ICT in my Classroom

2009

• “Flippin’ Marvellous: Using Video in the Classroom” article New Media Knowledge – 5/8/09
• Organised and ran TeachMeet Channel 4 as a bookend to the Channel 4 Education Summer Conference entitled What Comes Next? – 30/6/09
• “Nice to Tweet You” article (1 of 3 introducing Twitter) Teach Primary Magazine – 26/6/09
• 2 “Classroom Without Walls” workshops at the Developing Leaders Conference, NCSL/SSAT – 4/6/09
• Organised and ran TeachMeet Midlands at the NCSL – 15/5/09
• 2 hour online workshop 21C Primary Classroom Western New York teachers group – Powerful Learning Practice, LLC – 4/5/09 (Ongoing NING support for PLP group)
• “Web of Words” article (How online technology can support writing) Teach Primary Magazine – 30/4/09
• 15 minute mini-note presentation at TeachMeet NEL – 31/3/09
• “Using SMART Notebook and Google Earth for 3D Shape” article Sharing Good Practice Issue 60 - Ictopus – 28/2/09
• “What is Twitter and why is it so important to CPD?” article Practical ICT – Terry Freedman Ltd – 7/2/09
• Contributed to organisation and 7 minute talk at BETT TeachMeet – 16/1/09

2008

• “Interesting Ways to use Google Docs in the Classroom” 28/10/08 - Guest article for the Official Google Docs Blog
• Contributed to Schools ICT Conference at The Cape Academy for Mathematics, Science and Technology, Cape Town – via Skype – 2/10/08
• TeachMeet SLF 2008 – 7 minute presentation on the Philips Entertaible in school – 24/9/08
• “It’s about communication, not the tool” 16/9/08 – Guest article for the Official Google Docs Blog
• “Tips for introducing online collaboration to students” 28/8/08 - Guest article for the Official Google Docs Blog
• Guardian Educational Supplement – contributed to article on Google Applications in the classroom “Chips for free” 6/5/2008
• “Using Google Documents in the Classroom” 9/2/2008 – Ictopus: Sharing Good Practice Issue 20: Working Together

2007

• “Using Google Documents in the Classroom” – guest columnist for eNews, San Antonio Instructional Technology Services, US. 11/2007 issue
• Duckmanton Primary School- hosted ICT coordinator to explore subject development planning and IWB use. 6/2007
• Ivanhoe Grammar School, Mernda, Victoria, Australia, “Exploring the 21st Century Classroom.” – 2/2007

2006

• Innovative Classroom Conferences: “The Potentials and Pitfalls of an Interactive Whiteboard installation in your school” Twilight INSET course. 11/11/2006
• Innovative Classroom Conferences: “Making the most of your Digital Camera” Twilight INSET course. 4/11/2006, 25/11/2006
• Artrage – an introduction and basic guide. INSET 14/11/2006
• Infomapper – regional Ordnance Survey mapping and much more. INSET 7/11/2006
• del.icio.us – social bookmarking, a school wide effort to share our internet resources. INSET 11/2006
• Blogging – examples of good practice and first steps. INSET 11/2006
• Tools for the Classroom – Google Maps. 10/10/2006 – Featured teacher article
• Highwood Player Infant School, “Creative and practical ways to embed the use of the IWB in your teaching and learning.” 6/10/2006 – notes and goals for session and follow up blog post.
• TEEM (Teachers Evaluating Educational Multimedia) Software evaluations: DES Numbers in Action – numeracy software – 4/8/2006
• BECTA – Ask an Expert. Guest consultant supporting the early use of the Self Review Framework 10/2/2006 – 10/3/2006

2005

• Greasley Beauvale DH Lawrence Infant School – hosted whole staff about the use of the IWB. 8/11/2005
• Mickelover Primary School – hosted whole staff INSET on the use of the IWB. 22/2/2005
• Manor Park Infant School – hosted ICT coordinator to explore subject development planning and IWB use. 17/1/2005
• St Cuthbert’s CE Primary School – hosted leadership team to explore ICT embedded in the curriculum. 11/1/2005

2004

• TEEM (Teachers Evaluating Educational Multimedia) Software evaluations: Channel 4 Chez Mimi – KS2 French – 17/12/2004
• BECTA/TEEM Authoring Software evaluation – associate consultant. 9/2004
• Nottingham Trent University lecture – “The role of the primary ICT Coordinator.” 11/3/2004

2003

• Nottinghamshire ICT Advisory and Inspection Services – associate consultant on course ”The Survival guide to multimedia presentations at upper Key Stage 2.” 15/10/2003
• Nottinghamshire ICT Advisory and Inspection Services – associate consultant on course “The Survival guide to spreadsheets, databases and the internet.” 22/10/2003
• TEEM (Teachers Evaluating Educational Multimedia) Software evaluations: SMART Technologies SMART Ideas – Mind Mapping software – 29/9/2003
• Evaluation and school based pilot of the East Midlands Broadband Consortium learning platform for Nottinghamshire LA. 09/2003
• Guardian Educational Supplement – contributed to “Guardian/TEEM guide to laptops (primary)” – 11/3/2003
• Guardian Educational Supplement – contributed to “Guardian/TEEM guide to IWBs (primary)” – SMARTBoard 7/1/2003

2001

• Coordinated school involvement in the national pilot to a Local Authority Hands on Support programme.The Indigo Pilot involved three members of staff evaluating and trialling curriculum support materials. These were produced in collaboration with RM and supported the teaching of Literacy and Numeracy.

School projects

IWB installations
In December 2003 Priestsic Primary School completed a full installation of SMARTBoards in every classroom and so became one of the very first UK schools to have the technology across the school. Since then the school has hosted numerous school visits, INSET and training events as it continues to lead the way forward in the effective implementation of the IWB as a teaching and learning tool.

I coordinated the IWB installation from procurement, to installation, to staff training. I have been using IWBs to support teaching and learning since 1999, when as a final year student teacher I dragged a lonely SMARTBoard out of it’s box in the corridor and set it up to work in the Year 3 class I was in. I still use my IWB today and continue to support staff in my own school and in others in it’s effective implementation.

Laptop project
Since I began work at Priestsic Primary the headteacher and I have been discussing a vision for ICT that, in short, includes the notion of “on-tap” technology within the classrooms. During the Summer of 2007 I finalised the procurement of 32 laptops that would form a permanent resource of 8 notebooks in each of the four upper junior classes. From September 2007 they have been used as a classroom resource and have been a great success. April 2008 sees this laptop resource double in size and greater “on-tap” capability in the hands of the children – a further step towards our vision. As a teacher it has challenged my thinking and my practice. As a school leader it has caused me to engage key members of staff in debate and planning for an ongoing pedagogical shift to embrace these new opportunities. Exciting times.

Phillips Entertaible
Taken from my blog post “Philips Workshop Tomorrow” 3/12/2006

“I have been invited down to London for a workshop run by Philips. You may be wondering why I am involved with such a big electronics company?

Well earlier on this year I was exploring our options in terms of perhaps buying a second interactive device for our early years classrooms. I had heard all this talk of a “critical mass” of IWBs in any one classroom – but I don’t really subscribe much to that view. I think that if a room permits it and the learning environment can be further enhanced then a second IWB or other device could be installed. So I got to looking…

I wanted to learn more about the sort of plasma, LCD options that were beginning to emerge and stumbled upon Philips’ site about a concept product called the Entertaible. As you can read from the product description it is aimed at the gaming market – but the features intrigued me. I was for a while thinking about how we could have a flat plasma screen or IWB that would allow for a different learning surface. The most important technological difference between the Entertaible and other products is it’s ability to react with physical objects on the screen. So you put a block counter in a square and it glows or tracks it’s movements. Armed with this briefest of knowledge I could clearly see a path into education – so I sent them an email. I sent it directly to Gerard Hollemans of Philips Research in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. All the email consisted of was a “Have you considered it’s use in education?” type question.

Well a few emails and conference phone calls later I was having to ask my headteacher if I could go to Eindhoven as Philips research laboratories and the guys behind the Entertaible wanted to meet me !!

Now those of you reading this who are currently slogging away in a classroom somewhere know that this is pretty far removed from your average day as a primary teacher! Of course my headteacher said I could go. So in early summer this year I travelled to Eindhoven and met Gerard and Maurice of Philips Entertaible. They allowed me to have a go with the product and it totaly blew me away! So, so, so, so MUCH potential in a classroom. We discussed the educational impact it could have and if there were possibilities for it to be used in a classroom.

It all went quiet for a while – but they recently invited me down to a London workshop about the launch of Entertaible into different markets. I am not really sure what to expect but they said they wanted my expert input…mmm let’s hope that I can live up to that. More soon.”

Strategic Leadership in ICT (SLICT)
Since January 2003 Priestsic Primary school has been acting as a host school for the NCSL/BECTA SLICT professional development course. In this role we host between 6-18 primary headteachers from around the UK in a half day training session. These would often occur twice a year. We explore the story of ICT at Priestsic and the challenges and successes we have had, as well as offering delegates the opportunity to observe teachers and ICT embedded within our curriculum.

There has always been plenty of opportunity to discuss individual school priorities and challenges. When we began the course in 2003 the headteachers were keen to learn from our early adoption of IWBs, however the most recent (and last) event in January 2008 proved that the majority of the schools visiting had a clear IWB strategy in place.

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