I came across Anithings at a visit to BETT a few weeks ago. It is a fantastic piece of software which allows children to create their own animations on screen. They can design their own characters and backgrounds or use the ones provided. Recording the animation simply involves pressing the record button and then animating the characters by moving them around.

Here are some demonstrations of how to use the software. The first shows how to make a simple animation:

This video shows some of the more advanced features, such as drawing tools, storyboards and speech bubbles.

Any animations created using the software can be posted online and then embedded into school websites or VLEs.

The team at Anithings have kindly offered visitors to Teaching Ideas and Teaching News a 10% discount on any orders of the software during February. To receive this discount, simple quote ‘Teaching Ideas‘ or ‘Teaching News‘ when you place the order. Schools and teachers using either of these codes will also receive a pack of 90 Anithings stickers featuring characters from the program… great for a display or as a reward for children who create amazing animations with the software!

What proportion of the children in your school have a computer and Internet access at home? With lots of schools introducing virtual learning environments to support learning outside of the classroom, what happens to those children who don’t have the right equipment?

From the Home Access site…

‘Home Access is a government drive which will help low-income families to get access to a computer and the internet to get online at home.

If you are a low income family in receipt of certain benefits you could qualify for a grant to buy a computer and/or a minimum of one years’ internet access. The programme is aimed at those that need it most and targets families that do not have access to a computer or the internet at home.’

Parents who would like to find out more should visit www.homeaccess.org.uk. Schools can help to support the scheme by visiting the partner area and requesting promotional materials. You can also download 10 handy sheets which explain the scheme in detail at Keen2Learn.

BETT, the ‘world’s largest educational technology event’ took place last week and I was very lucky to be able to spend a few days there. Here are some of the things that I discovered:

• Anithings – A ‘creativity tool’ which lets children create animations by simply dragging objects around on screen. It costs £250 for a site licence, but there is a 10% discount during January.

• Interactive Resources – This company makes the (extremely useful) Maths Packs, Teaching materials and Primary Games which can be used on interactive whiteboard and / or individual computers. During BETT, I was given a quick tour of the new online version of their site, allowing teachers (and pupils) to access the resources online at home and school. Teachers can also filter all of the resources by subject / topic and allocate activities to students who can try them when they next log in.
• Story Stage – I watched a demo of this software from Scholastic and was really impressed at the ability to connect multiple mice to the same computer, allowing children to work collaboratively. Why doesn’t all software allow multiple users like Story Stage?

• Smart – It was nice to hear about the release of Smart Notebook 10.6 (available now) which brings compatibility with Windows 7 and Snow Leopard on the Mac. It also has a ‘transparent’ tool which makes the Smart Notebook interface disappear, as well as a number of new Maths tools.
• 2Simple – I managed to get a final copy of 2Create a SuperStory, as well as trials of 2Assess ICT and the Online Tools. I’m really impressed with the potential of the online tools, allowing children to use creative software at home and school and save their work to an online storage area. Anthony Evans showed me 2Design&Make (built into the online tools) to make some fantastic 3D models.

• Linkbun.ch – Allows you to share lots of links with one small link which can then be shared via email / Twitter etc. Thanks to @ianyorston for sharing this gem.
• Stupflix – This looks a little like Animoto (as both allow you to combine audio / photos / video) but Stupeflix seems to have more customisation options. Shared by @digitalmaverick.

• Dabbleboard – An online collaborative whiteboard. I’ve used Dabbleboard at home once or twice, but never in the classroom. @bevevans22 talked about this during a Teachmeet Takeover session and I can definitely see it being a valuable addition to a lesson.
• Scratch – Scratch is a programming language which I’ve always thought was a bit complicated. However, @mberry gave us all an entertaining 7 minute demonstration of the program and made it all look incredibly easy. Downloading and trying Scratch is now high up on my ‘to do’ list.

• Newseum - @digitalmaverick mentioned this during his Teachmeet Takeover session about Glogster. The Front pages section lets you view the front pages of a huge collection of newspapers from around the world.
• Class blogging - Oliver Quinlan gave a really inspiring presentation about his class blogs and how time is given for the children to respond to each others’ blog posts. We regularly post items on our school website / blog but children rarely have time to add their own thoughts… something that is sure to change now!

Did you go to BETT? What did you discover?

Safer Internet Day will be taking place on Tuesday 9th February. This event is organised each year to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones, especially amongst children and young people across the world. The topic for 2010 is “Think B4 U post!“.

Here’s a short advertisement which is being used to advertise the day and promote the message:

www.brainpop.co.uk/designandtechnology/ictcommunicatingandcollaborating/onlinesafety/

Simon Haughton has put together a wonderful list of ICT activities that teachers can use in their ICT lessons, or as part of an ICT club.

Parkfield ICT – ICT Club Topics

You’re sure to discover something new with this wonderful collection of sites and resources!

Lots of primary schools in the UK use software by 2Simple. They offer a wide range of ICT tools which are incredibly simple and easy to use, whilst offering lots of creative opportunities. The company have just set up a blog which is worth following if you use their software.

http://2simpleblog.wordpress.com/

The blog has examples of the programs being used by children, ideas for activities to try, as well as sneaky peeks at up and coming developments.

November saw Anti-Bullying week throw the spotlight on cyber-bullying and the distress caused by the spread of malicious video content across the internet through social networks, video sharing websites, e-mail and mobiles.

The Department for Children, Schools & Families have created a set of videos with the aim of demonstrating how a seemingly harmless and funny internet clip can be something far more sinister, and can even make the viewer an unwitting accomplice in the cyber-bullying chain.

It was also announced last week that lessons in using the internet safely will be a compulsory part of the English primary curriculum from 2011. The lessons are one element of a new government strategy called “Click Clever, Click Safe”. The main messages in the lessons are ‘Zip It, Block It, Flag It’:

Find out more in this BBC article or by reading the DCSF report.

A new website has been launched to help schools teach pupils about sustainable living and the key role that scientists and engineers will play in tackling the challenges of climate change.

The online resource, 3MWorldlyWise is designed to boost young interest in studying the STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering and maths from GCSE to A-level and on to university.

www.3mworldlywise.co.uk

This free website  contains lots of helpful tips for living a ‘greener’ life, along with resources for teachers, and is particularly aimed at students aged from 11-16 years old (although it could also be used by upper KS2 children, I’m sure).

José Picardo, the Head of Modern Foreign Languages at Nottingham High School, has created a wonderful list of the best free internet resources for education. They are posted on his fantastic blog, Box of Tricks.

www.boxoftricks.net

How many of these resources have you used in your classrooms?

New research from Becta (the government agency leading the national drive to ensure the effective and innovative use of technology throughout learning) reveals that misunderstandings, a lack of confidence and unclear communication channels are putting children’s education at risk.

The study of 2,000 parents and 1,000 teachers across the country revealed over half of parents are in contact with their child’s teacher just once a term or less and for various reasons are taking a back seat in their child’s education.

Four key issues in the parent-teacher dynamic have also emerged:

• ‘Invisible’ parents: Of the parents who admitted they rarely made contact with their child’s teacher, nearly a quarter (22%) said they did not see the benefit for their child. The majority (67%) of school staff said that these parents simply do not realise how important their support is in their child’s development. And 60% said that these parents often feel their job stops at the school gates.
• Confidence issues: 42% of teachers said the reason so-called ‘invisible’ parents have so little contact with the school is that they lack the confidence to discuss their child with teachers – 43% of school staff admit parents might find them ’difficult to approach sometimes.’ One in five (19%) parents are worried about bothering teachers and more than a fifth (22%) say they don’t want to add to the teacher’s workload, resulting in many taking a back seat in their child’s education.
• Lack of information: More than one in ten (11%) of the parents who do initiate communication said they felt dismissed by teachers as an ‘overly demanding’ parent and a further 11% commented they often feel they are imposing on the teacher’s time. More than a third (36%) of school staff encounter parents who want ‘constant reassurance’ and others (19%) who try to ‘influence everything that goes on in the classroom.’
• Lack of effective communication channels: 89% of parents say technology could help them become better informed about their child’s education so that they can then have more focused face-to-face discussions with teachers. However, despite all schools having electronic communication tools, 46% of parents say their schools don’t communicate with them in this way.

As part of its Next Generation Learning campaign, Becta is leading the national drive to ensure the effective and innovative use of technology throughout learning. The benefits of technology in schools are twofold: making lessons and learning more enjoyable and rewarding, whilst also keeping parents better informed and involved with their child’s learning.

Becta is urging parents to talk to their child’s school to find out how and if technology is already being used, and how it can help improve regular communications between them and the school in future. For more information on the research and how you can get involved in the campaign, explore the site. The ‘Parents as Partners‘ section also has some useful advice and case studies exploring how technology can help schools, parents and learners to work together.

How do you involve parents in their children’s learning? Do you use new forms of technology? Do you see positive changes as a result of these strategies? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments…

Image – Becta