IPad Magic Rules!

Our ICT lessons are famous for their flurry of activity and sometimes louder than a hum, noise levels. That is all good, we've no complaints there. These are learning noises and when we need quiet or silence we get it.

Today we introduced our 6s to GarageBand on the iPads, handed them one each, plugged them in with their headsets and let them loose. What happened next? My teaching partner and I suddenly looked at each other, with shocked expressions on our faces and whispered (because you could hear a whisper) " It is so quiet,"

Have a listen.

iPads bring out the magic and creativity in kids and with the right activities and apps, and engage them to the point that they self direct, explore, peer tutor and require very little direct instruction. It is all a matter of choosing the right apps for activities, establishing routines and expectations, and offering up interesting, clear instructions and exemplars, which don't take up too much of the lesson time.


We are looking forward to sharing our student rap songs in our A Better World Wiki. This is the first time using iPads for the audio for the project and our expectations are high. 

It is usually the mark of a great lesson, when the kids don't want to leave. such was the dilemma today!

ICT Project-A Better World- Creating Global Connections through Global Issues

The 6th grade students have been working on a multimedia project this CAL period, which has focused their attention on global issues. This is a collaborative project which has now extended beyond the ABC walls and is currently shared by two other schools. These schools are both located in the United States.

During the project students have: researched global issues, collaboratively written a group rap song (based on one issue) using Google Docs, performed Google Advanced searches for Creative Commons licensed media, “Blabberized” images so as to create speaking avatars, mixed musical loops and recorded their raps using GarageBand, edited and dubbed their videos in iMovie and uploaded their work, including a reflection to the project Wiki.
This was a great project which enabled students to learn many new skills, add a number of digital tools to their tool kits, enjoy each step in their learning and share their work with other schools as well as the entire world. The projects can be viewed at our “A Better World” Wiki. Enjoy!

GarageBand, Jamendo and Creative Commons

Last year a colleague of mine, who is a very accomplished musician, began to use GarageBand for recording and mixing music tracks. This work lead to the creation of an amazing album and didn't stop there. After many hours of hard work he then uploaded the album, entitled Boats on the Bay, to Jamendo. Jamendo is an online musical platform community, that allows artists to upload their work and share it with the world. Listeners have the option to listen online as well as download the music to their computers. Jamendo automatically licenses all work under Creative Commons.

What a fantastic example of a teacher using digital technology to create, publish and share their work through one of the many great web services available. Not only is his work now published online for all to enjoy, but our students are able to access it along with all the other albums on the site, for use in their digital projects. You can imagine how exciting it must be for them to be able to use the published works of one of their very own teachers. The next step will be to focus on getting students involved in composing, recording and publishing their own masterpieces.

I have included a link to the album.  Please feel free to listen in.

Boats on the Bay