eLearning Laura

I recently wrote an article jointly with the Principal of Berkhamsted School, Mark Steed, on ICT as a catalyst for change in pedagogy. It was published in the ISC Bulletin, 29, June 2012, pp.30-34.   ‘Each change in technology in schools makes us revisit and re-evaluate how and why we do what we do in the [...]

I have exciting news. My classroom at school is now kitted out with an Apple TV and an Airport Express (Father Christmas did eventually deliver!) so I can wirelessly mirror my iPad onto my board at the front of the room. This has really got me thinking about the joy of untethering from my IWB, [...]

    This is the video I created at the Apple Teacher Institute 2012 this week in Cheltenham. I made it for my team as a strategic tool to open our professional development session at the beginning of term. I was keen to produce something with a genuine purpose (it was going to take a [...]

Here are six pieces of advice I would pass on to anyone leading the Teaching and Learning side of an iPad deployment. I’ve learned as much from our successes as our shortcomings and hope you find this helpful. 1. Start with the learning Bringing new technology into your classrooms will evoke change, but it won’t [...]

Joe Moretti passed on this list of iPad apps for a variety of classroom purposes from edtechteacher.org, which I think is superb. The categories are: Reader Creator Student Response System Classroom Manager Study Tool Organizer Differentiator Click here to take a look at the list!  

On my iPad I have developed a folder of tools I use in the classroom I have called ‘accelerators’. They don’t necessarily add huge value when used alone, but as part of a workflow they have quickly become firm favourites. There are literally hundreds of apps that perform functions like these so finding something that [...]

iPads are fantastic for creating what we could call ‘digital output’, ie. a product of learning that is more engaging, dynamic or sophisticated than putting old fashioned pen to paper. I firmly believe that allowing students scope to create a product which is more tangible than just evidence, eg. the answers to an exercise, is [...]

Getting students writing isn’t always easy, especially in a foreign language. My search for writing apps for the iPad has been focussed on clean, unfussy experience and an emphasis on productivity without frills that distract in the classroom. Here are the results of our roadtests in MFL classrooms. Here’s my pick of the best writing [...]

Looking for iPad apps that really work in the classroom? This is the first in a series of posts designed to share the results of my roadtests in the MFL classrooms at Berkhamsted School. For Modern Languages, apps that effectively allow students to work with audio are tremendously powerful. Here’s my pick of the best [...]

Neoteny, one of my favorite words, means the retention of childlike attributes in adulthood: idealism, experimentation and wonder. In this new world, not only must we behave more like children, we also must teach the next generation to retain those attributes that will allow them to be world-changing, innovative adults who will help us reinvent [...]