pi-top resource for computer science
Sometimes exciting resources grab your attention! I was flattered to be asked to run a workshop at the recent EdTech Podcast Festival and had the absolute pleasure of meeting the […]
Computer Science Education week (5 – 9 Dec 2018)
This week is Computer Science in Education Week! Yes it’s an American thing but it promotes Computer Science so I’m all in! In my classes we’ve had a look at […]
Lego league robotics and problem solving activities
Competition breeds creativity The Lego league competition is an international competition, students all around the world take part in this every year. Last year was my first introduction to the […]
Creative Computer Science Books…Coder Academy
This is a great book for girls and boys (Primary or absolute beginner at Secondary level). It introduces the reader to jobs in Computer Science
Ada Lovelace Day (October 9th)
Do you know who Ada Lovelace is? Did you know she was instrumental in the invention of the modern computer? Did you know she was a close friend and collaborator with Charles Babbage?
Variables: how to explain them
Variables have a value which the creator can assign, meaning they can vary from program to program depending on what is needed. That make sense? When I first taught variables […]
Algorithms: how to explain them
I like to start by telling learners that this is a genius word! If you can confidently go home tonight and explain what an algorithm is people will think you’ve […]
FREE assessment resources for ICT/Computer Science
Here you can download the free KS3 Assessment sheets I've designed to support the changes in assessment we've begun this year.
e-Safety Resource with levels
FREE assessment e-safety resource used with Yr7 at the start of the academic year.
C-tech ICT Unit 1 resources
FREE resources to support teaching CTECH ICT with 6th form
‘Hook’ Resource find of the weekend!
FAB FREE lesson starter resource!
IMPACT of technology on Society + Resources
How has technology had an impact on society? If you’re over 25 you might be able to list a number of ways, that’d be because you’ve seen those developments, before […]
e-Safety resources
Sketchnote resources for KS3 E-Safety Every year – all the way up to and including post 16 – needs to have e-safety refreshed. As a way of supporting some classes […]
tips4teaching on Vine
6 Second inspiration Having seen some fantastically creative vine videos popping up on Twitter with increasing regularity this year I have signed up to the Twitter owned site myself. You […]
The right IT classroom
A bone of contention… Many IT rooms in the 90’s and 00’s were designed on the basis of “how many PCs can we cram into the room?”, rather than; “What’s […]
Cloud Computing
Clouds in school The concept has been around ages! 6 years ago I tried very hard to convince a school that this was the future, to no avail, thankfully my […]
Simple solution using a Google Doc
Streamlining the little things It’s often the little things that cause the biggest problems, like the simple ideas that are badly managed and take too long to realise. Well, Google […]
1 hr of Code
Coding Coding Coding You’re not going to escape coding any times soon, certainly not in the next couple of years as the government and more vocal coding teachers push its […]
Fun resource
ifaketext.com Saw a screenshot of this web resource tweeted ages ago and only just got back to looking at it this week! Simple idea Type in both sides of a […]
A Gamer take on praise and reward
Innovative approach to praise & Reward Games, be they being played at home on a console, or in school on a phone students love games. A colleague was very keen […]
Share ideas to improve
Share ideas and improve learning and teaching Site readership in 2013 It’s quite exciting as a teacher sharing ideas online to see a visual presentation of where in the world […]
Creative revision
Revision time! Make it a status update! I saw these sticky notes online and was just itching to buy them and use them! Set out like a Facebook status update […]
Raspberry Pi is here
Box set of technology arrived at school today for my new programming club! Including Raspberries, cameras, and the wonderful book ‘Adventures in Raspberry Pi‘ by Carrie Anne Philbin. It’s a […]
Shake up team work…
I’m an iPad user, iPad mini as it’s a convenient size and still powerful at work. Apps, Simple is best Apps are a funny thing, you can waste hours looking […]
Switch them on to learning
Everyone knows that at the start of the year there’s a lot to do! You’re meeting new classes, picking up with old ones and carrying on with projects you last […]
Action Research
CONTEXT: Part of my role is to co-manage a team in school which conducts action research each year as in partnership with Cambridge University. (More info here) Mobile Technology: Controversy: […]
Google Docs…
Pick something you already do… See how Google Docs can improve what you do, what your team does, and what your students achieve. A presentation I’ve prepared for some coming […]
Raising Achievement
I read this somewhere, an Academy school showcasing one of its initiatives which it felt had greatly contributed to the rise in achievement at GCSE. I’ve created the idea in […]
Reflecting on Google Apps introduction lesson
Google Apps is rolling out this week to all our year 9 students (Yrs 12-13 started with it in October) as part of a staged roll out of the system. […]
Class Dojo
Class Dojo is my newest fine find! It’s a behaviour management tool that in the space of one week has captured the imaginations of several of my High School classes. […]
Useful & productive ipad Mini App
iPad Mini, I may have mentioned I bought one, and I mentioned that its size and its power makes its so brilliantly useful. I’ve always wanted the best from the […]
Mini is Mighty!!
Yep, I have an iPad Mini, but I’ve bought it with questions in mind… I bought it once I discovered it would fit in my jacket pocket! (Having made a […]
2013, what next?
Big question, two option answer; Complex answer Straight forward answer Answer 1 involves breaking down projects into chunks and explaining both the rationale and the methodology. Answer 2 is perhaps […]
Unrestricted iPad teaching
Having a tablet computer in class is great, as a teacher using one it allows for considerable mobility around the room. You can interact with pupils closer while still being […]
Google Forms, better data activities in class
Every year in every school for all sorts of lessons students collect data, they do it on paper, mass photocopied! Then they run around school with bits of paper and […]
The iPad & PE
From the staff room kitchen I spied 3 students (durning lesson time) out on our field (away from the rest of kids) with an iPad, filming each other. I had […]
Tablet confusion
The tablet computer market is fast moving and potentially a real asset to education for a number of reasons I’ve highlighted in other posts. But the market is also getting […]
AFL with Google Docs
Through my relationship with the Cambridge University SUPER project I had some lovely visitors in my lesson today. The class I had are my Google Docs test subjects (they do […]
Lesson planning as a team
Lesson planning, divides opinion, is it an out of date activity to write out pages of plans for one lesson? Are sound resources and detailed schemes of work more workable […]
Instant interactive AFL in Drama
I work with an amazing Drama teacher, a teacher who has more enthusiasm and energy than anyone I think I’ve ever met! She has a huge passion for using technology […]
Collaborative History lessons
Got to see enthusiasm for google apps outside of my subject again this afternoon, this time in History department where the very excellent history teacher is setting out to use […]
Easy Google Docs activities for any subject
Something that can be seen as a ‘quick gain’ activity using Google Docs collaborative tools are class vocabulary lists, subject or topic specific dictionaries. In ICT for example at the […]
iPad outdoors
I had a wonderful chat with a very excellent geography teaching this afternoon. It was great fun to listen to the exciting ways someone outside of my subject plans to […]
Tablets on your projected screen
I used to own an iPad 1, I bought it on day of release and was excited, then when I discovered that to share its content on a projected screen […]
Tablet computers…initial concerns
The tablet computer project started with a blast of enthusiasm, but to formulate a productive and useful research project it is necessary to accept and even encourage some thought and […]
Tablets…initial thoughts…
Having introduced the tablet computer project to staff a little while ago, I crowd sourced some initial thoughts from staff on a tablet computer (in particular their thoughts focused on […]
Projects…
Starting this year our school is exploring the potential impact of tablet computers on teaching and learning. I say ‘tablet’ deliberately, as we are looking at both the iPad and […]
Action research projects…
Having introduced two major action research projects to our staff this year; Collaborative learning project Tablet computer project I’ve found it useful to jot down a very simplistic ‘check list’ […]
Key areas of impact for collaborative tools
A few weeks ago I introduced a group of around 20 staff to Google Apps. A small workshop gave staff a whistle stop tour of the key features (time did […]
More on collaboration
What do collaborative tools (like google apps) give your school? In the process of our current school project we are investigating the potential impact of google apps on learning and […]
Collaboration
Collaboration has always been key to teaching and learning, we want learner to have collaborative skills, and we need good teacher to work collaboratively to improve teaching and learning practices. […]
Managing Change (Or how to get them to see it’s worth doing)
Change management isn’t easy, I know that, I studied it 10 years ago at University. I know that you have to listen even better than you talk when dealing with […]
Collaborative lesson planning…
“I love it when a plan comes together!” I may have mentioned earlier that this year I finally have an opportunity to test out the potential of Google Apps for Education […]
More on progress…
Thoroughly inspired by reading ‘Whole School progress‘ by Jim Smith (I read the book – highlighter in hand- in one weekend, not bad for a Dyslexic!) I sat down at my […]
Alan Turing Exhibition
If you are looking for a trip to inspire young programmers, ICT students, history students, citizenship students, this exhbition has it all. The Science Museum Alan Turing Exhibition in London […]
iPad in the classroom
I bought the iPad1 because I thought touch technology was the future. I still think that. My iPad was delivered to my school they day before Apple shops had them […]
iPad Action Research
The following video was made to support a presentation of the first stages of an action research project I am involved in. Having had an iPad one since its release […]
Exciting, Engaging Game Making!
SCRATCH! This week Year 9 CORE ICT were set the task of creating their own ‘shark attack’ game using SCRATCH software. The instructions for the game came from an excellent resource […]
Alan Turing
I now live not too far from Blechely Park, and when I first moved here it was one of the places I made a point to visit. But not because […]
Top Education & ICT related videos on YouTube I’ve been watching this week
Here are a collection of short videos that I’ve been watching this week. They all look at ICT from different angles in schools; The importance of IT in school policy […]
Apples for the teacher
A new year and a new workshop for teachers; looking at using Apple technology in the classroom. The wonderful professional learning group at school is investigating the use of ICT to […]
Languages and IT
Bringing MFL into your IT lessons IT is full of language, we have our own meaning for common words like ‘processing’ ‘storage’ and ‘path’ for example. But aside from that […]
Treasured lessons…
How do you guide students to their treasure ? Two few things I believe: Students should know where a lesson is taking them. Students should know how they are going […]
Popplet.com Mind Maps…
Interesting little site for creating mind maps and then sharing them! I can’t remember how I found this: popplet, but i re-discovered it buried in my bookmarks last night! Worth […]
Art in & out of class…
…I know what I like… I love Museums and Art Galleries, almost every weekend I am in London at the National Gallery, Museum of London or the Tate Modern and […]
Literacy Across the Curriculum, DC Comics’ all New #52 could help!
Comic way to engage with literacy Reading is reading, in a book, on a sign, a menu or…a Comic! If you are struggling to engage students in some work to […]
Flipping out !!
I love teaching 6th form, some of my best lessons (from my POV and Ofsted’s) have been with 6th form students. I can’t always explain why, but if you get […]
QR Codes to engage students with
QR Codes are the latest thing to pop up everywhere, joining reality with the virtual world. Why are they not popping up in school? Ahead of an activity I have […]
What I’m focusing on Sept – Jan 2011-12
Questioning technique! As part of my own professional development I’m setting my target to read up on and investigate effective questioning. It’s something I do, I always ask students questions […]
Simple but effective lessons…
The Guardian Eyewitness App for the iPad, and the webpage is an excellent resource for classes. I’ve said so for over a year, it can be used to stimulate discussion […]
Sir Ken Robinson…
If you work in Education, you’ll know his name, if you haven’t heard him yet then start here and ‘Google’/’YouTube’ him after. In this video Sir Ken Robinson comments on […]
Best PowerPoint add-on is HERE…Twitter live!
For ages I have thought about adding live twitter streams to a presentation, I want to be able to be discussing a subject and say “So what’s the world saying about this right now?”.
YouTube Teaching Ideas
A very short ‘sign post’ post today. In my undending search for online resoueces to support BTEC L2/3 IT i discovered these excellent resources and teaching ideas for subject teachers! […]
ICT & Learning. Prof Stephen Heppell
The place of ICT in the learning model Possibly my shortest post ever; video, well worth watching, Prof Stephen Heppell a wonderful ICT thinker 🙂 Thanks to sjheppell who’s YouTube […]
Creative CPD
I have never been a huge fan of CPD which (only) involved sitting listening to someone in a hall, alright sometimes it's the right call, but most of the time I'm thinking - if this was a lesson...
Twitter and the teacher…
Why should you as a teacher be engaging with Twitter? I would say…Because it can be a resource, an aide to your own learning, and an insight into the education […]
The Creative Partner, Google & KS3 IT
Google sites to engage students In redesigning the KS3 ICT SoW this year I have had complete freedom to be as innovative as I liked. So I’m trying out all […]
Franchise re-boot in your classroom!
Premiere!! September was the launch month, the world premiere of your film, sorry, I mean you scheme of work & lessons. But, in a way, it was the film premiere, […]
Glogster – The Poster is dead!!
What do you think of this poster? Looks interesting doesn’t it? Well, CLICK it! Go on, see what happens 🙂 Last staff training session I shared the amazing spinning zooming […]
Google Reader
Google reader Having mentioned Google Reader in a recent staff training session I am going to put a brief over view post here to help any interested parties out. If […]
Creative lessons…
CPD is the start… Ever been sat in a whole school training session & had that thought “I know this, why am I being told this again?” or “What time […]
Engaging…
In the run up to a training session I am running soon, I am going to publish a number of short posts covering tools and ideas for engaging students using […]
iPad…what we really wanna know is can it be useful?
iPad – Making more of IT iPad – latest attention grabber? Yes, I bought one, yes it created quite a stir at school when it arrived (a day ahead of […]
Cry “Youtube” & let slip the dogs of war…
I know I’m not alone in wanting access to YouTube to use in my classroom! You know what I mean, yeah? You find a great clip, or video on YouTube […]
Applied ICT – Publishing sources
Publishing! Beyond Publisher! I mentioned this recently to my students but thought as a brief post this was worth sharing. Publisher has been a staple of classroom ‘brochures and leaflets’ […]
Second BETT
Evaluate everything… Evaluations are such a huge part of teaching, we evaluate ourselves (to the extreme) we evaluate our lessons, our students, our departments, our year groups, our school, our […]
BETT Visit
BETT Show Blog post 1 Student voice in action @ BETT BETT, the aim of our trip was to take 11 of my best 6th form students to the biggest […]
Snow Day!
Country comes to a stand still, e-learning means the job doesn’t need to stop! (Is that good or bad thing?) It’s struck me today that the news is full of […]
A guide to using the internet for teaching in the 21st century
So as a start I’ve thought about sharing a few of the web links that have proved useful, to me and my students. I’ll try and review each one as I post them...
