EUfolio Conference 2015

After leaving the Eufolio conference at Dublin Castle this week there was much to reflect on.

I really enjoyed the keynote from Prof. Val Klenowski  which talked about using technology to help pupils become more socially responsible in the 21st century. There was also, I found, an insightful discussion of the difference between 'Communication' and 'Connection' amongst pupils and people today. 

From speakers on the day and the presentations from pupils it was clear how much energy and creativity the EUfolio pilot made happen. This was not only in Ireland. I thought the video (below) showing organisers, teachers and pupils from all over Europe displayed the ambition and scope of this project. Innovative, engaging and new educational experiences were made possible because of this pilot. That in itself means this pilot was a success. Let's hope we can, as Minister O Sullivan suggested, continue the cascade effect of using ePortfolios in Ireland/Europe. 

I was delighted to speak at the event. The presentation I delivered (below) focused on how I used ePorfolios in the classroom with my Junior English class. In the middle of the presentation you'll find a poster we created for the day with interviews from pupils and my colleague Ger Doyle who also took part in the pilot project.

We have the experience of using ePortfolios in Ireland now. A base has been created of teacher and pupil experience that we will hopefully build upon. As Sean Gallagher, referencing Seamus Heaney, eloquently reminded us before we left: we've walked the road now, we have the tar on our feet. Evidence of this building process can already be found on the EUfolio site resource section.

Sincere thank you to Rita, John, Ben and especially Sinead for all the guidance throughout the pilot. My colleague Ger Doyle for the talks and help. Newbridge College and my principal Pat O Brien for always wanting to try what is best for our pupils. Our school ICT coordinator Gerry Gavin for helping in every way throughout. And finally all the pupils and parents that we worked with over the last two years, for being so willing to engage and come along on this great educational journey.

The Great Gatsby: Revision Quiz

This year I have been studying The Great Gatsby with my Fifth Year English class. They will be using it to answer questions in the Single Text section of their L.C. English exam in 2015. We really enjoyed our study of the novel as a class and feel like we really got to know the characters, their world and their motivations. We found the novel is packed with amazing moments, characters, descriptive writing and symbolism. This week we are creating some revision activities before we attempt some Single Text exam questions. One of our revision activities was to have a class quiz on the novel. Well done to the creatively named in-class winning team of 'Liam and the Other Two' . To keep the competitive action, learning, going I have created this online revision quiz that individual pupils, from anywhere, can attempt to win. You don't need an account to play for fun but you will need one if you want to have your score saved on the leader board. The best of luck to everyone!

Digital Comic Strip Creator- Pixton

Pixton - Accessible and engaging.

I'm experimenting with digital comic strip makers this week. In a recent #edchatie discussion comic strips were discussed as a way of improving student literacy. I've used comic strips as a way of teaching narrative techniques in short story writing and JC Media Studies in the past. It would typically involve giving the pupils a physical comic strip template, giving them a technique to aim for (e.g. suspense) and sending them on their way. Some pupils are naturally gifted in the art of drawing. Many however, like myself, are artisans of the stick man variety. Having aesthetically pleasing pictures is not the point of using Comic strips to teach suspense but it can certainly cause some pupils to disengage with the activity when they are underwhelmed by their final product. With the new JCSA course, possibly!, just around the corner I've been looking for a digital medium that First Year pupils would find accessible and engaging. One of the best sites I have found so far is Pixton. You can create a Pixton account 'For Fun', 'For School' or 'For Business'. I signed up for both a 'Fun' and 'School' account. The School account will allow you to add 50 pupils for 30 days, more than enough time to complete your project. The fun account allows you to create an unlimited amount of comic strips. The site does operate on a coins or credit basis. Every time you use a premium skin or template it costs you some credits. There seems, to date, to be enough free templates for this not to be an issue. Of course, you can always purchase more credits if your or your pupils are particularly enjoying the task. Embedding and sharing strips once they are created is easy. I'm really enjoying it to date and will update any further feedback as I am using the site over the coming months. I might even update this post with future instalments of the (practice) tale you find below!

The Great Gatsby: eduCanon Revision Activity

Last January I decided to change the colour template of the Blog. This year I decided to do the same and picked Gold/Yellow in honour of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. The colour plays a significant symbolic role in the novel (see Nathan Wagman Prezi below).

I've also been experimenting with a web tool called eduCanon this week. The site allows you to take a video from YouTube, Vimeo or TeacherTube and create activities based on that video. It is free to set up a basic account and start making activities straight away. I've created a list of revision activities for LC English pupils based on John Green's Youtube Video 'Like Pale Gold'. I've created the task in such a way that pupils must actively listen to the video to answer an immediate question but also left a longer revision task to be completed in their copy. I hope teachers may find the site helpful and pupils may find the activity helpful.

(Click here to open in full screen- Recommended!)

Resource Sharing Site for Second Level English in Ireland

The idea for creating a resource sharing site for English teachers is not new. I've had many conversations with teachers about creating one. Many Irish teachers already contribute and use TES, a fantastic site for sharing resources and lesson plans. However many teachers, myself included, feel an Irish based service would be really beneficial to teachers in this country. With changes on the way for JC English and a Leaving Certificate course that is already highly specialized, in comparison with other countries, the advantages of an Irish based site are clear.

I've created this quick online survey below for a few reasons. The most obvious reason would be to gauge teacher sentiment on such an idea. Secondly, I'd like to get funding from the DES to create this platform. Finally, I'd like to get some teacher feedback on what the site should look like and features it may have. The initial response to the survey has been great and I've upgraded to Survey Monkey account to accept 1000 responses. I'm hoping to leave the survey up for the month of January or until 1000 responses have been reached, whichever comes first, before compiling the results. It would be great if you could pass the link on to as many Second Level English teachers as you can for completion. The survey can be:

- Completed below

- Found at this link (copy and paste to share!) https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JTNK9ZS

- Downloaded here for a colleague to complete on paper before you send in the result on the online survey.

Thanks in advance,

Eoghan

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.

(Animoto) Comparative Videos

This week I tried out Animoto. I had been aware of it for some time and had seen it being used to great effect. However I simply never got around to using it or found a different app to suit the need I had at that time. I found that you only get to create 30 second videos before you have to pay for extra length to your video, which was an initial disappointment. But you get what you pay for in life and I think Animoto could well be worth the money. The video creation interface is really as simple as a company could make it. It's easy to add pictures, videos and even your own soundtrack to your creations. Animoto has a plethora of design templates for your video and I imagine you would be a long time using it before you felt limited by their available choices. Overall I'd recommend it for teachers as an accessible and quick way to create teacher resources or to help pupils create a video project. Here are a couple of quick resources I made this week for a Leaving Certificate class on The Truman Show.

Update: Thanks to a tip off from @MrAbe101 I found out that teachers can apply for a free educational account here. This extends the video length to three minutes and allows you to create 50 videos with your class in a six month period. I applied and was immediately accepted to the upgraded account. I created the video on Casablanca, below, as an example of how to use the extended time.




The Truman Show - Cul. Context


The Truman Show - Cul. Context (2)

Macbeth Revision for LC and A Level English

Every year I send my senior class away over the Christmas holidays and tell them to begin revising their Single Text for the Leaving Certificate exam. Instead of just sending them off into the great unknown, I try to give them a digital resource they can use over the long break as a guide. This year we studied Macbeth so I've created this revision Padlet and I was wondering if other teachers would like to contribute? I've placed a number of videos on the Padlet page already. The learning activities can be based entirely on the videos or just used as a cue to start a revision activity on that topic. I've used SkyDrive to attach the files but Google Docs could also be easily used. I'd like to cast as wide as net as possible so if any teachers in the UK would also like to get involved that would be great. I've created two activities already but multiple activities could easily be left for the same video/image. Thanks in advance!

Eoghan

(Double click anywhere on the Padlet wall to bring up the insert box. If you are using a tablet you can edit using the window below. If you are using a Mac or PC click here to see an enlarged window for easier editing)

Created with Padlet

ICT in English 2014 and Beyond

This is a Prezi of a talk I gave at the INOTE conference in Hotel Kilkenny on October 19th 2013. It attempted to look at the new Junior Certificate English Draft Specification and show how ICT could be used to meet the new Learning Outcomes. At the time of making the Prezi, and this blog post, there were 59 Learning Outcomes but the Prezi below should now have the final 39. Some minor adjustments were also made from the version presented on the day and what people can now see below. I hope it may be of benefit to teachers going forward.

e-Portfolios on Kidblog: Developing 21st Century Skills

 “Our task is to educate their (our students) whole being so they can face the future. We may not see the future, but they will and our job is to help them make something of it.” - Sir Ken Robinson

Changes are afoot. Over the coming weeks and months consultation days, workshops and in-services will be taking place for teachers of English in preparation for the new Junior Certificate syllabus in September 2014. Although we know much of what is coming down the line, there is still much we do not know. However, even when the new syllabus has been clearly laid out, it is still hard to know how we should prepare our pupils for the future. Societies have always changed and evolved but there can be little doubt that our current generation of pupils are living through a massive explosion in technological ability. The development from the home PC to Smart phone to tablet to Smart watch to Google Glass in roughly ten years has been staggering. A first year pupil that starts secondary school in September 2013 and completes a typical four year degree will be entering the work force in 2022. What job will await them? More importantly, what skills will they need?

One model  for 21st Century learning put forward by the American based group The Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

Last year I found the site Kidblog. I was due to start Media Studies with my third years. I researched the site and found that it was free to use (for a generous limited amount) and had great teacher privacy controls. I found it really engaged the pupils in the course work and  helped collaboration and creativity. On a very practical level, I think the pupils found it a very useful revision source come exam time. At the end of the section I wished we had blogged/kept an e Portfolio in more sections than just Media Studies.

NCCA Junior Cycle Guidelines

' Although the term ‘portfolio’ tends to be associated with a physical, often paper-based artifact, it is used here to describe the outcomes of the ongoing activity of generating evidence of learning as much as a collection of work.That collection may be digital, or a digital capture of a process. While initially, portfolio assessment will be connected to each subject and short course, the possibility for the same portfolio to be counted for more than

one subject may arise as teachers and students become more familiar with the process over time.'.  

 

This year I have started to keep an e Portfolio with a 5th year English class. Although their work will not be exclusively done in electronic form, I hope it will give pupils of all abilities a better chance to create and collaborate. I hope to report back later on in the year with how we are getting along.