Ideas about learning, ICT and pedagogy

Effective use of Social Media Part 1: Twitter in the classroom

It seems that many counties have opted to ban/block or discourage the use of Twitter, or any Social Media tool for that matter, as Twitter can leave students open to a range of different problems.  The interesting question is of course: Shouldn’t we use Twitter in the classroom so that students learn how to use [...]

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Final week. No teaching for two years.

End of an era.
For many the final week of term is normally one of celebration and students (as well as teachers and staff) prepare to leave for a well-deserved six-week holiday. It’s not exactly the same for me this year. I have just taken on a new job as County Advisor for Learning and Teaching [...]

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Useful Tweets:

Good ideas:

Modern Foreign Languages and Thinking Skills Mystery. Brilliant article by J. Baldwin: http://snipr.com/l685i
Make them masters of knowledge and understanding: http://snipr.com/l68nh
Make overviews clear and engaging: http://is.gd/1j4yn
Thinking about concepts – ‘Active Mind-Mapping’ http://short.to/i2dy
Visual Assessment : http://is.gd/1j4ne
Independent Learning: http://snipr.com/l68io
Create Meaning in your teaching. Use stories effectively. Tried mini-Sagas? http://is.gd/1j46p
Model Answers (Blue Peter Style) http://short.to/i1ns
The Big Idea: [...]

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The Big Idea: Make it sticky!

Extract from Exam Class Toolkit – how to create engaging lessons that ensure progression and results (Watkin & Ahrenfelt)

Sticky = understandable, memorable and effective in changing thought or behaviour.
Two big questions needs to be addressed by teachers each lesson:

What’s the point of the lesson?
Why should it matter – will it matter to the students?

It may [...]

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