The Whiteboard Blog » Digital Media

New and Updated Scale of the Universe Tool

Danny — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:36:26 +0000

There’s a great new Scale of the Universe tool from the people who brought you the original Scale of the Universe tool that I wrote about last year.

This one is clickable – and tells you a litle more about the different planets and objects you can see as you drag the slider to view bigger or smaller objects.

I loved the original version, but this one is even better. Will work really well on an IWB in a science lesson.

Take a look at http://www.htwins.net/scale2/

New and Updated Scale of the Universe Tool The Whiteboard Blog - Supporting the use of technology in the classroom

Selenia – Science Investigation Comics for KS3

Danny — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:41:53 +0000

Here’s a great little comic book resource for science that I’d blogged about ages ago and then completely forgotten about. Selenia is a school girl from another planet. Her adventures have been turned into a comic book, and can be used to teach about Science Investigations and Materials.

There are now 10 comics on the site which can be viewed on an IWB, or printed off for individual use.

There are also games such as word searches and quizzes. Throughout the comics are questions posed by the characters which would be useful as discussion starters.

The teachers section provides guidance on how to use the cartoons as a way of introducing practical science investigations such as dissolving and air resistance. PDF worksheets are available which are ready to use with your class.

Maybe students could then use a comic creation tool to explain their results?

Produced by The University of the West of England, these resources are suitable for KS3 Science (11 – 14 year olds)

Visit Selenia here, and see what you think!

Thanks to Ian (@teachingofsci) for reminding me of this resource via Twitter.

Selenia – Science Investigation Comics for KS3 The Whiteboard Blog - Supporting the use of technology in the classroom

Go Figure 2 – Online Safety Video

Danny — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:23:28 +0000

As it’s Safer Internet Day today, here’s an interesting video about online safety.

Thanks to Mary Rebelo for the link.

Go Figure 2 – Online Safety Video The Whiteboard Blog - Supporting the use of technology in the classroom

Explania – instructional animations

Danny — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:52:59 +0000

Explania is a website which contains loads of animated explanations, interactive tutorials and instructional videos.

The site covers a wide range of topics from “What is Twitter?” to “The Human Heart” as well as software guides for MS Office and more. For example How to apply conditinal formatting in Excel 2007

It even tries to explain the offside rule in football:

What is offside in football? – Explania

It’s rather a strange mix of videos, some will be useful for teachers, whilst others might want to be avoided. But it is worth a look and you might find a few gems in there that you will find useful. Videos are pulled in from YouTube so if you school blocks YouTube you won’t be able to access the videos.

Thanks to Richard Byrne at Free Tech for Teachers for the link

Take a look at Explania and let me know what you think in the comments.

Explania – instructional animations The Whiteboard Blog - Supporting the use of technology in the classroom

Espresso Education : Video in the Classroom

Danny — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:17:05 +0000

A short video by Espresso Education about the power of video in the classroom. Take a look!

I deliver freelance training for Espresso and think it’s a fantastic resource to have in the classroom. Access some free Espresso resources here.

Espresso Education : Video in the Classroom The Whiteboard Blog - Supporting the use of technology in the classroom

Circus Physics – videos and teaching resources

Danny — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:30:50 +0000

Here’s a really fun website for science teachers from PBS. The Circus Physics website uses jugglers, clowns and high-flying acrobats provide an entertaining and engaging way to introduce basic physics concepts to high school students.

Eight videos feature footage from the PBS television series about the circus and interviews with the performers to illustrate the laws of physics at work. For deeper exploration, each video has a corresponding Study Guide for students and an Activity Guide for teachers, as well as raw video clips of performances which can be used for analysis in the classroom.

It’s handy resource – go check it out at http://www.pbs.org/opb/circus/classroom/circus-physics/

Circus Physics – videos and teaching resources The Whiteboard Blog - Supporting the use of technology in the classroom

QuadBlogging and Blogging the Leap Year projects

Danny — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:19:56 +0000

A quick post to make my readers aware of an excellent project set up by Deputy Headteacher David Mitchell. He’s developed an excellent model for school collaboration called Quadblogging which sets up groups of schools to talk, share ideas, information and comment on each others’ work. At present there are more than 1000 classes in 27 countries working together creating some incredible moments of learning as well as fellowship. It’s an excellent idea, and the project is open to any school around the world, so get in touch with David if you want your class to get involved.

An exciting extension of this is the Feb29th.net project. Feb29th.net is a global blogging project that will cross all age groups and continents. As soon as Feb 29th 2012 begins in Tonga, the Feb29th.net website will open up to collect posts for a single day.

The Feb29th blog will capture posts from all over the world on this rare day until midnight in the Western Pacific. The result will not only be a celebration of technology, but a celebration of audience and purpose, who will be the youngest author? Who will be the oldest? Which country will top the most posts?

The aim is to allow any visitor on 29th Feb to post; these will be moderated on the day, as this will also be open to pupils in educational establishments across the globe.

To find out how your school can take part in the Feb 29 project visit : http://feb29th.net/

For more information about QuadBlogging, visit: http://quadblogging.net/

QuadBlogging and Blogging the Leap Year projects The Whiteboard Blog - Supporting the use of technology in the classroom

Video – Inanimate Alice BETT 2012 Presentation

Danny — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:06:57 +0000

Here’s the video of my Inanimate Alice presentation from Friday. This formed part of the TeachMeet Takeover event at the BETT Show 2012. For a copy of the presentation itself, check here.

Links from the Video:

Thanks to Emily at Promethean for filming the presentation, and thanks to Selda for letting me use the Promethean stand to give the presentation.

Video – Inanimate Alice BETT 2012 Presentation The Whiteboard Blog - Supporting the use of technology in the classroom

Photo Pin : a creative commons image search tool

Danny — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:05:12 +0000

PhotoPin is another great search tool that lets you search for creative commons images to use in class projects and blogs.

Simply search for any topic using the search box , preview the photo, and click “get photo” to download the photo as well as the code with proper attribution link. If you prefer to pay for your photos rather than linking to it, the results at the top will take you to a stock photo site where you can buy photos instead (currently fotolia).

Check it out at : http://photopin.com

If you want other search tools, check out this blog post from 2009: Creative Commons Image Sources for your IWB which has several of my favourites listed.

Thanks to Richard Byrne at Free Technology for Teachers for the link.

Let me know what you think of PhotoPin in the comments below!

Photo Pin : a creative commons image search tool The Whiteboard Blog - Supporting the use of technology in the classroom

PSHE Resource – Sazias Story

Danny — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:38:59 +0000

Plan UK’s ‘Because I am a Girl’ campaign aims to end the barriers that prevent 75 million girls from getting a quality education and the chance to fulfil their rights and aspirations.

The 10 minute animation and supporting teaching pack are designed to help students learn more about early and forced marriage as a barrier to girls’ education.

PSHE teachers might find this a useful resource which could be used to provoke classroom discussion and raise awareness.

Learn more about the Because I am Girl campaign and help put a stop to the millions of girls denied the opportunity to get an education.

No related posts.

PSHE Resource – Sazias Story The Whiteboard Blog - Supporting the use of technology in the classroom