OllieBray.com

A Day Made of Glass... [Video]

I quite liked this - worth 5 mins of your time if your into future gazing and how technology may impact homes / business in the future...

Exploring People and the Past (Level 4) - Now Available

If you have ever been involved in writing books you will know that it is always nice to get your hands on the final product.

There was a definite history theme in the air yesterday as not only did we announce Scotland participation in the Big History Project but I also got my hands on the new Hodder Gibson Exploring People and the Past CfE Level 4 Social Subjects Textbook  written by Ed Offer.

I had the job of writing the thematic chapter at the end of the book and editing the series. The People and Place textbook was published earlier in the year and the People and Society textbook will be available soon.

Big History comes to Scotland - great CPD opportunity for Scottish teachers

 

Ian Stuart (@islayian) and I first met David Christian at the Microsoft Partners in Learning Global Education Forum in Washington DC in November 2011. David was talking about Big History and we were instantly impressed with the quality of David’s presentation, his passion for education and how the concept of Big History fitted with the principles of CfE. You can see my short write up of his talk here.

Since Washington Ian has remained in contact with David and facilitated a conversation between him and Joe Wilson, Head of New Ventures at the SQA. Ian and Joe were keen to explore how we might get Scottish Schools involved in the piolet programme for 2012/2013 before the large scale worldwide rollout in 2013/2014.

 

The rest as they say is history and we are excited to announce that…

 

Winging its way out to Directors of Education and Headteachers today was a superb opportunity for three Scottish Schools and their science & social subjects departments. 

We have been invited as a Nation to participate in the pilot roll out of the Big History Project. Funded by Bill Gates directly through Bill Gates Catlyst Three. This is a superb opportunity for Scottish Schools to be part of a cutting edge,  project based learning,  global project - that fits very well with a Curriculum for Excellence


The SQA and The Big History Project  invite applications to be part of The Big History Project and join pilot schools in Australia and USA.

In particular:

• We are looking for three secondary schools in close proximity to each other - this is stipulation from the Big History Project.

• Funding is available for two teachers from each school to attend the programme induction in Seatlle, USA between 22-25th March 2012

• These teachers will be a Science Teacher and a Social Subjects Teacher (the curriculum leaders).

• Participating schools need to deliver the Big History programme as a pilot from September 2012 to a 2nd or 3rd Year cohort  and provide feedback where appropriate.  

• Participating schools will also be expected to carry out a curriculum mapping exercise for the Big History Project materials to the experiences and outcomes of CfE.

• Pilot schools will gain experience of working with global partners on a new and innovative multidisciplinary curriculum.

You can find out more about the Big History Project here www.bighistoryproject.com but this short video sums it up nicely!

You can hear a message from David Christian (Founder of the Big History Project) that we recorded when he was in Glasgow a couple of weeks ago to Scottish Schools here http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/video/b/video_tcm4687443.asp

What do you need to do?

To apply for this opportunity - we need  an Education Authority’s nomination of three suitable schools.

The project will meet the travel and subsistence costs associated with the programme but will not provide cover costs for the  induction programme.

Applications will be screened by panel drawn from SQA, Education Scotland and The Big History Project.

 

Application Process

Applications should consist of one side A4 with  a simple statement  from each of three nominated schools on Why the Big History project appeals to them.  

Attached to the application we need a name and short resume of the Science and Social Science Teacher nominated to take part in induction programme from each of the three schools. Given the tight timescale on this nominees need to hold a full British Passport.

Applications close on Monday 5th of March - successful applicants will be contacted to make travel arrangements on 7th of March .

Applications should be emailed to Liam.Priest@sqa.org.uk

 

Exciting stuff!

CEOP - Parents' and Carers' Guide to the Internet [Safer Internet Day 2012]

Today (7th February 2012) is Safer Internet Day  and CEOP has launched 'The Parents' and Carers' Guide to the Internet', a light hearted and realistic look at what it takes to be a better online parent. The show covers topics such as, talking to your child about the technologies they use and the things they might see, such as pornography.

Hosted by my good pal Jonathan Baggaley and with interviews from leading experts such as, Professor Tanya Byron, Dr Linda Papadopoulos and Reg Bailey, as well as key industry players from Facebook, Club Penguin and Moshi Monsters , the online guide aims to equip parents and carers with the tools to have those tricky conversations with their children to help keep their family safe online.

Excavation an giant Ant Hill with 10 tonnes of concrete [Video]

I'm not sure that the ants would be particularly happy about this research project but the final result is really quite amazing.

Basically, researchers pump concrete into a giant ant hill. It takes a little bit longer than they expect (3 days to be precise) and they get through 10 tonnes of concrete.

Then they leave the concrete to set and three weeks later start excavating the site to revile what the inside of the colony looks like. The result is an intricate structure, equivalent in labour to humans building the Great Wall of China.

Worth a watch and a great resource to support the teaching of science. 

Via: Boing Boing

 

Anthony Salcito's Daily EDventures [featured teacher] #PilGF

I’ve been enjoying Anthony Salcito’s (Vice President of Microsoft Worldwide Education) new daily edventures blog. The idea is to post a profile every day of an educator / thought leader that Anthony meets during his 2012 travels to schools and education systems around the world.

Respected friends and colleagues Garth Ritter (Wales), Jacques Denies (Belgium), Tessa van Zadelhoff (Netherlands) and Dr Maria Langworthy (USA) have already appeared in the series which is proving to be an informative window on worldwide education practice and innovation.

Anthony was over in the UK last week speaking at the Learning Without Frontiers Conference in London (Great job Graham and the team BTW!). During his visit he also made a trip north to Scotland to visit Scottish Government, Education Scotland and the SQA. I bumped into Anthony at the Education Scotland offices n Glasgow and we managed to have a great off-the-cuff chat about education networks, gaming in education and playful learning. I think that Microsoft are likely to have big plans for this space and the Kinect SDK for Windows and their new Kinect Playful Learning titles are just one part of this.

Anyway, today I’m the latest person to feature on Anthony’s daily edventures blog - so a huge thank you for your kind words and encouragement. You can read the full piece here.

I agree with you Anthony… there has never been a more exciting time for education and the opportunities to innovate are greater than ever before.

 

 

2012 Scottish Education Awards

The Scottish Education Awards celebrate the hard work and success which takes place in Scottish education. They recognise the achievements of people who dedicate their lives to children and young people and showcase the valuable work and innovation in Scottish classrooms. Nominations close on Friday 2 March 2012.

Visit the Scottish Education Awards website for more information.