Primary Education Websites

This is where I will keep a record of all the useful websites I come across. The links are colour coded; blue captions are resource links and purple captions are subject knowledge links.

• SMART Exchange

Ready to go resources for the IWB and a great place to start if you’re looking for some inspiration.

• Phonics Play

This is a great website full of resources for teaching phonics.  I used this website a lot during my teaching reading placement, it has lots of games that can be used on the IWB but it also has a lot of printable resources too.

• Class Dojo

This is a great behaviour management resource.  You can add your whole class and the website allows you to award individual children points for good behaviour, you can also take points away when they misbehave.  

Interactive Whiteboards

We have had quite a lot of information about using interactive whiteboards in the classroom and we’ve also had a few opportunities to experiment with them.  I feel quite confident that I will be able to use the whiteboard effectively during GPP.  I’ve downloaded the SMART software to my laptop so I can familiarise myself with it before the placement starts.

Playing with the SMART software!

I found these videos really useful…

The first one is a good starting point for me as a trainee and reinforces the idea that the interactive whiteboard is a great learning tool when used effectively.

This next video shows the “magic” of interactive whiteboards and I thought it was a really cool stop frame animation!

Finally, the ICT section on Blackboard provided a great link to a really useful resource exchange in the IWB tips and training area.  You can browse for resources by subject and I think it’ll be a good place to start for some inspiration!

Action Plan 1

It’s been a while since I posted and I realised that I haven’t shared my Action Plan on my website.  Based on the audit I completed and posted on here, I have come up with a plan so that I know which areas I need to work on to improve my ICT skills.  As I work on these areas and improve I will update my blog regularly (hopefully) and share my progress.

1.  I want to revise and develop my skills using spreadsheets and databases.  I’ve never used a wiki before so I want to develop this by using the English wiki and I can also post my book reviews there.

2.  I need to work on my interactive whiteboard skills.

3.  I want to think about how I can incorporate ICT into my lessons.