redbridgepict wiki

Have you added your name to the list of delegate yet?

http://redbridgepict.pbwiki.com/FrontPage

Animoto

Animoto

2Paint a Picture

Andrew Steer, ICT Coordinator @ Christchurch has tried out this new and exciting art package with Year 1 and Foundation stage pupils. These are his thoughts

Have had lots of fun playing around with the program today. Children thoroughly enjoyed using it. The photos are of reception and year1 children. Including some who would often find art fairly difficult and not much fun - they all loved it and produced some really nice stuff.

It Rocks!!!

Mixmen

Wanstead Church school, have been using the mixmen digital mixers from Digital Blue. They have been using them with their computer club and found that the children found them particularly engaging.

Here's Zak's comments on the Mixmen . Zak is in Y5 and used the Mixmen in Computer Club.

MY REPORT ON THE DIGITAL MUSIC MIXER

I thought the digital music mixer was an excellent machine because it is like a DJ and you can switch faders and also scratch sounds. I also think it is good because you can use a warp effect on the music, you can choose the style of the music whether you want House, Techno, Hip hop and a few more. You can choose sounds and record your own music. I like it because it has different settings and I loved the style of the music.

By Zak

The Probot

The probot has been looked at and used by our Leading Teachers and in computer clubs. It has also been tested in a rigorous research project in Parkhill Junior school. The comments from leading teachers in Mossford and Cleveland Junior are detailed below:

Positive

The large LCD panel which displays the commands is an excellent tool and makes it a lot more child friendly than other programmable robots. Pupils can also easily edit the commands they input into the robot, rather than having to start a new programme every time.

The Pro-Bot is more accurate with its turning due to the programmable degree setting. Once again this allows for more effective use when using the dry wipe pen function.

The procedures that are already installed in the programme are a great help for pupils who are finding it difficult to write their own programmes or the teacher does that have much time in the session.

The ability to further the use of the Pro-Bot using a PC is a great function, this could be used for higher achievers.

The handy manual is very simple and straight forward.

Ease of use

The software seemed easy to use. It had a convenient differentiated interface. However these were not clearly labelled and only found through chance. However once the children would experiment, then they should be more easy to use.

After the use of Bee Bot or Roamer I shall be using these with a club of year 3’s.

Negative/points to consider

You have to be very careful with the type of surface you choose when using the Pro-Bot. Carpets do not allow for the Pro-Bot to turn left or right due to the ball bearing getting caught on parts of the carpet that stick up. The best surface is lino or a table top.

The sound sensor is not very responsive. As you have to clap very loudly next to the Pro-Bot and even then it does not respond. If the sensor was moved to the top of the car this may be more beneficial.

The specials menu is a bit more complicated to work; configuring the lights to come on when the car goes into a tunnel may have to be done by the teacher before pupils use the car.

The Pro-Bot lengths (25cm per unit) could be too long for some classrooms floor space so it would be recommendable that the cm unit 91cm per unit) is used in the classrooms.

After reading the instructions and listening to group discussion I found this easier to use the Pro-Bot. However the sensor was more of a sticky issue.

There was an issue with trying to link the probot to the machine, however this should be remedied with the expertise with a good technician.

These points were compiled by John Wix and Veena Naidoo both Leading ICT Teachers in Redbridge redbridge

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The comments below are the conclusions drawn from the Parkhill research project:

Conclusions

Difficulties and improvements:

These comments were made by the children when using the Pro-Bot.

The screen was hard to read. Not enough contrast in the colours of the background and programming commands.
The figure 1 and the open bracket looked very similar on the programming screen.
The children weren’t aware when there had been a procedure programmed as there was no indication on the screen. They would have liked to have seen a symbol or something that indicated a procedure was in their program.
The Pro-Bot struggled to turn the correct angle on a rough surface.
The pen holder could be improved.
We couldn’t get the sound sensor to work.
Repeat couldn’t repeat more than 99 times.
You can only program in whole cm’s and whole degree numbers.



Positive comments:

They liked the design of the car.
The buttons were easy to use.
It was useful to be able to save procedures.
They enjoyed watching the car move, drawing out their programs and then checking that they had managed to create the correct shape.
It helped them understand the concept of angles.


This was a very successful project as the Pro-Bot is intuitive to use. The children were extremely keen to do this work and we found that it encouraged collaborative working and improved their communication skills.


with thanks to all @ Parkhill Juniors for their hard work.

Espresso

Earlier this year we asked you about online learning soloutions.
These were your comments on Espresso.

We had espresso at our school for the last 3 years. The videos are good but become dated once you have used them once. They do keep updating and adding new content but there could be a wider selection. Key stage 1 used it a lot. They were able to set the board to one of the activities in Reception and it was used almost everyday. Key stage 2 tended to use it for the videos to support topic work and for SEN kids as a consolidation activity or a plenary using the IWB. Worth the money for KS1 definitely. KS 2 use depended on the teacher. Now that whole site can be accessed from home it is a lot more user friendly for planning.

Sandra Lee

We use Espresso here at our school and find it very good although very expensive - the usual problem is not getting the teachers to use it enough to justify the cost. With that in mind we have a trainer coming at 3.45 on 11.10.06 which I'm sure no-one would mind you looking in on if you fancied. Early years have it on most days so really get their money's worth.

A Redbridge Teacher

Well we have Espresso here and I have to admit I'm very impressed with it. The staff seem to be using and in worth wild ways. The main advantage with it are the videos on a wide variety of topics that are very readily available. For most topics and lessons you can find something relevant.The staffroom helps to plans activities in as all the content is matched to QCA schemes. The news items are particularly good.

Has it improved standards?

Hard to say, we have only had it since September really, but does it make for definitely more interesting lessons.
With the new headphones in the suite I hope that it will get used more as an activity for children to complete independently that just as a teaching tool.

Overall, if money is available i'd strongly suggest it as long as the school had projectors in place, as i think that is the main area of use for Espresso

Nicholas Hughes