eTeacherBlog

Children who use technology are 'better writers'

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Whitehead) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:52:00 +0000

I was really pleased to read on the BBC website last month that "Children who use technology are 'better writers'"

A research survey was carried out by the National Literacy Trust: "Our research suggests a strong correlation between kids using technology and wider patterns of reading and writing," Jonathan Douglas, director of the National Literacy Trust, told BBC News. "Engagement with online technology drives their enthusiasm for writing short stories, letters, song lyrics or diaries."

Of course we at Kids on the Net have known this for 12 years. It's our raison d'etre that writing online not only increases digital literacy but more general literacy as well: increasing interest and skills in writing and reading. I will never forget the many instances of children I have worked with who had never liked or found writing easy before, but were inspired and enthused by the whole idea and concept and experience of writing online. Often these have been boys. Teachers have shaekn their heads and said things like "He's never written more than a sentence before!". It makes it all worthwhile.

So it's no news to me that "the more forms of communications children use the stronger their core literary skills".

Try reading some of our brilliant Kids on the Net writers and that's self-evident!

Competition for young film-makers (13-19)

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Whitehead) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:56:00 +0000

Young people aged between 13 and 19 are invited to enter their own-made films, into the Open Access Award in association with BAFTA for a chance of winning a prestigious First Light Award that will be presented to them during our star-studded First Light Awards 2010!

Films of any theme or genre (e.g. drama, action, horror, animation etc) can be entered that have a maximum running time of up to 2 minutes in total. (Including opening titles and end credits)

The films will be shortlisted by BAFTA members and three best entries can be seen on the First Light website www.firstlightonline.co.uk at the end of February. We will then give the public the opportunity to vote for their favourite film. The film with the most votes will be announced as the winner of the competition!

All three shortlisted film-makers will be invited to attend the First Light Awards 2010 taking place 2nd March 2010 at The Odeon, Leicester Square, London, where the winner of the competition will be called to the podium to be presented with their prestigious First Light Award!

All you need to do to enter is to get 2 copies of your film on DVD and send it to us along with your completed entry form by 12 noon Friday 29th January 2010. Good luck!

Please visit the First Light website for Entry form and rules.

Regards

The Mediabox grants team

info@media-box.co.uk

www.media-box.co.uk

School Jotter - a quick way to create a school website

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Whitehead) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 20:09:00 +0000

I recently came across School Jotter. It's an easy way to create an online presence for a school, class or group. Combined with a page or two on Kids on the Net you don't have to be an expert to have the school online. Using it is easy - it's like using Facebook, Twitter and other great web 2.0 websites.

Of course a lot of teachers nowadays can create their own websites, but do you really need to spend the time if there's a good tool out there to help?

1. School Jotter can be edited from any computer that has an internet connection - all you need is your username and password to log on.

2. School Jotter lets you create password protected pages. This means you can set up areas for teachers, governors etc. that only they can access.

3. School Jotter allows you to save your page as a draft to work on later.

4. There is no limit to the number of pages you can create. Your school Jotter website can have as many or as few pages as you require.

5. School Jotter allows you to redesign your site for free by browsing our gallery of new and exciting designs.

6. School Jotter allows you to insert e-learning modules such as weekly spellings & maths practice, phonics exercises and links to the BBC 'Bitesize' web pages.

7. Web stats allows you to see which pages of your website have been viewed and how many times. These can be viewed by day, week or month.

8. You can use keywords and descriptions on your webpages to make it easier for them to appear in all the popular search engines.

9. Online forms allow you to gather details from your visitors and communicate with them via a single click 'bulk email' option.

10. School Jotter's online vacancy option allows you to post job vacancies and then easily manage the details of multiple applicants.

More about School Jotter.

At Kids on the Net we're always interested to hear about other good tools for creating a presence online.

Curriculum changes

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Whitehead) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 08:35:00 +0000

Interesting new developments in the curriculum for primary schools have been leaked according to The Guardian. Prescriptive rules about which topics and areas of history to study are being scrapped in a move which should lead to more creativity possible for individual schools and teachers, but there is bound to be criticism of the new emphasis on digital forms of communication.

No, primary school children do NOT need to learn Twitter! But they do need to be aware of the tools of communicaton. Though whether they need to be taught them is another matter - in most schools it's the children who are capable of teaching the teachers about digital literacy.

National Digital Resource Bank

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Whitehead) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 07:53:00 +0000

At the recent NAACE2009 conference Jim Knight spoke of the role that NAACE members have played in the National Digital Resource Bank, stating:  

“A partnership with the Spanish Telecommunications and Information Society has been signed…..to develop a National Digital Resource Bank, to create, search for, and share digital content.  NAACE members responded really well last year with members from more than 100 Local Authorities agreeing to share publicly funded Digital Teaching and Learning Resources.

"The UK is renowned for excellence in ICT infrastructure, development of Digital Resources, and willingness to work with other countries and has combined these three elements in this landmark project.”    

There are plans to provide a huge collection of resources - to be downloaded, from a
central repository, hosted on the National Education Network, to school and college Learning Platforms.

There will be a number of press articles over the next few weeks as journalistic interest is very high in the project, most particularly as we are using an Open Source solution developed in Spain. The assistance of both JANET(UK) and Jim Knight were needed to get this agreement and the formal signing took place  a week before Government announced its wish to see more Open Source projects - so a genuine first!

An open source solution has delayed the project but provided substantial cost savings and will enable the project to grow and provide resources for education at minimal cost.

Using video

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Whitehead) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 17:16:00 +0000

Via tombarrett on Twitter: "Nine Interesting Ways* to use your Pocket Video Camera in the Classroom" http://is.gd/gXpf

Having just been shown a student video of (controlled!) explosions in A-level chemistry class. It was never as much fun when I was at school!

If you have a literacy related video do get in touch with Kids on the Net if you'd like us to publish it!

Videoed book reviews? Poetry readings? How-to videos?

Ways to access YouTube

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Whitehead) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:33:00 +0000

YouTube is still blocked for access in many schools and colleges and I know a lot of people Joyce Valenza on the School Library Journal has posted (more than) eight ways to get round blocking of YouTube - some simple, some deeply ingenious. If you are a teacher who needs to use a YouTube video or two, here's how to get round that block.

Routes - Discover the secrets in your genes

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Whitehead) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 09:33:00 +0000

The Wellcome Trust is helping Channel 4 create an Alternate Reality Game for teens based on genetics. So-called "Serious Games" are being used more and more for supporting learning and ARGs are a powerful and exciting development. Keep your eye on http://www.routesgame.com

P.S. According to Wikipedia an ARG or alternate reality game (ARG) is an interactive narrative that uses the real world as a platform, often involving multiple media and game elements, to tell a story that may be affected by participants' ideas or actions. It's a great way to learn!

Turkish school wins 2008 eLearning Awards in Rome

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Whitehead) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 18:26:00 +0000

“EuroPoems”, a project submitted to the 2008 edition of the eLearning Awards by Elif Kara, a Turkish teacher from Hisar Egitim Vakfi Okullari located in Kemerburgaz near Istanbul, won the Young Digital Planet Award for outstanding teachers-First prize at the Award Ceremony in Rome on 4 December 2008. Piotr Mroz, Executive Director from Young Digital Planet, presented the teacher with a crystal trophy, a cheque for € 3000 and an interactive whiteboard for her school.

Miguel Roa Guzmán, a Spanish teacher from I.E.S. San Juan de Dios won the Interwrite Learning Award for outstanding teachers-Second prize, for his project "10 x 10 x 10".

Eight schools were awarded in the 2008 eLearning Awards for a total of € 40 000 in cash prizes and equipment worth a similar amount, provided by Interwrite Learning, SMART, Promethean and Intel.

More on outstanding European school elearning projectss at http://elearningawards.eun.org/ww/en/pub/elearningawards/press_and_news/elearning_winner.htm

FREE WORKSHOP: Creative Classroom Approaches to Diversity

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Whitehead) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 10:09:00 +0000

WHEN: Wednesday 21st January 2009 from 3.45pm - 5.15pm

WHERE: Benson Community Primary School, Benson Road, Hockley, Birmingham B18 5TD.

Are some of your topics getting a bit stale?
Do you want some new ideas to help embed diversity into your curriculum?

This Primary Colours Workshop will give you lots of practical guidance on topics and methods which you can introduce now to both embed diversity and add more creativity to your teaching and learning.

Click Here to register now via email!

Digital Christmas ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Whitehead) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:26:00 +0000

Online advent or seasonal calendars are all the rage.

I did one last year - the Advent of Technology calendar for ELKS at
http://drillbit.omnium.net.au/elks/modules/showcase/gallery.php?id_galleries=7

Here are some ideas for any classroom as the end of term approaches
http://web.me.com/concetta.gotlieb/Site/Christmas.html

Some Edublogs (educational blogs) worth reading

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Whitehead) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:06:00 +0000

Tom Barrett http://tbarrett.edublogs.org/

Tim Rylands http://www.timrylands.com/blog/

Doug Belshaw http://www.mrbelshaw.co.uk/teaching/

I'd love to hear from anyone who knows or has a good education-oriented blog.

My other blog Periodic Fable is about elearning in a variety of educational contexts and may also be of interest to teachers using ICT.

New government watchdog to keep kids safe on the net

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Whitehead) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 09:50:00 +0000

Following the Byron report, the Government has founded The UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS), an internet watchdog that aims to help protect children from "harmful" web content, such as cyber-bullying and violent video games. There seem to be a lot of big organisations involved, but I hope they have a few independent individuals who actually know what they are talking about.

After ten years running a website full of user-generated by children I am well aware of the dangers and go to great lengths to ensure that children are safe on my site and on any others that they might go to. All content on Kids on the Net is pre-moderated and stripped of anything that could uniquely identify a child.

If the new organisation aims to teach children about web dangers, target harmful net content and establish a code of conduct for sites featuring material uploaded by users, I hope they incorporate some of the excellent materials and websites already out there and that the code of practice is sensible and practical.

Children's web watchdog launched from the BBC.

Happy Fat Gourg Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Whitehead) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 09:44:00 +0000

Happy Fat Gourg Day!

Fat Gourg is the monster drawn in the Monster Motel by Luke when he was 7 (see previous blog post). Both the monster and Luke have become famous since some French artists adopted him as their mascot.

Today is Fat Gourg day - because it's the 8th of the 8th and the roundness of the letters reflect the roundness of Fat Gourg's plump body!

Writing on Kids on the Net can make you famous!

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Whitehead) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:01:00 +0000

Regular visitors to the eTeachers' Portal and Kids on the Net will know about the Monster Motel, a project which has been on the Web for ten years.

Following on from Saturday's Leicester Mercury newspaper story about the search by a group of young French artists to find the artist who drew Fat Gourg in the Monster Motel, and become an internet craze in France, the story hit the local TV yesterday. It's already made it onto YouTube (no I didn't put it up there!).

Unfortunately the interview they did with me ended up on the cutting room floor. That's probably because I gushed about how wonderful the Internet is as an opportunity for children to write to the world. And how SAFE it is, if it is a well-moderated site.

All writing that is submitted to Kids on the Net is fully moderated and published so safely that it took 5 years, a newspaper, a TV station and thousands of French fans to find Luke.

It's wonderful that they were able to find Luke and interview him! Meanwhile, the current crop of children at his old school, Oakthorpe Primary, have submitted their own monsters who reside on the Monster Motel website in Fat Gourg's Friends annex.

Why not submit some of your own?

Monster Motel hits the headlines!

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Whitehead) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 14:00:00 +0000

Kids on the Net features today in the Leicester Mercury. In one of those strange but heartwarming Internet stories, a monster ("Fat Gourg") created by a seven-year-old, Luke, during a writing workshop at a Leicestershire primary school led by KotN editor Helen Whitehead in 1999 has become something of a cult figure for a group of French artists and cartoonists.

"In 2003, the drawing was discovered on the website by famous French online cartoonist Pierre Primen. The 25-year-old raved about Fat Gourg on Primsworld, his website dedicated to funny cartoons and drawings, which gets 50,000 visitors a day, sparking instant adulation. Every year, thousands of fans gather in groups on August 8 - the "eight" symbolising his fat body - for Fat Gourg Day.

"He has a Friends Reunited profile, where he is listed as single and retired, and there is a Facebook page dedicated to finding Luke."

Now the hunt is on to find Luke. His French fans "would like to know if Luke remembers drawing this monster. If he does, I guess we have to thank him for all the fun Fat Gourg has brought to us, and we have millions of questions to ask him about this character. We also have to offer him a statue to pay tribute to his oeuvre!"

Fat Gourg can be found in the Monster Motel on the Kids on the Net website. Children worldwide are invited to contribute their own monsters to this ongoing project.

‘Edutainment’ Live community showcase events with a Hip Hop inspired ethos

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Whitehead) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 10:45:00 +0000

Invizible Circle Education is a not for profit, grass roots, youth and community education organisation specialising in the provision of tailored multimedia educational solutions aimed primarily at the children, youth and community sectors.

‘Edutainment’ Live community showcase events with a Hip Hop inspired ethos

A series of old Hip Hop block party inspired events using the methodologies of ‘edutainment’ (education through entertainment) and focussing on a range of themes. The first events will be focussing on the streetlife/ self destruction/ stop the violence campaign we have been forwarding over the last 12 months; a mixture of Hip Hop and community development.

As well as showcasing a range of live Hip Hop influenced artists, it will exhibit art, give issue based presentations and run workshops and masterclasses. The events shall present all of Hip Hop’s main elements including DJs, Breakdance, Beatbox,
Rap/MC, Graffiti as well as spoken word, film and mixed media.

Events in Leeds: Sat 21st June 2008 / 19th July 2008 / 16th August 2008

SAT 21ST JUNE
12 NOON - 4 PM
@ SEVEN ARTS CENTRE, LEEDS, LS7 3PD
AND CONTINUES JUL 19TH AND AUG 16TH 2008

Current supporters include Invizible Circle Entertainment, Hyrograff, the Watchmen Agency, Fresh Jive and UnLtd.

Please see http://www.inviziblecircleeducation.org for further details

Places available on eModerating and Online Tutoring course (online)

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Whitehead) — Fri, 23 May 2008 13:26:00 +0000

5 weeks - online - in Moodle
Starts 4th June 2008
contact helen@reachfurther.com

I am running an eModerating and Online Tutoring course in partnership with Park Lane College in Leeds. This is an introductory course for those starting to or planning to teach online in HE, FE or in schools. The format - 5 weeks online in Moodle - is based on successful courses I have run in the past with local, national and international participants and builds on my work with Professor Gilly Salmon at Leicester University. I'm delighted to be able to offer the course to teachers and tutors inside and outside the college as I know that a mix of participants from different institutions will, as in my previous courses, form a lively and mutually supportive community.

Although it's in Moodle, the skills taught are generic and not VLE-specific. Moodle is very easy to use :) £295 plus VAT

More information at http://reachfurther.com/?page_id=82

Contact me for more details helen@reachfurther.com

Goodbye textbooks: hello open-source

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Whitehead) — Tue, 20 May 2008 16:28:00 +0000

Since I found the Ken Robinson video, I've been looking around the "TED Ideas worth spreading" site. There are some great inspiring videos.

Here is Richard Baraniuk: Goodbye, textbooks; hello, open-source learning. Richard is founder of Connexions, a free, open-source, global clearinghouse of course materials allowing teachers to share and modify course materials freely, anywhere in the world

Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Whitehead) — Wed, 14 May 2008 07:44:00 +0000

One of the most inspiring speakers I've ever heard in the education arena is Sir Ken Robinson. I heard him talking in 1999 about his incredible report, All Our Futures: Creativity, Culture and Education (The Robinson Report).

Recently he's been talking again about creativity and children and schools. I can't believe it's taken me until now to do aYoutube search for him. It was well worth it though:

JISC collections for schools: online subscription respources

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Whitehead) — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:10:00 +0000

This JISC project launched in April 2008 and offers "The highest quality online subscription resources at the lowest ever prices."

For the first time, schools can benefit from nationally-negotiated terms for a range of specially-selected and high quality online subscription services - from newspaper archives and image databanks to catalogue of invaluable resources covering history, science, art and music, modern languages and much, much more.

Some of the benefits include:

the discounted pricing on offer enables schools to offer cost-effective, 24x7 access to trusted and regularly updated online resources - already widely available in further education colleges - in many cases for the first time.
remote access is available, so teachers and learners at subscribing schools can access the resources from wherever they are.
there is no limit on the number of teachers or learners who can access a resource simultaneously.

The web’s good for children!

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Whitehead) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:01:00 +0000

Following the publication of Dr Tanya Byron’s report "Safer Children in a Digital World" for Ofcom, much is being said in the news media about the dangers for children online. Parents are being frightened into believing the only safe solution is to sit beside their child whilst they are online, or turn off the computer and watch TV instead.

The web is a great place for kids! There are lots of websites that are good for children – offering help with homework, support for their interests, safe social spaces and even advice and education on staying safe online. What do these excellent sites have in common? Good moderation practices.

Moderation means that there are people behind the website, people who monitor and if necessary edit or delete the content that children put up, often before it reaches the web. People who make sure that your child is not seeing anything they shouldn’t, or being contacted by anyone inappropriate.

The Byron report specifically recommends the development of an independently monitored voluntary code of practice on the moderation of user-generated content, including making specific commitments on take-down times. Good children’s websites are already following best practices.

Reach Further Ltd. (reachfurther.com) is a Leeds-based specialist in online community and training moderators. Consultant Liz Cable said: “Parents should look for safe online communities designed for their child’s age group, not allow random access to social networking sites. There is a difference, and the difference is safety.”

One of the oldest sites on the Web where children can contribute is Kids on the Net (kidsonthenet.com). Editor Helen Whitehead says “Every piece of writing submitted by a child is checked by a moderator BEFORE it even reaches the website. No information is published that can uniquely identify a child and they cannot contact others except via the moderator. Parents and teachers can be assured that children can enjoy reading and writing in a safe space.”

Photoshop on the web - edit photos online

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Whitehead) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 08:36:00 +0000

Here's an interesting new web-based service - manipulate your photos online with Adobe Photoshop Express. Various features which are the most essential ones for manipulating photos - you can resize and crop at the very least! And they offer 2 Gb of free space in your own gallery. A caveat: it's slow to load and you'll need the latest version of Flash installed.

Video and audio in the Adventure Islands

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Whitehead) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 22:50:00 +0000

Some of the Adventure Islands have video or audio in them!

Take a look at Myrmidon

boomp3.com

New collaborative project - Wings

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Whitehead) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 11:06:00 +0000

At the Education Show on March 1st, Kids on the Net inaugurated a new project as part of our tenth birthday celebrations:

We invite teachers to join in. Please contact the editor at info AT kidsonthenet DOT com and we will arrange for you to have access to the input forms for a period of time appropriate to your class.

Check it out:

Wings