lizhitchcock

We think about links from the point of view of teaching and learning. We consider they are reflective - they encourage students (and teachers) to up their game which leads to improvement (eg in literacy when writing to your partner school or in communication skills when creating a presentation or resource). They also provide the 'global dimension' which is about young people appreciating other cultures and societies and their context in the world. This aspect is now throughout all QCDA requirements for the curriculum.

I have to admit that today Becta phoned me and I thought they were going to say... what are your brochures doing in the Learning and World Technology Forum when Microsoft, Promethean, Smart etc have all paid £xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx to be there... (the sad truth being I took them in on my visitor's pass) but No, they were phoning to apologise that they'd taken from Friday evening to Monday morning to approve the wording on my email suggested to go to CLCs and local authorities... Finally perhaps we have come good. Or finally Becta has embraced ideology over idolatry. Perhaps teachers can even be allowed to exist using free and willingly shared technology rather than that which costeth a multi thousand of pound put-up-and-lose-morallys.

Here is what Intuitive Media do in a little visible nutshell... Weather Watch Phase 1 2008 We support/work with about six platforms/communities that offer this sort of rich online communicative experience and we're always open to hearing about new projects or things schools have developed on their own.

Stephen Heppell is looking at it now - he has just gone on the board of Intuitive Media who manage excellent safe social learning networks for schools. Extending Horizons

We are Stand Q28 - see BETT Hope to see you on the stand (and I have some of the brochures which I would most highly appreciate giving you a box of for your Stand).

Hi everyone - thanks for the support since I joined. I have mainly been trying to secure Becta's seal of approval for safe social learning networks in schools - particularly using communication technologies to build up fun partnerships with schools in other countries. Well over the wintry break, Becta came through. I have a 'supported by Becta' logo on my brand spanking new BETT brochure (and DCSF) and they contributed text saying that it supported progress towards Next Generation Learning. www.globalgateway.org/bett2010 Thanks for the help with it! Also... any chance I could pop to your stand and give you a box to give out? It is one of the intiatives at BETT that is most likely to be genuinely fun for teachers and learners. AND it works great with anything open source (which you can extend to your partner school), with mobile technologies, and is very useful because teachers in all subjects are interested. Let me know what you think of it! Liz

I'm not really looking for a deal; I'm looking for sponsorship - we currently have Intel, Promethean and Dell interested in giving stuff.

Sorry should have said that was text only. I have a completed version now with pix etc, which you can see at http://www.globalgateway.org/bett .

We got a Supported by Becta logo on to our BETT brochure about school linking. So now we have DCSF and Becta logos sorted out.

It deserves some interest from the rest of the teaching fraternity. We are really hoping to engage with schools willing to consider learning through projects, setting up networks that students can actually use in order to learn (online discussions, debates, surveys, webcasts, wikis)... we'd like to see school being as technology oriented as home, but with a learning outcome. We support international links as we think these are the most motivating. We manage eTwinning , Connecting Classrooms, and the International School Award. Check out my blog I have only just started it but would appreciate any comments.

We're running events and setting up area links with 10 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Let me know if you want to be involved. You can be involved formally (ie get funding, visit partner school, set up official project) or informally (through online collab. spaces). We are also setting up about 15 new links with China - groups of nine schools get to have partner schools in each link; it doesn't have to be about language learning it can be about ICT or cross-curricular. And we're running a World Cup project obviously based around African links, but some schools are using European and Latin American links. Let me know if you're interested and I'll IM you what is going on in your area (you need to include your LEA). Best Liz Happy Christmas too

We have this brochure (attached) can anyone feed back - does it work for a HOD or ICT coordinator strolling through BETT ? You are all invited to come by BC stand but be warned we aren't selling anything we're trying to give you funding!BETT promo brochure.doc

We have written a brochure for BETT. Please can ANYONE on Edugeek look at it for me to say if it would potentially arrest the attention of a passing ICT HoD or primary ICT coordinator. Pleeeeaaase?

End of term we reached our target of 3000 links that we have set up for schools in the UK. We actually had a thermometer on the wall that we coloured in, day by day.

Had Bucks meeting last week in High Wycombe and the 8 heads chosen to go to St Vincent & Grenadines are all fab and full of ideas. We've also had more than sixty applications from local authorities to link four of their schools with schools in Latin America, India and Sri Lanka, the panel to choose the 25 successful applications is on Jan 7th. The delegation is going in at the highest possible level so all the materials they share will be properly suited to curriculum requirements. I'm going to try and source a whiteboard for each of the eight partner schools so that webconferencing becomes a part of the link. I know from past experience that the teachers in SVG will be more interested in their own CPD while the UK staff are seeking impact on learners - linking is sometimes about resolving these two objectives so everyone wins.