by The Editor | Mar 30, 2015
Last week we had the privilege of talking LIVE to Commander Chris Hadfield, the previous Commander of the International Space Station. Commander Hadfield, talking to us from Mexico, responded to a very wide range of questions from nursery learners, primary and secondary school pupils in Scotland including:
Is the moon made of cheese?
What happens if you get claustrophobia in space?
Can you light fire in space?
Are there any aliens in space?
Is there a difference in a day (24 hours) in space?
Is the sun brighter in space?
For answers to these and all the other questions posed, please view the Glow TV watch again facility (Glow log-in needed).
Commander Hadfield had this advice for all Scotland’s learners:
“Think about all the little decisions you make every day, they turn you into who you’re going to be tomorrow and it’s those little decisions that eventually turn you into who you’re going to be your whole life. Make good decisions and it’s amazing where it could lead you.”
by The Editor | Mar 26, 2015
The new EVOLVE online educational visit planning and approval system is now live in Midlothian. A fantastic turn-out at our recent launch means that we have 14 schools (and growing) in the pilot phase. The system offers a huge amount of benefits to aid trip planning for our educational establishments in Midlothian. We hope this system will enable and Encourage more of-site visits
Simplifies procedures
Promotes efficiency
Promotes confidence to plan educational visits
Builds portfolio of staff experience
Supports planning – reflection – planning working practices
Reduces paperwork
Provides a clear audit trail
Ensures staff planning adheres to procedures
Pre-configured robust framework
Manage all Extra-curricular activities – not just visits!
Dynamic monitoring and live customisable reporting tools
Supports inspection preparation and process of self review
Comprehensive overview of all learning opportunities
Flexible, intuitive & easy to use
Click here for more information.
by The Editor | Mar 18, 2015
Congratulations to S2 pupil Erin Scratcherd from Penicuik High School who has been awarded second prize in the Junior category (S1 & S2) of the RSA Schools Art Award, Scotland’s most prestigious art award for school pupils.
This annual competition has no particular theme but there is an emphasis on skills of observation and interpretation with the judges, including the president of the RSA, awarding prizes for work which displays energy, creativity and originality. It also provides an opportunity for pupils to prove themselves as the very best of Scotland’s creative talent.
Erin’s award winning piece was a portrait of her granddad created with pens in response to a homework task where she was asked to draw a portrait of a member of her family. Erin and her mum attended a prize giving ceremony and lunch held at the RSA Gallery in Edinburgh on Tuesday 10th March where she collected a framed certificate along with her award. Part of her prize included the opportunity to visit the gallery with a group of 23 of her peers for a guided tour of the New Contemporaries exhibition and to celebrate her achievement.
All of the prize-winning entries from this year’s Schools Art Award will be exhibited in the RSA Friends’ Room during the New Contemporaries Exhibition from 11 March – 10 April 2015. It’s free to enter and you can access it via the rear door of the RSA – just ring the bell and ask for the friend’s room.
Well done Erin!
by The Editor | Mar 17, 2015
This unique interactive website works with maps and globes to transform learners’ understanding of the world.
Winner of a Geographical Association Gold award and a BAFTA award for primary learning, Mapping Our World allows learners to flatten a globe, turn a map into a globe, and merge different map projections.
The nine structured activities come with teachers’ notes and are designed for whole class learning on an interactive whiteboard or PC. Click here to visit the resource
by The Editor | Mar 17, 2015
McLaren’s Workshop is a free iPad app from the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) that provides access to over fifty films by experimental filmmaker Norman McLaren and allows users to create their own films with animation techniques used by McLaren. Click here to read more.
by The Editor | Mar 12, 2015
St Luke’s Primary School are currently trying to raise money for SCIAF (Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund). As part of this, Primary 3 have written and recorded a charity song to raise awareness for SCIAF and the good causes it supports around the world. They’re trying to get it played on as many radio stations as possible! Click here to listen. The track will be being played on Black diamong FM on Saturday 14 March between 11.30 am and 12 noon
Music is © Out of the Ark Ltd, composed by Kelly Fort and has been used with permission.
by The Editor | Mar 9, 2015
Primary 7 at Cornbank have been working on the MidVision project during National Digital Learning Week with their teacher, Mrs Prentice. The aim of the lesson was to use collaborative data gathering to gather research facts for the MidVision documentary. The children had decided on 8 class research questions. The class were put into trios and allocated two questions from the class set with a space for their own.
These were typed these into a Word 365 document and shared it with the three pupils in the group. They then used the iPads and non-fiction books to populate the document with their research. During the class lesson there were two people typing in the document at once which they found infuriating and hilarious in equal measure! The expectation was that they continued this at home for homework and they each selected a font colour so they’d know who was who. The teacher was then able to check the documents first thing in school or at home to comment on work well done or give advice. They also used a second session in school to help those with limited computer access (some came with written notes ready to type into the online document). It went well and is continuing into next week. The finished documentary will be the proof of the pudding though!
This picture shows our smart board with two cursors showing both partners contributing at the same time.
