Simon Brown - Si's Matters

Youtube Quick Capture Test

2010-09-10T08:30:00.002+01:00

New Timetable Widget

2010-02-02T09:28:00.003Z

This is an overview of the timetable widget developed at Cramlington Learning Village. What a really like about this is that we have designed it to link back to the department home page so staff and students have instant access to the days learning resources.

FROG Widgets at Cramlington Learning Village

2009-12-10T15:03:00.010Z

Here are a few of the FROG VLE widgets that have been made by the team here at Cramlington Learning Village.

Hi-tech invention helps learning take a leap forward

2009-12-09T20:34:00.000Z

Our FROG Awareness Day attracted some media interest!

ChronicleLive - News - Today's Chronicle - Hi-tech invention helps learning take a leap forward

Google Wave Embed API

2009-09-25T17:41:00.005+01:00

Hi Folks here is my first attempt at embedding a google wave into our school FROG platform. Unfortunately I could not use the embed API in a FROG HTML brick but managed to embed it on a page on our intranet that I then embedded into a scroll frame brick in FROG. This ScreenFlow (screencast) shows the realtime updates from the embed to the wave web page.

I am really looking forward to playing more with this and testing on schools Edu Apps.

Classroom Management for the 21st Century

2009-09-17T15:48:00.001+01:00

I find it interesting to hear staff blame technology for the fact that students are off task, yes it is easy to access a flash game or a social network despite the various blocks around sites but I do feel that we need to have a change in attitude towards the way we manage classrooms that are ever increasingly littered with technology.

I have two different strands to consider;

Educating our students to make the right choice.

Sending an instant message is the same as passing a note under the table or whispering to the person sitting next to you. Let us not forget that we are supposed to be preparing these young people for the big wild world. What happens when they go to work and as soon as the boss has turned his back they log on to facebook to check what their mates are doing? In a world where industry are using social networks to generate revenue, receive customer feedback, advertising etc… we need to empower our students with the tools necessary to effectively use these platforms. We try to teach responsibility but block sites that students might choose to use for an educational purpose.

Changing the way teachers manage their classrooms.

I regularly ask students to turn their monitors out in to the classroom rather than hide behind them. All too often I find colleagues frustrated with students who they allow to hide behind their ‘work’.
Are we making good use of monitoring technology?
I use RM tutor or NetSupport to monitor children’s onscreen activities whilst freezing the project image for my IWB thus enabling the display of learning outcomes or activity instructions and making the teacher PC an at a glance overview of all student computers.

All too often young people assume that because it is online no one will know or will be watching. Fortunately for us we have access to monitoring systems that pick up all “naughty” languages and phrases and can be on the case before students log off. Though I don’t want our students not to post because of the trouble they will get in but because of the understanding that it is the wrong thing to do.
How we get there I am not sure yet, but I think we will have to start by making examples of those who choose to abuse the system and train them that Online behaviours have offline consequences.

FROG Development Wall

2009-06-08T07:20:00.001+01:00

FROG Development Wall

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How do we manage elearning in schools?

2009-05-20T07:13:00.000+01:00

We use a wide range of eporfolios, lesson planning tools, thinking maps, video servers, podcasts, blogs, powerpoints, databases and goodness knows what else to present information to our learners, alongside that we collect a plethora of data and assessment, and to support all this we must have an infrastructure of hardware to support it all.

Yesterday I asked my Learning to Learn class to model quality learning conversations using www.goanimate.com this required absolutely no training on the software and the learners were comfortable enough in taking the risks to find the best method of reaching their own desired outcome. The results of this were well considered dialogues between animated characters, with some very funny hooks.

How do we move adults to this same level? Are we just waiting for generation Y to make up the majority of the staff body? Or do we need generation Y to manage and shape the future of the way we manage learning in schools? The oldest of generation Y are fast approaching the age of 30 and still struggling to achieve strategic roles in many UK schools due to the traditions established by generation X.

Screen Cast

2009-05-06T00:01:00.000+01:00

I have an interest in screencast applications as a method of training and recording progress in learning. I have made many screencast to issue instruction to students over the years, but am keen to give students the ability to evidence good team work etc by recording their activity on a desktop and via a webcam and mic.

Has anyone tried this in the classroom?

Mac and Me

2009-05-05T23:56:00.001+01:00

Poor 80's film or my current computer? Both.

In February this year I purchased my first iMac - ilove it! And have found an abundance of support using the system online with particular thanks to my friends, Mark Simpson, Gywn ap Hari, Chris Harte and Simon Elliot @ Thefreemac.com. Thanks guys.

You will see in my recent tweets I have found a way of setting up your google account to work through ichat, I have wanted to test ichat for a while but have been too tight to spend any money on mobileme - I might be convinced otherwise though.

The beginning!

2009-05-05T23:48:00.000+01:00

"In the beginning, there was nothing. Then God said, "Let there be light". And there was still nothing but you could see it" - Groucho Marx

Well this is how I feel about my blog, I have messed around with a few blogs and web spaces over the last few weeks and feel like I might settle here. Maybe as this is the first blog that likes google and twitter, I don't really know yet but so far so good.

Well today was my first full work day testing our new VLE at work, (I am a teacher at Cramlington Learning Village in Northumberland) and have had some interesting talks with our web development team regarding design.

My principle role at work is Head of Music and it is in this capacity that I have developed a love for the effective use of ICT in the classroom or so called e learning. I like the term effective use as it seems to spell out what I want from IT. Not just tech for techs sake but tech that enhances or a least make teaching and learning easier.

Well there you are first post.