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15 November 2005
NOVEMBER 05 NEWSLETTER
MirandaNet Seminar and Winter Solstice : 28th November Please fill in the form on the MirandaNet noticeboard if you can attend any of these sessions below on the 28th November. All attendees qualify for trial copies of Inspiration and Kidspiration.
I look forward to seeing some of you even if only at Poons
Regards
Christina Preston
Stimulating and supporting visual literacy:
concept mapping as a tool for learning
Workshop Room 412 10:30 am – 4:30
10:30 – 1:00- workshop, Rm 412
The social semiotics of online communities: starting from concept mapping
Di Mavers Culture, Language and Communications
2:00- 4:30 –workshop, Rm 412
Using concept mapping in the self-evaluation of teachers’ and childrens’ learning
Christina Preston Culture, Language and Communications
5:30 – 7:00 – Seminar and informal discussion, Elvin Hall
Using concept mapping as a tool for learning
John Potter, Goldsmith College with
Michael Smith, Jane Finch, David Thomas, John Potter, Nigel Riley
Funded by Inspiration
BETT06 at Olympia, London
Jan 11-14th 2006
Our BETT06 stand, p38, will have a Mexican theme this year. We shall have Tequila reception after our seminar which is on Thursday afternoon. You will find all the information you need to plan your visit under the BETT logo on our front screen.
This is the summary of our talk.
Teachers as Researchers :
investigations into tools for learning
This seminar provides advice from teachers who are participating in a three year research programme, 2005 - 2008, conducted by MirandaNet Fellows. The findings aim to provide detailed evidence and advice for educators and policy makers who are charged with improving education in the long term, and for teachers and teacher advisers who need access to creative ideas and advice.
The project focuses 1,000 children and 100 teachers in schools in China, Mexico, South Africa and England. In each of these countries the government is funding the infrastructure which is required to embed ICT into the curriculum.
The project also supports ten practice-based research projects in each of the communities of teachers who all won national competitions. This practice based research community will present and publish case studies which are intended to facilitate the sharing of knowledge process amongst teachers.
Some of the teachers who are collaborating through workshops and online will be sharing their interactive whiteboard ideas. The project also actively involves parents and their local communities which in turn improves citizenship responsibility and racial harmony. Each school believes that by giving young learners a voice, their opportunities for democratic participation and sense of social worth and belonging will be enhanced.
The research is sponsored by Promethean Technologies Group
RSS Bogs, podcasting, memories, et al
Stephen Heppell
I'm sure you are all very aware of how rapidly the world of peer to peer learning has arrived (although some of us are not surprised of course!). Finding usable examples of the various components - RSS, podcasts, blogs, 3G and the like, is not easy so I have attempted to assemble most of the components together in one place in a (useful I hope) way.
A surprising number of email correspondents ask me for a single place where various bits of writing - from my Guardian column through to the odd academic paper - can be found, I have taken that as a cue. And to be honest, I have enjoyed re-reading some of that material as I try to collect it all together (I wasn't very organised at storing it, or even listing it, I'm afraid).
So I've built a kind of "RetroBlog" looking back at past publications from today's context. Alongside that is a monthly audio Podcast that is rather more forward facing and "of the moment" although the first one is also intentionally retrospective, just to get started. There are instructions on how to subscribe to the podcasts too if you still need them! Subscribe is in the technical sense of course, it's all free...
I'm still wrestling with a few details - to add nice images if you subscribe to the Podcast by iTunes for example - but there is enough there already to demo to students, or just to enjoy perhaps, and it all links up with RSS feeds too of course if that is your preferred route.
From here I'm working on an onto-the-phone version and then an into-the-smart-TV version too. So hopefully this will comprise a single source demo of emerging peer-to-peer technologies, now and expanding into the future too. And hopefully the material is light, accessible and sometimes fun too. There are some lively Steve Wright bits on the podcast for example, if you get past my turgid intro!!
Anyway, I just thought I'd alert you to all this. Feel free to forward this on (or to bin it!), I mailed it initially only to ITTE, Ultralab and Mirandanet friends.
Start at: www.heppell.net
Talking of podcasting …..
Bath seminar 1-2 Sept : Collaborating on the Boundaries of the Possible
Mirandanet World Ecitizen Conference
At the end of August/start of September, Mirandanet hosted its World Ecitizen Conference. At first, I thought the timing was ill-advised: after all, who would want to be concerned with such heady matters while enjoying their last few precious moments of freedom before returning to the classroom? In the event, my fears were unfounded: the conference was not only intellectually stimulating, but fun, and enabled people from several countries to meet up and exchange ideas.
It fell to me to record the proceedings, largely because I asked permission to. Listening to podcasts is not the same as being there, and there are some obvious shortcomings such as not being able to see a visual presentation. Neither do I make any claim as to the sound quality – although I have to say, it isn’t bad. The recording has been edited in order to cut out extraneous discussion, and softly-spoken people have been “enhanced”, courtesy of the open source program Audacity.
The recordings have also been chopped into manageable chunks, making it easy to listen to, say, Doug Brown giving the view from the UK’s Department for Education and Skills or to practitioners discussing the way they have used interactive whiteboards.
What is especially striking is the range of styles and approaches, from the very pragmatic, as found in the interactive whiteboards session just referred to, to the highly academic – one might even say esoteric – session provided by Rupert. What also comes across in the recordings is the sheer enjoyment of taking part in these collaborative and exploratory activities.
Listen to the recordings. You will learn a lot – including, perhaps, that you should attend in person next time!
Terry Freedman is an independent ICT consultant and Mirandanet Fellow. He runs the ICT in Education website.
Castle View and MirandaNet partners in specialist status
Castle View School in Sunderland faces a very challenging context, with high levels of local unemployment, little access to further or higher education amongst adults and low levels of achievement on entry. Achieving designation as a specialist Business and Enterprise college this September recognises the work that has gone on to raise attainment and establish high quality teaching and learning in recent years.
The school succeeded in attracting the required sponsorship from partners such as the Arcadia Group (BHS, Burtons, Topshop, etc) and in forging strong partnerships with the local community. MirandaNet, too, is an important partner, especially in citizenship and professional development.
The school raised attainment at key stage 3 significantly, establishing all core subjects above 60% at level 5+ from performance in the 20-30% range in the 1990’s. At GCSE, attainment at higher levels is now stabilised above floor targets, but it is in including so many students in achievement that the real success is found. 98% of students gain at least one GCSE and 92% leave with a minimum of five certificates.
The quality of teaching is being recognised both locally and nationally – with expert trainers in interactive technologies and successful MirandaNet scholars in a school where staff loyalty, retention and commitment are all high. Investment in technology has supported development, with the rapid expansion of interactive whiteboards, laptops for staff and 350 networked computers for its 900 students. Now into it’s third period of the Investor in People award, professional development managed by the deputy Christine Boad is a high priority.
Now the school is also pioneering work with its administrative, technical, site and support teams. Caroline McHale, the Director of Business and Community Services, is leading the remodelling and recognition of a highly professional team.
All of this has helped the school achieve specialist status, but the future remains uncertain with the threat of local academies and reorganisation. Despite the challenges, the school remains determined to deliver high quality for the students and the community. The aspirations are high. By September 2007, Castle View School aspires to be a model of excellent practice in business and enterprise education and to be taking a lead in sharing practice in Sunderland and nationally.
But by 2009, it is determined to be recognised as a centre of excellence both nationally and internationally for its work in raising attainment through partnerships with business, the community and other sectors of education.
David Litchfield
A report from Gill Deadman on ‘Pupil learning diaries’
Thought I'd briefly share what we've been doing in Lewisham with help from the BCS Schools Expert Panel, Teacher Education Group.
We've developed and trialled 'pupil learning diaries' which help pupils write up what they can do. The diaries also help teachers to assess pupils' progress. The diaries help pupils to 'think' because they pose questions. The questions are drawn from the learning objectives for the unit of work.
We've posted the diaries on the web alongside advice and guidance on how to use them. If you're interested, you can see these on:
KS3; KS4; KS2.
Gill Deadman, ICT Adviser, Lewisham LEA
Schome - thanks, update and opportunity
P. Twining
Firstly - a thank you to all those folk who responded to my request for help in finding students to author material for the schome website - many of you forwarded the info to your students and we managed to meet our target of recruiting 30 or so folk who wanted to play.
Secondly - an update on the outcomes of all of this (see above) was that the schome website now contains:
37 chunks of info on alternative approaches to education
27 chunks of info about the education systems in countries around the world
11 chunks of info on 'great educational thinkers'
several 'visions' of what the education system of the future should look like
lots of links to other sites that provide further info re comparative and alternative education systems
Thirdly - an opportunity we believe that the schome website now contains enough material to make it of some use to the education community (though it is still in its infancy). There is scope for you and your students to use the site - and being a wiki, to amend or extend it. So please tell your colleagues and students about it - and if you think that there are ways in which you could build the use of the site into your teaching then feel free to do so (eg students could use it as a vehicle to publish their thoughts on the role of ICT in schome (ie in education) or their visions of what the education system of the future should look like).
If you have ideas about how you would like to use the website which you would like to discuss then don't hesitate to get in touch.
Every Child Matters
What does ECM mean as far as the ICT teacher is concerned? Terry Freedman has produced a briefing paper to look at these very issues, with practical guidance and links to further resources. Several LEA advisers have described the document as excellent. Why not look at it and suggest improvements, as others have done? You can download it from here.
The ICT in Education Website and Subscription Service
One of our members, who is also a MirandaNet Fellow, runs a vibrant website and two subscription services – one free, and one paid-for. We asked Terry Freedman to tell us about the subscription services, and the sort of people who have signed up to them. To find out more, and to take advantage of a special offer to MirandaNet members,look here.
Miles Berry – Fellowship Article
Miles Berry's summary evaluation of St Ives School's pilot of a virtual learning environment in primary education is now available on the website. His study suggests that VLEs can offer much to primary aged schools, providing a wide range of benefits, including a significant impact on pupils' attitudes and approaches, as well as some positive effect on test scores. By making use of pupils' home computers, the open source VLE made individual access to computing for the curriculum a reality, without additional hardware or support costs to the school, and has done much to strengthen the home-school learning partnership.
The school is actively exploring ways of making some of its curriculum available online to other children, including those educated at home or overseas, and would welcome opportunities for collaborative work with other institutions. Other primary schools wishing to embark on implementing a VLE are welcome to contact him directly via e-mail.
New Fellows
Fellowships gained at the Bath workshop
(Some of these people gained their Fellowship status previously)
Mark Bennison
Doug Brown
Buddie
Mara Chrystie
Sarah Fletcher
Marilyn Leask
Sue Mainstone
Tom Rank
Nigel Riley
Benjamin Semwayo
Mike Smith
Dai Thomas
Katya Toneva
Miles Berry
For his summary evaluation of St Ives School's pilot of a virtual learning environment in primary education
Stephen Heppell
For his piece on RSS Bogs, podcasting, memories, et al
Mr Zhenghu Wang, Ms Han Guili and Ms Shang Yamei.
They did an excellent presentation about their practice based research project which won them all a MN Fellowship. You will find this presentation on Zhenyu’s website.
Wang Zhenyu's presentation (482KB)
Han Guili's presentation (226KB)
New Scholars
Manuel Fernández
Dr. Manuel Fernandez, Research Sub-Coordinator at the North Regional Committee for Cooperation with UNESCO, has researched and published in the field of computer supported collaborative literacy practices. His background is in psychology and sociolinguistics; he has investigated the strategies used by British primary school children to negotiate meaning while constructing collaboratively WebPages in History. Now, he is researching the discursive practices of teachers using Interactive Whiteboards with students in marginal schools in the north east of Mexico. In addition, he is leading a funded project studying the appropriation of the UNESCO agenda and values by school members of the UNESCO Associated School Programme. He works very closely with the Secretary of Education and the Autonomous University of Nuevo León, where he teaches a postgraduate course in Discourse Analysis.
Olivia Flores
Olivia Flores Garza coordinates the Technical & Pedagogical area of the Sub-Secretary of Basic Education in the state of Nuevo León, México. She has worked as a teacher of elementary school and special education. She has also worked as a lecturer at Universidad de Monterrey and the Virtual University of the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey.
She designed, directed and implemented a technological project for blind and deaf children and another related project to promote collaborative work between the school and the community.
She has worked in research projects about the process of written language acquisition, the reorientation of special education services towards the integration, functions of a school community in the educational process, and the pedagogical changes of a constructivist teacher and the School Project and the Supervision project. Right now she is working in a research about the use of Interactive White Boards in classrooms and teachers’ pedagogical practices in a MirandaNet citizenship project.
She took part in the design of national plans and curriculum programmes for pre-school and elementary levels. She has published manuals to facilitate the work of teachers in the classroom, as well as of head teachers in the school. She has also published a series of activity suggestions for a successful class as well as other materials in newspapers and magazines for teachers. Finally, she has published a book to develop connections between school and community.
Albin Wallace I trained as a primary school teacher in Australia in 1978 and, as a result of completing a Master's degree in learning technologies in the early 1980's worked in the area of ICT, teaching and learning and professional development for many years. I was the manager of the South Eastern Region Computer Technology centre of the Education Department for the state of Victoria before accepting a position as ICT manager of the South East England Virtual Education Zone in 2000. In 2003, I took up the position of Group ICT Director of the United Church Schools Trust and its subsidiary, the United Learning Trust which is the largest private sponsor of the DfES Academies programme. My department is responsible for the systems, the project management and the teaching and learning components of ICT across the whole group, which comprises independent primary and secondary schools as well as Academies. I am also undertaking a doctoral dissertation at the University of Sheffield in the area of the Internet, Society and Identity.
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