Before breaking up for the summer holidays, I thought I'd take the opportunity to record an interview with my colleague Sam Downe on the various ways he has been successfully integrating technology into his maths lessons to personalise his pupils' learning, inform his own planning and help him to keep organised.
A man of many talents, Sam has proved himself this year to be not only a technosavvy mathematician, but also an accomplished blogger, podcaster, twitterer, cyclist, pool player, music fan, rambler and language learner to boot. Shame his first year at Nodehill is also his last as Sam has decided to move on to a new school following the decision of the Isle of Wight Council to return to a two tier system. I'm sure he won't be the last!
Moving on, here is the summary of the interview. Hope you find it useful.
Download Interview_with_Sam_Downe.mp3
ACTIVstudio and ACTIVexpression
- introductions
- taking the time to explore the features of ACTIVstudio for the interactive whiteboard such as layering, blocking, covering and hiding text etc
- creating a bank of flipcharts and sharing resources with others
- being impressed by version 3 of the IWB software, particularly new tools such as video capture
- developing the use of the new ACTIVexpression voting pods to evaluate pupils' learning and inform future planning
- comparing the old and new types of pods
- using the pupils' scores to generate individual learning profiles and create powerful traffic lighting opportunities in Excel
- allowing pupils to peer assess each others' work based on success criteria
- training pupils to incorporate the pods into every lesson and getting them to vote on different learning objectives for each unit of work
- using restrictors to limit the movement of different objects
- creating Action Buttons to launch individual effects
- making rub out and reveal activities
Podcasting
- learning how to podcast and receiving pupil feedback
- encouraging pupils to download podcasts and dealing with the digital divide
- starting a podcasting club
- fostering creativity and inventing a catch phrase
- teacher produced v student produced podcasts
- facilitating deep learning through scripting, recording and editing
- finding the time to integrate podcasting into the curriculum
Syncing online Calendars with your mobile phone
- creating different calendars and adding/editing/sharing events with other people
- syncing a Mozilla ThunderBird Calendar with a Google Calendar
- receiving text message reminders of important dates via mobile phone at a given time
- evaluating how synced calendars help to keep you organised wherever you are
- a few final thoughts (on the last day of term)
Show Notes
ACTIVstudio and ACTIVexpression
Podcasting and language skills
Nodehill French Grammar Podcasts
Mozilla Sunbird (not Thunderbird!)
Great interview! I really enjoyed that. Had no idea about being able to sync thunderbird and google calendar (and I shouldn't play with it now as I've got way too much other stuff to do, but I will anyway) so I'm really happy to learn that!
I hear what you are both saying about the demotivating part of podcasting with the students. I've made quite few short episodes for them and I don't think any have been listened to. Unless I tell the kids to go and put them on their USB sticks right then and there they are largely forgotten - which is exactly why I'm going to get the kids creating more this term. I've got my Year 7 class creating a podcast in their 'Skills for Living' session and I'll get 2 kids each week to make one about what they have learned in Chinese. Hopefully that way we can use student-created audio to engage other students.
Posted by: Jess | 20/07/2008 at 02:46
This is fantastic CPD, Joe. Most classrooms in my school now have IWBs and it is important to keep up the momentum. What better than the advice and experiences of a teacher colleague!
I will promote this interview at our staff meeting when we return and then email the link.
Posted by: David Noble | 20/07/2008 at 07:51
Oops, Thunderbird is the Mozilla e-mail service - Sunbird is the calender application... My mistake!
Posted by: Sam | 20/07/2008 at 09:55