christine.gray

Multimedia is a big part of the National Qualifications in Computing since the courses were revised. It is a core unit in Intermediate 1 and an option in Intermediate 2 and Higher.

I have, as I am sure many other teachers do, multilevel classes. This year Advanced Higher, Higher and Intermediate 2 all shared the same class.

I was trying to find a way of allowing the Intermediate 2 pupils to create some interesting video within the confines of the school without having to disrupt other classes.

The sight of a high backed swivel chair gave me the solution I was searching for.  An Intermediate 2 Mastermind. A selection of questions from the course materials provided the quiz questions.

The pupils organised themselves into quizmaster, camera person and team. They used the school stage and lighting. Each contestant introduced themselves before answering the questions.

The first rehearsal was far from perfect but the experience taught them what not to do and the rerun (with different questions of course!) was much better.

The end result still needed a bit of improvement in the quality of the sound but the pupils were very engaged on the activity and really enjoyed the work, learned a great deal about video production along with several answers to questions in the Intermediate 2 course.

Each pupil was then able to use Pinnacle Studio to edit the film add transitions and introductory music.  Credits and a title were added too.

The finished edited film then had to be saved as an Mpeg reinforcing the work they had been doing on compression techniques.

I was fortunate as it was not a large group but the work produced was completely “all their own” and brought what they had been studying to life.

One of our senior management team was given a presentation on InQuisitor last week.  The concept behind this is excellent using “Game Play” to engage pupils and encourage them to try and improve their performance on tests.

Having looked on their website http://www.inquizitor.com/ and had a look at the sample CD I am not convinced that it is a good investment. The content of the sample questions is very pro American. I also did not like the interface very much but have to confess that I have not had a lot of time to study it in depth.

As a Teacher of Computing I found the sample questions for Standard Grade were dull. Inserting the missing first word of a sentence.  Perhaps other subjects lend themselves more to this type of e-learning.

 A bank of a 100 questions on Automated Systems cost £40.

You can create your own questions and store your own question banks. This would be essential to ensure that the questions match the aims of the lesson, the ability of the pupils and the particular course.

Has anyone out there purchased this software? It would be good to get some feedback from a school that has been using it in Scotland. I can see that some pupils would like the game element but personally I prefer the quizzes that can be created in PowerPoint with the Breeeze Plug In.

Have you looked at the SCRAN website recently?  www.scran.ac.uk

It is full of the most wonderful resources.  I know it is often difficult to find time during the day at school to look at what is available on this site but now you can have free access from home. All you need is your GTC number.  You complete the on-line registration on the website.  The only problem is that once you start browsing through it you might not be able to stop.
My S1 have been using the SCRAN site to solve a mystery.  What is the connection between  “The Royal Oak”   and an Italian called Domenico Chiocchetti?  They are given a hint sheet to help them use the key words in the search box. Once they have unravelled the story, they use the information and the wealth of graphics available to put together their own presentation in PowerPoint.  

They all seem to really enjoy this activity and most are touched by the story and by how human nature can overcome hard times.  If you don’t know this piece of Scottish History. Find out the story yourself on the SCRAN  site.

The Inspiration mind mapping program was given to every school in Scotland a couple of years ago. This is a truly wonderful piece of software and very easy to use.  Last year I used it with S1 and they really enjoyed it.  You can add graphics to your maps either from the huge library that comes with the software or any of your own.

As a teaching aid it is great especially if you have access to an Interactive Whiteboard. You can build up a map with a class or create one in advance and open it up a bit at a time.

Pupils can create their own revision maps and convert them quickly into word files then e-mail them home. Using the hyperlink tool makes it simple to link topics to websites for further information.

At the start of term all our staff had an induction course and I had the most enthusiastic response to any in-service that I have ever led. I had staff clamouring at the door for the software.

Art and Music were particularly enthusiastic.  Within half an hour of seeing the program for the first time the music teacher was creating maps of orchestral instruments and adding the sound.

If you haven’t seen it ask your ICT Co-ordinator for the CD. The Primary version Kidspiration is in every Primary school too. 

Hi There,

My name is Christine Gray and I teach Computing in the ICT Department at Lochgilphead High.  Just two weeks back and the place is buzzing.

Its great to meet all the new S1 pupils.  They are all so full of enthusiasm and excited about having their own e-mail account. Getting to know them all by name is a bit of a struggle.

Today they were printing out name tags using Word 2003.  One boy had put smiley faces either side of his name.  Of course they all wanted to do it. So Scott took over the class for me. Using the Interactive Whiteboard he showed the class that if they typed, A colon a dash and a close round bracket and pressed return a smiley face would appear.

Lets hope they are still smiling in a few weeks time!