An enhanced video series to help you improve your knowledge of using ICT in the classroom

Better Learning with ICT

Useful tips on using animation and technology in the classroom

Find out about the benefits of using animation in secondary classrooms, along with useful tips and resources, in this pedagogical ICT resource for those less confident with technology. The video looks at how animation can encourage in-depth analysis, the equipment needed to create an animation, and how to add sound to an animation. Head of history Will Rennie has never used animation in his classroom so he visits Thomas Deacon Academy to observe a Year 7 cross-curricular art and literacy lesson run by Emily Blissitt. Emily explains the technology to Will and shows him how to use it to enhance teaching and learning. Will watches as the class create a stop-frame animation based on the poem Prince Kano and discusses how he might use the same ICT equipment in his history lessons. Back at his own school, Will delivers a lesson to his Year 9 students in which they create an animation about the rise of the Nazi party in Germany after the first world war.

Animation

How using computer games can inspire Year 3 and Year 6 pupils

These practical examples and resources can help with using ICT in the classroom. Follow a Year 3 teacher as he investigates whether using computer games in his primary class can enhance teaching and learning. Many teachers are sceptical about using computer games in the classroom. Key Stage 2 teacher Neil Webster's reservations are banished when he meets Dawn Hallybone, a Year 6 teacher, who's already using computer games in class to great effect. Neil later demonstrates the technology he has learned, as he puts it into action with his KS2 pupils.

Computer Games in the Classroom

A Year 2 teacher beats her ICT phobia by teaching data handling

See a Year 2 teacher overcome her own fear of ICT while improving her teaching of data handling at Key Stage 1 by using the advice of a fellow teacher. Data handling is often conducted using traditional pen and paper methods in the classroom, but ICT offers an effective and simple way to teach data handling at all levels. Lynne Hall spends time with a fellow primary teacher Chris Thomas and discovers the benefits of using ICT to reduce the data handling workload. After observing Chris, who confidently uses ICT in data handling, Lynne returns to her school and creates an engaging lesson for her KS1 pupils using her new pedagogy.

Data Handling in the Classroom

A Year 1 teacher improves her presentation skills using ICT

Gain practical advice on using ICT to improve presentation skills in the classroom. This video follows Year 1 primary teacher Lise Bosher as she gets advice from a fellow teacher. Teachers present to pupils every day, yet many are still nervous about incorporating ICT into their presentations. Lise meets Joe Dale, a middle-school French teacher who already uses ICT to enhance his own presentations. After observing one of Joe's classes, Lise returns to her own classroom to start using the presentation technology she has learned.

Improving Your Presentations

A secondary teacher learns the benefits of using social media

Explore how to make use of online communities in the classroom as secondary French teacher Marie Guyomarc'h gets advice from fellow teachers. Teachers often shun online communities and social networks due to negative publicity and online safety surrounding certain websites. But Marie meets Lisa Stevens, a primary Spanish teacher who relishes using social media websites for teaching purposes. Lisa explains the benefits of using websites such as Twitter and Voicethread, and she demonstrates how to use them in the classroom. Marie then takes on the challenge of applying what she's learned by using it in her own lessons.

Online Communities in the Classroom

Tips and advice for using podcasting in the classroom

Find out ways of using podcasting to enhance teaching and learning at Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3, as well as tips and resources, in this pedagogical ICT resource for those less confident with technology. This video explains what the difference is between a podcast and an audio recording is, how to record sound, and how podcasts can improve speaking and listening skills. Secondary English teacher Susan Nembhard knows little about podcasting so she visits a primary school where pupils are regular podcasters. She observes Year 4 and 5 pupils producing podcasts for the school's website and gets advice from fellow teachers on how to use the technology. Finally, Susan heads back to her own school to see if podcasting will be an effective technology to use in English lessons with her Key Stage 3 students.

Podcasting in the Classroom

Making good use of video in Year 8 geography lessons

See a Year 8 teacher overcoming her fear of using video in the classroom by gaining ICT tips from a fellow teacher. Many teachers are nervous about using video technology in class, but it can be a great way to engage pupils of all abilities. Key Stage 3 geography teacher Becky Acton-Slaney watches the way fellow teacher Paul uses video to stimulate learning in his class, and speaks to him about the benefits of using videos in learning. Becky then takes on the challenge of using her new-found pedagogy to deliver an engaging lesson to her KS3 geography students using video technology.

Video in the Classroom

Advice and tips for using visualisers in the classroom

Discover the benefits of using a visualiser with primary pupils, along with useful tips and resources in this pedagogical ICT resource for those less confident with technology. This video shows how you can use a visualiser to take photographs, how to create videos for pupils to reference, and how to use a visualiser to encourage pupil self assessment. Year 3 teacher and ICT Coordinator Dave Orritt travels to another primary school to get see how they use visualisers to aid teaching and learning. He observes a Year 4 teacher using a visualiser in maths and art lessons, including showing a video to the pupils, and using it to help pupils assess their own work. After getting advice on using the technology from fellow teachers, Dave heads back to his own school to see how he can use one effectively in his own lessons.

Visualisers

How to use voting technology in different key stages and subjects

Tips and resources for using voting technology in the classroom at both KS2 and KS3, as teachers share advice on how it can enhance teaching and learning, in this ICT resource for those less confident with technology. Covering how to create interactive presentations, the use of voting technology to monitor progress, and creating self paced activities, the video shows Year 5 teacher Dil Dias as he sets out to discover whether voting technology can enhance his teaching and learning. Dil visits a secondary school where he observes voting pads being used in maths and in Kevin Morton's cross-curricular PE and maths lesson, before returning to his primary class to deliver a lesson using voting technology. The video also includes short 'how to' videos, lesson plans and video case studies showing voting technology being used in different Key Stages and subjects.

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