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Foxes Piece Combined School - Innovative ICT Project Report
School Contact - Peter Durrant
At the end of the last academic year if anybody had told me that I could have an unlimited resource that is constantly updated, would inspire and motivate the children in my class, allow me to use well known software packages, assess the children's progress and keep a constant record of my lessons, I would have probably laughed and suggested something quite rude.
I now have that resource in my classroom and think it is the best thing I've used in 25 years of teaching.
In September I installed a Matrix Interactive whiteboard in my class which has an NEC projector and initially had a PC to power it, but now uses a laptop which I take home and use every day. I can honestly say that I have used the whiteboard for every lesson in some way. It's versatility is endless and there are so many software packages that are made better by the fact that I can use them in front of my class with the added advantage of constantly teaching ICT.
I have presented lessons that have been observed by various visiting teachers, parents and advisors and they have all been convinced that this is an excellent addition to any classroom. My colleagues have been equally impressed and we now have four whiteboards installed around the school. My class was quite upset when they found out that others also had this addition to the classroom. It had been quite a unique feature of Year 6, and there was some murmuring and jealousy (not least amongst the staff). Hopefully, that has been rectified and we are all becoming quite used to presenting various programs and information on the whiteboards.
The 'Smart Notepad' software that comes with the whiteboard is probably the best feature. I can write and it will recognise my handwriting and convert it into text, more importantly, so can the children. Spelling work, prefixes, suffixes etc. have now become quite fun. You can move the text around the page and highlight and edit as you go - then you can save it, recap on previous lessons, give the lesson a traffic light or star rating with all the trimmings of a PC.
Maths
The RM Maths Portfolio package has revolutionised my Numeracy teaching, with instant access to all the resources you could think of and more besides for showing Maths concepts clearly, colourfully and easily. The Numeracy warm-up is now dynamic, far more interactive and covers a wide range of concepts. The children love coming out to demonstrate their own work on it and can draw or write explanations with ease. This has been especially useful in the plenary sessions.
You can import web pages or go online during the lesson (if you have classroom connection) and find endless resources. The whiteboard allows you to demonstrate shortcuts and techniques that would normally be quite advanced and the children watch like hawks. The next thing you know is they are using it to do the same things but a lot quicker.
Without thinking I had put a picture of my garden as a backdrop on the desktop of my laptop. The children are now interested in seeing the garden change through the seasons and enquire as to the next stage of my attempts at 'ground-force' projects.
Science
In Science we use Bodywork's (DK) to demonstrate the workings of the human body. The children sit fascinated when they can see a beating heart in full screen on the whiteboard. They are equally enthralled by how effortlessly you can spin it round, name the parts and dissect it using nothing more than your finger or a ruler to touch it.
I have played movie clips, used it as a music centre with accompanying graphics during music lessons and more recently played videos through the projector using a very inexpensive lead (£4.25 B&Q).
Nowadays, I don't plan with the notion of occasionally using ICT to enhance the lesson, I use ICT to plan, deliver, keep a record and assess it.
Our school has also started to plan using 'Skillsfactory' software and this has added a new dimension in that planning time is reduced, assessment is updated regularly and there is assessment against objectives at the touch of a button. The objectives can be shown to the children as a class group, discussed and then worked on, again all at the touch of a button.
I have to say that none of this would have been possible unless the previous
ICT co-ordinator had not put the bid in for NGFL funding, or without the
support of my Headteacher, Chris Taylor, who has matched my enthusiasm
with initiatives to support the introduction and financing of the whiteboards.
The 'Friends' of the school have also provided the finance for some of this, and their hard work and support will be well rewarded with the enhanced provision that their children will receive.
The staff learn very quickly and they have shown equal enthusiasm in using the whiteboards. Minimal training is required and setting the software up takes a couple of minutes each morning.
I have a feeling that it won't be long before the cost of this package will be greatly reduced. At present it is about £3000 including a laptop. If you use an existing classroom PC this can be minimised or just buy a cheap base unit. I also suspect that the software and the ease of use will be updated continuously with endless possibilities for the future.
My advice - get one.