Here are five of the best ideas and resources that I’ve discovered over the past seven days:

1) Web2Wonders – Sadly, this site is no longer available.

2) 5 second films – This site offers a new movie every weekday… but the films are only five seconds long. Could you use any of the videos in your own classroom? Could your pupils make their own five second films? Here’s an example which could be used to discuss how technology has changed… (shared by Guido)

Click here to view the embedded video.

3) 10 Fab Flickr Groups for Teachers – Danny has written another great blog post on his Whiteboard Blog which gives links to different collections of images on Flickr. Each link has some suggestions showing how each set can be used in the classroom.

4) I Can Statements – Bev Evans has created lots of wonderful free resources on her ‘Communication4All‘ site, including these new sets of ‘I Can…’ statements for Science which children can use as personal targets.

5) Teachmeet – The Teachmeet format for professional development continues to be an amazing source of ideas and inspiration. Even if you can’t attend Teachmeet events in person, you can still take advantage of the wonderful content that is shared. Here is a fantastic video which shows Lara Savory sharing some engaging musical warm-ups which are perfect for teachers who aren’t necessarily confident at teaching music.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This post on Leon Cych’s blog has another inspirational Teachmeet video which I really enjoyed watching – highly recommended!

What have you discovered this week?

Teachmeet events are becoming increasingly popular for teachers who want to share ideas and learn from each other. In July a new type of event… a ‘Learnmeet’ is taking place. Dawn Hallybone has described the event in her blog post:

“On the day children will be given an inspiration table to showcase their work. A panel of judges will ask 8 of the best tables to present their work in no more than 8 minutes, just like the Teachmeet style. There will be prizes for children and schools who take part and for those presentations that impress the judges the most.”

I’m looking forward to reading blog posts by those who are able to attend and find out about the inspirational work that is shown at the event! If you would like to get involved, read this page.

Estyn, the education and training inspectorate for Wales, has recently published a series of films for teachers showing best practice in the classroom. The videos share tried and tested ways of raising standards with all educational professionals. Each film looks at a different area of success within a provider and they feature interviews with staff, learners and parents. View the videos here.

In related news, Teachers TV (who had had over 3,500 professional development videos on their site) closed recently. However, the people who ran Teachers TV have formed a new organisation called Teachers Media. The new site aims to have the full archive of 3,500 Teachers TV videos online over the next few weeks.

After the amazing success of the PGCE Survival Guide, Tim Handley is planning to create a new guide for NQTs (Newly Qualified Teachers). The guide will be crowd sourced and available as a free download or paid for (at cost, but maybe with a donation to a charity) printed version.

Do you have any tips, ideas, stories or information that could be added to the guide? You can contribute by:

• Tweeting your general tips for NQTs, including the hashtag #nqttips in your tweets (note the double t). @tomhenzley will be requesting tips around a ‘theme’ at various stages so you can also contribute to these.
• Retweeting any requests for tips, so that other educators can get involved in the project too.
• Sharing your NQT experiences, stories or tales by commenting on this blog post.
• Help with the writing of the guide by contacting Tim via his blog or by Twitter.

Find out more on the Classroom Tales blog.

Ofsted have recently launched a new site for those working in sectors who are inspected and regulated by them. The site shares good practice and supporting resources, allowing you to download useful information and watch videos to support your own work.

www.goodpractice.ofsted.gov.uk

Although there are only a few case studies in each section at the moment, they aim to add further examples in the coming months. This looks like it could be a useful resource as the sections are developed.

Headteachers from across the country are coming together at BAFTA this month to tackle the key issues facing schools in the UK. ‘HeadRoom’, hosted by education charity FILMCLUB, will be a series of forums looking at education in the UK and helping schools share knowledge in providing the best start in life for Britain’s schoolchildren.

A lead topic for the first forum on Thursday 27 January 2011 will be the Schools White Paper’s recognition of the need to free up the school day. How best can schools use these new freedoms to make a real difference to young people? What can schools do to provide a ‘rich menu of cultural experiences’ and what support do they need from Government and elsewhere? The afternoon, including contributors from the creative industries, takes place from 1pm – 5pm at BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly, London.

Headteachers who want to get involved in the event should contact FILMCLUB Schools Support Director Sabrina Broadbent – Sabrina@filmclub.org

A number of teachers are running 365 projects where they are sharing fantastic ideas and resources every day this year. Here are two of my favourites:

Bev Evans – Bev is creating and sharing her wonderful clip-art. Some are linked to particular subjects, topics and themes, while others are useful in all areas of the curriculum. A great resource for brightening up your class resources / displays / interactive whiteboard slides. Follow Bev on Twitter at @bevevans22.

http://bevevans22.posterous.com/

Kevin McLaughlin – Kevin is planning to post 30 second video tips for teachers every day in 2011, enabling everyone to have some fantastic professional development ideas all year round. Follow Kevin on Twitter at @kvnmcl.

http://in30seconds.posterous.com/

Are you aware of any other 365 projects that might be useful for teachers? Share them in the comments…

CILT, the National Centre for Languages is running a Primary Teachers’ Project, which gives teachers a chance to spend two weeks in France, Germany or Spain next spring topping up on their language skills and picking up new teaching ideas.

Image – Arc de Triomphe

Teachers spend one week in intensive language and methodology workshops and one week on a work shadowing placement in a primary school. Funding worth up to 2,500 euros is available from the British Council and the deadline for funding applications is Friday 5th November. To find out more, visit CILT’s Primary Teachers’ Project webpage.

I’m a big fan of the FilmClub scheme and have run a successful FilmClub at my own school (including a wonderful ‘FilmClub on the road’ event where the team turned our school hall into a giant cinema screen!). The team at FilmClub have emailed me about an important event which is taking place next month. Here is some more information:

“The gap in educational achievement between children from different economic and social backgrounds has remained stubbornly constant in the UK.

Save the Children UK, FILMCLUB and the Times Educational Supplement (TES) are committed to addressing child poverty and reducing the inequality in attainment. For Save the Children UK, breaking the link between disadvantage and educational achievement is a vital part of ending child poverty. FILMCLUB is seeing early indications that its work is helping address these important issues in ways that could offer a blueprint for future approaches. For the TES, inequality is both a topical and a structural issue in education, of great importance to many of its readers.

Closing the Gap takes place at BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly, London on 9th November 2010. The debate is followed by a complementary lunch and preview screening of award-winning film, Monsters. There will be a Q&A after the screening with the film’s British director, Gareth Edwards.

Tickets for the Closing the Gap debate are £125, but we have a concessionary rate of £75 for FILMCLUB members, charities and education professionals. Insert the discount code CTGDR when booking your place. Book your ticket for the Closing the Gap Debate at this site.

This event is also listed on my Teaching Events site, where you can find a wide range of educational events to use as part of teaching in your classroom, or for your own professional development.

Sing Up is launching a new set of professional development workshops running until February 2011.

The programme of one-day workshops, which are led by the country’s top singing leaders, have already been popular with music and educational professionals. The training aims to build the confidence and expertise of teachers and musicians in leading and supporting children’s singing.

www.singup.org/training

Each session is designed to offer those working with Key Stage 1-3 students practical, insightful and inspiring tips for bringing out the best in their pupils and to make the most of singing across the curriculum. The programme covers a wide range of themes including using singing to support the transition process, relating singing to the curriculum and using singing in SEN settings.

To learn more about these workshops and to book online visit www.singup.org/training. To book by telephone, call 01634 729883.