In hindsight, it may have been better to have taken the direct train service up to Manchester Piccadilly than flying with Flybe for my second outing with Keynote Educational and my course Engaging and Motivating Pupils in MFL through Lively, Stimulating and Challenging Integration of ICT
My ticket was fairly expensive as I had to book at the last minute and £20 taxi rides there and back only served to prove the point. Nevermind, once in situ at the rather plush Renaissance Hotel, and a gnocchi pesto dish later, my trivial financial woes seemed no longer serious as my mind turned to the more pressing reason for my visit.
The day followed a familiar pattern and delegates responded well to my corny jokes and the odd tip and trick (always a bonus). The PowerPoint session was quite demanding for those less familiar with using hyperlinks and changing background colours. However, reassurement came in the form of a step by step guide and of course my calm and patient manner, to boot. Phew! Teacher’s Pet as normal proved a hit as were the quick and easy interactive exercises designated to the ‘graveyard shift’ of the afternoon, a time when traditionally delegates’ stomach and minds tend to be somewhat satiated, following a suitably calorific lunch.
I was delighted to see colleagues generously sharing their ideas with other. Geraldine Devine from Chilwell Comprehensive School in Nottingham described how she uses Audacity to record model questions for her GCSE students so they can listen at home and answer them appropriately for revision purposes. Vanessa Parker, an Animation Factory fan like myself from The Radclyffe Lower School in Oldham showed me some of her own creations using triggers and drag and drop and admitted to being a big fan of my blog (which was nice). The presentations were amazing and I encouraged Vanessa to upload them to a site like MFLresources
To finish, Bernice Glatt a memorable delegate thanks to her inquisitive mind and unquestionable thirst for knowledge who had travelled all the way from The London Academy to attend the course agreed to record a few of her thoughts of the day below. Cheers Bernice!
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