Regional Film Animation Competition

As part of the SWGfL’s Regional Film Animation Competition, we here at Bath and North East Somerset have been having a wonderful time looking at the great entries for our Local Authority heat. The judges were really impressed with the standard of some of the animation and in particular some of the storytelling skills of our young animators. Pupils used a range of techniques, software and materials to make their animations and it is clear that creativity is alive and well in our classrooms.

The Results

Key Stage 2			Prize
WINNER	Joe the Hat Maker	Camerton Primary School	I Can Animate Studio kit & modelling clay (worth £110)
Runner Up	I am the Sun	Castle Primary School	HUE HD Web cam (worth £20)
Key Stage 1
WINNER	The Princess and the Monkey	Bathford Primary School	Tuff Cam and Easi Speak (worth £112)
Runner up	The Old Bridge	Welton Primary School	2Animate Software (worth £39)
Special School
WINNER	The Garden Invasion	Fosse Way	Digital Blue 3 (worth (£90)
Runner up	Orion	Fosse Way	2Animate Software (worth £39)

I hope to update this table shortly with embed versions of the actual animation, using EuroCreator as a host.

Once again, the Regional ICT Conferences are approaching and booking has gone live today.

These events are always popular and places are snapped up quickly. We therefore advise that everyone books as soon as they are able, not only to secure a place at the conference, but also to have the widest choice of seminars.

The range of seminars is impressive at both conferences. There are workshops and presentation on personalised learning, parental engagement, Web 2.0 technology, visual literacy, Merlin and so much more. All the seminars and key note speeches reflect the current (and future) trends in ICT.

Also there will be a range of exhibitors representing many companies that supply ICT equipment and software to the educational market. It is a great opporutnity to meet with companies and to see what it new in the market.

In addition to all of this, there will be a new ‘Schools in Action’ area where schools and children will be showing what they have been learning using ICT and showcasing their talents to delegates. .

So, go and book your place now! Click here.

SWGfL gets a Online Makeover!

At 13:00 on Wednesday, 15th April 2009, the SWGfL Project Team relaunched the main SWgfL site, which not only brings a brand new look and feel, but also many improved features, including a new learning resource search (search by subject, key stage, school year and order by title, recency or popularity); a vastly improved service support information (find out the current status of core SWGfL services, find out how to order, download user guides, order forms & software and read the latest knowledge base articles from the SWGfL Helpdesk team) and better promotion of SWGfL projects and events – making it easier to find information on current promotions. This is just the first step in a major redevelopment of the site, and in turn the way that the SWGfL communicate.

I learn, we learn, uLearn!

uLearn is the resource that provides you with high quality Ordnance Survey mapping, along with detailed aerial photography for the South West Grid for Learning area. uLearn also provides historical mapping for the whole South West and is provided free to Local Authority Schools in partnership with the South West Grid for Learning. As well as online activity, uLearn enables you to view full-screen maps and print off all the hard-copies you need. The principal maps available are:

• World Atlas
  (Map of the whole world)
• Landform World DEM
  (Hills and valleys for the whole World)
• TeleAtlas Europe
  (Street-level mapping for the whole of Europe!)
• Collins 1:250,000 UK
  (‘Driving quality’ map)
• Ordnance Survey 1:50 000
  (The most commonly used OS map)
• Ordnance Survey 1:10 000
  (Very detailed OS map)
• 2m Aerial
  (Aerial imagery for the whole of England and Wales)
• 25cm Aerial
  (Very high quality imagery for the whole SWGfL area)
• Historic map
  (Wonderful historic map of the whole SWGfL area 1881)

The Primary Geography curriculum frequently requires learners to research their locality and school environment. uLearn provides exactly the tools you need. Young learners are comfortable with the use of digital cameras. Collecting images and information about their locality and linking them to uLearn’s maps couldn’t be easier, and enables uLearn users to address Geography curriculum tasks such as:

• Around our school (Y1 Unit 1)
• How can we make our local area safer? (Y1 Unit 2)
• ‘Investigating our local area’ (Y3 Unit 6),
• Improving the environment (Y4 Unit 8),
• Should the high street be closed to traffic? (Y5 Unit12)
• Investigating rivers (Y6 Unit 16)
• How and where do we spend our time? (Y4 Unit 19)
• Local traffic – an environmental issue (Y5 Unit 20)
• How can we improve the area we can see from our window (Y3/4 Unit 21)

If all this sounds familiar, you’d be right. uLearn is the updated and improved version of Infomapper. It comes to all schools with a SWGfL connection as part of their subscription. Go to www.ulearn.infomapper.com to sign up. There you’ll also find resources, help sheets and schemes of work to help you embed the use of this wonderful ‘free’ tool into your work with pupils.

ArtisanCam

Have you looked at this fantastic (free to SWGfL and other NEN schools) resource lately? ArtisanCam provides an insight into the lives of contemporary artists. Using a mixture of video and interactive activities, children are introduced to the world of contemporary visual art before being encouraged to have a go themselves in fun and exciting ways.

 

The website is divided into the Artists Zone, which contains classroom-based activities and the Activity Zone, which is full of games and fun interactive activities, designed to encourage children to continue their learning at home.

 

ArtisanCam has been designed to help teachers deliver a creative curriculum and inspire young artists of the future. All of the activities support the national curriculum in specific areas at Key Stage 2 and 3.

 

ArtisanCam are constantly updating the site with new artists and activities. To keep up-to-date with news of forthcoming additions, you can subscribe to a free e-newsletter, which they send out every term. Subscribe by clicking here.

 

Competition

In 1936 artist Edward Bawden designed a new poster to encourage people to visit Kew Gardens using London transport. His lino-printed poster was displayed all across London. Now ArtisanCam wants you to investigate Bawden’s brilliant use of linocut, before producing your own design for a new poster using the same lino printing processes that he used.

 

Children are asked to create a collage from lino prints that they make online and then arrange them to make an eyecatching poster. As with all the ArtisanCam activities the graphics and ‘touchability’ of this is great. Click here to go straight to the activity and begin designing your award winning poster!

 

Learners can submit their designs simply by clicking on the ’send to competition’ button. The winner will receive an iPod nano and the winning entry will be displayed at Kew Gardens and seen by hundreds of thousands of visitors.”

 

The competition is open to everyone of school age across the UK and you can enter as many times as you like. The competition closes on 18th July 2008, so get printing! Visit the website now to get started!