A note from Mike Reading, the Director of Using Technology Better...
I think most of our reader base in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere are on holidays at the moment, so hope you are enjoying a well earned rest!
This week I returned from ISTE in Chicago. Every year I am amazed at the sheer volume of products available to the education 'market'. There are some cool things coming out, and we look forward to evaluating them for their potential to change teaching and learning in schools, and increase productivity in the marketplace.
I always learn more from the conversations I have than the sessions I attend. I think the real value in going to conferences is that you get out of your bubble and realise that your situation isn't unique, and that with some creativity and courage, you can make a massive difference despite the system you work in.
What is one thing you could do in the next quarter to get a different perspective on your situation?
SOMETHING TO MAKE YOU THINK....
Harder-to-read fonts boost student learning
"Making learning materials more difficult to read can significantly improve student performance. Yes, you read that correctly."
Selecting the fonts we use to create content for our students is just one of the many decisions we make everyday in the classroom.
When we saw this headline it really made us sit back and reflect - have you ever really thought about the fonts you use other than from an aesthetic view point? Or perhaps you've purposely selected clear, easy to read fonts to support your students? Well, this piece of research challenges that thinking! Have a read and let us know your thoughts....
BLOG POSTS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
Check out our practical, helpful tips in our blogs below. Something you want us to blog about? Make a request here or check out our website to see all our posts.
Back to Basics - Copy, paste, undo, refresh, right click (secondary click), resizing an image, opening a new tab, drag and drop…….. basics right?!?!?! Just like riding a bike! Driving a car! But, we all had to learn to ride that bike and drive that car. Who’s teaching you, your colleagues or your students these seemingly basic skills? - Lara Kirk
Codey Rocky - the coding robot and invention tool all in one! - This review is about Makeblocks new addition to their robotics lineup, the ‘Codey Rocky’, which the team at Makeblock have been kind enough to give me an advance trial of. - Mark Herring
How to share a Google Doc four different ways - Google Docs is designed to be a collaborative tool and has made the lives of many teachers around the world much easier. It’s a tool that allows for multiple uses and has a huge variety of applications in the classrooms of today. But sometimes you want to share them without others being able to edit them. Here are four ways to do this. - Donna Golightly
SOMETHING WE THINK YOU'LL LIKE...
Adobe Spark - Free Version
Adobe Spark has a range of tools designed to make it super easy for you and/or your students to produce engaging videos, posters and websites.
The free version has everything you need and now it's even easier than ever to sign up. You can just use your Google or facebook logins or your email.
There's a number of templates all set for you to use or you can begin from scratch and create your own beautiful work. As you work it's saved automatically for you - no more lost work! All your finished products can be exported and saved as stand alone files.
We think you'll love experimenting with these awesome tools if you're not already, give them a go! You should see a 'Create your own' button at the top right of this page - go ahead and click it!
In fact, we love Adobe Spark so much we're using it for this awesome newsletter!
upcoming events
STEAM is an integrated curriculum approach that uses Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics to inspire, learn and share with others. Teachers everywhere are realising its potential for making cross curricula links and equipping their students with important digital learning skills.
Our STEAM Digital Technologies Curriculum will deepen your experience, understanding and resources to become an even more COMPETENT and CONFIDENT STEAM facilitator with your class and for your school!
During this two day course you will:
- Explore a range of G Suite for Education tools including Gmail, Calendar, Hangouts, Tasks, Sites, Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides & Forms, Google Classroom, Search, YouTube, Google Groups & Chrome.
- Be guided through the Google for Education Level 1 course in a way that will fast track your learning and build new skills in teaching with Google tools.
- Gain the knowledge and skills needed to successfully pass the Level 1 exam.
- Take the exam in a supportive environment after using our practice exam questions to prepare.
Launching Rockets
Using Arduino to time the acceleration of a co2 powered rocket for a STEAM workshop. Do you think the rocket accelerates quicker in the the first 0.004 of a second or the second?
Credits:
Created with images by Wild0ne - "typewriter vintage write" • Ben White - "The Wonder of a Book" • Jason Briscoe - "Pictures on wall with table" • Anthony Ginsbrook - "Girl jumps" • Alexas_Fotos - "teamwork fit together together" • Rodion Kutsaev - "Cellphone"