Wednesday 22 May 2013
MatthewKnight.co.uk: National Curriculum Update: Computing officially r...
MatthewKnight.co.uk: National Curriculum Update: Computing officially r...: On 3 May 2013 the Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, confirmed that, following the recent public consultation on proposals to ...
Tuesday 14 May 2013
MatthewKnight.co.uk: Lack of sleep blights pupils' education
MatthewKnight.co.uk: Lack of sleep blights pupils' education: By Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent Continue reading the main story Sleep deprivation is a significant hidden ...
Business Studies Classroom Ideas
I have been thinking about my ideal Business Studies classroom. Purely thinking about the layout and content of the room. Currently I teach in a room that is a little too large which, due to there being no carpets, is very echoey. The PCs are spread around the edge of the room meaning pupils are generally facing away from the board when working. This makes referring to the board hard work sometimes, to-ing and fro-ing. There are tables in the middle of the room but it is a bit of a squash to get pupils near enough to the whiteboard when copying down notes. The whiteboard that is in the room is tiny. Not that I'm fussy or anything...
I visited a school in Winchester that had desks similar to those shown below. Their idea was that if pupils are being taught in an office like environment, it would firstly give them a better understanding of what an office environment is like but it would also potentially motivate them some how. They had most of the desks positioned to the center of the room so the teacher could navigate around them. The only downside being that the teacher couldn't see all the PC screens at the same time.
I like the idea of each pupil having a set work space. The design below would work well if pupils had their own laptops or tablets. There is enough space to do paperwork as well.
The smaller table set up would also work well for meetings and group work. It would appear to create a much more formal working space which again could motivate pupils.
I visited a school in Winchester that had desks similar to those shown below. Their idea was that if pupils are being taught in an office like environment, it would firstly give them a better understanding of what an office environment is like but it would also potentially motivate them some how. They had most of the desks positioned to the center of the room so the teacher could navigate around them. The only downside being that the teacher couldn't see all the PC screens at the same time.
I like the idea of each pupil having a set work space. The design below would work well if pupils had their own laptops or tablets. There is enough space to do paperwork as well.
The smaller table set up would also work well for meetings and group work. It would appear to create a much more formal working space which again could motivate pupils.
With the number of pupils choosing Business Studies at Wildern increasing, I am inclined to think that a change of classroom set up is needed, particularly as this means class sizes are also increasing.
Monday 13 May 2013
Tutorial: Making a flyer in Indesign
A really useful tutorial for designing a flyer in Adobe Indesign
Thursday 9 May 2013
Apps for Good #TraintheTrainer update session
Apps for Good 2013/14
Can be a mobile, web (Chrome examples) or Facebook app next year.
Course
More flexible
course framework.
- Market research includes
basic prototyping - what makes the app unique? GET AN EXPERT IN (at least
5?!). Look at download figures for existing apps and user reviews –
improvements.
- Aim to add more new tech ideas – show pupils examples
of what is out there: Google specs/4square and look in to the features of
a smart phone for ideas.
- Encourage less attachment to initial ideas.
5-10 ideas and elevator pitches (Carousel? ppt Slide 31).
- Screening - +1 or -1 for
scoping questions. (in ppt S34) Is it feasible?
- Market scoping - who is
going to buy it? Questions (S37)
- Technical scoping – What
is out there? Don’t lose the quality of the core features by trying to add
on too many extras. (S40)
- Access to data - pupils can talk to experts about what is
realistic. Where is it coming from? Where will it be stored? Does it
require multiple user input? (S41)
- Business model – no
longer need to make their own (post-it note sheet). Will just have to
justify which model would suit their product best.
- MVP – Minimum Viable
Product. Basic steps of what it does. (select destination, find current
location, find route)
Coding
AppShed – new
software. Account info will be emailed to us. Simpler than App Inventor.
Chrome/IE/Firefox
– Usable on more devices? Anything with a web browser.
General aims
More expert
visits. Recommend 5! Have user experience experts.
More scope for
coding.
Fail and fail
often - It’s ok to fail.
Webinars for
sections of the course.
Entry for next year
Entry - online
team diary for keeping track of progress (at the end of each module). MUST upload
at end of each module. Only us, experts and AfG can see this. No-one else.
Experts will look at this before visit.
NO ONLINE
SUBMISSION FORM LIKE THIS YEAR.
Only the
presentation and a video. Not separate tasks.
Course
checklist on support page.
Each module
has a web page in the Educator zone. Topic plan. Videos and
activities/resources.
Bigger emphasis on the
elevator pitch video. No problem video!
Live at the
end of June.
Add a course
for each class. (1 after school) Print screen the group user names and
passwords. Can’t go back to this page.
Add educators
– must include Skype username.
Request an
expert. (At least 2 weeks before needed)
Competition
Regional
events to pitch if you don't make it through.
TO DO:
Need to set up
course for next year.
Plan expert visits in to modules. – initial idea feedback (Bob), market research, technical feasibility.
Plan expert visits in to modules. – initial idea feedback (Bob), market research, technical feasibility.
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