OllieBray.com

Magic Moments #24 - Meeting the President of Iceland

This time last year I was asked to speak at a conference organized by the Icelandic Dyslexia Association at the University of Reykjavík.

I was quite surprised to be sharing the stage with the President of Iceland – whose wife happens to be Dyslexic. Anyway, he was a very nice chap and it was a pretty nice venue for a conference as well.

I’ve got two other trips to Iceland planned for 2013 – a cycle expedition in the summer and then I’m heading back out to speak to their Headteachers Association in October about Social Media and some other bits & bobs…

I love Iceland – it’s a fascinating and beautiful place with some great people.

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Magic Moments #20 - Making things from junk [up-cycling?]

Magic Moments #17 - Coming soon to a conference near you...

Magic Moments #23 - mobile projectors for teaching modern languages [#mspil]

Bumped into Ben Rowe (from Saltash.net) at BETT last week and was reminded of a little trick he showed me in Washington in November 2011.

He uses a mobile projector to project onto the floor when he is teaching French.

He told me he likes to be able to get the children to stand up and ‘gather round’ as they discuss what they see. He told me he often uses it as part of a ‘station’ or ‘cluster’ based approach to learning and teaching.

Its the little ideas like this that can have such a massive impact in the classroom if they are shared. 

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Magical Schools - Saltash.net Community School

Magic Moments #17 - Coming soon to a conference near you...

Magic Moments #15 - Floor space can be learning space [World Map Rug]

Magic Moments #22 - Tables and Chairs (shaped like a daisy)

Magic Moments #22 - Tables and Chairs (shaped like a daisy)

I do love the way we continue to innovate with school furniture. This is a nice desk in the shape of a daisy – the petals even pop up so you can stand up and work as well as sit down!

The chairs are nice as well (if you have not seen them before?) they work fine by themselves but can also slot together to make a bench. 

If only we had more exciting secondary school furniture?

Magic Moments #21 - Model railways (in pubs...)

When I was sat in the micro-brewery of Whistler, British Columbia, Canada watching Andy Murray win his Gold Medal during the 2012 London Olympics.  

I couldn’t help notice the chug, chug, chug of the model railway that zipped around the ceiling in the pub / brewery / restaurant. While some of the people watching the wide screen TV were obviously distracted. I couldn’t help thinking, ‘I would quite like on fo these for school or home’.

Reminds me of a story that Guy Shearer told me about years ago, about when he ran the local authority Learning Discovery Cenre, “The model railway was an important part of the learning”.  

 

Magic Moments #20 - Making things from junk [up-cycling?]

I like seeing things that are made out of junk but with a bit of creativity become others things – I’m sure it’s a type of up-cycling?

A whole heard of these were in the hotel reception when I checked into my Hotel in Reykjavik, Iceland earlier in the year. I was doing some really interesting work for the Icelandic Dyslexic Association.

Then out in Chamonix (French Alps) in the summer this was in the garden of the place I was staying at (well, actually I was sleeping in the garden – it was far to hot inside).

It strikes me that creative sculptures like this could make a nice school project and certainly liven up the school grounds. For a more expensive but equally valid version you might also like to take a quick look at ‘Wild in Art’ – they do a mice range of mythical beasts and other animals that you can paint and then put on display! 

 

Magic Moments #19 - Avalanche Search and Rescue Training [preparing for winter]

Last week I asked you to guess what the giant inflatable dome might be used for (it was a pop-up planetarium BTW!).

But can you guess what the picture below is of?

At a first glance it looks like a giant ‘cat litter’ tray!

But actually it used at Glenmore Lodge (the Scottish National Outdoor Training Centre) to teach about avalanche search and rescue techniques.  Hidden underneath several hundred tones of wood chip (to simulate snow) are avalanche receivers. Trainees can practice locating the different receivers using their own transceivers that are set to, ‘find’.  Trainees and Rescue Teams can also practice search techniques using avalanche probes.

Avalanche awareness, avoidance, search and rescue techniques is part of the pretty much any winter mountaineering course at Glenmore Lodge. I’ll be working on a few weekend courses over the winter as well as doing some of my own independent work. If you would want to find out more about Scottish Winter Walking and / or Winter Mountaineering I would definitely recommend a course at the Lodge – it’s a world class training facility with well qualified and world class instructional & support staff.

You can also access some up-to-date avalanche information here.

Magic Moments #18 - Space Dome [#msftpil]

Quite a strange thing to see at a conference…

A giant inflatable dome tent, but can you guess what it was used for?

It is actually a pop up planetarium. The first time I went in one was in Washington DC in November 2011 at the Global Microsoft Partners in Learning Event (where I was a judge). We were all so impressed with the idea we ordered one in for the 2012 UK Partners in Learning Forum.

Inside the dome you are able to lay on your back and watch the stars and galaxies unfold! The best thing about it is that it used free software to create the experience in the form of Microsoft Worldwide Telescope. You can even build the reflector to get Microsoft Worldwide Telescope working inside a dome at very low cost – full instructions here.

Hiring a dome is a little more pricey… but the more I think about this the more I think you must be able to do this on the cheap… a dome tent perhaps? 

 

Magic Moments #17 - Coming soon to a conference near you...

As you will know I spend most of my time in school theses days. But increasingly I am asked to present at on-line conferences all over the world. Obviously this can be at various times of the day (my time) and in various locations (depending on where I happen to be at the time!).

Here is my studio from a conference earlier in the year. The delegates (in North America) saw only me, my slides and a white background behind my head. I wonder what they would have thought if they new the real set up of my make-shift TV studio?

After all, I had only just finished ironing my shirt for the event!

 

Magic Moments #16 - Turning Bike Sheds in Climbing Walls [Outdoor Learning]

Up in Moray (New Elgin Primary School, I think?) they have invested in some new secure cycle storage.

Then, instead of leaving the old bike sheds to become ‘dead space’ they have turned the area into a simple traversing wall for the children to play and climb on.

It is undercover as well – so you can even climb in the rain (something that you have to get used to living in Scotland!).

How might you use a bit of paint to brigten up some of those dark and boring spaces in your school grounds?

More on climbing walls and climbing wall holds for children here – from the wall that I was involved in building and the Grove Infant School on Portland (Now part of Isle of Portland Aldridge Community Academy).

 

Magic Moments #15 - Floor space can be learning space [World Map Rug]

I snapped a picture of this great rug a South Lanarkshire Classroom not too long ago. Its bright and colourful and really livens up the learning space.

We often forget about how useful floor space can be for learning. Its also great to see a bit of geography to help children gain a sense of place and where they are in the world.

I'm not to sure about the traditional stereotypes around the edge though... although I guess it would make an interesting discussion to have with the children!