CLASSROOM

Like any self-respecting geeky English teacher, when posed with this question the first thing I did was Google it:

Edu-software experts Busy Things have been bringing the curriculum to life in Primary schools for the last 10 years, and now their award-winning online resource is even bigger and better. With an ambitious redesign and introduction of hundreds of new resources stretching from the Early Years into Key Stage 2, the new resource aims to delight teachers and pupils alike.

Engaging the most difficult children is a difficult job for any teacher. However, by using technology, it can aid in engaging the reluctant learners and delivering an outstanding lesson to help them to progress.

Learning environment specialists Hope Education have released Classroom of the Future, an interactive portal exploring the ways in which schools could embrace pupils’ keen adoption of technology for educational success. The platform guides users around 11 unique features, each one offering more information on the technology and a interesting fact once clicked upon.

In my opinion, amid OFSTEDs 2000s obsession with four part lessons and accelerated learning, some facets of History teaching have been undermined, underrated and castigated. One of those is storytelling. Never underestimate the power of a good story in the classroom and the impact one can have, not only on pupils learning in school, but their enduring memory of you and your subject. I recently heard from a Geography teacher who’d spent a 60 minute lesson telling his Year 9 students a story about the evolution of a rainforest. He said it was his favourite lesson (and theirs). When those same students were in Year 10 and 11 they would ask him to tell them the story again! Like 6-year-olds love their favourite nursery rhymes, students love experiences.

When we decided to start a regular interview feature, Ms Kingsley seemed like an ideal choice. Not only is she fun and inspirational via her @MissKingsley85 Twitter feed, she’s also written several hugely popular articles for us. With this in mind, we wanted to find out what fuels Amy to attain glory on a daily basis. Amy is a Year 1 teacher working at Russell Scott Primary School in Manchester.

Intellectual Property is essential for nurturing innovation and creativity, but what exactly is IP and why do pupils need to know about it? What are the consequences of downloading films illegally? Should things that are online be free? In our ever more digital and connected world, it is increasingly important for young people – many of whom may have future careers in the creative industries themselves - to consider these questions and understand that artists must be properly paid for their work in order to continue creating.

Professor Stephen Heppell and Kickstarter have announced the findings of their Learnometer research report. The project has seen Prof Heppell and his team designing the Learnometer device, which measures and analyses copious learning environment factors, such as temperature, noise, humidity and light. The research, carried out over a number of months, invited schools to measure their own learning environments, while the Kickstarter team measured over fifty examination rooms across the world.

Friday 1st July will see High 5 a Teacher Day, a new event celebrating top teaching practices. A Twitter-held holiday, #High5aTeacherDay will ask teachers, school staff, pupils and parents to high-five a teacher / teachers, and explaining what makes their high-fivees special. Those taking part are encouraged to include a video or (well-timed) photo to show off the occasion.

This is the question I have asked to teachers I am working with across the world. In Pakistan, Kenya, Europe, Australia and many more places. The answer in well over 99% of the cases is a resounding 'No'. How can this be? Are we a profession of moaners, never happy, or do we have a real cause for complaint? I decided to investigate further. I asked teachers why they wanted to be teachers.

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