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Mr Men History

miss-orange

This is me by the way  - I made it myself

The Minister of Education  has heard that there is a secondary level lesson plan on the web that uses the Mr Men to tell the story of the  Second World War  and the Holocaust. It has been used to denigrate secondary History teaching and give fuel to the arguments for the new more rigorous History National Curriculum. Someone did not tell the Minister of Education everything.

Today Russel Tarr the owner and user of the lesson plan returns from his spoilt holiday and  replies

The Computer’s First Christmas Card

jollymerry

hollyberry

jollyberry

merryholly

happyjolly

jollyjelly

jellybelly

bellymerry

hollyheppy

jollyMolly

marryJerry

merryHarry

hoppyBarry

heppyJarry

boppyheppy

berryjorry

jorryjolly

moppyjelly

Mollymerry

Jerryjolly

bellyhoppy

jorryhoppy

hollymoppy

Barrymerry

Jarryhappy

happyboppy

boppyjolly

jollymerry

merrymerry

merrymerry

merryChris

ammerryasa

Chrismerry

asMERRYCHR

YSANTHEMUM

Edwin Morgan 1968

I was so  excited by the idea of this poem that on the last day of term in December many years ago I rushed into school very early, dragged a BBC ‘B’ computer out of the secure store where our few computers had already been put away for the holiday and typed in this poem, saving it to the Folio floppy disc.

I then printed it 20 times, one for each class (we were a big primary school then) on that pale green and white striped printing paper with holes down the side for the ratchets.

Then it was off to collect my class from the playground and let them take the poems to each class.

Have a look at this blog which talks about the history  and context of this poem

Handbag size

handbag

I think that I may  eventually buy  the new iPad mini  mainly so that I can buy a handbag I really like, rather than a handbag that  I quite like but has enough space for my current full sized  iPad. The size won’t be problem, I’ve been there before with the Acorn Pocket Book, the Psion and the Sony Vaio mini notebook ( proper computer).

Advent…again

30th-nov

My annual collation of digital advent calendars

Early Years Apps

I’ve an ever  growing collection of  tried and tested Early Years apps for iPad/iPhone and I’m often asked for  advice about what to get. This is what I’ve said recently….

Hi
Some  suggestions,  but as ever it depends what you want the iPads to do  for  you.

There are lots and lots of good ones but some you have to pay money for.. and you’ll see why if you give them a try. Some apps have ‘lite’ versions, reduced content or functions for free.  Free often means adverts, I’ve just been looking at art packages and so many of the free apps that call themselves art packages are actually  colouring books and often have popup adverts too. Tis may matter to you.

You might  like to look at ways of using an iPad  https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dhn2vcv5_721gdk5jtd8 is a crowd/cloud sourced resource, includes some management tips.

For foundation stage and KS1

Duck Duck Moose Start with the Wheels on the Bus, their first ( facility to change the language amongst many others) the others have all worked well but the most recent Draw and Tell is such a simple creative app. Choose background,make marks/pictures then record your story save ( and have evidence).

Nosy Crow publish interactive animated stories The Three Little Pigs ( blow into the microphone to help blow down the houses) Cinderella and more coming along

Land of Me already established as a computer based interactive learning game now has an app.

Me books also include Peppa Pig books and the original Ladybird  books. I’ve got The Zoo and The Old Woman and her Pig. In the 21st century  you can create hot spots with your added sound.


Apps in my Pocket have Pocket Phonics following/supporting Letters and Sounds (the creators wife is a TA)

Talking Carl repeats everything you say - child appropriate image (not all similar applications have this)

BeeBot app Scroll down the page to read about it. If you’re using BeeBots this free games app will be familiar to the older children


very popular- PuppetPals a way of creating your own animations that can include your own pictures. My grandson 6 was teaching his Great Grandma (aged old) how to make them . There was a lot of laughing. Look at the Porchester Junior website for examples of  children work.

Make a Scene – farmyard is free, others in the series cost

Our story from the OU - creating stories from your own images

There are more  I’ll suggest later when yo have  thought about these

Tricia


Written Long Ago

While trying to make some space in my bijou office I dragged down folders from the top shelf and discovered old copies of the MAPE magazine. I couldn’t resist a look before considering throwing them away. In the Summer 1998 Newsletter I found my name above a short report from the  Easter conference held in Dundee. This is what I wrote.

(Anne Liddle was the head  of a Primary School in Cleveland, one of the first in the country to use computers in schools and one of the founders of MAPE.  In 1998 she was newly retired and working with the  University of Durham)

“On Sunday morning I went to what was probbably the tastiest workshop of the conference and those of you  who were not able to  go missed a real treat. The cake at the end being only one part of this.

Anne Liddle showed us how many of the  KS1 ICT National Curriculum requirememnts could be fulfilled without using a computer at all - and the controllable  robots, Pip and Raomer were the last things to be mentioned!

She looked at how a range of IT applications within the school - microwave, Language Master, tape recorder etc. could be used not as an add-on but as a vital part of the core curriuclum. Anne had many examples of activities she had developed to use in school and talked us through the practicalities of introducing them in the classroom.

The oh-so-short hour session ended with the group working together to mix and microwave cook a Choclate and Walnut cake in six minutes! Inspirational!

Perhaps we could have it again another time so many people could benefit

I’m tempted to say  plus ca change….as recently, with  a colleague I’ve written a series of activities using  technology  to support and enhance learning and one of them is using a microwave to make cakes and few of them use the computer. However the difference is that the activities are for Early Years, 3-5 year old children.  And in 1998 very few people were using technology confidently ( for any reason) technology is widely used and embedded in the foundation stage and KS1

Just thought I’d mention it..books

cimg4048

It is a mistake to think that books have come to stay.  The human race did without them for thousands of years and may decide to do without them again.

E. M. Forster (1879-1970)

Working Without The Internet

I am trying  to concentrate. I’m trying to complete some writing. But the social networking, the news gathering and sharing going on around me is  distracting.  How to  Focus in an Age of Distraction? I take some of the advice and  disconnect from the  internet  (Turn off Airport on my machine. Others in the house are using the  wireless).

This is good , no popups from TweetDeck, no ping as the  mail comes in, no temptations.

But wait a minute… I need that quote, I need to add to my notes on Google Doc, I need to check this evidence and how to spell  Tchaikovsky and …  I’m back online. Without  support of  the internet and my Personal Learning  Network I can’t work. Well  at least on this  project.

I rest my case.

Towel Day

It’s  Towel Day , a celebration of  the life and works of Douglas Adams  and value of our towels.  So have you got yours? Adams extolled the value of the  towel in the Hitchhikers Guide

A multitalented man  he involved himself in many  things.  As well as his books I remember many  pithy quotations.  I’ve tried quoting  ” I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” at people to  jolly them along when I’m way past the deadline, like now!

And when talking to educators I lke to  remind them that

Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works.
Anything that’s invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty- five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it.
Anything invented after you’re thirty-five is against the natural order of things.
Douglas AdamsThe Salmon of Doubt
The first line is the one. Are we remembering the tools that are  in the world that our children are born into and making use of them ,or are we trying to  create an education system  that puts them into  a world that existed before they  were born.



New EYFS

The Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage 2012 is published today.  It follows Dame Claire Tickell’s review of the  current framework . It’s available on  the DFE site.

Reforms are generally seen in  a positive light with concerns about the two-year-old  progress checks and their possible consequences coming to the fore.  Voice the union for education professionals comments here.

Children and Young People Now expresses similar views.  But earlier in the year a significant group of  people made their concerns plain through an open letter in the Daily Telegraph and through  a new group Early Childhood Action

Nursery World has a quick practical guide to the learning and developments requirements. The Foundation Years have links to all support documents.

I’ve pulled out the  statements that overtly mentioned technology

Understanding the world involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment. P 5

Understanding the world

Technology: children recognise that a range of technology is used in places such as homes and schools. They select and use technology for particular purposes. P9

Expressive arts and design involves enabling children to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials, as well as providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, movement, dance, role- play, and design and technology. P5

Expressive arts and design

Being imaginative: children use what they have learnt about media and materials in original ways, thinking about uses and purposes. They represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through design and technology, art, music, dance, role-play and stories. P9

At first glance these  requirements may look like limiting, but pause for thought and see great opportunities for the creative practitioners to  make a balanced  use of technology.

It is perhaps disappointing that there is no overt mention of  digital technologies in Communication and Language and  other areas.  However the expectations here shouldn’t be a barrier to using technology.

So in terms of technology  there is little pessimism.  My concerns lie elsewhere in the  Framework and it’s implementation.