Open Minds, Open Curriculum?

Dear All!

What a few weeks I have had. I found out last week that our school is planning to deliver an "Open Minds" curriculum next year (September). Currently there is very little to show for it. I have become increasingly concerned as to the nature and availability of "Open Minds" materials- there seem to be very few available and schools that are delivering the curriculum are loathed to share their expertise- the "Open Minds" evangelists are very happy to tell you how wonderful the learning experince is- but are less happy to share "how" they do it.

I understand the concept of developing thinking skills and easing the transition from KS3 to KS4, however, am becoming increasingly sceptical due to the lack of academic research as to its effectiveness. If anyone has got data that shows that this approach has a significant impact on attainment I would gratefully like to talk to them.

I would also like to know what models schools are using to deliver this curriculum and how schools maintain standards in maths, english, science and ICT. The proposal on the table is that 22 lessons out of 30 will be included in the curriculum- this seems massive considering the lack of planning in place for a September start. I'm not saying that having a competancy based curriculum covering that amount would not be exciting but delivering the skills training and resource in such a short time scares me a little.

As an ICT teacher this really worries me. We have worked very hard to establish ourselves as a subject and we are now being consumed by thios curriculum. How will ICT not become death by PowerPoint for most and fabulous for others? The potential for inconsistency is massive.

Do you want students to learn about web 2.0- try google analytics!!

I have recently been teaching OCR Nationals, Technological Innovation and E Commerce (Unit 8). When it comes to making ICT real, this has got to be one of the best units from the wide selection available.

One assessment objectives regards investigating a technological innovation. The way we have done it is by allowing students to explore the world of blogging- more importantly though- we have looked at all the web 2.0 wlwmwnts that you can bring into a blog. The students have responded most to "google analytics". They have found it fascinating to see how professional bloggers adapt what they write to their audience and also to see the amount of feedback you can recieve. It also allows them a deep understanding series of careers that they may otherwise not even know exists.

This is something that I will definitely do again, when students show that they understand how to make money from a blog through adsense and ca track their users and then create content for them- this has to be exciting real education!

Time for a change?

There has a lot of talk and apprehension surrounding the revised programme of study for ICT. My message is don't worry. The new programme of study gives us the flexibility to decide to an extent what we ant to teach but more importantly how we teach it- if you ever felt that the six year old programme of study stiffled your creativity- then get prepared for some hard work in the short term but then a much better experience for students and teachers alike.

At the academy we will be creating a new scheme for year 7 and 8. This will be using as many new technologies as physically possible and surrounding this with an environmental theme. We are going to deliver the year 7 in 4 themed units. It should look like this- I have also included a framework map to illustrate how we will be meeting the curriculum needs.

In terms of functional skills, we complete OCR Nationals unit 1 (ICT Skills for Business) in year 9- and we are proposing that we cover functional skills at this point. As an ICT teacher I am glad that I am not in the same position as colleagues in mathematics and english who have new content to teach!

Year 7 (formation)

Unit 1. Emotional Literacy based PowerPoint.
Unit 2. Global Links/ internet safety/ blogging/ video conferencing- students get e buddy from abroad.
Unit 3. Issues for audiences.
(Desktop Publishing/ Podcasting)
Unit 4. Global Survey
Group questionnaires about pertinent topics relating to students and e buddies.

Year 8 (expansion)

Unit 1. Financial Spreadsheet unit based around different jobs and disposable income.
Unit 2. Games Design. Using scratch animation.
Unit 3. Web Design
Unit 4. Mp3 player database
Unit 5. Video creation and editing. Students make TV programmes about local issues.

Year 7 Framework Map

I'll have to email this one!! Its a bit long!!

Blogging in the classroom

I thought it may be interestiing to share my students experiences of class blogs in the classroom. I completed a project with a group of year 8's that involved them desigining and making a television programme and sharing their experiences via a blog. Their overall experiences where very poritive and though limited you can see how they have been able to evaluate their work and comment on various things.

For this I used blogger- this has allowed me to invite students to take part and also moderate their comments- ginving me a cotrolled and hassle free learning environment.

Hope its useful.