Had to Share This - See the Earth's Shadow

You will be aware that the earth casts a shadow. It is conical in shape and stretch way out into space, you will b see it when there is a lunar eclipse and the shadow passes over the surface of the moom. There are times when it is visible at dusk (perhaps also at dawn). Wait till the Sun goes down and look for a dark bandjust above the horizon. SEE it here at
http://www.atoptics.co.uk/atoptics/earshad.htm
click on the right hand arrow, top corner, for a panorama where you can see the the shadow is curved, of course it is! Can't wait for a clear evening when I'm away from the city to observe this.
Happy shadow hunting.

What will ICT Become?

Given that we have ICT as a subject rather than a cross-curricular theme? What should it look like. We have voices in government asking for the teaching of Computer Science yet so far they have not been clear about what that means. The word programming is banded about but it ought perhaps to be more than that?

Our present National Curriculum for ICT may not have done us any favours in that it appeared to move teachers away from teaching pupils to control computers. Have applications and programmes become the mediators of ICT in schools? The numerous cloud based applications becoming popular may be further cementing this problem. The best ones are open ended allowing pupils to have a degree of control and to be creative e.g. quadblogging  http://quadblogging.net/  .  Of course there is a distinction between teaching and learning about  ICT and teaching and learning other subjects using ICT.

Fifteen years ago the use of Seymour Paperts programming language LOGO was enabling primary aged pupils to take control of a computer, versions with screen sprites appeared to offer a bridge to applications such as gaming. Do we need to reexamine the best of those options along with control technology and other options?

The new computer Rasberry Pi  may offer primary schools an opportunity to look at computing differently.
http://www.raspberrypi.org/

ICT is about to dissapplied from the National Curriculum, schools are to be given more choice in their approach. This is a great opportunity to look at ICT afresh. ICT as a subject and ICT as a fantastic tool for learners and teachers. This opportunity will require the whole primary profession to engage with change.

In may ways this is a great time to be in primary education and into ICT, the pupils certainly are.

Are Interactive Whiteboards Holding us Back?

I would not be without an IWB but as I left this years BETT Meeting in January at Olympia chatting to a colleague we were dissappointed that we did not seem to have seen much that was innovative. Much that we had seen seemed to be  reconfiguration of IWBs, for example to operate as a table top or on the classroom floor. yes these are exciting innovations but as to the regular day to day use of IWBs there seemed to be little around to indicate what might be the next steps in Primary ICT.

Interactive whiteboards have had and continue to have a  positive impact on the teaching of all subjects when used well and we have all, I hope, seen numerous good examples. At the other end of the scale can they lead to dreary powerpoint type presentations which offer little in terms of enhancment? Can they limit the pedagogy employed?

Would or should IWBs be a vehicle for moving the emphasis to the learner? What exactly does interactive mean? Do we need a shift in thinking about what this technology is for? Is ICT one of the greatest potential instruments for change in classrooms? It has the potential to free some pupils from the challege they face expressing themsleves and even for some accessing the curriculum. Is the ICT going to improve the situation or should our focus be on ourselves as teachers? How do we see the classroom? How do we view ICT? Are our learners growing in autonmy? Is self esteem strengthening?

Next time I plan a lesson using ICT perhaps I need to shift my thinking?