At my GPP school, reading for pleasure was a huge focus. There was a system in place called “Around the world in 80 books”, which asked children to attempt to read 80 books in the eight(ish) months of term-time. For each twelve books (approximately) the children could move their names from one continent to the next on a world map, to indicate progress.
To facilitate this unplugged system, the school employed an online library system, which certain children (Librarians) were given the responsibility to use. Each book was scanned (using a shop-like USB scanner provided by the company) into the library system (using the book’s barcode to automatically download information about the title) and attributed to a unique barcode for the system which was stuck in the inside front cover of the book. Each child in the school was also given a unique barcode so books could be scanned in an out. Aside from the technical glitch of the internet in the school going down for two-weeks (as mentioned in my previous blog), this system was extremely popular. It is a prime example of technology enriching the school lives of children, in this case by giving them a taste of responsibility. It is also a useful system that ensures that there is accountability for all books which, in theory, prevents the loss of school stock.
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Evening, all! My word, I've been busy! Yesterday I had a swotting up session in the University of Manchester's Main Library, and I learned some exciting* new tips and skills, including this doozy; if you download the iManchester smartphone app from the App Store/Google Play, and then select 'Library', you can search for whatever book you wish to withdraw. You can seek by title, author, or use a generic search term (such as "Primary Curriculum") and, once you have hit 'search', it will furnish you with a comprehensive list of relevant content. But the fun does not stop there, oh no, as it will also furnish you with the book's exact location in the library, which is incredibly useful (as anyone who has written out book locations in longhand will concur). I am now armed with 19 books, ready to take on assignment A. Following yesterday afternoon's brilliant Professional Studies seminar with Martin, I then went home and set to work on A) my subject knowledge in English, Maths and Science, using pages from BBC Bitesize, ahead of my seminars on those areas today, and B) my computing action plan, based on Tuesday's audit.
If you click on My Computing Action Plan above (or hit the hyperlink), then you will be able to see my plan in full. Today it seemed as if much of my revision had paid off. I found all three core subject seminars absolutely fascinating. Mathematics (traditionally my weakest subject) was full of practical games and top tips (from Lawrence, who is brilliantly engaging) about the teaching of the subject. I learned that to get Maths across effectively you must ALWAYS use a Practical element (such as an activity), a representational element (pictorial) and an abstract element (symbolic). But even more than that, to school enthusiastic mathematicians you must teach a deeper level of mathematic reasoning that involves convincing, justifying and proving. It got me thinking about how I might use technology in the classroom in order to achieve those goals (more on that at a later date, I'd imagine!) My homework for this evening was a Key Stage 2 Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG) SAT test. I did not disgrace myself, but I have a decent amount of work still to do in order to brush up on clauses (relative, subordinate), conjunctions (sub-ordinating vs co-ordinating), and past perfect/progressive verb forms. Primary teachers have to know this stuff! Tomorrow, more Maths, Science (including an big audit) and English. The fun never stops in PGCE-Land! * Okay, exciting to no one but me! |
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