Safer Internet Day takes place this week on the 7th February. The aim of the day is ‘ to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones, especially amongst children and young people across the world.’ Here’s a video which gives more information about the day:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here are some of my favourite resources that you can use to support your work on the day:

1) A ‘Safer Internet Day Kit for Schools‘ is available with resources, lesson plans, competitions and certificates.

2) The ThinkUKnow site has resources that can be used with different ages groups:

3) The BBC have a number of great resources, including an animation featuring Dongle the rabbit, an interactive Tracy Beaker episode and a ‘Caught in the Web’ Newsround special.

4) KidSmart have a wide range of resources and interactive games that can be used in class.

5) Vodafone also have lots of useful information for parents to help them keep their children safe online.

6) Our sister site, Teaching Ideas, has an enormous collection of themed ideas and resources linked to ‘Staying Safe Online‘.

7) There are also lots of e-safety videos on Teaching Videos.

8 ) Know IT All have a fantastic animated video which teaches children about different aspects of Internet Safety.

9) BrainPOP also have a free video about Online Safety.

10) Kent Trust Web have a number of useful resources, documents and links to support schools.

Are you planning to get involved in Safer Internet Day this year? What activities will you be trying?

Feb29th.net is a global blogging project that aims to cross all age groups and continents. As soon as Feb 29th 2012 begins in Tonga, the Feb29th.net will open up for posts for one day only. The blog will capture posts from all over our planet 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? Will there be any marriage proposals?

The aim is to allow any visitor on 29th Feb to post on the special blog at www.feb29th.net; posts will be moderated on the day, as this will also be open to pupils in educational establishments across the globe. Get involved in this exciting blogging project by visiting the site and following things on Twitter and Facebook too.

Clicker, a literacy support tool from Crick Software, is currently used in over 90% of UK primary schools. It helps pupils to achieve reading and writing success and the latest version, Clicker 6, is about to be launched at BETT 2012.

A key focus for Clicker 6 is independent learning. The new Quick-Start Screen enables pupils to work on activities straight away without teacher assistance, whilst built-in support tools like the updated speech feedback and new word predictor enable them to overcome learning barriers that would previously have prevented them from putting great ideas into writing.

Clicker 6 also has new activity wizards which guide teachers through the activity creation process, automatically transforming their content into Clicker Sets, and makes tailoring these activities to pupils’ needs quicker and easier.

For further details on Clicker 6, visit Crick Software on stand F40 at BETT 2012, where you can also find out about exclusive upgrade discounts. You can also visit Crick Software’s site for more information.

Quadblogging is a great way of getting your children involved in writing and responding to writing by others around the world. If you haven’t heard of it before, read this description, taken from the Quadblogging blog:

‘Imagine four schools that had a partnership/agreement that would mean that for a four week cycle, each school’s blog would be the focus for one week out of four. Each school in the Quad would spend some time visiting the blog of the school for that week, leave comments etc. After that week, another one of the four schools would be the focus and this would be repeated for the four week cycle and then repeated. It wouldn’t take the pupils long to work out that during their week, they would get a boost in visitor numbers and comments. This would give a real focus to have posts online ready for this bulge in visits. During the other three weeks, pupils get to visit and comment on other blogs in their quad. Pupils being pupils, they would also venture out of the quads and visit other blogs that are linked.’

Here’s a video explanation, created by schools who have taken part in quadblogging in the past:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The next ’round’ of quadblogging starts in January 2012 and schools are being invited to sign up now. Complete the form on the site to get involved!

I often receive emails from developers of education apps, so I thought that it might be useful to share some of the fantastic applications that are being created to support learning:

1) Happi Spells - ”Happi Spells” is a crossword spelling game where children can practice spelling by dragging letter tiles on to 48 different mini crossword puzzles. Compete for “snails” and try to improve your own high score!

2) I Learn With – Languages! - A fun educational game to help children aged from 3 to 7 years old  to learn their first words and short sentences in a foreign language. Find out more in the video below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

3) DK The Human Body App – An amazing application with clear information and incredible illustrations which helps you to learn about the human body.

4) Sing your times tables with Percy Parker – I’ve used this app in school a number of times and the children love singing along and learning their multiplication tables with Percy!

5) Healthy Star - The Healthy Star is a short introduction for young children, to the world of affirmations and enriches them with positive thoughts. The story includes simple relaxation exercises.

6) Edmodo – Teachers and students can stay connected to the fantastic Edmodo system using this iPhone and iPad app.

7) How to Make Origami – This app includes step by step instructions with 3D animations of paper folding to help you learn how to create amazing origami!

8 ) Eggs on Legs – Primary Games make lots of great interactive whiteboard software which I use at school regularly. They are also now developing iOS apps which look great!

9) Jungle Time – Learning how to tell the time can be a difficult concept for some children. This app helps children with their understanding and it can test them too!

10) Formative Feedback for Learning – An app that allows students to receive feedback on their performances in a wide range of curriculum areas. Find out more in the video below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

11) Story Builder – Can your children finish these story starter ideas?

12) Math Formulas – A guide to Maths formulae with information and examples. The topics covered include algebra, geometry, calculus, trigonometry, probability and statistics.

13) Britannica Kids (Ancient Rome) – Explore the history of Ancient Rome with the images, games and activities in this iPhone / iPod / iPad app.

14) GeoGame World Series - An educational geography game with lots of different options and challenges. Find out more in the video below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

15) TED – The TED talks are always enjoyable and inspirational… they cover a wide range of topics and you can access all of them through this great iOS app.

16) Fishy Numbers – A fun game which is designed to help primary school children with their mental addition skills. Find more educational apps by this developer at www.primaryapps.co.uk.

Which iOS apps do you use in your classroom?

I get to watch lots of online videos in my search for new additions to my Teaching Videos site. The site now has almost 2,500 educational videos, so I thought that I would share some of my favourites… the most inspirational… the most incredible… the most beautiful… and the most entertaining. Here they are:

1) Try to Do – This wonderful video tells a great story about a baby squirrel who tries to climb a big wall. It is a fantastic way of encouraging children to think about perseverance and determination, as well as exploring ways of helping others.

Click here to view the embedded video.

2) I’ll Be Gone - This video could be used to discuss how sounds and music are made… watch the rhythm of each sound played out in the video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

3) Steve Spangler Science – Steve has a huge collection of online videos which teach Science in very exciting ways. Lots of his experiments can be tried at home or in the classroom, but some (like the one below) are definitely not appropriate!

Click here to view the embedded video.

4) Landscapes: Volume Two – This is a beautiful video which features stunning time-lapse video of landscapes in Arizona and Utah. It would be great for inspiring descriptive writing about settings and locations.

Click here to view the embedded video.

5) The Water Cycle stop motion – I love stop-motion animations and we make lots of them at school too. This video is a great animation about the water cycle which is perfect for Science lessons:

Click here to view the embedded video.

6) The Balloon Lady - Can you write a story about the Balloon Lady? Why is she so cheerful? How does it make the other people feel to be given a balloon? What happens to the balloons after the end of the film?

Click here to view the embedded video.

7) Kuroshio Sea – This looks incredible in full-screen HD on an interactive whiteboard. I’ve shown this to classes a number of times and the reaction is always ‘WOW!’.

Click here to view the embedded video.

8 ) The Highwayman – Lots of schools use ‘The Highwayman’ by Alfred Noyes as part of their Literacy lessons and this animated video is a great accompaniment for any work using the book. Don’t forget that there are more teaching ideas linked to The Highwayman on my Teaching Library site.

Click here to view the embedded video.

9) Test Your Awareness – This extremely popular video is a great test of children’s observation skills!

Click here to view the embedded video.

10) Haerskogen – These amazing little creatures could be used in the classroom in lots of ways. Can your children write a description of them, or a story about their lives? Could they design their own creatures in Art, DT or ICT? Could you use them in Science for work on habitats and adaptation?

Click here to view the embedded video.

What are your favourite online videos?

Adobe have recently launched a new site for teachers. The Adobe Education Exchange is an online resource where teachers can seek support and advice from colleagues, share resources and gain inspiration from one another around the use of digital tools in the classroom. The site hosts example curriculum resources, lesson plans, tutorials and examples of class projects to inspire teachers to learn new methods of teaching.

The site already has thousands of resources, which you can find by different subjects / age ranges. You can also upload your own resources, allowing others to use them in their classrooms. The Adobe Education UK team are also on Twitter, so you can follow updates there.

The amazing Simon Haughton has completed his Primary School History Encyclopedia. The site is perfect for primary children, giving them a place to research different historical periods. Teachers can be confident that the information there is appropriate for young pupils to learn about history independently. Each period in history has pages about a number of related topics with easy-to-read text and photos / illustrations too. The site has taken over a year to create and you can read about its development here.

Simon has a number of other great resources for schools, including:

• The Infant Encyclopedia - http://www.parkfieldict.co.uk/infant/
• Primary School Geography Encyclopedia - http://geography.parkfieldict.co.uk
• ICT Club Activities and Games - http://www.parkfieldict.co.uk/ictclub/
• Junior ICT Companion - http://www.parkfieldict.co.uk/ictcompanion/

Here are links to some useful resources that schools can use to bring news and current affairs into their classrooms:

1) Newsthink – Newsthink is a free fortnightly email which explores current headlines in the news and provides teachers with activities, videos, photos and discussion triggers to use within the current curriculum. The content of each newsletter varies depending on the world’s current affairs. Newsthink is a resource primarily designed for Key stages 3 and 4 but could also be used for older secondary students.

2) First News – This popular newspaper for children also has a fantastic website. You can read articles, watch weekly news bulletins and take part in surveys and competitions.

3) BBC Newsround – The BBC’s popular news programme for children has its own dedicated site which is regularly updated and has some fantastic content for younger news readers. You can also watch the news and take part in other games and activities. Don’t forget to look at their e-safety special features and their accessible reader (which is great for sharing the headlines on an interactive whiteboard each day).

Are you aware of any other good news resources for children. Share them in the comments…

Here are five fantastic resources that I’ve found in my RSS subscriptions and Twitter streams this week:

1) Learning Chocolate (shared by Rosa Esteve) – This site is great for helping children to learn vocabulary related to a huge collection of different topics. Each topic has lots of different activities to help children learn and practise new words.

2) Stopover (shared by Anthony Evans) – This wonderful video could be used for lots of different Literacy activities. Could your pupils write some narration or speech? Could they write a recount of the story? Could they write a sequel / prequel for the animation? Can they think of vocabulary to describe the characters / locations etc?

Click here to view the embedded video.

3) Fungooms (shared by Sites4Primary) – This is a lovely site for young children, with funny characters, simple games, music, stories and more. I’m sure that lots of older children (and adults) will like it too!

4) Oxford Owl (shared by Peter Richardson) – This site is an amazing resource for teachers, parents and children. There are lots of ideas to help you support children’s reading, along with free resources and e-books. The Kids’ Barn section also has lots of games and online reading activities.

5) Knoword (shared by Tim Rylands) – This addictive game can be used to reinforce and extend language… clues are given and you have to enter the matching word within the time limit given. Could you play this in your classroom?

Which of these resources is your favourite?