Quiz Buzzer is a new interactive whiteboard resource from TeacherLED. It’s perfect for running class quiz activities where you have two individuals / teams answering questions quickly. Children have to press their button as quickly as possible and answer before the coloured lights disappear. There are also alternative suggestions for using the resource on the TeacherLED site.

There are lots of other resources available at TeacherLED. Teachers can download an index for the resources to explore what is available and identify what might be useful for their lessons.

The BBC’s School Report News Day takes place on Thursday 11th March. Is your school taking part?

For those who are new to the project, it aims to turn classrooms into newsrooms, giving children a chance to make the news. Pupils are given opportunities to make news reports about things that are important to them, through the radio, TV and online. You can find out more in this video which explains more.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/school_report/

The BBC site has some useful links and resources for those planning to take part:

• Advice about getting ready for the day,
• Posters to decorate your newsroom,
• Reward certificates for those taking part.
• Suggestions for stories that the pupils could report on.
• A suggested timetable of activities.
• Lots of other resources for teachers.

The School Report site is an extremely useful resource for those taking part in the day, but lots of the content could also be used at other times of the year too.

Following this week’s Safer Internet Day, lots of news stories and Internet safety resources were announced. Here’s a summary of what I discovered:

• CEOP revealed a new Internet safety resource for children aged 4-7. Lee and Kim’s Adventure, Animal Magic, is an 8 minute animation which involves a brother and sister navigating the online world with the help of their trusted superhero friend SID. Here’s a promotional video to tell you more about the resource:

• There are lots of related resources for teachers, which you can download here.
• These resources share four top tips for younger children to remember:
  • People you don’t know are strangers. They’re not always who they say they are.
  • Be nice to people on the computer like you would in the playground.
  • Keep your personal information private.
  • If you ever get that ‘uh oh’ feeling, you should tell a grown-up you trust.
• There is also a music video which children can use to help them learn and remember the messages shown:

Did you discover any new Internet safety resources this week?

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.

UPDATE – This offer is now closed.

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.