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RVHS Teach Meet Presentations and Resources

Please find below all the presentations and resources from our Teach Meet

Please trial one idea in your classroom and for more information or help then please ask the presenter, I am sure that they will be happy to help.

Camscanner app by Marius Vermaak


Class Charts presented by Shahidur Rahman  an excellent tool for preparing seating plans


Judith Bentley and Tara Preston present on the excellent Mind Mapping Skills promoted by Positively Mad.

Can be an extremely useful technique to help students revise for any subject.


Sharon Jenner presents on Why Blog ?blog

What is the purpose and how relevant is blogging to teaching and learning…..

Click on image below to view

Why Blog?

Matt Cocker on the story so far with Edmodo


Nicholla Chambers presented on effective feedback methods in MFL


Emilie Darabasz presents Tweachers!


Melanie Wright demonstrated how to create a literacy friendly learning environment


Karima Lasfer showed us how to inject zest into the classroom using Task Magic


Jackson Home and Tamie Kyriakou show us how to use Tarsia across the curriculum


Jon Quirk presented on using Google Play for education


Chris Bently demonstrated how to use the fantastic screencast-o-matic to provide feedback
Click on image below to view

Screencast-o-matic

Kumers Naidoo showed us five online web tools in 5 minutes

Click on image below to view

KNA - five web tools

Dee Sexton shared some differentiation strategies


Emilie Darabasz presents on…

Tweachers– Why teachers should be using twitter?twitter

What’s the point of Twitter? Why should educators get involved? What difference does using Twitter make? Well here are some ideas I wanted to share.

Twitter is like a virtual staffroom, we are at times too busy in school to sit down and share ideas and resources. Twitter helps you to do so. In the search tool bar Hash tag #  follow by what you would like to search for (#AFL) and in seconds you can access a stream of links, ideas, opinion and resources from global professionals.

Twitter is no string attached– you can step into it when suits you: on the train or waiting for the kettle to boil you do not need to be logged on all the time for Twitter to be beneficial to you.

Twitter helps teachers to reflect on their own practice in order to improve and develop ideas. Teachers on Twitter share reflections and both support and challenge each other. This is a free and very efficient CPD!

With Twitter you get instant feedback – Posting an idea or a resource on Twitter means you can gather a range of opinions and constructive criticism within minutes: which is a great help when planning a learning experience or writing a policy.

Twitter helps me to  stay up to date on news and current affairs, as well as on the latest developments in my areas of interest. By following leading individuals and organisations, Twitter users can stay at the bleeding edge of innovation and creativity. (Think about your own CPD )

So where do you start? Open an account for your personal CPD only. Think about the leading individuals in your subject area for instance Sue Cowley for behaviour – seach for their name and read their ‘Bio’ (The way they introduce themselves on the profile page). If you are interested follow them. Have a look at who they are following as well (as most of the time they will follow professionals in the same area if interest) and follow them too.

Do not forget chats and forum like @ukedchat: every Thursday night at 8pm on education ideas and issues, @BehaviourTeach: Monday night at 8pm chat on behaviour strategies in classroom or @STLchat on Sunday night at 8.30 pm (you do not need to be STL to follow this very interesting forum)

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Zest in Media Studies

I am writing this to share some of the new developments in modern technology that help enhance teaching and learning and thereby adding ‘Zest’ to media studies lessons.

I am currently using the alternative English subtitle track available via the main menu on most DVD’s to enhance and encourage literacy in media lessons. This ensures that students read as they watch films improving both spelling and accuracy of note taking.
Another useful function available on many DVD menus is the alternative audio track known as a ‘Director’s Commentary’ which enhances students understanding of film making and film language.
An example of this is Ridley Scott’s audio commentary for the film Gladiator where he takes the viewer through a scene by scene analysis of the film making process. The students are then able to take relevant notes while watching the film enabling them to complete a GCSE controlled assessment assignment on film language.
Blu Ray technology has further pushed the boundaries of technology in the classroom for students by enabling the viewing of films in high definition (when set up with a compatible HD television)
High Definition and in the near future Ultra High Definition enable the use of picture in picture(PIP) technology when watching a film in the classroom. This effectively means an extra smaller screen on the TV running simultaneously but separately in conjunction with the main screen. This facilitates direct storyboard planning to finished film comparison as well as enabling students to watch an old classic film on the small screen while simultaneously watching and comparing the modern remake on the big screen(or visa versa).
The DVD and Blu Ray of Titanic has branching digital learning pods which open up during key moments in the film highlighting the production process.

I hope this gives an insight on what it is now possible to do using recent advancements in HD digital disc technology.
Chrys Perera
Head Of Media Studies

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Feedback on Edmodo to DAZ Group

Student feedback through Virtual Learning Environments

Having taken the challenge to revise my use of virtual learning environments over the last half term I thought it was about time for an update. Having used Edmodo as a space where students can be set homework or interactive classwork, it was surprising how quickly the students were able to adapt to using the new technology.
One of the main issues with the old VLE was that information really only went in one direction, from the teacher to the student, and was limited to chunks of text or links to websites. Edmodo allows the students far more opportunity to comment on the work they are set and for teachers to give feedback on completed assignments. Below is an example of students explaining what they thought the assessment was like and my comments and feedback to them: All helpfully shown on a single page.

MCO Edmodo Feedback DAZ

Edmodo has one other trick up its sleeve when it comes to student
feedback. The website allows teachers to simply annotate students work without
the need for printing the work off and handing it back. As can be seen the
students work can be annotated with tools which are at the top of the screen.

Although, some students are still finding their feet with this way of working it has provoked discussion and allowed students access to a range of resources that they would not otherwise have found. I am still a long way from using Edmodo with all my classes or even every week with classes. However, if we expect students to feel confident in a world where many jobs require social media skills it is necessary to challenge both ourselves and students to engage with their school work online, at home and at school.

Update on Edmodo to DAZ group

Matt Cocker

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Safer Internet Day 5th February 2013

Students participate in e-safety learning for safer internet use.

See below for presentation with advice and tips as shown to our students in a week of assemblies.

Prepared by Ken Joyce

Head of ICT and Business Studies


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Teach to Learn: Issue 1 – Effective Feedback

Teach to Learn: Issue 1 – Effective Feedback

If the content below is not visible, please click here to view it on our publisher’s site.
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Zondle for Zest

Computer/video games have no place in education. Or do they?

For the past year students in my upper school lessons have been using the Zondle service to support their learning.

What is Zondle?

Zondle can be summarised as a web-based platform that allows students to learn/check their understanding through playing games. Zondle engages my students really well and the fantastic mobile app means many of my students can use the service whilst commuting or sitting in front of the TV. It takes learning out of the classroom into a fun addictive portable format.

Zondle works by allowing teachers to create question sets which are then transformed into an interactive activity. When students log on they are able to see what topic(s) they have been set and are then presented with a vast range of games which incorporate the question set. Activities available include the very popular penalty shoot-out  egg catching in battery chickens through to pizza baking.

Gameplay tends be addictive as the system makes good use of gamification techniques such as collecting Zollars. Students can also see the progress of their classmates which motivates them further to be the best.

As a teacher I am able to access an automatically created mark book which enables me to monitor progress of students and identify areas for intervention. I am also able to add some challenge into activities by declaring my high score on different games – this seems to really motivate them to beat me. Of course in the process of playing the games they have to answer questions correctly and are therefore re-enforcing what they have learnt and hopefully developing their memory of the concepts.

Developing Zondle further

At the end of the Autumn term, one of my classes was set the task to create multiple choice questions for Zondle. There were some teething problems at the time but I would like to do this again. In allowing students themselves to author the questions, they are able to demonstrate higher order thinking along Bloom’s taxonomy whilst also being given a platform to share their work across the Zondle community.

Images of Zondle in action

Example games to try:

Play a 5 question example of Battery Chickens

Play a 5 question example of Designa Pizza

Play a 5 question example using Penalty Shootout

Next steps

I am convinced that there is a place for games in education and as a result, over the next 2 terms students in my upper school lessons will benefit from:

  • Lessons making use of Zondle Team Play  (Whole class learning based on neuroscience)
  • Trial run MinecraftEdu to further assess the usefulness of game based learning for our students.
  • Audit the access our students have to internet connected devices using the YOTS service in order to best inform how we can best support their needs

Written by Mr Hussain (@rvhshussain)

Follow the blog to keep updated on T&L at RVHS. (@rvhstl)

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The RVHS Learning Puzzle – Be part of it…..ZEST via media

We have just started to work on our vision for the spring term. Our T&L groups will be working on the following:

Group A – Teaching and Learning e-newsletter

The aim is to publish at least 3 newsletters this academic year. These e-newsletters will be available on our website and twitter and will publicise the excellent work here at RVHS.

  1. Effective Feedback
    Collate examples of best practise – student questionnaires
    Track journey of new marking policy and current evaluations
    Impact on progress
  2. Differentiation
    Review of best practise at RVHS
    Research current practice – focus SEN/ students arriving on 4c
    Trial innovative ideas, paired observations
  3. Literacy Focus
    Writing frames , showcase literacy across the curriculum, literacy intervention, accelerated reader, promote use of key words, use of reading ages to aid progression in the classroom

Group B – Digital Leaders

Consider… Do the students know more about the technology than most of us?
What can we learn from the students?
What will happen if we give the students a voice in their learning?
How can we use technology in the classroom?
What ideas can groups trial in the classroom:

  1. Create a group of digital leaders – Work with students to identify areas of the curriculum that could be enhanced – ‘Zest’ by the use of technology
  2. Students help to plan lessons in these identified areas, train the teachers in the use of technology
  3. Case study – students i.e. Gaming in media
  4. Trial the use of tumblr.com , Edmodo or google.docs as a platform to run a group project
  5. More Able students – working independently on extended project using platforms such as Tumblr, WordPress, Wikispaces or Google docs

We will keep you updated…

S Jenner
AHT T&L