Monthly Archives: April 2014
Collaboration within a class, and between classes, using Lino and Smartboard
I have been experimenting with lino, a free web based tool for creating and sharing notice boards. You can create an account at (linoit.com) or there is an app, but going through a browser avoids the scrolling advert. I thought … Continue reading
System 1 and System 2 and exam technique
During the Easter break I have been reading Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman. Kahneman won the Nobel Prize for Economics in 2002, this (2011) book describes how (in his view) cognitive and social psychology explains how we think and … Continue reading
How I learned to love my Interactive White Board
Before I had an IWB I had no idea of how useful it could be, and how it could help teaching and learning in my classroom. Learning what was possible was the key to seeing what could be useful, so … Continue reading
An ethic of excellence, Stoner – and Showbie!
This spring I have read two very different books that I’ve found inspiring and affirming. The second book was ‘Stoner’ by John Edward Williams. I’d seen it eulogised by Julian Barnes at Christmas, but it took recommendations by colleagues to get … Continue reading
Plenary or Starter – Flashcards and Quizbusters
One plenary activity I like uses Quizbusters (http://www.teachers-direct.co.uk/resources/quiz-busters/quiz-maker.aspx ) a Flash based quiz based on the old TV game, Blockbusters. If I run it as a class activity I have a buzzer and light set (from a University Challenge board game) … Continue reading
From teacher centred to student centred 1 – moving pairs
How do we get students to care about more than the percentage they achieved on a test? How do we encourage them to pay attention to the model solutions, and look at where they went wrong, and how to do better next … Continue reading
MOOC and SAMR
Alphabet soup! I decided to try a MOOC (Massive open online course), and luckily picked one run by North Carolina called ‘Coaching Digital Learning’. It’s been great, reminded me of things I’d been meaning to follow up, and introducing some … Continue reading
Expert Groups
I don’t want to make this an e-learning blog, so I thought that I’d write about a technique that I first met during the KS3 initiative (20th century), and how I find it helps students reach the four C’s (critical … Continue reading
Using Explain Everything
I’ll come right out and admit it, at first I wasn’t sure how useful Explain Everything was going to be, but everywhere I looked to find how IT could help teaching and learning, I kept finding recommendations to download the … Continue reading
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