02-09-2022
11:25
Our team sorts through all blog submissions to place them in the categories they fit the most - meaning it's never been simpler to gain advice and new knowledge for topics most important for you. This is why we have created this straight-forward guide to help you navigate our system.
And there you have it! Now your collection of blogs are catered to your chosen topics and are ready for you to explore. Plus, if you frequently return to the same categories you can bookmark your current URL and we will save your choices on return. Happy Reading!
Technology can make teaching so much easier. Nick takes us through what he uses in his classroom to help both himself and his students.
Sitting here on the 23rd December I consider the first part of the academic year and the technology that I simply cannot do without.
If funds were endless I would make my classroom a technology enthusiast’s paradise but with limited money this is what has been achieved.
At home we had Apple TV and it simply wasn’t being used. We had recently upgraded our TV so with the help of our ICT Tech this was added to the classroom using the spare HDMI port that was available on the projector.
Immediately this gave me the opportunity to share Apps but I soon realized that it could become the most amazing visualizer. To be honest I am not a fan of the desktop versions and having the opportunity to move around the room whilst showing pupils work was fantastic. There are plenty of second hand Apple TVs on Facebook and eBay so I would recommend getting one in your classroom so to maximize the iPads many of us have.
Of course my iPad is invaluable, so this year I was able to secure a donation from a local church for my TA to have the benefit of having her own.
Sharing documents, information and photos has become easy for us both and this is through the use of Google Docs. However Office 365 can offer the same functions for PC and Apple users.
Apps are great but there are so many (I have loads and use it for a number of applications like a PhotoBooth, Stop Motion and Green Screen)! Two that I like that I have used this year have come from totally different different spectrums.
Most people are aware that the iPad pro offers a pencil to take notes but you can do this with a standard version using two products.
Noteshelf 2 offers you the ability to take notes using a pen (I use a Jot Pro) from https://www.adonit.net/
The quality is incredible and if you are like me and forget to take a notebook to a meeting this is brilliant. Also to make your life complete it also integrates with Evernote meaning that you can access it from any device and it is backed up!
Another app that I have started to use is Dyslexia Quest from Nessy. I wanted to find a fun application for pupils to use to give me a guide to the possibility of if they are Dyslexic.
Children have certainly found the application fun and enjoyed its flow to the end of the game. The results generated are simple and give a overview of the child but want to investigate further to test its reliability. On completion of this test the team at the school will follow this up with the child being tested using https://www.gl-assessment.co.
I love music and soon found that there were just not enough inputs in the classroom for the variety of different devices that I wanted to use. A simple way to get over this I bought into school a small mixing desk from home.
This allowed me to have the Apple TV and Computer running at the same time. Also it gave the ability to mute either without fumbling around on a screen quickly which at points can be very necessary. I also have a spare connection if I get any visitors in the classroom who want to share any audio. Gone are the days where you are taking a cable out of one computer to add it to another.
We also have a number of Amazon Tablets which until recently were only really used for the internet but we have now added TT Rock Stars. This has just made them far more functional and useful to the children.
Finally websites – I am going to focus on two that I use consistently as the music for the school. Sing up is great if like me you are not the best singer 😉 However the arrangements are wonderful and with a bit of practice are accessible to most school groups.
I had the pleasure to use Love Shone Down for our Christmas Service which made many in the church shed a tear. The structure of the website is very simplistic and how the group playlists for certain times of the year helps when you are challenged for time.
Backing tracks are good quality not a Casio keyboard of the 1980s so you are happy to use them in a performance. Children like the variety that is offered and it also challenges them to listen to new pieces thus supporting the national curriculum.
www.kentinteractivemusic.co.uk gives you a complete scheme of work for your school. In my last post I mentioned how it had been integrated as a part of the development of music in the school. However I didn’t mention that you had the option for pupil logins, this one feature alone allowed me to aid the development of the pupils studying brass at the school. As each pupil currently only gets 15 minutes the ability to give homework that focuses on other areas of music is invaluable especially in Music Theory.
I go into 2019 with the excitement of being invited to an Apple Teacher event at the Design Museum. This I will report on after the event and you never know I might meet someone who reads this 😉 Have a happy new year 🙂
Are you looking for solutions? Let us help fund them! Nexus Education is a community of over 11,000 schools that come together to share best practise, ideas and CPD via online channels and free to attend events. Nexus also offers funding to all school groups in the UK via nexus-education.com
Established in 2011, One Education is a company at the heart of the education world, supporting over 600 schools and academies. Our unique appeal as a provider is in the breadth and synergy of the services we offer, supporting school leaders, teachers and support staff to achieve the best possible outcomes for their pupils and staff.
School Space is a social enterprise that has empowered schools for over 12 years through their profitable and hassle-free lettings services. So far, they’ve generated over £5 million in revenue for education, helping to connect over 200 schools with their local communities.
Operoo is a school operations and productivity platform. We help thousands of schools and trusts to eliminate slow, expensive and repetitive tasks. Operoo helps schools streamline and digitise processes, drastically reducing the associated costs: From student pre-admissions, permission forms, payments, and school trips; to medical information and emergency contacts, incident reporting, staff agreements, and more in over 100 languages.
Unify is an online sales and marketing tool that allows users to create tailored personalised documents in moments.
There’s nothing special about the energy we sell. In fact, it’s exactly the same energy as all our competitors provide. But there is something special about the way we do it. Where others complicate the process, we simplify it. Where others confuse customers with hidden terms, we’re an open book. And where others do all they can to make as much money from their customers as possible, we do all we can to make as little. Everything we do, we do it differently. Our customers are a privilege. One we’ll never take advantage of.
Securus provide market-leading monitoring solutions to safeguard students on ALL devices both online and offline. We also offer a full monitoring service, where we carry out the monitoring on behalf of the school, freeing up valuable staff resources. From the smallest school to large MAT groups, Securus offers safeguarding protection for all!
As European leaders of Time Management Solutions, Bodet offer Lockdown, Clock, Bell & PA Systems. Harmonys, our five-in-one IP/PoE Bell System, provides a unique customisable lockdown or panic alarm alert. Melodys, a Wireless Bell System, is useful where wiring can be difficult.