Primary Learning Platform

Learning Platform:Staffroom

2009-10-04T15:32:00.002+01:00

I am just setting up the Staffroom page on our Learning Platform. So far I have included a calendar, news items and web links. Also the video from Teacher Tube called 'Pay Attention' which is very thought provoking.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. What has worked well at your school?

We have Kaleidos Media Tools!

2009-09-09T20:11:00.003+01:00

Only the third day back at school and we have the long awaited Media Tools. My Year 6 children have started to use them straight away. They are using a blog on their e-portfolio as a reading record. They have already used the draw tool to draw characters from their stories. Next I want them to use the microphone to record themselves reading, perhaps a couple of times a half term. They will then be able to compare themselves over time.

The children have already found the microphone and webcam features on the discussion boards. They are happily recording comments to one another. They have picked the tools up very quickly without any formal tuition.

What are you doing with Media Tools?

Anithings

2009-06-26T17:39:00.003+01:00

During the last week the Year 6 children have really enjoyed creating animations using Anithings software. The beta version is free to download and if you like it there is a special preorder price. I was really impressed with how quickly the children created an animation. The two animations above have been embedded into our Learning Platform.

Over the next couple of weeks I am going to get the Year 6 children to work with the Year 2 children, to create some Oceans and Seas animation which will link with their topic work.

Have you tried Anithings yet?

Kaleidos Media Tools

2009-05-28T17:17:00.003+01:00

Won't be long now until RM release Media Tools for the Kaleidos LP. I can't wait. Being a small primary school it will cost us £250, I have mine ready and waiting. One big plus point is that it's a one off purchase, no paying year after year. £250 you say, what do you get for that?

The Media Tools are an exciting set of very simple, easy to use tools with more creative methods of contributing to discussions, blogs, surveys etc. They will be great to use with my Year 2 children who are just getting started on the LP.

You get:

Simple text editor
Advanced text editor
Webcam recorder
Sound recorder
Sketch pad
Simple picture importer

Can't wait for the simple picture importer, I am sure it will benefit many teachers as well as children. They are due out sometime in June.

I love wikis, do you?

2009-05-20T19:59:00.003+01:00

Over the past couple of weeks I have been creating wikis for my LP. I never realised how easy it would be.

Initially I set up an alphabet 'Under the Sea' wiki for the Year 2 children who are taking part in my LP project. It is ready for after half term when my Whizz Kids will be contributing to it and then passing their skills and knowledge onto other members of the class.

I then create a wiki for Myst 3. Thanks to the inspirational Tim Rylands and to the KentICT site for their ideas and links to other sites. It has only been accessible for the last three days and already I have quite a few children writing and editing each others work. The children are writing about the place they can see in the picture; what they can see, hear, taste, smell and how they feel. This could be used with any photograph. The children recorded themselves speaking their descriptions of the place, over the picture. This was within a Textease document. These were then uploaded onto the LP for everyone to share.

Have you used wikis? Would you like to share a link to yours?

Cool Text for Headings

2009-05-17T11:27:00.003+01:00

I have been using a website recently to create headings for Interest Spaces and wikis on the LP platform. They are fantastic, you can choose style, font, size and colour. Some of them are also animated. It's definitely worth a try.

Year Six Unleashed

2009-05-15T19:03:00.004+01:00

"SATS are over!!! Can we have our LP Login details?" was the cry as my Year Six children finished their last paper. Cakes were baked, biscuits iced for the after SATS knees up. The children we desperate to get their hands on a computer or laptop so they could create a V-Me (Virtual Me). I introduced them to the Discussion board and put a couple of posts up, to get them started. We talked about what things were appropriate to post. I have recently checked the board posts and at least 10 new discussions have been started. From school related discussions to hobbies.

Next week I am going to start Myst:Exile with them. I have begun to create a wiki ready for Monday. The children are really intrigued as I have called it their MYSTERY project. They have all been given a topic book to age. I can't wait for us all to have some fun, now SATS are over.

Have you used Myst:Exile?

Computer Whizz Kids

2009-05-14T22:08:00.008+01:00

For my project I am using a class of 17,Year 2 children. To get the ball rolling I have chosen a group of 7 to be my Computer Whizz Kids. I will teach this group initially, how to contribute to a wiki on Seas and Oceans, they will then teach the other children in the class. I am also hoping they will be able to help other year groups. Their names are going to be announced in Head teacher's assembly, they will be presented with a scroll and a badge like the one on the above.

You can get great badges like these from http://www.schoolbadges.net/ at a really reasonable price. With being a Geek Chick myself, I think it is only right that I wear one too.

As a year group, the Year 2 children have been asking questions about Oceans and Seas on their blog and have also been playing the alphabet game. The have to find something that can be found in the Ocean or Sea for every letter of the alphabet. This has now been expanded and I have created the wiki instead.

Personalised Learning for Key Stage 1 through the use of the Learning Platform

2009-05-07T15:42:00.004+01:00

Is Personalised Learning working in Key 1 at your school? Would using the LP help?

Over the following months I am co-ordinating a project on this very subject with my LA. Our Key Stage 2 department are having great success with Personalised Learning through topic work. Therefore, we thought it would be great opportunity to give it a go at Key Stage 1, through the Learning Platform.

Our Action Plan is in place, I have had time to discuss the initial stages with the LA and now it's time to forge ahead with the project. Initially we will be using Year 2 children as our focus, working out how it can be adapted for Year 1 and the Foundation Stage.

How have you used the LP at Key Stage 1 successfully?

Increasing interest in the LP

2009-04-29T21:01:00.004+01:00

Due to the eagerness of the Year 3 and 4 children, the teacher is now going to roll the LP out to the rest of the class. A lot earlier than I anticipated but the teacher is definitely up for the challenge. The other children will be able to help there classmates with logging on and general navigation.

The year group blogs on Tudor medicine have been commented on numerous times. Not all of the comments are on topic, but I am sure it will come with experience and practice.

Mums from the Year 2 class have been seeking me out for help and reassurance regarding the LP. Great, that means more children logging on.

One of our Action Plan objectives is to involve a small group of parents later in the term. They will eventually become people the rest of the parents can ask for simple LP help.

More children join our LP

2009-04-28T19:00:00.002+01:00

Today sees 20 children from Year 3 and 4 join our Learning Platform. These children are members of our Lower Key Stage 2 Computer Club.

As ever all children were enthusiastic to find out what they have been missing, one child has asked me at least once every week if she will be getting her login details. During the 45 minute session the children change passwords and created V-Mes and had an opportunity to have a browse around the site.

The teacher has created a blog about the classes new topic - Tudors. The children have been encouraged to find out about Tudor medicine and blog about it.

Currently the LP has been rolled out to Year 2, 5 and twenty members of Year 3 and 4. After SATS the Year 6 children will have the opportunity to join us and towards the end of term the children not attending Computer Club will do too.

Year 5 Interest Page Winner

2009-04-14T19:01:00.003+01:00

During the last week of term the Year 5 teacher and I judged all the entries for the best Interest Page. It was quite a close run thing. The winner was a child who had customised their E-Portfolio front page and then spent a lot of time on her Interest Page entitled Swimming. She included mini biographies of her favourite swimmers, slideshows and videos. She was also commended for her help supporting other children. I felt it was a worthwhile venture.

Infant Blog Success

2009-03-30T23:33:00.003+01:00

Last week I introduced the Year 2 class to blogging. Before their next topic starts we are having a blog about what sort of things they would like to find out, by asking questions. So far there have been about six questions posted by the children. When I looked on the blog tonight, two of the questions have been answered by classmates. This is the beginning of a more personalised topic for these children. What would they like to learn? So as well as topic work in the class, I hope they can broaden their knowledge by using the class topic blog (and maybe a wiki) and start to create their own interest spaces.

Well done to the Year 2 teacher who has had her first experience of blogging.

Wordle in the curriculum

2009-03-26T22:06:00.003Z

This is the Wordle of this blog. I am really pleased to see that children is the most important word, just as it should be. I am sure that there are endless possiblities for Wordle in the curriculum. How have you used it?

Introducing the Learning Platform to Key Stage 1

2009-03-24T22:20:00.003Z

Today I have taken a group of five Year 2 children and introduced the LP to them. They very quickly made their V-Me avatars and seemed quite at ease with the layout of the site. I encouraged them to look at the main school page and also there year group page.

To encourage personalised learning I have encouraged the Year 2 teacher to create a blog about their next topic-Oceans and Seas. Here the children can post questions on what they would like to find out about there new topic and also what they already know. The children are going to be encouraged to comment on each others post and share knowledge they have. By the end of the week I will hopefully have rolled the LP out to the whole of the Year 2 class.

I also want to use wikis with these children but have had, as yet, no experience. Any hints and tips would be gratefully received.

Learning Platform Update

2009-03-17T20:00:00.004Z

The Year 5 children have now had access to the LP for nearly 2 weeks. Many are still very eager and are coming in at dinnertime to ask how to add certain web parts to their page. I have seen children helping each other in these dinnertime sessions. They are all desperate to add a video, they have been shown and I have also created a 'How to' sheet for reference.

There are lots of messages for help on the blog, fortunately the children are beginning to answer each others questions. I really need to encourage this interdependence.

Small Steps to Success

2009-03-08T12:43:00.003Z

I has now been four days since the Year 5 children were given access to the LP. I didn't have a queue on Friday morning, the blog had done its job. So far over half the children have been on the blog and left questions, answers and comments and many have been designing their first page. It feels very worthwhile. I think I will run a couple of top up sessions so that we can look in detail at adding videos, slideshows etc. It will hopefully engage those children who haven't been taken by it so far.

Learning Platform for Year 5 children

2009-03-05T18:20:00.002Z

I have been looking forward to today for ages; the day when the first class of children get access to the Learning Platform.

The session started smoothly with them logging in and changing their password. The only problem encountered was when a child had left CAPS LOCK on and it wouldn't accept their password. They moved on swiftly to creating their V-ME, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. My job was made a lot easier as I used my two guinea pig children to help me (they love the name), they were invaluable.

I used a couple of 'Show Me' videos off Kaleidos Help:

Using my home page
Using my e-portfolio

They were really helpful as they are presented by a child and go through each tutorial step by step.

The children then had a go at at setting up an Interest Page. They all managed to post a title and some even managed to get as far as posting a picture as well. My 'How to' sheets worked a treat. I announced competition for the best Interest Page, as an incentive, winner to be announced on 3rd April.

I have set up a blog for the Year 5 children, the two guinea pigs and the teachers to post on. This is to stop the queue of children tomorrow morning with questions. As we speak one child has already posted that she is doing well, so I feel now she has broken the ice others will try. Once these children are confident navigating and creating on the LP, they will help me train the next class of children.

A good morning was had by all!

What content are you using for your Learning Platform?

2009-02-28T13:44:00.001Z

We have been using Espresso for the past three or four years and have really enjoyed working with it. With the introduction of the LP, I am not sure whether to carry on with it or look somewhere else. What sorts of things are out there for Primary Schools to choose from? How much do they cost?
Please let me know what you use and how successful it has been.

Kaleidos How To Guides

2009-02-26T23:11:00.000Z

From working with staff and my Key Stage 2 guinea pigs I have decided to create more How To Guides. So far I have created one about adding a pictures to a page, how to modify a web part and how to put a RSS feed into a RSS reader.
Feel free to contact me if you would like a copy of one or all of the guides or if you would like me to make a particular one.

Learning Platform Guinea Pigs

2009-02-24T20:51:00.001Z

Over the last couple of days I have selected some children from Key Stage 2 to trial our Learning Platform. This is in readiness for next week, when I am rolling it out to our class of Year 5 children.

I have already come across a couple of problems. One of them was when a child wanted to create a page about his favourite football team-Arsenal. This page was blocked by the filter as its title contained one of the banned words. Poor child had to rename the page-My Favourite Football Team.

This small group is really working well, I am really glad I decided to do it.

I have found it quite challenging to get the children to add pictures to there Kaleidos e-portfolio page, so I have created a How To sheet. This comes in either a PDF, Textease or Word document versions. If you would like a copy please leave me your details and what version you would like, either in a comment below or email me at primarylp@gmail.com.

I will update later this week on the progress of my Guinea Pigs!

Using a Learning Platform in Key Stage 1 and the Foundation Stage

2009-02-22T19:31:00.000Z

I am really interested in how the Learning Platform can be used successfully in Key Stage 1 and the Foundation Stage. I have taught in both of these areas but I would really like to share examples of good practice. What works well?

I came across a really useful article written in 2007 by Fiona Aubrey-Smith (Head of Educational Development, UniServity). She carried out a research project and has given examples of some of the practice taking place within the community of Ranvilles Infant School. The whole article can be found here. You can also download a PowerPoint on the Ranvilles Infant School website.

How are you using your Learning Platform and VLE effectively in Key Stage 1 and the Foundation Stage? Share your good practice either as a comment or via the messageboard.

Learning Platform Games

2009-02-17T20:26:00.001Z

Recently I discovered http://www.classtools.net/ .It provides free, customisable educational games, activities and diagrams. It can embedded into blogs, wikis and even Learning Platforms. It's great, there is no signup, no passwords and it's free. Each template can be saved as a stand-alone HTML file or as a Widget. There are nearly 20 templates to download from arcade style games to Venn diagrams. I made a arcade style game with questions on Australia. It's really worth a look.

What games have you used on your Learning Platform?

What Learning Platforms are available?

2009-02-16T14:46:00.001Z

I want to create a comprehensive list of Learning Platforms and say whether they are targeted mainly at Primary level, Secondary level or both. I would also like to find out which Learning Platforms Local Authorities have chosen.

Please let me know what you use and I will update the list.

Derbyshire-RM Kaleidos-Primary and Secondary
Lancashire-Moodle
Cumbria-Moodle
Ashford Rural Cluster (ARC) in Kent - RM Kaleidos
Kent (BSF Waves 3-4) - Fronter through Northgate
West Sussex - Moodle
East Sussex - Uniservity
Brighton and Hove - Uniservity
Medway - Uniservity
Hertfordshire - RM Kaleidos
Kent (General) - Kent Learning Zone (based on SharePoint)
London Boroughs - Fronter through LGfL and Digital Brain
North Yorkshire-RM Kaleidos (majority of Seconday schools)
North Yorkshire- Netmedia- Primary
South Yorkshire- Frog Teacher-Primary and Secondary
Cambridgeshire- Starz (bespoke version of Digital Brain) Primary

Hampshire-Studywiz

Nofolk-Netmedia

Brighton & Hove- Uniservity

Kirklees - Digital Brain - Primary and Secondary

Blaenau Gwent - Digital Brain - Primary

Monmouthshire - Digital Brain - Secondary

Cambridge - Digital Brain -Primary

What is a Learning Platform?

2009-02-15T11:04:00.001Z

A Learning Platform (LP) is “a generic term to describe a system of information and communication technologies that is used to deliver and support leaning” (DfES)

'Learning Platform' is an umbrella term which refers to a combination of IT services, that support learning and teaching, to enable more effective ways of working within and outside the classroom. Key features are communication and collaboration tools; pupil tracking and anytime, anywhere access. These features can vary considerably, but every Learning Platform should provide a range of ICT functions.

Functions that may be available:

Communication
Calendar
Email
Collaboration
Forums
Discussions
Shared Calendars
Targeted News
VLE-Virtual Learning Environment
Content
Planning
Sharing
Assessing
Tracking
Testing
E-portfolio-Personal Online Workspace
Document Store
Targeted News
Calender
Contacts
MIS Data
Timetables
Attendance
Assessment
Parent details
SEN
Behaviour

Getting started with Learning Platforms

2009-02-15T10:39:00.001Z

In May of last year Becta published a booklet with some basic advice and useful tips to help schools to get their Learning Platform off to a good start by taking things in small, easy steps.

Click HERE to download the PDF file.

Learning Platforms are vast. Try to prioritise, create an action plan or timetable. Which area will take precedence? Which staff will be involved? What will your success criteria be? When will this be achieved by?

As a school, we have set up our own action plan for the introduction of the Learning Platform. We have recently intoduced the Learning Platform to Key Sage 2 staff. They are establishing year group interest spaces. I will let you know how they get on.

Image Resizer

2009-02-14T18:45:00.000Z

Having trouble resizing pictures for you Learning Platform? Try this great free download!

Look down the right hand side for Image Resizer. Once its installed all you have to do is right click on a photo and click to choose what size you want. The original photo is retained in its original format.It's fab!

Learning Platform - Love it or hate it?

2009-02-14T15:50:00.000Z

Is the Learning Platform really like Marmite?
I love it! As soon as I attended the briefing about the Learning Platform provider, my LA had chosen, I was hooked. I couldn't wait for the end of the session to register the school. Unfortunately it also meant waiting months until January.

As the months rolled by, I got more impatient. I looked all over the Internet for just a taste of what was to come. January arrived, and so the did the snow, threatening my journey to both DAY 1 and DAY 2 training. I must admit I found both days fantastic, it even inspired my headteacher who was a little skeptical of its use. With her leading the roll out of the Learning Platform I really feel that it will enhance our already super curriculum.
Are your colleagues enthused about it, or do they see it as just another job?

Why a Primary Learning Platform Blog?

2009-02-14T13:57:00.001Z

How many times have you searched the Internet, for ideas and information on Learning Platforms in the Primary School?

I have created this blog for all those people working in Primary education, who would like to swap ideas, good practice and grumbles.