Using Glow web parts to emphasise lesson learning intentions

Overview

Richard Burgess is Principal Teacher of ICT Development at Broughton High School in Edinburgh. He is currently seconded as a Glow Development Officer to the City of Edinburgh Council. Due to timetable commitments and lack of specialist cover support, Richard is required to teach an Intermediate 1 Computing Studies class. For three of the five hours of class commitment, Richard is physically present with the class at Broughton. For the other two hours, when possible, Richard teaches and monitors the class remotely via Glow.

In this cookbook we will see how Richard makes use of the News web part and a Voki to reinforce the virtual lesson intentions for the benefit of his pupils.

Context

Richard’s Intermediate 1 Computing Studies class comprises of 17 S5 pupils. The pupils attend the Computing Department for one period, 60 mins, each day, Monday to Friday. Pupils have individual access to computers.

 When Richard is not physically in the class (two lessons per week), lessons are conducted via Glow, secondment duties permitting. Richard sets this up by publishing the learning outcomes for the day’s lesson through the News web part. A Voki – a talking character/avatar which allows you to record spoken messages – is used to supplement the text information contained in the News web part.

In this cookbook, we will:

• See how Richard makes use of the News web part and a Voki to emphasise the current day’s lesson learning intentions
• See how to incorporate a Voki into a Glow Group
• See how to rename the News  web part to reflect that it is displaying learning intention

Ingredients

In this example, Richard uses:

1. A Glow Group
2. An XML web part to display the Voki
3. A News web part

Recipe

The videos below outline how Richard makes use of Glow to emphasise his lesson intentions, how to incorporate a Voki into a Glow Group and how to use a News web part to display learning intentions:

Impact
Key to effective classroom interactive learning is that pupils understand clearly what they are trying to learn and what is expected of them. This principle is equally applicable to virtual or online learning. In this cookbook, Richard has demonstrated how the creative use of the News web part and the introduction of a Voki can help aid pupils in their understanding of learning outcomes.

Please note: The owners of Vokis, Oddcast Inc, have clear terms and conditions about the use of their product with particular reference to the age you have to be in order to use a Voki. For more information, please follow the link below:
http://www.voki.com/terms_of_service.php

Follow the link below to hear how Richard uses Glow to support remote teaching:

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