Teaching & Learning Blogs
 D T Nuggets - Wiltshire ICT Team Information on this blog is created and manged by Vince Marriott - D&T Adviser - Wiltshire LA Bridge design simulation Westpoint bridge designer is software that has been written to allow people to enter a competition but you can download and use it for free in schools regardless. The software allows the user to construct a variety of bridges for a variety of situations, it seems very open ended and easy to get in to. You [...] Submitted: Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:57:53 +0000 Well done Sutton Veney - K’Nex competition winners NATIONAL FINALS FOR KNEX CHALLENGE – 2ND YEAR RUNNING! Lawrence Pitman and Anisah Rahman are due to compete in the NATIONAL final of the Knex Challenge after coming 2nd in the South West Regional final in Yeovil on Wednesday, competing against 7 other schools. Knex Challenge gets children to use plastic technical construction kit and Lawrence explained [...] Submitted: Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:44:59 +0000 |  digi-school The aim of the blog is to inform, communicate and have a discussion about good design. In addition it enables the exploration of issues not reflected through other resources. Automake  Automake produces unique one-off products using a 3D printer. Using special software, the designer selects a 'mould' (e.g. a bowl shape) which is filled with randomly selected units, looking a little like K'nex connectors. The designer has some control over how the mould is filled, but ultimately produces unexpected and unique products. The automake software is FREE to download and try - you can even send your design to be made on a 3D Printer (if you have one!) Submitted: Wed, 26 Nov 2008 12:21:00 +0000 Pantone   Pantone fashion color reports fall 2008 and spring 2009 it is a great industrial link - featuring lovely sketches and colour palettes by well known designers The think Tanks is part of the pantone website - Look especially at colour fundamentals it has good background information about colour Submitted: Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:12:00 +0000 |  dougmuses A blog sharing thoughts and ideas by Doug Dickinson on the use of ICT in the primary curriculum. Strange Goings On ... If you are a regular reader of this blog then you will know how straightforward it is ... few bits down the side just a diary really of what I am thinking about. If you do access it regularly then you may have noticed on Thursday evening that Google put up a little notice on the site saying that access could damage your computer. I was driving back from a session in Bristol when a friend rang me to tell me. He had forgotten the url of the blog so had searched for it and had received a warning message. He wondered if I knew of it. I didn't and rang round some other people and they said .... Yes ... if you search in Google then a warning comes up. When I got home I had a look ... sure enough there was a warning ... but it also told me how to fix the problem. I couldn't actually see one but I worked away following instructions and asked for verification ... next morning all was back to normal. So ... if you have are reading this now ... everything is okay ... if you are not reading this you might have been put off by a warning message and I can't tell you that ... all is okay ... but it is (if you see what I mean) If you do get to read this then clearing your cache seems to open things up Sorry if it disconcerted anyone ... it certainly disconcerted me for a while! Submitted: Sat, 29 Nov 2008 10:07:00 +0000 Mike Waters talks about the Rose review of primary education Last week Mike Waters spoke at NCSL about current progress on the primary curriculum review being conducted by Sir Jim Rose. Mick, the Director of Curriculum at the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), considered the implications of the findings for school leaders and leadership. You can listen to his comments on progress here. Submitted: Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:26:00 +0000 |
 Great SW Filtering Debate This blog has been set up to enable an informed debate around the issue of filtering. Governors - Post your comments here This area is for school governors to post their comments Submitted: Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:28:00 +0000 Headteachers - Post your comments here This area is for headteachers and senior school leaders to post their comments Submitted: Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:27:00 +0000 |  ICT Nuggets - Wiltshire ICT Team A simple way of keeping up to date with news and developments in ICT with a particular emphasis on secondary schools. Vocaroo I’ve just seen a lovely website on PrimaryICTNuggets. This one allows you to record your voice with a simple click. The sample is then automatically stored on the web and a link is provided. You can then send the link to whoever or embed it into a podcast etc. Here is my sample http://vocaroo.com/?media=vUbU0MH2qIqp0laIR Vocaroo Primary ICT Nuggets DougMuses (original Source) del.icio.us [...] Submitted: Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:38:36 +0000 Lovely idea for research It’s probably a little late now but file this away for next year .. Photograph the local war memorial the ask pupils to take a name and to discover their story. This will provide an opportunity to look at massive online databases (such as the war graves commission). It may also be possible to look at the German [...] Submitted: Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:58:25 +0000 |  Juicy Geography Juicy Geography is Noel Jenkins' personal collection of ideas, lessons and resources, shared for other Geography teachers. Google-up your GCSE coursework There’s a new article for students on using Google Earth and Maps in GCSE coursework. Submitted: Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:59:14 +0000 Juicy Geography has been redesigned. Trying to make the site easier to manage - so I’ve redesigned it and deleted some of the old content. The Google Earth blog has been damaged by hackers. I’m waiting for Google to visit it and declare it safe again. Submitted: Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:28:16 +0000 |
 Plymouth Plug blog This blog has been created for members of the Plymouth Platform for Learning User Group but all comments are welcome Plymouth PLUG Meeting - Thurs 15th May 08 Time: 15.45-17.00 Venue: PPDC, Southway Agenda 1. SWGfL Merlin Update (Piloting and Roll-out Phases) - Godfrey Leech SWGfL Merlin Pilot in Plymouth - Powerpoint Presentation SDCC is piloting Merlin 0.1 and 0.3 from 19th May to test the provisioning of accounts Launch of Merlin 0.5 at the Regional ICT Conference at Torquay 1st July 08 Up to 7 more schools will be needed [...] Submitted: Fri, 09 May 2008 07:40:16 +0000 Becta - Getting Started with your Learning Platform - Advice for Schools Becta have produced a very useful booklet with some sound advice for schools. To view or download the original file go to learning_platform_schools.pdf Here are some of the key messages: Schools that are using their learning platform effectively have told us that the essential elements for success are: 1 Having the commitment of your senior leadership team 2 Understanding what you want [...] Submitted: Thu, 03 Apr 2008 11:14:46 +0000 |  Swindon Primary ICT Blog An update on all things Primary ICT from Swindon LA Myths and Legends Myths and Legends is another fantastic free resource for schools, provided by the South West Grid for Learning (but actually designed by their equivalents in the East of England). You can watch a range of myths produced by adults and children, with text to read, cartoons and some speech and animation. Then make your own [...] Submitted: Mon, 13 Oct 2008 11:34:38 +0000 Early Years websites swindonwiki.pbwiki.com has a special Early Years page which has picture links to a range of websites suitable for young children. Why not put this as your home page, so that children can explore the different sites independently? If they want to go back and choose another site, they will only need to click the Home [...] Submitted: Mon, 13 Oct 2008 11:28:39 +0000 |  Wiltshire SENCOs ICT network Supporting, sharing and training in the useof ICT for special needs pupils. e-motions e-motions This is a really interesting site for learning about emotions through facial changes. Try it and see. Discuss what the emotion is and also whether you have had that emotion or not. Submitted: Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:25:10 +0000 Mind Mapping Ideas for use with Pupils I. Subjects A. Revision B. Facts-based projects C. Processes D. Procedures E. Outlines & Essay Plans II. Social Stories III. Templates for Behaviour IV. Planning outlines Ideas for Staff I. Planning Topics II. Staff Meetings III. Brainstorming ideas IV. Problem-solving V. Decision Making VI. Supporting Individual Pupil’s work A. Providing templates B. Lesson Synopsis C. Scaffolding of ideas Submitted: Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:52:38 +0000 |