New Kodable app

Many of you are already enjoying using the Kodable Class app on the iPad to introduce Coding to young children - suitable for EYFS and upwards in Primary, and great fun too! 
Kodable has announced a key change and more can be found on their blog.
They have decided to retire Kodable Class from the App Store, and migrate the features to a new app called Kodable, this will streamllne Kodable for iPad, Android and Computer web-based users resulting in easier access for all.
Key dates to look out for:
November 28 2014 - Kodable Class no longer available in the App Store, and ALL Kodable Class subscribers, including those on School Plans, need to migrate to the new Kodable App.  All of your info will migrate by entering class codes or just follow migration instructions.

Migration Webinar November 19 2014 - All will explained in a short webinar on November 19 at 10am PST. See what time that is for you, here. Opportunities to ask questions too. A recording is available if you miss this webinar.

To migrate in under 5 minutes take a look at the Kodable migration guide. 

The Hour of Code - March 2014

Just One Hour is all it takes..... Be part of the Coding revolution and create a foundation for success in your school.

All UK schools' can begin to get ready for NC 2014 Coding with the Hour of Code - details can be obtained and shared in this online PDF.
Register your interest to participate here.

The 25th Anniversary of the World Wide Web.
Code.org is launching the UK Hour of Code from March 3rd - 7th 2014, as part of the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the creation of the World Wide Web by the ultimate UK coder, Tim Berners-Lee. Hour of Code is geared to encourage interest in computer science and show that anyone can learn the basics. 

Kahoot! - Create a quiz

Quizzes in the classroom are great fun for the kids - use them as lesson starters or for plenary. I was recently introduced to Kahoot! for use on the iPad by the Kahoot! team themselves via twitter and I have to say Ive not used any other quiz software since!

Its free, simple to use, and designed with education in mind. It appeals to all ages of student, and with a timed challenge for each question and a leaderboard its guaranteed to engage and motivate your entire class. Whenever Ive used this with teachers excitement runs high!

Because its web-based, and not yet an app it means you have greater flexibility in using it. So, for instance, the teacher or a group of kids can create a quiz on their desktop computer - mac or PC and then ask the class to access the quiz from their mobile devices - android or iOS iPad/ iPod. Kahoot! behaves like a voting system and answers are sent back to the teachers device screen and projected for all to see.
The results can also be downloaded by the teacher for knowledge based evidence purposes.

Find out more by visiting the Kahoot! website and try it for yourself.

NEW Serail Mash Reading resource

Serial Mash  The ideal solution for both teachers and students!

Serial Mash is much more than just a collection of e-books. It has been tailor-made for use in educational settings. Teachers get access  to Serial Mash a full half-term in advance of the students, giving you plenty of time to plan. You'll find Serial Mash in the'Teachers Tab' inside Purple Mash. Teacher Release: 09/12/2013 Student Release : 24/02/2014 You can read more about the launch ofSerial Mash on our blog.

What makes Serial Mash special? The first series of books are written by award winning children's author Jonny Zucker Each chapter comes with National Curriculum 2014 ready teacher resources Each chapter comes with a range of fun and creative educational activities from Purple Mash You can adjust the formatting to make it more accessible for students with special educational needs Children can access it from school or from home It works on whiteboards, desktops, laptops, and tablets It has a built-in word look-up to expand vocabulary It builds into your school's own digital library!

"Jonny Zucker is our school's author-in-residence and he came in to give us a preview of Serial Mash. The kids loved the stories and the activities. I was particularly impressed by how engaged they were with the narrative. They thought the game-show style comprehension quiz was fab and they did some amazing extended writing work. The whole school is now eagerly awaiting February!"   Ms Jayasuriya, Head Teacher, Kenilworth Primary School

Use QR Codes to celebrate work

Ive just stumbled across this idea on twitter this morning for a creative use of QR codes in primary schools. Thanks to @TomBrush1982 for the idea.

If you want to share a child's success or achievement easily with parents, what better way to do it than to generate a QR code linked to that piece of work. Stick the code on the postcard and send it home. Parents can then scan the code with a Smartphone or other device with a free scanning app and view their child's work. 

A brilliant and fun idea!

Courtesy of @TomBrush1982 via twitter

Example postcard using Pages template - doesn't need to be this fancy just use a standard postcard as above.

Some more great ideas here for using QR codes, in business and education but a talented, creative teacher can adapt those ideas easily to make the classroom an exciting and engaging place to learn!

50 QR Codes for the classroom

QR Stuff - business ideas

5 QR Codes - Marketing ideas

2014 Computing Curriculum

Most of you reading this will know that schools in England are expected to introduce the new Computing Curriculum by September 2014. That gives schools this academic year to get to grips with what is expected in each phase.
Do these words leave you scratching your head in frustration? Dont worry, I feel exactly the same! 

• algorithm
• ambiguous
• non-ambiguous
• debug
• program
• object orientated language
• Java Script
• non-sequential

If, like many other teachers, this is something you've never had to teach before and are left feeling confused and/ or overwhelmed by what you have read so far, you may find this outline useful.

And if you're still bewildered by some of the terminology then you might like to consider some of these products to help you deliver it.

Espresso Coding 

• Free until October 2014 to all schools - click the link to find out how you can access this in school right now. 
• Includes a wide-ranging Scheme of Work, providing teachers with a comprehensive coverage of the new coding aspects of the updated Computing curriculum for Year 1 to Year 6.
• Teaches pupils how to create and publish their own apps and games, which can be shared with parents and friends. 
• Designed to stretch upper primary children by offering the option to Code using elements of JavaScript (an industry standard).

iPad apps

Bee-Bot Garden - FREE KS1/EYFS

Bee-Bot Pyramid KS2

Daisy the Dinosaur - FREE KS1

Hopscotch - FREE KS2

Gamepress - FREE KS2

Roamer 

Allows you to program from EYFS using the simple keypad to upper KS2 programming Roamer to react to its environment through the addition of sensors. 

PC/Mac computers:
Kodu
Scratch

NC Computing Curriculm 2014 Requirements:
Key stage 1
Pupils should be taught to:

• understand what algorithms are; how they are implemented as programs on digital devices; and that programs execute by following precise and unambiguous instructions
• create and debug simple programs
• use logical reasoning to predict the behaviour of simple programs
• use technology purposefully to create, organise, store, manipulate and retrieve digital content
• recognise common uses of information technology beyond school
• use technology safely and respectfully, keeping personal information private; identify where to go for help and support when they have concerns about content or contact on the internet or other online technologies.　

Key stage 2

Pupils should be taught to:

• design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts
• use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; work with variables and various forms of input and output
• use logical reasoning to explain how some simple algorithms work and to detect and correct errors in algorithms and programs
• understand computer networks including the internet; how they can provide multiple services, such as the world wide web; and the opportunities they offer for communication and collaboration
• use search technologies effectively, appreciate how results are selected and ranked, and be discerning in evaluating digital content
• select, use and combine a variety of software (including internet services) on a range of digital devices to design and create a range of programs, systems and content that accomplish given goals, including collecting, analysing, evaluating and presenting data and information
• use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly; recognise acceptable/unacceptable behaviour; identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact.

DFES © Crown copyright 2013

Downloading YouTube videos to mac/ iPad

Since Apple have put a stop to downloading YouTube videos to iPad using the iCab Mobile app Ive started to use this workaround. In my lessons we use YouTube videos as much as possible for making the news, voice-overs for adverts, weather forecasting, exploration, science transcripts and much more. Great for speaking & listening, working on script writing and performance.

I now use MacTubes on my Mac to download the video as an mp4. Just click download on the web page and the app is downloaded to your downloads folder. Double click to open the app.
A window something like this will appear.

In the YouTube search box enter the URL of the video you want to download.
The video icon will appear in the MacTubes window- as above.
Simply right click this and choose Download mp4 from the options. The downloaded video, for some reason, dropped onto my desktop, not into my downloads folder - easy to locate though.

My next step is to send this to my iPad/s. I now use Photo Transfer for this purpose - so easy. Click here to read a previous blog entry on how to do this.
Now I can access the video in my Photos on the iPad and this makes it automatically available in the iMovie app to edit and record voiceovers.