January 2012
Jan 12
This year I am only posting once per month. However, if you have not visited previously you will find a wealth of resources in my previous posts.
Moodle item of the month
I will focus on Assessment for the next few months. Last month I looked at HotPotatoes and suggested ways of using this as both a formative and summative assessment tool. This month I wish to explore the idea of using the workshop module in Moodle. A colleague in the Dublin Moodle Users Group showed us this module a few weeks ago and it is a module that I had tried to work with in the past. It was not working for me but hats off to Ennovation (our Moodle partner) they were able to tell me that the assignment uploading feature was not enable on student roles (one to watch for if this module is not “behaving”). If you are working in my school however, the module is now working and availalbe for use. It is a tricky module to learn and as usual there are a wealth of resources on YouTube to help you. Essentially, however, you upload a rubric. Student assess their own and each others work (I like to give them 2 to assess). It is a great way to get students to connect in with a mark scheme and to focus them on what is called for in summative assessments. I have also found that it raises standards as students work harder (knowing their peers will see it) and they also learn from the experience of seeing each others work.
EduApp of the month
A great application which was recommended by Susan our Home Ec/Geography/SEN teacher is Tarsia. This is a free download and is intuitive to use. I enjoyed using it myself and creating a series of questions which students match to answers to form a shape. It is ideal for formative assessment, a refresher activity in the starter of a lesson or even as a group work exercise in the lesson or the plenary. Check it out!!
Website of the month
Have you found TED yet? If you have not found this great site them you need to visit it now www.ted.com – for ideas worth spreading.
I-pad/I-phone item of the month
I have not used this app myself (as I tend to do much of this work in Moodle) however some of my colleagues are raving about TeacherPal – it allows you to track attendance, behaviour and grades. Worth a try as it is free!
PLN corner
A great person to follow on twitter is missnoor28 – lots of great websites and tips on how to use technology in education.
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