Google Chrome in Education
I have been meaning to write a blog post on Google Chrome for a while now, and after seeing @MrRobbo‘s post on Google Chrome for PE Teachers earlier today, I feel like I should publish this now.
I recommend that you read MrRobbo‘s post as I will not repeat, in detail, the features he highlights in this blog post – but I would like to bring your attention to the user features of the web browser.
The browser is a fantastic tool to personalise your online experience using the Apps and Extensions. I personally use Gmail, Evernote, GoogleDrive, Dropbox, TweetDeck and Google+ extensions to . I can imagine that there are a number of other extensions/apps that I am still to come across.
But, the feature I feel is the most useful is the ability to have different user accounts to personalise/privatise your browser. For me, this enables me to have a private, professional and student web browser with separate bookmarks, apps and extensions. As an educator, this is essential!
This feature allows me to bookmark my social life (Facebook, Twitter, iPlayer, SkyBet (ssshhhh), Sky Sports News, eBay etc) and keep it completely separate from web pages I bookmark for use in planning, lessons and PLN. I have also created an account for when students may use my laptop in the classroom, where I have bookmarked the websites I feel will be most useful/user friendly for students.
This feature has bought that extra security to my browsing experience.
Google have created a video:
To add additional accounts, click on the top left of the browser (usually an icon like a face/football etc) and click on ‘new user’. You will need to create a new Google account, but as I already have a Google account for professional (mrwickenspe@gmail.com), personal and student interactions, this was not a problem.
If the icon is not in the top left, click on ‘customise and control Google Chrome’, and then ‘Settings’. Scroll down to the ‘User’ tab and then add additional users.
Here is some additional support from the Google forum.
Another great feature of Chrome
If you have Chrome downloaded onto your handheld device (eg. iPhone/iPad); your bookmarks, history, and even your open tabs sync to have a completely fluid user experience across device and platform.
How do you use additional users in Chrome?
Back to Basics: Learning Objectives in Education 2
To continue the ‘Back to Basics’ series, I am going to revisit learning objectives after the original post back in January (http://mrwickenspe.wordpress.com/2013/01/27/back-to-basics-learning-objectives-in-physed/).
Back in January I spoke about building learning objectives around a specific format:
To be able to…Verb/Adjective/Context
Since then, I have been introduced to another learning objective prefix that includes learning outcomes for learners.
To know…
To understand…
To be able to…
The ‘Know’ Objective
This objective states what students should ‘know’ by the end of the lesson. The objective should be met in the starter for students to progress to higher learning skills as a basis of knowledge for the lesson.
An example might be to know the key points/rules of a serve in badminton.
The ‘Understand’ Objective
This objective extends the learners to understand the skill in a context.
The ‘To Be Able To’ Objective
Is linked to the differentiated outcomes and assessment criteria where students demonstrate their ability to meet throughout the lesson.
The differentiated outcomes (usually 3) should also be highlighted below the objective. They should be linked to the national curriculum levels or the accredited courses assessment (if KS4). At my current placement school, they link assessments to the OCR GCSE specification for each activity in core PE – very effective for both GCSE PE and core PE assessments.
It is a fantastic tool for a clear criteria for peer assessment, self assessment and teacher assessments that all learners an teachers (including support staff/observers) can base their learning on.
Here is an example of the learning objectives for a table tennis lesson.
To know how to perform an accurate and controlled backhand push
To understand why it is important to adjust the length and angle of the shot
To be able to demonstrate the backhand push
– during practice (4A)
– during competitive game situations (5C)
– with backspin and/or topspin (6B)
Good practice would be to highlight key words on the board for students to use during the lesson. Maybe during a plenary linked to Literacy in PE and for students to demonstrate their understanding during conversations with teachers and peers – or a written sentence on a mini whiteboard to justify peer/self assessment.
Guided Access on iOS in Education
Since the release of the IOS 6.1 operating system from Apple, I have heard about locking your device with an App open to prevent users from exiting. Over the last few months I had not found out how to do this, until Matt Hulley (@MrHulleyPE) shared this with me.
Through ‘guided access’ on an Apple device you can prevent students/other users from leaving an App and disable specific areas of the screen.
Here is an ‘How to’ guide…
1) Open the ‘Settings’ app, go to ‘General’ and ‘Accessibility’. Under ‘Learning’ you will see you can select ‘Guided Access’ to turn it on.
2) Once in ‘Guided Access’, turn it ‘on’ and set a passcode that you will be required to input to exit guided access (see picture below).
3) When you have an App open that you would like to lock, triple click the ‘Home’ button and you will see this –>
4) Here you can select part of the screen to disable by drawing around the area. The device will then prevent the user from interacting with this area of the screen (see below) – then press ‘Start’ to use the App in guided access mode.
5) To exit ‘guided access’, again triple click the Home button and input the passcode you had created earlier.
This has so many uses in education.
Using the guided access function on the iPad/iPhone I feel much more confident in allowing students to use my personal devices within the classroom. This feature can also ensure students remain on activity and not become distracted by other application on the device.
#PEGeeks Blooms Collaboration
To continue on from my blog post earlier this week – ‘Back to Basics: Learning Objectives in #PhysEd‘ - I would like to collaborate with #PEGeeks to compose a list of PE specific Blooms Taxonomy outcome verbs.
You can find the online Google document here where you can start doing what #PEGeeks do best – COLLABORATE!
The Innovative Technology in Education Booklet
Back in May 2012 I created a booklet to present to the SLT of the school I was working at at the time.
Somehow I did not share this on Twitter or my blog, so better late than never…
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BxjDg20K1J2KTUJicGE4dTd5ODA/edit
This has not been updated since May, but I do hope that you find some of its contents useful. I plan to update this booklet over the Easter holidays.
Any feedback would be welcome!
Back to Basics: Learning Objectives in Education
In this series of short blog posts (‘Back to Basics’), I plan to share a number of basic teaching tips that I have come across on my ITT course.
Learning objectives are ‘statements that describe what a learner will be able to do as a result of learning’.
We use them everyday and schools vary in how they expect us to use them effectively. So how should we be writing these to ensure we get the best out of our students?
Learning objectives should state what ‘most’ students will be able to do by the end of the lesson/unit of work/scheme of work. They should be specific and not be restricted to lower level cognitive skills. Students should be able to evaluate their performance/progress against the objective(s) without the teachers input (child friendly).
Learning Objectives
I have been using, to great effect, a prefix that many schools use for Learning Outcomes:
‘To be able to…’
This then leads onto the main body of the objective that should incorporate a ‘verb’, ‘adjective’/'quality’ and the ‘context’ in which the outcome is based. The verb(s) can relate closely to the key outcome verbs within Blooms Taxonomy to differentiate your learning objectives.
In full your objective should look like this:
To be able to… Verb/Adjective/Context
…in other words…
To be able to… What/How/Where
For example:
To be able to ‘perform a ruck’/'effectively and safely’/'in a game situation’
This learning objective is specific to the skill/task (‘perform a ruck’), tells the pupil how it should be performed – the quality assurance (‘effectively and safely’) and in what context they should be able to demonstrate this skill (‘in a game situation’).
From this students will be able to assess their own/peers performance against a specific and achievable learning objective – no need for a Learning Outcome.
What are your thoughts? How do you structure your learning objectives?
Below are some more examples of learning objectives:
- To be able to… perform a set motif/showing clarity of focus/to a small audience
- To be able to… lead others/with confidence/when solving a problem
- To be able to… identify/appropriate times to perform a fast break/in practice situations
- To be able to… explain the purpose of the 3-person weave/clearly and accurately/in attacking play
- To be able to… give feedback/positive and accurate/about a partner’s performance
- To be able to… evaluated/logically/their team’s success when using a zone defence
