New Presenting – New Linking – New Thinking Pedagogic Innovation Beyond Learning Niall MacKinnon Head teacher, Plockton Primary School, Highland, Scotland, UK Knowledge Building Summer Institute Innovation and Digital Technology: Between Continuity and Change Trieste, Italy
September 2015
With thanks to partner colleagues and organisations: Peter Heaney, Steelstown Primary School, Northern Ireland Sarah Neild, Birchley St Mary's Primary School, England Maria Pecican, Twardogora Primary School, Poland Polly MacInnes and Lorraine Smith, Plockton Primary School, Scotland Gratefully acknowledging financial support and encouragement from: The Oracle Education Foundation Highland Council – 'Determined to Succeed' Enterprise in Education initiative
Plockton Primary School and village
Plockton village situation
Inter-school collaboration, online, lots! 21st century skills Commissioned and published as a case study by The Oracle Foundation
A Plockton granny answers... “We chose Think.com for this project because it offers a unique set of content free tools, each offering a subtly different tone and texture to the communication process for the child. Think.com was used throughout the entire project, with the ability to switch to off-line activities where appropriate� Peter Heaney Teacher Steelstown Primary
“A strength of the project was in creating an audience who were remote geographically, but who they came to know well through the joint web pages. The pupils then came to take a particular care in their work due to this real audience. The finished products were statements of art in their own right expressing true ‘pride in one’s place’ and this was because of the special and intimate audience created through and enabled by the Think.com website” Niall MacKinnon Head Teacher Plocton Primary
A Plockton granny answers... “We chose Think.com for this project because it offers a unique set of content free tools, each offering a subtly different tone and texture to the communication process for the child. Think.com was used throughout the entire project, with the ability to switch to off-line activities where appropriate� Peter Heaney Teacher Steelstown Primary
“The children’s comments both during and after the activities indicated a sense of raised esteem, awarness and interest in what had been until then an accepted environment for them. We observed a chemistry which enthused all the children and transformed the environment from something mundane and accepted to something that was now very interesting and unique” Sara Neild Teacher Birchley St Mary’s
“Our Children really enjoyed Think.com. It is one of the best ways to improve their English skills, broaden the borders making new friends in the world” Maria Pecican Teacher John Paul II Primary
Schools Involved Steelstown Primary School, Northern Ireland Birchley St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, England Plockton Primary School, Scotland John Paul II Primary School, Poland
The new amidst the old
Some of the children ‘in character’ ready for a videoconference between schools
Steelstown Primary School pupils
Context, coherence, purpose, meaning
Art in context
Community, construction, understanding
Partnering – near and far
Change is emergent Learning is integral