Time Honoured Tradition or the Modern Way?

Strathpeffer was the centre of attention yesterday: Doug Dickinson was in town (village just doesn’t sound right!) and tickets for two Kaiser Chiefs‘ gigs went on sale. I think whoever secured the Kaisers’ gig for the rejuvinated Strathpeffer Pavilion is very smart - injecting new life-blood and providing what young people want into such a historical, and perhaps, perceived traditional building must be one of the best ways to maintain it as a venue and secure its future. It made me ask what we are doing, as agents of educational development, to keep abreast of and maintain the interests of young people in our schools?

I had ‘booked’ Doug to talk to some of our school leaders about the use of ICT for today’s learners and the ways in which it may help them meet futures that are less predictable than ever before. The talks were, in equal measure, frank, provocative, interesting, and amusing. Doug raised many issues and challenges, as well as suggestions for our school leaders about how we can maintain our schools as relevant, exciting venues for learning.

Using the recently published outcomes for literacy and technologies from Curriculum for Excellence, Doug exemplified ways in which teachers and students could utilise a variety of tools to develop a multimodal approach and to capitalise on the ‘white space’ for learning that exists within the new structures. The new guidelines make specific mention of the use of text messages, blogs and social networking sites, web pages, catalogues and directories, and that, It is essential that all practitioners, in each sector, in each department and in all settings, find opportunities to apply reinforce and extend ICT skills. Accordingly, there needs to be serious reassessment of attitudes to, and practice in the usage and overall place of ICT in our schools. Teachers need to be better equipped, i.e. know the right techniques and have the correct equipment to make use of ICT for teaching and learning within their classrooms. This necessitates teachers making the decisions about what ICT they need rather than technical support teams specifying equipment and the levels of availability of software tools and content on their behalf.

Doug suggested that students will find ways to bypass any technology barriers schools put in their way - if they haven’t already done so. Current ‘block and stop’ practices such as overbearing Internet filtering, and a limited range of appropriate tools will make them look elsewhere for the information they need and for ways to use their chosen methods of communication. It is through educational support that children will learn how to appropriately use and be safe on the Internet rather than by, as he put it, ‘removing all the knives from the kitchen’.

I’m looking forward to the formal feedback from the day, but from discussions I had over coffee and lunch with a number of those present, there didn’t seem to be much disagreement.

Read Doug’s own blog here.

Notes, links, files mentioned or used during Doug’s presentations in no particular order.

As previously mentioned - also appearing in Strathpeffer (although not everyone’s happy about it): Kaiser Chiefs - Listen here: Time Honoured Tradition or Modern Way

Book your tickets here.

ps - Good luck to Doug with his participation in the British Orienteering Championships being held in Culbin Forest (by Nairn).

pps - Well done

Digital SQA Exams

The ATS Service has arranged a training day to help schools prepare for the inevitable increase in the number of pupils with Additional Support Needs who will opt to sit their exams using ICT.

Our friends at the CALL Centre, Edinburgh University have been developing this work with the SQA over a number of years now and have delivered training to large numbers of staff from schools around the country.

The Highland day is set for Tuesday 10th June and we hope to offer all our secondary schools a couple of places at this important event. The details of the course can be seen on the CPD Calendar but we’re targeting this at PTs of Support for Learning and SQA Co-ordinators.

Some of the schools who have been using digital question papers have begun to create interactive digital versions of other resources such as Prelims, NABs and worksheets and so we will look at tools and techniques for creating such resources.

The course presenters will be:

Paul Nisbet, Senior Research Fellow, Communication Aids for Language and Learning (CALL) Centre

Patricia McDonald, SQA Project Manager, National Qualifications Product Development

Margaret Dearman, Support for Learning, Buckie High School

Related links:

CALL Centre: http://callcentrescotland.org.uk

SQA Digital Exam Papers: http://www.AdaptedDigitalExams.org.uk

Books for All: http://www.booksforall.org.uk

Books for All blog: http://pauln.edublogs.org/

Doug Dickinson delivers in Dingwall

Doug Dickinson is to speak with 40 Highland Heads and Deputes this Friday - he’s on a bit of a tour and we’re glad he’s able to come north to see us. He’s actually delivering in Strathpeffer Community Centre but the trip was organised via the Dingwall Office so I’ll allow him the alliteration in his latest post.

Dumfries (and Galloway), Dundee, Dunbarton (well nearly) and Dingwall … a Scottish tour !

Monday with over 100 teachers in Dumfries. Their first day back after the Easter holidays but what enthusiasm. We explored the changing definitions of text in educational contexts and looked at the wider picture illustrated by Article 13 of the UN Charter for children. This led us to look at the way Textease Studio CT handles multimodality, in particular the power of adding sound to text in a variety of ways.

Keeping reading records as ‘live’ sound recordings was the innovation here as many teachers had not imagined that they had the technology to do this simply and quickly. Tuesday in Dundee with 60 or so enthusiasts in a fantastically impressive hall with a huge presentation screen. Again we looked at the way Curriculum for Excellence had a clear focus towards the future and how the definitions of text opened up opportunities to look at multimodality, blogging and social networking.

More from Doug on his blog at dougmuses.

I’m looking forward to Friday!!

ATSS Training Days

The ATS Service had the pleasure this week of spending two days with staff from one of our special schools. We met with nine staff over the two days and made use of the excellent facilities and surroundings of The Storehouse of Foulis.

The time had been set aside to help raise ICT awareness and build confidence in deploying the various technologies in the context of teaching and learning for the wide range of pupils who attend the school. Writing about the days like this doesn’t reflect the buzz that existed as the teachers immediately saw the possibilities such tools could have for themselves and their pupils. I certainly left with new ideas as a result of the discussions and feedback we received.

All the teachers made voice recordings using Audacity software, took and downloaded photographs before making use of these in other software applications such as Jigworks, ChooseIt Maker2, and Softease Presenter. We painted using 2Paint a Picture and published using 2Publish+ from 2Simple software, looked at the benefits of click and drag software, Comic Life for picture story telling, and so on……..

The idea behind building confidence in these areas was to look beyond the keyboard and ‘through’ the technology to the opportunities for the pupils to express themselves and to give teachers a variety of tools to help build alternative resources - to change the way we teach and the way we allow the children to learn.

One teacher’s comments on the morning session.

There’s some discussion now to be had back at school then we aim to follow up, in more detail, any of the strands the teachers want to further develop.

CPD with ATSS During Summer Term

Due to an ongoing staff shortage it has been impossible to run the courses that we normally do throughout the year. However, we we’ve been having withdrawal symptoms from not being in contact with teachers and schools for CPD and have decided to put together a few days which we hope will be useful.

First up, we’ve invited independent ICT consultant, Doug Dickinson , to speak to Head Teachers about developments and new technologies that will affect our schools over the next few years. He’s going to talk about the educational use of multimedia tools, podcasts, and social networking. Doug’s a non-techie ICT supporter and he’s very enthusiastic about getting the most exciting tools for teaching into the classroom. We hope the Heads who attend will be able to guide their teachers towards the integration of such tools throughout the curriculum and across all subject areas. (18 April, 2008 - am & pm sessions)

Under our own steam, we’re offering up 6 dates for courses - two of which are ‘out of hours CPD’ as they’re to be held during the first week of the summer holiday.

Switching on to the digital classroom. (12 May, 2008 & 30 June, 2008) An opportunity for teachers who want to develop their use of ICT in terms of presentation of materials via data projectors and wireless technology/interactive whiteboards. Teachers will have the chance to consider how they can develop teaching and learning materials as well as having the opportunity to see and use a range of software resources that may be new to them.

Clicker 5. (4 June, 2008) Although Highland hasn’t upgraded to Clicker 5 many schools have gone ahead and bought this much improved version of the software. Clicker 5 works slightly differently from its earlier versions and so those making their own materials will benefit from this day where the ‘edit mode’ and its functions will be explored. We’ll also be able to show participants many of the available resource packs that are available and how to make use of the re-vamped ‘learning grids’ website for the obtaining and sharing of resources. If time permits there will be a chance to see and use the WriteOnline and the New to English materials produced by Crick software.

Blogs, Podcasts, and Wikis. (5 June, 2008 & 1 July, 2008) A day for teachers who have not already used or started a blog, recorded a podcast, or worked on a wiki. We’ll hopefully have participants starting their own blog and wiki pages during the day and giving consideration to how these might be useful within the classroom or as a professional development tool. It’s hoped that we’ll evaluate the day by way of a podcast rather than in the traditional paper-based way. This is a ‘high participation’ day so we’d ask those signing up to come along prepared to talk and write about matters that are important to them!!! We’ll fit in as many Web 2.0 gizmos as we can - all for fun!!!

Creating Audio (Resources). (20 June, 2008) We hope to get teachers making use of the audio options that are available to them in their computers to: create podcasts, talking books, responses from pupils. We’ll look at how Windows Media Player and iTunes can, by themselves and in combination with MP3 players/iPods, support teaching and learning through the accessing of downloadable podcasts, stored music, video, slideshows. One discrete section of the day will look at the setting up of an audio library - an important inclusion strategy for all schools to consider to help promote the engagement of poor/reluctant readers with literature.

We hope to see some of you on these days!!!

Future Technologies - Now!

I’ve just returned from two very interesting days at Stirling Management Centre where Learning & Teaching Scotland hosted an event for members of the Scottish ICT Development Group (SICTDG) on the theme of Future Technologies.

John Low, Andrew Brown and Derek Robertson from LTS put together a range of new applications, games, and presenters who are breaking new ground with their efforts in teaching and learning through ICT.

The technologies being discussed and on display were certainly not of the future but of the here and now. Most was included for its potential to become part of the kitbag of tools demanded by our new curriculum. All had the potential to help teachers and pupils achieve the outcomes envisaged under Curriculum for Excellence.

Main topics, many of which have featured already in this blog, were:

(Please note that while links to pages may be useful for teachers they may not be suitable for browsing by pupils or for use within a school environment.)

Ultra mobile PCs for 1:1 learning (Asus minibook and Samsung Q1Ultra)

Blogging & tracking of blogs and online tools such as Avatar creation and comic strip software.

Educational benefits from Games technology

Islay High School Schools of Ambition project

Geotagging

Virtual worlds technology such as Teen Second Life

Read (and comment on) the LTS Future Technologies Blog here for detailed information and outward links to areas of interest.

Updates from the CALL Centre

Our colleagues at CALL produce a regular update on new and interesting developments in the world of assistive technology. Here are a few sections from their latest publication. The complete New in CALL booklet can be downloaded here.

Making Accessible Books for All

In April 2007 the CALL Centre completed a project to investigate the need for, and availability of, learning resources in accessible alternative formats for pupils with additional support needs. The project was funded by the Scottish Executive Education Department and the report was published on the Scottish Executive web site* (and the CALL web site) in June 2007.

Local authorities are obliged to consider how they can provide material in suitable alternative formats for pupils with disabilities ‘if the pupil may have difficulty reading information provided in standard written form’. Many local authorities provide learning materials in Braille, enlarged text or audio format to visually impaired students and Disability Discrimination legislation requires consideration of how this provision can be extended to any pupil who has difficulty reading or accessing information. (Read more.)

Using Technology in SQA Exams

Every year thousands of students in Scottish schools require ‘reasonable adjustments’ to sit SQA exams. Many of these students are using technology to assist with reading and writing tasks on a daily basis in school, but have to use a reader or scribe in exams. (Read more.)

Assistive Technology on YouTube

The YouTube web site is not just a collection of video clips of teenage girls lip-synching into hair brushes and boys pulling faces – there is also a lot of material that is interesting and useful for people using technology to support people with disabilities.

AbilityNet, for example, have set up their own page on YouTube with a small collection of their own videos (mostly tutorial material for using the screenreader) and links to their ‘Favourites’. The favourites are particularly interesting with links to over 100 video clips of people using or talking about assistive technology. (Read more.)

Introduction to Clicker Phonics

Clicker Phonics is a new set of add-ons for Clicker 5 that provide a comprehensive set of resources for use with any phonics scheme (though it is based on the Jolly Learning scheme). A total of six CDs are available, under the headings Get Ready! & Get Set!

(Read more.)

Go to the Clicker website to read about Clicker Phonics.

Glow Mentor Meeting 24/5/07

Glow Mentors assembled for their second Strathpeffer get-together in the Spa Pavilion.

After a welcome by Bob English, Andrew Sharkey from RM gave us a recap on the Phase 2 pilot and a look at what’s coming in the next phase that is due to begin next week. View his presentation here. Watch a video with an amusing take on education.- The 5 Minute University.

Joe Walsh respresenting Heriot Watt University drew parallels between Scholar and Glow. He informed us of the road travelled over the past 7 years in getting Scholar up-and-running. The experiences of the Scholar team has much to share with the roll out of Glow in terms of how much training teachers and pupils might need to develop skills in e-learning.

Jim Henderson on Blogging & Pathfinder.

Jim explained that there has been a high level of interest in blogging around Glow community. He went on to explain what a blog is and what it usually contains - tags, links, pictures, search engines………

Many local authorities have set up blogs in relation to Glow and Glow mentors Argyll & Bute, Shetland, East Lothian and Glasgow were mentioned. Jim showed his own blog. It’s likely that a blogging server will be set up in Highland by June this year. Jim suggested that this might be very useful for Glow mentors.

Jim pointed us to the search engine Technorati to keep up with the blogging world. He also mentioned Bloglines which is a more personal way of tracking blogs of interest and ENDO - another aggregator/syndication system.

Pathfinder - 3 year old project to bring broadband to the Highlands and Islands. Partners are Highland, Orkney, Shetland, Argyll & Bute, Moray, & Western Isles.

Pathfinder is a plan to connect Scottish schools - £70m project over 5 years with the priority being for schools and council buildings. Minimum specification to be 8mb for primary schools and 12mb for secondary. The service will be managed by THUS plc.

The challenge in Highland is to connect 219 schools, 43 libraries, & 14 inhabited islands. Connections start in May 2007 nd should be completed by 2009. The roll out plan is likely to be shared with Head Teachers as early as next week.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent in discussion around 20 Questions aimed at helping mentors define their future role in relation to GLOW. Feedback from discussion groups was collated in a Softease database using wireless mice and keyboards and bluetooth wireless Airliner slates - just as a small example of interactive ICT in use!!!

Empty version of the Softease database uploaded to the Public folder on my iDisk for the two or three folks who asked for it…..!!!

Visit the LTS Glow website for updates from the centre.

Text-to-speech - Dyslexia & Reading - Primary Day

After yesterday’s major panic, when my computer crashed an hour before talking at this course, today’s preparations seemed very calm - I even managed to sit down for a bite of lunch with some of the primary class and support teachers attending Dr. Margaret Crombie’s course.The core elements from yesterday formed the basis of today’s offering but I included a few comments about Clicker 5 and the numerous, ready-made reading materials for work across the curriculum. I placed more emphasis on the use of Textease due to the fact that all primary schools have it at their immediate disposal.Wordtalk is likely to need to be downloaded and installed - and the new version that will produce MP3 files from text is not yet available in its final version.I also mentioned the text-to-speech and voice recording capability of Kidspiration and Inspiration software.I added a couple of websites that Margaret mentioned at the start of the afternoon to my del.icio.us bookmarking page. Del.icio.us is a really easy way of bookmarking webpages that you can call up on any computer where you can access the Internet. The bookmarks can be public and so can easily be shared with others. Sign up here for your own del.icio.us account.Free downloads mentioned during the afternoon are available on my public web folder.I would like to apologise publicly to Marion for calling her Ann!!!! I’ve known Ann - oops, Marion - for years. Old age has not come by itself as I realise that I can’t remember very much any more!!!!

Text-to-speech - Dyslexia & Reading Secondary Day

I had the pleasure today of talking to a group of secondary Support for Learning teachers who were attending a course on Dyslexia and Reading with Dr. Margaret Crombie.

I arrived late and in a panic as I’d suffered severe computer failure just an hour before heading over to the venue. Armed with a replacement computer and tightly crossed fingers I demonstrated some software and talked around a few of the issues and possibilities open to teachers. I was only scheduled to talk for 30-40 minutes but anyone who knows me………

Textease (part of the Softease Studio package in all our primaries) allows for text-to-speech output with just a single click. Ideal for pupils who are struggling with decoding but who are motivated enough to try to ‘get inside’ a piece of text. Read more here.

Wordtalk - a free-to-education add-in for Microsoft Word that facilitates text-to-speech as well as allowing for the saving of text as audio (wav & MP3) files. With text files stored as small MP3s it’s easy for these files to be shared by file exchange, email, or onto MP3 players such as iPods. Read more about Wordtalk and download it here.

Alphasmart word processors - these useful tools are often used by pupils for writing but are great for scribes too. If notes, etc. are generated in digital format they can be easily transferred into text-to-speech enabled applications or saved as MP3s. Banks of useful core notes might usefully be stored this way to ease future pressure on readers and scribes.

Some Text-to-speech options - click here for more information.

I also talked about generating MP3s by recording audio files through Audacity software that can then be exchanged, added to Textease pages, transferred to MP3 players/iPods. This is a very simple process that only requires the free software and a suitable microphone.

Our FirstClass email system (Client version only - not web version) actually allows for the sending of voice messages (actually in WAV format) which offers, potentially at least, some school to home transfer options. Recording can either be made directly into the FC voice recorder or by attaching an MP3 or WAV file. You can download a short video of how to do this from my public web space folder - click here.

While Read Out Loud for PDFs has been around for some time it’s now included in the most recent version of Adobe Acrobat Reader 8. Users can listen to any PDF file with the Read Out Loud option enabled. Get it here.