So after all the indecision, I decided to go with ICT as my performance management target (the 'Outstanding with my difficult class' thing is going to be a coaching target therefore informal and support driven. I need to make sure the Perf Man is spot on this year for threshold). I am really happy with this as I am actually inspired to do this for real, so it won't be creating extra work, I am genuinely excited.
Type With Me:
I saw this mentioned in the TES EdTec blog Weekly Web Wonder and thought it looked pretty cool so I decided to give it a go with my y8 class.
We were doing food and as I plenary I asked them to write their best opinion sentence e.g. j'adore le pain car c'est vraiment bon et aussi c'est sain.
When I showed them the site they were really excited, however it quickly became unworkable. They were all trying to type together and in the process typing over the top of each other (not intentionally), and when they saw this was happening they got all cross and started spoiling each other's work on purpose. So all in all not a success.
However since then I think I have come up with a solution. When I opened the document I typed the pupils' names ready at the start of each line (you could just use numbers 1-15 etc and assign to a pupil to be quicker) and they then wrote next to their name, this was MUCH better (after a few stern words regarding deleting - although I think this was down to frustration before).
I have also discovered Wall Wisher, which I think will probably do they job more easily, with the added advantage of being able to moderate posts before they appear. Will report back!
Popplet
This went down very well with my AS group doing a brainstorm on the topic of fashion... they mentioned the ease of organisation/making it neat and organised and good for revision/easy to add to later, as well as LOVING the interface and the options for adding pictures, changing colours etc... we had a lot of fun, but I think it will prove really useful for them.
We also tried the 'collaborate' option, and they agreed this would be really useful for hwk, they could divide up a task and work on the same popplet from home.
The great thing about this site was ease of use... VERY clear, straightforward, easy to sign up to, no locking links to verify account etc, and they got the hang of it instantly.
