User:Bjoern/tools

Category:ToolInfo

Animation	Tell a story using timeline animation
	Many animation tools can be used to build narrative(ta), and visualisations(ta) of work. These artefacts can act as stimuli for dialogue(ta), dialogic teaching(ta), questioning(ta), and shared reasoning(ta). KERPOOF (http://www.kerpoof.com) allows primary age pupils to make artwork(tool) and timeline(tool) animation(tool). The well-featured animation tool can be used to animate a story.
Assessment	Diagnostic Questions in Maths Teaching
	Using questions to probe what pupils do, and do not, understand These questions provide a useful starting point from which to think about the use of diagnostic questions(ta) for assessment(ta) for learning and whole class(ta) dialogic teaching(ta). They may be useful for teachers in their own right as sample questions, or to think about the best way to deliver feedback, use ICT tools effectively, and support learners through assessment. In this context the questions should be considered with a critical eye. Teachers might like to think about: The interface, and the way the questions are presented (could the questions be labelled better, appear better, what is the functionality like, etc.?) The style of questions asked The sort of feedback given, both on individual questions, and overall on the completion of the quizzes Teachers might take this as an opportunity to engage in sharing practice(ta) to think about how to use such questions in the classroom - perhaps using mini-whiteboards(tool) or ICT tools - and outside of them, perhaps using quiz(tool) or voting(tool) software.
Astronomy	88 Miles per Hour
	Aiming to win 'A level' recruits with a trip to the strange world of relativity and quantum mechanics The lesson initially looks at time travel, however the overriding theme is that of modelling(ta) and scientific method(ta). It aims to show students that it is acceptable to get a result that doesn't fit with what you expect. It just means you need to change what you expect next time!
Astronomy	Stars in the sky: what's up?
	Use a software planetarium and encourage students to think about astronomy This activity offers an opportunity for whole class(ta) discussion(ta) and questioning(ta) centred around the use of the Stellarium. It also affords good opportunities for self-directed study or homework(ta) extensions, including perhaps the use of free mobile apps(tool) (see below). There are also opportunities for some cross curricula(i) discussion of geography (navigation by stars) and history or literacy in relation to the ancient world.
Blogs	Digital Reporters at Camp Cardboard
	Children using iPads to blog about Cardboard Sculptures This activity is a cross curricula(subject) activity, involving a collaborative(tool) approach, giving children the opportunity to work together on a blog. Children were encouraged to engage in group talk(ta) and discussion(ta) in the classroom to reflect on the activity they were to report on. The activity furthers e-skills(topic) and e-safety(topic) through the use of whole class(ta) participation. The specific art activity provided a great stimulus for the blogging. Equally, however, this approach could be applied to any event in or out of school. The use of blogging and social media gave the opportunity for children to share their ideas with a wider audience, and also gave opportunities for real-time feedback to their work. The use of hand-held technology also enabled active learning(ta) as the portability of the iPads and iPods allowed them to be used outside the classroom.
Video	Broadcast live video from school
	Engaging pupils in creating video, and building a narrative(ta) encourages them to think about their language(ta) and explanation skills. They can be used to engage pupils, to revist their explanations, and keep them "on task" through the use of roles and drama(ta) tasks. While USTREAM (www.ustream.tv) looks like youtube - it is both different and done differently. Its edge is to allow live broadcasting(tool) over the net. For this you need little more than a web camera and microphone. Even more remarkably, this 'video streaming' service allows you to broadcast video(i) directly from a mobile device using a iphone application. Seemingly USTREAM is used by big name broadcasters and home 'lifecasters' alike and is very noticeably supported by advertising. With millions of users, the content is diverse and like all such things, merits a preview before a class dives in. Nevertheless the prospect is that of a school or class having a TV channel to communicate. The USTREAM story is that it was was first used by soldiers to broadcast news back to their families. Short of reporting back from a war zone, your class might broadcast back from your field trip.
Spreadsheets	Numbers, graphs and maths
	Spreadsheets can be used to engage pupils in the scientific method(ta) and mathematical thinking(ta), both as a tool to record results, and - through the use of functions and graphing techniques - a higher order(ta) reasoning(ta) device to problem solve and explore the best visualisation(ta) and analysis techniques. Some online tools (including Google Drive) support many of the functions of desktop spreadsheet applications such as Excel, and can thus be used for collaborative(ta) document editing. A spreadsheet(tool) may have found itself in school by accident, but in no time at all, its calculating(tool) and graph(tool) drawing abilities found it a secure place. In science teaching, a spreadsheet is a ready-made results-table that quickly produces a graph. Graphs are a key tool for analysing data and a spreadsheet makes them with ease. In fact, spreadsheets can produce an astounding range of graphs. Our role as science teachers may be to encourage pupils to communicate effectively using graphs. The ability of spreadsheets to organise, record and analyse data fulfils aspects of exploring science. If you had a table of students’ personal data, you could sort it into order of shoe size, or work out the average size of the class. You could draw a bar chart to see how the shoe sizes vary across the class. Or draw a scattergraph to see if the sizes vary with height. You might also search for those with black hair and see if they have an eye colour in common. Students can similarly use a spreadsheet to sort and search for patterns in the properties of elements in the periodic table It may be clear already that students using a spreadsheet in these ways have to work scientifically. They would need to define what they want to find out, collect data, organise it and analyse it. A case can be put that the use of a spreadsheet belongs, and probably deserves a place in science teaching.
Chat	Talk with your students in an online chatroom
	Chat rooms afford opportunity for collaboration(ta), group work(ta), and group talk(ta). They can offer opportunities for dialogic teaching(ta) through the use of group based effective questioning(ta). Many chat tools also integrate with other Tools. You can set up a chat(tool)room at “chatzy.com”. Then publish the link to the room, and perhaps a meeting time, to allow an out of class discussion(ta). You could use this tool to have an out-of-class discussion (perhaps someone is unwell). Can an online chat make dialogue more effective? Can it make group discussions more inclusive?
Chat	Video conference and message using text
	Chat tools provide opportunity for real time collaboration(ta) and dialogue(ta). HALL (hall.com) provides real-time collaboration(tool) one-on-one messaging(tool) and video conferencing(tool) for project teams. This can happen over the web, via their desktop PC or their mobile devices. It is intended as a business tool to provide an always-open window between people who work together remotely. Equally you may know of a learning situation where the need to collaborate is indeed similar.
Chat	Use an online study area to support students
	Study Hall is an attempt to combine the best of social networking(tool) and collaborative(tool) document storage and editing. It can be used for collaboration(ta) on documents, structured group work(ta) and dialogue(ta) online, and homework(ta) tasks as well as in class or continuous inquiry(ta) based projects. Study Hall (http://i1.studyhallapp.com) is aimed at education and it allows you to create a virtual study area on the web. You can upload notes(tool) and assignments and support your students via their mobile devices and social networks. The thinking behind this application is that learning is about “thought provoking discussion(ta)s with peers and teachers”. Study Hall provides a means to connect distant people and it is easy to see its role in online tutoring. But take a look to see where else it may be valuable.
Questionnaire	Encourage students to chat in class
	A tool for encouraging synchronous dialogue(ta) and a means for assessment(ta). TodaysMeet.com offers an easy way to gain feedback(tool). You set up a ‘room’ and send everyone the link to it so they can type their comments or engage in ‘chat(tool)’. Todaysmeet can be used at a moment’s notice as seemingly membership is unnecessary. This tool could be used in a lesson to encourage effective dialogue using Ground Rules and in turn assessment.
Collaborative	Make a questionnaire
	Google Drive can be used as a collaborative(tool) document editor for group work(ta) and collaboration(ta) in class and homework(ta) settings. Google Drive - or similar tools - can also be used to deliver polls(tool) and questionnaires(ta) to pupils in and out of class. If you need to collaborate(tool) or 'co-create' some text, a spreadsheet or a presentation, people with a Google account can edit the same document at the same time. One day, probably yesterday, doing so will be as passé as keeping all your work in the cloud(tool)! However, Google Drive also allows you, or students to make a questionnaire for circulation. To make an online questionnaire(tool), go to GOOGLE DRIVE (previously Google Docs at drive.google.com) and create a form (instead of creating a document as one might normally). You will find a choice of question types to use, such as multiple choice and free-response answers. Look and you'll find a very useful button for copying a question so that you can edit the copy. When you have finished, the link to the question form is circulated to students, their answers are collated into a spreadsheet that will appear on your Google Drive. A comparable survey(tool) tool called SURVEYMONKEY (www.surveymonkey.com) is much used for customer feedback. Either of these versatile devices may be used by students to research, poll opinion and more.
Mindmap	Plan and make a mindmap
	Mind mapping tools can engage pupils in higher order(ta) reasoning(ta) around the visualisation(ta) of a problem, topic, or subject. Computerised tools often support embedding multimedia into these maps, providing a richer document and potential to engage pupils in creating videos, images, and text around a particular issue and organising these. Teachers could think about what sort of information pupils should include on their maps - keywords, key people, concepts, times, artefacts, etc., and whether or not the maps are used to display their knowledge of a domain (concept mapping) or to build new ideas and evaluation (brain storming). MINDMEISTER (mindmeister.com) is an incredibly easy mind-mapping(tool) tool. It lets you put ideas in boxes and link them together - as one does in concept mapping(tool). A box can contain a picture or a document or a link to a web site. MINDMEISTER might be used to make a ‘poster’ summarising a course. Furthermore, several people can work on the same mindmap at the same time.
Creativity	Exploring the intersections of digital literacy and creativity
	A DEFT case study with Mundella Primary School, Sheffield This cross curricula(i) case study focusses on Digital Literacy, in particular using E-skills(topic) to: extend/update teaching skills and support CPD and explore the creative potential of digital technologies. The case study examines the potential of using mobile technologies to enhance creative aspects of learning. One of the lesson ideas from the case study is available as a separate resource at Creating Digital Paintings using iPads
Digital Art	Creating Digital Painting using iPads
	Children using iPads to create observational drawings of flowers This activity is a cross-curricular(subject) activity, that gives children to opportunity to work independently on an art activity that also encourages the development of E-skills(topic). This activity encouraged inclusion(ta) as the children's final work was displayed as a collaborative(tool) piece, where all children had the opportunity to make an equal contribution. In this instance, the children created observational drawings of flowers. However, the subject of the art could change to fit with any topic across the curriculum. The use of hand-held technology could also active learning(ta) as the portability of the iPads and iPods would allow them to be used outside the classroom, thus enabling observational drawings to be made in a range of locations.

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