ICT Year 6: Creating Electronic Big Books

The Direct2U service was a weekly email subscription service for primary teachers from Becta, which ran during 2005/6. The scheme offered lesson plans featuring ICT in activities based on six subject strands. The service has now been discontinued but Becta have given us permission to use a selection from the plans in this magazine. A full archive of all the Direct2U activities can be found at http://forum.ngfl.gov.uk/direct2u

Introduction

In this activity, children work in small groups to design and create an electronic Big Book for the younger children in the school. They will take into account the reading age and interests of younger children and the format of Big Books, and test out their books and modify them if necessary. There is not room here to give full details of how to use Big Book Maker but it is well supported with manuals and guides http://primary.naace.co.uk/activities/BigBookMaker/

In this month's Sharing Success we welcome Paul Springford who is Naace's Professional Officer. Paul will be live in this month's 'hotseat between 8-9pm on Tuesday 11th November. As we a trialling a new time - we shall confirm the time of the next 'hotseat' on Tuesday 25th November shortly after the first session!

Paul's profile:

My career in education began in another century when I took a PGCE course and then worked as an English teacher in secondary schools in Southampton and Peterborough. In the early 1980s, schools in England were given half a computer by the DTI to stimulate the UK industry, and I became an enthusiastic adopter. The reasons I believed in English as a subject are not very different from the reasons why I believe in ICT.

Later in the eighties I was seconded to and then permanently employed in local authority work with Cambridgeshire and I've found it hard to get away. I became involved in using communications technology at an early stage with projects using e-mail, Prestel (anyone remember that?) and BT's early internet service for education, CampusWorld. I can't remember when I joined Naace, but I'm certainly not one of the originals.I've really enjoyed the opportunity to work as professional officer for the association this year.

I'm not very technical, and still surprised that at least half of my working life has depended on things with plugs. Never mind the technology, I've been lucky and worked with some outstanding people from my earliest encounters with ICT. And most of them are probably Naace members.

This month we welcome Mel Philipson and Chris Kastel, Chair of the RBC Communications group who will be live on Wednesday 15th & Tuesday 21st October (tbc) between 4-5pm.

Mel Philipson is Head of The Northern Grid for Learning, the North East's Regional Broadband Consortium. This organisation works in partnership with Local Authorities to provide a regional broadband infrastructure and a wide range of digital online resources for schools, teachers and learners. Mel is the Chair of the National Group of RBC managers. She represents the RBCs on the Education Network Governance Council. Earlier careers have included:

* ICT Inspector for Durham Local Authority
* Head of the Education Technology Centre in North Tyneside
* Advisory teacher for ICT in North Tyneside
* Teacher of English and French

Mel is interested in the management of change, in relation to education, teaching and learning and has an MA in Education Improvement and Effectiveness. She is particularly interested in using ICT and broadband technologies in supporting teaching and providing opportunities for enabling personalised learning.

An ICT Co-ordinator in an infant school decsribes how she has set up an after-school Internet Café for children and their parents.

In last month's hot seat Chris Kastel (CEO of E2BN) and Mel Philipson (Head of NGfL) were our guests.

Last term the Council for Subject Associations (CfSA) which was set up in September 2007 and funded for three years (before it has to become a self-financing organisation) produced the first of a series of Primary Subject folders that went into all schools across England for free. Other organisations can purchase a copy for £7.50. I was asked to write the ICT leaflet for the first issue on the theme of 'Every Child Mattters'.

The second Primary Subject's theme is the Gifted and Talented strand of the National Curriculum and was sent into schools in the last week of September 2008. Although I gave a sneak preview of the text in the Summer edition of Primary Focus, I have included the PDF that will be distributed along with leaflets from the other 16 subject associations to all schools in England during the third week in September 2008. The third edition of Primary Subjects will be distributed to schools in January 2009 and it has been confirmed that the theme will be Globalisation.

Your comments (posted underneath the article) on what you think of the leaflet would be very helpful feedback!

What does globalisation mean?

Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects relating to Globalisation is that means different things to different people. The DCSF aims to focus on the new curriculum for ICT and across all subjects and dimensions. However, Globalisation infers the 'bigger picture' and the use, development or acceptance of ideas, Web 2.0 technology as well as communicating and sharing information globally. Put more simply Globalisation refers to using ICT to help schools prepare children to take their place in the world/become global citizens.

Bowes children aged 9-10, in supportive pairs, created short PowerPoint presentations with a focus on the use of ICT, showing what they had learnt from their topic work on Ancient Greece.

NOUS PARLONS FRANÇAIS - ET VOUS?

As the Primary languages entitlement creeps ever closer, Roz Mays, a teacher of French at one of Cambridgeshire's smallest primary schools with approximately 80 pupils, shares her experiences of Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) teaching and talks about how technology can relieve the pressure on teachers.

In the July issue of Sharing Success, Christina Preston will be our live guest in the 'hotseat'. Our first live session will coincide with the 'Safe Social Networking Conference' to be held at the WLE Centre at the Institute of Education in London on Thursday 10th July between 4-5pm. Please post questions before during and after the live session!

Christina Preston advocates the application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a catalyst for change in teaching and learning (www.mirandanet.ac.uk). She is the Founder and Chair of the international MirandaNet Fellowship established in 1992. The MirandaNet Fellowship was established in response to a need expressed amongst teachers for a supportive community of peers who would mentor each other in the exploration of ICT potential in teaching and learning (www.mirandanet.ac.uk).

The MirandaNet Fellowship strives to span national, cultural, commercial and political divides to provide an innovative and inclusive forum for professionals. Fellows who share their experience and expertise are building a professional knowledge base about the use of digital technologies in transforming teaching and learning. Interaction between educators, researchers, industry and government is at the heart of the learning processes that underpin and support good practice. Individual learning patterns and talents are celebrated through practice-based research strategies, peer e-mentoring and collaborative knowledge-building. Dissemination and publication are central to the Fellowship process (www.mirandanet.ac.uk/fellowship/vision.htm).