Making healthy eating an important part of meal time for busy mums (and dads!) is challenging at the best of times -  how do you introduce children to their greens when the only green they want is usually in the E numbers of their favourite candy?

Perhaps the education needs to start in the classroom before they reach the dinner table, making it easier for families to create healthy options and not have to fight the battle of why carrots are good for you.

With this in mind the Planet team recently partnered with the British Nutrition Foundation to help bring their Food - a fact of life module of study into flipchart format. This range of resources, including flipcharts and video resource packs, aims to provide  a progressive approach to teaching about healthy eating, cooking, farming and food, from ages 3 to 16 years.

The Planet team caught up with Claire Theobold, Senior Education Officer for the British Nutrition Foundation, to find out why healthy eating starts in the classroom.

How important is it for teachers to play a role in educating school children on healthy eating?

Everyone has a role to play in educating children about healthy eating, but children spend a large part of their day at school so teachers are in an excellent position to help children learn about, and practice, healthy eating.  For example, there are many great opportunities for teachers to deliver key healthy eating messages through the curriculum.  Areas such as science, personal, social, health education and technology (designing and making) offer exciting possibilities for food in the curriculum.

An example might be making bread.  This could involve tasting different breads;  finding out about types of bread eaten in different countries, e.g. pitta bread, bagels, baguettes; carrying out questionnaires and collecting data on the most popular breads; designing their own bread by researching recipes and experimenting with different ingredients, e.g. adding grated cheese or dried fruit; making their own bread and using it to create their own healthy sandwich.

There are also great opportunities in the school day such as break and lunchtimes where teachers can advise and encourage children and parents to provide healthy snack and lunches, and help children make healthy choices.

How would a teacher go about approaching the subject in the classroom?

It is important to give children the right messages.  People naturally have their own thoughts on healthy eating, but there are important facts that children should know.  The resources on the Food - a fact of life site have been developed to ensure continuity and progression for primary school children learning about healthy eating, cooking and where food comes from.  These resources include teachers notes to support the structure and content of lessons, and lots of resources such as card activities, presentations, interactive activities, posters and worksheets to embed key messages.

Would you encourage school children to become practically involved in food, for example, making the chunky winter vegetable soup that’s featured in one of your resources?

Definitely.  Learning through practical hands-on activities makes learning fun and memorable.  It also allows children to see the practical application of healthy eating.  For example, planning and making a fruit salad helps children to learn about different fruits, how they are prepared and what they taste like.

Children are generally more willing to taste something they have prepared themselves so a practical session like this or one involving a vegetable soup would be a great way to teach and reinforce the 5 A DAY message.  Understandably, primary teachers sometimes feel anxious about teaching food in their primary classroom which is why we created lots of supporting resources.

On the Food –a fact of life site there is a hygiene and safety checklist, guidance on how to prepare a primary classroom for a cooking session, simple recipes for primary aged children, video clips showing how to prepare foods safely and recipe video clips showing how to make different dishes.  We have lots of ‘cool creations’ recipes that do not require heat, such as smoothies, salads and dips – these are ideal for introducing food skills and if an oven is not available in school.  All these resources have been designed to help primary teachers feel more confident about teaching food in the primary classroom.  They can be found in the Cooking module on the Food – a fact of life website.

Do you have any advice for parents to help with nutrition and food, outside of the classroom?

Parents have a very important role in helping children learn about healthy eating and its key messages. One of the most important messages is for parents to encourage their children to eat a balance and variety of foods.  Parents can get their children interested in food and healthy eating by involving them in the weekly shopping trip, e.g. asking them to help plan meals and write the shopping list, letting them choose items like fruit and vegetables.
Parents can also get their children involved with preparing meals, e.g. making a salad to accompany a meal. Further information and tips on  healthy eating can be found on the British Nutrition Foundation website and on the Food Standards Agency’s site

Are there any plans for producing secondary school resources?

We have developed a draft set of resources for secondary teachers covering the areas: Energy and Nutrients, Diet and health, Ingredients and Food Science and Production and processing.  We are currently collecting comments on these resources with a view to  finalising them in the near future.

For more information and to download the Food - a fact of life resources, please visit their Partner page on Promethean Planet.

Here in the northeast U.S. we are enjoying the beautiful colors of the changing leaves. Thousands of people make a special pilgrimage for ‘leaf peeping’ in Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire.  As I have been enjoying the changing season and the vitality of color in our landscape, it has prompted me to reflect on the effects of color and learning…and most notably in the use of color in lesson plan design.

When you bring in visual images and colored digital text into the classroom, I believe it has a profound effect on learning and this effect is still being researched and documented.

Questions to consider:  What color shall I use in a classroom environment? How do we prepare a classroom environment for learning? What colors for the walls?  What colors are used in posters and graphics? What colors are optimal for lesson plan design on your interactive white board.

When considering color, consider commercial logos for color combinations that work…the top name brands offer logos and color schemes that catch the eye.  Also consider home décor or restaurant choices that seem to invite an atmosphere for learning.

Browse an interesting and comprehensive multidisciplinary discussion about color on the Color Matters website where Jill Morton writes “Color plays a vitally important role in the world in which we live. Color can sway thinking, change actions, and cause reactions. It can irritate or soothe your eyes, raise your blood pressure or suppress your appetite.”  In the pages of this site, you can explore the social, cultural and brain stimulating effects of color as well as some interesting comments on color theory.

Whether you are a teacher who has resorted to using repetitive color schemes…or a teacher who is always experimenting with the use of color, please read on.  You may want a rationale for spicing up your concept of using a unique color palette. 

Did you know that there are some students with Dyslexia, headaches and other visual impairments that can be corrected with the use of color? Have you heard that some students who could not read black words on a white page can read printed words using colored overlays? You may want to observe how students react to color in your classroom. It may have a more profound effect than you realize.  If colored overlays can help with reading…what can happen if we change the background color on a lesson page in the ActivClassroom?

The research and documentation of the Irlen Institute can be a good place to begin. Using a diagnostic test and nine colored overlays, adults and children are matched to the color scheme for optimal learning. The use of colored eyeglasses also can have an effect on people who suffer from Irlen syndrome headaches.

I propose that color has an effect on many more learners than indicated by the Irlen research. The widespread gain in academic achievement using the ActivClassroom could be analyzed with color use in mind.  I posted this simple assessment lesson to get teachers started as they poll their students about their preferred colors. Using the ActivClassroom the teachers can customize their color palette to match the Irlen diagnostic colors. If course the quality of the color is dependent on the quality of the classroom projector.  Use the fill tool to change background colors readily and consider the effects of filling text with color in order to optimize learning.

Please consider researching this concept and share your stories of success here or in the Promethean Planet Forums!

Some of you may have noticed that our community is growing not just in terms of numbers, but also languages. You can now access Promethean Planet in seven languages, taking advantages of resources prepared by teachers from global ideas, but in a local language.

The latest edition to the Planet family is Promethean Planet Arabic, which was recently launched at a big technology event in Dubai, called GITEX. GITEX is the main event in the Middle East for teachers looking for the latest in classroom technology and the ideal place to bring Planet and introduce it to Arabic teachers.

One of the people who will be helping teachers with their interactive journey in the Middle East is Promethean’s latest TLC (Teaching & Learning Consultant), Hussain Al Sharakhi (pictured left). Hussain himself has three years teaching experience practicing in Bahrain at a Secondary and an Academy school, so he knows first-hand how Planet can help teachers.

In a short interview, we caught up with Hussain at GITEX to hear how even teachers in the Middle East can still learn from the English language Planet sites, proving just how small the teaching community can become with the internet and a bit of ambition.

How important do you think Promethean Planet is for Arabic teachers?

Planet Arabic is crucial for the Middle East so that our teachers can have some sort of community to share creative ideas and cultural differences amongst each other. It also enables them to be connected with the latest updates, best practice teaching ideas and of course, lesson plans.

How do Arabic teachers differ from other teachers when it comes to sharing resources?

I don’t think that it differs too much from other nationalities, some of the ‘fears’ that teachers have here are the same just as others in say, Europe. The one difference we have to remember is that some Arabic teachers come from quite closed cultures so they can be quite shy, which is especially true for females. Many of them feel afraid to fail or are worried about receiving a negative reaction to their resources.

I am hoping though that the launch of Planet Arabic, and especially the Arabic forum, will help us smooth their fears and start to encourage them to submit and participate with other teachers.

Do you think that Arabic teachers can still take something from the Planet.com site?

Absolutely. In particular, in the private education system here in the Middle East, the first language which pupils are taught is English and many lessons are also delivered in English. I often encourage teachers to switch to the English language site for lesson ideas to see what they can convert to their own language. Plus, there is Themes, Teacher Features, both of which we hope to bring to Planet Arabic soon.

So where do you see the ActivClassroom taking Arabic teachers?

There is huge potential for teachers here to take traditional teaching equipment and bring it up to western standards. We have an education saying that that children now learn NOT like how their parents did, which references that the classroom has changed since they were learners and that technology has moved on so much.

Our students live in a digital age and the new technology we have around us today is being developed so fast that the potential to learn, and help bring out the best in our teachers, is very serious. The ActivClassroom allows us to do that, whilst Planet Arabic brings them closer to an important community of teachers who can share and learn, regardless of language or distance.

Keele University, in December 2008 published a document called Enabling Enhanced Mathematics Teaching with Interactive Whiteboards. 

If you are interested you can see the whole report here :  http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/ed/iaw/docs/ncetmreport.pdf

The “assumptions” they made throughout their research are listed as

• the mathematics classroom is a collaborative classroom where pupils regularly work in groups (not just pairs) and discuss their mathematical experiences
• lessons are interesting and motivational (more than just colourful) and involve pupils in mathematical thought and discussion rather than consisting of exposition, example and exercise - it is not enough just to do well in examinations and tests
• the “at the board, in the head, at the desk” activities are fully integrated
• all electronic resources and links are stored with the IWB software file
• questioning begins at Bloom’s analysis level* (using for example “What can you see?”) rather than at the knowledge level
• wherever possible work is targeted at Bloom’s higher levels
• activities at the board will often involve the use of “virtual manipulatives” used in an exploratory way - a virtual manipulative, is for example, an onscreen version of a graphic calculator, geoboard, protractor, fraction wall (there are many of these available from the internet)
• the use of the “virtual manipulative” by the teacher does not replace the use of real manipulatives by pupils, but complements their use
• teaching will involve a variety of approaches that will cater for all learning styles (although we do not necessarily accept theories about such learning styles we recognise that the IWB allows a variety of approaches including visual, oral and kinaesthetic)
• the IWB software allows for a variety of means of interaction (e.g. drag and drop, hide and reveal etc) that can (and should) be used in innovative and imaginative ways
• linear presentations (as often seen in PowerPoints) are not the best way to prepare for such lessons as they constrain the teacher to demonstrate and display rather than use other means
• mathematics lessons are not about exposition, example and exercise

*http://www.educationforum.co.uk/HA/bloom.htm

There is so much listed in the above which should be “shouted” from the rooftops and I am sad that I only stumbled across this report (actually handed to me by a colleague) and that “such gold” should go by without receiving the attention it should.

The teaching of mathematics at both Primary and Secondary is often seen as “specialist” FAR AND BEYOND any other subject.  Maths underpins so many subjects not because we need to know that 2×2=4, but because if taught well, it allows children to reason, modify, discuss, justify and most importantly adapt their thinking.  These skills form the basis of “life” and should be enhanced and explored at every opportunity in children’s learning.  Apparently it still seems acceptable to say “I can’t do maths”, but would an equivalent phrase of “I can’t read and write” be heard in the same quantity - I doubt it!!

These were the top ten websites that the report recommends :

www.prometheanplanet.com  great to see this appearing on the list!!

curriculum.qca.org.uk/key-stages-3-and-4/subjects/mathematics/index.aspx

The website for the new national curriculum of 2008. The aims for this new curriculum ‘… should inform all aspects of curriculum planning and teaching and learning at whole-school and subject levels. The curriculum should enable all young people to become: successful learners who enjoy learning, make progress and achieve; confident individuals who are able to live safe, healthy and fulfilling lives and responsible citizens who make a positive contribution to society.’

nrich.maths.org

Essential site that ‘… supports teachers and learners of mathematics with thousands of free resources which are designed to develop subject content knowledge and problem-solving and thinking skills. We aim to offer engaging and challenging problems, articles and interactive environments that offer opportunities for exploration.’

www.bowlandmaths.org.uk

Materials that ‘…look very different from most maths teaching materials. They consist of innovative case study problems, each taking 3-5 lessons, designed to develop thinking, reasoning and problem solving skills – as in the revised Key Stage 3 curriculum. Each case study is different, but all provide pupils and teachers with problems that are fun and engaging, while also being a rich maths experience.’

www.itemaths.org.uk

TDA commissioned Subject Resource Network for initial teacher educators but within this site contains links to most of the main mathematics organisations (subject associations, government agencies etc.) that have an interest and are involved in policy and strategy concerned with mathematics teaching and learning. Also contains resources that are helpful for those involved in initial teacher education.

www.iwbmaths.co.uk

Most of this advert-free site is free. It has pages that change daily, weekly or monthly. A subscription section (£50 a year for a school) has ICT training part and an interactive file section that links to over 800 interactive ‘virtual manipulatives’ that are usefully indexed by mathematics topic.

www.iwbmathstraining.co.uk

A free, advert-free site that has ideas and files for use with ACTIVstudio and Smart notebook software, training materials and interactive whiteboard versions for all the ‘Improving Learning in Mathematics’ topics developed by the Standards Unit as part of the Maths4Life project. The site is constantly being updated as part of Keele University’s work on IWB materials.

www.ncetm.org.uk

Portal for the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching that ‘ … provides effective strategic leadership for mathematics-specific CPD. It aims to raise the professional status of all those engaged in the teaching of mathematics so that the mathematical potential of learners will be fully realised.’ Has links for research, mathematics self-evaluation, courses and a Mathemapedia.

http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/

Website that contains hundreds of interactive, open-code Demonstrations–created solely in Mathematica by users from around the world. The “Wolfram Demonstrations Project brings to life ideas in math, science, and many other areas, from elementary education to front-line research”. You can download all demonstrations and use with the free Mathematica player (must install on your computer).

www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/secondary/framework/maths/fwsm

This website is where you find the ‘… renewed Framework builds on the original Framework for teaching mathematics, which was produced in 2001. It is based on the programmes of study for the new secondary curriculum. The Framework is designed to increase pupils’ access to excellent teaching and engaging, purposeful learning that will enable them to make good progress through Key Stages 3 and 4.’

This raises a  number of points for further discussion and exploration and maybe we should do more, for example, to discourage PowerPoint in teaching and learning on an iwb, but the trouble is people need training and that of course takes us into a whole new topic, but maybe this link could go somewhere to helping…

http://www.prometheanplanet.com/server.php?show=nav.20252

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The list of “Actions” in the “Action Browser” within Inspire is pretty extensive.

If you are like me, you use a few actions over and over, but never really explore many of the other actions.  By the way, my favorite is “Hidden” ( little x through eyeball icon).

Many of the actions are pretty self explanatory, such as a link to a website or switching to pen or magic ink. However, some actions come with an odd parameter field that may need an explanation.  Ever wonder what those parameters do?  Ever wonder what the difference between stretch top incrementally verses size top incrementally is? Me too!

Within the following link is a pdf attachment that answers many of your burning questions regarding actions!  Click here for All About Actions.

Continuing our recent exploration of Google Earth 5 with the Activboard where we explored then blogged about ocean data and using Google Earth to plot  GPS coordinates , we then decided to explore the Apollo moon landings using Google Earth 5 ‘layers’ and ‘Moon Gallery’ feature.

Where Shall We Go Today, Class?

For this simple experiment we were using out ActivBoard 330 Pro and our Flip Video camera, a great way to capture instant moments of inspiration and ideas, with minimum fuss.

We started at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, to see where the beginnings of the moon landings took place. Then, using a new icon in Google Earth 5 on our toolbar, we toggled between views of Earth, Sky, Mars or Moon, and selected to visit the moon (see image below).

By holding down the right-click function of the ActivPen we were then able to zoom into the moon without losing our reference point and without crossing the page to use the zoom functions provided by Google Earth.

Using Google Earth Layers

The layers facility in Google Earth 5 provides us with an opportunity to investigate the moon further. From here, we selected the ‘Moon Gallery’ and drilled down to ‘Apollo Missions’, choosing the Apollo 11 landings. We were then able to exlpore the surface of the moon, looking at craters and learning more about the landings.

A Rich Mix of Media for the Classroom

Perhaps the best feature of Google Earth 5 (apart from being free!) is that it also gives you access to further materials for learning. When we visited the Apollo 11 landing site we were able to view a YouTube video of Neil Armstrong citing those famous words and look at other resources relating to the landing.

Overall, what we’ve illustrated is how easy it is to deliver a complete learning experience mixing different media (ActivBoard, Google Earth 5, YouTube) to deliver an engaging lesson…just watch the video to see how it’s done and try it for yourself!

Not many people would look behind when going forward, but what if we all took a step back to revisit our history - could this make sense of a sometimes clouded future?

Over the past couple of months, Promethean Planet has been working with the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (NURFC) in Ohio, to bring to the Planet community resources that focus on African- American heritage, in particular, the slave trade. All of these resources, flipcharts, podcasts and images, can be downloaded from Planet.

As part of this series of thought-provoking resources, the Planet team are honored to be blogging with Mr Carl Westmoreland, Senior Advisor for Historic Preservation at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

Mr Westmoreland talks about the importance of remembering our heritage, how the museum helps people understand our past and what messages teachers can pass on to their pupils.

How important is Heritage to the Freedom Center?

The documented and vetted history of the history of the Underground Railroad, the civil rights movement which lead to the Women Right’s  movement and today’s Human Rights movement, is vital to the need for people of dissimilar backgrounds in developing a positive  understanding of the multicultural world in which we live.

Objective research teaches us that the documented history of all ethnic groups in the world is varied and important, and understanding of the cultural heritage that is unique to the world’s population is needed to avoid global conflict, genocide, political and economic domination that has destabilized an ever shrinking world.

How does the museum help pupils to understand about African-American slavery?

Using objective research which, for example, we quote Dr. Ira Berlin, University of Maryland History professor, who in his book Many Thousands Gone (Harvard University Press, 1998), documents that the value of free enslaved labor in 1860 had a value of 3 billion dollars in 1860 money, we are able to build an outline that creates a base for the understanding of enslavement in America.

Dr. Berlin and other scholars openly quote John Calhoun, Senator from South Carolina in the 1850’s and 1860’s and the Vice President of the Confederacy Alexander Stevens, as well as Stephen F. Austin of Texas, all of whom publicly stated that slavery was the basis of the Southern agricultural economy in the 18th and 19th century.

We put a human face on the numbers that quantify the value to the United States’ economy of enslavement and the use of visual images throughout the museum, such as the image in the Tom Feelings mural in the Slave Pen gallery which depicts the tragedy of an infant being separated from its mother, communicates directly to children that during enslavement, the Black family had no legal standing and no social legitimacy in America.

Children are exposed to the truth that it was against the law in the North (Ohio), as well as in the South, that it was against the law to educate children in the 19th century.  The Black Codes of Ohio (1802) were derived from the Virginia Slave Codes a fact that demonstrates to contemporary children that slavery impacted the lives of all Africans in America, enslaved or free.

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What are the most important messages for teachers to remember when teaching about slave history in the classroom?

Slavery could be compared in the classroom to the life of a child that is traumatized in infancy by the onset of asthma.  This narrative, if examined in depth with sensitivity, would explore the dark side of an infant being challenged for every breath.  It would also explore the parental response of seeking medical assistance that would enable the infant to run free.  A student would need to understand that no miracle drug will bring instant relief to the asthmatic, that there is no permanent cure, but with medication, parental supervision and the pain of exercise, many asthmatics have emerged as Olympic champions in a wide range of sports and tens of millions of asthmatics live relatively normal lives.

Enslavement, like most chronic diseases, foreclosed the free movement of the Black body, forbade the development of the Black mind, and was designed to eliminate any thought of a future that included freedom.  The physical act of escaping on the part of the enslaved was combined with the desire of the enslaved to become educated and employed is inspiring.

The National Underground railroad Freedom Center staff works constantly to open young minds to the opportunities available to them that will permit them to achieve an expanded reality and personal freedom.

What strategies may be suggested for teachers to inspire their students to take courageous steps for freedom today?

At the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, there is a constant effort to draw parallels between the history of enslavement  and the deprivation of human rights of people who represent  the landless, the powerless, the other based on race, gender, religion, sexuality.  We attempt to make our visitors aware that depending on locality, nationality, etc., all races are a despised minority somewhere, and quite often their basic human rights are ignored.

In Africa, inter-tribal conflict still exists on a daily basis at the cost of lost arms and limbs, sexual and military exploitation of children, and ethnic cleansing based on religion (the Sudan, Dafur, Ethiopia, Ghana).  In Europe the religious conflict,  between Irish Catholics and Protestants still simmers, and the multi-century conflicts between those two groups have claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.

It will take an abundance of courage, a small army of informed social activists, business and political leaders to open the wounds of America’s past transgressions, and to listen to the airing of the pain caused by our callous expansion. It is our belief that with such a protracted enterprise, healing can begin and a more perfect union will be the result.

How do we go about keeping the stories, the memories, and the understanding of the Underground Railroad alive?

The first challenge of keeping the stories of the Underground Railroad alive is to use the historical icons, Frederick Douglas, Harriet Tubman, etc. as a launching point to explore the thousands of slave narratives that were developed in 1937 by the WPA (Works Progress Administration).

There are millions of unopened letters, Bibles, and archival materials in the Courthouses of the South, the storage rooms of African churches in America, plantation records and the trunks of Black America.  These documents contain narratives that chronicle and celebrate the day to day miracles of ordinary people who through their own efforts and the efforts of people who looked like them began a physical journey from slavery to a lifelong pursuit of education, employment in an effort to retain respect.

The acquisition of Wilberforce University by Bishop Daniel A. Payne and other leaders of the A.M.E. Church in 1866 in Wilberforce, Ohio, is a perfect example of a journey from enslavement and powerlessness to freedom that extended beyond the artificial date of the Emancipation Proclamation.  It also establishes the reality that physical freedom is only a beginning.

The joy and the challenge of continuing the effort can be fed by the knowledge that ordinary people were the heroes of the Underground Railroad, that in fact they were the great grandparents of the thousands of anonymous African Americans who in the summer of 1963 filled the jails of the South.  They rode buses into fire, and beatings in Birmingham, and they climbed the bridge at Selma showing the world the mettle, and the perseverance that had come down to them from those who had walked the same roads in chains.

How many of you can still read a road map? Or do you rely on your GPS to ensure your timely arrival at an appointment? What do we do on those “searching for satellite” days? Even my five year old niece inquisitively asked,  “what is that folded piece of paper (map) on the table and what does it do?”

What about phone numbers? As a kid I recall committing to memory all important phone numbers. Today it seems the only numbers I have committed to memory is 911 and 411. And now, sadly, I must use my mobile phone’s address book to recite my own home phone number to store cashiers.

I even vaguely remember grade school providing me with countless spelling lessons and tests. Unfortunately I would not have made it through this blog post without the handy use of spell check! What did we do before the time of Word aiding us in our grammar?

So, I ask you all - Has technology changed the way we think? Recalling basic information is no  longer the first step in my process of thought. (Explore Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy by Andrew Churches).

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

I recently read a wonderful article titled: Is Google Making us Stupid? by Nicholas Carr and can’t help but ponder these thoughts on a different level. Nicholas makes wonderful points about the use of the internet and how it is changing the way we read and ultimately think.

Google and other search engines have given us a new perspective on skimming text. We have honed our skimming skills as we scan results looking for keywords and phrases that might lead us to that perfect website. Newspapers have quickly caught onto this phenomenon as you can often locate short summaries of events within the first few pages of a paper in lieu of lengthy detailed articles that we are less inclined to read.

Yes, some of you are saying that this is just a sign of the changing times. However, perhaps the most eye-opening point that Nicholas makes is the link between reading and thinking: “its a different kind of reading, and behind it lies a different kind of thinking.” Reading and how we read shapes thinking and how we think.

Connecting Lessons to Teaching

So as I ponder this thought and try to connect its lessons to teaching and learning, I can’t help but wonder where this leads us in the 21st Century classroom. Sure we’ve made physical changes from chalkboards to interactive white boards, but where do we notice the shift in learning and knowledge? I recall often telling my chemistry and physical science students not to memorize the elements on the periodic table, but rather learn how to use the table.

This is quite a shift from when I was in school and had to memorize the elements. Cursive penmanship taught in the 3rd grade here in Pennsylvania is often not reinforced beyond that year. Over the years I have had quite a few 8th grade students who could not read the cursive instructions I had written on the board.

Will the day come that spelling lessons and penmanship are gone with the chalkboards? I don’t think the question is one of will but when. Perhaps more importantly - how will these changes reprogram the way we think?

I recently visited a school district in suburban Philadelphia and encountered a very rare and wonderful experience. I was scheduled to meet with two of the district technology coaches (teachers who also have a supplemental position as a liaison for the teachers and the technology department) to show them the features and functions of ActivInspire.

Prior to the meeting, I thought that during the meeting I would be conducting most of the presentation and demonstration. To my surprise and delight, it turns out the coaches had a fully created flipchart presentation developed and that they just wanted to consult with me to find out if I thought any additional information should be included. I was very impressed and asked that they post their presentation on Promethean Planet so that other coaches/teachers could use the flipchart for in-house professional development.

The Ultimate Goal In My Work

This may not sound like a very miraculous event but as a Teaching and Learning Consultant for Promethean, this type of meeting was the ultimate goal in my work.

This district has coaches who can provide FREE professional development to all of their staff on the schedule of the district and they do not have to rely on anyone else to make this happen. The coaches gain their knowledge of Promethean through attending regional workshops that I host, utilizing the many free courses and webinars on Promethean Planet, and they take their own time to practice and develop their skills relative to the software so that they are able to present to the staff in their schools.

Learning From Other Teachers

With tight budgets and cut-backs everywhere, schools want training for their staff at no cost when they purchase expensive technology equipment. From a business perspective, providing on-going free professional development does not make sense. What does make sense is using the internal resources that every school has - their own staff!

Every school has at least one or two teachers who are technologically inclined and interested in learning how to effectively utilize the technology they are given. These are the teachers who should be attending free regional workshops (where available) or going to the Train-the-trainer courses offered through Promethean’s Professional Development Department.

“From face-to-face training to online Activtips, webcasts with key industry educationalists to group workshops, our Professional Development options are both flexible & comprehensive.”

Once a few key teachers have the training, they are able to present on in-service days, during staff development workshops, at staff meetings…where and whenever it is appropriate for that particular school/district.  And the best part is, it is always FREE!

You may have received an email a while back from Promethean stating that our latest software, ActivInspire, is now available in x number of languages.  That number is growing all the time, but I think there are about 22 languages currently. My guess is that most teachers typically use one language and stick with that. However, if you check your settings, you will find that the second option from the top gives you the ability to change the software language.

I’m guessing a lot of foreign language teachers or teachers of English learners have been using this feature to assist their students in language acquisition, but… what about teachers who teach English to native English speakers (the majority of teachers in the US)?

Why not change the application language just for the fun of implicit language learning?

Obviously you want to keep the titles in English when you or your students are getting used to the software, but there can be a lot of implicit learning involved by simply using the software in another language for some time.  It reminds me of when I watch TV in Spanish with subtitles on! My next task is to find out the exact differences between the three English’s listed

Sadly there have been many celebrities who have passed away in the past few weeks. But there is one death that did not receive much attention, yet he probably had more effect on your students life than most would realize, Les Paul.

In the 2007 Speak Up study done by Project Tomorrow, the number one use of technology outside of school for high school and middle school students was downloading music. Yet, even without the statistics to back it up, I think it is fair to say that students enjoy music. However, many of them do not realize that many of the songs they hear today would not have the same sound were it not for the inventions of Les Paul.

Almost every major band uses the Les Paul solid-body electric guitar . From Eric Clapton to the current day heart-throbs, The Jonas Brothers, they all use a Les Paul guitar. (Although for me, it still doesn’t make The Jonas Brothers sound or play any better! How a group can sell that many records without the seeming ability to sing or skillfully play their instruments is beyond me.)

Why not use this story as a reason to bring sound into your classroom? In Inspire, adding sound is as easy as going to Insert>Media. You could play some songs from bands that have used a Les Paul Guitar in the background of your lesson. In an English setting, use Les Paul as a starter for a short writing assignment. While some music is playing, ask the class to write as Les Paul and how he would view music today.

You could use Les Paul as a way to teach electricity and Thomas Edison or Nichola Tesla. Les Paul saw a problem with the current day electric guitars and recording processes, so he created a solution with his solid-body electric guitar and the multi-tracking recorder. This is an opening for teaching problem-solving, starting with music.

I’m sure that you can also think of many other ways to weave Les Paul into your classroom. And when you do, make sure to insert some music to go along with it. As stated above, we agree that students enjoy music, so it is fair to assume that they are going to enjoy lessons with music more than lessons without. And if your students are engaged and enjoying the lessons, you are going to see their achievement rise.

Though while it is nice to connect with your students, I would still suggest picking more Clapton and less Jonas Brothers!

Adora Svitak is an 11-year-old author and presenter who shares her passion for reading and writing with audiences around the world. She uses ActivClassroom technology in her presentations, and is featured in the Planet News story, A Kid’s Eye View of Technology in the Classroom.

Power to the people! Power to the students!

You may wonder why I declare this. Today’s disenfranchised youth cannot vote; the lower grades cannot drive; we can’t even open up a bank account without adult supervision. In general, minors are not the decision-makers. Where should minors have some control? Education.

When kids of my age are told to do things, we generally are not so excited about doing it. Think in the vein of “take out the garbage” and “eat your vegetables.” When the educator is always at the head of the table, students may not be so apt to eat, or, in other words, to learn.

One of the best ways to get kids engaged in the classroom is to give us some control in our learning experience. I know this first-hand as a student and a teacher. When I teach writing, one of my favorite activities is collaborative writing. Instead of giving each student an individual assignment from the get-go, I instead have students lead the way by suggesting words, characters, and even storylines in response to questions. This gives students a feeling of accomplishment and a feeling of control in the writing process. I use an ActivBoard to show students their ideas come alive in real-time.

As a student, I know how control gets me interested. I attend an online public school, and I am able to learn at my own pace, deciding when to learn what lessons, and where. Although a brick-and-mortar school might have a more standardized approach, there are many ways to get students more involved in the learning process. These include blogs, wikis, interactive whiteboards, and online document sharing.

Blogging

“Writing is the mark you make on the world, and you want to make sure that mark is something you are proud of.” This is one of my favorite mottoes to share with students. Posting student work on a class blog does many things; it makes students aware that they have an audience, and more considerate of the quality of their writing; at the same time, it gives students who want their writing in the spotlight a chance to demonstrate their work. A blog allows students to reach higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation, through editorials, stories, and essays. A blog could act as a paperless class newspaper, and can be circulated to a wider audience on the World Wide Web. 

A blog is also a powerful organizational tool. If you have ever seen the inside of a grade-schooler’s binder, you may reconsider giving them back that masterpiece writing assignment without making an online copy first! The weblog allows you to easily save student work—because even the most eloquent of essays can get lost somewhere in the shadowy depths of a backpack. 

Wikis

Another powerful tool is the wiki. Wikis allow a class to collaborate on a project or get more in-depth on a topic. One way to use a wiki is to create a list. A wiki could be used effectively as a site for students to brainstorm ideas for a project.

A wiki could also be used as a writing tool. For instance, if the life science class is learning about the difference between plant and animal cells, the teacher could set up a wiki for a compare-contrast article and write a paragraph introducing plant and animal cells to get the wiki started. Next, Student A could note that plant cells have cell walls and animal cells do not. Student B could add a few lines about how plant cells have chlorophyll. And the wiki goes on. Every student becomes a part of the project.

The ActivBoard, Google Documents

I have an ActivBoard in my home, and I use it every day when I teach schools and classrooms around the world through distance learning. I’ve found that Promethean’s technology has been a big help in giving power to the students. Learner response systems like ActiVotes and ActivExpression allow students to respond to questions without a fear of “standing out.” Interactive flipcharts allow students to take control of the learning process by getting involved in activities on-screen, giving your students more control in the learning process. 

I am a big believer in the power of free stuff in general (think dumpster diving), and my philosophy applies to education, minus the dumps. Well-respected online document sharing programs like Google Documents can be excellent collaborative writing tools. They let students exchange ideas back and forth. One plus of using Google Docs is the privacy; Documents only allows those people who have been approved by “Collaborators” to contribute to a piece of writing.

Not only do these technology options give your students control, they are all fairly user-friendly and do not require too much technological expertise. Although technological expertise should not be something you—or your 21st Century students—are lacking in.

For more information, read the Planet article A Kid’s Eye View of Technology in the Classroom, or visit Adora’s website.

With the launch of ActivInspire 1.2, teachers now have the option to take advantage of new ‘Self Paced’ functionality with their ActivExpression sets.

The Planet team decided to catch up with one Planet member, Alison Lydon, Head of Junior School ICT at The Mary Erskine and Stewart’s Melville Junior School, Edinburgh, to see what her initial thoughts were to Self Paced Learning in her classroom

Background

We have just started to use ActivExpression in the classroom and whilst there are lots of fantastic uses, they are still a desirable item rather than an essential. This is about to change though as our school, The Mary Erskine and Stewart’s Melville Junior School, was lucky enough to take part in a trial of the new Self Paced Learning using ActivInspire and ActivExpression handsets.

The 7 and 8 year old children in the class I chose for the pilot had used ActivExpression handsets before and were keen to be some of the first children in the world to test drive the system. We had great fun. The children loved it, the ease of use was staggering and the teaching/learning potential massive.

Now I can ask  my class all the same question, get individual answers from each child and see how long it takes each pupil to respond whilst simultaneously giving them the next question when they are ready. Does this seem like the future? Well it is the present, as our Primary 4 children experienced. Let me explain…

Making the Questions

As the questions are displayed on the handsets rather than on the board, I had some setting up to do (although I could have chosen the random maths question generator- I decided to really test the software!)

When I opened up the Self Paced question wizard everything seemed really obvious.  I decided to make my own questions rather than use the built in generator so I could try a variety of question types with the children.
I chose to make about 20 questions at level 1 and level 2, this way, I could specify how many level 1 questions the children had to answer correctly before they moved up  to level 2.  I also chose to shuffle the questions so they appeared randomly (so no copying their neighbours!)

Using the System

All I had to do was  hand out the ActivExpression devices to the children and press a button. Before my eyes a chart appeared on my screen showing me who had answered what question, what their response had been and how long it had taken them to answer. Once they had finished I could export the summary tables (that’s the marking done) , see which questions posed the most problems  and use the data to plan my next lesson based on real evidence.

The Benefits

The children really were able to work at their own pace.  Questions appeared quickly on their screens and children who were able to answer questions easily were not held back by others who took longer. Children could progress to harder questions when they were ready to, rather than when a teacher thought they should.

The second biggest benefit was the excellent data I had to help plan my next lessons. I could see how long a pupil took to answer a question, which pupils were on which level, the time it took each child took to answer the questions and how many right and wrong answers each child made. I was also able to look at the statistics for each question to see which concepts were understood and which needed revising or re-teaching.

So now I have a whole new and exciting way of using Expression in the classroom - a way which will allow my time to focus on using instant and up-to-date data to teach and plan lessons based on the specific needs of a class. What will they think of next?

Alison Lydon - Head of Junior School ICT

* Alison can be contacted via her blog or Twitter page

There is a great contest, sponsored by The History Channel, currently happening, where you can animate transformative speeches from American history.  To learn more about this contest click here.

What a great use of Activsound, to help you record your students voices for this project.  Then you can project and review all their submissions on the board.  You could even do your own class contest where students use the screen recorder tool to animate and record audio from great American speeches.

The deadline for submissions is September 2nd, so get recording quickly!  If you do enter this contest, or create your own classroom contest, go ahead and create a thread for it in the Forum and post your videos there.  I’m sure that others would love to see what your students create!

Until today, I have taken Ted Kennedy’s presence for granted.

Being a lifelong Bostonian and watching the funeral celebration of Senator Ted Kennedy’s life, I cannot help but think of how the Kennedy vision of public service has shaped my life. My parents, aunts and uncles of the Catholic-Baby-Boomer generation recall a sense of pride in JFK and his idealistic views that inspired their young-adult life.

A call to service to our country and a call to “make the world a better place” were a refreshing hope emerging from the war and post-depression era. My grandparents were proud of their hard working children who served in industry, education and public service.

My godparents inspired me since I was a child to make a sacrifice and a difference in the world. Aunt Linda Thayer was a 30+year science teacher at the Jeremiah Burke High School, one of Boston’s struggling Public Schools. Uncle Bob Durbin, after college in Boston, served in our country’s Vista program and has persevered in his public service to the folks in the city of Richmond, Virginia.

My mother rallied behind Jackie Kennedy’s example in her most important vocation to do the best she could to raise her children to the best of her ability. She always taught us that we had a special job to make the world a better place. She has been the inspiration for me to raise my three children with faith, hope and courage. In addition to motherhood, I wanted to make a difference in the world as a whole and I have always searched for that opportunity for meaningful work in my life…

To work for Promethean has been a great gift… I have eagerly rallied behind the cause to serve as a leader to empower and engage teachers and students. This ideal drives my motivation to serve the leaders and administrators and teachers who ultimately serve the children — the hope of the future. I want to thank my colleagues at Promethean for the opportunity to work hard for this mission to make the world a better place through the power of education.

I knew about Senator Kennedy’s great work…but my husband was truly one of his most devoted followers. The Tan family was spared immigration red tape as Ted Kennedy’s office intervened on their behalf to speed their entry to America from war-torn Cambodia in the 1970s. My high school friend, now sister-in-law, Sophie and my husband Patrick are very devoted to the Democratic party. Their devotion and faithfulness hinges on the fact that their family was given a second chance for opportunity in America.

Just recently, my good friend Elaine Cusick, Special Education Coordinator at the John Silber early learning center in Chelsea, MA and former peace corps volunteer, requested help from Senator Kennedy’s office. She was experiencing the red tape of foreign adoption for a child who had slipped through the cracks of bureaucracy and corruption in Guatemala and within a week, Senator Kennedy’s staff had righted the situation and given an innocent child a second chance.

My purpose in my role as a Promethean Teaching and Learning consultant is to bring a renewed hope to the classrooms we service…most especially to the children and teachers in our cities… who need us to believe in their future.

For the past three years, I have worked with the teachers at Boston’s Parkway Academy of Technology and Health and have enjoyed collaborating with the teachers and principal, Dr. Pamela Hilton. This brings meaning to my work, since I feel as though the torch has been passed from my aunt who has recently retired from BPS. These students are the hope for our future as well as the teachers and students I am serving in New Haven, CT, Stamford, CT and New York City among other urban and suburban districts in New England. I find each day to be most challenging and rewarding.

I will strive to emulate Senator Kennedy in his example of preparedness, resilience and hard work…while filled with love and compassion for the people…and a confidence in the next generation of American immigrants who appreciate the freedom, democracy, and education that offers a second chance.

Thank you for your friendship, encouragement, partnership and support in this shared mission…in this journey we make every day in our own way…to “make the world a better place” for all.