Using Mindstorm Lego for Control Programming

Children from Class DB have made their own robots using Lego Mindstorm.
They include all sorts of sensors for sound, light and motion.

The videos below (made by the children) give you some idea of what they can do. 

Programming the robot

This one is an amazing demonstration of how the robot responds to light or dark colours.

Finally here is ROBOTS WAR!

Embed videos from the BBC

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Embed Powerpoint Presentations

Photo Editing Online

We have just started using (with our upper key stage 2 children) a photo editing website called PIXLR.
It is free to use and has easy to use functions which we have found very useful for photo editing. You can upload a photo from your computer, edit it and then save it back to our computer.

Digital Stories

Jed Seeley (one of our year 6 pupils) has been writing and drawing his own stories about a character called Nincompoop. With Mr Brook's assistance he has turned the drawings into a movie. Each of the 25 drawings was digitally photographed and edited. They were imported into 'Movie Maker' and given sound effects and music. You can watch the film below. Jed has written several other stories which he intends to turn into films soon.

ICT Assessment Software

We have been using a new piece of software called 2Assess to monitor our pupil's ICT skills. The children in every year group from 1 to 6 have a series of tasks to do within a set time limit. They receive a score for each activity which the teacher can see. The children get feedback on their performance and can have multiple attempts at the activities. The activities are QCA based but do cover a good range of generic skills. Our children have enjoyed using 2Assess once each term and have found the activities to be fun and motivating. 

Click on the picture to go the the 2Assess website. The software is a 2 Simple product and works really well on a school network.

New Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Design

We have recently bought a new style Gyration keyboard and mouse for use in assemblies or presentations. The mouse is quite different to the old design in that it looks like a TV remote control. The gyrascope is built into the hand held device. It has multimedia controls aswell as small left & right mouse buttons which can be operated without a surface. The keyboard also has internet and media controls. Both devices are radio controlled via the USB dongle. They both take AAA batteries which will last about 12 months. I have found this equipment very useful in our school hall as it allows the presenter to stand well away from the computer and projector. They have a 10 metre range.

Find out more from the GYRATION website

Each set of equipment costs about £100. It is worth shopping around various IT companies.. 

Digital Microscopes

These digital microscopes are powered by the USB port of your computer or laptop and allows you to view close ups of objects with up to 150x magnification. Record your images with its 1.3 mega pixel camera and even record video as well. Perfect for teachers and children in a variety of curriculum areas. Built in LED's provide illumination. Comes complete with a metal stand to hold the microscope steady.

To find out more click here for CELESTRON and TTS.

You can buy a Celestron Microscope for as little as £39. The TTS Easi-scope is £29.

We have used the microscopes in science recently when looking at different soils.

The images were projected onto the classroom interactive whiteboard.

Publishing Multi Page Documents

I have found a great new way of publishing and viewing multiple page documents such as our brochure. Mrs Miller does a fantastic job in the school office putting together various school documents. She has recently created a new brochure for our Nursery. Using a website called 'ISSUU' I was able to convert it into an interactive booklet. Click on the image below to bring up the interactive functions. A similar whole school brochure can be on the front page of our school website: http://www.roberthitchams.ik.org/

Open publication - Free publishing - More nursery

Free Hit Counter for your Website

Click on picture to go to website offering free hit counter for your website.

Build a New School Website

Do you want to create a new website for your school or community?
Click on this image to go to CommunityKit.
It is a free service to schools and charities.
You can easily build a simple website from a range of templates. As you become more confident you can add plenty of other features.
Plus it costs you nothing!
I have used 'Community Kit to create Robert Hitchams new school website and a Local Schools Eco Website.

Eco Schools

Click on the Eco Schools image to go to a new project that we have started in our pyramid (local group of schools).
It is a joit website promoting care for our school environment.
Each school in the pyramid can edit their own part of the site.
You can also see links to the National Eco Schools site where you can find out about Eco Schools Awards.

Singing Resources Online

Click on the picture to go to this excellent website.
It has resources and ideas to make singing part of every child's learning.
At Robert Hitcham's we are working towards a 'SINGING SCHOOL AWARD'.
Details can be found on this website.

As part of the Award we need to gather evidence of the singing that goes on in our school.
Follow this link to see the Music section of our BLOG

Stop-go Animation

As part of an activity week on SPACE the children have created their own stop-go animations in the style of Wallace and Gromit.

They bulit a simple set using cardboard and a moonscape piture. They used lego and plasticine to make space men, aliens and spacecraft.

A digital camera with mini tripod was used to take about 200 images. Space sound effects were created (using percussion intruments) and recorded using digital sound recorders. Other sounds were downloaded from the internet: televisiontunes.com

Everything was put together on 'Windows movie maker'. The children had great fun adding film style credits. The finished projects were saved as media files. An example below - see more on our events blog.

ICT and Cricket Coaching

One of our Year 6 boys is a talented cricketer. He wanted to make a series of films which might help others learn the techniques of cricket. We have taken digital photos, video clips, sound recordings and key terminolgy and put them together using 'Windows Movie Maker'.

Using films like this is a great way of recording physical skills. The finished films can be played over and over again to illustrate the techniques. They can also act as coaching exemplars for teachers.

Below is an examples of Alfie's cricket films. See our Events Blog for more.

BOWLING FILM

BETT Show 2009

The BETT Show at Olympia (London) January 2009.

I went this year with the specific purpose of looking at notebook laptops for use with Primary school children. There are plenty of notebooks on the market, however, the most child friendly and versatile model is available through TAG. Their FIZZ BOOK has a 10 inch screen, 60gb hard drive and comes with a simplified version of 'office' called 'Ability Office'. The creen can be turned and flattened to become a tablet PC .

Promethean are introducing a new version of their Activ Board software. It combines all the features of Activ Primary and Activ Professional plus lots of new elements. It is called' Activ Inspire' and you can personalise the look you want from it. See their website for more details.

You can download a trial version from their website. The full verion will be available from March.

ICT and Local History

As part of my ICT support role in the local area I spent a fascinating day with the children of Dennington Primary School. They are looking at local history. I introduced digital cameras to a year 3 / 4 class. They quickly became confident with the new equipment. We talked about some important issues regarding photography:

• the use wherever possible of NATURAL LIGHT



• the importance of BACKGROUND and FRAMING in a photograph



• the use of the CLOSE UP function (the 'flower' option)

The aim of the visit to Dennington Church was to acquire images of local history and to practise using the skills of taking good photographs. Thinking about taking photos also encouraged the children to look more carefully at everything in and around the church.

The image on their school badge, for example, was noticed in a carving on the end of a church pew. Photographs like these can be taken back to the classroom to stimulate further discussion and research.

The short film below includes a collection of pictures from outside and inside the church.

The church had a display of fascinating old technology. This included a sand tray for writing in - a sort of ancient message board. This short film shows a child using it.

ICT in Food Technology

We have been using ICT in more areas of the curriculum. Our Year 6 children have been making vegetable soup and felt that digital cameras and sound recorders could be used to make a short film which might help other children understand the various parts of the process.

Using new sound recorders

As part of my role within our pyramid I spent a day working with Easton Primary School on multi media skills around a theme of Ecoschools.

We learnt how to use our new Kodak digital cameras and Edirol Sound Recorders.

The children collected photo and sound (interviews) evidence from around school of the Eco friendliness of the school.

The children loved using the new equipment and very quickly got the hang of using the Edirol sound recorders. They produced some high quality interviews with children and staff about the schools eco friendliness. The Edirol R-09 Recorder produces high quality MP3 or wav files which can be easily transfered and used on computer.
Some of the children were able to combine their photos and interviews using 'Movie Maker' software. You can see some examples below.

What's my Angle

In Key Stage 2 Maths we have been learning how to use a protractor. We have used digital cameras when looking at angles around the school site. We have set up angle trails inside & outside the classroom.

We have also used a brilliant online program called 'What's my angle?'
It is free to use. Click on the link below or on the icon.

What's My Angle Online Activities

Digital Sound Recording in Early Years

Easi-speak microphones by TTS are a simple and brilliant way of digitally recording children's voices and sounds. They come in sets of 5. We have purchased 2 sets and have trained our Foundation and Key Stage 1 children (and staff!) how to use them.
Inside each recorder there is a flash memory - like a memory stick. On the end there is a USB connector so that you simply plug into a computer. No software needed. The recordings are in MP3 format and can be saved and played in any media player.
The microphones themselves have a red button for record and a green for play back. The speaker on the play back is limited. I would recommend that you play them back through a computer - this will also mean that you can see all the recordings made in a session & save / clear the memory at the end of a recording session.

These photos show KS1 and Reception children using easi-speak. I found that it was worth spending some time talking to the children about interviewing technique, holding the microphone when asking or answering questions etc.

Click on the TTS logo to see Easi Speak website.

See short video of reception children using easi-speak when singing.

Tesco ICT Vouchers

We have recently taken delivery of Tesco ICT equipment from collecting vouchers. The range and quality of equipment and software in their catelogue is excellent. From 100 up to 30,000 vouchers there is something for everybody.

It is well worth saving the vouchers.

Click on the tesco logo to go to their online catelogue.

Follow this link to see the items we received.

Rivers Project - Photos and Narration

As part of a study on rivers we have been looking at our local river; The Ore. The children have been looking at where they live in relation to the river and why settlements such as Framlingham, Aldeburgh and Orford have developed close to a river. We also noticed that many towns and villages get part of their name from the river. Suffolk is famous for its village signs. Many of the villages on the River Ore have images to do with the river. We have photos of some of these signs and have designed our own village signs. We photographed them so that they could be used as part of the films the children are making about the stages of a river.

The children also wrote and talked about what their villages signs represent. Some of these have been recorded using a digital MP3 recorder. This narration can then be added to the film.

The example below shows a photograph combined with a narration by a child.....

This second example shows photographs of the children's work combined with some narration...

These films were made using an EDIROL MP3 recorder, digital camera and Movie Maker Software.

Rivers Project - Photographs

As part of a study on rivers we have taken photographs of the various stages of our local river: The Ore. Its source is just outside Framlingham at Saxstead Green. It passes close to the school, the castle and winds its way through Framlingham. Some of our photos show that some of the streets have names associated with the river.

These photographs where used by the children to form a film (using 'Movie Maker') about the stages of a river. See other posts about the use of digital sound and video.

The River Ore passes through other Suffolk villages such as Parham, Hacheston, Marlesford and Snape. At Snape it joins with the River Alde and goes close to the town of Aldeburgh. It then runs parallel with the coast for several miles. It reaches the town of Orford where it is again called the Ore. It runs alongside a shingle spit called Orford Ness for a few more miles before finally reaching the North Sea at a place called Shingle Street.

There is a very useful website called WATERSCAPE where you can interact with a map of the UK to follow the route of any river.

Mini Tripods

Tripods are essential for avoiding camera shake and, therefore, blurred images. This is particularly important when taking macro (close up) photographs or movies. A tripod is also useful when taking images of moving objects. It is vital on a fast shutter speed (sports setting on some cameras) that the camera is stable. You could use a traditional tripod (with legs) but these are rather bulky for classroom use.
A mini tripod (see photo below) is very useful in the classroom for taking close ups. For other shots the mini tripod is placed on another surface to provide required height.

These mini tripods have extendable legs and a flexible head.

Tripods are essential for 'Stop-go animation' photography. The camera must stay in exactly the same position for each shot - the tripod will obviously give the camera a fixed position whilst the animator is changing the object to be photographed.




Mini tripods only cost about £5 and fold up small enough to fit in to a camera case.