If your are talented. But talent alone wont do it. You got to have determination as well as the talent. But I didnt have the talent, I had the determination. But sometimes determination out weighs the talent. Frank Bruno
I don’t think there is any more qualified to make that statement than Frank Bruno. It is not a question or one or the other.
Popularity: 6% [?]
I know, it is a bizarre post title and as bizarre an assembly introduction. So here is my explanation.
At short notice I was asked to step in and deliver our assemblies this week, the theme – cooperation. Now this is not the first time in our 5 year vertical tutoring cycle that this topic has been addressed, so I was asked to be…… creative. I really didn’t know where I was going to go with round 2 of ‘cooperation’ so with limited time I did what most of our learners would do, I asked Google, then Youtube. I sure did learn and watch a lot in the process. Next a created a very simple visually dominant presentation to save the students from another over dose of teachers sermon.
Why the post? I take great pride in my assemblies, I think the students deserve it. I honestly believe that my classes really deserve inspiring and challenging lessons, so a 1000+ students, in my mind at least, really really deserve inspiring and challenging assemblies.
Not all my assemblies hit home, but this week, after each assembly someone had something to say. Tuesday, one of my students thanked me for an ‘interesting and fun’ assembly. Wednesday another student struck up a conversation about cooperation within Portal2. Thursday another complement, and a small group asked a little more about ‘Virgil,’ one of the monkeys. Friday, our Principal referred to the assembly as ‘certainly different,’ and a couple of staff shared pleasant comments on their way out. Even our IT technician had an opinion. So here it is, should you want to repurpose it and the associated video playlist (although to prepare the videos to avoid the bothersome Youtube adverts. I will warn you, its nothing spectacular, and its the conversation around the videos that counts.
Download the presentation here Cooperation
Popularity: 7% [?]
Zora Hung from IPEVO very kindly got in touch and asked if I would like to take alook at their P2V Document Camera (£69), with height extension stand (£24) carrying case (£20). Here is the Amazon link, but the design and specs are much better at http://www.ipevo.com/prods/Point-2-View-USB-Camera. A very smart combination and very reasonably priced.
Unboxed and in use in less than 30 minutes, my P2V USB Document Camera was showing off a students poem in less than 30 minutes. Raised up above the exercise book certainly made all the difference. I didn’t use the real-time video capture, nor did I detach the camera for a closer inspection. I didn’t take any snap shots, but I at least know I could if I was relaying something I a little more alive??? [LIGHT BULB].
After school I headed over to our Science department to share the very practive IPEVO design. To say it was well received would be an understatement. The staff handled and talked about how the P2V three point articulation meant they would be able to position the camera at just the right height and almost any angle. The universal monitor clip a nifty bonus.
The team are going to put the camera through its paces over the next few weeks and I will share their experiences. I doubt that they will want to give it back. Zora Hung, thanks for making our Science Department’s wet and dreary day in Southampton, UK, just a little brighter.
Popularity: 15% [?]
Kodu - if you have not heard about it – you need to. Here at Hamble College our ICT Department has been planning for its introduction for just under a year. Improving the graphics cards, in-house Kodu learning and training. For the past two weeks the team have been using Kodu as an introduction to programming, to promote and market the new ICT in Computing the team are offering next year, just in time for Yr9 Options.
Kodu’s impact after 1 lesson with pure independence….
Our Director of Learning sent me an email yesterday noting
My feeling is that this has had huge positive impact across Yr7,8 & 9 over the past 2 weeks, it was brought up by students a lot at parents evening last week and has played a huge role in options. – Amir Fakhoury
Well you might expect an ICT teacher to say that, but what about the students….
Kodu is a software that helps develop your thinking and learning skills whilst having fun making a game/control kodu. It is basically a simple visual programming thing that anyone can have fun with and create things using their imaginations. Kodu, in my opinion, can be used for any age but may be slightly hard on the younger gamers. I have learnt that Kodu can help with your puzzle solving skills, teach creativity and storytelling and also programming. I have also learnt that, personally, it is easier to play with the controls than read because some of the controls look confusing. I solely think that it is a fun game that definitely help with my I.T. skills and my creative skills. – Shannon
A second comment revealed the challenge of Kodu and again supported out belief that in the right context, with the right environment, coding could offer real value to the curriculum.
Visual programming lets the user of the website create a program; for instance a game called Kudo is a program where you can make your own land up for your character and you then get to give your character commands.
Personally, I liked the way you could create your world from scratch and the program gave you lots of options on colour schemes. I also thought it was very easy to get onto the program.
I think the site could be improved by making it easier to look at your land from a different angle because I couldn’t get a bird’s eye view which made it very difficult to see what I had done with my land. When I scrolled back, on my mouse, I lost my land and had to start again because I couldn’t find my land because my screen went black. Also, the graphics were very pixelated. I didn’t get onto putting my robot/character onto my land because it wasn’t finished, so I don’t know what that was like.
Overall I think this site is very good for people who are experienced with ICT but I found it fiddly and, at times, frustrating!
It was very reassuring to hear such positive comments from our students and it’s great seeing our girls enthused by programming. It certainly fulfil the remit to challenge and inspire.
Popularity: 33% [?]
For those of you that like to reward positive behaviour, then classdojo.com is an excellent tool and its only going to get better. Now available in IE, I have been sharing it with a range of staff and have received some very positive responses indeed. From a personal perspective, I know it impacts on behaviour as when I don’t use it class I give out more demerits. When I say more, one or two. As for learning resilience, time on task, it has a positive impact, on reading in particular. More specifically, in our lbrary sessions when classdojo is on display. students quizzed more books on Accelerated Reader. A clear impact. And it is clear that the staff that are using it, are already thinking outside the box, connect classdojo to schemes of work and even looking to develop the progress feedback.
Hi Kristian,
Sorry its taken me so long to get back to you. I never seem to get a second to myself at the moment! Please find attached some pictures from the monster project. Along with those I have been thinking (again) do you remember when we talked about the monster possibly getting bigger? I wondered whether instead, the monsters could build…kind of like hangman. Which removes the ‘point’ system and the badge of honour that some kids feel they get from negative numbers.
Eg: positive point gain an arm, leg, eye, nose, tail etc… Negative lose it again. Just an idea
Faye
The benefits or being at the start of a start-up is – anything is possible.
As for the team at classdojo, their thoughts on the 3D avatars and hangman option were very positive.
Faye – great to meet you! I love the idea of monster hangman – we should find a way to make that happen. The photos look awesome, and I’m intrigued – what did you envisage the monsters you are creating ultimately becoming? Will they be used in the classroom? - Sam Chaudhary
Indeed Faye, I would be interested to know that too.
BTW – great work from the students there too. Let’s not forget them.
Popularity: 18% [?]
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