Saturday 28 January 2012

Spent last Wednesday at the learning without frontiers conference at London Olympia. What a great day, learnt so much more about the potential for iPads and iPods in and out of the classroom. I also met some really interesting people with first hand knowledge of implementation and the success of using these devices. Full of confidence now to take this further and really push for it at school as the potential for improving students is massive. Thanks to ESSA Academy, Kevin Chung and James Dyson and all the people from Toucan

Sunday 22 January 2012

IBooks author. Wow. What an opportunity to really get students engaged in their learning. Started making a BTEC book with links and keynotes embedded in it to help with recruitment and enrollment. How big could it get. Students could create their whole portfolio in a book for btec with video, audio, presentations etc. just need some more Macs in school now.

Tuesday 17 January 2012

List of Apps currently being trialled.
Sports Cam - Instant video comparison tool for practical sessions.
Evernote - Note taking tool, loads of opportunities
Dropbox - We use it to share school documents on the go and to store large video files.
Skitch - interactive whiteboard tool and web annotation.
CoachPad - setting up and sharing drills and performance analysis
Prezi Viewer - show prezis on the move.
iMuscle - 3d model for anatomy sessions and for fitness sessions
Vital Signs - interactive heart and breathing rate app.
Keynote, Pages and Numbers - good old fashioned apps to create resources

I started using my iPad in school as I felt it was a really good tool due to the amount it could do. Evernote has become central to my sessions as it enables me to organise and share a massive amount of information.
At first I used it as a research library by clipping information and sharing the notebook with my class for them to have access to specific documents.
I then got the students to start submitting their coursework on Evernote, this meant that all their work could easily be stored and reviewed and created less paper in the office.
I have now started to look at providing feedback to the students via their own personal notebooks, in this way they have instant access to where they are at in their learning and it opens the possibility to continue learning outside the classroom. I can mark work and students can get the feedback well before the next lesson I have with them. It will also lead to the possibility of sharing their progress with their parents.
The students have really taken to this and are even starting to use their handheld devices to complete coursework!
Really looking to develop this idea over the next few months, any suggestions more than welcome. 

This year is going to see a massive change in how we teach PE at school with the introduction of iPads for staff and the access they will give us to trying new things.
Hopefully this blog will enable me to keep track of all these developments and in time lead to sharing the excellent practice, I am sure we will develop, with the world.
Watch this space