets their hands on a copy I'd love to have a look at it!

Digital Photography Competition 2008

One of the highlights of last year was Kellett School's first Digital Photography Competition. Pupils throughout the school entered, from Reception through to Year Six. A winner was declared for all the year groups and an overall winner also selected, pictured here.

The quality of entries was very impressive, making the judging extremely difficult. Hopefully, we will see an even larger entry for this year's competition.

The theme of the competition for this year is travel. Students are encouraged to take photographs having travelled 'somewhere'. This could be whilst on holiday during Chinese New Year, or simply whilst visiting somewhere in Hong Kong, e.g. Ocean Park. A few pupils have been a bit confused, thinking that the idea is to take a photo of a means of travel, such as an aeroplane! THIS IS NOT THE CASE! The theme of travel is as loose as possible so as to encourage as many entries as possible.

Pupils can use their own camera, or borrow somebody elses, but they can only enter photographs that they have taken themselves. If pupils wish to enter a portfolio of work rather than individual photos they may do so... quite a few did that last year.

The competition is a digital one, so paper copies of photos will not be accepted. Entries must be via a digital method, such as e-mail, or cd-rom or USB memory stick. If pupils would like to bring in the memory cards from their cameras, any one of the ICT team will help to download the photos. If you're a bit stuck about how to enter your photos we can help you sort them out...just ask.

The winning entries will be displayed around the school and on our web site and blog.

Well done to those pupils who have already entered. The closing date is the final day of this term; Tues 18th March

As usual in this type of competition, all judges decisions are final!

Good luck!!

Mr D

Overheard in the blogosphere....

"The thing is, if students are not exposed to technology then when it becomes so important it can’t be ignored they will be left behind, it’s that simple."