eLearning Newsletter Winter 2016

KING’S GROUP | WINTER 2016

ELEARNING

Newsletter

LEARNING SKILLS ST FOR THE 21 CENTURY

Puting Technology at the Heart of Learning I am delighted with how enthusiastically the entire King’s College community has embraced our eLearning project and, in particular, with the extremely positive response from parents, pupils and teachers to the one-on-one Chromebook programme we rolled out to Y7-9 in all our schools in early January. This first major milestone in the eLearning programme puts technology at the heart of learning at King’s College and signifies the start of a very exciting journey for us all; a journey that will revolutionise how we as educators, parents and children approach learning and collaboration both in and out of the classroom.

Technology is making impossible things happen. It is transforming human relationships and the way we live. Today we can find information in seconds, we just need access to a mobile device to access a world of knowledge, whereas before we had to go to libraries and research could take weeks, months or even years. Today we can connect to people thousands of miles away as if they were in the same room.

Pupils today have an innate understanding of technology, and tools such as chromebooks, tablets and smartphones, are already second nature to them. By not including technology as part of the learning equation we are isolating an integral part of the pupils’ abilities. In today’s workplace and many other areas, understanding technology is a must, and it is a valuable asset to compete with others in the 21st century.

Many adults often wrongly believe that personal devices, with internet connectivity, are merely a source of distraction for children as opposed to a viable learning tool. There is a wealth of evidence however that, on the contrary, technology enriches the learning process for pupils. Schools once debated whether or not certain types of calculators should be allowed in class, as they essentially solved the problems for pupils that struggled with maths. Schools today could question if apps quickly supply answers for problems that pupils should actually be thinking about by themselves.

The truth is that pupils today think in a different way, information is not linear or sequential anymore. For centuries text has been the primary mechanism of passing on information and accessing knowledge but this model is now outdated. Pupils today are used to, and expect, visual, audio and multimedia content, where they can become an active part of the learning process.

We need to understand that if we are to engage our children in their learning and nurture a lifelong love of the learning process we have to embrace technology and provide pupils with learning experiences that feel natural and enjoyable to them. This is one of the aims of the eLearning project and I look forward to sharing the next steps with you over the coming months.

Carlos Lázaro Head of eLearning

CHROMEBOOK

DELIVERY

WEEK

The Most Powerful Tool in the Classroom o Technology

By Sarah Wike Loyola Spanish Teacher and Spanish Team Leader at Providence Day School in Charlotte, N.C

Historically, the teacher has been the omniscient presence in just about every classroom in the world.

They were the only ones who possessed the all-mighty knowledge which was passed on to their yearning pupils. Traditionally, pupils were placed in rows directed towards the maestro perched at the front of the room spouting facts that the students madly scribbled in their notebooks. The aforementioned students would then, at a later time, pour over their notebooks attempting to commit these facts to their short-term memory for long enough to get a decent grade on the corresponding test. Then, they would promptly forget most everything they “supposedly” learned. Sound familiar?

The only other source of knowledge on any particular subject was the textbook. In modern times, these were, and still often are, assigned in a course to each student at the beginning of the school year. Textbooks have existed since the time of papyrus and have represented a portable form of knowledge for centuries. However, for many of us who toted them around risking scoliosis for nearly two decades, textbooks have left a very negative taste in our mouths. I can clearly remember trying to read from them while fighting to keep my eyes from clamping shut.

Okay class, let’s review. For thousands of years, there have generally only been two sources of knowledge in a classroom: 1) the teacher; and 2) the text book.

So, is it possible that all of this could change in a matter of a few short years? Is it conceivable that educational tradition and history could be disrupted in a radical way? Is it imaginable that neither the teacher nor the textbook are the most powerful tools in the classroom in 2016? The answer to all of these questions is a resounding YES. The most influential tool in the classrooms of today is the Internet, and schools, and/or teachers that are not dealing with this reality are truly doing a huge disservice

to their pupils. As we progress in this technologically charged world, we face a very important question.

What is to become of the role of teachers? Will they become obsolete?

Fortunately, the answer is no, but what I hope to prove to you is that a teacher’s role in the classroom must change. We have all heard teachers referred to as the “sage on the stage”, but now that they are no longer the most sagacious presence in the room, they truly must become more of a “guide on the side”. I too am a teacher, but like to describe my role to students as one of facilitator, mentor and coach.

The hard truth is that the tech-savvy pupils of today do not want to be lectured to about facts they can instantly find with the click of a button on their smart phones.

Siri can often give a more comprehensive answer than many of us on any given topic. Therefore, the honest truth is that HOW we teach must change. Making pupils memorize rote facts and regurgitate them is no longer sensible, and educators now have the opportunity to have students think much more critically, solve problems, and use their creativity in ways they never have been pushed to do in the past.

This can be done by making classrooms much more student-centered than ever before. We, as facilitators, can broach broad and meaningful questions based around the units we teach, but our pupils can do the research, seek out the answers, and teach themselves the material. Let me give you an example. In my AP Spanish class, one of our themes is “World Challenges”.

I start the unit by simply asking, “What are the greatest challenges facing our world and how do we solve them?” I know the answer to this question, but that is unimportant because I charge them with seeking out the answers. I divide them into small groups and give them time to investigate on their own. Once they have researched the topic, I have them make a poster using the Explain Everything App that demonstrates

their results. If your pupils do not have an iPad, they can use actual poster board. Then, they present their poster and their discoveries to their classmates. I guide them through the process, but they teach themselves and their peers the material. Later in the unit when they have to write a persuasive essay on, “What is one of the greatest challenges facing our planet and how can we solve it?” they are able to think critically on the matter because they already did when they explored the material earlier.

We were taught very differently because we only had access to the “Encyclopedia Britannica”, text books, and card catalogs. The students of today have access to a colossal amount of information. We must take this into consideration if we are going to prepare them for the modern workplace and a future so technologically advanced that it is inconceivable at this moment.

For teachers, the hardest part is letting go of control in their classrooms. Many educators are experts in what they teach, so it can be hard for them to not demonstrate

their breadth of knowledge in their subjects on a daily basis. Also, teachers must now become receptive and open to a classroom full of lively, yet organized chaos.

Educators have to develop a level of comfort with the fact that they are no longer simply lecturing to a silent audience.

I hope that I have shown that students need to be more in control of their own learning. In order for this to occur, educators must move aside and give up some power. This is the only way we can begin to make true educational progress, and the Internet must be our guiding force.

If you are an educator, a parent, or anyone else interested in education, get inspired the same way I did by watching Sugata Mitra’s TEDTalk.

Follow Sarah Wike Loyola on Twitter: #SWLoyola

Chromebook Deployment Initiative o Chromebooks

By Martin Glynn King’s College Soto de Viñuelas Head of ICT and Computing E-Learning Coordinator

It took a matter of days for the IT support staff here at Soto to get 312 Chromebooks unpacked, barcoded and configured prior to launching a one-to-one computing initiative for KS3 pupils at the start of the current school term.

They’re easy to set up: pupils login with their Google credentials and they’re ready for to go. They’re also rather easy to administer. There’s no need to worry about pupils downloading viruses or unwanted software. Plus, the management console permits blacklisting sites or apps and enables pushing of specific apps to specific devices.

Within 2 weeks of distributing the Chromebooks to all KS3 pupils, the teaching and learning effects were dramatic. Pupils are learning to use tech tools integrated across subjects, and as a result they’re more engaged. An example of this dramatic turnaround is the use of Noteflight- an online music notation app

by Elia and Mariña, year 8 pupils in Mr. Blake’s music lesson who remarked:

spend music lessons working in pairs on instruments, but using the Chromebooks gives us the opportunity to produce work which is truly personal. “ There is more sharing and collaboration between pupils and teachers. Most teachers have created a Google classroom for their subject which allows them to weave together Google Docs, Drive and Gmail to help them to create and collect homework assignments. They can quickly see who has or hasn’t completed the work, and provide direct, real-time feedback to individual pupils. Classroom also helps pupils to organise their work in Google Drive. It allows them to complete it and turn it in, and communicate directly with their teachers and peers.

“We have put all of the Geography resources on Google classroom and the response has been positive.

It gives the students a structure to their learning and we use it to give homework with worksheets. We can ask the students to use the chromebook by looking at the courses.

Chromebooks have been used for research activities in class mostly used to find additional information to questions set.” - Mr. Rowley- Head of Geography Miss Dowlen, an English Language and Literature teacher commented on the ease of use of the Chromebooks in the classroom and how she used them to get her pupils to engage with the play “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller.

“Since the beginning of the Spring Term, Key Stage 3 music pupils have been using our new Chromebooks to produce and compose original pieces of music, and also to create electronic performances of the music of others. It has been a new learning experience for us pupils, as we have learned to adapt to our new resources, also providing an opportunity for us to use a greater range of equipment in lessons. We usually

“Year 9 English students worked on a quiz on Act One of “The Crucible”, a play by Arthur Miller, answering factual questions about the characters mixed with longer tasks that asked them to explain the writer’s intentions or give their own opinions. Not only did the students appreciate the novelty of using the Chromebook, but providing checklists or drop down boxes for the quick questions left them with more time to answer the longer questions and the quality of that work was notable. The quiet environment of the classroom as each student worked on his or her personal Chromebook enabled them to concentrate

fully on thinking about, and expressing their thoughts on the play, and some incredible answers were produced. As a teacher, I was able to assess the work without physically collecting exercise books, and then share the best answers with all of the students, as well as my general feedback to the whole class and personal comments on individual answers. Students appeared to really enjoy this lesson.”

Chromebooks and Google Apps have enabled teachers to offer a more hands-on, flexible approach, and to empower pupils with tools for learning and collaboration. Gone are the days of having to take pupils down to a computer suite to carry out online research or type a Word document. When each pupil has his or her own Chromebook, they gain access to “an infinite number of online texts and interactive tools as well as a range of dynamic web based applications.”

Did you know?

Chromebooks are far more popular than Apple’s laptops. Last year, Chromebooks outsold MacBooks by a ratio of five to one.

Year 8 Music lesson using Noteflight an online music notation app for music composition.

Year 9 pupils using an iMac, a Chromebook and a Windows workstation for their Python coding project during a Computing lesson.

Augmented Reality and Learning Across the Curriculum o iPads

By Luke Tamblin King’s College Soto de Viñuelas Primary Teacher and E-Learning Coordinator

It has been a very interesting and rewarding experience, evaluating many applications from App Store that have the potential to improve learning. Over the last year, I have seen pupils at King´s College Primary using the iPads for sharing ideas, presenting work,exploring information and computer science. From Airdropping photographs taken on iPads, to displaying and annotating work from books using Airserver. The iPads really have found their way into many areas of the curriculum, to enrich the learning experience of the children.

One of the places I use to test apps for class teachers to use, is my Computer Club. These well subscribed lunchtime clubs, open to all of Key Stage 2 and soon to be Year 2, are alive with children enjoying educational app experiences. My ´never the same app twice´ approach to the club, has ensured that we have been able to cover a large range of softwares, that can be used in the classroom. Keeping my promise to my club goers on continual new software is a challenge, but an extremely beneficial one to myself and the wider school teaching community. Hence, I have discovered some extremely powerful tools to unlock more learning in the classroom using an iPad. One of these, which I have been working on for a few weeks, is Augmented Reality. This is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video or graphics.

My Augmented Reality journey began back in November, when I used the app Quiver. This application works on using a colouring page as a ´trigger´. When the app is open, the camera is held over the coloured picture. Amazingly the picture comes to life and comes out of the page as a 3D computer generated image.

This is great for our younger learners, as it picks up the colour choices they have used and brings them to life, often with animation. There are many other uses for it as well with older children, it all depends on the sheet you use. There are even opportunities for 3D shape work to support maths. The response from the children who first saw this in the Year 3 Computer Club was overwhelming. I am certain this app will have more usage across KS1 and EYFS when I do further training later this term.

A great app for teacher´s iPads is Aurasma. This augmented reality app is slightly different as it works on using a trigger image, followed by an overlay. The overlay can be any kind of file for example a video or an image. When the trigger is scanned by the iPad, it comes to life with the overlay. I used it the other day, when the children were giving feedback on a brainstorming session during an English lesson. The mind map was the trigger and the overlay was a video of a student giving verbal feedback. Obviously, the amount of feedback they could give in a video form was so much more effective that just a written comment. It was a great example of eLearning and how it can really extend the educational potential of an activity in class. I have further ideas for this app which include bringing to life a picture into a full on role played scene to having videos hidden in class displays for children to explore with an iPad.

Probably the most powerful of the augmented reality apps that I have found, is one that was originally not designed for education, but in the eyes of a Primary School Teacher, has huge learning opportunities. It is called Augment, and it can allow you to bring alive augmented characters and objects in the palm of your hand. The very cleverly designed ´Tracker Pocket Card´ is a kind of trigger that attracts the 3D overlay to it. For example, you can have a story character, which is contained in the app´s gallery, which you can hold in your hand when scanned by the iPad. In fact, you can place these characters in the class and using Airserver, the children are amazed by what they see. You can even have an Augmented Reality class pet that lives in the classroom and goes on journey around it. What I believe this does is inspires the pupils to use more of a range of vocabulary and have more of an active stimuli to use.

It grabs their attention and allows them to feel like they are actually part of the story. One example I used, was in a humanities lesson where the children were talking about specific countries and green issues. They used an augmented globe to show their friends the physical geography involved in their discussion. My class have their Augment Trigger card in a special pocket in their Topic books so they can use it anytime. They were actively involved in what they were doing, because of the use of technology.

I believe I have only reached the tip of the iceberg with Augmented Reality and its profound impact on the lesson experience.

I look forward to delivering what I have found in training sessions which I am running over the next few weeks.

I anticipate in the near future, unlocking more of the iPad´s potential in our Primary school, to give our students a quality and rewarding interaction with eLearning.

Paperless Classrooms How do they work? o Google Classroom

By Mella Monti King’s College La Moraleja Secondary Teacher and E-Learning Coordinator

At La Moraleja, Chromebooks are truly becoming part of the dayto-day experience of teaching and learning. In some subjects, we are testing the concept of a “paperless classroom”. The idea behind this is, naturally, the reduction of “paper” by helping pupils to become more aware of the amount of resources paper, pens, printing - that they are reducing whilst creating all their work digitally. However, the true scope of the paperless classroom is much broader. First and foremost, a paperless classroom promotes a more efficient and organized classroom while preparing students for the practical world outside the classroom.

By naturalizing technology in a safe environment, young people are encouraged to make good and purposeful use of technology, after all, it is the lens through which we experience the world. In addition, the use of technology at this level, gives pupils ownership of their learning. Through the digital delivery system, which allows for creating, story and sharing data in Google Classroom - our virtual learning environment - pupils have real-time access to resources, work, peer-support and ongoing feedback from their teachers, who can reinforce concepts and adapt teaching to different learning styles.

What many have asked however, is not the ‘why’, but the ‘how’ of this process. It’s simple: everything takes place through Google Classroom, a platform where the teacher posts lesson content, classwork and homework.

Pupils access their virtual classroom using a code (only available to them through their teacher - and only accessible by students and teachers at King’s). When students produce work through classroom they rely on Docs, Slides and Sheets, which are stored in their personal subject folder in Google Drive and projected into Classroom for the teacher to see and mark.

The teacher can give support and feedback to pupils throughout the working process - as students’ work in progress can be viewed at all times. This is especially helpful for project work, essays or areas where students may be struggling.

When the work is complete, pupils “Turn In� their assignments, alerting the teacher that they can now provide final feedback and, where applicable, a summative grade. This virtual learning environment also lends itself to peer evaluation - pupils can leave private comments to one another, only viewable by the teacher, group work multiple pupils can work on the same doc, slide or sheet simultaneously and individualised learning - teachers can send students support work, links to websites with further reading, educational videos.

In short, the paperless classroom seems to be strengthening the educational links between learners and teachers, by providing a fast, safe, fun learning reality. We will be continuing to test this concept in various subjects for the weeks to come, to ensure positive outcomes are consistent and greater than the use of traditional methods.

Year 1 loves coding with Daisy the Dinosaur at King’s Infant o iPads

By Micky Domínguez King’s Infant School Computing Leader and E-Learning Coordinator

Since the introduction of the new Computing Curriculum in 2014 teachers can find it hard to introduce coding to very young children. Exploring the huge world of Apps we have available there is one that is really helping us at Chamartín: Daisy the Dinosaur.

It's simply cute, with a calm blue sky, yellow sun, green dinosaur, and yellow star, and it makes programming easy, offering nine commands for kids to drag and drop into their program to make Daisy move. Thanks to this app, children get a kit to write their own programs and play in free-play mode when they've worked through the instructional challenges.

ENGAGEMENT AND ACCESSIBility Simple design and a cute dinosaur character draw kids in without intimidating them. It's fun to make Daisy jump and spin around the screen, but, with only a few available commands, the possibilities are limited.

What ‘Daisy the Dinosaur’ does best is make programming accessible to kids (even tech-averse kids). It gives them a very brief, uncomplicated introduction to programming using simple commands in everyday language.

It was never that easy to introduce coding with our pupils.

Google Apps for education What’s Google apps? o Google Apps

By Roger Maguire King’s College St. Michaels Business & Economics teacher E-Learning Coordinator

“Google Apps, what’s Google Apps?” You might have heard these words bantered around King’s College Saint Michaels a while ago. However, the introduction of Google Apps at Saint Michaels has offered new opportunities forpupils and staff alike to take advantage of new ways to share ideas and knowledge.

This naturally has been a steep learning curve for some pupils who have been used to using technology for their personal use and own entertainment. But they have naturally embrace these tools with confidence to support their learning. For some teachers it has been an efficient way to share essential resources with pupils without the need to print and waste paper. For others it has been an effective way to organise group work activities allowing pupils to produce presentations with relative ease. Pupils have enjoyed the ease of collaboration on projects and it has been evident that this has proved to be motivational in their studies.

Head boy Vinni says “The Prefect Team who has regular meetings has worked much better with the introduction and use of Google Apps.” “It has allowed us to communicate quickly when organising activities such as charity events or supporting the extra-curricular activities.” Prefect Vitoria M describes “It was a great way for me to organise my information when preparing my application for university.” And deputy head boy Abdel S explained “It was great for organising my work for the Science Discussion Group which I am a member.”

In-Kahoots o Chromebooks

By Phil Wall King’s College Alicante Mathematics Teacher and E-Learning Coordinator

The January launch of the Chromebooks in KS3 has been a huge development for Kings College. Our speed and ease of access to the internet and other applications has dramatically increased and this opens the door to a new way of working in the classroom.

Some of the things pupils are now using the Chromebooks for range from small online investigations, working on Apps and even online assessment. But the most popular amongst pupils and teachers seems to be Kahoot.

Kahoot is an interactive game show style website which allows a whole class to play head to head with each other to reach the top of the leaderboard. There are 5 million Kahoots already made and pupils can add to them by registering and making their own Kahoots.

First parent’s day at king’s college alicante Our Y7-9 pupils have eagerly embraced the introduction of the 1-2-1 Chromebook programme that was rolled out in January and our teachers, have also been enthusaiastically using them in the classroom. We held an information morning on Saturday 23rd January for parents who all seemed to enjoy the opportunity to get hands-on with the devices. Many thanks to the parents who supported the event, Mr. Wall for all his work behind the scenes and to Sr. Lázaro, Director of eLearning for King’s Group who aided Mr. Wall in running the session on Saturday. More Saturday morning sessions are planned on a variety of topics so please do watch out for emails regarding them.

virtual classes o Classroom Technolgy

By Andrew Brett King’s College Murcia Senior ICT Technician and E-Learning Coordinator

It has been a very exciting start to this New Year! Deployment of the Chromebooks went well, and now everyone in Key Stage 3 has one!

Virtual Classrooms are popping up all over the place and the Chromebooks have already been embraced within the “real” classroom. They have been used for everything from research about the Holocaust to actual weather forecasting in Geography, using the camera function to make a “TV” forecast.

In Year 7, the pupils have been using a Google App called ‘Canva’, to produce a poster to encourage the use of English within the school.

This is a school competition for all age groups.

In Primary, the pupils have also been using the iPads to do many things. Mrs Rumistrzewicz explained one of the projects in Year 5. She said “We used the iPads to video ourselves throwing balls, javelins and doing tug of war, as an investigation into opposing forces and how they work (including gravity). We used iMovie and then were able to slow the video clips right down and analyse them on the whiteboard.

We drew arrows on the whiteboard to show the different forces at work and which forces were balanced or stronger than others. It was great!“

panama welcomes chromebooks! o School Technology

By Jonathan Crofts King’s College Panama Secondary School Teacher and E-Learning Coordinator

It’s been a busy start to term 2 at King’s College Panama, with the successful role out of the Google Chromebooks to our senior school pupils. Pupils have been using their Chromebooks to work collaboratively on group projects in the classroom and at home. One pupil contributed to their group presentation all the way from Australia.

The pupils have responded extremely well to their new devices and are seen using them around the school, in classes and at break and lunch times to extend their own learning.

Pupils are engaging with Doddle to research topics and complete homework tasks. Doodle was introduced last yearas an online resource providing teaching, homework and assessment across 18 subjects.

Doddle have outstanding, reliable, engaging resources for us to use helpingreview and target key skills and concepts.

We can upload our own materials and combine them with Doddle resources into memorable and fun lessons.

In the primary school we held a teaching & learning working party, with a focus on e-learning. This session provided colleagues with advice and guidance when using technology to enhance learning.

Both teachers and support staff are engaging with technology to encourage learning. In year 2, learners used a compass app on the iPads to follow algorithms in their computing lesson. Learners have also been using Bee Bots to program their own algorithms.

There has been huge development in the use of technology throughout the school, and we are demonstrating some excellent examples of good practice.

Tips and Tricks for your new Chromebook If you love Chromebooks like we do you'll want to see these tips and tricks to make the most of them.

Millions of people are using Chromebooks, but despite their simple and "for everyone" nature not every powerful feature is easy to access. Every Chromebook is a powerful tool that's just waiting to be used to its full potential, and once you know a few tricks you'll feel like you're getting even more value out of your inexpensive computer.

We're rounded up the top ten tips and tricks for you to try on your own Chromebook so you can start making the most of your machine. Read along and learn a thing or two about the computer you're using.

SEE ALL OF YOUR KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS By now you know that Chrome OS is full of handy keyboard shortcuts for things like reloading a page or going to your home page in the browser. In fact, there are so many it's almost impossible to keep track of them all. Finding out just what you can do so you know which ones to remember is easy.

Press Ctrl + Alt + ? and you'll see an overlay of the keyboard with all the key functions and shortcuts. Soon you'll be a pro and Shift + Alt + L-ing and Alt + Shift + B-ing all over the place.

USE AN SD CARD FOR EXTRA STORAGE Most Chromebooks offer an SD card slot of some kind — be it MicroSD or standard. While the SD card slot is useful for transferring pictures off of your camera and getting them up to Google Drive or moving files between computers, for many people it may be most useful as semi-permanent external storage.

Because you'll often have no more than 16GB of internal storage (unless you feel like upgrading that yourself) on your Chromebook, you may find yourself wanting more. Pop a 64GB SD card into your Chromebook and use it just like you would the local or Google Drive storage. The SD card shows up in the Files app just like another folder, where you can use it any way you'd like.

TAKE A SCREENSHOT You can take a screenshot on a Chromebook just as easily as you can on any other computer. Whether you need to save a piece of information for reference or just need to help someone out by showing something visually, it's extremely simple. Hold the control key and hit the task switching key []]] to capture the screen.

You'll get a desktop notification to click and view the screenshot, or you can always find later it by opening the Files app.

Chromebook Getting started with a new Chromebook?

Here's where to begin.

So you just got a fantastic, new Chromebook at King’s College? Congratulations! King’s College Chromebook implementation has started and all pupils from Year 7, 8 and 9 received a Chromebook in January. The rest of pupils will get their amazing device in September 2016.

Chomebooks are great little laptops, and I can’t live without mine now. We use them both for school and at home (I'm writing this on one) because they are light, easy to use, and we can connect to everything the web has to offer.

But there are a few things you'll need to know while you're getting started. A Chromebook is not your regular laptop, and it's pretty different from any Windows or Apple computer.

IT’S is different to A TRADITIONAL LAPTOP You're probably used to a traditional laptop that runs Microsoft Windows. You must think a little differently when it comes to using your school Chromebook.

Chrome OS looks a lot like the Chrome browser you may have used on that traditional Windows laptop, but it's a full application platform full of features. You have access to additional software through the Chrome Web Store that you can installed in a few seconds. Most Apps in the Chrome Store are free and you can even make your own an publishit it the store.

Some of the features and utilities you are used to having on another laptop aren't going to be available. but luckily you can always find an optional application to do a task. Once of the beauties of Chrome OS is that sometimes you need to think out of the box to a task helping develop your imagination.

Sharing is the secret Chrome has full support for your Google account, as well as full support for multiple users. When you power things up, you need to log in with a set of Google credentials to get things synchronized and started. If you don't have a Google account, your new Chromebook will walk you through setting one up. Don't worry, it's easy and much safer than most people realize.

Once that's done for everyone who might be using your Chromebook, each person will have full access to everything under their own unique account. Your wife or your brother won't have access to your stuff, and you won't have access to theirs.

You can even set up and use a guest account that doesn't store information for those times when you let someone borrow your Chromebook. They have full access to everything on the web, with no way to get to any private information.

internet is not a must You can work offline with Google Docs or play an offline game on your Chromebook, but to make the best of everything you'll want to have access to the Internet.

Many Chrome apps are a front-end for a web site or web app, and applications that do work offline still need a regular connection to the 'net to keep synchronized.

You also have minimal storage on your Chromebook's hard drive, so cloud storage services like Google Drive are almost a must. The good news is that Google Drive works seamlessly with your Chromebook, and as soon as you're up and running (and connected to the Internet) it acts like local storage.

I am UP-TO-DATE Every time you turn your Chromebook on, it checks for the latest version of the software for both the operating system and all applications you might have installed. Updates to the core Chrome platform are seamless, but you'll be warned about any new permissions third-party programs request before they are updated. You can then choose whether or not you want to keep using the software.

If a new version of Chrome is found, it's downloaded and the next time you turn things on it automagically updates from the downloaded file.

By staying up-to-date, you can be sure you're running optimal software as well as staying safer while online.

i am full of surprises Your Chromebook is full of education Apps to make you homework, organisation and collaboration a brise!

New google apps additions You can access two exciting new apps from your Chromebook, LucidChart and LucidPress. Here is an explanation of both web apps, that you can access from any device at school or at home, and that will help you to create fantastic new documents.

Lucidchart is a beautiful, modern piece of software that allows you to create incredible diagrams and charts and supports network diagrams, flowcharts, process maps, and even wireframes. Anything you throw at it, it can handle. Lucidchart features a drag-and-drop interface and real-time collaboration capabilities and it works in Chromebooks, Chrome and iPads. On the iPad, Lucidchart allows users to touch-draw shapes which are automatically converted to standard symbols.

How to use LucidChart in your clasroom?

Lucidchart is a web-based diagramming tool that makes drawing diagrams fast and easy. Pupils can work individually on assignments or with an unlimited number of other classmates to create and edit diagrams in real time -- great for group projects.

Hundreds of Templates and Examples: • • • • • • •

Flowcharts Venn Diagrams Graphic Organizers Mind Maps Org Charts Wireframes / Mockups UML / ERD

Powerful and Easy to Use: • • • • •

Choose from hundreds of shapes Drag and drop to add your own images Export as PDF, PNG, and JPG Embed diagrams in blogs or wikis Interactive mockups with hotspots and states

Collaboration: • • •

Real time collaboration with changes synced instantaneously Unlimited number of simultaneous collaborators Powerful version control, with full revision history

You can access Lucidchart from the teacher’s dashboard or from your apps in your Chromebook.

Anyone involved in digital publishing is pretty much forced to work with one of two applications: Microsoft’s Publisher or Adobe’s InDesign.

Lucidpress is a web-based publishing platform that’s as scalable and feature-rich as any of the big-name desktop software. All the familiar functions are present for making posters, brochures, fliers, newsletters, the works.

Lucidpress comes with an immense library of tools and templates for publishing in print or online. And since it’s web-based, assembling mixed media materials is a breeze.

Want to include a video? Just drag and drop it into your project. With an intuitive interface, it’s easy to arrange text, images, and other elements..

Lucidpress projects can be exported in all the major formats — .pdf, .png, .jpg — and the software comes out of the box (er, cloud) fully integrated with Google Drive, making it just as fit for posting to web pages as printing to paper.

Lucidpress takes full advantage of its online nature by including intuitive collaborative tools, like built-in chat windows and group editing, that have made web-based productivity apps like Google Drive popular.

How to use LucidChart in your clasroom?

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Assignments Multimedia study aids Syllabuses Lesson plans Magazines and newsletters

So far, we’ve seen lots of pupils creating presentation and posters to show off what they’re learning. Lucidpress is especially suited to team projects, since multiple users can edit a document together in real time or leave comments for others to see.

After a Lucidpress document is finished, it needn’t be displayed once and then forgotten. Since Lucidpress is cloud-based, it supports digital publication and sharing. That means you can embed your document in a website, promote it on social media, or create a unique, permanent link so anyone can refer to it.

You can access LucidPress from the teacher’s dashboard or from your apps in your Chromebook.

ipads Tips and Tricks Helping teachers’ understanding of the full educational potential of iPads is essential; this brief tutorial will explain a few tips and trick to improve your use of them in the classroom as well as your professional development.

Take a screenshot

To take a screenshot on your iPad just click on the the Home button followed immediately by clicking on the Sleep/Wake button. You will hear a click sound after the shot is taken. All the screenshots are saved in your iPad's Photo's Gallery. From there you can can email or share them on popular social media.

Copy/Paste

To copy and paste a portion of text on iPad, just tap and hold down and then select the text you want to copy then click on copy. To copy the whole paragraph, tap four times. To paste your text, just tap and hold down then click on paste.

Check out more iPad technical tips from this page and this page.

Switching between apps Launching and closing apps

When you are on the Home Screen, you can simply tap on an app’s icon to launch the app on the device.

Once an app is launched, all you need to do to exit the app is click the home button at the bottom of your device:Apps don’t completely close down when you move to the home screen. They also don’t “run” in the background unless you have Background App Refresh enabled for the app. An app will save its state and you can return to the app later. To completely close an app, double tap the home button and then swipe across to find the app you want to close. To close the app, swipe the app up and away.

Current versions of IOS allow for app switching which means that your apps will save their current state in memory and you can return to them. To switch to a recently opened app, double tap the home button to access the app switcher. Swipe left or right to view apps and tap to open.

Search – “Spotlight”

From your home page, swipe left to right Search built-in apps (Mail, Calendar, Music, Contacts, etc.) Open Apps.

Accessing the Notification Center

Many apps that you install will request permission to notify you with updates. For example, Facebook might want to notify you when someone has liked your status. The Mail app can notify you when you have new mail. There are three types of notifications in iOS 7: icon badges, alerts, and banners. Additionally, notifications can play a sound when received.

Creating folders for apps

To create a folder for your apps.Touch and hold icons until jiggling, then drag the app on top of another and a folder will be created to hold both of them. You can add more apps to this folder by dragging other apps to it. Give the folder a name the folder then click on the home button to save.

The Notification Center gives you a quick view of all recent banner notifications you have received. To access the Notification Center, swipe down from the top of the device.

Accessing the Control Center The control center is a new addition to iOS 7 which makes it very efficient to toggle on and off certain things. To activate and get into the Control Center, you swipe up from the bottom of the screen.

Rearrange Apps

Touch and hold icons until jiggling Drag icons to new pages, menu bar, or folder To create new folder, put one App on top of another Press Home button to save

From here you can quickly access settings including Airplane Mode, Toggle Wi-fi On/Off, Toggle Bluetooh On/Off, Do Not Disturb Mode, Rotation Lock (Or Mute), Volume, Screen Brightness, Camera, Timer/ Clock, AirDrop, and AirPlay

Downloading and Installing Apps Double Click the Home button

When you double click on the Home button you will be able to : View and launch recently used applications Lock screen orientation, adjust brightness, play media, and adjust media sound.

You can find and download new apps from the App store. To install a new app, open the App store and search for an app. For example, to install the iBooks app (Free), open the App store and tap on the search field at the top right and type in ibooks. Then tap Search on the keyboard.

Technology in the Classroom: Amazing iPad Apps for Educators When one looks at how technology has changed education over the past decade, one can’t help but be blown away by the sheer number of iPad apps for educators that have flooded the electronic marketplace. There are so many iPad apps for teachers released every month that even the most plugged-in educator would have a difficult time processing and utilising them all.

Luckily, when teachers are looking to learn how to use iPads in the classroom, they need to look no further than TeachHUB magazine and TeachHUB.com - an educator’s primary go-to resource when researching iPad apps for teachers and iPads in the classroom.

Read on to learn about TeachHUB magazine and TeachHUB.com’s updated list of the hottest iPad apps for teachers and iPad apps for education, destined to forever alter your curriculum landscape, organized by subject.

Here you can find a few that may be helpfull for you.

Class Dojo A dojo is, by formal definition, a formal training place, which makes it pair naturally with any year group classroom. Although the app foregoes the belt rankings you might find in more traditional dojo applications, it does allow you to easily award both merits and demerits based on classroom conduct to your class list right from your de device. Consequently, Class Dojo helps teachers improve behavior in their classrooms quickly and easily by generating behavior data that can then be shared with parents and administrators on the fly and younger kids will get a kick out of picking their own monster avatars. So why is this valuable?

www.classdojo.com

For Teachers: It’s said that more than 50 percent of class time is spent managing behavior rather than delivering instruction. And given how precious time becomes in a single class period, this statistic is huge. Whether that extra stint is spent on further instruction, one-on-one troubleshooting or group work, any additional time is worth its weight in gold.

For Pupils: In addition to providing instant feedback to parents and administrators, pupils also get notifications (whether good or bad) and can help either encourage positive behavior or curb the negative – especially when they know their parents are finding out right away.

“Specific positive reinforcement helps pupils develop a sense of purpose in the classroom, enhancing intrinsic motivation over time.

By giving pupils visibility and data on their own behavior, Class Dojo makes class less disruptive and creates a more positive learning environment.” [Via ClassDojo]

Explain Everything Boasting a rather all-encompassing and encouraging title, this app admittedly does help you explain pretty much everything. At the core, it is an app that utilizes your device’s microphone, presentations or other media assets and allows you to annotate, animate and narrate over them.

explaineverything.com

Happily, Explain Everything also plays nicely with other Google Drive, YouTube and the iWork suite so if you’ve got material you’d like to import on any of those apps, they will work just fine. Certainly, there’s a bit of a learning curve in mastering all the different things you can do with this app, but rest assured, it’s nothing that you can’t master in an afternoon’s time and will definitely push the creative boundaries of your pupils’ final group presentations. All of this functionality would be for naught if there weren’t some way to share or broadcast your work, but thankfully Explain Everything has you covered – it functions as an interactive whiteboard via Airplay and also allows for exporting projects in a wide variety of formats, though we wish there were higher.

nearpod Nearpod is an interactive presentation and assessment tool that can be used to amazing effect in the classroom. The app’s concept is simple. A teacher can create presentations that can contain Quiz’s, Polls, Videos, Images, Drawing-Boards, Web Content and so on. The children can access a teacher’s presentation through a code. It is up to the teacher to then move the class through the presentation and let them interact with the media as they go.

www.nearpod.com

The app is ‘web based’ and is accessible on a ‘log in’ basis. This means that you can access your Nearpod account through any device that connects to the internet. The nice thing about this is that you can run and, more importantly, create your presentations on a computer. In this case, the iPad is just the tool to deliver your Nearpod creations with. Ultimately, the real beauty of this app is that it enables you to connect with your pupils (digitally that is). This connection and the flexible nature of Nearpod means that it can be used in many different creative and innovative ways. Below are just ten ways of utilising this multifaceted tool.

Creating Presentations One quick and easy way to explore Nearpod is to download an existing presentation. Nearpad provides some samples in their store, and downloading and viewing ac commercially created one should give you a sense of some of the features and how they can be used.

If you are interested in using your own presentations, you can start by uploading an existing presentation from Powerpoint, Keynote, Google Drive, or any other program. The key is that you will need to convert your original presentation to a PDF file and then upload to Nearpod.

Lastly, you can create a Nearpod presentation from scratch.

the Educational district educational trips with real guides King’s Group is currently working with ‘The Educational District’, a company helping schools to visit important museums and other cultural locations around the world without leaving the comfort of the classroom. These all-important excursions are very beneficial to pupils but the problem, as teachers well know, is that they require a lot of planning, permissions, time, and involve considerable cost.

This company suggests complementing these occasional excursions with virtual trips to different places around the world, led by a professional guide — a real person who is an expert on each specific destination. Using either their computers or their tablets, all pupils can participate at the same time and talk to the guide via Voice over IP. And the visit can be in whatever language you choose; it can be in the children's native language, or they can practice using a second language.

In addition to this great experience, all visits conclude with a game or collaborative activity in which pupils are tested on the knowledge they have just acquired. Organised into teams, only the group whose members have paid attention and coordinate with each other will win the competition.

Velázquez and Goya Exhibition Our guide will lead a tour around these two painters' most important works, revealing interesting anecdotes that will delight your pupils.

MUNCYT, National Museum of Science and Technology Find out about evolution and discover the secrets of science and technology. From the rudimentary gadgets to the latest electronic devices that have helped humans evolve throughout history.

Synchrotron On this visit, pupils will discover the ALBA Synchrotron, an electron accelerator that allows light to be generated in a broad spectrum of wavelengths, ranging from far infrared to the high X-ray region. Here, they will learn how scientists use the facility to carry out studies and experiments in various fields, from microbiology to astronomy.

Hesperides Research Vessel On this journey aboard the iconic research vessel, pupils will discover the importance of protecting natural resources and the work that scientists carry out on their various missions around the world's oceans.

Lincoln Memorial On this unique visit, pupils discover the importance of this monument to Lincoln in the history of the United States and the values it represents.

www.theeducationdistrict.com

iSAMS’ Tutorial Videos Cristina González, Data Manager at King’s College Alicante has been busy producing some great self-help videos to assist everyone using iSAMS. Click on the iSAMS tab in the Knowledge Hub to access the videos. Some of the videos include: •

Finding information in the Tracking Manager

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Sending emails to parents

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Proof reading reports

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etc...

Please make sure to visit her area frequently because the collection of videos is growing all the time.

IT Team Recognition I would like to say a big thank you to the IT team in all schools and in Head Office. They have been working very hard in the background for a long time to make sure the new eLearning project is successful. From optimising the school networks in all schools to delivering Chromebooks to pupils, their silent work is appreciated. A particular thanks to Ruth Conde, in Head Office, for her constant support and passion for eLearning over the last two years.

King’s Group Carlos Lázaro Head of eLearning elearning@kingsgroup.org