kathleen.johnston

This week I have been working with P3/4 and we have been exploring how to search and research more effectively. I believe that it is vital to make sure children become proficient in searching and researching, as this is one of the keys to effective learning. Therefore, we have spent the last couple of weeks identifying  questions which will support searching and researching-

• What do I want to find out?
• How will I find this out?
• Where will I look?
• What have I found out?

We used these questions to create a research form for the children to fill out during a research activity. In P3/4 the children were finding out about the earth, sun and moon using the research forms we had created. They used a display on space to access a variety of resources – CD Roms, DVDs, videos, websites, books and posters. They had half an hour to find out as much as they could. The research forms focussed their research and the result was that they came up with much more relevant information which they understood – it was not just copied from the internet, or from the pages of a book. They also wrote down book titles,urls etc., so that they could use the same source of information again.

During the plenary session the children said that their research was meaningful and much quicker with the research forms. They also had ownership of the forms as they had helped make them. I was impressed by the quality of information produced and could see that the children understood what they had found out. Over the next couple of weeks we will focus on how to use different sources of evidence more effectively and encourage the children to evaluate each resource on how it contributes to their research. We will also explore where to find different sources of evidence – eg. library, and how to use it.

Last year I noticed that the ICT room with its suite of imac desktops was being used less and less by the children. This played on my mind- this was a knock-on effect of bringing ICT back into the classrooms, with wireless networking and a suite of PC tablets mainly allowing it to happen. I was, of course delighted that we had such technology at our fingertips, but what about the ICT room? Gradually there seemed to be a change of focus. The room does have a dual purpose, sharing space with maths and science resources and gradually children were making more use of the room for practical activities. I must admit I was getting exasperated as ‘my space’ was often a bit untidy, with various measuring tools left lying about for me to put away.

Over the summer, gorgeous big cupboards were installed and all the maths and science equipment found homes and the room was neat and tidy again, but lacked an essential ingredient – children! So I had a wee think to myself. What about a change of focus for the room? How about children using the room for all sorts of reasons? How about creating a learning environment which motivated the children to use and develop investigative and research skills, ask questions, problem solve, take ownership over what and how they learn in this particular environment. Phew!

So, over the past few weeks I have given this room a great deal of thought. I have picked the brains of all my colleagues, and any poor soul that happens to visit. Maggie, our probationer teacher was a scientist in a former life and she has been a great help. My first job was to have a clear out of all resources which were now out of date – start with a clean slate! I want to have ‘ hands-on’ learning, so I am creating themed areas within the room. Today I created a display to do with plants, with posters, plants, books, CD Roms, websites, a microscope, plants and magnifying glasses. I have also displayed key questions for the children to answer, should they wish to. The children will be encouraged to interact with the display, adding to it what they find out. I will also be looking for feedback from staff and pupils about what will make the room better, and what themes they would like for next term. The intention will be that gradually over the next few months, staff and pupils can take responsibility for themes within the room – a sharing of good ideas.

I am aiming to create areas within the room which will cater for all learners, with a tv and video corner and an area to listen to different types of music on headphones. We have also painted one of the pinboards white so that it can be used for video-conferencing – we are going to call it our communication wall.

It’s early days yet and I am still at the developing stages for the overall layout of the room. It seems to have a mixture of the past, present and future about it. I am constantly reminded of ‘interest tables’ and ‘hands-on learning’ from when I was a wee girl. But it also hopefully will have the focus that A Curriculum for Excellence will bring to our learning and teaching. We are all looking forward to see what happens in the room over the next few months. I think I just want to feel the way for a wee while and observe what works and what doesn’t, and I’m sure the children will keep me right!

By the way, if any body has any suggestions, I’d be glad to hear them. Also, I’m trying to think of a name for the room – not a vital component but it is nagging at me. Any thoughts?

A new term at Port Ellen and lots of ideas for teaching ICT, after meeting up with the other teachers this week. I met with Hazel first at P1/2 and we have decided to focus on searching and researching. The children are covering a topic called ‘Things We Eat’ and we have planned a series of activities for the children which will develop their research skills and this in turn will further enhance their understanding of different types of food.
Janice and P3/4 are still working on their Flat Stanley topic, which has really taken off! P3/4 now regularly video-conference with P4/5 in Bowmore Primary and they are even meeting up to have a flat party next week – talk about communicating and collaborating! Janice also intends to consolidate some of the other communication skills they covered last term within a variety of curricular areas this term. However, P3/4 are going to focus on their search and research skills, using them to support science and topic work . We aim to evaluate CD Roms and websites, with paired presentations at the end of the topic as summative assessment.
Maureen and P6/7 are creating a school calendar as their enterprise topic. We felt that creating and presenting skills would really contribute to this topic. The children will be designing and creating the layout for the calendar and using digital photos they have taken and edited to illustrate it. Fingers crossed the calendar will be on sale at the school Christmas sale in December.
I took the opportunity to ask my colleagues about their thoughts on the way ICT is being used this term. Each teacher was very positive and commented on how they feel their ICT skills are stronger and they also feel more confident about using ICT to support learning and teaching. Personally, I noticed that my colleagues were much more forth coming with suggestions during our planning sessions this week. Everyone is agreed that ICT is being used more effectively and it’s a lot more fun!
We also discussed the Kidspiration training session, led by Janice ( see above entry for more info). I asked my colleagues for their thoughts. Once again, they thought that this was a much more meaningful way of learning about an ICT resource – much better that a twilight session, or an after school slot. Teachers and pupils learned to use Kidspiration within the learning environment and within a relevant context. Janice commented on the fact that she enjoyed the experience of working with different stages and differentiating her approach. She also felt that the experience consolidated her Kidspiration skills. What sold it for me was that P2 used their new found Kidspiration skills to support a functional writing activity  – to write thank you letters. Great stuff!

Janice our P3/4 teacher is just back from an inservice course. She was learning all about ‘Kidspiration’ software – the company describes it as  ‘the visual way to think, write and comprehend’. This software has been on our macs for about 18 months now and I am ashamed to admit that apart from the odd mindmap, it has been seriously under used in our school. Janice was thinking the same sort of thing – hence the reason she went on the course, to find out more, and more she did! The course was taken by a Glow colleague- Morag MacDonald from Dunoon, and she opened up the world of Kidspiration to Janice! Morag, Janice did you proud, she came back to school the next day raving about all the different ways you can use Kidspiration. Janice showed me how you can import photos of the children to create fantastic personal profiles – perfect for the work we have been doing in P1/2. We also explored activities relating to a balanced diet, letter writing and lots more. We could see a lot of potential for supporting class work throughout the rest of the school. The problem was, how could we spread the good word throughout the school to get Kidspiration up and running? Janice could do a wee chat at the end of the school day but it really isn’t the best time to introduce anything new. Back I came to the same old mantra – training has to be meaningful. Suddenly I had a cunning plan… Janice could take my ICT team teaching time one Tuesday to introduce Kidspiration to all classes and teachers whilst I take her class! That way with a careful bit of planning Kidspiration could be introduced to each class within a context and make a valid contribution to learning and teaching. Both class and teacher get to see the software working for them and also use it with the support of Janice. This idea has gone down well with the four class teachers and Janice is happy to spread the good word. It happens tomorrow – I’ll let you know how we get on…

It is Sunday night and I have at last recovered from two amazing days at the Scottish Learning Festival.  Mind you, I had September weekend guests and a nine year old daughter’s birthday party in between!

I wanted to cram as much in as I could on the first day and started off with ‘A Curriculum for Excellence in Action’, presented by May Sweeney and Maggi Allan. This was a great presentation which was based around exciting and innovative examples of projects in schools – Pre5, Primary , Secondary and Special Needs. For me the presentation reinforced the principles of A Curriculum for Excellence and set the scene for the next two days.  The cross sector aspect was emphasised throughout the presentation, with May Sweeney stating- ‘Good ideas from different sectors can be used across sectors’.

However, the highlight for me was quite surprising – it was a seminar by a guy called David Weinberger and the subject of his presentation was knowledge. It followed the ministerial address and I had read the summary of the seminar and decided to stay – and I’m glad I did! It was called ‘Everything is Miscellaneous’ – a strange title and quite an abstract start- to be honest I was completely confused for the fist 10 –15 minutes, but then he got me hooked. My understanding of the seminar – and it may not be correct – is

• The process of storing knowledge has gone through four processes so far –1^st order was finding a place for storing what is known, not necessarily in any order, just collecting it. The 2^nd order was to categorise knowledge – eg. Put it into order, like a library. The 3^rd order was to link knowledge systematically – making connections about what is known – like a tree diagram. The fourth order  is where we are now – he called it unknown order, where our knowledge has many connections , many random– like the internet.
• We are moving away from the traditional way of learning knowledge – we no longer have to restrict our storage of knowledge as we can store vast quantities of it through technology – think of your digital photo library –probably hundreds of photos which you can keep, yet you can refer to it whenever you need it. However, we do have to be more selective about what knowledge we use.
• Compare Wikipaedia and Britannica – You can’t believe everything that is said in Wikipaedia as it is constantly able to be edited – and this is a good thing. By using wikis people are using evaluative skills and critical skills. Wiki warnings about inaccuracies remind us that things may not be accurate. The creator of Wikipaedia has said that things are only neutral when people stop editing them.  Britannica is non editive. There are no warnings of inaccuracies in factual accounts.
• The traditional expert who will not partake of discussions will be temporarily locked out of Wikipaedia. To be a true expert now takes skill to justify his/her actions.
• Whilst using MSN/texts children are engaged – even whilst doing homework, using it to reassure or to ask questions. David Weinberger states – “Learning is social”, (I like that). He also states that testing is individual.  – “ Regimes confuse the measurement of that which is being measured”, ( I like that too)
• We are entering a time when knowledge is not seen as the ultimate goal –rather, the process. We are aiming for the meaning now, a connection of ideas.
• Find out more on David Weinberger  – www.evident.com  , self@evident.com

SETT was fab. If only every teacher could get to go, I wonder what difference that would make to learning and teaching in Scotland? As the guy says, Learning is social…
 

This week saw about three years of hard work and planning eventually slot into place. All the ICT equipment we have scrimped and saved for, begged and borrowed is eventually up and running in the classroom -hurray! Each class now has an interactive whiteboard, digital projector, PC laptop for the whiteboard and digital stills camera. This is a basic kit for the classroom. In addition to this we have access to a class suite of PC tablets and associated software for the tablets and whiteboards. I know that some folk are of the opinion that interactive whiteboards are no longer the way forward but I feel that they still have an important part to play in our classrooms – especially pre 5 and primary. Also, we are in the extremely fortunate position of having tablets and whiteboards – the best of both worlds! The implementation of ICT skills is embedded throughout the curriculum and  both staff and pupils are motivated by the use of ICT to support learning and teaching. So far classes have responded favourably to their kit and I am looking forward to the next few weeks and months to see what happens next… 

On Tuesday I had my first stab at team teaching ICT with colleagues and it was great! We started off in the morning with P1/2 working on our PC tablets. We put the children into groups of three and each group was supported by a P6/7 ‘buddy’. The buddy supported their wee group to start up a PC Tablet , make individual folders for the desktop and then to make a picture in ‘Windows Journal’. They helped each child to save their work and to take home a printed copy of their picture. This sounds an awful lot to do in one session, but we will be visiting these same skills with support from the buddies over the next three weeks. Also, you wouldn’t believe how quickly these wee guys can pick up these skills!
After morning break I worked with P3/4 and their teacher to make a mindmap of how a blog could support them in their class work. We talked about the importance of sustaining a blog and making it a regular feature within the classroom routine. I then supported a child in putting an entry into the class ‘Flat Stanley’ blog.
After lunch, I worked with P6/7 and their class teacher, who were working on spreadsheets and pie charts as part of their health topic – we revised the necessary skills on the new class promethean board and the kids were saying, ‘ oh, its just like a big tablet!’ I left the class teacher working with the children as they were creating the pie charts on the tablets.
P5/6 were establishing ownership and responsibility of the tablets this week, creating individual folders and putting photos of themselves on the desktop. We discussed the importance of looking after the tablets and how we can best look after them. They then went off to write out a set of four rules for looking after the tablets, on the tablets! The teacher in this class is a probationer and new to our school, so she is learning about the tablets along with the children.
Today I saw P3/4 video conferencing without any support from me. The class teacher was amazed at how motivated the children were and she in turn can’t wait until the next session! Whilst online they established email partners with Bowmore Primary and this is going to be the next step within ‘communicating and collaborating’. It is great to see ICT skills being embedded so effectively – a good start!

As I am mentoring a probationer this year I do not have a class full time. With this in mind our staff thought about how we could make best use of my time. Last year I covered McCrone hours and during that time I taught ICT. However, this meant that class teachers were leaving new pieces of software and hardware for me to try out and they were not having a go in class themselves. We were also concerned that ICT was being regarded by the children as something to do just when Mrs Johnston came in  – not as a valuable learning and teaching tool. So we came up with a wee plan to address these issues this year. On a Tuesday I team teach ICT with each teacher in her class. This week I met with each teacher to decide which strand within 5-14 ICT to use as our main emphasis and then looked at the main features contained within that strand. We then created a forward plan which covered the ICT skills yet also contributed to lessons spread over a variety of curricular areas. It sounds complicated, but it isn’t   – for example, P3/4 are doing a topic on Flat Stanley, and we decided that communicating and collaborating was a sitter for this topic. The class teacher and I have created a series of really exciting activities for the children – and the teacher will be learning how to use some of the ICT skills too with my support. We plan to fax and email Stanley and compare with snail mail. We also intend to video conference with Bowmore to see Stanley at Bowmore Primary, on his holiday! The children are taking Stanley home and writing diary entries about their adventures with Stanley – he was bramble picking last night and going to the fair tonight! The class have started up a blog and the children are entering their diary entries as posts on the blog. So you can see that all the main features within communicating and collaborating are being covered and overtaken and the class and teacher are experiencing ICT at its very best – as a learning and teaching tool. The way we have designed the forward plan template, there will be a balance of ICT skills covered every session. If you want a wee look at our forward plan templates for ICT, I’m happy to send them to you – just send me an email. I know its not ground breaking stuff, but it seems to be working for us.

Hi, my name is Kathleen and I am Principal Teacher of Port Ellen Primary School, Isle of Islay. I am sitting here writing this entry because I am excited about where A Curriculum for Excellence is leading us in our profession and in turn where being part of GLOW will take us. I am looking forward to working with people who feel the same way and also to exchanging ideas – I’m always on the lookout for a good idea! Islay and Argyll and Bute in general have seen quite a few exciting developments both within the curriculum and in ICT over the past while and this has led to some exciting work in learning and teaching -I have enjoyed being part of this. I work with a good team of people who feel the same way and are very supportive of me in my role as ICT co-ordinator within the school. We have just had a busy week of forward planning and  have worked hard to incorporate ICT skills into cross curricular work – using it as a tool, not as an add on. And with that thought I’m off to put our hardly used ICT scheme on eBAY -one unenthusiastic owner. Looking forward to working with you!