The above is me after one of our training climbs - tweets intact! In my last post, on virtual reality, I wrote about how I could fly over Chicago or climb high mountains effortlessly. All you needed was Google Cardboard. Well, what do you do if you want to document a real adventure?

Learning Resources, a manufacturer and supplier of innovative educational tools and learning aids, have produced a range of engaging products that support the Maths Mastery approach to learning, designed to enhance understanding and enjoyment, as well as raising attainment for all children.

Schools across the UK are streamlining parental engagement with My School App, an innovative new platform that allows staff to send relevant news, updates and events to parents and guardians. Created by developers Pixelhead Creative, the software is tailored to each individual school’s needs, with digital flyers also supplied for printing and distributing. This resource is free to download. The first 10 sign-ups to mention Innovate My School will receive six months free-of-charge, with a further 20% off the set-up costs.

Primary school ICT can be a tricky subject for some teachers. For those who aren’t completely au fait with the technology themselves, it can be difficult to integrate new concepts and ideas into their lesson plans. Computers and tablets are always being upgraded to include new features and software, which can make staying up to date difficult.

We’re proud to announce a new addition to our Podcast page: The ED Files. Billed as a fortnightly podcast on educational news, views, reviews and resources, the programme is hosted by Leon Cych (“web designer, coder, teacher, artist, educationalist”) and Alex Weatherall (“teacher of Physics and Computing”).

Gratnells, best known for 40 years of designing, manufacturing and marketing advanced storage systems, has developed a smart, responsive approach to meet the increasing demand for digital technology in schools and colleges. The company has used its in-depth knowledge of the education sector to react to this rapidly-growing trend, delivering storage systems that are compact, lightweight and versatile while providing security and additional functionality.

On Friday 9th December, Dudley’s Village Hotel Club will play host to one day event devised to help teachers hone their edtech knowledge and skills. The EdTech Impact Conference is being held by ‘household’ education names Mark Anderson, Nina Jackson and Lee Parkinson, and will run from 8:30am to 3:30pm, offering teachers (EYFS to Further Education) a whole school day’s worth of insight. Ticket prices range from £106.69 to £169.99.

Pobble, the global literacy initiative recently named as one of the top-five providers of education technology in the UK in the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, has announced that it’s opening up its assessment tool for external users. The tool allows teachers to create assessment files for pupils, and moderate their writing together with colleagues. A limited number of teachers can now sign up to gain access for free.

Teaching resource suppliers Picture News are helping Primary schools across the country to teach pupils about life, current affairs, values and social awareness in the world around them. The company produces weekly posters featuring a different news story and engaging image – designed in part with weekly assemblies on current affairs in mind. Each tube contains an A2-sized poster with a thought-provoking question, KS1/KS2 ideas, British values cards and web links for further learning on the story.

Primary music gurus Rhythmajig are working with schools to enhance pupils’ understanding of musical concepts and vocabulary, while assisting teachers with behaviour management and engagement. The online learning platform is designed to be accessible to all, adaptable to the instruments available in school, and, importantly, enormous fun. It also offers a unique scheme of work with outcomes above and beyond National Curriculum 2014. Teachers are able to take out a 30-day free trial to see for themselves.