Now with subscribers and available at UK newsagents or via Zinio for iOS, Android, PC, and Mac, our latest issue features Batman: Arkham City, Rocksteady's stunning sequel to Arkham Asylum.
Back in 2003/4 some of my colleagues at the University of Dundee introduced e-portfolio, via Blackboard, to the PGCE(S) course. This was designed to enhance levels of responsibility, ownership and peer collaboration in the course. I was not directly linked to this work as it was led by Bob Doig, Graham Williamson and Joe McLuckie but I watched it develop and grow and became very interested in how this innovative and thoughtful use of technology could enhance learning. In essence the students at Dundee used the GTC’s SITE Benchmarks as the template to which they would document their progress and achievements over the duration of the course. Students would work in peer sets of three and would offer formative feedback on each others work at set times of the academic calendar and whenever else they felt it appropriate. A range of evidence could be drawn upon to show just how the students were meeting each of the benchmarks.
These levels of learner responsibility, ownership and peer collaboration were very much in evidence ‘Doon in the Wee Room‘ in Tarves PS when I saw the children using their iCans; Aberdeenshire Council’s own solution for eportfolio. Quite some way ahead of many others in relation to this the team there had worked with RM to use their Honeycomb service to create a space where children could store their work, share it and reference it to assist in their learning. All this would link with Glow. It made me think about my time back at Dundee but also to think how delightful it was to see this same approach being used with learners of such a young age.
When I was watching the children in Mr Cordiner’s class using a range of technologies I spotted one young learner working with Digital Scrapbook. I asked her what she was doing and she told me that she was making an iCan. What this meant was that she was making her own graphic that would detail something specific that she had been learning about or how to do, and then, in her own words, she’d pop it in to Glow. Watch this video clip to see the exchange between us but when watching look at how natural a part of learning this appears to be for this young girl. It appears that the children in this class and no doubt in others where the iCan is being used are becoming more and more involved in determining the success and challenges they are having or facing in their own progress.
I spotted a display of a selection of iCans that the children had already done and captured some of them. Have a look at what these P.2 children can do.
In view of Building the Curriculum 5 and the introduction of profiles in to P.7 this coming academic year and in to S.3 as of 2012/13 it is very encouraging to see authorities such as Aberdeenshire already make headway in to the area of children developing and maintaining their own learning profiles/eportfolios. As well as the bespoke and robust solution of the Aberdeenshire’s iCan there are other schools and authorities using Glow blogs as a means of profiling too. For Scottish teachers who would like to begin to explore how you could use Glow blogs to help develop profiling/eportfolio in your own context then this Glow group is of great use. (Glow login required)
For those of you who are attending The Scottish Learning Festival 2012 this year then please do bear in mind that there are quite a few teacher led seminars related to eportfolio and how resources such as Glow blogs can assist here.
Finally, may I say thank you to all at Tarves PS for sharing their exciting and very impressive work with me and for making me so very welcome. Good luck with those iCans!
505 Games' Zumba Fitness remains at the top of the UK all-formats chart for the seventh week running, a cumulative total of ten weeks spent at number one since the game's release last November.
Disney's Cars 2 has jumped up the chart from eight to number two thanks to a doubling of sales, knocking Ubisoft's Call of Juarex: The Cartel down one place to number three.
Just Dance 2: Extra Songs and LA Noire also saw healthy sales boosts, returning both to the top ten at number four and nine respectively.
505 Games' Zumba Fitness remains at the top of the UK all-formats chart for the seventh week running, a cumulative total of ten weeks spent at number one since the game's release last November.
Disney's Cars 2 has jumped up the chart from eight to number two thanks to a doubling of sales, knocking Ubisoft's Call of Juarex: The Cartel down one place to number three.
Just Dance 2: Extra Songs and LA Noire also saw healthy sales boosts, returning both to the top ten at number four and nine respectively.
Nintendo is currently preparing paid item transactions for games on 3DS and Wii U, the system set to be available to 3DS developers by the end of the year. The revelation came on Friday, during a Tokyo earnings briefing chaired by company CEO Satoru Iwata.
At a press event for Diablo III held last week, Rob Pardo, Blizzard’s vice president of game design, unveiled two new – and potentially controversial – elements of the forthcoming dungeon-crawler. Diablo III will require an internet connection in order to work, and will also feature real-world money trading via an in-client auction house.
At a press event for Diablo III held last week, Rob Pardo, Blizzard’s vice president of game design, unveiled two new – and potentially controversial – elements of the forthcoming dungeon-crawler. Diablo III will require an internet connection in order to work, and will also feature real-world money trading via an in-client auction house.
“And when they removed from the east, they found a plain in the land of Sennaar, and dwelt in it. And each one said to his neighbour: Come let us make brick, and bake them with fire. And they had brick instead of stones, and slime instead of mortar: And they said: Come, let us make a city and a tower, the top whereof may reach to heaven; and let us make our name famous before we be scattered abroad into all lands.” (Genesis 11:2-4)
“Time is money.” (Proverb)
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You’ve probably played Radical Fishing by now. I hadn’t until this week, however, and that was stupid of me, as it’s brilliant.