The Dash & Dot robots provide an entertaining introduction to the world of programming for younger children. Having bought a set of five Wonder Pack kits for my school, I’ve been impressed with what these robots can do. Created by…
Last week our school had its first official Technology Week, which gave teachers and students the opportunity to use new technologies both within their Computing & ICT lessons and across the school curriculum. As part of this event, I delivered…
Osmo is a unique application and gaming accessory for the iPad. I recently bought 10 Genius Osmo kits to use at my school. Along with the four apps (Tangram, Numbers, Words and Newton), each kit comes with a reflector…
At the start of the academic year I make sure to plan several e-safety lessons for students from 7 years and up. This is a logical topic to start with because it outlines the behaviours that students should follow online.…
I recently attended a series of workshops on Talk for Writing, a strategy for teaching children to write. Developed by the English educational writer and poet, Pie Corbett, Talk for Writing is based on the principle that before children can…
Augmented Reality (AR) is a type of virtual reality that blends the real scene viewed by the user with a virtual scene generated by the computer. This composite view is designed to enhance the user’s sensory perception of the real…
Lego Mindstorm is a robotics construction set that provides learners with a fun, practical approach to learning computer programming. Included in each set (whichever version you get) is a ‘brick’ computer that controls the system, a set of sensors and…
One of the things that we should continually be doing as teachers is to think critically and help our students do the same. In a world of ever increasing amounts of information, it becomes important to find strategies that encourage…
Once a video is made by students, it is important that they can showcase this work and teachers can quickly access it. I have found Google Drive to be an efficient system for collecting, organising and showcasing student videos. For…
According to Riessman (2008, pp. 12), narrative is the basic human way of making sense of the world because we all lead ‘storied lives’. This has been true throughout history and across cultures. Technology, therefore, can certainly add an interesting…
