Back in May of 2007 the first beta copy of Scratch, a programming language for children, was released. Scratch was a free application developed by MIT Media Labs and it was easier to use when compared to more traditional programming languages as it consisted of graphical blocks that could be dragged from a palette and […]
Scratch for Tablet devices Read More »
Boomwriter is a web site hosting three areas that creative teachers can use across several curriculum subjects. The main feature of each distinct but inter-related area is a text entry / writing tool that students can use to create a piece of writing. Area 1 – “Story Starts” features several pages of starting paragraphs or
Writing using a Web 2.0 tool. Read More »
Jason Ohler is an enthusiastic proponent of Digital Storytelling and Literacy. In 2005 Jason spent some time in Cork as part of a program called “Stories of Culture and Place” in association with the University of Alasks’s Geography Program. He helped pupils create stories with original artwork and then edit them into a production using
Transmedia Storytelling Read More »
Most teachers in Ireland have been there! We all know the scenario! A typical miserable, wet winter’s Friday afternoon and the pupils haven’t been to the yard at lunch time. The classroom is gloomy, the pupils are restless and the going home bell is still a good two hours away! An ideal opportunity to take the
Virtually Anywhere Read More »
At the moment in some Primary schools and Coder Dojo clubs there is raised interest in the new version of Scratch; this version can be accessed online at scratch.mit.edu. The new version has lots of wonderful features however the one major fault with is is that it is extremely difficult to use it on an
Anyone for Hopscotch? Read More »
I recently came across a free online course from HP! It’s a 5 module / 5 hour course with some interesting content. Ok! Up front! It’s definitely aimed at the American education sector as it constantly refers to the new US Common Core State Standards (CCSS), especially in module 2; however as I mentioned in
Teaching with Technology Read More »
I recently wrote about creating Virtual Windows XP’s so that schools could creatively extend the life cycle of their XP PC’s on newer PC’s after Microsoft ends their support of this popular OS on the 8th of April. In the post I outlined the process involved in using Parallels Workstation to create a virtual XP
ChronoZoom is another great free educational tool from Microsoft Research. It is an open source timeline tool that allows teachers and students to create interactive timelines.It is an online tool and opens directly into the Cosmos timeline. As the user zooms inwards. we pass through Earth, Life, Prehistory and Humanity segments. Within ChronoZoom, these segments
Microsoft ChronoZoom Read More »
According to Wikipedia the term Web 2.0 was coined by Darcy DiNucci in 1999 and it was popularised by Tim O’Reilly at a conference in 2004. Teachers use Web 2.0 tools to engage pupils, to share their work with their peers and to present pupil work to a global audience. To a certain extent, Web
Exploring some cool Web 2.0 tools Read More »
In June of this year Kieran Kelly blogged about bringing new life back into his school’s 34 Windows XP computers by going down the road of a clean re-install. This batch of PC’s were rejuvenated and Kieran was looking forward to the new academic year and a whole lot less hassle from IT related issues.
