Catch the Wave

This is a very engaging way of teaching your students (or your own children) multiplication facts … and you might even enjoy playing it yourself!
To escape from the castle dungeon your avatar must explore rooms and corridors, find hidden doors and overcome monsters. And knowing multiplication facts is the key to success! To get playing, download the software programme from the Big Brainz website. The 2 – 12 times game is free, however you can purchase the full version. The website has a video tutorial telling you everything you need to know. Trust me, this game will be an instant hit with your kids!

Recently I rediscovered the photo software ‘Picasa’. I’d had version 2 on my old laptop,but hadn’t got around to downloading it onto my new laptop. Then one of the teachers I work with wanted a programme to make a collage of photos and I suggested Picasa. Once we’d downloaded it, I discovered that Picasa 3 is a real improvement on the old version. It has a lot of choices for collaging photos and also makes neat photo stories similar to Photo Story 3. These can be then be uploaded to youtube – directly from PIcasa. Then all you have to do is copy the embedding code and paste into your blog. That makes it pretty easy. The collage I made is of classic cars which were parked outside my apartment building a couple of Saturdays ago.

Schools are interesting places – and I should know. During the last 7 years I’ve worked in twenty one of them in my job as an ICT Facilitator. At the moment I’m writing feedback/feedforward reports for the six schools I’m currently working with and this has led to a great deal of thinking. (It’s also made me look for a diversion – like writing a blog post!)

Perhaps the most successful schools are those where the leadership knows that their school is a business. Their product is the promotion of and achievement in 21st century teaching and learning. They know that the success of their business depends on having a dynamic vision, good planning and clear organisation. They know to employ the right people. They manage the finances well, budgeting the right amounts in the right areas. They develop a good team spirit making the employees feel skilled and valued. These leaders are aware of the need to ‘move with the times’ and continually research and seek advice to keep the business relevant and up-to date. They know that new learning is the key to future success. However, being a continual learner can be a difficult thing to master, even for leaders in education.