Calling all teachers - I need you!

If you are a teacher, no matter what age range you teach or where you teach but if you have an interest in using mobile devices (phones, ipads, hand held consoles etc) in your lessons then I really would like to hear from you.

I am looking for teachers to join an online closed community on Facebook over the next few months.

This group has been created to invite practitioners to discuss the use and access to mobile devices in the classroom.

The cloudlearn project starts from the premise that the culture seen in many schools and colleges of blindly 'locking and blocking' in the classroom is no longer acceptable: 

* it does not prepare young people for the real world 

* it is liable to be dangerous (you wouldn't try to enhance water safety by keeping children away from water until they were 16 then throwing them off the pier...) 

* it misses some outstanding learning opportunities 

* it is disengaging ("every turned off device is a turned off child") 

* it is wasteful of resources 

...and as many, many teachers students and schools are finding, it is unnecessary. 

The key aim of the Cloudlearn project is to source, collate, reflect on and publish proven effective practice from experienced classroom teachers and practitioners - building from what worked for us, in our respective cultural and educational contexts, to offer a portfolio of general and proven approaches. 

The end-of-the-year outcome is to provide sets of strategies and advice, both specific and generic, for adults and organisations, and for teachers and their students, to help them to see the need to move beyond "locking and blocking". These sets would be given to those involved in education around the world, not just in the UK. 

Over the next few months we will discuss as a group our thoughts, views and personal experiences on this and share the successes of mobile devices and the impact on teaching and learning in the classroom. This forum will become a 'closed and secret' forum once everyone has joined. This is because, we will not only be discussing the successes we have experienced but the challenges and issues that teachers and students face in using this type of technology. 

For more general information on this project visit:http://www.cloudlearn.net/

If you would like to take part then please contact me by email or via twitter @julietteheppell as soon as possible, there is a limit to how many teachers can take part so it will be first come first served.

Global Education Network...

I think it's safe to say I've had the usual manic start to term.... mad, crazy, hectic as always! Anyway, in amongst all this madness, I have received a few LOVELY emails.... from all over the world:

* One today from a teacher in Norway about my work on facebook (see here for the guidance Stephen Heppell and I wrote) and asking if I was interested in taking part in her government project (yes, for the record)
* Then I received a wonderful email from a teacher I made contact with last January from the Netherlands (he came to visit the school and see our work on playful learning - bbc story here) asking for an update and if it is possible to bring some teachers over again this year
* A lovely email from an Australian teacher trainer asking for more information about my century of centuries project and if any others can become involved
* And 3 emails from people asking to visit our classroom of now (IDOL project) in January so see how it has progressed!

I still find it amazing that other teachers can find me (or any other teachers) chatting on twitter, posting on our blogs, sharing information and swapping ideas all over the web, use it as a reflective training tool and just get in touch to share experiences!

It's humbling to hear from these people, doing sometimes simple (sometimes complex) and yet always inspiring, projects. Yet my pupils are growing in in a world where this is the norm..... for them, it makes sense to speak to those best placed to answer the questions, the most interested in the project and those who can share truly different experiences. The divides are shrinking in communities (and may it continue) but I do ponder.... when (if ever?) will education catch up?

Learning is so much fun!

I am spending the week with my sister, niece and nephew at my parents house. This is a photo of my niece, Amelie, learning about reptiles at the tropical zoo in Brentford (by my house).

Amelie loved learning about the food they eat and feeling how their skin is different to ours.. At just 3 years old every experience is still exciting and new! She is collecting stories about her holidays in a little book to show her teacher, whom she adores!

It makes me reflect on when this enthusiasm is lost...? It's interesting to see how my primary themed secondary school classroom, games and general mayhem brings back those memories for some of those who are so disillusioned with school!

Using Twitter in School

I've been using twitter for school projects for a while now, pupils tweet their progress and speak to teachers and students from around the world about their projects. It's totally brilliant for giving them a sense of audience (and making them aware of just how many people can access their stuff on the internet!) and pride, whilst also being far more reflective about their work; knowledge AND skills.

However, I am really struggling to get the school to actually unblock twitter. They are worried about pupils seeing inappropriate things, chatting to friends instead of working blah blah, the usual story!

So two things really, 1 has anyone got some nice examples of how the use twitter in the classroom and 2) any suggestions on how to get my school to unblock it?!?!

Comic life and istopmotion

There is something about macs which engages students! Our pirates from yesterday are spending today making pirate films, comic strips or animations.... Who said students can't concentrate for extended periods - one project, 1 day and the students don't even want to go to break or lunch!!!

Who says Secondary Pupils aren't just big kids...

Over the next 2 days our school holds 'Activity days'. All the different teachers organise a series of 2 day events focussing on different skills and activities that pupils might not experience in an every day curriculum. Obviously this involves a lot of trips (which can be pretty pricey!) for the students so my friend, Esther and I organised a pirate day (well.... if you can't pirate on an activity day, when can you?). Instead of trips, we had a series of team events to build pupils skills and to have tons of fun!

DAY ONE
1) Build your ship (or make it using paper origami skills)
2) become initiated with your pirate name, booklet and lots of singing (how to say YAAAAARGH and YO HO A PIRATES LIFE FOR ME).
3) Signing the pirate contract for your boat
4) Designing your skull and cross bones and agreeing tactics
5) Shipwrecked and stranded we swim the obstacle course to treasure island (obviously this was great as we soaked the kids with super water pistols and hose pipes - just before the great course in the photo!)
6) Cutlass fighting
7) a bit more singing (yo ho a pirates life for me)
8) analysis of a pirate film

DAY TWO
1) film and edit a pirate something.... (used comic life, istop motion or imovie)
2) final count of pirate prizes
3) treasure hunt (solve the clues about the history of pirates, pirate language and pirate geography) for the box of treasure!

As you can see from the picture - all the students really enjoyed themselves and so did the teachers!! 

It reminds us how important enjoying learning and being able to relax and have fun with the students is. I think in the land of continuous target setting and constant focus on progress, the sheer enjoyment of learning can get a bit lost! We should take some tips from the primary schools and look at their fun ways of learning - our pirates are learning about crafts, history, human rights, team work, film editing, maths, building their literacy and getting great exercise over the next 2 days - and enjoying themselves as well - what could be better?!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR!

In memory of Kajil....

One of my students died this week. It was a total shock - just a very sad accident. It's taken me all of this week to be able to write this post, but I wanted to remember her here...

Kajil was a lively, funny, (very loud!), enthusiastic and loyal student and friend. She arrived in Year 8 and left in Year 10, and even after leaving used to write me the funniest emails describing her new school and her new friends there. She stayed in touch with many of the form and she will be remembered fondly by all of us.

She loved a good bit of drama, and my over riding memories of her will be the day she insisted I should make more of an effort with my hair, brought in her curling tongs, and proceeded to curl my hair all through extended tutor time - and then insisted on a series of pictures(!) and the last sports day she spent with us - we'd been disqualified (again!) from loads of races and the form was getting really despondent, but every time anyone tried to sit down and stop cheering, she insisted they all stand at the front and cheer louder than everyone else!

She was a wonderful young lady who made the most of every second of her life. That she will be missed by many shows how much of a difference she made to the lives of us all.

Sherri, Kajil and Fatima at Christmas...

Georgia, Divya, Hirali, Ritika, Fatima & Kajil (leaning out) cheering the form on at sports day

Goodbye Kajil. You'll never be forgotten...