ICT for Teaching and Learning

The I-River has landed!

It’s a little later than expected, but it has finally arrived. We now have the means of creating high quality podcasts! Anyone wishing to do so should contact me!

P P P P P P P Podcasting!

It’s the latest craze to hit the streets! Podcasting may sound technically difficult, but let me assure you……..ITS NOT! It’s simply a sound file that people can access and put on their MP3 players. What could be simpler! Approximately 70% of our pupils as a whole have MP3 players, with KS4&5 pupils being close to 90%!!! We really should be tapping into this!

So, should I tell you what we’ve done? We’ve only gone and invested in some top spec kit to allow you to create Podcasts in college! Hells Yeah!!! A top class Microphone, and audio recorder, plus 5 small voice recorders!!! And do you know what’s even better? Our technician is a legend with it! So,  at some point his week we should receive our new kit. It’s there for everyone to use, so if you’ve got an idea that you wanty to turn into a podcast, just let us know…..I’m using the gear on Tuesday afternoon, so get in early!

You Snooze You Lose Suckers!

Going Blue!

OK, so I’ve been looking at the hardware situation accross college, and helping departments get a little closer to where they would like to be, but up until recently, I haven’t really been pushing the boundaries in using ICT to enhance teaching and learning. That all changed this week! On Friday afternoon a group of Year 12 pupils created a Celebrity Big Brother Historical spoof Movie using Blue Screen Technology, and Movie Edit Pro software. The project was based around an idea for imaginary dialogues (taken from Michael J Gelb), adapted into a historical study of Civil rights activists and given a modern twist by being staged in the big brother house. The 10 minute movie took 2 lessons to prepare, 1 lesson to shoot and 45 minutes to edit. It has been well worth the effort. Not only did it enthuse the pupils, but it also made them think of the historical characters in more detail, and produced a resource they can access for revision in the future. It was also one hell of a laugh!

Taking the plunge!

OK, so it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find a time where everyone is together at the same time to get the questionnaire completed to find our starting point. So, I’ve put the copies in people’s pigeon holes in the hope that it won’t be a total pain in the arse making sure I get them all back! Fingers Crossed!!!

Mobile Multi Media!

Ok, so we all know that data projectors are expensive. We all know, getting them ceiling mounting them is mega expensive, but we also know that they are excellent tools to try and increase the effectiveness of teaching and learning. What to do???????

I think we may have cracked it! the Mobile Multi Media Unit may just be the answer! Containing a data projector, video, and speakers, all you need to do is wheel it into your room, infront of the board, plug it into the wall and hook up your laptop! It’s so easy! Not only that, it’s cheaper than ceiling mounting a projector, and can cover more rooms!

This week, all the pieces arrived to put the unit together. It was built, and is currently under trial in Art. Based on its usage, we will see how effective it is, and consider a role out to under subscribed departments.

Check out the Port Hole!

Interest in the Portal is gradually increasing, and fingers crossed will continue to do so! After an initial letter to the whole staff there have been a number of queries dealing with access to the portal, and editing areas. All 6 projects from the League will be posted to NTLP, which will hopefully begin to bring about greater usage and ingrain the view that the portal is an excellent tool to aid teaching and learning. Added to the Leagues efforts, Andrew Dickson has also showed interest in creating a business Studies area of the Portal, and Dr Rands will be working with Trudy Craddock to add further science resources to the Portal. I have also organised a meeting with Eileen Wall to go through how the portal can be used for pupils dealing with long term adsences.

Finally, a recent meeting with the Head of Science at Longbenton has further confirmed the fact that the Portal really is the future. He has been uploading his entire SOW to the portal, with links to various video clips, worksheets, web pages and powerpoints. His system is truly great, and is something we should be strivivng to work towards. Anyone wishing to view the work going on at Longbenton should see me, as I’ve got an access code to view their site!

Chris

A Little Setback….

….Ok, after an initial good start we’ve encountered a little setback. I had planned to hand out the baseline questionnaire during dept meetings on Tuesday 17th, to give people time to complete them on that night. However, timings and reschedules have meant that this meeting became a full staff meeting, and there was no time to complete the questionnaires. I therefore intend to distribute the questionnaires during the departmental meeting on 31st of January. This may effect the timings on the action plan, but cannot really be helped.

Chris

Getting to Know Everyone!

So, as you should already know, the first point on the action plan is for me to obtain a benchmark to find out where everybody in CCC is in relation to using ICT for Teaching and learning, and that I intend to do this by asking all members of staff to complete a questionnaire. I will then analyse the results of this questionnaire to become better informed about the action I will need to ake in the future. To view a copy of the questionnaire, simple download the link below!
Initial Questionnaire

Chris.

Adobe Photoshop!

The software for Adobe Photoshop has now been added to all 18 computers in LRC 4. This now means that access to this programme is now a lot better, allowing the art department more time to make more effective use of ICT in their Teaching and Learning.

We have also introduced to the Art department the possibility of using a piece of freeware, which is VERY similar to photoshop. Essentially pupils could use this software to edit pictures at home, as it is a free download, or we could provide access to it throughout the college. The software has been loaded onto Art’s standalone PC, and will hopefully be trialled to test its usefullness.

The software can be found at the following URL:

www.gimp.org

an excellent name!
Chris

The First Week!

OK, so this has been the first week in the post, and has been pretty hectic, but we have managed to get some things in place!

I’ve prepared a questionnaire for all staff which will hopefully allow me to gage where we are at this moment in relation to ICT for teaching and learning. This will hopefully be distributed on the 17th of January, which would be good!

The second thing that I have put in place is an ICT for Teaching and Learning area on NTLP. This provides details of what the post is aimed to do, and gives information on the software available at CCC, and the free downloads that I have found to help create resources. This will hopefully gain more use once everyone is made aware of it, which will happen during the next week.

I’ve also introduced myself and the new post to Heads of Department at the Middle Leaders meeting. Reaction was OK, and given me a couple of initial tasks to work on, in the transfer of Adobe Photoshop liscenses, and queries over the Cubase system in music.

Finally, work has begun on the development of our Interactive team, taking leaders from core subjects to create interactive content for their respective departments and the college as a whole. The team at this moment in time consists of Katie Fiddler, Mawuli Tetteh, Heather Kaswell, Veromica Pilkington and Darren Parr. Initial meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 24th of January. All the resources produced are done so in consultation with HOD’s, and will become inplemented into SOW’s after half term.

Further news will be published as it comes!

Chris