THERE'S MORE TO COMPUTING THAN YOU THINK!

PRIMARY CONFERENCE JANUARY 28TH
 
LOOK OUT FOR THE FLYER EMAILED TO YOUR SCHOOL!

Free twilight session for your school

Contact us for more details.

An informal gathering of

teachers in a casual

setting to network and

share best practices.

Thursday 27th November
5.30pm - 9pm
The National College, Nottingham

Keynote Speaker: Jonathan Lear
Award-winning teacher, Deputy Head and
Independent Thinking associate.

Free buffet at 6.00pm, and a late bar to
purchase drinks.

For ticket requests and to sign up to
share your ideas, log on to the wiki:
http://bit.ly/18tIXxK

Digital Parenting FREE Magazine

The Digital Parenting website and magazines offer parents information and advice about the latest digital technologies and the kind of challenges children and teenagers might face in their digital world. Our Expert View articles, ‘How to’ guides and Take Action checklists will help you to stay up-to-date and feel more confident about getting involved.

To DOWNLOAD your FREE copy please click HERE

To read more about Digital Parenting please visit the below website

http://www.vodafone.com/content/parents/digital-parenting.html

NELC Production Services

Nottingham e-Learning Centre offers a variety of production services for your school or Academy.

Capture those magical performances for ever!

For more information and prices then please contact James Hancock & David Ellis on 0115 915 9511

CODING – NEW COMPUTING CURRICULUM

ScratchJR is here!

ScratchJr is available to download for free on the iPad.  It is ideal for pupils in Key Stage 1 and early KS2 learning to program.  It’ll prepare them to move on to Scratch.

Find out more: http://www.scratchjr.org/about.html

and teaching ideas: http://www.scratchjr.org/teach.html

Follow ScratchJr on Twitter: #ScratchJr

Using Padlet in the classroom

Using Padlet in the classroom

Why not use Padlet to create an online board where staff and pupils can share ideas and collaborate live?  It’s easy to use and free!

At the Computing conference held at the e-LC we used Padlet to share ideas of what works well in our schools. 

We have found a great website which explains how it all works.  Have a go.

http://education.fcps.org/trt/padlet

Click on the Padlet logo to visit the official website

NELC Computing Conference 2014 Resources

Please click the below link to view and download the files from the conference and workshops

Conference Resources

Edusites TeachMeet

ATTENTION TO ALL ENGLISH, MEDIA AND FILM COLLEAGUES

The e-Learning Centre will be hosting an Edusites TeachMeet on Wednesday the 5^th November, 4.30 to 6.30 pm.  It’ll be a great opportunity to network and share best practice.  Don’t delay - book your place now and let other colleagues know about this event! 

 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/edusites-english-film-media-teachmeet-tickets-12953541391

Please contact Richard Gent at Edusites if you wish to present.  

In the meantime, please visit their websites to check out how to subscribe and access all their great teaching and learning resources.

http://english.edusites.co.uk

http://film.edusites.co.uk

http://media.edusites.co.uk

'Recommended iPad Apps List for September 2014'

The Nottingham e-Learning Centre has put together a list of recommended Apple Apps for the new term.

Please click the below link to read and download the PDF document.

Nottingham e-Learning Centre Recommended Apple Apps September 2014

If you would like more information on a particular App or general information on mobile learning, then please get in touch with us.

Primary Computing Conference

PRIMARY COMPUTING CONFERENCE

Date: 18th September 2014

Venue: Nottingham e-Learning Centre

Open to all Coordinators and SLTs, we will focus on the Computing Curriculum and how to link the key areas with cross curricular activities and also take a fresh look at programming.

Look out for the email flyer being sent to schools before the end of term!

If you want to pre-register or would like more information, contact Jan Gray at

jan.gray@nottinghamcity.gov.uk or telephone 0115 9159511

BOYD (Bring Your Own Device)

BYOD – Bring Your Own Device – for the school of today and the future?

With improved technology such as wireless access, the management of devices, volume purchasing programme (VPP) schools are becoming more serious about finding new ways to access the resources the web has to offer, to personalize and enhance the learning experience of their students, to embed IT in a creative way into lessons and to widen accessibility for all their students.

Schools as diverse as Essa Academy in Bolton (http://tabtimes.com/news/education/2013/05/03/here-how-ipad-making-teachers-more-tech-savvy-one-british-school) and St Birinus in Oxfordshire (http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/yourtown/didcot/10811333.Schools_enter_the_digital_age_and_offer_iPads_to_pupils/) have introduced mobile devices for their students and staff  (1:1), albeit with mixed reception in the community and the media.  Initially, Essa Academy purchased iPads for the whole school whereas St Birinus started the implementation of their scheme with Year 7, and all members of staff being given an iPad mini. 

More and more educational establishments are choosing or considering a BYOD programme (Bring Your Own Device) to cut costs due to budget constraints.  BYOD allows students to bring their own smart phone, iPod touch, iPad or other tablet/device into school.  Research increasingly shows that students already own and use mobile devices.  One of the Key Findings of CDWG’s 21^st Century Classroom Report, 2011 states: “Students study with technology…at home:

• 86% of students say they use technology more outside of school than in class

• Nearly all students – 94% – say they use technology to study or work on class assignments at home…”

The variety of devices could be seen as an advantage as it gives students the ability to choose and use the device they are comfortable with and when working collaboratively, students can choose the best device for a given task, switching between devices if necessary.

There are, however, challenges regarding BYOD, for example, equity, the compatibility of such an array of devices, security and filtering, and the management of the devices.  The main concerns are how to ensure that a school implements a successful BYOD programme.  These are the questions:

·         What are the benefits and educational goals of the programme?  How will BYOD meet these goals?  A question to ask is: how have previous technologies been embedded in the school?  Have they been successful?  What lessons can be learnt from previous experiences?

·         What will be the support from the major stakeholders i.e. the teachers, and the parents who have purchased or may need to purchase the devices?  Support is critical as well as clear communication and dialogue for the sharing information and addressing concerns, for example.

·         What devices will be allowed in school?  What devices are not appropriate for learning?  What about devices with Wi-Fi connectivity only or will the school also allow those with 3G/4G connectivity?  What about the age appropriateness of the students in relation to the device?

·         What will be the usage policies in school? The debate is not only about what devices will be used but also how and when they will be used.  Some schools have moved from an Acceptable Use Policy to a Responsible Use Policy which reflects students being given responsibility regarding how they use their device.   Schools also need to have a good discussion about whether the students’ devices must connect through the school filtered Internet.  Will the devices have a mobile filter or a mobile device management (MDM) solution allowed on them, prior to being allowed in school?  How vital is it to control and manage students’ own device regarding access in school?

·         IT support needs to be considered.  Who will be responsible if a device needs maintenance when it is crucially needed for a class activity?  What apps could one expect to have on a device? In addition, how will the device be charged and kept securely?

·         Teacher support will also be vital.  Teachers will need to know how to support lessons across a variety of devices/platforms.  Professional development is therefore essential to discuss ideas about how BYOD can be integrated in their lessons and how to troubleshoot problems.

·         One of the advantages of BYOD is potential financial savings.  Schools, however, need to address fair access for all their students.  How much stock will the school purchase to ensure that no student is left out.

·         One cannot emphasise enough how important excellent wireless connectivity is.  Many early adopters have had their enthusiasm curbed and lessons ruined because of poor bandwidth.  Possibly, a separate guest (and filtered) access would need to be seriously looked at.

·         How will schools retrieve and use the work completed for assessment and showcasing, for example?  BYOD needs to have a meaningful context.  In order to access schoolwork and discussions, as well as collaborate and share ideas and resources, some form of platform will need to be considered.

Many schools contemplating BYOD do so in collaboration with a provider who will not only deploy and manage their programme, but also track how the mobile devices are deployed across the school, configure policies, settings and restrictions; enable secure access to resources; distribute and manage in-house or purchased apps.   Finally, in the worse case scenario, they would remotely wipe school assets from stolen or lost devices.

M. Antoine and J Hancock

June 2014

Nottingham Learning Trust e-guide

NELC consultant, Marie-Line Antoine, was commissioned by the Nottingham Learning Trust to produce an e-guide in collaboration with a number of Nottingham City Schools and the Nottingham e-Learning Centre consultants.  The e-guide contains a variety of recommended websites, resources and apps for iPads which have been used successfully by the contributors.  Please feel free to download and share this e-guide with colleagues!

Click here to download your copy!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bxmo8LDPH8x7ei03UW9UNzkwTlU/edit?usp=sharing

SAFEGUARDING AND e-SAFETY RESOURCES FOR KS1

If you work in foundation or KS1 these books may be useful when you want to address these sensitive issues.

The titles in series 1 cover the concepts of stranger danger, the importance of telling a trusted adult where you are going, anti-bullying, that people are not always who they appear to be, cyber bullying and the danger of giving away personal information on the internet.

The books are published by JLSP Associates and more information is available at www.jlsp.co.uk