Calculation – Addition

Calculation – Subtraction

Calculation – Multiplication

Calculation – Division

If you would like to directly embed any of the tutorials, click here for a full list and embed links.

Phil Bagge has also created a large set of Maths video help files along with his host of other help files. Click here to visit.

Shared Writing with DIMDIM from Peter Richardson on Vimeo.

The video shows how the writing process can be modelled but with the added benefit of allowing for a simultaneous triangle of communication between the pupil, their peers and the teacher. When trying this, apart from creating a buzz around the room due to the novelty of being able to be at a computer rather than watching a big screen, then participate afterwards, the pupils were able to be active throughout the process whilst still benefiting from the modelling. It’s great for ‘stealing ideas’, real collaboration between pupils during the ideas and sentence development stages and giving more reluctant writers a vehicle to speak. If you have tried doing something similar, or have used Dimdim or Twiddla for another purpose related to developing writing, please add to the pad below or click here to add to the pad.

Wii

• Supports Foundation Stage curriculum… (DfES)

• Knowledge and Understanding of the World: Information and communication technology.

• ‘Show an interest in ICT.’
• ‘Know how to operate simple equipment.’
• ‘Complete a simple program on the computer and/or perform simple functions on ICT apparatus.’
• ‘Find out about and identify uses of everyday technology and use information and communication technology and programmable toys to support their learning.’

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development: Dispositions and attitudes.
• ‘Continue to be interested, excited and motivated to learn.’
• ‘Be confident to try new activities, initiate ideas and speak in a familiar group.

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development: Making relationships.
• ‘Work as part of a group or class, taking turns and sharing fairly, understanding that there needs to be agreed values and codes of behaviour for groups of people, including adults and children, to work together harmoniously.’

• Communication, Language and Literacy: Language for thinking.
• ‘Use talk to organise, sequence and clarify thinking, ideas, feelings and events.’

• Physical Development: Movement.
• ‘Move with confidence, imagination and in safety.’
• ‘Move with control and coordination.’

• Physical Development: Sense of space.
• ‘Move body position as necessary.’
• ‘Show a clear and consistent preference for the left or the right hand.’
• ‘Show awareness of space, of themselves and of others.’

• Physical Development: Health and bodily awareness.
• ‘Recognise the changes that happen to their bodies when they are active.’

• Physical Development: Using equipment.
• ‘Use increasing control over an object by touching, pushing, patting, throwing, catching or kicking it.’
• ‘Use a range of small and large equipment.’

• Physical Development: Using tools and materials.
• ‘Handle tools, objects, construction and malleable materials safely and with increasing control.’

• Creative Development: Responding to experiences, and expressing and communicating ideas.
• ‘Talk about personal intentions, describing what they were trying to do.’

So the steps are:

• Send out a tweet containing the text #twittereducator (or retweeet someone else’s tweet that has the hashtag and link explaining what it is)
• Type the hashtag into blastfollow
• Put your twitter details in when asked and click blast

Here is an example:

If it takes off, i’d suggest the process is repeated on the first day of each month, for an couple of hours or so. I thought about if it should be split down to #uktwittereducators #ustwittereducators etc but that could get too ‘bitty’, so for now, #twittereducator is the tag to use!

@chris_1974 on twitter has very kindly set up a twitter account with a list of all the people who have used the #twittereducator hashtag. He has written about it here.

@fullonlearning has also blogged about her experience with #twittereducator here.

Firstly, we stopped our subscription to the fantastic Bett award winning Mathletics website. This was due to increased subscription costs, the need for pupils to remember multiple usernames and passwords and the admin of running multiple usernames and passwords.

Then our school’s chosen learning platform, Studywiz, went into administration and went through a management buy out, my understanding is this was due to a rapid expansion coupled with the worldwide economic troubles.

Whilst all this was going on I was continue to experiment in the classroom with web tools such as Storybird, Wallwisher, Twiddla, DimDim, Voicethread, Primarypad/Ietherpad, Prezi, Audioboo, Dabbleboard and Timetoast. Then Storybird announced the ability to create class accounts.

Then it was announced that there would be a Google Teacher Academy in the UK. I was in the middle of multiple crises at the time so couldn’t apply but keeping a close eye on the back channels through Twitter and blogs during and after the event confirmed a lot of my thinking.

Subsequently, I discovered the expensive (for 1 account per pupil) but rather impressive looking Myonelogin when cruising Google Apps Marketplace.

Then, this morning I was given access to Aviary’s suite of tools for education (currently in beta) which has similar class account facilities to Storybird and at first glance offers fantastic opportunities for integrating into the classroom.

Phew! Glad that’s over. I realise it may be a bit odd mentioning the past in a post called the future but bare with me…

The starting point for the future has to be where do we want to go? What do we want children to be able to achieve? What effect do we want to have on children’s motivation and enthusiasm? My answer to this has not really changed. I want children to become equipped with the transferable skills, in any curriculum area, that will help them be happy and succeed in education and in life. In my opinion technology plays a key role in this. Not just through ICT subject skills but in supporting learning and enthusiasm across the curriculum and beyond.

Taking that as a starting point, what is the best match with this philosophy out there? Well, as every teacher and every pupil is different, I would say as wide a ranging choice of tools for learning, leadership and management as possible with as simple and controllable administration as possible that each school can tailor to their own requirements.

Getting down to practicalities, looking at the possible tools and associated costs, what is the best combination or outright winner? Well, having moved away from Google Apps for Education in 2009 with a learning platform sitting alongside (I have written about this in a separate post), I think I have a decent perspective on the positives and negatives of running it and running a learning platform. However, cue a Godfather like “Just when I thought I was out… they pull me back in” for Google. The possibilities for cloud storage, sharing and collaboration was the primary reason and is something I have been trying to solve for the last couple of years (previous post about my experiences here). Indeed, a primary reason in the choice of learning platform when moving from Google Apps was because of the promise of added functionality to the very clever ‘eLocker’ file storage system that Studywiz employs (coupled with excellent useability, cutting edge ideas and a good range of learning tools). If you could access and edit documents online it would make the product more complete, although the cost comparison with Google Apps is a no brainer (Google Apps Education Edition being almost free). So with Google Docs pulling me back to Google we could ditch 95% of our school network and move it online, allowing for anytime, anywhere access with privileges.

It’s important to note that if we ditched the school’s learning platform in the future (not happening any time soon) we would be without the learning tools that were the main reason for the move to a full learning platform in the first place. I still believe that even in it’s current state, Studywiz’s tools and useability puts it head and shoulders above its commercial learning platform competitors. The other big arguments I have always used since moving from Google Apps as a reason for deploying a full learning platform is the easy management (some now integrating automatically with SIMS) and the ability for non-ict specialists to create activities for pupils to use, for me the single key reason that a learning platform is necessary.

However…

All the mentions of web apps that can be used in the classroom at the start of this (increasingly mammoth) post, got me seriously considering my opinion about ease of use for non-ict specialists. Most of the web apps outlined are incredibly simple and intuitive to use and will only become more so as time and technology progress. Therefore, what is stopping schools moving to a Google Apps for Education system for communication between staff, with a range of web apps adding functionality and learning tools?

Well one thing really as far as I can see…

Logins.

It would be completely unfeasible to create individual accounts for more than two or three web apps and expect the teachers and children to keep track of all the usernames and passwords, even setting them the same on each account would prove problematic due to the ability for users to change passwords. It would (and has) been manageable for me as an individual teacher to do this for one class but it is no use as a whole school strategy. Therefore the only option going down this route would be to use some kind of single sign on system, such as the one mentioned at the top of the page. The two issues with this would be cost and availability of the web apps through a single sign on system. Our school has 350 pupils and at a cost of $30 a year per user that’s converting to roughly £7000 a year for all pupils. Clearly not good value for money in terms of impact. Now you could say ‘well foundation don’t need access’ etc to get costs down but that really defeats the entire point of having a whole school plan, and my belief is that there should be ample opportunities for children in foundation to use tools as they do in year 6, just different ones. So what is left? Well why not consider a class or year group account that can be shared across the class? With 14 classes, the class teacher responsible for accessing their class, each with their own unique single sign on, that would be less than £300 a year. Tasty. It obviously doesn’t have the same privacy and security due to the shared nature of the account but personally I think it would still be at a secure enough level as long as pupils didn’t have images and video of themselves on the web apps without the correct permissions. I don’t know about other people’s school servers but ours is shared between all pupils and I can only think of possibly one example of a pupil deleting someone else’s work in six years.

As a word of warning, web apps could disappear at any time, especially free ones, so it would be important to plan what to do in case of this occurring if this method was to be considered in school. In my case, I would train and describe web apps in terms of the tool they provide rather than the actual site. For example, when access to Wordle was temporarily taken down, other ‘word clouds’ were readily available.

Perhaps in the not too distant future a single sign on system will be shared between web apps creating suites of compatible tools. Who knows. For now though, after all the above, my long term direction for use of technology in school in order to fullfil the philosophy outlined towards the start of this post is:

Use Google Apps for Education at the system for communication for all staff. That means email, calendars, docs, sites (for the school website – which would also act as a repository of sites for parents, pupils and staff).

A single sign on system is then used to create accounts for each class. Some tools that right now are available are WordPress (class and school blogs), Animoto , Ning even Google Apps itself so classes could have a shared area for online document creation, for example. The myonelogin website says there is a bookmarklet to add your own. I’m not sure how the whole system works and so can’t comment on the extent of additional functionality, but it could be massive! **Updated** I’ve tried out the demo account and the way the system works is you can basically add any website (apart from ones that have flash logins like Voicethread) and you just add the username and password details in the main myonelogin console area. It has a couple of small niggles but it really could actually just…well…work! I have also tested an alternative system (Onelogin) which is significantly cheaper opening possibilities for individual user accounts. Imagine the possibilities with just a few other tools added such as Edmodo, Storybird, Avairy you really would be able to offer pupils a great set of tools for learning and beyond.

Cost wise, with Google Apps only needing a domain name and hosting, the cost for lets say a one form entry primary school of seven classes you would be looking at a base cost of less than £250 a year. Compared with a full vle that’s just insane. Yes it doesn’t offer the same unique login for each pupil but within each tool they still have the ability to show their individuality, use learning tools and develop E-Safety skills (including respecting each other and their work). At that cost, individual schools could pick and choose any commercial sites that they really wanted to push, affording them flexibility without having to pay over the odds for things they just won’t use.

I’d be really interested to hear what other people think. This whole process has been bumbling around my head for a long time now. I’d be particularly interested in hearing what people think about the ‘class’ login as opposed to the ideal solution of an individual login, particularly with regards security. I’d also really like to hear from anyone who has used a single sign on system successfully and really any comments on anything i’ve mentioned!

Image courtesy of Laurence Whittmore.

Having said all this, there is one huge feature missing from our learning platform that I see as integral to any digitally aware school, the ability to access and EDIT documents securely on the web so that teachers and leaders can access 24/7 (replacing the school’s network). The learning platform does feature uploading and downloading of documents, but not in a way that makes it usable as a complete network replacement.

I originally tried testing this system of working using Google Docs as part of Google Apps in 2008, however it quickly became clear that without folder sharing (therefore having the possibility of sharing multiple documents and permissions already set based on the folder) and the ability to upload other file types (such as PDFs, images, smart notebook files etc) it would not be able to replace the school’s network, and that is not even mentioning the large number of security scare stories on the internet that were (inevitably) circling at the time.

During 2009 I tried out Box.net, which allows for document upload of pretty much any file type as well as online document creation. I love the way it integrates with other web systems, such as Zoho, which allows documents uploaded to be edited online. The possibilities seem endless and it’s close to my vision for cloud computing where systems interlink seamlessly as if part of the same system. Unfortunately, for use inside school there were three drawbacks at the time. Firstly, despite several hours on the phone, our LA filter was still blocking elements of Zoho which made editing documents online unusable. Secondly, Box.net makes sharing files almost too easy to make it secure for school staff (1 click slightly in the wrong place and your file is shared to anyone who knows the link). One way around this would have been to pay for interlinked business users which would allow for password protected files. Whilst Box.net offered us a generous educational discount for 5 business users, I was reluctant to commit to another yearly outgoing on top of Knowledgebox Online and our learning platform, especially as I still felt online document editing should be a key part of any learning platform system.

Later in 2009 I tried out Dropbox as well as several of its competitors (e.g. Sugarsync). I went through the checklist that had previously proved the downfall of Google Docs and Box.net. Security (check), gets through filter (check), cost effective (check). I was concerned about the ease of deleting things with one shared account, and multiple accounts for each year group or user seemed like lots of admin time and support for the less ICT literate so I purchased the Pack-Rat (unlimited backups). With all the above secured, I put a test in place with 4 users in school for a couple of months. Everything worked brilliantly, suddenly the possibilities became a reality. The next step was whole school rollout, which in the first couple of weeks was as smooth as silk with our entire curriculum network moved online. Even the less ICT literate staff members, whilst initially moaning about the introduction of another ICT system for them to learn, soon saw the benefits. I thought I had finally cracked it. Then the unthinkable occurred. Somehow massive amounts of the files were deleted. I initially thought someone had done this, however the files were from random folders rather than all in the same location. I put everything back using the Pack-Rat and looked into the filtering issue again. Everything seemed fine. The only possibility I felt that was left was that either a combination of our proxy server and/or the fact that we were simultaneously syncing multiple laptops (15) with the same Dropbox account. A few days later unfortunately the same thing occurred and again a few weeks later. On the third occasion I decided to pull the plug. I was left with the option of creating multiple accounts all linked with a shared folder but I wasn’t convinced that the filtering/proxy issues were not part of the problem and one I would not be able to get to the bottom of. I also thought that ordering multiple Pack-Rats / Pro accounts started to become messy and less good value for money.

Over the last few months, since staff’s eyes were open to the online possibilities, our learning platform’s online storage has been used more for sharing templates, systems documents etc. However this is still very hit and miss and it is currently blurring rather than helping communication (some documents put online, some on the network, some both etc). I have been keeping tabs on all the previous systems looked at for online viewing and editing and there having been two significant developments since the start of the process to find this ‘Missing Tool’. Firstly, the filtering system used by our LEA (Lancashire) has changed, offering far more control at school level. Secondly, Google Docs has evolved. It now offers far more sophisticated sharing options (folder sharing, 1 click sharing across the domain, hierarchical folder privileges) and the ability to upload other document types. Coupled with the ability to use https to increase security (and therefore comply with recommended security levels) and the cost effectiveness, I am becoming increasingly confident that my original starting point could very easily become the answer to the online document editing problem. The only practicality standing in the way is that whilst fairly straightforward once you get used to it, Google Docs like most of Google’s products, has a few nuances to get used to in terms of useability for those less ICT literate and complete online docs is a step further into the unknown for some users over Dropbox. The only other concern would be that because we have tried an online system before, there may be significant reservations from key stakeholders.

Finally, I am aware of Microsoft’s live@edu but think that it makes more sense to stick with Google due to the previous positive experience of it by the school.

So I ask the question: Is Google Docs of 2010 the missing tool that should be adopted as a network replacement for our school? I would love to hear anyone’s answer!

Image courtesy of Pixie Led.

When I first trialled using it I initially let the children play and they loved the freedom that Storybird gives them, whilst still supporting them structurally through the artwork on each page. For frequent classroom use however, it needs to be used for more than just a creative outlet.  It needs to support objectives and skills development. So I used it myself to create a whole class text to try and see where it could be used in the classroom. Here is the book I created:

I found it surprisingly difficult to structure the text as its very nature is a page by page story that doesn’t necessarily have a way of creating a story mountain type structure etc (this makes sharing a story between collaborators easy to continue). However, this actually offers the opportunity for a great position in the classroom for Storybird. To be used as a tool for children to practice a developing skill. During the book I wrote, I tried to pack it with as many adverbials as possible as that is currently our sentence level focus in Year 4. Over a few days, during whole class sessions we worked on how to start a sentence with an adverbial clause. I then set an assignment related to adverbials, instructing the children to try and fit in an adverbial to each page. I deliberately didn’t give them any more structure as we were at the stage where they just needed to practice the skill. Using Storybird allowed this to happen but in an engaging way for the children. Here is an example:

Beyond writing, Storybird has fantastic potential for MFL. @lisibo has written several Spanish stories and converted them into video files here with her reading out the story in Spanish – How awesome is that?! @wizenedcrone has created a fantastic resource which is a collection of MFL storybirds here (French, Spanish, German and Italian).

If you have any other ways you have or are thinking about using Storybird in the classroom I would love to hear about them, please leave a comment below. If you are thinking about using it, give it a go – it’s well worth the effort!

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