The weather forecasts are bad today and people want to know if their day is going to be affected by snow. You can find out all UK schools closure information at this website
Author: primaryt
When is Primary Games Arena used?
As part of Primary Technology’s commitment to transparency we have been evaluating our website usage statistics and have decided to release this interesting finding. Primary Games Arena is a site for Primary School pupils to learn while playing games. What % of total hits do you think come outside of school hours? Lets say from 4pm to 8am.
These figures only include UK visitors (to ensure accuracy of findings).
I bet that gets a few brains thinking.. PS the % of learning is not the amount of learning, it’s the amount of visits to the site. Primary / School Email is used 67% during the school day and the other 33% outside of school hours.
Test facebook privacy settings
Does anyone know of a quick site that enables users to type in their profile URL and returns a list of information published and/or if that information is indexed by search engines?
Top 5 microphones to use in a Primary School Classroom
Before you get a mic, check to see if your monitor or netbook/laptop has one built in.
5. Use the microphone on your netbook / laptop.
This will not give you high quality audio recording and you may struggle if the room is full of kids. Most devices now have microphones built and you may even be able to use your speakers to record the sound if quality is not an issue.
The Logitech headset is a standard microphone with average to good audio recording quality. The common problem with headsets such as this is that the wires often get tangled/chewed. A headset also allows the child to have personal audio output space which is useful when working on individual audio projects. Read this guide to keep your headphone wires free from tangles.
3. The Leapfrog Learn and Grove Microphone from £10
This is a microphone for pre school . It does not allow you to record to a PC. This microphone is designed to instil confidence, increase social skills and stimulate a child’s senses. It is not USB or powered by any device so requires 3x AA batteries.
2. Logitech 534 Desk Microphone. from £10.76
A desk microphone tends to be an ideal solution if your static ICT learning location such as an ICT suite. Desk Microphones are good for recording up to 2 people and tend not to get as damaged as head sets. The audio quality is similar to that of a head set mic with no real ability to cancel out background noise.
1. TTS EasiSpeak – £30+
No wires, no fuss. No direct sound recording onto websites/software etc. This microphone is the most simple of the above to use. Simply press record, say what you have to say then hit play and instantly get audible feedback. Once you have recorded what you want to say and you are happy you plug the microphone directly into your laptop/netbook/pc and use the audio file however you want. The microphone comes with a copy of audacity on the USB stick ready to install (very easy process). The main disadvantage to this device is you cannot use it to directly record audio onto any websites so creating voki’s and other broadcasting methods can be slightly more tricky.
Conservatives will be radical on Education
Recently the Culture spokesman for the Conservatives was on hard talk.
He said conservative policies would focus on:
- Putting information out to the public
- Openness
- Transparency
- Technology
- Competition (both public and private sector)
The idea is that by using technology they can reduce public spending, I have done a few posts on how ICT can be used to save money in Primary Schools before so this ties in well with my views.
“The democratisation of information – primarily through technology – has revolutionised the way we act and interact. Individuals have direct control over what they want to know and when they know it” — Conservative party education policy 2009.
To summarize: The conservatives know the internet is a big deal… Well done……..
Technology or ICT barey gets a mention in the policy however there is space to mention “Strict school uniform policies, with blazer, shirt and tie and with a zero-tolerance of incorrect or untidy dress.”
How a policy can prioritise the issue of school uniform over the use of technology baffles me and shows a backwards approach to 21st century learning.
I’m not pro or against any party, I’m still convinced labour will whip an ace from up it’s sleave a few months before the general election and David Milliband will replace Gordon Brown which will have a massive impact on opinion polls.
As for the lib dem’s I can’t even find their education policy and as for Labour when I go to their website I can’t get over the fact the main focus their page design points to is to donate money to the government, is the economy really that bad?
To summarize:
Labour: No mention of technology.
Conservatives: Well sold policy but no real substance.
Lib Dems: ArgleBargle.