Nottingham eLearning Centres

Scratch programming

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 10:44:00 +0000

For a number of years we have been using Scratch programming software in our learning activities. Class groups and even teachers on training courses have programmed interactive art, games and animations with music, voice recordings and sound effects. All done in an accessible building-block programming software.

Scratch is developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab. It is completely free and is particularly designed for younger people to get them started in programming - one of the key areas for developing ICT skills, knowledge and understanding. The government has named Scratch as a vehicle for teaching and learning in a modern IT curriculum.

In the process of creating interactive stories, games, and animations with Scratch, young people can learn computational programming skills and concepts.

Here at the e-Learning Centre we offer support for teaching and learning Scratch programming:

Leading the teaching of class groups in older Primary school classes in support of ICT and Control Technology, and with a bit of imagination - across the curriculum.
Leading the teaching of classes across year groups in Secondary schools. Scratch can be taught within Art (interactive artworks), Design and Technology (systems and control), Maths (logic, numeracy) and ICT (programming) and in other curriculum areas for introducing different ways for students to be creative - how about interactive animations in French?
INSET and CPD in learning to use Scratch and starting points for teachers in Primary and Secondary schools in half-day courses at our centre or in schools.
Medium-term planning for implementing Scratch programming into curriculum areas, supported by Schemes of Learning, lesson plans, leading lessons, co-teaching and technical support.

Using Scratch with Lego WeDo

SCRATCH Sub from ryan wistort on Vimeo.

We can now offer Scratch sessions that incorporate Lego WeDo models. By connecting the Lego WeDo to a computer running Scratch, you can learn:

How to control models you build, such as turning motors
How to use the tilt sensors on the models to interact with the software interactively (as the video above shows.

Scratch and WeDo

Please be in contact with Jamie at the e-Learning Centre for more information on booking classes, CPD or even if you just want to find out more about Scratch software and what we can offer to support your teaching and your students' learning.

Year 1 class with controllable robots and Lego.

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:13:00 +0000

Two short videos from an afternoon at St. Mary's Primary School in Hyson Green.

Year 1 pupils had fun (yes, fun!) with Lego Duplo making and testing mechanical models. They also programmed the controllable Bee Bots robots to extend their number bonds and get round a maze.

The pupils helped record the videos.

CPD Courses in Spring 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 11:58:00 +0000

Continuing professional development courses on offer at the Nottingham eLearning Centres for the Spring term in 2012.
Contact the centre to find out how you can book individual or discounted bundles of courses.
If you have already purchased courses, click on the 'Book courses' button on the right.

Open publication - Free publishing - More courses

Blogging support for Fernwood Jnr School

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:04:00 +0000

Blogging on Prezi

Sample CPD that we have run over the year

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:37:00 +0000

Over the year, we have run many courses for continuing professional development (CPD.)
A flavour of these are detailed in the booklets on Issuu shelf below. Click on each booklet to read them.

Crypto Day at Rosslyn Park Primary School

noreply@blogger.com (janet) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:30:00 +0000

Yesterday year 5 pupils and their teachers at Rosslyn Park School explored different cryptography problems and managed to solve most of them!
Together, in a truly cross curricula way, we explored:

numeracy

literacy

ICT

history

problem solving strategies and thinking skills.

We also managed to have fun at the same time!

Listen to what the teachers thought in this short video:

Nethergate stay safe on-line......

noreply@blogger.com (Nottingham eLearning Centres) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:51:00 +0000

Nethergate pupils at the e-learning centre used an iPad application to chat online to 'Jessica, aged 8'. Following weekly sessions at the centre they know the importance of not giving out personal information on-line.

The iPad app:-

The students passed the test with flying colours. Was Jessica really 8, and was Jessica really Jessica? Judge for yourself:-

In fact Jessica is really Michael, a student who is working with us this year, and who helped us devise this important e-safety lesson.

Glenbrook video-conference ticks all the boxes!

noreply@blogger.com (Nottingham eLearning Centres) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:20:00 +0000

Reading, writing, speaking, listening, ICT, History and English - how many learning experiences can you cram into one day?

A Video Conference with the British Archives looking at crime and punishment for children in Victorian times. This involved discussions with a member of the archive staff and examination of source material.
Writing poetry that reflects the experience of young people pressed into crime.
Dressing up in period costumes and taking digital photos to put on the computer.
Learning to create animated 'talking photos', which perform their creative pieces

Year 2 from Edna G Olds Primary School design and make model fire engines

noreply@blogger.com (Nottingham eLearning Centres) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:34:00 +0000

Year 2 pupils from Edna G Olds Primary School came to the centre wanting to do a design and technology activity to tie into their topic of The Great Fire of London.

The ever-enthusiastic pupils, did a fantastic job of designing their vehicles using Sketchbook Pro graphics software and digital drawing tablets. They watched as the laser cutter cut out shapes they designed in plywood. Printouts of the designs were cut out and stuck on to the wooden shapes. Then, all parts were assembled, expertly by the pupils, with wheels and axles. If this wasn't enough, they also found time to make Lego Duplo vehicles and test them. All in two frantic, but fun, hours.

Thanks to class teacher Miss Glover for bringing such a wonderful class (and for the photos!)

NESTBOX CAM 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Jan Gray) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 11:31:00 +0000

During April and May, we had a pair of BlueTits nested in our box and reared 8 Chicks. Here's their story.

We've also purchased some ScoutGuard Wildlife Cameras for schools to borrow as part of the Wildlife in the City Project. If you are a City School and would like to borrow one to see what wildlife visits your school grounds during the day and night, contact Jan on 9152971

Three Purposes for Classroom Blogs

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 21:23:00 +0000

I read the blog, Free Technology for Teachers, a great source for ideas on how to make creative use of technology in school. A recent blog post discusses different purposes for using classroom blogs.
Free Technology for Teachers: Three Purposes for Classroom Blogs

Autumn timetable of CPD and training events

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 10:04:00 +0000

The e-Learning Centre continues to offer an exciting and varied range of INSET and training courses.
Here is our autumn programme.
As always, if the dates of a course are inconvenient, then let us know and we can arrange another session. Also, if you would like some customised CPD for yourself, a department or whole school, then do get in touch and we'll try to sort something out for you.

Primary INSET opportunities - creative teaching and learning

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 09:00:00 +0000

The e-Learning Centres' Creative Technologies INSET days for Primary schools will give your school an opportunity to immerse all staff in practical applications of using technology around the school in creative and engaging ways.

As an example of an organised INSET, a day at the eLearning Centre (or your school, if preferred) could include concurrently running workshops on a wide variety of topics such as e-safety, digital creativity or using blogs in the classroom. INSET days may be on specific themes to fit in with your school plan. Workshops will be small and include curriculum ideas and resources to take away.

INSET days are designed to be entirely flexible to meet your school's needs. We aim to provide opportunities for all staff, including teaching assistants, teachers, senior leaders, office and other support staff. Workshops are adapted to match the confidence and skill levels of those attending.

Open publication - Free publishing - More cpd

Webcam News

noreply@blogger.com (Jan Gray) — Thu, 05 May 2011 13:38:00 +0000

Over the last few weeks, we have seen, once again, bluetits nesting in our camera nestbox. Nest building began on the 9th April and by the 28th we have 10 eggs with the female spending her time incubating them. To see some of the images and videos taken from the camera click on the image above to link to the wildlife blog, or go to www.wix.com/nelcwildlifeproject/CW1 to visit the live webcams

Celebrate all that is great in your school with a wall hanging!

noreply@blogger.com (janet) — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 12:32:00 +0000

Langley Mill Infant and Nursery School have done just that. A consultant worked in the school for a special textiles day when pupils and their teachers worked on a variety of techniques to create squares for this wall hanging. A Church of England School, this banner proudly displays symbols of Christian faith.

The techniques used included sewing with wire on laser cut templates, digital photography and creating designs in Grid Magic which were then sublimated onto fabric.

New CPD courses

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 17:46:00 +0000

As part of our new working arrangements with schools from and beyond Nottingham, we have put together a programme of e-learning CPD courses.

Open publication - Free publishing - More cpd

Booking
In person - contact us at the centre for more information and booking on courses.
Online - click the pink button on the right or click here.

You can view a brochure of the full range of our courses here.

3D Printing

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 11:02:00 +0000

A recent online BBC article about the emergence of low cost 3D printing (or rapid prototyping) discussed how inexpensive machines are being used by hobbyists and (very) small scale manufacturers to 'print' physical objects in plastic.

The RapMan model is sold in kit form for around £1000. It is clear that Design and Technology departments in schools are starting to buy these machines too. The alternative, commercial machines are prohibitively expensive for most schools.

RapMan 3D Printer form BitsFromBytes

Image from BitsFromBytes website

These machines offer a fantastic opportunity to realise physical objects made from their 3D cad designs. There are many websites springing up to compliment this low-cost area of manufacturing, many of which have great examples to get started on and lesson ideas.

I've put list of links to CADCAM resources, websites and free software here - CADCAM

Blue Bell Hill create their Community Ranger newspaper

noreply@blogger.com (janet) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 11:41:00 +0000

Students from Blue Bell Hill Primary School visited the e-Learning Centre with their teacher Nic Williams to create a newspaper on January 26th. They based their paper on the work they have been doing as Community Rangers in St Ann’s. The teachers and students worked really hard creating articles and finding suitable graphics. They then followed their “house style” to create a really professional newspaper. I hope you agree?

Open publication - Free publishing - More dtp

Using Gridmagic Software to explore Andy Warhol techniques.

noreply@blogger.com (janet) — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 12:09:00 +0000

I opened an email from a teacher at Milford Primary School with this question:

“I AM DOING A MODERN ART TOPIC AND DIGITAL IMAGING AND WONDERED IF THERE WAS A WAY OF RECREATING THE ANDY WARHOL STYLE MARILYN PRINT WITH THEIR OWN PHOTOS?”

This led to a flurry of emails culminating in my working in the school for a morning, leading a session where students did exactly that! The enjoyment and sense of achievement amongst the students was palpable. Throughout the session I worked closely with the teacher ensuring that she was confident with the software we used and that she would be able to extend students in subsequent sessions.

Keep on blogging

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 12:44:00 +0000

Our website at the Nottingham eLearning Centre is created using the Blogger platform (as you can tell from the white 'B' on the orange background up there in the corner.) We have been investigating blogging services for a while now, and have assisted some schools and individual teachers in creating their own.

Here is one: http://walterhalls.blogspot.com/

A good blog seems to be replacing standard websites as the main destination site in many schools, for lots of good reasons:

Websites are very difficult to update, unless you are a website designer and have lots of time.
Websites go out of date quickly.
Adding video and pictures can be very difficult to do.
Websites are usually left up to one person to update.

Blogs can be updated just as easily as sending an email.
The look of the blog can be altered quickly with little effort.
You can easily add video and photo slide shows on blogs.
A number of people in the school can log in to the blog and add information.
The school administrator could be responsible for whole school information, class teachers can set up specific class pages (or linked new blogs), subject coordinators and heads of departments could create pages for their subject.
The blog can be accessed, edited and viewed from any computer.

Secure
Blogs may be seen as being not quite as secure as more traditional websites. This is changing now that there are many security measures in place , which are more than sufficient for school uses. Features such as moderation (or removing) of comments under posts stop any unwanted 'spam' or unwelcome comments.

Some blog services great for education
www.blogger.com - Google owned, always free and lots of modification
wordpress.com - free, less modification, looks very professional
edublogs.org - based on wordpress, designed for education, small costs for schools
posterous.com - new kid on the block, free, easiest of the bunch to use, many great features

Help from the eLearning Centres
Our consultants can help you set up your school/department/club/class blog. We can get you started, show you you key features and get your blog up and running in a matter of a couple of hours. Contact the Centre for more information and to arrange a time.

shoogleit.com - a new and exciting FREE online tool!

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 23:18:00 +0000

This interactive animation of a sculpture is created in a interesting new online tool that allows you to upload a video, split it into individual frames and add interactivity.

Completed animations can be embedded in websites and blogs (such as this example) and even to ebay! Or you can just leave it on the 'Shoogleit' website and make a link.

Where might this be of use in school?

Film art sculpture - adding ICT to art
360 degree photography of classrooms and school facilities
Design and Technology projects given an online exhibition - perhaps an interactive textiles show
An interactive film of a demonstration in a practical subject - throwing a javelin in PE?
Time-lapse photography that the viewer can control - filmed growth in plants

Here is the website - http://www.shoogleit.com/

It seems fairly easy to do. You don't need to download any software as everything is done in the browser.

It's FREE to use too!

Sherwood EiP start their 'Blog-News' site

noreply@blogger.com (Nottingham eLearning Centres) — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 12:59:00 +0000

Teachers and students from 7 primary and infant schools in the Sherwood area of Nottingham worked with consultants at the e-learning centres to start their own 'blog-news' site. They helped to design the 'Blogger' site and have already uploaded some news articles about the day. Over the next few weeks Sherwood schools will be producing their Winter and Christmas creative writing and poetry pieces. There will be a follow-up workshop in January. A blogtastic day!

Follow this link to see their work

Support for the Fashion Diploma at The Nottingham Academy

noreply@blogger.com (janet) — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 10:04:00 +0000

I have been supporting Ms Vicinanza-Bedi at The Nottingham Academy to introduce a new level 3 diploma in fashion with KS5 students. Our plans place ICT at the heart of the new course. Students are about to be loaned a netbook to use at school and home, exploring ideas and tools in order to complete work to the highest possible standard. Students are embracing this approach. An example of work is shown below.
Students used Prezi to communicate their analysis of a marketing advert. The one shown here relates to a successful John Lewis campaign. They will then present their thoughts to the rest of the group before creating an advert for their ongoing design work.
Being a part of the e-Learning Centres Netbook loan project means that students have 24/7 use of a computer which should have a positive impact on the quality of work achieved.

John Lewis advert on Prezi

Year 2 children from Edna G Olds Primary School

noreply@blogger.com (Nottingham eLearning Centres) — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 10:04:00 +0000

The brilliant Year 2 children for Edna G Olds descended on the South Centre this month.

With a wonderful amount of enthusiasm and lots of great ideas, they each designed a wheeled vehicle, using computer aided design (CAD) software. The children used graphic tablets to draw their creations, which they took to like ducks to water.

Their designs were converted into outlines which were then cut out on a laser cutter. The children assembled their vehicles to include wheels and axles. Back at school, they stuck the printed designs onto their finished vehicle.

Great work!

And this from their teacher:
"They look fantastic and the kids love them. They're all so individual - beats cereal boxes and cotton reels, hands down!
There was even some feedback from parents whose kids were talking about their day all evening."

How our training can impact on the quality of learning and teaching

noreply@blogger.com (Nottingham eLearning Centres) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 08:38:00 +0000

Kat Carrick from Emmanuel School in Nottingham explains how training has helped her to move forward with technology.....