FEATU


reading. They can see and hear the review and, if necessary, follow the words on screen as well. Teachers have noticed that children are


becoming more adventurous in their choice of books and share their enjoyment free from the burden of writing every single letter of every single word .


Exploring otherworlds Exploring other worlds


Simon was fascinated by Google Expeditions but while there was a good range of ready-made resources, they rarely linked to the Scottish curriculum. He decided they would make their ldren can enjoy virtual visits to


Culloden, Lindisfarn own so now the chi


whereMary Queen 1567 and forced to


sign abdication documents of Scots was imprisoned in e and to Lochleven Castle


before escaping to England. 'Virtual reality is brilliant for all subjects,


especially History and Geography,' said Simon. 'When we were working on a Rainforest topic one boy said, 'I like the fact I can look outside the frame, I can look all around and explore different parts.' He likes to use aMagic Carpet activity for imaginative writing where children don a headset and experience a 360° view from a helium balloon, or helicopter, or the back of a dragon. In the past the class would have practised


vocabulary to express surprise, awe and wonder and for some children it would have been a mechanical exercise but with VR the children naturally use much more emotional vocabulary as they describe sights, sounds and their feelings. He is now introducing the same technology for MFL. Some experts believe that children who have dyslexia will struggle with foreign languages, will be confused by different spelling patterns and different sound / symbol correlations.Many children find listening tests the most taxing part of language learning, but virtual reality provides a context. There is a visual stimulus plus auditory responses which tap into different areas of the brain and this improves the pupil's memory . Courtesy of VR, a child in Edinburgh can take a walk round a Spanish market, look at the fruit and vegetable and hear their names while gestures and body language provide an insight into different cultur es .


Out of school Out of school Until recently children used to write down


homework and all too often teachers would come across posts on social media asking, 'What is the homework forMaths this week?' 'Anyone know


FEAT RE FOCUS: SEND TURE FOCUS: SEND


what they have to do for Geography?' because their children had mislaid thei hadn't written them down properly. Some children wrote too slowly had limited working memory or had poor tracking skills so they would lose their place between looking at the board and looking down at the page.


r notes or This was


,


For further info soft


tware and technologymentioned in this piece, please see the following links:


ftw


Now the school uses Firefly and teachers spend more time teaching and less on admin Children will see what has been set bu will be on the app and can be accessed from home. Instead of listening with half an ear while copying down the tasks, they can focus on what the task involves, look at examples and see far more clearly what they have to do.


t know it tasks.


Undoubtedly ESMS is a well resourced school and its size and reputation can act as a magnet for software companies keen to promote their wares. However, two things emerged from discussions with Simon Luxford-Moore which other schools may take to heart. First, they ensure staff are comfortable with the technology they have at their disposal and do not rush to take on the latest gizmo or the newest app.


Every piece of software must earn its place and be used as widely as possible and teachers try not to use technology for more than 15 minutes in a


Erskine Stewart'sMelville Schools - https://www.esms.org.uk/


k/ Clicker7 -


https://www.cricksoft.com/uk/clicker Firefly - https://fireflylearning.co Google Expeditions-


ft k/ com/


https://edu.google.com/products/vr- ar/


r/expeditions/?modal_active=none HP Reveal - https://play.google.co Ty com/store/apps/details?i


d=com.aurasma.aurasma&hl=en_GB KAZ Type - https://kaz-ty Prizmo Go-


type.com/


https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/prizmo-go- instant-text-ocr/id1183367390


Promethean Active Panels -


https://www.prometheanworld.com/gb/pro ducts/interactive-displays/activpanel/


formation on the school, and the fo


one hour lesson. In this school, the technology is there as a tool to enhance the children’s learning, not as an end in itself.


October 2 910


2019


wwweducation-tod ya .co.uk.co.uk 13 www.


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