Mr P's ICT blog - Tech to raise standards!

In the curriculum, there is a big focus on children learning and reciting poetry.  Year 2 -    continuing to build up a repertoire of poems learnt by heart, appreciating these and reciting some, with appropriate intonation to make the meaning clear Year 4 -   preparing poems and play scripts to read aloud and to perform, showing understanding through intonation, tone, volume and action Year 6 - learning a wider range of poetry by heart preparing poems and plays to read aloud and to perform, showing understanding through intonation, tone and volume so that the meaning is clear to an audience For me, I love having fun with poetry! It is a great way for children to play and experiment with ideas and language! Today we used a fantastic app to bring some of the children's poems to life! For anyone on Instragram, please follow  @ICT_MrP for time-saving tech tips posted weekly! This week shared one of my favourite apps - Time Saving T...

The animation 'Bubbles' by Gabriela Zapata is a fantastic way to inspire writing! A brilliant example of visual literacy that can spark discussion and lead into some impressive writing. Today I was working in Rackhouse Primary in Manchester. I have been working with staff and pupils for the past couple of years and I love what is happening there. They have such an enthusiastic staff and it is great when I visit and see how creative they have been with some of the ideas from my training! Make sure you check out their blog and their facebook page .  I had the pleasure of working in Year 3 today and so we set our expectations high with a project where children would make their own Bubbles animations! It was a BIG challenge with the children having to write a story and then use Augmented Reality, Greenscreen, Photoshop and Movie editing to bring it to life! However, with children so confident in using technology as a learning tool, they managed to create some amazing e...

I'll be the first to admit I do enjoy a 'cheeky' Nando's! My students are the same, it is one of their favourites! On a recent visit to one of their fine restaurants, I noticed this on the wall - It tells the story of the Barcelos Cockerel, a Portuguese Legend, linked to the symbol of the restaurant. You can read a version of the legend from the Nando's website here . In my constant search for ways to make writing relevant and meaningful for my students, we decided to use it in class.  With my Year 3 group, we looked at the story, we discussed why Nando's have used it, whether it was true and what makes it a legend. We discussed how these stories were usually passed through oral storytelling first and so the finer details may change. To prove this, we compared the version from the Nando's website with another version - you can read it here .  We discussed the similarities and differences before discussing writing our own versions. The next ...

I am a massive fan of Alan Peat and Mat Sullivan's Exciting Sentences. Ever since Alan visited our school in 2011, we have implemented Alan's approach as a whole school and it has had a massive impact on writing. This isn't to say we solely use Alan's approach, we mix in other bits and bobs. However, for me personally, Alan's approach has had the biggest impact on writing in my classroom. I am very fortunate to work alongside Alan and we will be bringing our joint conference to Newcastle, Llandudno and Cornwall in the Summer term - Click here for details. The Exciting Sentence approach is a wonderful way for children to apply a range of different sentence types into their writing. The following resources are worth looking into - Click the images to follow links for the apps Click the images to follow links for the books. A lot of teachers use the exciting sentences and use them brilliantly, however, I have seen teachers who misuse the approa...

I am writing this quick blog post to spread the word about some upcoming tools I will be using to share tips, guides, demonstrations and help teachers make the most of technology in their classroom! The first will be through Instagram. This social media platform, quickly becoming one of the most popular, allows users to post pictures and short videos. Videos can only be 15 seconds in length and so through this platform I will be creating some Time Saving Tech Tips.  It won't be easy as I found out creating the first last night. As many of you know I am a massive fan of constrained writing so will relish the challenge. These videos will be quick and easy guides to help teachers save time and utilise technology to its potential in the classroom! Here was the first video - Time saving tech tips with Mr P! This is the first of hopefully many short videos with tips, guides and ideas to help teachers save time and utilise technology in their classrooms! This first example qui...

I am a massive fan of apps like Socrative and Plickers to assess children's understanding and evaluate their work. Another app/tool I have discovered recently is ProConnect . This FREE app links with the ProWise Presenter software. The software is designed for use with ProWise screens, however, the presenter tool works on any Mac or PC so can be displayed on any IWB. The presenter tool is free and is similar to other IWB software - What drew me to this tool was the app available on iPads. Children can log into your ProConnect room and then engage in a variety of activites - There are some fantastic maths games where the children have to answer questions as quick as they can to finish first. I also love the word cloud tool where every child in the class can contribute live to a whole class word bank of vocabulary. You can also create a whole class Mindmap which would be a great way to start or finish a topic.  Once you set up one of the activities, a room code wi...