E-Safety Self Portraits

September 2, 2015, 1:38 pm

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If you are looking at rolling out a class blog this year, I would advise starting by discussing the e-safety aspects of blogging. In particular, what information students should share and what they shouldn't.

A great lesson I have done to demonstrate this was to create typography self-portraits of children using information about themselves that they would be willing to share online.

Firstly, have the discussion with children why it is important to keep personal information safe and not share it online. List examples of personal information children shouldn't share - full names, names of parents and siblings, address etc.

Ask the children to think about what information they can share - hobbies, football teams, pet names etc.

The app we used to create our self-portraits was the fantastic Type Drawing, which I have used is so many other ways!

Children used all the information they would be willing to share online as the text in their self portraits. Here is an example of what the children created -

Here are some more examples -

For more ways on using TypeDrawing in class, check out my book - 50+ iPad lessons for Exciting Sentences.

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Empathising with refugees through the Save the Children Advert

September 8, 2015, 10:54 am

≫ Next: 50+ iPad lessons for Non-Fiction

≪ Previous: E-Safety Self Portraits

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This is a guest blog post written by John Murray, a reading and spelling trainer who I will be working with on 6th October in Wirral for our joint conference, read more about it here.

Please also take a look at John's website for more ideas and training opportunities - johnmurraycpd.co.uk


With scenes reminiscent of the aftermath of WWII, with refugees desperately fleeing to safer lives in foreign lands, it is hardly surprising that the news in recent weeks and months has featured the plight of those caught up in the Syrian conflict.

This poignant advert, produced by Save the Children, delivers an uncompromising (and perhaps uncomfortable) message, one best suited for KS3 or a mature Upper KS2 class. Its narrative is more complex than first appears, forcing the viewer to reflect upon (and empathise with) those caught up in a situation through no fault of their own. It is a powerful piece that will allow you to discuss events in a sensitive and meaningful way.

The video is filmed in the same format as the one second a day project that Lee has previously blogged about here.

Here is the video -

Here are some questions you may like to consider -

[Opening Scene first 5 seconds]

1.How old is the main character in the opening scene?
2.Who is with her? How do they all feel? Why?
3.What does mum say as the girl blows out the candles?
4.What do you think her wish would be for?

[Family life up to 27 seconds]

5.The following scenes feature snapshots of ordinary family life. Make a list of what is happening in each ‘tableaux’. What picture does it paint of this girl’s family life? Why?

[The disruption begins up to 34 seconds]

6.Hidden amongst these clips are two news reports (TV and radio). What does each report?
“…violent clashes with protest…”
“…live ammunition against…”
Why do you think both are cut off and we don’t hear either fully?
What does dad say to his neighbour in response to watching and hearing these reports? How does he say it? How is he feeling?
What do you think his neighbour has said to provoke this reaction?
Why do you think the girl looks down while this is happening?
7.At the end of this scene dad is reading a newspaper. What is its headline?
“Government Declares Martial Law”
What does this mean?
Why do you think we have been given three different types of news reporting?

[The fighting gets closer up to 35 seconds] 

8.What two sounds does the girl hear as she goes to school?
9.What does this tell you about how close the fighting is getting?
10.What do you notice her neighbours doing? Why do you think they are doing this?
11.What is dad unpacking in the kitchen? Why is it tinned and not fresh?
12.We hear another news report. What is being reported?
“…air strikes on rebel positions…”
13.How is this contrasted with the picture the girl holds up to show her dad?
14.What is it a picture of? Is this symbolic in any way? What does it tell us about the girl?
15.Why do you think dad pulls it down rather than look at it?
16.Mum and dad are having a conversation in the background. What does dad say?
“We are going to stay.”
17.What do you think mum has said beforehand? Why would she have said this? Why would dad want to stay in such a situation? What would you do at this point?

[The basement up to 42 seconds]

18.When the lights flicker, what do you think happens next?
19.Where does the family run to? Why would they go here and not flee the house?
20.Why do you think the girl says “What’s happening?” What does this tell us about her understanding of the situation?
21.Why is this scene so dark? Why are candles being used?
22.Why do you think the girl drinks bottled water rather than from the tap? What happens when mum tries to refill the water bottle from the sink? What does this tell us?
23.Is it significant that the medicine bottle empties during this scene? Why?

[The family flees up to 1:05]

24.What clothes is the girl wearing throughout this part of her journey? Why do you think she does not change them?
25.What do you notice about the girl’s hair? Is this significant?
26.Why do you think she says “where are we?”
27.Where are they fleeing from? How do you know?
28.Where does she get the apple from? Why does she screw up her face when eating it? How might it taste? What is mum doing in the background? Why?
29.What other senses are alluded to in this part of her journey: sight, sound, smells etc? What effect would this have on her? What effect would it have on you?
30.At what point does dad leave the family? Do you think he does this willingly? What does he shout to his daughter?
31.Who is the only person to cross the checkpoint with her?
32.Why does the girl cry at this point?

[The refugee camp up to 1:17]
33.How long do you think has passed to get to this camp?
34.Do you think she will be safe here? Why?
35.How does the soldier try to reassure her?
36.What does the medic do to help?
37.Why is she wearing the same garment as her mum?

[The cake – Make a sharp comparison with the opening scene and compare the two]

38.What does mum do to try and help reassure her child?
39.What does this tell us about the passage of time the girl’s journey has taken?
40.Why is only a single candle being used? Why is it so small?
41.What do you notice about the cake itself and how it is represented?
42.What do you notice about her surroundings, what she is wearing, who is with her, the expression on her face etc
43.What does mum say to her daughter?
“Make a wish, darling.”
44.When have we heard this before? How is it the same? How is this second time more poignant?
45.The little girl doesn’t blow out the candle? Why?
46.It is at this point that she looks directly into the camera. Why?
47.What do you think her wish would be? Would it be the same as her previous wish?

[Pausing for thought up to 1:25]
48.Read the final statement:
Why do you think it has been written on a plain white background?
Why does no sound accompany this text?
 Is it written formally or informally? Why have they chosen to do this?

[Purpose]
49.What do you think the overall message of this advert is?
50.Why do you think the Save the Children charity has made it?
51.Do you think its message was successful? Why? Why not?
52.Has it changed how you view refugees fleeing from conflict? How so?
53.Do you think it is important to help families from war torn countries secure a safer life?
54.Why might some people disagree with you?

Massive thanks to John for these wonderful questions! After children have reflected on these questions it could lead into some purposeful writing activities including writing letters/diaries as refugees, discussion texts, persuasion or even creating your own campaign video.

If you found this blog post useful, make sure you book yourself on our joint conference - Improving Reading and Writing through Popular Children's Movies and Media.

Here is some information about the day -

To book a place please email davyhulme.ipad@gmail.com or fill out this form.

50+ iPad lessons for Non-Fiction

September 9, 2015, 2:00 pm

≫ Next: Poetry In The New Curriculum- Guest Blog by Ian Bland, Children’s Poet and Performer

≪ Previous: Empathising with refugees through the Save the Children Advert

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I am delighted that the next book in the '50+ iPad lessons' series is almost ready for release. Following the huge success of the first book - 50+ iPad lessons for Exciting Sentences - comes the next book focusing on enhancing non-fiction writing using the iPad.

The book aims to help teachers utilise technology to inspire and engage children with their writing. In all my training, I discuss how using the iPad can motivate children to write if they know their writing isn't going to be left lifeless in their books but brought to life and transformed into a digital story.

The new book aims to do that for a range of different non-fiction text types including- instructions, persuasion, non-chronological reports, recount, explanation, newspaper report, biography and discussion.

The book also promotes the use of camouflage learning with each unit focusing on an interesting and engaging stimulus. Each unit consists of lessons that help students use the iPad to firstly discuss and identify features for each text type and then transform children's writing into a range of different digital stories including TV adverts, stop motion animation films, eBooks, podcasts, radio show and even an app!

Each lesson has a step by step guide to using each app and is linked clearly to the new primary curriculum.

You can click the picture to pre-order a copy of the book or follow this link - PRE-ORDER HERE

To get the most from this new book, I would highly recommend also buying Mat Sullivan and Alan Peat's 'Ultimate Guide to Non-Fiction' book -

With both books, I am sure teachers will have a wealth of ideas to improve children's writing and transform learning with modern technology.

If you do get a copy of the book, I would love to hear any feedback and would love to see any examples of work created using ideas from the book. You can tweet me or message my facebook page.

Keep an eye out for the next book - 50+ iPad ideas for fiction writing!

Poetry In The New Curriculum- Guest Blog by Ian Bland, Children’s Poet and Performer

September 20, 2015, 1:36 pm

≫ Next: Kids: Take Your Daily Maths Vidamins! Guest Blog by @ghammondmaths

≪ Previous: 50+ iPad lessons for Non-Fiction

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Before the new curriculum, poetry it seems had played a bit part in primary literacy lessons. Perceived as the poor relation, poetry was that genre of writing that always seemed to be reluctantly taught for a couple of weeks of the year and then quietly ushered away as if it wasn’t quite important enough. Old guidelines required teachers to teach very specific aspects of it in definitive year groups leaving them without much freedom to cater for the children in their classes. In the new curriculum however, all of this has now changed and changed for the better!

”Memorising and reciting are prevalent in all parts of the new National Curriculum, with poetry taking centre stage in English. From year one onwards children will have to learn and recite poems by heart while recognising and discussing different poetic forms.”
Curriculum Vital

Poetry is now an important and central pillar of the new literacy curriculum in England and Wales. Teachers have been given the freedom to explore lots of different types of poetry and revisit it regularly through the school year. It is now an expectation that children are exposed to a wide range of good quality poems so that they can read, recite, share and enjoy it. The new emphasis is on fun and passion and the new curriculum is certainly the richer for it.

So, what are we going to do with this new found freedom? On my many visits to schools across the UK and Europe as a visiting children’s poet I am often asked for advice as to how we can inspire children to love and explore poetry. The most obvious is to make sure your classroom has a solid supply of up to date and engaging poetry books; I’m sometimes a little shocked at the lack of this in some classes that I visit. The next tip I would give would be to not make poetry too formal in your general teaching. Let your children find what they like, give them lots of opportunities to just share and enjoy it for its own sake. Let children PERFORM! Once they become comfortable with it, children can become very adept at performing poetry for others this bringing with it other fringe benefits of increased confidence and all round improved oracy skills.

Michael Rosen makes some excellent suggestions in his video blog Creating A Poetry Friendly Classroom which can be found here: http://www.childrenslaureate.org.uk/previous-laureates/michael-rosen/michael-rosen-poetry-video-tips/

Some of the poetry activities he suggests for children are as follows:

•Read poems at the end of the day/ just before playtime or lunch time- This gives the children the freedom to just enjoy poetry without some activity being attached to it, allowing the ideas and imagery to be absorbed.
•Stage a poetry swap- Where children are encouraged to source and bring in to school their favourite poem so that they can read it to others and explain why they like it so much.
•Create a poetry show- Having an audience to perform your work to can be a great way of inspiring your children to produce their best work. An audience could be the rest of the class, another year group or if you are really ambitious- some parents in an assembly.
•Make poem posters- Children love doing this and sometimes what they produce shows they have a deep understanding of some of the underlying themes and ideas in a poem.
•Use poems as a creative platform- This means that the children could use a poem to create a piece of pottery, tapestry or sculpture.
•Create a poetry notebook- This is something I often do when I visit a school. Ideas for poems or stories can occur to us at any time and if we don’t write them down they can disappear. I encourage everybody to carry around their little notebooks so that they are handy in a poetry emergency!
•Turn a poem into a play- Who can forget the look on children’s faces when they first encounter The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes. This poem has got everything; a swashbuckling hero, a damsel in distress, treacherous villains- perfect for turning into a play. Lots of other great narrative poems lend themselves to this activity.
•Put on a poetry cabaret in the evening- I have done this on many occasions in primary schools. I ask schools to invite parents and their children in for an after school poetry workshop. Teachers or a guest poet could perform some poetry and then lead everyone through the process of writing their own fun poem (while of course munching on some soft drinks and tasty snacks) Working together as a family to produce and perform a poem is a very powerful way of convincing children that writing is fun, worthwhile and inclusive.


Some professionals I have talked to about the new drive for children to learn and recite poetry have seen it as a backwards step, that it is somehow old fashioned and not so worthwhile. I, however, see it as a very progressive move that taps into our wonderfully diverse and wide-ranging literary heritage.
Poetry doesn’t have to be a genre of writing confined to literacy lessons, it can be used as a powerful tool for learning across the curriculum. There is a rich tradition of poetry here in the British Isles so as teachers let’s go out there with our children and discover it. Let us seek out and discover the wonder and joy of poems steeped in the oral tradition, poems that children can learn off by heart and take forward and use further in their learning.


Ian is working with John Murray and leading joint conferences in Leeds and Dudley this term. I highly recommend this conference which is both practical and informative and provides teachers with a wealth of ideas to utilise poetry as a tool to improve reading and writing. Click the pictures for more information -

Kids: Take Your Daily Maths Vidamins! Guest Blog by @ghammondmaths

September 21, 2015, 5:15 am

≫ Next: Spag Songs with Augmented Reality!

≪ Previous: Poetry In The New Curriculum- Guest Blog by Ian Bland, Children’s Poet and Performer

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Here is another fantastic idea from @ghammondmaths, if you haven't already seen his previous work linked to Maths SATs revision guides please follow this link.

Kids: Take Your Daily Maths Vidamins!

Whether you are a teacher or a parent, you will always be concerned about your childrens’ maths “health”. Do they have a healthy appetite for maths? Are they improving, growing and exercising their mathematical brains regularly? Along with their 5-a-day fruit + vegetables, why not provide them with their 1-a-day maths Vidamin? These Vidamins (mini-videos) aim to build strength and fluency across different topics by providing a daily, short (5 minute) maths exercise and video solution. 

This is a colourful and child-friendly PDF file containing hundreds of hyperlinks to Youtube videos on @ghammondmaths’ Youtube Channel. In fact, there is one different Vidamin for every day of the year! The links could be used by teachers as daily starters in maths lessons or the file could be placed on a school website, so children can access the videos easily every night as a mini-maths homework. Parents should support their child watching the videos as part of a daily routine. 

The videos are suitable for 9-11 year-olds i.e. Year 5 and Year 6 in preparation for their SATs exams or suitable for Year 7 to support/ reinforce prior learning or weaknesses. There are also links to “Thinking Outside the Box” puzzles and videos which children love and links to extension problems for the more able students.

You can also download a record sheet for each month so watching of each daily video could be ticked off by a parent/teacher if desired. Enjoy! 

Download the file shown in the picture HERE and get it on your school website! The links work on ipads/iphones/tablets and PCs.

You can also download @ghammondmaths  SATS topic PDFs with Youtube links and past SATS papers with Youtube links from HERE

Please follow @ghammondmaths on Twitter for further updates!

I just want to say a MASSIVE thank you to Gareth for all his hard work in creating this amazing resources and sharing it with us! Please tweet him and let him know what you think and how you use it in class!

Spag Songs with Augmented Reality!

September 23, 2015, 1:30 pm

≫ Next: More ideas for Music in the Classroom!

≪ Previous: Kids: Take Your Daily Maths Vidamins! Guest Blog by @ghammondmaths

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I am very excited to share my latest project with you guys and so decided to present it a little differently.

With the latest update to Airserver, you can create a live stream to YouTube. I decided to give it a go, had a few hiccups, but got there eventually. Once I finished the live stream it was then processed as a video on YouTube so you can watch it all here - 

As promised here are copies of the Trigger Word Mat sheets I created -

More ideas for Music in the Classroom!

September 30, 2015, 12:51 am

≫ Next: Inspiring writing with the BB-8 Droid!

≪ Previous: Spag Songs with Augmented Reality!

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Just start by saying a massive thank you for the support with my first live stream sharing the SPaG songs through Augmented Reality idea. The feedback was really positive and so I have streamed another session tonight with more ideas linked to using Music in the classroom. It discusses the app Literacy Jukebox from @MrACDPresent as well as some other ideas. Here is the vlog -

Here is a link to the old blog post about using Music to remember Math Facts!

Here is a link to the nine times tables rap.

And here is the music video for the doubling machine song -

and follow this link for more information about the courses mentioned - Upcoming Courses.

Make sure you are around on Wednesday night for another live stream!

Inspiring writing with the BB-8 Droid!

October 2, 2015, 4:39 am

≫ Next: Improving Reading and Writing through the use of popular Children's Movies and Media - 6th October 2016, Thornton Hall Hotel

≪ Previous: More ideas for Music in the Classroom!

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Image from Woodvile

Finally, I managed to get my hands on the next piece of kit from Sphero, the BB-8 droid. I have had a sphero for a while and is a great tool for inspiring children with computing and coding. BB-8 takes it to a whole new level. Imagine a beebot on steroids!

Before I talk about how we have been using this in class, Steve over at iPadEducators has also blogged some quality ideas for using this. You can read them here. 

Although the BB-8 is not cheap, it can inspire learning in so many ways. Straight away I thought about the links with writing that could be made. But using apps like Tickle, children can write code that the droid will then follow. Another useful blog post to read is from Mark aka ICT Evangelist who has also used the BB-8 in class. Read what he did here.  He talks about how this sort of technology can create moments of awe and wonder in the classroom and BB-8 certainly does that.

The BB-8 is controlled by an app on your iPhone. In school, I am currently working with Year 3 and Year 1 so decided to use BB-8 to inspire some writing with year 3 and work on some speaking and listening with Year 1.

With Year 3, we sat in a circle in the hall and allowed BB-8 to roll around stopping at certain children who would then ask a question. You can control him to answer yes or no. This was a great way of getting children to think about the types of questions they were asking to try and find out as much information as possible.

We wanted to find out what it was, where it had come from and what it can do. We eventually found the augmented reality hologram tool and this deepened our understanding about his job in outer space.


When we got back to class we looked at developing some sentences to explain what we had found out about BB-8. We used some of the exciting sentences from Alan Peat and Mat Sullivan to do this -

We then used our sentences to create interactive guides using the app Thinglink. This gave use the perfect opportunity to check our writing by recording ourselves reading our ideas and instantly watching them back and thinking carefully about how they sound and whether they flow and make sense. Here are some of the children's examples -



More recently, we have looked at using BB-8 as a character in a story we have written. We have linked it to a piece of music to help us structure the narrative (listen to the song here.) We used emojis to help map our story -

We then did some guided writing to develop our ideas, here is an example of some of the writing -

The next step is to then perform our writing over the music, using our voice for effect and trying to make it match to the music. Try it! Read the above writing with the music playing in the background! Incredibly powerful. This will be linked with the following objectives from the new curriculum -

Comprehension - preparing poems and play scripts to read aloud and to perform, showing understanding through intonation, tone, volume and action

Composition - En3/3.3e    read their own writing aloud, to a group or the whole class, using appropriate intonation and controlling the tone and volume so that the meaning is clear.

The idea of using music to inspire writing is something I develop a lot on my training and conferences. 

Watch this space for some of the children's examples when I am next working with that class!

Now with Year 1 I wanted to develop their oral speaking skills by getting them talking about the droid. We started by asking questions to find out more about BB-8. I was in stitches with their first question - Do you like chicken nuggets?

Here is a short video made using Flipagram -



Using the app Tellagami Edu, the children had to record a short video discussing everything they had discovered about BB-8. Here are some examples -

To echo what Mark (ICTEvangelist) said in his blog post, that technology can add awe and wonder but isn't just for novelty. The other activities and tasks we set the children using tech are further examples of how it can enhance learning in so many ways!

For more information or to find out how Mr P can help your teachers utilise techology to raise standards, follow this link - Mr P - Tech to Raise Standards.

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Improving Reading and Writing through the use of popular Children's Movies and Media - 6th October 2016, Thornton Hall Hotel

October 7, 2015, 8:14 am

≫ Next: Arloon Augmented Reality Apps!

≪ Previous: Inspiring writing with the BB-8 Droid!

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Thanks to everyone who came to the conference yesterday. John and I, had a great day sharing ideas and techniques to Improve Reading and Writing through the use of popular children's movies and media.

31 Evaluations

28 rated the content of the speakers as excellent
3 rated the content of the speakers as good
28 rated the delivery of the speakers as excellent
3 rated the delivery of the speakers as good

Feedback

"Very professional delivery. Easy to use ideas for immediate integration in the classroom. Thanks for a brilliant day. Cant wait for Inside Out tonight!"

"Absolutely amazing, so motivated to go back and try some new ideas. What an amazing day, thank you! "

"Fantastic delivery. Inspiring session with lots of ideas to take back to school. Great day :)"

"Great day - motivational. Lots of ideas to take back to school and share with class. Really enjoyed it! :)"

"Loads of ideas, fantastic day thank you!"

"Excellent engaging training, really enjoyed it. Gained a full list of ideas to use back at school."

"Loads of useful ideas that i will be implementing in the classroom!"

"A wealth of super ideas linked to writing. I especially loved the links to green screen. I can see so many writing opportunities. Thank you for a wonderful day!"

"Well delivered as well as interactive through ideas and things."

"So many ideas that i can use! Very inspiring and engaging."

"Fantastic, excellent delivery. Feeling inspired!"

"Lots of ideas to be used in class!"

"Excellent ideas for teaching Literacy, making it more engaging and creative. Keep up the good work! Fantastic training!"

"Excellent!"

"Lots of ideas to try in class and share with other members of staff."

"Great day - Thanks!"

"Lots of great ideas to go away with and reflect on how to improve my practice! An inspiring day! Thanks!"

"Exciting ideas for teaching reading and writing. Look forward to using some of the ideas and watching the impact. Great course thank you!"

"Enjoyed the day! I have got lots of ideas to feedback to school. A great day, well paced!"

"Very informative day once again, lots of ideas to go and use in the classroom. I just need more time now to find other videos. Great day! Love the idea of using music and creating own video. Thanks!"

"Great ideas shared. Full of ideas to take back to class."

"So many useful ideas to use in class. The children will LOVE it (and me)! Brilliant day all round."

"A wealth of ideas! Very motivated to get started. Lived up to high expectations :)"

"Very inspiring!"

 "Fantastic apps and ideas."

"Enjoyable, engaging. Lots of great ideas. Inspirational and easy totake back to the classroom. Love the dual narrative and developed more understanding of emotional dexterity."

"Very informative, well presented and thought priviking. Presenters very knowledgable. Gave me lots to think about  - am sure i will be analysing all disney films in the future!"

"Very approachable and engaging speakers that had fantastic knowledge."

"Loved the content and the exciting themes, e.g: Disney."

"Very good content - helpful suggestions for iPad apps/ideas cross curricular links. "

We are looking at repeating the conference at other venues before the end of the academic year! Watch this space for more information!

Arloon Augmented Reality Apps!

October 7, 2015, 12:51 pm

≫ Next: DREAM TEAM 2016 - Guest blog post from the Royal Shakespeare Company!

≪ Previous: Improving Reading and Writing through the use of popular Children's Movies and Media - 6th October 2016, Thornton Hall Hotel

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Anyone who has been on my training or visited my blog knows I am a massive fan of using Augmented Reality to transform learning in the classroom. Some previous blog posts that you may be interested in reading can be found here -

Augmented Reality in the classroom

Using Augmented Reality to inspire Augmented Reality

Can Augmented Reality improve Writing?

Mr P is abducted by Aliens!

Interactive Reading Display

Multimedia Digital Stories

Giving Children Super Powers

Reading with Augmented Reality 

Decorating my house with Augmented Reality

SPaG songs using Augmented Reality


The latest collection of Augmented Reality apps I have been using in class are the brilliant Arloon Apps! These are a collection of apps that link well with a range of different curriculum areas. (Click the picture to see the bundle in the app store!)

 Each app is broken down into two areas, learn and exercises. The app is full of different ways to help deepen student's understanding either within activities on the app or using the Augmented Reality aspect. Each app is interactive and helps bring learning to life! A great way to use technology to inspire learning in a range of subjects!

The following trigger image is linked with each app -

The chemistry app would definitely be aimed at KS3 and above with the Geometry upper KS2+. The rest can easily be used in KS2 classrooms! The children absolutely love seeing shapes, planets or a skeleton come to life and certainly engages them into their topic! The following link will take you to a playlist that demonstrates every app - ARLOON YOUTUBE PLAYLIST

I am very pleased to say that I have a FREE copy of the Arloon Bundle above for one lucky winner! Make sure you like and share the following post - 

I am so excited to be able to award one lucky follower the Arloon Education Bundle (Worth £10!) These fantastic...
Posted by ICT with Mr P on Wednesday, October 7, 2015

DREAM TEAM 2016 - Guest blog post from the Royal Shakespeare Company!

October 8, 2015, 5:08 am

≫ Next: Creating our own Planets in KS1 and KS2

≪ Previous: Arloon Augmented Reality Apps!

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As technology permeates more and more areas of all our lives, growing numbers of children and young people are getting their ‘first encounter’ of the arts and live theatre through ICT and online platforms.  Whilst these changes to how we consume culture present significant challenges to the cultural sector (rights being just one example) the opportunities are so great, we need to adapt quickly in order to reap the rewards writes Jacqui O’Hanlon, Director of Education at the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The way we communicate, socialise and live our lives has altered dramatically over the past decade. Theatre and the arts are no exception and using an interface that young people are familiar with and feel comfortable using has helped us reach new audiences on a scale that was previously unimaginable. Digital platforms mean that we can now reach all sorts of people that we wouldn’t have been able to connect with through more traditional channels –whether because of financial or geographical limitations or because they’d decided that it just wasn’t for them.

At the RSC we’ve been exploring how we can use new technologies to extend our reach, particularly in terms of new audiences. . For example in March last year, we became the first UK theatre to co-host a MOOC (Massive Online Open Course) giving students around the world the chance to learn from some of the world’s leading Shakespeare experts. Run by the University of Birmingham in collaboration with RSC Education and the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Much Ado About Nothing: in Performance was completely free to access from anywhere in the world (with internet access) and looked at how the play would have been staged in Shakespeare’s time, how it’s been interpreted in the past and how it can be brought to life for modern audiences. Students had immediate access to specially created video and audio content as well as seminars from leading Shakespeare scholars, actors, directors and creatives.



We are also the only UK theatre to stream our current productions directly into classrooms up and down the country each term for free. Our Schools’ Broadcasts programme, streaming its 6th screening next month, has meant that thousands of students, who wouldn’t or couldn’t ordinarily access our work, have now seen a world-class theatre production from the comfort of their own classroom. Around half of the audiences for these broadcasts have been completely new to Shakespeare, and over 80% have been new to the RSC’s work. A high percentage of teachers surveyed about the broadcast experience now says they are planning to attend a live theatre performance in the future as a direct result.

Likewise a new suite of free interactive whiteboard resources is helping to transform the way that Shakespeare is experienced in the classroom. This  suite of resources provides a ‘one-stop shop’ for each of Shakespeare’s plays housing everything a teacher needs to successfully introduce their students to  a particular play in performance.  Configured to sit on classroom whiteboards, the resources: introduce the plays through interactive pages; offer instant access to hundreds of images from the RSC archive, as well as videos of actors and directors talking about the plays, characters and their interpretive choices, links to teacher’s packs with discussion topics, lesson ideas and suggestions on how to approach teaching a play in class, stimulate discussion and support learning. We already have resources for Henry IV Parts I and II, the Two Gentlemen of Verona and Love’s Labour’s Lost. Much Ado about Nothing, the Merchant of Venice and Othello are due in the next academic year.

We’re also harnessing the power of the internet to engage a critical mass of schools all over the country in marking the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death next year. Dream Team 2016 is based around A Midsummer Night's Dream (watch the trailer here www.dream2016.org.uk ) and we’re asking schools to sign up online now to get involved in as big or as little way as they like - from making a pair of donkey ears/fairy wings to wear to school on Midsummer's Day in 2016, to creating a fairy kingdom or Athenian wood in the classroom to downloading our free playmaking pack and staging their own productions. Off-line we're hosting a mini Playmaking festival in Stratford during the summer term where schools can perform and/or take part in workshops but essentially the scale of the ambition is only possible because of technology that allows us to make our resources available to everyone regardless of where in the country they live – for free.

It’s clear that using platforms and interfaces that young people are familiar with and confident in using is helping democratise our work on a scale like never before. This is great news in terms of giving more teachers and students better and easier access to our work but the longer-term impact can be much more profound. Students and schools are able to ‘dip their toes’ informally into our work and often the result is that preconceived ideas they had about Shakespeare being ‘too complex’ or ‘not for us’ are challenged. When students then have a good experience of Shakespeare in the classroom, their understanding of what they are capable of and their confidence are boosted and the chances are that they will adopt a ‘can do’ attitude to complex work in the future rather than feel intimidated and retreat. So whilst our theatres and the experience of live performance will always remain at the core of everything we do, technology is an increasingly critical part of the jigsaw – particularly in our engagement with young people. As well as allowing us to take our work out far and wide, it provides an important gateway to building an understanding and appreciation of the arts and Shakespeare’s work that can stay with and enrich young people for the rest of their lives.

•Information about the RSC’s Schools’ Broadcast Programme can be found at: http://onscreen.rsc.org.uk/education/default.aspx
•For more information about the free interactive whiteboard resources visit: interactive-learning.rsc.org.uk.
•More information about Dream Team 2016 can be found here: www.dream2016.org.uk 

I just want to say a massive Thank You to Jacqui and Jo for this! The Dream Team project looks fantastic and is something we will certainly be signing up for at our school.  

Having used Shakespeare in the Primary classroom, the response from the children is always positive. The ability to integrate technology to help children immerse and retell the plays is a very powerful tool! 

Have a read of some previous blog posts about what we have done- 

Retelling Shakespeare with the iPad 

Having Fun with Shakespeare!

Creating our own Planets in KS1 and KS2

October 16, 2015, 11:31 am

≫ Next: Developing Emotional Literacy Through Music

≪ Previous: DREAM TEAM 2016 - Guest blog post from the Royal Shakespeare Company!

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This week I have been working with a Year 3 class and a Year 1 class. Luckily, both classes are covering a similar theme. This meant we could use the iPads to enhance the topic in different creative ways.

Year 3 are using the story 'Man on the Moon,' by Simon Bartrum. Year 1 are looking 'Beegu' by Alexis Deacon.

Both stories have a similar theme of space and so both Year 3 and Year 1 used the iPads in different ways to create their own planets and Solar Systems.



Firstly, Year 3 used the brilliant Interstellar app to create their Solar System. The app based on the blockbuster film was first shown to me a while ago by @MrBeeICT on twitter. The app is completely free and allows children to design their own solar system, adding planets, moons, comets and asteroids! They can design the colour, texture and material of each planet and then explore the solar system on a spaceship.

The children were hooked with this app: they loved being able to create their own solar system. After they had designed it, we looked at writing some facts about their creations. Following the 5 W's children wrote sentences answering the following questions - What is it? Where is it? What is it made from? When was it made? and Why is it important?

View on Flipagram

Once the children had finished their writing, they used the app Shadow Puppets Edu to record their facts over pictures of their Solar System. Here are some of their examples -

In Year 1, the children have been looking at the story Beegu and so we thought about what his home would look like. Using the app Quiver, children designed the planet using the Dot Day trigger image -

Using the Quiver app we scanned our designs to bring them to life using Augmented Reality! The children were blown away when they saw their planets spinning, bouncing and shaking! We snapped a picture of the children with their planets -

View on Flipagram

The class then had to create a short recording as Beegu talking about their home. To do this, they used the brilliant app - ChatterKid. We then put the children's recordings over their pictures to create the following video -

Next week, Year 3 will be using another app based on a blockbuster film to create a tense and suspenseful piece of writing! The app - Gravity - Don't Let Go, is a free app that allows children to replicate some of the action from the film through playing a game. After playing for a short period, they will then have to write a recount trying to recreate the tension and suspense experienced in the app. 

Developing Emotional Literacy Through Music

October 19, 2015, 12:35 pm

≫ Next: Using Back to the Future to Start our Next Topic!

≪ Previous: Creating our own Planets in KS1 and KS2

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Emotional Literacy was a massive focus on the 'Improving Reading and Writing Through Popular Children's Movies and Media'conference I led with John Murray recently. We explored using a variety of materials to help develop this in your classroom. As I was driving down to Cardiff tonight, I found another little gem linked to emotional literacy in the form of a song. In fact, the current UK number one - Wasn't Expecting That by Jamie Lawson.

The lyrics say so little but mean so much and something that could be used to help draw lots of inference and deduction in class. There is one lyric that isn't appropriate for the Primary classroom, in the same way, some scenes from the brilliant music video aren't appropriate. Therefore, I have created an edited lyric video so it can be used as I think the song as a whole is fantastic. Both John and myself have created a series of questions that can be asked with this song. I would aim this at Year 5/6 and make the following links to the curriculum:

"En5/2.2b   understand what they read by
-checking that the book makes sense to them, discussing their understanding and exploring the meaning of words in context
-asking questions to improve their understanding
-drawing inferences such as inferring characters' feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions, and justifying inferences with evidence 

En5/2.2c   discuss and evaluate how authors use language, including figurative language, considering the impact on the reade 

En5/2.2e   retrieve, record and present information from non-fiction 

En5/2.2f   participate in discussions about books that are read to them and those they can read for themselves, building on their own and others’ ideas and challenging views courteously"

Here is the edited video - PLEASE MAKE SURE IF YOU USE THESE IDEAS YOU USE THIS VERSION!

Before watching the video, play the song to the children all the way through listening to just the audio. Ask the children -

• What type of song is it? 
• Who are the characters in the song? 
• Who is singing it? 
• Who is he singing to?

Then play the first 20 seconds -

Lyrics -

It was only a smile
But my heart it went wild
I wasn't expecting that

• Who smiled? 
• What type of smile do you think she first gave him? Show your teacher.
• What effect did it have on the singer? How do you know? (Heart it went wild)
• Where do you think this has happened? Why?
• Why wasn't he expecting that? What feeling does this phrase portray?
• How old are the characters?

Listen to the next part up to 42 seconds -

Lyrics -

Just a delicate kiss

Anyone could've missed 

I wasn't expecting that 

Did I misread the sign?

Your hand slipped into mine 

I wasn't expecting that 

• What has happened between the two? How do you know?
• Why do you think the singer uses the adjective 'delicate' to describe the kiss? What does this tell us about the girl?
• Why do you think the singer is shocked by this?
• Is the singer confident? Modest? How do you know?
• Why does the singer use the verb 'slipped' to describe how the couple came to hold hands? Did you like this idea? Why? Why not?
• Does it surprise you that it is the girl who takes the lead and not the man? Why? Why not?

The next couple of lines have been edited as they are not appropriate.

You spent the night in my bed

You woke up and you said 

"Well, I wasn't expecting that!" 

Then discuss the following lines - 

I thought love wasn't meant to last

I thought you were just passing through 

If I ever get the nerve to ask 

What did I get right to deserve somebody like you? 

I wasn't expecting that 

• Why did he think love wasn't meant to last? 
• Do you think the man has been hurt in love before? Why?
• Why might this help us understand why he keeps on repeating the phrase 'I wasn't expecting that'?
• What question do you think he wants to 'get the nerve to ask' is? 
• What do you think her answer will be? Why?

Continue to play the song up to this point -

It was only a word

It was almost misheard 

I wasn't expecting that 

But it came without fear

A month turned into a year 

I wasn't expecting that 

I thought love wasn't meant to last

Honey, I thought you were just passing through 

If I ever get the nerve to ask 

What did I get right to deserve somebody like you? 

I wasn't expecting that 

• What was the word? If it was an answer what was the question?
• Why was it almost misheard?
• Why did it come without fear?
• What sweet term of affection does they man call the woman? On a scale of 1-5, how warm and loving is this term? 
• Why is he using this term now but not at the start?

Study the next verse -

Oh and isn't it strange

How a life can be changed

In the flicker of the sweetest smile

We were married in spring

You know I wouldn't change a thing

Without that innocent kiss

What a life I'd have missed

• Why has his life changed?
• In which season were they married? Why is this symbolic? What do we associate with spring?
• What word shows he is fond of her smile?
• What word shows they were young when they met?
• How old is he now when he sings this song?

Next verse - 

If you'd not took a chance

On a little romance

When I wasn't expecting that

Time doesn't take long

Three kids up and gone

I wasn't expecting that

• Who was the decision maker in the relationship?
• What effect does the line 'time doesn't take long' have?
• How many children have they had and how old are they now? Why do you think this?
• How much time has passed?
• How old is the singer now? Why do you think this? 

Last verse - 

When the nurses they came

Said, "It's come back again"

I wasn't expecting that

Then you closed your eyes

You took my heart by surprise 

I wasn't expecting that

• What do you think has come back again? Why do you think this?
• What has happened when she closed her eyes? 
• How does the singer feel? How do you know?
• Why has the singer finished talking about his heart? 
• What does the fact that he wasn't expecting this to happen and his heart has also been taken, tell us about [a] the man and [b] their relationship?

After discussing the lyrics ask the children the following questions -

• Do you think this is based on a true story? Do you think it is the singer's story?
• Do you like the fact that this song is written in first person? Why? Why not?
• What effect does this have on the listener? Why?
• Why do you think there is so much repetition in this song? Do you think this was a good thing or not? Why?
• Where do you think he is when he is singing this song? To who is he singing it to? Why is he singing it to her? 
• Can you think of any other stories or films with a similar message? This can easily be linked to the 'Married Life' Clip from Up, (this is something John discusses on our conference.)
• What is the message the song is trying to demonstrate?
• Why do you think this song is so popular?
• What different emotions and feelings are felt through the song?
• Do you like it? Why?

Writing activities -

Although the music video linked to the song is brilliant it isn't appropriate for the classroom as certain scenes are rude. However using some screenshots, the children could create a timeline based on the song or even a comic strip to sequence the story. 

Ask the children to imagine that the singer/husband finds a letter from his late wife, what do you think it would say? Could the children write this letter?

If this blog post is something you have enjoyed and would like to see more, please join us on our next conference in Newcastle -

John Murray can deliver a full training INSET for schools focusing on developing emotional literacy. For more details visit his website - johnmurraycpd.co.uk

Remember -

Using Back to the Future to Start our Next Topic!

October 22, 2015, 1:28 pm

≫ Next: My Golden Rule of Teaching!

≪ Previous: Developing Emotional Literacy Through Music

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Ok, I am a day late! However, I was only able to work with Year 3 today so today was our Back to the Future day. I decided to link this with Year 3's next topic 'Ancient Egypt.' They will be starting this topic next half term so today we created a story where we travelled on the Delorean to Ancient Egypt.

To do this, we used the new comic feature in Book Creator along with Pic Collage! The children loved being able to create such a professional looking comic. These will be printed and stuck at the front of their new topic books!

Here are some of their examples -

In year 1 we used the same tool in Book Creator to retell the class story of Beegu! What I love about the new comic feature in Book Creator is that comics can now have more multimedia attached to it. This is perfect for younger children, who may not be able to type but can still tell their story by adding audio or video to their comic! 

Here is their eBook comic -

You can download a copy of the eBook here.

For me, the comic feature in Book Creator makes this the go-to app when it comes to storyboarding children's writing. Previously, I had put images together in Pic Collage and then added this into Book Creator as these examples show -

The fact that children can attach audio to each frame of their comic can be such a powerful tool to help when writing the story. In the new curriculum, the following objective is part of every year group up to year 4 -

En4/3.3b    Draft and write by composing and rehearsing sentences orally (including dialogue), progressively building a varied and rich vocabulary and an increasing range of sentence structures

By planning a story through a comic in Book Creator and orally recording what they will write and attaching this to the comic, children have a multimedia storyboard to hand, which will then aid and support the children when putting pen to paper.

For more quality ideas for using comics to help inspire children's writing, check out @InspiredMind5 and his fantastic book -

My Golden Rule of Teaching!

October 26, 2015, 2:55 pm

≫ Next: Bitstrips app in the Classroom!

≪ Previous: Using Back to the Future to Start our Next Topic!

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Today, this tweet popped up on my timeline -

Student engagement is NEVER, EVER achieved with a disengaged teacher. #RealTalk#AreYOUEngaging#edchat#edbeatpic.twitter.com/s6MMmK6JKc

— Kara Welty (@kara_welty) October 17, 2015

It really got me thinking about teachers and the approach they take to the topics they teach in class. On all my INSET and training, I try to inspire teachers to find their purpose for using technology. Looking at the why, when and how to use technology to transform learning in the classroom. No matter how much training a teacher receives, unless they truly believe in the purpose of technology it will never have any impact. This was a point raised in @ICTEvangelist's latest blog post. My main purpose is always to try and enhance learning and inspire children with their reading, writing and arithmetic. I use technology when it enhances learning because I see first hand how it enhances my learning as a teacher.

I often discuss my Nana on my training as the perfect example. Up to a couple of years ago, she had never really embraced technology: she had a mobile but never used it. Last Christmas she was given an iPad. Once she was shown that through the iPad she could use facebook and therefore, keep in touch with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren living in Gibraltar, she found her purpose. So without any real help or guidance she self-taught herself how to use the technology. I often say if my 82 year old Nan can do this, every teacher can also learn to use the technology, they just need to find their purpose. Once my Nan was confident, she was quickly involved in our World War 2 topic as we used facetime and interviewed her and my Grandad as they were both evacuated in the war. You can read more about this here. 

This isn't an issue that it strictly linked to technology. We all know the best teachers don't need to use any technology to have a class of children hanging onto their every word. Some of the best teachers will use tech with purpose to enhance learning but all too often teachers can find themselves teaching topics that they have no interest or passion for.

There is a fantastic Ted talk by Andrew Stanton, a director at Pixar, all about the rules of Storytelling. This talk heavily influences the conference I lead with John Murray!
(Please be aware there is some inappropriate language at the beginning)

In the video he states the following Golden Rule of Storytelling -

This has now become my Golden Rule of Teaching - MAKE THEM CARE!

This is where I feel the government get it wrong with things like SPAG. No child will ever care about SPAG on its own or in a test. When children are truly engaged in their writing, that's when they will want to use SPAG correcttly because that is when it matters and they care!

I try as much as possible, especially with writing, to be as heavily led by the children as possible. I find that children tend to write and write well when they are interested in the topic. I was a child once and was exactly the same as my stepson. He isn't a bad writer but only tends to write well when he is interested in the topic. That is why I have developed the Camouflage Learning approach in class. I know it seems a long time until Christmas, but all my own children want to do is read stories about Christmas. Why not then have the class read as 'A Christmas Carol' and start this from next week? If it is something the children are interested in and excited about, surely they will be more willing to write about it!

Everything I write as an adult is based on what I am interested in and care about. I have facebook and what's app groups with my mates where we discuss football, upcoming films and other things we like. My wife is the same with her friends, however the topics are very different. When would we, as adults, ever write about something we don't care about?

What we sometimes fail to realise is just how much our students care and look up to us as teachers and therefore, can be influenced and interested in something we show a passion for. How often, as a teacher, do you use your interests as a focus in class? What stories and books had you gripped when you were young? Do you use these? It may seem silly but I find lots of teachers don't put enough of their personality into the classroom.

Having worked in and with a number of big schools (2+ form entry,) a lot tend to do joint planning - one does English, the other does maths. I can understand and see the logic with this. With certain subjects I think this can work well as there isn't as much freedom with the curriculum (maths and science for example,) however, with English and if your school has a topic approach, this can sometimes be tricky and lead to a disengaged teacher and a disengaged class.

If one teacher picks the English focus, they will probably do that based on their own personal interest. The parallel teacher may have no interest in that focus at all and therefore will probably not teach it with any real belief, passion or enthusiasm. I think teachers should plan the objectives that need covering together, however, look at different ways to apply those objectives in topics the teachers are themselves engaged with. This starts at the top too, SLT trusting the staff to run with topics the teachers are enthused with.

It works! You only have to look at the work someone like Mat Sullivan gets from his class when he uses comics as a stimulus. Why? Because he loves comics! With every lesson he teaches his enthusiasm and passion for comics becomes contagious with the children. Read his blog for examples of this. I once worked with a teacher who just loved Blue Whales. He would use it as a stimulus in class and his love just carried through and the children would always create amazing pieces of writing!

When I think back to the Blackfish project we did in class as an example, when I initially discussed the film the children could sense how passionatly I felt about the issue and this got them hooked and wanting to know more!

Just last week, I was talking to a Year 3 class about Back to the Future and telling them how much I loved the film! Most went home and watched it! This led to use producing some fantastic topic front covers for our Ancient Egypt topic we will be starting next half term.

Every teacher will have strengths in different areas, some will be great with PE; others may be very creative with art. I am not saying we then don't teach the subjects we're not particularly passionate about. What I am saying is, wherever possible, look at ways in which you can use your interests and passions to inspire the children in your class. I can't guarantee every child will be engaged, but the chances are you will have more success if they can feed off your enthusiasm. So during this half term, look at what your topics are in English and consider whether this is something you are engaged with, if not, find something you are, use that instead and hopefully the children will follow suit!

Thanks for reading!

If you feel your staff would benefit from working with Mr P and embedding this approach, please visit this link. 

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Bitstrips app in the Classroom!

October 27, 2015, 11:30 am

≫ Next: Christmas Around the World Project 2015

≪ Previous: My Golden Rule of Teaching!

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This has been a blog post I have been waiting to write ever since Bitstrips appeared and flooded Facebook around two years ago! The app allows you to turn yourself into a cartoon character and then generate a comic to tell a joke, share your mood or describe your day. The problem was that you needed a facebook account to log in. There is the online resource - Bitstrips for School - however the convenience of having children quickly create a comic on the iPad was something I have been waiting on for two years!

It was when I stumbled across some examples from the brilliant @OhLottie, which you can read here, that I realised that it can still be a really useful teacher tool in class. As a teacher, you can create a comic and use this as a stimulus for a quick literacy starter or morning think activity. The visual image can really help children generate vocabulary to help write a sentence. When you use the app you can design your character, this can be based on the teacher or you could create an imaginary classroom friend. One that suggests ideas, or provides examples of writing that children have to improve, if you have used those tactics before 😉.

You can then place them in a scene and there are thousands to choose from! You can change the facial expression, add a caption or even add speech bubble. There is also the option to add other facebook friends into the scene.

Here are a few examples of how I would use it -

What has happened in this picture? 

What is Mr P drinking? 

Can you think of word to describe how he is feeling? Why? 

Can you use one of our exciting sentences to explain this scene?

______ing his mouth, Mr P ________ly _______ed to the sink.

How does Mr P feel in the picture? Can you think why?

What would be the best way to put this picture into a sentence?

Like a ____________, Mr P's head _____ with frustration.

or

Mr P was frustrated; his mouth _______; his head _______; his arms _______.

(Thanks to @ICTEvangelist for letting me use his avatar)

What is happening in this scene? How does Mark feel? How do you know? Can we turn this into a 3_ed sentence?

How is Mr P feeling? Why? 

Who do you think is right in this scene? Why?

(Thanks to @BrynGoodman for letting me use his avatar)

Who speaks first? How do you know? 

How would Mr P say this? 

What goes inside the speech bubble? Make sure this goes inside the speech marks. 

Notice when Bryn replies, he speaks on a new line. 

Can you write out this conversation using direct speech and carry the conversation on. 

What do you think Bryn has done that has upset Mr P?

I could go on with endless other examples but I am sure you get the idea here. Using the app to quickly generate a quick visual comic that can be used for some useful inference and deduction questions or challenge the children to write a sentence/s about the picture. Even help children visualise direct speech and encourage more show not tell in their writing. Ideally, the ability for children to use this on their iPads to generate a comic and use it as a storyboard would be fantastic! But for now, this can be a really useful tool for teachers, especially as it is FREE.

I would love to see how others use this app in the classroom. Please share any by tweeting me or sharing it on my facebook page.

You may also want to check out the Bitmoji app, which was shared with me by @dannyeduk that creates stickers and adds a keyboard to your iPad. These little stickers can be a great way to let children know how you feel towards work they have created on a school blog or add them into apps like Seesaw, Class Dojo or Showbie.

You could even print a set of them and use them as stickers or stamps for children's work in their books!

Christmas Around the World Project 2015

October 29, 2015, 5:05 am

≫ Next: Melvin McGee - Zombie Hunter!

≪ Previous: Bitstrips app in the Classroom!

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As a follow-up to the successful project last year (see here), we will once again be looking to connect classrooms across the world. In the lead up to Christmas, you can deepen your understanding of different Christmas traditions by asking other children from around the world about how they celebrate Christmas in their community.

The project is simple, sign up using the form below, pick a school from the number of willing participants in the spreadsheet and arrange a time to connect using a variety of ways such as Skype, Google Hangouts and Ustream/periscope. Please be aware of time zone differences and this website may help - Click Here.

You may also wish to live stream an assembly or Christmas show to share with the world to Youtube or use Periscope, or if you have been busy blogging and creating work related to Christmas, you can share it on the global Padlet below.

What you may need to take part in this project:

• An email address
• Skype Account
• Google + account
• UStream account
• Youtube account
• Periscope account

All you need to do is fill out this form and add your class to the database - see the bottom of the page for responses:

Ways in which to use this project:

Obviously the main aim is to connect live with another class from around the world, the easiest way to do this would be to use Skype.

The free account with Skype will let you connect with one school from around the world. However as an alternative Google Hangouts on Air allows you to connect with up to 10 people. This means more than one class from a school can connect with other schools or one class can connect with a range of different classes. Google Hangouts also allows you to live stream the video chat to YouTube and will save this as a video afterwards, meaning children can watch the conversation again and again. This also gives you the ability to broadcast an assembly or school performance for Parents who may not be able to attend or one of the classes you are connecting with. Another option as far as live streaming is to use UStream which allows you to broadcast live an assembly for anyone to watch live. Quality of video will depend on the strength of your Wifi and the quality of webcam.

Note - if you are considering streaming a performance, check about permission for children to appear online. You may want to check with Parents first before going ahead. For more information on live streaming - click here and here.

If you are unable to use Skype or Google but you still want to share some of the exciting activities your class have been doing leading up to Christmas, add it to our Padlet below. Just simple click on a space add your name and location and link either a blog post or YouTube video or even upload a picture for all to see: HERE IS A LINK TO THIS PADLET TO APPEAR BIGGER AND SEE ALL THE ENTRIES

Created with Padlet

Find someone on the map and contact them to arrange to share -


And here is a list of other classes who have signed up for the project:

Please do send any comments, examples of work or photos to davyhulme.ipad@gmail.com, I would love to see how this project has worked for different schools!

Melvin McGee - Zombie Hunter!

November 1, 2015, 1:04 pm

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≪ Previous: Christmas Around the World Project 2015

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I couldn't be happier to see that Mat Sullivan's (InspiredMind5) first novel has been released!

I have worked along Mat for a few years as part of the #Go2 team. I was leading some training at Mat's school when he talked to me about his idea for his first book. I was straight away hooked, the idea of a child-friendly zombie book sounded like a winner!

When I got an early draft of the book, I immediately read some to a couple of classes and they loved it! That's when I knew it was going to be popular with children!

The book tells the story of Melvin, who has just turned 10 and quickly discovers his town is infested with crazed, brain-gobbling zombies. Here is the trailer -

The book is fantastic and one children (especially boys) will love! The artwork by the very talented Marek Jagucki matches the fantastic storytelling and creates a wonderful book that I am sure children will treasure!

The reason I feel this book will be a great tool for teachers as a class read is that the author, Mat, is also the author of 'A Second Book of Exciting Sentences' co-written with Alan Peat.

He has also written 'Developing Writing through Comics' and The Ultimate Guide to Non-Fiction Writing. Both of these books are amazing resources for the English classroom. The book includes plenty of examples of exciting sentences within the context of the story. Therefore, teachers can use this as a way of discussing with the children the effect certain sentences have on the reader and why the author used has used a particular sentence in that part of the story?

When it comes to the exciting sentence approach, the challenge for a lot of teachers isn't getting their class using the sentences but using them well for effect. Being able to discuss this within the context of a fun and engaging story can be another useful resource and help children deepen their understanding of writing effective stories.

I am currently working with Mat to create a teacher's eBook with lots of activities and lessons linked to the novel. Watch this space!

I am also very excited to announce that I have 5 FREE copies of the book up for grabs on my facebook page, the winner will be announced very soon so share and like this post to be in with a chance of winning!

IT'S HALLOWEEN COMPETITION TIME! We have five copies of Mathew Sullivan's (Inspired Minds) new novel, 'Melvin McGee:...
Posted by ICT with Mr P - Tech to Raise Standards on Saturday, October 31, 2015

Can you beat Siri???

November 2, 2015, 9:00 am

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Now this idea is nothing new, think of it more as a new take on a tried and tested activity.

When I was in Year 4 at school, we had a teacher who every day would play the 'Beat the Calculator' game. He would ask us a times table question and we had to answer it before he could type it into a calculator. I was hooked! It was this one game that made me endlessly practice and perfect my knowledge of times tables. It is still a challenge today to get children to instantly recall different number facts.

Today with children being exposed to so much more technology, calculators may not bring the WOW factor that it once did. One thing that does captivate children is the ever impressive 'Siri.'

Siri is a "computer program that works as an intelligent personal assistant and knowledge navigator. The feature uses a natural language user interface to answer questions, make recommendations, and perform actions by delegating requests to a set of Web services."

In essence, by holding the home button for a couple of seconds you can orally ask a question and Siri will try and answer it... it has been around for a few years now but is still very cool!


I read this lovely story about how Siri helped a boy with autism and it got me thinking about other ways in which to use Siri in the classroom.

Students tend to be very impressed by how fast and accurate Siri usually is. Just explain that Siri is a system Apple have spent years developing and consider it to be one of the most advanced and intelligent programs in the world. Wouldn't it be great if children could beat it and be faster?

So the game is simple, you may want to mirror your iPad screen onto your whiteboard using Airserver so the children can see it. Then get the children ready with a whiteboard. You don't have to mirror your iPad, if you just have the iPad you can then give children an extra second if they need it.

Ask the children or child to try and answer the questions quicker than Siri can display it on the screen.

Talk the question into Siri and see if children can either write it on their whiteboards or orally answer before Siri displays the correct answer.

This creates a brilliant mental/oral starter for Maths lessons ask any calculation can be spoken into Siri - addition, subtraction, multiplication or division.

There are plenty of other ways in which this idea can be used and I would love to hear if anyone does anything different with Siri. Please do tweet or post it to my facebook wall.

Bonfire Art on the iPad

November 5, 2015, 12:55 pm

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Tonight is Bonfire night, so in school we have been looking at using the iPad to create some Bonfire artwork!

A couple of years ago, I used brushes after being inspired by a lesson from @SimonHaughton. These were some of our efforts -

This year we decided to use a different app - MyBrushes Pro, the range of different tools and brush types to use is fantastic. Here are a couple of our efforts from Year 1 - 

I have previously used this app with Year 1 to create some lovely Christmas tree designs, you can read more about them here.

In KS2 we linked our pictures more with Literacy and first generated as much vocabulary to describe fireworks. We used Socrative to collect all the children's ideas and put all the vocabulary into Tagxedo - 

The children then had to create their own firework display picture using the fantastic TypeDrawing app. Asking the children to try and include as much vocabulary in their picture. Here are some of their efforts -