Strategic ICT and Computing Newsletter

Strategic ICT and Computing Newsletter Autumn Term 2014 Welcome to the first Strategic ICT and Computing Newsletter. I aim to send one each term and hope it will keep you informed about events, resources and ideas to help your school with Computing and making effective use of technology across the curriculum.

Upcoming Events 3rd October 2014 9.15am 2.30pm ICT Coordinators network meeting Autumn 2014 Venue: Forest Academy, Bridle Road, Croydon, Surrey, CR0 8HQ Including ● LGfL /National news ● Bob Usher LGfL content update ● Lego WeDo with Scratch demo followed by workshop ● Creativity ● Lunch ● School inputs ● Assessment of Computing, Fronter assignment tool and Fronter Goal tool demo followed by handson workshop ● Mobile learning project update 10th October 2014 LGfL Literacy Project Launch at the Camden CLC 14th October 2014 15:30 to 17:00 J2e introduction to LGfL Creative toolkit Venue: Leon House 21st October 2014 15:30 to 17:00 J2e pupil Portfolios Venue: Leon house 12th November 2014 15:30 to 17:00 J2e webby and blogging move to this date Venue: Leon House Other courses in preparation include “Teaching the Internet” and “Creativity and problemsolving” dates to be advised.

LGfL Content News Curriculum Central case study Following on from the launch of the Curriculum Central resourcediscovery service in April, a case study has been created about how one primary school has placed LGfL learning resources at the heart of its approach to the new curriculum. This case study can be viewed in both long and short format at www.curriculumcasestudy.lgfl.net

The LGfL Literacy Project launch – featuring Deputy Mitchell and LGfL Blogging tools After the success of David Mitchell’s input at the LGfL Conference in April 2014, LGfL is funding a unique opportunity to support London teachers in the effective use of blogging to drive literacy achievement in London schools. The aim of the project is to develop and share good practice in the use of blogging to impact literacy across the curriculum, and across all Key Stages. The project will be launched at a special wholeday event on 10th October 2014 at the Camden CLC. There will be a number of workshops on different elements of blogging using LGfL tools, a keynote presentation from David Mitchell, and the launch of a new support resource for blogging in schools. For more information and to register see: www.blogging.lgfl.net

The Tudors in London The Tudors in London is now live on LGfL. The resource now features: ● 150+ videos ● Highresolution artefact images ● Interactive map of Tudor London with Google Maps integration ● *new* resourcebank functionality ● *new* curriculumresource delivery interface with curriculumlinked activities for Key Stages 2 to 4, plus particular crosscurriculum links for KS2 Deep links within the resource will appear in the appropriate areas of Curriculum Central. The Tudors in London is being entered for a BETT Award in the ‘Digital Collections and Resource Banks’ category. www.tudors.lgfl.net

ReadingZone Live Update Lauren Child, author of Charlie and Lola, Clarice Bean and Ruby Redfort, took part in a live video conference at the end of the summer term, where she was interviewed as part of the LGfL ReadingZone Live project. St Michael’s Primary School (Camden) hosted the event, which included a number of LGfL schools taking part via video conference link. ● Lauren offered a personal insight into her approach to both writing and illustrating books – and included explanations about the pressures facing successful authors. ● The issues surrounding writing different types and lengths of books were discussed, along with the process of adapting books for television. ● All the interview clips are featured in a clear and engaging way for both teachers and young writers and illustrators to use as inspiration for their own work. ● The full interview and video conference is now viewable via www.readingzonelive.lgfl.net ● The next ReadingZone Live event is on 8th October with Henry Winkler.

The M Room The M Room will be live on LGfL by the end of September. Exclusive film footage from the Tower of London has now been incorporated, and an interactive map has been created of key M Room locations. The M Room story was recently picked up by the Daily Mail just as LGfL project expert historian Dr Helen Fry launched her new book. Sir David Jason attended the launch, following on from his work with Helen on ITV’s ‘Britain’s Secret Homes’ programme. A clip of this programme has been licensed free of charge to LGfL by ITV, succinctly outlining the story of Latimer House and the role of the secret listeners during WW2. This unique resource will be entered into the ‘Secondary Digital Content’ category at the BETT Awards. Daily Mail article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article2729778/HowunsungheroheartBritains eavesdroppingcentresSecondWorldWarhelpedsavedthousandslives.html ITV excerpt from ‘Britain’s Secret Homes’: http://videocentralhd.lgfl.org.uk/Watch.aspx?vid=Yg7RzVT1naaM7q%20http://videocentralhd.lgfl. org.u k/Play.aspx?id=Yg7RzVT1naaM7q

London Sustainable Schools Map LGfL has launched an interactive London Sustainable Schools Map (LSSM). Although based on advanced Google Maps technology, LSSM is much more than just a map; it is intended to foster a community of sustainable schools, encourage the award of EcoSchool status, and provide termly opportunities to get involved with panLondon sustainability projects. The resource can be found at www.lssm.lgfl.net and is pre populated with every London school. Users can search on a borough or citywide level by postcode, type of school or Eco School award, to see how schools in their area are performing. The aim is to have a single point of contact for sustainability issues at every school in London, and to promote the sustainability agenda with a wide range of suggested projects every term from the London Sustainable Schools Forum. Those schools signed up to ‘Project Dirt’ also have the opportunity to share their online page with other schools. Only contact names will be published; email addresses remain confidential and will only be used twice termly to share opportunities for sustainability funding, training, resources, ideas and support. Imagine if every London school was a London Sustainable School… Map link: www.lssm.lgfl.net Further links: http://www.londonsustainableschools.org/ http://www.ecoschools.org.uk/ http://www.projectdirt.com/

LGfL Content under Development MoL - Prehistory resource development The Museum of London has confirmed its commitment to the development of a prehistory resource, but has restricted capacity. Accordingly, the planned resource will not be on the scale of the Romans in London or Tudors in London.

The LGfL Football Academy with Fit for Sport A planning meeting to scope the LGfL Football Academy resource is scheduled for midSeptember. The proposal has received support at the highest level within the Fit for Sport organisation – which has links with all the major sporting organisations in London, including the capital’s football clubs. The resource development aims to provide support for nonspecialist PE teachers at KS2, to help deliver effective football coaching within the context of the National Curriculum.

Search and Rescue with HM Coastguard Work has begun on this exciting crosscurricular resource with a Maths / Computing focus. An initial visit has been made to the new headquarters of HM Coastguard. Further planning meetings will occur this term – when filming will also hopefully begin. The project is being coordinated with the Maritime Commander of the Coastguard service for the whole of the UK, so the organisation’s commitment is total. Unfortunately it coincides with the largest reorganisation of the service for 30 years, and this will impact on project delivery timescales. It has been provisionally agreed that existing footage of search and rescue operations may be used, including of the latest helicopters and related technology. Additional footage will be filmed for the resource at the new headquarters. Graham Smart is the Maths consultant for the development of this resource. The Coastguard’s education service plans to use the final resource, both within the organisation and also for visitors to its facilities.

LGfL Image Bank A working prototype exists for the new LGfL Image Bank, which will host the entire British Library image collection, as well as other highresolution images from other content providers.

Interface development has not yet started, but a presentation of the resource is expected at the next Sector meeting, later in the autumn term.

CAS Primary Computing Document The finishing touches are currently being made to this key Computing resource document. When live on LGfL, it will include embedded links to other key LGfL resources. It is hoped that this resource will be launched before the autumn halfterm break.

The Vikings at the British Museum The new partnership between LGfL and the British Museum has begun, bringing the British Museum’s acclaimed Vikings exhibition to LGfL and the NEN. Highresolution video master files have been provided from the BM production screened in cinemas last term, and these will be reedited for a school audience. The material will be supplemented by additional new footage, which will be filmed with a museum curator. Projected arrival time of resource: September 2015.

The London Schools Symphony Orchestra A partnership has begun between the London Schools Symphony Orchestra and LGfL. Although only initial resources are available via the main LGfL website, a banner features on the Showcase site. A comprehensive online resource will be developed in 2015, complete with an archive that stretches back over the orchestra’s 60year existence. The resource will use the same database technology developed for the LGfL Image Bank. The information and resources found at www.lsso.lgfl.net should be viewed as an initial offering only. By the Spring term, new video material will be available, featuring behindthescenes footage of LSSO rehearsals for its September concert at the Barbican. A trailer showcasing the talents of the orchestra can be viewed here: http://videocentralhd.lgfl.org.uk/Play.aspx?id=rmpyENiVTM4ovF The initial resource offering can be found here: www.lsso.lgfl.net

Prehistory – augmented reality The new prehistory resource from the producers of the LGfL WW1 augmentedreality resource is approaching completion. The team at Inspyro were given a very clear steer from the LGfL editorial board that the augmentedreality element needed to deliver conceptual understanding not possible using another technology – and have produced a unique and innovative new resource for LGfL. Augmentedreality artefacts are accompanied by extensive and imaginative curriculum

material and a bespoke microsite to be viewed by teachers and learners. The resource is expected to go live on LGfL before the end of September. It is planned to enter this resource for a BETT Award in the ‘Educational Apps’ category.

Gigajam update The first samples of new Gigajam videos that will play on mobile devices have been received. The indications are that the quality of the Gigajam resource offering will take a significant leap forward when launched on LGfL. Launch for the upgraded resource is expected in October.

Maths at home – Support for busy parents This innovative resource for parents is awaiting the final website build. It features 150+ videos explaining how teachers teach maths concepts across the KS2 curriculum, with simple, effective advice on how this can be reinforced at home using everyday household objects.

Look, Think, Do A new resource aimed at supporting teachers of learners with autism in mainstream settings is currently in development – led by Jo Dilworth, with support from John Galloway. It aims to offer a unique support tool to help develop autistic students’ skills for coping with a variety of common situations. The resource will be launched on LGfL during the autumn term.

Cyber Pass Update On 4th July an eclectic mix of members from the LGfL community met the ROAR team to refine the focus and functionality of the forthcoming Cyber Pass esafety resource. The consultation was a great success and has facilitated ROAR in producing a working prototype and on schedule for launch later this term.

Key benefits of the Cyber Pass resource:

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An online cyber citizenship (digital literacy) portal for children, targeted at schools and parents Initial user group targets 8 to 12 year olds with second and third stage iterations covering younger and older users Children will undertake an assessment of their digital competencies, tested over 8 modules. Tests will be short and interactive Reports to the child will be immediate and contain direct feedback on their choices and point to related resources (video, activities, text) embedded in the site for further learning Parents and/or teachers can access a dashboard that provides a realtime status report for every child under their care On successful completion of all eight interactive modules, children will be issued (and Parents/Teachers will be notified) with a digital “licence” or “certificate” All current Us Online content and other online safety content developed by Roar will be disaggregated (single activities, videos and pdf checklists) and available to children, teachers and parents to support users on specific issues

Switched on Computing – LGfL mapping The Switched on Computing resource for KS1 and KS2 written by Miles Berry is enjoying considerable commercial success, with a significant number of London schools investing to support the transition from ICT to Computing. During the past 18 months, the Editorial Board has considered a number of different offers from Rising Stars to invest in this resource (and its predecessor Switched on ICT), however a Londonwide deal for LGfL schools has yet to be achieved. However, in recognition of the number of schools investing in the resource and the opportunity for the product to be used in conjunction with LGfL learning resources (e.g. History of Computing), a new mapping document has been produced that highlights which LGfL resources can be used within different sections of the Switched on Computing resource. This mapping document will appear on the computing section on www.computingresources.lgfl.net. This should be available by midSeptember.

eSafety Childnet provides a useful leaflet with information and advice for parents and carers on supporting young people online. LGfL have sponsored the translation of this into ten additional languages. The new leaflets from Childnet are complete and also now available in a new page in the esafety section under the Engaging Parents tab.

http://www.lgfl.net/esafety/Pages/parentaladvice.aspx?tab=5

Fronter Update Fronter Releases The following new features have been released over the summer: ● Assignment tool ● Notifications

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System Messages

Work is on-going and progressing with Office 365 integration, initially as a personal tool for SSO with a plan to integrate deeper.

Fronter Training We have reduced the amount of training courses we are offering this term, however, we are offering all of our courses for FREE for this term only. Information can be found here: http://www.fronter.co.uk/training/training-courses/

Parent Portal We are offering Parent Portal for free for the 1st year for any school that wishes to use it. There will be a £250 charge from Year 2.

Fronter Newsletter Fronter are preparing a printed newsletter for the staff room coffee table to go into schools in October. The aim is to reach teachers who aren’t signed up to their e-newsletter and haven’t logged into to Fronter for a while and didn’t know there had been some changes they might like.

Nominated Contacts Update Nominated Contact Training courses

WebScreen2, plus Primary and Secondary training courses for Nominated Contacts, are being continually scheduled for LGfL 2.0subscribing schools. With regular staff changes happening in schools all the time, and especially with the start of the new year, schools are encouraged to take advantage of these free courses to make the most of their LGfL service. Check and book via the LGfL USO Support Site. Nick Mitchell Adviser for Computing and ICT [email protected] 0208 619 1206