LEISTON HIGH SCHOOL SEAWARD AVENUE LEISTON IP16 4BG
Volume 1 Spring Issue 2 2012 Special points of interest: Myths of OFSTED Marking Educational change in Finland Book reviews SOLO taxonomy
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Page
Myths: What Ofsted Want
2
Do You Mark Year 7 books?
3
Thoughts from a foreign correspondent
4
Book Reviews
5
SOLO Taxonomy
6
From Our Own Correspondents
8
Using Technology in the Classroom
9
good
another
feedback
acronym,
opportunities.
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bringing
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Page 2
A4A Volume 1: Spring Issue 2 - 2012 ‗MYTHS:
David Didau is Head of English at Priory Community School, Weston-super-Mare You can follow David on Twitter: @LearningSpy And on his blog: thelearningspy.co.uk
“Apparently, teachers should concentrate on engendering a passion for learning instead of worrying about all the waggle of passing exams! Who knew? ”
Reference Article: ‗Moving English Forward - action to raise standards in English‘
WHAT OFSTED WANT‟ By David Didau (from his blog The Learning Spy)
With galling hypocrisy and seemingly no sense of irony, Ofsted have released their latest subject report for English snappily titled ‗Moving English Forward’. The report is a step by step guide on how to suck eggs. Apparently, teachers should concentrate on engendering a passion for learning instead of worrying about all the waggle of passing exams! Who knew? Apart from its obvious interest to English specialists, there‘s stuff in here that all teachers will benefit from knowing: Possibly the most immediately pertinent information for all teachers is contained in the section ‗Some common myths about good teaching ‗(page 12.) Many schools and teachers seem to have developed a whole raft of mistaken beliefs about what will impress inspectors. Most of this advice is what most teachers do in normal lessons but feel they have to abandon in order to appease some clipboard wielding bureaucrat. These myths include: Lessons need to be fast paced Actually faster is not better. No one wants slow, ponderous lessons but we should concentrate on the pace of learning rather than the pace of the activities we‘ve lovingly planned. Lessons need to be packed with a range of activities Not so. Many of us have been told lies such as ‗activities should last no longer than 10 minutes‘. Yes this will keep students busy, but cramming activities into your lesson will not result in them learning more. In fact they‘re likely to learn less due to the lack of time available for consolidation. Instead lessons should have a clear focus on what it is that students need to learn and provide them with the opportunity to make progress in whatever this is. Ofsted‘s advice is that an activity ―needs to last only as long as is needed to ensure effective learning‖. Lessons plans need to be massively detailed Most schools insist on planning pro formas being completed for observed lessons. This is not in itself a ‗bad thing‘, but if lessons are planned in excessive detail it‘s easy to lose sight of what it is students are meant to be learning. The report talks about lesson plans of over 500 words where every minute of the lesson is accounted for in meticulous
detail. The advice from Ofsted is clear: a simple straightforward plan that is easy to understand and follow is always best. The report states that, ―excessive detail within plans causes teachers to lose sight of the central focus on pupils‘ learning.‖ So there! You should not deviate from your plan A rigid plan is not a good one. Whilst the three or part lesson structure may be a useful starting point, we need have the confidence to change and adapt our plans if students‘ progress is better or worse than anticipated. An inspector will always be pleased to see teachers going ‗off piste‘ if it means that students are given more opportunity to learn and make progress. Osted say: ―The key consideration should be the development of pupils‟ learning rather than sticking rigidly to a plan.‖ Learning needs to be reviewed every few minutes Students need time if they are going to produce anything worthwhile. The temptation is to rush the ‗actual work‘ so that we can get on with assessing progress. The belief that learning needs to be reviewed every few minutes is actually getting in the way of learning. This myth is particularly unhelpful because we know it‘s wrong but feel pressured to make it part of the ‗Ofsted show‘. The report is very clear on this: ―significant periods of time were spent by teachers on getting pupils to articulate their learning, even where this limited their time to complete activities and thereby interrupted their learning!‖ Of all the pieces of wisdom about Ofsted that is often bandied about, the only one to be explicitly confirmed is that teachers shouldn‘t talk too much. Inspectors want to see lessons where students are given time to work independently for extended periods with teachers working less hard than their students. The report mentions that inspectors criticise the fact ―that pupils rarely had extended periods to read, write or discuss issues in class.‖ One of the difficulties with lesson observations is that teachers feel that they are being observed and therefore have to been seen doing something purposeful. The reality is that although the teacher is being judged, the inspector will be observing what the students are doing. As long as they‘re seen to be learning it doesn‘t matter too much what the teacher does.
My advice for teachers is to spend the observation showing off their immaculately marked books and pointing out students who have made especially impressive progress whilst the students get on with some independent learning. Just in case you might have been tempted to read all this as encouragement to kick back and relax we‘re told: “These points should not be seen as a plea for teachers to skimp on planning, teach slow-paced lessons, or leave pupils unsupported for long periods. However, given the positive impact of recent guidance and training on lesson methodology, there are good opportunities now for teachers to be more flexible in their approach to teaching and planning lessons. This should include a greater readiness to respond to the unexpected in lessons and to change the direction of lessons as they develop. Teachers should also be encouraged to be creative and adventurous in their teaching, and to vary approaches depending on the nature of the learning planned for the lesson. Above all, this is a plea for teachers to focus on the key actions that affect pupils’ learning and progress within lessons.” The other general point that all teachers would benefit from being aware of is the criticism of teachers placing ‗inappropriate emphasis on tests and exams‘. Ofsted seem to feel, as most teachers do, that the high stakes nature of the examination system means that all the fun is sucked out of lessons in order to concentrate on how to pass tests. The report also makes the point that teachers don‘t spend class time doing stuff that doesn‘t get rewarded directly in exams. Quel surprise! This is without doubt true, but the pressure placed on schools by Ofsted make it very difficult for all but the most confident and courageous of teachers to ignore the stark fact that in a world where Gove is threatening teachers with the sack if students aren‘t seen to be making termly progress doing stuff for the sake of enrichment or because it‘s interesting, just don‘t cut the mustard. I for one am only too happy to embrace fun lessons and enrich students‘ lives with the wonders of the universe. Amusingly, the report does not mention the fact that all these myths have come about due to the terror schools have of Ofsted.
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DO YOU MARK YEAR 7 BOOKS? By Lisa Jane Ashes
Twitter: @lisajaneashes
“In my experience, teachers hate marking! It is their most abhorred task as it takes much longer than their allocated three periods of PPA per week but it has to be done.”
From Lisa’s blog: ‘Reflections of a Learning Geek’
A4A Volume 1: Spring Issue 2 - 2012 In my experience, teachers hate marking! It is their most abhorred task as it takes much longer than their allocated three periods of PPA per week but it has to be done. Teachers often stress about marking because they are frightened of the repercussions from SLT (A.K.A the management) if they don‘t mark at least two pages per term; this impression of the purpose of marking distresses me. I have a twelve year old daughter…hard to believe I know, but I do. On the open day that I attended, a year prior to her beginning her well respected secondary school, her new Head Teacher proudly proclaimed that we should all check our children‘s books weekly to see the progress they are making. He explained that all teachers used the WWW/ EBI (what went well? Even better if…) method for marking their pupils‘ books and we would be able to easily see the progress that our children were making in their various subjects in a very straight forward and consistent format. Two terms on and I am baffled by the letter C in her Art book which stands alone on the page with no accompanying comment to challenge her and help her on to the next level; I am disgusted at the Science book which has yet to be marked, and I could not tell you what her Maths teacher thinks of her work as my daughter does all of the marking in the book herself! Unfortunately, there is very little that I can do to change her teachers and their attitudes towards marking Year 7 work but I can use this opportunity to reflect and offer some tips and advice about marking. My next few Learning Geek reflections will focus on marking methods that I have used, why I have used them and their effects on motivation and achievement. Feed Forward Marking is not to be done just because you know you will be work trawled soon! Nor is it for filling your planner with the latest crop of grades. It is to provide pupils with a way of moving forward with their
learning. Whether that be through your more detailed understanding of their weaknesses, and subsequent planning of lessons which target these specific needs, or through providing personalised feedback which helps them to make steps towards improvement in your subject. We are marking, not solely for our own benefit, but for the benefit of our students. Plus Minus Equals This is the method of marking which I have been using most frequently this term. It is a simple method for the pupils to adapt to; it minimises the amount of writing you have to do without taking the purpose out of the feedback and it can help the pupils to be self reflective too. Method Firstly, plan a succession of tasks that are similar in nature but can still allow pupils to progress. For example, I am getting pupils prepared for their Literature exam and so each lesson, after teaching the pupils more about Of Mice and Men, I ask them to reflect in the form of a paragraph response to a set question. This activity usually takes no more than ten minutes to complete. The first time pupils complete this task, I give them detailed feedback about their response with a particular focus on how to improve. A typical response discussed the basic storyline and how this answered the question; if this was the case, I asked them to attempt to include a range of ideas from the text including language, context and themes to create a more multistructural response. The second time pupils respond, I first asked them to reflect upon my feedback before responding stating what they will do to improve this time. Pupils write something along the lines of ―I will remember to include language features, context and themes to improve my work‖. You may think just copying out what I have written is pointless but it is a step in the right direction for a class that find it difficult
to respond to feedback. A higher ability set might be asked how they could get to the next SOLO level rather than just responding to basic feedback; what response to expect will always depend on the capabilities of your class. When I mark this second batch of work, I only respond with a simple plus, minus or equals sign. I ask the pupils to respond to this by telling me why they got their particular sign. The pupils have to re read my previous response and their own promise to improve, to work out what went well or what went wrong. Pupils who get a plus are rewarded; anyone who has not received a plus usually wants a piece of the reward. I choose the rewards knowing what the class will want most – some classes are as easy as star stickers others want chocolate or merits. At this point, my lesson will include a whole class target to achieve. The class target is worked out from common errors and misconceptions that I have noted while reading the responses. Reading the responses and taking notes in your planner is far less time consuming than reading and writing out thirty individual responses; you must respond individually at times but this way, you can read all of the work and create ―feed forward‖ without the hand ache for once. The pupils make note of this target before their third response and must use it to once again gain a plus from me. After the third response, I review the needs of the class, adapt the task to correspond with the pupils‘ changing needs and begin the marking cycle again. Results Pupils show a willingness to improve. They love looking for the plus signs on their work and when they stay the same or get a minus, they go hunting for the reason themselves. Using plus, minus, equals has increased their motivation to improve as well decreasing the time I spend marking without taking away any of the quality of my response.
A4A Volume 1: Spring Issue 2 - 2012
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THOUGHTS FROM A FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT: WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM EDUCATIONAL CHANGE IN FINLAND? By Pasi Sahlberg
Surprisingly,
educational change in Finland has been studied more by foreigners than by the Finns themselves. Analysis by Andy Hargreaves, Dennis Shirley, Linda Darling-Hammond, Sam Abrams, Diane Ravitch, Tony Wagner and several international journalists have helped us to understand the nature of whole system reform in Finland. These scholars emphasize the importance of making the entire system work well, not just it‟s „output part‟, e.g. early childhood development, well-being of children in school, and professionalism within education craft. Journalists often point out to the parts of the system that seem to work well. Rather than simply listing the obvious elements of educational success in Finland – good teachers, inspiring curricula, and sustainable leadership – I would look for these major lessons beyond those factors of change. Let me mention three of them here.
I
think the first lesson that Finland offers to other educational reformers is that whole-system reform can be successful only if it is inspiring to all involved and thereby energizes people to work together for intended improvement. I often use the thinking of Martin Luther King as an example of an inspiring dream that moves people. Dr. King‟s dream was not that his country would have a 5percent annual economic growth rate. That wouldn‟t have inspired many people. Similarly, making a country number one in PISA rankings doesn‟t excite too many educators. The Finnish Dream since the 1970s has been to provide a good public (state) school for every child in the country. This goal inspired many and was a source of energy that was needed to push through necessary political and educational changes. It was powerful enough to bring different people and political groups to join forces for fulfillment of this dream. The Finnish Dream looks like the dream of John F. Kennedy in 1961: to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. It was challenging, required hard work and political consensus, but in the end rewarded the entire nation
through its outcomes.
S econd,
some observers have concluded that the secret of Finnish educational success is its well-trained teachers. Yes, it is true that teachers and leaders have higher academic education in Finland than in many other countries. But that alone is not the way to whole-system change. What is significant in the Finnish approach is that it has focused on improving the professional knowledge and skills of teachers and leaders as a collective group, not only as individuals, which is the common practice in many current reform programs elsewhere. Finnish teachers learn to work together with other teachers. Finnish education system development has systematically focused on improving schools as social organizations. This includes leadership development that is, according to external reviewers, aimed at enhancing shared and distributed models of leadership. In brief, Finnish educational change is driven by building social capital within the system in concert with individual professional growth.
Third,
I think the Finnish example – together with lessons from Canada, Singapore, Japan and Korea – of successful transformation of an education system shows other countries what could be the wrong drivers in educational change that Michael Fullan has recently written about. In my book Finnish Lessons: what can the world learn from educational change in Finland? I talk about the Global Educational Reform Movement (GERM) that has been much less successful than what Finland and the other successful reformers mentioned above have been able to accomplish with almost the opposite solutions. The best performing educational systems all have built their change strategies on systemic approaches that rely on collective professional and institutional (or social capital) development, enhanced conditions for teaching and learning for all, and more equal educational opportunities within their education systems. Countries that
have been infected by GERM drive their education reforms by piecemeal changes, stronger accountability for teachers, faith in individual capacity building, and the power of technology over humans as keys to turning around unsatisfactory school systems. Michael Fullan has argued that “there is no way that … nationwide goals will be met with the strategies being used” in the ongoing education reform in the U.S or Australia. “Finnish Lessons” suggests that these are not the right drivers for whole-system reforms. They have never been used in Finland or in any other successful education system as the main strategy of change.
We
should not ask whether Finnish educational model would work in the United States or anywhere else. The question should be: What can we learn from the Finnish experience as high performer and successful reformer? The main lesson from Finland is that there is another way to transform current education systems than that based on standardization, testing, accountability and competition. Finland also shows that we don‟t need to rely on corporate school reform models to achieve our goals. Finnish lesson is that good policies and overall well-being of people, including poverty reduction, are the corner stones of sustainable educational success. Pasi Sahlberg is Director General of CIMO (in the Ministry of Education) in Helsinki, Finland. He has experience in classroom teaching, training teachers and leaders, coaching schools to change and advising education policy-makers around the world.
A4A Volume 1: Spring Issue 2 - 2012
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‘The Lazy Teacher’s Handbook’ by Jim Smith Ever wondered what would happen if you stopped teaching in your lessons? You might be surprised. If you want your students to learn more and you to work less, then this book provides you with all the arguments and evidence you need to become a lazy, but outstanding teacher. Gathered over 10 years in t h e classroom, t h is handbook of tried-andtested techniques shifts the emphasis away from the teaching and onto the learning, and makes your life so much easier in the process. Fed up missing out on those sunny Sundays?
Maybe your marking could be done by the local community instead? Sick of planning lesson? Get the students to plan them for you. (After all, personalised learning can‘t involve 30 lesson p lans!). This powerful little book is packed full of easy-to-apply an d high ly effective strategies (which Ofsted have rated as outstanding ). What s more, they all have the seal of approval of real students in real classrooms. In fact, many of them have been thought up by the students themselves, but that s why Jim Smith is called the Lazy Teacher. So, next time someone
says to you to get a life, this book will make it possible. ―Oozes professionalism and rigour and it does so with a confidence that will encourage teachers to think again about their classroom practice.‖ Mick Waters, Professor of Education, President of the Curriculum Foundation Jim Smith is Assistant Headteacher at Clevedon School focusing on learning and CPD, is a BSF adviser and an Independent Thinking Associate. Visit www.thelazyteacher.co.uk
“Oozes professionalism and rigour …” Mick Waters Prof of Education
„The Perfect (Ofsted) Lesson‟ by Jackie Beere How can a teacher make sure, in the brief time that an inspector (or other assessor) spends in their classroom, that the lesson ticks enough boxes to impress AND gain that outstanding grade? The ‗Perfect (Ofsted) Lesson‘ is a great new book by Jackie Beere designed to help improve school s Ofsted Results. Jackie Beere leads the teacher through the criteria to search for the xfactor - the magic ingredients that will elevate lessons to outstanding. The x-factor means demonstrating exceptional progress in learning and that the quality of learning is exceptional. Some other vital ingredients that will elevate lesson to outstanding include: Differentiating for various grou p s of learn ers; Developing independent
and resilient learners; Challenging the most able learners; Sharing the criteria for success. To ensure these are demonstrated when being observed Jackie provides 6 steps to success to include: 1. Being in control, right from the start and setting up the learning environment 2. Stimulating curiosity and open mindedness and preparing the brain for learning 3. Setting objectives of learning outcomes and engaging students in the learning 4. Main lesson activities 5. Dishing up the DIRT... often! (Dedicated Improvement and Reflection Time) 6. Providing the perfect
plenary or review. ―A concise practical approach to delivering the perfect Ofsted lesson, the book builds upon the key characteristics of an outstanding lesson giving practical ideas of how it can be achieved and more importantly how this can be demonstrated in a short time to Ofsted inspectors. The format is clear and accessible and gives useful points for debate and discussion amongst teachers. This book is for all teachers whether new to teach in g or an experienced practitioner, it acts as an aide memoire for all to reflect on their practice.‖ --Julie Summerfield, Headteacher of Horndean School Courtesy of Amazon.co.uk
“A concise practical approach to delivering the perfect Ofsted lesson…”
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A4A Volume 1: Spring Issue 2 - 2012
SOLO TAXONOMY - classifying learning outcomes As learning progresses it becomes more complex. SOLO, is a means of classifying learning outcomes in terms of their complexity, enabling us to assess students’ work in terms of its quality, not on how many bits of this and of that they get right.
With thanks to Heidi Moulton (@Heidimo) for sharing her ideas & resources and Tait Coles (@Totallywired77) for inspiration and ideas
‗The SOLO taxonomy
stands for: Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes It was developed by Biggs and Collis (1982). It describes levels of increasing complexity in a student's understanding of a subject, through five stages, and it is claimed to be applicable to any subject area. Not all students get through all five stages, of course, and indeed not all teaching (and even less "training" is designed to take them all the way). There are fairly clear links not only with Säljö on conceptions of learning, but also, in the emphasis on making connections and contextualising, with Bateson's levels of learning, and even with Bloom's taxonomy in the cognitive domain.
The assumption is that each level embraces previous levels, but adds something more: 1 Pre-structural: here students are simply acquiring bits of unconnected information, which have no organisation and make no sense.
2 Unistructural: simple and obvious connections are made, but their significance is not grasped.
3 Multistructural: a number of connections may be made, but the meta-connections between them are missed, as is their significance for the whole.
4 Relational level: the student is now able to appreciate the significance of the parts in relation to the whole.
5 At the Extended Abstract level, the student is making connections not only within the given subject area, but also beyond it, able to generalise and transfer the principles and ideas underlying the specific instance.
A4A Volume 1: Spring Issue 2 - 2012
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A ‘SOLO’ CHART for the classroom
WITH SOLO WE CAN..... Thoughtfully design learning intentions and learning experiences Identify and use effective success criteria Provide feedback and feed forward on learning outcomes Reflect meaningfully on what to do next
SOLO IS BETTER BECAUSE: It‘s a diagnostic tool - provides useful feedback and makes next steps clear It‘s a useful assessment tool - clear links with rubrics It can help plan objectives and success criteria which focus on progress It describes the learning outcome
ISN‟T THIS A BIT LIKE BLOOM‟S TAXONOMY? SOLO is based upon a theory about teaching and learning rather than a theory about knowledge Bloom‘s is ‗good‘ for teachers: planning , questioning and checking learning But not great for students: I’ve done applying sir, can I move to analysis now? Progress is not implicit with Bloom‘s
THE LANGUAGE OF LEARNING: Unistructural: define, name, identify, draw, find, label, match, follow a simple procedure Multistructural: describe, list, outline, complete, continue, combine Relational: sequence, classify, compare & contrast, explain (cause & effect), analyse, form an analogy, organise, distinguish, question, relate, apply Extended Abstract: generalise, predict, reflect, evaluate, hypothesise, theorise, create, prove, justify, argue, compose, prioritise, design, construct, perform
A4A Volume 1: Spring Issue 2 - 2012
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FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS: ‘VCOP—raising standards in writing’ brought to you by Eric Wareham V.C.O.P is a core component of Ros Wilson's 'Big Writing' method for raising standards in writing that has not only been implemented in thousands of primary schools but many secondary schools throughout the United Kingdom and around t h e w o r l d . Ros Wilson developed her Criterion Scale to standardise the assessment of over twenty thousand pieces of children's writing between October 1999 and October 2002. As an associated project setting short -term targets for children, it became evident that there were 'Four Generic Targets' for writing, Vocabulary, Connectives, Openers and Punctuation or V.C.O.P. This
was true regardless of the age or level of writing skill of all pupils writing within Level 2 and above. Further work and assessment led to the realisation that the Four Generic Targets that 'grow' as the pupil's writing skill grows. Wilson was able to refine her method during a period working in Qatar, whilst helping to establish an English speaking school near the city of Doha. All of the staff were trained to employ her method for teaching writing across the school and the results were remarkable. Upon her return to the U.K., she published her first book with Kirklees LEA and subsequent titles documenting the method with Andrell Education Ltd.
V.C.O.P. and 'Big Writing' itself are all based on the premise If a child can't say it, they can't write it!. 'Big Writing' and its associated strategies stress the importance of talk and that 'boys love to talk and what is good for the boys is good for the girls!' As opposed to discussing subordinate clauses etc with children, V.C.O.P. simplifies matters to discuss: V: The range of ambitious vocabulary a pupil knows; WOW words. C: The range of ways pupils have of joining ideas, phrases & sentences - connectives O: The strategies pupils have for opening sentences; especially the 3 key openers:
connectives, 'ly' words & 'ing' words P: The range of punctuation a pupil can use & the accuracy with which they use it. Pupils are encouraged to be ambitious, to up-level their work and pay attention to their use of V.C.O.P., which with The Punctuation Pyramid, becomes a toolkit for writing at a higher level. Stealing and borrowing are encouraged when pupils see elements of V.C.O.P. in peers' work that they like. The concept is simple, that children do not need to understand the educationalist terminology to use the skills in their work.
Pupils Making Progress? ‘RM Tutor’ can help! By Dan Bagshaw The new OFSTED framework places massive emphasis on students making progress in lessons. An inspector will be making a judgement on the progress students are making in the 30 minutes or so that they are with you. To gain an „Outstanding‟, they will need to see “almost all students making rapid and susta in ed progres s” . Nothing to worry about there then…. ICT can easily be used as a tool to provide some evidence that rapid and sustained progress is happening. In the Mecca of education that is the ICT department, we have been using a piece of monitoring software called RM Tutor to gauge the progress students are making towards achieving their learning objectives, or highlight any intervention required. Students can be asked a question which they answer on screen, and the teacher
can collate responses to see the rate of progress. These can be printed out for future reference if necessary. It is also possible to see the responses from a particular student, so if some learners have not made the progress you would expect them to, you can adapt your next lesson to take this into account. One of the key benefits we have found is the rapid pace with which questions can be composed and asked; used during mini-reviews, student responses can help to shape the way a lesson develops. Consequently, lessons have AfL embedded throughout, and the net result is the person observing your lesson will have ample evidence to tick away in the ‗Outstanding‘ column. RM Tutor can be made available in each ICT suite in the school, but you will need to configure a few bits and pieces using your own login.
If you think that this is a technique which you or your department would like to explore further, let me know and I‘ll set up a CPD session. i
Dan Bagshaw is the Head of ICT at LHS and a TEEP Level 2 practitioner
A4A Volume 1: Spring Issue 2 - 2012
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USING TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM ‘JING: a classroom resource’* brought to you by Eric Wareham So, how can you use Jing (or other capturing alternatives) in your classroom?
So what is „Jing‟? „Jing‟ is a free image and video capturing software that you can share instantly over the web, IM, email, or even just save to your desktop. You simply download Jing to your desktop and it will sit at the top of your desktop screen. If you want to use Jing for video capture, you simply take your mouse, click and drag the area of the screen you want to capture and click. Then select to ―Capture Video.‖ You can either record with narration or not – that‘s up to you! Once you‘re done recording, it will automatically upload your video to ‗Screencast‘– where you can store up to 2 GB of storage, and access direct links and embedding code for your videos.
Here are some quick ideas for you: You can create training videos for quick and easy access for students, or even yourself for refreshers, etc… If you want to use Jing for image capture, you simply take your mouse, click and drag the area of the screen you want tot capture and click. Now, instead of click ―Capture Video,‖ you‘ll click ―Capture Image.‖ Jing allows you to add text, arrows, boxes, and even highlighting areas to your image. You can save it, copy it to the clipboard, or send it to ‗screencast‘!
Have your students record themselves solving math problems and then post on your classroom blog! Have your students record their presentations Have your students record themselves researching and presenting their findings Don‘t stick to the norm! There are a few things to remember while using Jing:
1.
2. 3. 4.
5.
*With thanks to Elizabeth of http://blog.simplek12.com
You don‘t have to click and drag for the video capture – Jing will also automatically register the size of the browser (if you‘re using a browser) Jing does not resize videos like YouTube or Vimeo would do. Keep that in mind when selecting the size of your video. Save time by editing the ―hot‖ keys so you have easy shortcuts for start, stop, etc. Use Jing instead of Print Screen! That way you don‘t have to do all that cropping – you can just select what you want. You can also spice up your image capture with the text, arrows, highlighting, etc… Consider changing your screen resolution to 600 x 800 when doing your screen capture – that is standard for most computers and will present the best quality for your videos.
On the free version of Jing, each video can only be a maximum of 5 minutes.
A4A Volume 1: Spring Issue 2 - 2012
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AND FINALLY...... Best first lines of novels Can you identify the author and the novel? If you wish to contribute, please email: eric.wareham @leiston-high.org.uk
OR
1. ‗It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.‘ 2. ‗Ages ago, Alex, Allen and Alva arrived at Antibes, and Alva allowing all, allowing anyone, against Alex's admonition, against Allen's angry assertion: another African amusement . . . anyhow, as all argued, an awesome African army assembled and arduously advanced against an African anthill, assiduously annihilating ant after ant, and afterward, Alex astonishingly accuses Albert as also accepting Africa's antipodal ant annexation.‘
Tweet:
3. ‗Vaughan died today in his last car-crash.‘
@EricWareham
4. ‗It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.‘ 5.
‗If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.‘
6. ‗It was the day that my grandmother exploded.‘ Answers are below
1. Charles Dickens - ‗A Tale of Two Cities‘ 4. George Orwell - ‗1984‘ 2. Walter Abish - ‘Alphabetical Africa‘ 5. J D Salinger - ‘Catcher in the Rye‘ 3. J G Ballard - ‘Crash‘ 6. Iain M. Banks—‘The Crow Road‘