Education Technology
Computing: Warm Up
Computing on the curriculum has now been around for quite a while, yet we know it still causes schools, primary and secondary schools all over the UK, a real point of pain and stress. We are constantly looking for ways to alleviate the stress and help teachers who ‘didn’t sign up to this’ when they did their PGCE. Well, there are a tonne of brilliant resources out there, tonnes! These include everything from the Computing Textbook to the great work CAS (Computing at School) and Khan Academy do. A little curriculum mapping aside, fabulous resources from code.org in the USA and organisations like Tynker are brilliant too.
What are you going to learn about?
You’ll learn about how to ensure you are compliant in your practices and how these fit into the wider school activities around meeting the new regulations. This Learning Trunk introduces key terms and lays out obligations.
Who is hosting this Learning Trunk?
Sonny is a Founder of Spongy Elephant and also a fully qualified teacher. He is a Computer Scientist by trade and has over 20 years experience in education and is an edtech expert. His training company New Ways to Learn has worked with well over 20000 teachers and school staff over the last 6 years.
How long do I need?
Around 25 minutes.
Anything else I need to know?
We have set this Learning Trunk so that you progress through each video in order. This is important as the content is connected.
Impero
Impero is that tool schools hear about which allows teachers to control student devices, see and share student screens, block the internet adhoc and direct students to websites and applications in seconds. That is all very well, but where it is equally as powerful, is in giving teachers really useful classroom tools. These tools mean that teachers can improve collaboration, poll students on the fly, broadcast from one student’s screen to all the other students in the class as part of peer assessment, and even reward students for using keywords that they’ve learnt during a topic or theme. Easy to master and great for removing distractions, Impero is a classroom must-have, and isn’t just one for the network guys!
What are you going to learn about?
In this FREE Learning Trunk, you’ll learn how Impero works and develop a good understanding of how the dashboard works in both basic and advanced modes.
Who is hosting this Learning Trunk?
This is a CURATED Learning Trunk built for you from content sourced online. We have selected these particular videos after reviewing several available online.
How long do I need?
Less than 20 minutes.
Anything else I need to know?
We have set this Learning Trunk so that you progress through each video in any order.
Spiral
Spiral is an excellent collaboration tool. The stand out function for us is CLIP. Clip lets you take a video from YouTube and add questions to it before sharing it with students. As students watch the video on the teacher’s device/screen, questions pop up on the students’ devices. Responses can be reviewed across the class and even expanded on. Genius!
What are you going to learn about?
In this FREE Learning Trunk, you’ll learn how Spiral works and develop a good understanding of how the dashboard works for quick fire quizzes and using YouTube and Vimeo clips.
Who is hosting this Learning Trunk?
This is a CURATED Learning Trunk built for you from content sourced online. We have selected these particular videos after reviewing several available online.
How long do I need?
Around 50 minutes.
Anything else I need to know?
We have set this Learning Trunk so that you progress through each video in any order.
G Suite – Google Classroom
When we think about Google Classsroom, one word always comes to mind. Wow! Google Classroom is without a doubt one of the most intuitive tools in education, creating a seamless and highly collaborative link between teachers, teaching assistant and students. We’ve used Google Classroom with Early Year all the way through to FE and HE. The great thing about Google Classroom is how easy it is to grasp and just how powerful it is, combating the use of email for communication and dare we say it, even paper and textbooks. Don’t believe the hype? Jump in and check it out!
mBot – Presets & Apps
mBot by makeblock is an entry-level educational robot kit. The reason we love mbot is because it is easy to build with the included assembly guide and it uses bock-based programming, just like Scratch. mBot is perfect for the maker community and for schools it offers gamified learning and even more fun with expansion packs.
What are you going to learn about?
In this FREE Learning Trunk, you’ll learn how mBot works and how to make the best use of it for lessons. You’ll learn how to do things like make the mBot react to light, or avoid objects and even follow a line, a little like modern cruise control systems in cars.
Who is hosting this Learning Trunk?
This is a CURATED Learning Trunk built for you from content sourced online. We have selected these particular videos after reviewing several available online.
How long do I need?
Less than 15 minutes.
Anything else I need to know?
We have set this Learning Trunk so that you progress through each video in any order.
Google Forms
Nearpod
Nearpod is without a doubt one of the best tools for teacher and students. It works on any device is the one tool that should be a staple in every teachers Edtech Toolkit. NearPod connects teachers with every device in the classroom using a simple PIN. By connecting, a teacher can now control student devices and guide them through a series of slides and activities including watching videos, browsing images, polling, quizzing and our favourite, drawing activities. We’ve used NearPod with Early Years, all the way through to FE. It is so powerful and so intuitive to create NearPods and use them with students. You’ll love NearPod, so do give it a try.
What are you going to learn about?
In this FREE Learning Trunk, you’ll learn how NearPod works and how to make the best use of it for lessons. You’ll learn how to build slides and use activities to bring boring a PowerPoint to life, use NearPod with any device and understand how Live and Student-Paced lessons work.
Who is hosting this Learning Trunk?
This is a CURATED Learning Trunk built for you from content sourced online. We have selected these particular videos after reviewing several available online.
How long do I need?
Less than 20 minutes.
Anything else I need to know?
We have set this Learning Trunk so that you progress through each video in any order.
EdPuzzle
EDpuzzle is a favourite of ours. It is the simplicity that makes this one stand out from the rest. Using video in class, particularly when it is directly on sites like YouTube can be risky and also full of distractions. Also, how do you know how much of what a student is watching is going in? We can all sometime glaze over when watching videos! EDpuzzle fixes all that and is one for the Teacher Toolkit for sure.
What are you going to learn about?
In this FREE Learning Trunk, you’ll learn how EdPuzzle works and how to make the best use of it for lessons. You’ll learn how to trim videos sourced online and also how to create questions throughout the video.
Who is hosting this Learning Trunk?
This is a CURATED Learning Trunk built for you from content sourced online. We have selected these particular videos after reviewing several available online.
How long do I need?
Less than 10 minutes.
Anything else I need to know?
We have set this Learning Trunk so that you progress through each video in any order.
Numbers on Mac
If you use spreadsheets there is a good chance you’ll find it hard to see beyond Microsoft Excel. However, what Numbers brings to spreadsheets is simplicity and dare I say it, beauty! Numbers is really easy to use and you can do most of what you see in Excel where functions, charts and graphs concerned. We think Numbers are great for younger and older students.
What are you going to learn about?
In this FREE Learning Trunk, you’ll learn how Numbers for Mac works and how to make the best use of it for lessons. You’ll learn how to make a simple table, work with charts and understand the key differences between Numbers and other popular spreadsheets.
Who is hosting this Learning Trunk?
This is a CURATED Learning Trunk built for you from content sourced online. We have selected these particular videos after reviewing several available online.
How long do I need?
Less than 10 minutes.
Anything else I need to know?
We have set this Learning Trunk so that you progress through each video in any order.