The State of Social Media 2012 by The SEO Company
Saturday, 12 January 2013
The state of Social Media in 2012
An interesting Infographic produced by The SEO Company (seoco.co.uk) and NowSourcing.
Available here: http://www.seoco.co.uk/social-media/
The State of Social Media 2012 by The SEO Company
The State of Social Media 2012 by The SEO Company
Trying out Pinterest a new online noticeboard. Found this image and embedded the pin.
Lovely but what else can it do?
Source: flickr.com via Shannon on Pinterest
Thursday, 10 January 2013
The Guardian, 7 Jan 2013: Gove is careering towards an omnifiasco over baccalaureate
"The education secretary's plans to replace GCSEs with the Ebacc have met with furious opposition, and he should pay heed to the many concerns, argues Fiona Millar here.
There is a telling line in the evidence given at the end of last year by Michael Gove to the Education select committee. Quizzed about the way his department is managing reform of KS4 qualifications, the secretary of state explained: "Coherence comes at the end of the process"."
The Ebacc is ill thought out, incoherent and more than anything divisive, creating a two tier system that goes against everything I believe in in education. It's time Mr Gove stops destroying our education system and starts living in the real world where vocational and academic qualifications are equally important to the society as a whole instead of advancing a few at the cost of the majority!
Wednesday, 14 November 2012
PDC in MFL are proposing new assessment framework for KS3&4
The Professional Development Consortium run by the Universities of Oxford and Reading have just published draft versions of their alternative assessment system for MFL at KS3&4. It looks very interesting offering 5 Levels across KS3 and 4 with 2 sub levels at each level thus providing an all through system from beginners to top grades at GCSE (like the ASSET languages ladder - which goes all the way up to Mastery, i.e. uni level).
The two receptive skills are grouped together as their assessment is very similar and the same is true for the two productive skills. The success criteria are made clear and different sources of evidence are taken into account.
The question is: will this be taken on by the government or schools to replace the existing system or would this add an extra layer of assessment, i.e. work?
So, go and check it out on the PDC in MFL blog here and leave a comment!
The two receptive skills are grouped together as their assessment is very similar and the same is true for the two productive skills. The success criteria are made clear and different sources of evidence are taken into account.
The question is: will this be taken on by the government or schools to replace the existing system or would this add an extra layer of assessment, i.e. work?
So, go and check it out on the PDC in MFL blog here and leave a comment!
Sunday, 26 February 2012
FREE: Excellent tools for Interactive Whiteboards (or even just whiteboards!)
TRIPTICO offers this free set of tools that can be used with IWB but many of them are equally useful as long as you have a projector to share with your class what you can see on your laptop/PC!
Download the software to access these excellent apps from here: http://www.triptico.co.uk/
Some highlights: spinning wheel to select topic randomly, random student selector, scoreboard for up to four teams, sentence order challenge and many more!
Check it out now - it's well worth it!
Download the software to access these excellent apps from here: http://www.triptico.co.uk/
Some highlights: spinning wheel to select topic randomly, random student selector, scoreboard for up to four teams, sentence order challenge and many more!
Check it out now - it's well worth it!
Tuesday, 7 February 2012
OFSTED: subject specific guidance for inspectors
I've just been forwarded this link to an interesting page on the OFSTED site:
Generic grade descriptors and supplementary subject-specific guidance for inspectors on making judgements during subject survey visits to schools
Enjoy!
Generic grade descriptors and supplementary subject-specific guidance for inspectors on making judgements during subject survey visits to schools
Enjoy!
Friday, 8 July 2011
Languages of the World (Wide Web)
From the Google Research Blog:
"The web is vast and infinite. Its pages link together in a complex network, containing remarkable structures and patterns. Some of the clearest patterns relate to language." Posted by Daniel Ford and Josh Batson here.
This blog article includes an amazing graphic showing connections between languages!
"The web is vast and infinite. Its pages link together in a complex network, containing remarkable structures and patterns. Some of the clearest patterns relate to language." Posted by Daniel Ford and Josh Batson here.
This blog article includes an amazing graphic showing connections between languages!
Thursday, 7 July 2011
New Offer: German/Spanish language tuition for the whole family!
Are you living in or near Bristol?
Have you ever been on holiday and thought "It would be great if we could all speak a bit of the lingo?"
Would you prefer to learn Spanish or German in the comfort of your own home amongst your own family?
Would you like to learn something new together as a family, being able to support each other and learn from one another?
Are you interested in learning through a games based-approach that doesn't require lots of reading and writing?
Then just contact me at volker.green@gmail.com to discuss how we can make it happen.
You'll get a competitive deal as one lesson's fee will cover the whole family! Also, you won't need babysitters or childminders and you won't have to travel!
Have you ever been on holiday and thought "It would be great if we could all speak a bit of the lingo?"
Would you prefer to learn Spanish or German in the comfort of your own home amongst your own family?
Would you like to learn something new together as a family, being able to support each other and learn from one another?
Are you interested in learning through a games based-approach that doesn't require lots of reading and writing?
Then just contact me at volker.green@gmail.com to discuss how we can make it happen.
You'll get a competitive deal as one lesson's fee will cover the whole family! Also, you won't need babysitters or childminders and you won't have to travel!
Tuesday, 5 July 2011
Monday, 4 July 2011
UK Linguistics Olympiad 2012 - something for your G&T students?!
This message came through from RoutesintoLanguages NorthEast (routesne@newcastle.ac.uk):
UKLinguistics Olympiad 2012
Looking for something to do with your Gifted and Talented? Want to show that languages are fun? Then why not consider entering your school in the UK Linguistics Olympiad. It's a competition for 11-18 students, in which they have to solve linguistic data problems. It doesn’t rely on knowledge of a language but trying to find patterns in the data. Similar competitions happen in a number of other countries, though it's only recently that they've taken place in English-speaking countries.
We have 2 rounds of competition in the UK and then select a team to represent the UK at the International competition. Round 1 is taken in schools any time week commencing 6th Feb 2012 and students can be entered at either foundation, intermediate or advanced level. Round 2 will be held at a UK university in late March. If you want to find out more about UKLO, enter your school for the 2012 competition or just register an interest, please visit our website (www.uklo.org).
On behalf of the UKLO organising committee."
UKLinguistics Olympiad 2012
Looking for something to do with your Gifted and Talented? Want to show that languages are fun? Then why not consider entering your school in the UK Linguistics Olympiad. It's a competition for 11-18 students, in which they have to solve linguistic data problems. It doesn’t rely on knowledge of a language but trying to find patterns in the data. Similar competitions happen in a number of other countries, though it's only recently that they've taken place in English-speaking countries.
We have 2 rounds of competition in the UK and then select a team to represent the UK at the International competition. Round 1 is taken in schools any time week commencing 6th Feb 2012 and students can be entered at either foundation, intermediate or advanced level. Round 2 will be held at a UK university in late March. If you want to find out more about UKLO, enter your school for the 2012 competition or just register an interest, please visit our website (www.uklo.org).
On behalf of the UKLO organising committee."
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
E-Learning NOW! e-paper launched
Check out "E-Learning NOW!"
This paper is created daily by peper.li by trawling twitter and facebook pages for my own tweets, tweets from people I follow and public tweets with certain educational tags:
This paper is created daily by peper.li by trawling twitter and facebook pages for my own tweets, tweets from people I follow and public tweets with certain educational tags:
Thursday, 23 June 2011
Calling all MFL graduates - PGCE courses with bursaries at Bristol Uni!
A message from my friend Helen:
The University of Bristol still has places on its Modern Languages PGCE Programme! £6000 bursary available for linguists and excellent employment prospects. Contact helen.aberdeen@bristol.ac.uk for more details.
Thank you!
The University of Bristol still has places on its Modern Languages PGCE Programme! £6000 bursary available for linguists and excellent employment prospects. Contact helen.aberdeen@bristol.ac.uk for more details.
Thank you!
eSchoolNews: How current brain research can improve education
eSchoolNews just published this article summarizing findings from an interesting report:
In this report, you’ll discover how the brain reacts to:
■Visual learning and memory training
■Physical activity
■Arts and Language Arts
■Gaming
■New techniques for students with disabilities
■Early childhood education
You'll have to sign in (it's free!) to read it all.
Enjoy!
In this report, you’ll discover how the brain reacts to:
■Visual learning and memory training
■Physical activity
■Arts and Language Arts
■Gaming
■New techniques for students with disabilities
■Early childhood education
You'll have to sign in (it's free!) to read it all.
Enjoy!
Monday, 9 May 2011
Learning by rote a very useful and needed skill in the digital age
I've just come across this interesting article on the BBC website: "Memory and Method: In praise of learning by rote" - check it out here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13333117 !
Monday, 14 February 2011
Character Education for the Digital Age (quote from Jason Ohler)
I just read the article that @NikPeachey tweeted about and I just love this paragraph:
If we want to pursue a future that celebrates success not only in terms of abundance but also in terms of humanity, we must help our digital kids balance the individual empowerment of digital technology use with a sense of personal, community, and global responsibility. School is an excellent place to help kids become capable digital citizens who use technology not only effectively and creatively, but also responsibly and wisely. But we can only do that if we help them live one life, not two.from: http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb11/vol68/num05/Character-Education-for-the-Digital-Age.aspx
Sunday, 13 February 2011
#ililc Links into Languages ICT conference a huge success!
I've just come back from a truly inspiring conference in Southampton organised by @Joedale and the South East Links into Languages team.
I have uploaded my pics from the conference here on Picasa and will write about some of the things I learnt in the next few days.
Watch this space!
Vol
ker
I have uploaded my pics from the conference here on Picasa and will write about some of the things I learnt in the next few days.
Watch this space!
Vol
ker
Monday, 7 February 2011
Bing Maps for Teachers - a very interesting 3minute video
Bing Maps has really got a lot to offer for teaching and learning, especially the Map Apps section on the US version of the site - I know, why only there?
Anyway, I pointed out the Today's Front Pages Map App a few days ago but there's so much more! Just check out the video and then visit www.bing.com/maps to explore more for yourself - you won't regret spending that time playing around with it!
Anyway, I pointed out the Today's Front Pages Map App a few days ago but there's so much more! Just check out the video and then visit www.bing.com/maps to explore more for yourself - you won't regret spending that time playing around with it!
Friday, 4 February 2011
Free tool for recording screen instructions as a video
Microsoft Research Community Clips
Record what you’re doing onscreen with this free Microsoft tool: http://www.officelabs.com/projects/communityclips/Pages/Default.aspx
Create a video on How to use a specific software feature or How to write a formal letter in Spanish or How to search effectively for information on Bing or Google with a Spanish search engine.
A video guide will be more accessible than reading lengthy instructions with screenshots! Check it out - it's really easy to use - although you've got to have a good script ready to make sure you don't hesitate and get confused about what to do next!
Record what you’re doing onscreen with this free Microsoft tool: http://www.officelabs.com/projects/communityclips/Pages/Default.aspx
Create a video on How to use a specific software feature or How to write a formal letter in Spanish or How to search effectively for information on Bing or Google with a Spanish search engine.
A video guide will be more accessible than reading lengthy instructions with screenshots! Check it out - it's really easy to use - although you've got to have a good script ready to make sure you don't hesitate and get confused about what to do next!
Wednesday, 2 February 2011
Dr Ertzberger's Microsoft Office Games collection
Check out this collection of free games templates in MS PowerPoint, Excel and Word:
Jeff Ertzberger Microsoft Office Games PowerPoint Games
There are many more available on the premium site and a single license comes with the pdf e-book "A teacher's guide to customizing games for any curriculum" which costs £17.99 at the moment. Well worth it! Just check out the list of video tutorials on YouTube
Enjoy! Volker
Jeff Ertzberger Microsoft Office Games PowerPoint Games
There are many more available on the premium site and a single license comes with the pdf e-book "A teacher's guide to customizing games for any curriculum" which costs £17.99 at the moment. Well worth it! Just check out the list of video tutorials on YouTube
Enjoy! Volker
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