Spent the day using Storyjumper as part of our RE Day. Retelling the story of 'How Sikhism Began'. The kids were using it for the first time, but soon found it easy to use. I was amazed by their ingenuity to create some excellent scenes.
I find it incredibly disappointing that in a school with a reputation for using ICT effectively I can't inspire pupils to contribute to a news quiz. Numbers reading and posting replies to the quiz have been dwindling recently, to the extent that nobody replied this week at all. I suppose that if I stop adding a question a week I can start looking for more effective ways to engage pupils in using technology to further their learning.
Rant over.
I love using Wordle. It makes pretty images with words. I first learnt about it when the BBC created a Wordle of Barack Obama's inaugural speech. It is an excellent tool for starting a topic or point of discussion. Kids love playing with it. Give it a go.
Every week I upload a news question for pupils to answer and gain merits. Have a look... Log on to the Forelands Learning World and click on the Learning blog icon on the left hand side.
I have been a fan of Mike Fleetham for a while. There's a lot of great stuff on his website, including lots of stuff about Howard Gardner's theories on Multiple Intelligence.