The Upton-i Newsletter Autumn Edition

Positive results from the Parent iPad Survey: 

We are constantly trying to improve the use of iPads for learning and progress. It is vital that we receive feedback so that we can do this. Look at the presentation below or click on the link to download a copy:Comparison of parents survey Dec 2015 (2)

 

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From an unpleasant place to a Digital Workspace:

Smarter Spaces Project

Our E-learning Facilitators (ELFs) won a bid to take part in the SSAT Smarter Spaces project. This is a new exciting action research project that empowers learners to take an active role in the design and application of innovative learning spaces. It also focuses on changes in the learning environment that impact on pedagogical practice, engagement and learner achievement. We will receive £6000 from Dulux and a design team to work with our ELFs to transform an underused area of the school into a digital work space.  

The benefits

Ten schools from across the country will have the opportunity to:

• identify a space in their school, work with Dulux designers and their own learners to redesign the space, before the final design is then created by Dulux contractors.
• use this smarter space across the school to investigate the implications for teacher practice and the effect on learner engagement and activity.

Funding also includes the accreditation of a lead teacher within the school

• who will utilise the smarter spaces project to gain Lead Practitioner status, a nationally recognised standard.
• Each LP will be provided with a comprehensive training programme which includes the latest thinking on learning environment design, the LP accreditation process and effective action research principles.

The room we chose is C14 which is an underused classroom which is much need of TLC as you can see from the following images.

 

The ELFs, in consultation with the students who currently use the room, have come up with the following design ideas:

They are now going to be working with the designers from Dulux to develop and refine these ideas.

ELF students visit to Chester Zoo

Year 8 and 9 E-Learning Facilitator students were recently given the opportunity to work with Chester Zoo on developing mobile technology. Whilst visiting the zoo, the students participated in an iTunes U course designed by Mr Keegan, Mrs Keefe and Mr Stott. The course gave the students the chance to explore the threats to wildlife. The students created some fantastic pieces of work using Pages, Keynote, Book Creator and Explain Everything.

“I really enjoyed my day at the zoo. It was great to use my iPad to record my findings. I am looking forward to putting my project together using the Book Creator app.” Elliot Year 9

“Using our iPad skills whilst visiting the zoo was great. I enjoyed creating short films about the different species and their habitats. I had the opportunity to interview a member of the zoo staff and got some great footage of the beautiful animals.” Cerys Year 8

Appy iPad Times at Upton High

The ELF students have been extremely busy during the past few months. They started the
academic year off by supporting with the iPad deployment sessions. The ELF students were given the opportunity to showcase their knowledge and skills. They presented to the Whole Year 7 2015 intake as well as supporting students on a one to one basis. The support sessions were extremely successful and the ELF students did a fantastic job.

iPad Clinics

The ELF students decided to set up a monthly iPad clinic, whereby students could seek
iPad support in the Learning Hub. This was delivered during lunch times and was accessed by many students. The clinic gave the ELF students the opportunity to develop their own confidence and improve their selfesteem, by being able to help others.

Smashing Apps

The ELF students created an event called Smashing Apps. The idea behind the event was to demonstrate the potential of certain apps and then to give students the opportunities to explore and get creative. The first Smashing Apps event took place in November 2015 after school in the learning hub. The event was based on a quiz which was completed on an app called Socrative. The ELF students designed the quiz and implemented it, into the app. They designed their on posters to advertise the event and lead the event themselves. As Smashing Apps was a great success the Year 8 ElF students have now planned the next one, which will be held on Thursday 4th February.

Year 8 ELF Students Celebrate achievements

The Year 8 ELF group have worked exceptionally hard over the past few months. They had their achievements recognised at the end of the last term in a special celebration of achievements ELF meeting. Mr Keegan presented each student with a certificate of achievement.

Year 7 Christmas iPad Competition

In December the ELF students released a Christmas iPad Competition. The competition was designed to get students to be creative using their iPad. The winner of the competition was a year 7 student, Vivien Szilagyi. Vivien created her entry using the Explain Everything app. Vivien took a range of backgrounds and added image overlays to create Christmas scenes that related to her night before Christmas story.

iPad Training

The ELF students recently received a full day of iPad training at school by JTRS.

The ELF students received training on two apps, Explain Everything and iTunes U. Explain Everything is a unique and interactive white board that allows students to present their work in a creative and innovative way. The students were trained in using all aspects of the app and explored its potential. ITunes U is an app that allows teachers to develop courses that contain lesson plans, resources, assignments and live chats, creating an interactive classroom. The ELF students learnt how to access contents and how to create their own iTunes U course. The ELF students thoroughly enjoyed their training. Since completing this they have delivered their own Explain Everything Training to all Year 7 and Year 8 students, during assemblies.

Year 7 ELF Students

In September 2015 we recruited a new Year 7 ELF group. The students have shown endless enthusiasm and continue to develop their skills when using their iPads. The students spent the first few weeks getting to grips with their iPads and understanding how to use them as an educational tool. They have enjoyed sharing their iPad skills with each other and are currently working on a interactive iPad guide for the Year 7 intake 2016.

iTunes competition

Rhona, in Year 9, created this fantastic piece of work on the Day of the Dead

Liam, and friends produced this news report on the battle of Hastings, funny and informative:

Alisha, in Year 8, produced this informative piece of work on Shakespeare.

Caitlyn, in Year 7, produced this wonderful poster in French.

Finn, in Year 7, created this Christmas card for an art competition.

Morgan, in Year 7, produced this wonderful poem in English.

Matthew, also in Year 7, produced this amazing poem on Light:

 

John produced this inspiring version based on Northern lights:

Matthew created a wonderful light poem. Click on this link to view:My light poem.pages

Nisa produced this moving poem on Friendship:

 

Dondu, in Year 7, produce this excellent piece of work about rocks and how they are used.

Byron, in Year 8, has produced a very important message for us all.

Isobel, Year 7, made this video to encourage others students to read. It is a book review in the style of a film trailer (Click on the image below to watch). Well done!

Eleanor produced this informative poster on internet safety in PSHE.

Becky created this cork board presentation on internet safety.

Daisy produced this colourful and detailed presentation on Hindu Deities.

 

Matthew produced and interesting piece of work on lightning:

Bradley produced this thoughtful poem about himself. Click on the link to see: A Guinea pig guide

Harry (year 7) making his Christmas tree out of books! He is trying to encourage his peers to read.

An Religious Studies assessment test completed by Will.

A music video and a movie trailer created by Molly, Yasmin and Tara.

Kate produced this detailed piece of work on Victorian London in History.

Eleanor created this wonderful piece of work on rocks.

Becky produced this blast from the past on changes in fashion and technology in the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s!

Storm was asked to produce a book cover for her favourite book to encourage more of her peers to read.

Aidan completed this book review in video format, he said “You need to read it”.

Ewen produced this thought provoking poem on the Northern Lights:

Sam produced this video on how to be a good citizen.

And the winners are:

These names were drawn randomly from a list of students who entered the competition:

Harry from Year 7 and his Christmas tree of books.

Alisha, in Year 8, and her piece of work on Shakespeare.

Rhona, in Year 9, who created a fantastic piece of work on the Day of the Dead

 

RTC – Creating digital workflows – 20/10/15

We started this years RTC schedule with a workshop looking at digital workflows.  This popular workshop mirrors the Year 7 Device handout sessions we run annually with Showbie and Socrative at the centre of activities.

The workshop really showcases what iPads offer to the modern day classroom, with Showbie in particular.  Delegates not only learn how Showbie can be used to collect and distribute work with feedback but goes further than the developers ever designed.  We have discovered primary staff who have attended our courses and through group discussion are now using Showbie to connect with parents, helping with homework, updating on news from the classroom or requesting help with School events.  Like wise Showbie is being at secondary level by Form tutors to engage better with their students, setting tasks, delivering important information or sending reminders.

There is always more than meets the eye when it comes to Apple technologies in the classroom.

The Uptoni Newsletter July 2015 Summer Edition

Ofsted Praise our use of iPads

Staff and students were praised in our recent Ofsted inspection:

• Students are generally keen to learn and respond well to questions in class. They are able to sustain attention and focus on tasks, and are active in investigating topics. They are responsible when using their tablet computers, and research and check information in lessons independently.
• Teachers provide good resources for students and students have access to a personal tablet computer. Teachers use these well to enrich the curriculum and extend opportunities for independent learning and research.
• Reading is exceptionally well supported across school and is a regular feature of each day in school. The extensive literature available to all students through their personal tablets helps to ensure equal access to resources.

Staff innovation

Mr Eunson: I would like to share this excellent trailer produced for a film version of Roald Dahl’s short story, The Landlady. Currently they are studying short stories in English. The Year 8 students who produced this work are Josh, Ben, Will, Georgia and Joe. The class completed a peer assessment for each trailer. We used Apple TV to view the end products. Click on the link below to view:

Miss Main: Kahoot is fantastic:

https://twitter.com/MissMainUHS/status/523072468588965888

Miss Main on Twitter: “Well done Nathan F – excellent understanding shown with @GetKahoot of the Battle of Hastings “@year7UPT http://t.co/mpqHTdRFwv”

“Well done Nathan F – excellent understanding shown with @GetKahoot of the Battle of Hastings “@year7UPT”

The students loved it and it was a great chance to tweet their achievements.

Mrs Mitchell from the Geography Department was observed by Sue Williamson, CEO of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT) using this fantastic app with her

Year 7 class: WunderStation brings you rapid-fire current conditions, forecasts, and historical weather data from any weather station in Weather Underground’s network of over 100,000 personal weather stations. View, analyze, share and compare data from local personal weather stations with elegant, customizable graphs, infographics, animated wind direction, rainfall totals.

 

I have also designed an iTunes U course on rivers which can be accessed by the students on their iPads at home and in school. iTunes U provides updates and allows the students to post comments. (Double click on the image below to make it bigger)

Mrs Bennett: I use an App called 123d creature to effectively engage boys.    By allowing use of the app (it is a virtual kiln where students can add pattern and colour etc), students are dealing with an interface they are familiar with (virtuality).  The quick and effective results they achieve on the app (used as a starter). Gives the students the confidence to move from the virtual to the physical process of making and problem solving. Below is an example of a sculpture created by a student using the said app.   

Mr Collis:  Use QR Codes to link to website URLs/pictures/text etc. QR Codes work really well for starters/plenary activities.  Students can scan QR codes as soon as they enter the classroom. Students do not need to type in a complicated website address; the codes are very simple to scan.

• Download ‘QR Reader for Ipad’ from the App store.
• Use http://www.qrstuff.com/ to generate your QR code (Link from QR code).
• Add QR codes to worksheets. Alternatively, project QR codes onto your whiteboard.  Students can scan them.

 

Dr Rees uses the Mangahigh website to differentiate at all levels: https://www.mangahigh.com/en-gb/

Mr Biard: Map Draw,a free i-pad app. Students can plot their journey to school either on map or satellite image.  The app tells them the distance.  They can also measure the time it takes.  This data, relevant and real, can be used to make frequency tables of distances travelled to school and speeds.  These can be used to compare groups who walk, cycle, are driven or come by bus. See below:

iPod competition entries

Again we have a fantastic portfolio of work from years 7 and 8 with hundreds of entries, here is just a selection. iPad videos Click on the links below to watch some amazing videos produced by the students using their iPads.

By Amelia Lindop

 

For the love of chocolate produced by Tom, Josh, Ben, Joe, and Will: 

Sasha Ravetz: The piece of work that I produced a blurb and a front cover for Al Capone Does My Shirts, our class hook at the time.

Amelia Lindop analyses a poem in English. Jemma Holton: I produced this for my Geography homework on weather phenomena. Katie Spall: I made this piece of work in art, on an app called Pic Collage. It is about Lesley Halliwell and her artwork.Liam Johnson: This work is about ways to measure different weather conditions.  I really enjoyed doing this piece of work because it was creative, which I like doing on the iPad.  This piece of work was complete in a geography lesson. Laura Dixon: This was from my English lesson when we were researching the Greek gods. We had to create a booklet of information. This is one part of the booklet from pic collage. This is a fact file on Hera she is the Queen of heaven; God of birth and marriage. Emily Wilson: I created this in Geography for the Nepal Earthquake and it explains what we are doing to help rise money for this.

Cally Worthington: My best piece of work. We made a poster on the Nepalese earthquake in geography.

Ben Jones used his iPad to create some detailed research on Shakespeare’s plays.  Daisy Saxby: My work is about the general election week and about who I would vote for if I had a chance. I enjoyed making this and following the election. Jemma Holton produced this excellent work on life in the middle ages. Monden Masaki completed a news report on Conway Castle. Tasmina Islam produced this research on Medieval England.

 

And the winner is…Liam Johnson, well done!

 

Upton Student ELF Group update

Upton ELF group have been extremely busy creating presentations, blogs, videos and much more over the past few months. The ELF group now have their own website that has been designed by the students. The website has all the latest news, events and information about the ELF group. You can view the site at uptonelf.weebly.com The year 7 ELF students have been working on a presentation that is currently being delivered to their year 7 form groups. The idea behind the presentation is to make year 7 students aware of the Elf group and the good work that they do as well as re-capping the rules with regards to using their iPad in school.                 Year 7 ELF students delivering their iPad presentation The current year 8 Elf students are working on an iBook for the new year 7 intake, September 2015. The book is being compiled with the feedback from students previously starting out with an iPad in year 7. The book will have basic ‘how to’ tips and instructions to help students use the iPad to its full potential. The book includes basic instruction video clips, check some of videos out here youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE83HYxQo7c

ELF App Reviews

The ELF students have been busy trying out new apps and then posting reviews on the ELF Blog. You can view the app reviews at uptonelf.weebly.com Here are some of the latest posts; App Review

App: Maths bash secondary free Rating: 7/10 Type of App: educational Subject area: Maths Recommend/ not recommend: Recommend

How to use: There are 4 sections to this game. Once you have chosen the section you would like to play, a timer starts and you have to answer as many questions as you can. I like this App because it tests your knowledge and it helps you to learn your times tables.

Emily Year 7 student             

App Review App: Four letters  Rating: 9/10 Type of App: Educational How to use: This app is an literacy educational app. Four Letters is extremely fun, because you have to try and get a four letter word in a race against time. If you get the word then you carry on until you cannot get any more words. I love trying to beat my personal best on this great game!   Liam Year 7 student              

iPad Review- Benefits of being able to use my iPad

What I can do now, that I couldn’t do then

 When I first started I couldn’t… – Contact teachers – Send/do homework on my iPad – Research during lessons – Use good apps to help revise and collect information – Share work with friends to help each other   I have access to do all these things now I have my iPad. It is making me more confident    about learning, and is building up my ICT skills. It is so much easier to contact teachers about either homework, class work, or any other things. I could either send an email to them or a comment by using an app called Showbie. Likewise, they can put comments on my work. Doing homework or any other work on this device is a lot more fun and interesting than on paper. You can be really creative with presentation on apps such as Sketchpad, Pic collage and iMovie. The thing that I find most useful is the researching tool on our iPads. During class, the iPads can enable us to research information to help us with our work. Before we had iPads, we had to use computers which was inconvenient as not every classroom has computers. Helpfully, having iPads in school means that we don’t have to carry as many books around with us. By Hannah, Year 7

We won the ‘Classroom of the Future’ Competition

The year 7 students recently entered a competition to design a ‘classroom of the future.’ The competition is being run by WestCoast Apple Team and the winner will be announced on Friday 12^th June. Here are some of the fantastic entries.

Mubarak Adedigba, Year 7

“My classroom allows the need for class changes to no longer be required and helps each student individually. It has the classroom has a  change programme which allows the room to change depending on the subject being taught at the time, such as Science, DT, and food tech, this means that the students don’t have to move classrooms and be late”.

Not only that the teacher will also be holographic and be   changing depending on the subjects. This way teachers don’t have to move classrooms and can be interactive with the environment. If a teacher is demonstrating a practical, the items needed would be in the actual classroom. Supervising teachers will be required to do their part by keeping everyone on task. The screens are also holographic meaning that teachers can just type up a task and it’ll immediately show. Student also get the technological experience and have their desk equipped with the following:

• A wide array of buttons
• Touchscreen border
• Mini flat screen monitor
• Holographic
• An anti-cheating boarder (controlled by teacher

The students will also have a holographic avatar that will help them if they’re stuck. They are summoned by the push of a button. The classroom also has a leisure corner and the teacher’s desk has a mischief camera to alert the teacher to any rules violated.” Mubarak Adedigba, Year 7

Hannah Kelsey, Year 7

” I think a ‘Class Room of the Future’ would have lots of highly advanced technology. These features include and interactive wall, Smart screen desks and robot helpers. These advanced pieces of technology would help improve the learning of the children of the future.” Hannah Kelsey Year 7

For all the latest news and information follow: @Upton_ELF or Uptonelf.weebly.com

iStick – USB for iPad

We have been using the iStick in School for sometime now and still love what it brings to the party.  The ability to use a full USB storage device on the iPad, unplug then plug into another OS and use in the same way has proved very popular.  We all know there are many different ways to transfer content from the iPad to other platforms and vice versa, however at times these options are not available or the infrastructure is not good enough.  Take for example a video created on iMovie on an iPad, too big to e-mail, air drop can take time and sometimes the wireless reception is not good enough to send, this is where the iStick comes into its own.  Simply downloading a tiny App, plugging into the lightning slot a video can be transferred easy onto the stick, then taken away, added to another iPad or any other device with USB support.  

Still on movies, adding a movie to an iPad is still not great, importing to iTunes first (and making sure the format is correct) then plugging your device in and syncing (presuming your synced computer is near you) is time consuming a cumbersome.  Now this is where the iStick comes into its own, add any video format to the device, plug into your iPad and play the video straight from the resident video player, you can even copy to the iPad for playback when the iStick is removed.

We have also found its usefulness unparalleled on shared devices in our learning hub.   We found that students were not logging out of their cloud or e-mail accounts when finishing with the loan, obviously this is a security concern.  With the iStick we can quickly move users created work off the iPad and straight into their networked user area from where they can upload to another cloud device or e-mail from a properly logged in account.

In the modern age there are also devices that for many reasons do not go onto corporate networks.  However these are still used to create data and sometimes the data is needed as a matter of course.  These devices can be added temporarily to wireless while the data is retrieved, this is not always easy and quite time consuming.  Again the iStick comes into its own here, plugging into the Apple device to quickly retrieve the required information with no technical assistance and no fuss.

The downside is the price, we use 16GB models, at £60 these are many times the cost of a normal USB stick, however the usefulness and productivity savings more than justify the initial outlay.

iPads improve learning and increase progress

Good Practice at Upton:

Progress at Upton

There is extensive evidence that using modern technology helps them make greater progress:

Our Year 8 in 2014 without iPads achieved an average level of 5b, whereas our Year 8 with iPads in 2015 achieved an average level of 6c. Both Year groups started year 7 at the same point, with an average level of 4a.

They enjoy learning through technology, and so are more motivated and find it easier to concentrate, collaborate and communicate. It has had a positive impact on attendance.

See the iPad bumper edition posted on 19/1/15

https://uptonteep.wordpress.com/2015/01/19/ipad-bumper-edition/

iPad launch to Year 6 Parents

We launched the iPad scheme to Year 6 parents on Wednesday 18th March 2015. Please have a look at the video produced by the student E-learning Facilitators (ELFs) and click on the PDF version of the PowerPoint used below.

Video:

Parents presentation

 

Brain food

Scotland

Tablets allow for freedom and flexible learning, study finds. Students become more creative and independent when given their own tablet computer, according to a study on the use of mobile technology in Edinburgh schools. The research appears to bolster the case for moving away from fixed computers and dedicated information communications technology rooms towards providing all students with a tablet or mini-laptop for use throughout school and at home, known as “1:1 mobile learning”.

Students showed more enthusiasm for school after mobile digital devices were introduced – mostly in 2012-13 – in two primaries and two secondaries in Edinburgh, according to University of Hull researchers Kevin Burden and Trevor Male. Students had already been more likely to use mobile technology than school ICT even before it was sanctioned: more students regularly used mobile devices such as smartphones in school (35 per cent) than school computers (25 per cent). But their use of technology in school “increased significantly” during the 1:1 projects at Sciennes and Broomhouse primary schools and Forrester and Gracemount high schools, the research states.The allocation of personal tablets or mini-laptops “alleviates many of the problems and complaints which teachers have traditionally made about using fixed technologies in the standard IT laboratory”, Dr Burden and Dr Male write.

“There is evidence that teachers are shifting their practices in ways which might prove to be very significant,” the report states. “Personal access to the internet enables teachers to set more authentic and realistic tasks for students,” it adds.

Student autonomy was “an immediate benefit”, particularly at Sciennes Primary, where children were given considerable freedom to personalise iPads. Parents were also enthusiastic, with many buying tablets for their children on the strength of the study. One Sciennes parent said: “It has definitely helped him to be more independent; his creative writing is now that of a child way beyond his years as he is not held back by the slowness of pencil and paper.” But problems were identified: teachers found it difficult to support simultaneous use of different types of devices, so the report recommends that schools choose only one. Questions were also raised about the ability of Glow, the digital network for Scottish schools, to support the technology. And there is growing concern among parents – although less so among teachers – about internet addiction and overuse of games. Edinburgh already has about 6,500 iPads in its schools to share among the city’s 44,000 students. The council has promised to match-fund any money that secondary schools put towards providing entire year groups with iPads over the next two years. “We are quite convinced that it’s the way forward,” said senior education manager Karen Prophet. “What’s been fascinating is that this technology has not been stolen or damaged, because young people value it.”Ken Cunningham, general secretary of School Leaders Scotland said that, given that tablets were expensive and required a reliable broadband connection, it would be a long time before each student in Scotland could be equipped with one. However, he said the fact that “not everybody can get (one)” was not an excuse to delay their introduction: it was simply a case of being “sensible” in targeting the initiative. He suggested that tablets might be used to help narrow the attainment gap in Scotland, with struggling students given them first. (See the full report by clicking on the link below).

Scotland-iPad-Evaluation

The USA

iPad changes the way teachers teach and students learn. Students, educators, and institutions are using iPad for countless educational purposes and finding both anticipated and surprising benefits. Examples in this document highlight the following areas across K–12 and higher education: • Improvements in academic performance • Increases in engagement and motivation • Added instructional flexibility and resource efficiency • Integrated focus on content quality and design (See the full report by clicking on the link below)

iPad_in_Education_Results

 England

Study Finds Benefits in Use of iPad as an Educational Tool. The study looks at the use of iPads at the Longfield Academy, where a large scale 1 to 1 iPad program was implemented last year. A brief overview of this groundbreaking study is provided below.

http://www.emergingedtech.com/2012/07/study-finds-benefits-in-use-of-ipad-as-educational-tool/

The iPad as a Tool for Education – Naace report supported by 9ine Consulting (2)

It is not just at Upton: Article of the week

The Positive Impact of Launching a 1-1 iPad Project – The Data from Hove Park School Park

In April 2013 Hove Park School launched a 1-1 iPad deployment for 1600 students. What has been the impact on progress, behaviour and attitudes to learning?

Student Achievement

Evidence based on the tracking of achievement data shows that the introduction of Hove Park’s 1-1 iPad Learning Transformation Project has made a positive contribution to the school’s work to eliminate the gap between the progress of economically disadvantaged students and their peers. Since the introduction of iPads 1-1 the progress of students eligible for pupil premium funding has accelerated compared to the progress of the cohort as a whole.

Student Behaviour

Analysis of behaviour data at Hove Park has shown that the use of iPads has resulted in a significant decrease in sanctions across the school for the first two terms working 1-1 compared with the same period in 2012. Most tellingly, the sanctions received by the pupil premium cohort of economically disadvantaged students has decreased at a faster rate over the same period.

 

Hove Park used pupil premium funding to provide eligible students with iPads and a suite of educational apps. These early results show that working 1-1 with iPads has had a clear and positive impact on these students who are now engaging with learning better and achieving at a faster rate.

Student Perceptions Of Learning

In order to gauge the initial feedback from students, the school asked 500 students at Hove Park to evaluate the quality of different aspects of their work before the introduction of iPads and again after 10 weeks of working with an iPad in lessons. In measuring the proportion grading the quality of work good or outstanding in a 4-point response scale, the results were extremely encouraging.

Enjoyment of lessons
Before students had an iPad only 4.7% of students rated the enjoyment of lessons as excellent. Now students have an iPad 47.8% of students rate their lesson enjoyment as excellent. 86.9% of students rate the enjoyment of lessons as good or excellent compared to 31% of students before they had an iPad.

Learning in Groups
Before students were using iPads 61.2% rated learning in groups as good or excellent, compared to 79.6% now.

Support from Peers
There were 58.1% of students who rated the support from friends as good or excellent before they had an iPad, compared to 67.3% now they are working with an iPad.

Sharing Work With Other Students
Before students used iPads 23.9% were sharing work with other students on a regular basis. This has increased to 62.7% of students sharing their work on a regular basis with other students.

It is clear that the use of iPads in lessons very quickly has a positive influence on students’ collaboration and sharing of their work.

Working Independently
66.6% of students rated independent learning in lessons as good or better before using an iPad. This rose to 79.6% of students rating it as good or excellent with the introduction of iPads at school.

Time in Lessons to Explore and Develop Your Ideas
This saw a shift from only 15.8% of students saying they were given time in lessons on a regular basis to 94% of students saying they now are given time to explore and research their own ideas on a regular basis in lessons.

The range of tools in the iPad and the speed with which they can be accessed during a sequence of learning activities means that teachers can plan to hand more responsibility to students for aspects of their learning during lessons.

Completion of Homework
64.5% of students rated the completion of homework as good or better before they used an iPad, compared to 74.7% of students since having an iPad.

Feedback from Teachers
Feedback from teachers was rated as good or excellent by 52.9% of students before they had an iPad. Since students have an iPad, 66.9% of students now rate the feedback from teachers a good or better.

In the first ten weeks, teachers experimented with a range of vehicles for setting and assessing homework. These increases in student responses mark the first steps in the journey to dramatically improve and personalise feedback to students in order to accelerate their achievement. 

Sharing Work With Parents
Only 15% of students were sharing their work on a regular basis with parents. Since the introduction of iPads 55.6% of students are now sharing their work with parents on a regular basis.

One of the key aims of the Hove Park iPad learning Transformation Project is to bring parents into closer contact with their children’s learning. This early gain in the frequency of sharing work at home gives us a good platform to build on as we begin to share our lesson materials on iTunes U in the coming months.

Resources/articles/apps/videos

1) iPads Improve Classroom Learning, Study Finds

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/12/131210-ipad-learning-education-space-science/

2) Improving feedback in a 1:1 environment.

http://newtechtimeline.com/2013/10/20/improving-student-feedback-in-a-11-environment/

3) Explain Everything for superb student feedback

Explain Everything for superb student feedback

4) Establishing A Twitter Routine In Your Classroom

Establishing A Twitter Routine In Your Classroom

5) Why Innovate?

http://dedwards.me/2014/01/28/why-innovate-2/

iPads for Learning

Our fantastic student e-learning facilitators have now completed their video showcasing iPad use at Upton in the classroom.  The video was made entirely with iPads, filming, splicing and post production.  Well done to all involved, we look forward to the next release.

iPads as a visualiser

Visualisers have always provided creative subjects such as food technology and Art with a great way to share work in a classroom setting.  Most units however are restricted to the computer they are attached to meaning work to be displayed to the whole class is brought up to the front.  Now imagine a teacher wants to share a piece of unfinished Art work with their class but the paint is still wet, or a pupil wants to show off their food project piece but cannot transport as it is unsafe to carry because it is still red hot.  We can see the limitations of the trusted visualiser starting to unfold.

Augmentation

This is where Apple technology is used successfully replace and significantly improve a task, in this casing point technology improves technology.  With an Apple TV attached to the projector screen or a software solution on the PC such as reflector teachers can now display their iPad screen to the whole class, with the default camera App so acting as a wireless visualiser.  This solution also works out cheaper, assuming the user already has an iPad, with Apple TVs a comparable price and software solutions coming in around £7.

This shows again another of the many ways Apple technology can improve the educational experience straight out of the box.

iPad for research

While most of the educational and external focus on iPads links to the many Apps and what they offer to a modern classroom, sometimes the simplest uses are over looked.  These simple tasks are carried out often and never thought of when asked, how we use our iPad?

An example of this is when studying perhaps an English written piece, a maths past exam paper or technology design project.  The vast majority of those in education when asked to layout their private study desk for such tasks would opt for, pens, text books, writing books, and access to the internet.  Traditionally we learned to cope with the limited room a desk with a computer offers, as well as the static shut away environment that non-portability brings.  Laptops of course offer portability but also require a large bag to transport around, often still dominate desk space and more often than not we are limited to desks with power access due to the poor battery lives on offer.

This for us is one of the fundamental advantages that iPad technology offers.  Forget the fancy Apps, digital flows, and creative tools we now have at our fingertips, the iPad offers as a base substitution for the traditional desk set-up.  We now have all the knowledge and reference contained on the internet with a piece of kit that is no bigger than the writing books we still use.

This portability and ease of use is not just limited to studying.  Think of this, a teacher mentions in class a term that a pupil is unfamiliar with but feels embarrassed to ask in front of their peers a definition of the term.  Now the child can wait till the end of class and ask the teacher privately, or define the term using their iPad.  The later facilitates better learning as the pupil can now engage with the rest of the lesson and grasp the delivered concepts that come from the unfamiliar term.

Alongside traditional teaching, delivery methods and default School essentials, the iPad, if only used for internet access in School, becomes a powerful tool for pupils that past generations never had.

iPad bumper edition

Good Practice at Upton :

A positive response from Upton Parents on iPads for learning December 2014

My child feels more motivated to work, with their iPad than without it:

Year 7 Parents: 89% Strongly agree/agree

Year 8 Parents: 92% Strongly agree/agree

What the parents said: He loves it. It really taps into what kids are into and so encourages him to want to learn more. It’s easier to research topics, and present in a more interesting way. She is able to research and find out things for herself at home. If I don’t know the answer we can find it together. (Work by Jemma Year 7)

The iPad is helping my child to improve the quality of their work.

Year 7 Parents: 87% Strongly agree/agree

Year 8 Parents: 89% Strongly agree/agree

What the parents said: He can add more detail, spell check his work, use the online dictionary, thesaurus and include pictures. She has a world of knowledge at her finger tips so she is able to put a lot of detail into her work – an extension of what she learnt in school. (Work by Jessica Year 8)

 

My child is making better progress with the iPad than without it.

Year 7 Parents: 83% Strongly agree/agree  

Year 8 Parents: 88% Strongly agree/agree

What the parents said: He is more motivated so he is working harder and so making greater progress. Probably because it is more convenient than using different books and of course technology is a major part of life today.The speed of what she is learning has increased. Teachers explain to her how to improve on Showbie and so she can improve her work before the next lesson. (Work by Dan Year 7)

I think that my child’s achievement has improved since they received their iPad.

Year 7 Parents: 82% Strongly agree/agree

Year 8 Parents: 86% Strongly agree/agree

What the parents said: His grades have improved because he is more motivated. She is able to work on her own and so has improved at a faster rate. Rosie is improving in most lesson because she using her ipad. My child is keen to undertake the challenge of using the new technology to work with.

 

I feel that my child is able to work more effectively with the iPad than without it.

Year 7 Parents: 86% Strongly agree/agree

Year 8 Parents: 89% Strongly agree/agree

What the parents said: He enjoys learning now. The world at her finger tips! I think my daughter loves working on her iPad. He can research independently. My child is more organised.

My child is able to work more with others with the iPad than without it.

Year 7 Parents: 88% Strongly agree/agree

Year 8 Parents: 92% Strongly agree/agree

What the parents said: He can share work using air drop. She can share ideas using iMessage and email. The little video’s they produce from team work are really good. He tells me that he shares his work with others in class. I have seen examples of his work in the ipad news letter too. He also showed me some apps that he uses with a partner.

I am happy for my child to use the iPad regularly in their learning.

Year 7 Parents: 97% Strongly agree/agree

Year 8 Parents: 95% Strongly agree/agree

What the parents said: It is why we chose Upton High. Helps with their learning alongside written work & books. I think it makes learning more exciting, accessible and appropriate for the time we live in. I am happy for iPad to be used along side traditional teaching rather than a replacement. (Work by Dan Year 7)

Brain food:

• A study from the National Literacy Trust and Pearson, published last month, suggested that touchscreen computers were particularly useful in helping boys and poorer pupils to learn to read.
• It showed children in poorer households were particularly likely to read on touchscreen computers rather than printed books.
• Another study from Ofcom last year showed how tablets have spread quickly within families with children. About 70% of five to 15-year-olds had access to a tablet at home.

Exposure to technology – a timeline:

 

Article of the week:

15 Unique and Creative Ways to Use iPads in the Classroom by teachingwithipad.org (1 by me JKE!):

Here are some great new ideas to use your iPad in your classroom. The iPad, as we all know, is a great tool for education. We are hoping that you can use at least a few of these new and creative ideas.

1. Use your iPad as a document camera with the Stage Interactive Whiteboard and Document Camera.

With this app, and the help of a dedicated, or DIY, mount you can use your iPad as a document camera, annotate over anything you set under the camera, and even record what you show. Got another $10? Make your own microscope attachment for up to x175 magnification!

 

2. Review almost any academic topic using the Quizlet app (FREE).

Quizlet is a completely free resource that allows you to create flashcards for your students. Interactive games can also be done on the web. Project them for great review as a class! An optional Teacher account with extra features is available. Students can also practice individually at home for review for upcoming tests. You do not necessarily need the app, as it is a web-based service as well. Run it straight from your browser.

3. Use your iPad as a “game show” – style soundboard.

Play review games (with the aide of technology or without) and use special sound effects in your class using apps such as Game Show Sound Board.

4. Build Posters using great photography apps like Diptic, Pic Collage and Over.

Have lots of interesting photos to share? Stitch them together using these apps, print them off to display in your classroom! Your students can create poster projects containing multiple images displaying what they have learned. Students and teachers can then add text using the Over app.

5. Use your iPad as a music playlist manager.

Do you sing and/or listen to a lot of songs in class? You can choose to use iTunes to create playlists but did you know that you can easily create playlists in YouTube as well? Find essentially any song you wish on YouTube and play it on your iPad! Better yet, use apps such as Musi to stream your music if you have a strong wifi signal, orInstatube to save your music for offline viewing/listening.

6. Use your iPad as a classroom management tool

Use visuals on your projected iPad with the app Silent Light ($3.99).

The iPad will monitor noise levels and you as a teacher can set what level is appropriate for each particular activity. Set a goal for points your class to achieve to earn rewards.

7. Create a special effects movie with the Doink green screen app.

Recreate your favorite Sci-Fi movies or your own mini blockbuster with the aid of a green sheet and this innovative app. Film your scene in front of a green screen, then layer your background on top if it to create an awesome special effect! Export your video to the Camera Roll and it is ready to be edited further or combined with more clips in iMovie. You might also want to take a look at the Action Movie FX app.

8. Record Podcasts with USB Mics.

The iPad is a great multimedia device, but the microphone is not of the highest quality for recording professional sounding audio in video or for podcasts. However, with the help of Apple’s Camera Connection Kits, you can connect good quality USB mics and other peripherals to use with your iPad.

9. Create multimedia eBooks with Book Creator.

One of the best uses for the iPad in education is digital storytelling apps, and they don’t come much better than Book Creator for iPad. Over 3 million multimedia eBooks have been created with just this app! You can add text, images, video, audio and more. Choose from over 50 fonts, draw your own illustrations, and send your finished product to iBooks, Dropbox, or share by email. Try it out for free!

10. Let the iPad choose!

Ever have trouble deciding who gets to answer in class? I still see teachers with a can of 25 names on Popsicle sticks with their students names on them. The iPad can choose names randomly.

Also, Do you have difficulty choosing people for group projects? There are various apps that can do this for you. Check out Pick Me! ($1.99), which can keep a standing record of correct and incorrect responses that the students give. The app is able to choose, based on their individual percentages of correct answers, leveled, random and balanced groups.

Read: Let the iPad choose! It’s the fair way!

11. Capture metacognition with Explain Everything.

We talk a lot about differentiated instruction, but not enough about differentiated assessment. Using Explain Everything ($2.99), students can show you (and tell you!) what they know in a way that works for them. Explain Everything is a screencasting app that allows students to “annotate, animate, narrate, import and export almost anything to and from almost anywhere.” Whether students demonstrate their understanding of a math concept, summarizing skills, or phonemes, Explain Everything allows you to capture students’ thoughts while viewing their work.

12. Share your students’ learning experiences with families and other schools using Instagram.

Looking for an easy way to share your classroom with families and other educators? JoinInstagram (for free)! Using the iPad’s camera, you can capture photos and videos to quickly post to Instagram, where families and other educators can celebrate your students’ learning right along with you.

Read: How to use Instagram’s great features without its social sharing issues

13. Augment reality with Layar or Aurasma.

Augmented reality can change the way your students see the world by offering additional digital information to real objects that can only be seen via apps like Layar (free) orAurasma (free). Post a blank map or timeline, where teachers and students can add different types of multimedia content that can be viewed depending on age, ability, and/or curriculum.

14. Collaborate with other classrooms using video conferencing and Subtext.

We should never let our students think that their classroom is just the four walls around them. It is essential that students know that the world is their classroom, and the iPad is a great way for students to connect and collaborate with students anywhere in the world. Whether students video conference with FaceTime or Skype (both free) to discuss a book in they read together in Subtext (a social reading app), or to do a Mystery Skype, the iPad opens doors to collaborative learning experiences for students of all ages.

Read: Use Facetime in class.

15. Look at good practice in our school. This one is by me. Click on the link below to see examples on uptoni:

https://uptoni.wordpress.com/

Recommended Reads

1) iPad in Education For Dummies by Sam Gliksman

It′s easy to bring the incredible iPad experience to your classroom today! The iPad is a natural fit for education in the 21st century, and this straightforward, full–color guide shows you just how to deploy it effectively in your educational institution. From understanding how iPads can be used for different learning styles to managing iPad content and classroom use, finding the apps to complement your curriculum, creating interactive lessons, and beyond, author Sam Gliksman, a sought–after consultant on integrating technology in schools, answers all your questions. Helps teachers and administrators see how to use iPads effectively in different grades, classroom settings, and curriculum levels Explains iPad′s built–in media features and the importance of multimedia in modern education Explores iPad best practices, tools, and apps for a successful iPad program in your school Shows how the iPad can be used as a valuable tool for research, collaboration, communication, creativity, and discovery Provides tips and guidance on keeping information updated, managing content, and taking advantage of the iPad as a learning tool iPad in Education For Dummies is your guide to using the world’s most popular tablet to inspire and educate your students in a whole new way.

2) Top 10 UK education Blogs:

The full list: (last Updated 15/01/2014) – click here to visit the page.

1. @TeacherToolkit
2. @Learning Spy
3. @headguruteacher
4. @HuntingEnglish
5. Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher’s blog
6. @johntomsett
7. Scenes From The Battleground
8. Geoff Barton’s Pick ‘n’ Mix
9. ClassroomTM
10. Tabula Rasa

Useful links/videos/resources

1) Free online textbooks from top private school. Read the full article by clicking on the link below:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-30832938

2) Used by thousands of teachers worldwide, Teacher Guide to iPad includes over 500 ideas for lesson activities using iPad across all age groups. 200 Video tutorials walk through apps, ideas and skills in small, manageable sections. Plus pupil work examples, labelled guides and links to resources that have all been tried and tested in school. Click on the link below.

http://www.ilearn2.co.uk/ipadteachers.html

3) ipadteachers.org is a website where teachers and education professionals can share ideas about making the most of the use of iPads in the classroom. Hosted by Hove Park School in Brighton, England, our site aims to share the experiences of our teachers as well as providing links to interesting blogs and articles from around the world. We also welcome direct contributions from any teachers who are excited about the positive impact iPads can make to learning.

http://ipadteachers.org/

4) Ideas and resources for using the ipad for learning

http://teachingwithipad.org/

5) Developing digital leaders

http://www.educate1to1.org/digital-leaders-ipads-school-education-11/

Challenge them and change their mindset

 Good Practice at Upton :

Below is a photo of Hannah and Lauren, Year 8, receiving their certificated from Mrs Dixon Headteacher. They took part in delivering a work shop on Feedback using iPads for learning at the SSAT national conference. Well done!

In Science Year 7 have been learning about specialised cells and have produced some fantastic models and cakes for a homework task. The photographs are from Mrs Bradbury, Head of Science.

 Level 1 TEEP training. Presentations on the TEEP journey below by Upton staff, 12/1/15

Brain food:

 

 

 

Learning that tastes good, and gives us that sense of satisfaction after a good meal.  What might the ingredients be?

• Staples: learning from the teacher – direct instruction; formative feedback in some form;  learning from books; reading aloud; think-pair-share; asking questions; solving problems;
• Variety: making videos or websites; teaching part of a lesson; making a model or a composition; acting out a role-play; experts and envoys; peer assessment; debates and discussions; designing your own experiment; pre-learning material from online video tutorials; using ‘ExplainEverything’ to produce a short presentation for the class.
• Tastes: Having the option to respond in a variety of forms; or to choose the topic; or to work at a pace that suits; to create learning independently; to work collaboratively with a group of my choice; to learn through extended open-ended projects with opportunities for doing some things in depth over time.

Pitch It Up. Aim High. Expect Excellence. Demand It.

It’s not one strategy…it’s more a frame of mind; the cumulative effect of the many micro-strategies that result in higher levels of engagement, longer periods of concentration, wider use of vocabulary, better explanations, deeper learning and stronger performances. Click on the link below and watch the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjbL7zW-Wig

The TEEP planning cycle: Common misconceptions

It has been a while since your 3 days of training and since you revisited the planning cycle. Click on the link below to dispel those common misconceptions.

1-Common_misconceptions_about_TEEP

Article of the week:

Using Tests Formatively by Ben Hill

The goal of summative assessment is most often to measure student learning at the end of a topic or unit by comparing it against some ‘standard’ – i.e. a grade or level. Summative assessments – tests, exams, final projects etc. – are often high stakes and ‘one-off’, and in many students this can lead to a ‘fixed mindset‘ approach to them.

On the other hand, the goal of formative assessment is to monitor student learning by providing ongoing feedback that can be used by students to improve their learning. This process should help students identify their strengths and weaknesses and target areas that need work, and in the process help teachers identify where extra support/teaching is needed.

What if we could do both at once? Do we have to choose? Isn’t that what the growth mindset is all about?

Possibilities for using a mock exam formatively:

• Revisit questions answered incorrectly – students go back and improve, then remark!
• Break questions down and attempt as a rally
• Get students to mark / coach each other
• Agree as a class what is required for the marks in advance
• Use previous papers to help recognise the type of question and the style of answer
• Identify common misconceptions to address with students – build this in to D.I.R.T
• Reflect on one’s own teaching of problem areas to identify gaps in teaching /learning
• Co-construct a WAGOLL by taking the best student answers from each question – groups have ownership of a ‘perfect’ model paper
• Incorporate quick strategies like a ‘5 minute steal’ or use question tokens during the exam – students can ask you questions but it will cost them a token!

If you’re going to set a mock exam, you might as well make it work for you. I strongly recommend getting into a habit wherever possible of marking mocks quickly enough so that students can act on your feedback in the next lesson, therefore planning your next lesson for you. If this isn’t practical, why not get them to mark their own/each others in class? Some teachers would recoil in horror at the idea (“what if they cheat?”) So what! Let them ‘cheat’ if it helps them learn! After all, we can never go back in time, all we want our students to do is to do better next time.

How do we ensure that students do better next time? Give them the time and opportunity to improve – D.I.R.T or ‘MAD time’ next lesson. Here’s an example of the guidance given to Engineering students the lesson after their recent mock exam:

They then had a good chunk of the next lesson to ensure they went back and improved their score by at least ten marks. Simple, no bother formative assessment leading to progress for the students.

Recommended Reads

1) The Secret of Literacy: Making the implicit, explicit by David Didau

Literacy? That’s someone else’s job, isn’t it? This is a book for all teachers on how to make explicit to students those things we can do implicitly. In the Teachers’ Standards it states that all teachers must demonstrate an understanding of, and take responsibility for, promoting high standards of literacy, articulacy, and the correct use of standard English, whatever the teacher’s specialist subject. In The Secret of Literacy, David Didau inspires teachers to embrace the challenge of improving students’ life chances through improving their literacy. Topics include: Why is literacy important?, Oracy improving classroom talk, How should we teach reading? How to get students to value writing, How written feedback and marking can support literacy.

2) Mindsets in the Classroom: Building a Culture of Success and Student Achievement in Schools by Mary Cay Ricci

When students believe that dedication and hard work can change their performance in school, they grow to become resilient, successful students. Inspired by the popular mindset idea that hard work and effort can lead to success, Mindsets in the Classroom provides educators with ideas for ways to build a growth mindset school culture, wherein students are challenged to change their thinking about their abilities and potential. The book includes a planning template, step-by-step description of a growth mindset culture, and “look-fors” for adopting a differentiated, responsive instruction model teachers can use immediately in their classrooms.

 

Useful links/videos/resources

 1) Carol Dweck researches “growth mindset” — the idea that we can grow our brain’s capacity to learn and to solve problems. In this talk, she describes two ways to think about a problem that’s slightly too hard for you to solve. Are you not smart enough to solve it … or have you just not solved it yet? A great introduction to this influential field.

2) Execellent examples of starters and plenaries.

Mini-teachmeet 5 – Starters and Plenaries

3) Leaving a high-flying job in consulting, Angela Lee Duckworth took a job teaching math to seventh graders in a New York public school. She quickly realized that IQ wasn’t the only thing separating the successful students from those who struggled. Here, she explains her theory of “grit” as a predictor of success.

4) What Twitter offers teachers: The evidence

game show

5) Blooms Taxonomy revised and high order thinking

teep_a_Blooms_Revised_taxonomypres