The PGCE Survival Guide is a new free e-book created to support those who are about to start PGCE teacher-training courses. However, it is such a fantastic resource that it could be useful for all teachers.

The PGCE guide site explains more about the book:

“It’s full of useful and practical, hints, tips and advice from recent PGCE graduates and more experienced teachers covering every element of teacher training, from your first day at university, through the hectic world of placements (with lots of valuable teaching tips) to finding a job- we have it all covered!

You won’t find countless chapters about educational theory – just real tips and advice from real teachers that have been selected to help you during your teacher training.”

I mentioned the #pgcetips Twitter tag on Teaching News a few weeks ago. The contributions to this tag have been collated and added to the book too. In fact, the book has over 250 super useful hints and tips from the education community on twitter!

I wish that there was a book like this when I started my teacher training course many years ago! Tim Handley (and the many other contributors) have done a wonderful job of creating an extremely valuable resource for all teachers, so download a free copy of the book or buy a paper copy!

Here are some of the interesting education-related things that I’ve found during my summer break so far:

Google Teacher Academy UK

The first Google Teacher Academy UK event took place this week and it sounded like an amazing experience for those who were able to attend. Even if you couldn’t make it, lots of people have been sharing what happened via their blogs and Twitter accounts. Here are some ways to follow the event it you couldn’t go:

• About the Google Teacher Academy (from Google’s site)
• GTA Posterous Blog – A special blog was set up allowing the attendees to write about what happened. This is a very interesting and useful resource.
• ICTSteps – Kevin McLaughlin has been writing blog posts about his experiences.
• Ian Addison has also describe his feelings about the event on his blog.
• Tom Barrett has created a collection of all of the blog posts about GTAUK which you can subscribe to if you use Google Reader.
• You can also follow the #gtauk hashtag on Twitter.

PGCE Tips:

Tom Henzley is aiming to create a free e-book containing tips for students starting a PGCE course. The book will contain contributions from people who post messages on Twitter using the hashtag #pgcetips. Here are some of the contributions so far:

• Be organised. Listen to and observe everything. Keep all bits of paper! (from @adambutterworth)
• Listen to advice, offer to help, don’t expect to be perfect – your mentor won’t expect you to be! (from @zaragozalass)
• Innovate… learn from school placements and write out your idea of what makes a good teacher… pick the best bits from others (from @dan_bowen)

Take a look at the other contributions by searching Twitter for #pgcetips and add some ideas of your own too. Lots of the ideas will be useful for practising teachers… not just PGCE students!

Other useful sites I’ve found:

• 20 websites no teacher should start the year without – A collection of sites which should be very useful for teachers (suggested by @colport).
• Fuzzwich – A simple online tool which lets you build animations. Shared by Mark Fox.

• Educational Jargon Generator – Create your own educational jargon which this clever site! Shared by @russeltarr.
• Secure Passwords Video – Here’s another fantastic video from Commoncraft which explains why it’s important to have strong passwords. Very useful for ICT / esafety lessons. Suggested by Lee Kolbert.
• Phil Bagge has updated his ICT videos with some new tutorials about using Google Docs for collaborative work.

Have you discovered any useful news / resources during the past few weeks?

Image – Underneath a Star

Edtechroundup is a weekly online meeting between teachers and educators. It is open to all and the conversations take place via Flashmeeting. The discussions are about education and teaching with a particular focus on the use of ICT.

www.edtechroundup.com

You can find the links to future meetings on the Edtechroundup wiki. You can also watch / listen to the previous conversations there if you have missed any. There is also a Twitter page which allows you to keep up to date with the latest meetings and events. Why not take a look and get involved in the meetings yourself?

Here are links to some useful video sites which can help you and your colleagues to learn new ICT skills. Many of the videos also suggest possible ways of using different tools in your classrooms:

Teacher Training Videos – Russell Stannard has created a large collection of videos to help teachers to learn how to use a wide range of software and online resources.

www.teachertrainingvideos.com

Learn it in 5 – This site contains a library of how-to videos, produced by technology teachers, for the purpose of helping teachers and students create classroom strategies for today’s 21st century’s digital classroom. Thanks to Mandy Barrow for sharing this via Twitter.

http://learnitin5.com

ICT Video Help – This site, created by Phil Bagge, offers a wonderful set of videos which cover lots of different software.

www.ictvideohelp.co.uk

Why not share these sites with your colleagues in your next staff meeting?

Here’s a round-up of this week’s education-related news stories:

• Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education, prepared a written ministerial statement on education spending. In his budget statement, George Osbourne, warned that education spending in England could be cut by as much as 25% over the next four years.
• The chair of Ofsted has resigned, fuelling speculation that ministers plan significant changes at the organisation.
• An announcement is expected next week about the future of the Building Schools for the Future scheme.
• The number of primary aged children is expected to rise by 13.5% by 2018, putting pressure on schools and education budgets. The proportion of 16 to 18 year olds at school, college or in training reached its highest ever level last year.

Image – Salt and Vinegar

• Parents want more advice about how to prepare healthier lunch boxes, rather than having schools tell them what they can and cannot put in them.
• A coalition of senior doctors and nurses have written to Michael Gove, expressing ‘deep concern’ at his decision to axe plans for free school meals for half a million primary school children from low income families.
• A leading headteacher says that more effort should be boosting results among the most able pupils, rather than concentrating on the drive to raise standards to a minimum threshold.
• The National Governors Association is telling its members to be cautious about becoming an academy. The government has also released a list of schools that have asked about becoming an academy.
• A study has shown that the free schools model in Sweden has not significantly improved pupils’ academic achievement.
• Students and staff at 100 UK colleges and universities are protesting against funding cuts in further, higher and adult education.
• An experienced headteacher has been suspended after allegedly making comments about a pupil.
• A report from the Telegraph finds out about schools who are taking part in a range of ‘eco’ activities, including recycling, reducing waste and growing vegetables.

Image – Stack of Books

• Sir Tom Stoppard believes that books are being left behind as an increasing amount of young people’s time is spent focusing on ‘the moving image’.
• It was also claimed that access to PCs and high-speed broadband can lead to a decline in test scores among young people.
• Atmosphir has left their ‘beta’ stage and offers free games based learning opportunities for schools. Thanks to Kevin McLaughlin for spotting this and sharing it on Twitter. Find out more about Atmosphir in the video below:

Naace, the professional association for those interested in advancing education through ICT, offers free on-line continuing professional development opportunities via their ICTCPD4Free site.

Undertaking a course allows registered users to gain certificates of completion provided they undertake the number of online hours allocated to each course. Each course also gives participants a number of credit hours towards the Naace Online ICT Diploma.

The PDF embedded below offers more information:

Visit the ICTCPD4Free site to find out more and to get involved yourself.

Frontier is working with Edexcel to offer a new TEFL programme – The BTEC Advanced Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language. This is a customised course which is accredited by Edexcel as a level 3 qualification.

Volunteers taking part on Frontier’s teaching projects for 4 weeks or more are able to sign up for this qualification which combines self-study, an intensive training weekend and practical work experience in a foreign country. On completion of the placement, volunteers submit a portfolio which is assessed and then verified by Edexcel.

If you’re interested in finding out more, visit Frontier’s site.

Teaching in the UK may have its difficulties, but fortunately Maoist strikes are not one of them. For volunteer teachers from UK charity Our Sansar, teaching in Nepal has thrown up considerable challenges, not least of which has been the closure of the schools by a countrywide shutdown. But with the schools now open again, they have been experiencing the challenges and rewards of teaching in one of the world’s poorest countries.

For the next year, Bethan Pink from Richmond and John Buckley from Twickenham will be teaching and organising interschool activities for disadvantaged students in and around Hetauda, a city in Nepal’s green but impoverished south. They will also be working with the local schools to establish education programs for street children.

‘The scenery is very beautiful and the family [we’re staying with] has been lovely to us,’ says Bethan, who previously taught at Lancasterian Primary School, London. ‘There are so many ideas I have for improving the running of the school, such as trying to change the attitude to time keeping; trying to make the classrooms nicer places to be by sweeping the floors, putting up cheerful displays and removing dangerous obstacles; trying to influence the teachers to use more interactive approaches to teaching…We’ll see what can be done with all these ideas.’

Bethan and John arrived in Nepal in late April and are currently based at Shree Kamala Lower Secondary School. Both are experienced professionals who will bring valuable skills to a school that currently has just 9 teachers for over 330 pupils.

The school day has 7 periods and the teachers swap between classrooms to teach their specialist subject. ‘Lessons are quite dull to be honest,’ adds Bethan. ‘[They] rely heavily on call and repeat. I would like to try and have an impact on this.

Adapting to the severe lack of resources, Bethan says that she has been making simple things at home and improvising with whatever is around her.
‘The school has a small library that looks quite cheery,’ she continues. ‘Otherwise classrooms are very bare with only desks and a chalkboard. The library has a copy of an EKTA scheme of learning for English, called Harmony, but they have only 1 copy of each book and with no photocopier, it’s pretty hard to use for the classes. Other text books which are quite inadequate are being used.’

Our Sansar will be sending another experienced teacher to Kathmandu in June and hopes to be able to send a further 7 to schools in Janakpur, Kathmandu and Hetauda before the end of the year. The project will help 50 street children and over 3000 school children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Would you like to be involved in future projects? To find out more, visit www.oursansar.org.

Research by Samaritans shows that the pressure to achieve high marks is one of the biggest worries for nearly a third (30%) of young people aged 18-24. Exams can bring a whirlwind of emotions from panic and fear of failure to anxiety about the future, and students need to know they are not alone.

They may require a wealth of assistance but may not always feel they can approach members of staff at school. It’s therefore important that they know all school staff are there if needed.  The personal experience of education staff can be of great encouragement and comfort to those who are struggling.

Image – Exam Stress

If you are worried about any of your students or they come to you for advice then youth mental health expert, Dr Mike Shooter has some useful points to remember: helping your students to prepare well in advance is key. Plan a session where you work through a revision plan together, making sure it is broken into manageable chunks; and encourage them to keep things in perspective. While we should remember the importance of exams, failure is not the end of the world and they are not their only chances at success in life.

Teachers and other education staff who want to join in a discussion on how they can support their students, can log onto a live webTV show where Dr Mike Shooter and student Edel Buggy (who did her A-levels last year) will be offering their advice and support.

Join them live online at www.studiotalk.tv on Thursday 27^th May at 7pm to discuss exam stress.

The National Sustainable Schools Conference is taking place in June 2010.

Their site explains that… ‘Schools have a vital role to play in ensuring that the next generation has the skills and knowledge to make sustainable lifestyle choices. New resources and support are being created around the National Sustainable Schools Framework initiative from DCSF and many schools are aware of the government target of all schools being Sustainable Schools by 2020.

www.se-ed.org.uk/conference2010

This conference will draw together thinkers and practitioners and allow teachers, NGOs and Local Authorities to engage in dialogue to help plan the sustainability journey for schools.’

Spaces are limited so confirm your place now by registering online here. Early bird discounts are available until May 22nd.

Here is a Youtube video which outlines the thoughts of those who attended the event in 2009: