|
| |
|
|
by Clifford Brown on 26/01/2012 15:50:13
One of the great free resources for schools from Microsoft is Live@edu. This is a cloud-based service and it allows teachers and schools to deploy a full e-mail, calendar, tasks and office tools without the need for any software installation. 
As it is a cloud-based service it is accessible anywhere and at any time and can be used collaboratively to share documents, PowerPoint presentations, calendars etc. 
The Outlook web app functions like the software-based Microsoft Outlook. It possible to share calendars with other teachers, schedule events and see attendees availability. 
It's easy for teachers to create contact lists or groups. The principal can use the application to communicate with all teachers by e-mail or with a class of students. Likewise a teacher could remind the class by e-mail to bring specific requirements to school for a lesson. Also in the event of a school closure the application can be used to inform students and provide them with activities to complete during the period of the closure. Microsoft also provides each user with 25 GB of free storage space. This space can be organised into folders for various resources and can store documents, photographs and movies. 
When logged in it is possible to upload documents very simply by dragging them into the application. 
Once uploaded a document may be shared and it is possible to give editing rights so others can work collaboratively on the document. 
With every teacher and student in school each receiving 25 GB of free storage a lot of resources can be built up easily. There are full authoring tools available accessible from any computer. It is possible to create documents , spreadsheets and presentations within the cloud service . 
A new feature of the service is the smartphone app that allows you to have access to your documents and other resources on your phone. 
These are just some of the features and I would encourage you to investigate further. It is possible for an individual to have access to these services also. Visit http://outlook.com to find out more and setup an account. You might find you can live your life in the cloud!
|
 |
|
|
|
|
by John O' Mahony on 23/01/2012 20:30:00
World Education Games Many regular readers of the Teachnet Blog will be familiar with World Maths Day which is organised and facilitated by 3P Learning, the people behind Mathletics. In 2012, 3P Learning are organising the World Education Games which will be held from 6 - 8 March 2012. In addition to World Maths Day which takes place on 7 March 2012, there will also be a World Spelling Day on 6 March 2012 and a World Science Day on 8 March 2012. Pupils can access the games online both at home and in school once they have been registered by their teacher and have been given their own unique username and password. 
Registration for the games opens on 1 February and closes on 28 February. Once you register your class, the class is automatically registered for all three events. Once registered pupils can logon and get in some practice in advance of the big day. Pupils can engage in live games lasting one minute, playing against other pupils from around the world. An unique feature, is that each of the official competitions are open for a 48 hour period, while it is the 6 - 8 March somewhere in the world. The World Education Games are a very practical way to teach World Time Zones to senior classes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
by Enda Donlon on 20/01/2012 15:28:00
The Computers in Education Society of Ireland (CESI) will host its annual conference on February 24th and 25th, 2012, in Portlaoise. The theme for this year's conference is TEACHnology: merging teaching and technology in schools. 
As has become the format for CESI conferences over the last few years, there will be both a Friday evening and Saturday event. On Friday February 24th (7pm-9pm) there will be a CESImeet in the Heritage Hotel, Portlaoise. CESImeets are informal events which feature a number of short presentations (the majority are of seven minutes or two minutes in duration) and plenty of opportunity for discussion and exchange of ideas. You can get a sense of the format for CESImeets from this video.
The main event takes place on Saturday (February 25th) in Portlaoise College. There will be the usual mix of presentations and workshops, along with a chance to meet with experts and novices alike in the use of educational technology. The keynote address will be delivered by Professor Steve Wheeler, Associate Professor of Learning Technologies at Plymouth University. Steve specialises in research on e-learning and distance education with particular emphasis on social media and Web 2.0 tools, has authored more than 150 scholarly articles and is an active blogger and tweeter. You can view a video from last year's conference here and browse some photographs here.
Registration for CESI Conference 2012 is now open and you can avail of a number of different ticket types (including discounted rates for students and for those wishing to attend both the Friday evening CESImeet and Saturday conference) here. The conference homepage is http://www.cesi.ie/conference-2012 and you can view the Lanyrd page for this event here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
by h2\mhallissy on 16/01/2012 19:53:57
 Last week I had the pleasure of attending the BETT show in London. This has now become an annual pilgrimage to view what is new in the world of technology and education. At first glance this year’s show didn’t appear very different from other years but when you went under the surface there were some notable gems. In particular there was an increase in “free” quality resources for schools, particularly in the area of computer game creation.
Launching the BETT Show Michael Gove, the UK Secretary for Education, announced plans to overhaul the teaching of Computer Science and this topic was very evident throughout the show. His plans have raised some concerns in some quarters as there is a perceived lack of Computer Science teachers, which will be a real challenge. But anticipating that this challenge will be met there was good news for young people and interested teachers and parents in relation to providing access to tools that support computer programming. Gove had the following to say in relation to his future plans: "Imagine the dramatic change which could be possible in just a few years, once we remove the roadblock of the existing ICT curriculum.
Instead of children bored out of their minds being taught how to use Word and Excel by bored teachers, we could have 11-year-olds able to write simple 2D computer animations using an MIT tool called Scratch. By 16, they could have an understanding of formal logic previously covered only in university courses and be writing their own apps for smartphones." Scratch is certainly a wonderful tool and one that allows young people, of all ages, create and share their work with a global audience. However, I came across two other toolkits that were free to schools and could be used in addition to Scratch – it is not an either or situation I believe.  The first is YouSRC. YOUSRC (pronounced "You source") uses a very simple programming language called ELC (named after the young YOUSRC coder Emma Louise Clarke) that takes its roots from many of the common programming languages around. Because of this it is a very good starting point, and a language from which people can move on to more and more complex and powerful languages and environments.
The site is very easy to navigate and has many similarities to Scratch with tutorials, notes and lesson ideas. It also has a competition for young people so check it out. The second is Microsoft’s DreamSpark
 Students and schools have free access to the suite of products included in DreamSpark and it is an amazing list. Just a few that struck me were XNA Game Studio, Kodu Game Lab and Microsoft Robotics Studio. There is much more so take some time and check it out. Implications Currently the NCCA are developing short courses in Computer Science for second-level students so these kinds of tools should be extremely useful to teachers and students. By providing the tools free to young people it allows them to work on their projects both in school and at home. This factor is essential if we want students to work on developing their ideas. By providing a range of free tools it allows young creators of all ages to start developing an interest in game development and coding, which they can develop as they progress through school. So check out the websites and the relevant resources and tell us what you think?
|
|
|
|
|
|
by Kieran Kelly on 11/01/2012 19:38:00
Every teacher has accumulated a number of websites that they use every day for teaching different topics. At the moment I'm teaching the pupils about money. Three great websites that I find very useful to teach money in the primary setting are:
|
There are over 15 different euro money games located on this Teaching money website. It is an excellent resource for teachers, pupils and parents. And if the euro does fail it teaches you can change the currency. |
|---|
Click on pictures for links.
|
I use this webiste to show pupils the different prices of food. Pupils are able to do the weekly shop and buy what they we want to. I also give the pupils a budget of €20 euros and ask them to buy a healthy dinnetr for 4 people. We are able to discuss the origins of food as well as healthy eating. |
|---|
I wanted to share these resources with other teachers in the school and thought about delicious.com which is an excellent way to bookmark and share websites with colleagues and others. I have my own delicious.com account, but none of the other teachers have one and do not use the service. So I decided to setup a school account which all staff have access to.
Every teacher in the school has been given the user name and password for the delicious.com and I will be encouraging and cajoling all 22 of them to add websites which they find useful everyday for all curricular topics. On occassions I have walked into a class and noticed a teacher using a great website and thought I must get the name of that website and then walked out the door 5 minutes later without it! I am hoping that delicious.com will allow all staff to share web resources easily.
As with all ICT tools that I try and get other staff to use I attempt to make it as easy as possible for them to use so that they do not get frustrated and give up using it! For this reason I have installed the delicious bookmarklet code on every internet browser in the school. This allows teachers to add websites to the delicious.com account with one click of a button. You can also add the booklet code to your iPhone/iPad browsers as well. Click here for more detailed information.
|
|
|
|
|
|
by h2\pbrennan on 09/01/2012 21:54:11
Engineers Week 27th Feb – 4th March 2012  Engineers’ Week is a week long programme of nationwide events with the aim of celebrating the world of engineering in Ireland. The aim of the week is to create a positive awareness and spark enthusiasm about the engineering profession to people of various ages with little or no engineering background.
 Engineers Week, previously known as Engineered! A Week of Wonder, is entering its sixth successive year. The week has been subject to year on year growth with 11,000 taking part in the 2006 and 17,000 taking part in activities nationwide in 2011.
During this week Engineering, Technology, Maths and Science are promoted throughout Ireland with the aid of the variety of activities with events held for for primary and post-primary students. In addition a family day has been organised in Engineers Ireland. This year each student participant will be in with a chance to win a fantastic trip to NEMO Science Centre in Amsterdam! The week is coordinated on a national basis by Engineers Ireland as part of the STEPS programme, which was in 2000 to encourage primary and post-primary students to explore the world of science and engineering. Log onto www.engineersweek.ie to find out more about the free interactive events taking place in your local area during Engineers Week 2012.
|
|
|
|
|
|
by h2\slewis on 19/12/2011 19:40:19
A couple of months ago, I decided to try and make a mobile phone app for my school. Apps are considered quite the fashion accessory and most well-known companies have their own app to showcase their products. For a school, I thought it would be a good idea to be able to give parents the opportunity to see what’s going on in the school as well as give them some useful tools to help them communicate with us from their phone.  The app, which can be downloaded to any Smartphone running Android or iOS (iPhones) gives parents the opportunity to check in with the latest news from the school, view photographs of events and see upcoming events on the calendar. Parents can also send a note to the school if a child cannot make it to school directly from the app. Another feature for parents who find it difficult to come into the school is the ability to see the noticeboard in the foyer of the school on their phone.
As far as I’m aware, this is the first school in Ireland to have a mobile phone app, possibly even beyond. The main advantage I see for this is that it gives another dimension to allow people to see what’s going on in the school. While our web site provides exactly the same function, how many parents log on to a school web site when they’re standing in a queue in a bank? However, if there’s an app on their phone and they are standing in that queue, there is a stronger likelihood that they might access the app. Carlow Educate Together’s app can be downloaded free directly from a phone or through the Android Market (http://market.android.com).
Search for “Carlow ETNS” and download. It can also be directly downloaded from this link: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.appmakr.app345308.
The iPhone version can by downloaded from the AppStore or from this link:
http://itunes.apple.com/ie/app/carlow-etns/id478581626?mt=8
|
|
|
|
|
|
by John Rust on 15/12/2011 18:09:00
 Microsoft Mouse Mischief is a free program that integrates into Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 and Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007. It lets you insert questions, voting polls and drawing activities into a PowerPoint presentation. Microsoft Mouse Mischief allows pupils to engage with PowerPoint presentations that are related to the lesson being taught. Pupils use their own wireless mouse to interact with specific parts of a PowerPoint slide. This interaction allows teachers to create a PowerPoint presentation that includes an element of interaction in a variety of formats ranging from a simple mouse click to drawing lines, circles or any other shape on the screen. Pupils are more likely to engage with the presentation and become more involved with the learning environment because of this interactivity.
 At the start of a Mouse Mischief enabled PowerPoint presentation the teacher uses a special screen to setup each connected mouse; each one is represented on screen by a colourful mouse pointer.
During the presentation, special slides can be sequenced to provide the interaction; combinations of “Yes/No”, “True or False”, “Multiple Choice” or drawing actions are all possible. Drawing slides can be created where students can cross out, circle, or colour in answers, draw lines to match objects, and create new drawings or complete old ones. You can also create polling slides with no pre-defined right answers. When every mouse in use has been clicked a result screen is presented showing the range of answers collected.
 As a teacher using Mouse Mischief you have access to Presentation Controls at the bottom of the screen that allow you to control the speed of the lesson. You can use a timer to encourage faster response times and if pupil attention is drifting, you can also use the controls to hide all their cursors and get the attention of the class back to you. Additionally, you can play lessons in Team mode, where all students in a team need to work together and agree on the right answer. Depending on PC variability and USB hardware, the number of students participating in a Mouse Mischief lesson may vary from approximately 5 to 25. Windows XP SP3 has a maximum load of 5 mice; however Windows 7 or Vista can handle up to 25 mice. Specific hardware requirements are available on the Microsoft website; powered USB hubs give the best results. I’m currently using non-powered USB hubs on a HP Pro 3305 – an AMD Athlon II 3.20 GHz desktop PC with 6 Gb RAM and our 10 mice work really well. There are lots of free Mouse Mischief enabled PowerPoint presentations on the Microsoft website
|
|
|
|
|
|
by Paul Monroe on 11/12/2011 21:03:00
 Big Marker is a new free service for conducting online
conferences. Having given it a look over on a friend's recommendation, Big
Marker looks like a great option for conducting online tutoring sessions,
brainstorming sessions, and other online presentations.
Big Marker allows you to create your choice of a private or a
public online meeting room. If you make your room public anyone can join. If
you make your room private you have to give participants a password to enter
the room. Once in your Big Marker
conference room you can share screens, chat via text, chat via audio, or turn
on your webcam so that people can see and hear you. Your Big Marker conference
room comes with a white board that you and your participants can write and draw
on. As the creator of a Big Marker conference you can control who can and
cannot be heard or seen in the live audio and video chats.
Hosting
a meeting on BigMarker is easy and requires no technical knowledge. You are
able to connect with global audiences immediately. All you need is a computer
with an Internet connection and audio capabilities (a headset or a microphone,
and speakers).
Applications for Education
Big Marker could be a great tool for conducting online tutoring
sessions and lessons. Students working on collaborative projects could use Big
Marker to brainstorm and plan for completion of their projects. As a
professional development resource Big Marker could be useful for facilitating
workshops online.
Give it a try at www.bigmarker.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
by Siobhan O'Connor on 08/12/2011 19:07:00
 Primary Games Arena is a website I came across in September when looking for games that would help my Junior Infant class with their mouse control skills. It has subsequently become one of our most visited websites in the class. It is operated by Primary Technology which is a UK based company that provides ICT services to education worldwide. The website is full of simple, interactive and competitive games that help increase learning across several curriculum subjects.
Primary Games Arena has assembled various games from different websites in one place making it a super games arena. It is clearly laid out and simple to navigate. They have graded games in each subject area into suitable years so it’s easier for teachers to see if a game would be suitable to their class. Just keep in mind the years are named differently as it’s an English based website, there’ll be no Junior Infants but a Nursery and Reception section. There’s a vast array of games to play. Not only can you search for games by subject and year but also the game type whether your looking for a strategy, construction, shooter, puzzle, stimulation, role play or adventure game. Not to mention the best part, it’s free to use. Children can play in school and at home to consolidate skills. At the moment in our Junior Infant class our favourite games are Pattern Match Math where the children have to figure out what is missing in a pattern. Children can chose whether they would like to play using shapes or symbols and it also classifies into colours too. As the children are playing, it gradually gets harder to solve what is missing in the pattern. The children love it and it complements the pattern work that is being done in the classroom. Another favourite is a simple counting game called Eggy Steady Go, where the children must count the eggs that a hen has laid and click on appropriate number. Great for counting and number recognition. Also the children just love the slightly humorous game The Hiding Hippo. I use it in class to supplement the teaching of rhyming and phonics. There are three games, in each one and a table in each with two sets of rhyming strings, you can read them together moving the mouse over them or as they are all CVC words the children are attempting to read the words themselves. After you read the words and see what’s on the table a hippo comes to the table and in what the children think is very funny hides one object. After which they must guess what’s missing. You can play with the whole class orally and if you like chant, ‘It’s not the rat, it’s not the bat, it’s not the cat, it must be the hat. Although after Christmas I plan to progress on to the children writing the CVC word on their white boards as to what’s missing. All the games I’ve used in the classroom have been bright and engaging for the children and they love them and what’s more they are new to me too. Just when I thought I’d seen every games website, I find a new one stop shop for games. http://primarygamesarena.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|