It is always a priviledge to spend time with the inspirational Tim Rylands and Friday was no exception. He shared a number of great ideas and websites including Ether Pad for live collaborative writing, Tag Galaxy for image searches and switeroozoo to invent new animals. If you like switcheroozoo then you may also want to check out build your self wild, talking pets or I can do dog tricks. Have fun!
The SWGfL website has received a major makeover during the Easter break and has been relaunched with some new and improved features. Including new ways to search and order the Learning Resource area, more detailed information from Service Support and clearer publicity on upcoming events.
i-board regularly make a small selection of their resources available to teachers free of charge. Currently http://www.easter.iboard.co.uk contains 6 activities suitable for KS1 and early KS2.
They are free to use and you can also link to them from your website, Merlin and My First Place. They are creative, pattern making activities, some themed around Easter. Simply go to the library area of the URL provided and click “Show All Activities”. Note: When you get to the launch screen of an activity it contains a “copy link” button and “download thumbnail” button to support easy creation of lessons in a Learning Platform.
If you would like to see all i-board resources go to http://www.iboard.co.uk/free free to register for a free trial
This week is National Science Week and it is an opportunity for people of all ages to take part in science, engineering and technology activities. As part of the celebrations a team of scientists will be answering questions posed by members of the public. To find out if fish are ever thirsty or to ask a question of your own visit this web site.
A list of other useful Science and ICT links were posted on this site last year, there are also some great resources on the Kent NGFL web site.
However, if you fancy trying something a bit different then have a look at Phun which is designed to be a playground where people can be creative. It can also be used as an educational tool to learn about physics concepts such as restitution and friction. Have a look at the video to see what ‘phun’ you can have!
If you are ever stuck for inspirational ideas for Art activities using ICT then try the Sir Robert Hitcham’s Primary School website. It includes lesson ideas, examples of work and help notes for a range of art software.
Your carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gasses you produce in a year. If you have been wondering how much that is, you can work it out with BP’s carbon footprint calculator.
At the end of the process, you are given the number of tonnes of CO2 you generate in a year and can compare this to your country’s average. Click “What you can do” and “Quiz” on the left of the site to find suggestions on ways you can cut down your CO2 emissions.
On a similar theme the Climate Cops from NPower help teach children about saving energy in a fun and engaging way. There is also a site for adults with energy saving tips.
Another great resource highlighted by Ictopus is the BBC learning Zone which:
“provides rich audio-visual material for use in primary and secondary schools and colleges. These short videos have been selected to match the curriculum; they can be used in many ways, from the stimulation and engagement of students to the delivery of very specific learning points. Try searching by subject and topic or by keyword”.
What better way to start the New Year than with some numeracy websites and resources?!? My current favourites are: www.rainforestmaths.com (especially the dictionary) and www.mathszone.co.uk
Also worth a look is http://nrich.maths.org/public/ which contains a range of problem solving activities. All the ICT resources on the Renewed Numeracy Framework can be accessed from the library; www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/primaryframeworks/library/Mathematics/ICTResources/
Those resources which come with guidance are especially useful, such as the Number Boards which will open if you select ’Enable Macros’ when prompted. The guidance and ideas are avaiable as a PDF here. I also like the following resource for suggested use of some the itps:
www.wirral-mbc.gov.uk/maths/ITPLessonPlans/index.asp
Click on this link to see previous numeracy resources posted on Primary Nuggets. Happy New Year!
This year there seems to be more Christmas websites than ever before. Festive ICT resources can be found in the Christmas Section at Topicbox and on the Kent website including the great build a snowman activity. In addition i-board have made some Christmas resources freely available.
From around the other blogs ICT nuggets discusses tracking santa with www.noradsanta.org/
There are more great Christmas resources from Spencer on the Banes ICT Blog and also on the Bristol Blog where Keith excels himself with Elfyourself! (LOL!). Also don’t forget the ever popular www.northpole.com as mentioned here last year.
Finally all subscribers to Ictopus will be able to download the sharing good practice resources.
Sorry if that is information overload or if I haven’t mentioned your blog or resources. Have a great Christmas from all at Primary Nuggets!
I was looking again at the wonderful resources on the Kent Ed website, these range from those aimed at supporting an ICT Subject Leader, cross curricular resources such as the ever popular Sebastian Swan and games and ideas to support Early Years ICT . The colourful and easy to navigate website also includes a number of free interactive games such as Star Writer and the Writing Repeater. The latter allows a demonstration of handwriting on an interactive whiteboard to be saved and played back. It can capture a total of 17 letters, words or joins which can be played back any number of times.
