10 Black Friday Deals for Homeschool Moms (and dads!) - The Heart of Michelle

10 Black Friday Deals for Homeschool Moms (and dads!) - The Heart of Michelle



66% off Homeschool Software Bundle (6 subjects) - was $225 now $75 until Cyber Monday!

Visitor Tips for BETT 2012

1. Register for the show in advance to get fast-track entry. This will eliminate the long wait to get in when you arrive.

2. Plan your visit. BETT has an exhibitor list on their website and you can search by products, subject or education level. Download the floorplan and make a note of the stand numbers of the exhibitors you want to visit.

3. Book meetings in advance. You can book a meeting with most exhibitors; however, many like us at Daydream are happy for you drop by for a chat.

4. Attending a seminar? Make a note of them and the times they start.

5. Olympia is huge; make sure you plan a break. There are cafes and bars in Olympia; however, these can be expensive. Bring your own food, or pop out for some lunch.

6. Ask your colleagues what they would like to find out or if there are any specific exhibitors they might be interested in for resources for their class.

7. Dress comfortably. It’s a long day visiting BETT and you will be doing a lot of walking.

8. Finally, enjoy the day. Talk to the experts, find out about new products and resources and take advantage of being able to preview resources up front.

Daydream Interactive Case Study by Jonathan Boyle

Daydream Education now develop exciting interactive titles for schools that really impress. Yes, they still produce a multitude of wall charts that made them famous. You know the ones. They add glamour to the news when a politician appears at a school to discuss, ahem, league tables!

Having watched Daydream Education secure a significant part of the interactive whiteboard market has been masterful. They have a format of presentation that is quite distinctive and easy to digest. Suitable for a range of learners and underpin knowledge where topics have been met with before. They have developed a polished product that encourages the user to have a go.

On firing up just one of the extensive curriculum resources, you are met with clear instructions that indicate that this is tailor made for an interactive whiteboard. In practice it works a treat. I have been using these resources with my students at school for over a year now and have been delighted in how they complement what has been taught. With frequency in teaching it is repetition that 'hammers home' a learning point and these interactive resources can be used to revisit what has been learned previously or indeed Daydream Education resources can be used as a significant chunk of a topic. The Interactive Wall Charts sit happily on our school network and can be called on to blend with and enhance our existing online curriculum.

Students are drawn to getting their hands on the whiteboard and get excited when they are able to tackle one of the simple, but effective games. The fun activities are short at about one and a half minutes per game on average and plenty of students get to have a go which is important.

Don't begin to think that this is just a set of slides as there is breadth and depth to this product! The user can select a topic to match the work that is being done and also follow up with interactive quizzes, tests and worksheets. The worksheets are particularly useful for homework and whilst saving preparation time actually relate directly to the unit of work.

Having immersed myself in Music, English, ICT and D & T for some time I can say that the novelty does not wear off. I like the real photographs that that enhance the interactive wall charts and in Design and Technology, this is a real bonus.

If you are lucky enough to have access to a suite of computers at school then students can engage in more independent learning. Additional features enhance the depth to which students can write an assignment or do some research.

The tweaking of a Daydream Education product is minimal apart from deciding how you want the onscreen information to be relayed to your students. Text and graphics are either on or off to start, you decide.

In summary, this is a recommended product. It is a most comprehensive resource for work at Key Stage 3 and plenty of relevance to what I teach at KS4 too. On visiting the Daydream website, you can download over £130 worth of software from a range of subjects. A generous offering indeed and will get the juices flowing to get your hands on more. At £299 per subject, it is one of those purchases that you should feel proud of. I do!

Learn to Love Literacy

English Interactive Case Study

Background

Gors Community Primary School is situated in the northern outskirts of Swansea. The school caters for pupils aged from three to eleven who are taught through the medium of English with Welsh taught as a second language. About 30% of the school population has English as a second language and these pupils come from a variety of backgrounds encompassing fifteen languages, resulting in a diverse, stimulating and rewarding school community.

Spelling Programme

The spelling section with its phonics programme has been used very successfully in KS1, for which it was specifically written. However, it has also been used to reinforce aspects of spelling in lower KS2 and also with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and English as an Additional Language (EAL) children. The programme has allowed the teacher to make a natural progression from the visual patterns and spelling of familiar words at level 1 to the more complex level 5 work of visual patterns of irregular spellings and the correct spelling of words with inflectional suffixes, which require doubling or vowel deletion more suited to the able and talented pupils.

Teachers have used the Activity Generator as a class, paired and individual exercise which can be differentiated to suit all abilities. The results have been used as part of assessment. Reinforcement of sounds covered is easily catered for by the worksheets, and these have been an excellent homework resource.

The programme has also been used by both SEN and EAL teachers. The children have benefitted from the visual and auditory aspects of the software, which has fostered the improvement of pronunciation and facilitated recognition of sound. Children worked individually to practise sounding out. EAL teachers have also been able to use the phonic programme to help assess the pupils when they first take up their places at Gors. This information can then be easily passed onto the class teacher who is able then to set up an Individual Education Plan with areas catered for within the software.

Forms of Writing

Each half-term, in KS2, a new form of writing is studied, practised and perfected throughout the curriculum. A baseline piece of writing is produced and then another, which is completed at the end of the topic studied for assessment. The software provides an opportunity for shared and guided reading, analysis of the text and a breakdown of the key features. The work is easily differentiated by adding as many of these as becomes necessary for the current level of learning. These are introduced to the pupils, discussed and used in their own writing. This is particularly relevant to SEN and EAL children.

The clear definitions and highlighted features have made it easier for the children to succeed at what, at first, is a daunting task. They now have a clear example to follow, a plan and a writing frame to develop their own ideas. As the formats of all the forms of writing are similar, the children have adapted and become more confident in producing their own individual independent writing. The frames have formed an important impetus in all writing styles. They have also been used freely in other areas of the curriculum.

The Fun Features in this section, particularly story writing, have been excellent resources for oracy. They can be organised into class, group or paired activities with children at the same or different linguistic ability. They are also successful when used by a teacher to model a pattern of working for the children to follow and develop.

The teaching and learning of poetry has become a pleasure when used alongside the excellent examples in the programme. Its simple but effective definitions and colourful screens give the pupil the necessary skills to write their own poems. Pupils have been able to research different forms of poetry, identify the key features and adapt this to their own writing. Class poetry books, verses for cards and poems for assemblies have been produced.

Grammar

A key objective at KS2 is children’s grammatical awareness and ability to construct sentences and use punctuation in purposeful writing. The grammar section of the software lends itself ideally to ensure a comprehensive and systematic approach to support children’s development as writers.

I have used this section in a variety of ways: as an introduction to a single grammar topic; as a plenary; to teach common grammar weaknesses identified in independent writing and as a tool for assessment for learning. It can stand alone or be utilised to compliment other language work. When a section of work has been completed, I have used the Interactive Quiz to test degrees of understanding of the topic and knowledge gained. In most cases, children are able to peer-mark, thus allowing an opportunity to consolidate the work through question and answer and explanation. Here again the Printable Worksheets provide a convenient resource for class or homework to consolidate learning.
The Interactive Quizzes are used on a regular basis throughout the term to revise and reconfirm use of language rules. They also allow for the recording of scores which can be taken into account during assessment and report writing.

The Fun Features have been used as an independent activity on the computer during and after a lesson topic. This has been particularly useful for the SEN and EAL pupils who often struggle with the very simplest of tasks. The audio facility has allowed for total independence from the rest of the class.

The success of using the English software can be measured by the reaction and excitement of the children who have used it.

Daydream interactive software contains all the ingredients required to improve the delivery of all area elements in English lessons, i.e. Spelling, Grammar and Forms of Writing.

Daydream Education & Memory4Teachers

We are delighted to be involved in Memory4Teachers' exciting initiative for education.

Every free memory stick provided by Memory4Teachers is pre-loaded with a selection of Daydream's fantastic Interactive Content Packs for English, Geography, Music and Science.

Passionate about empowering teachers and improving the learning experience, Daydream has always contributed free content to educational establishments, offering 10% of the product for free, with no obligation to buy.

Working with Memory4Teachers on this project, will further our ambition to provide teachers with a wide range of high-quality educational resources.

Learn more here!

Daydream Education Summer Offer

With the summer arriving in spectacular fashion this year, we've gone a bit mad! Allow us to present - Freebie Friday! Taking place every Friday until September 3rd!

All you have to do is join our Twitter or Facebook page on a Friday and post My favourite Daydream is , and your favourite Daydream product.

Then send us a direct message with your name, mailing address and preferred subject and we will send you one free product for your chosen subject.

Remember to tell your friends and colleagues!

Daydream @ ISTE 2010

Collect over $70 worth of FREE Interactive Whiteboard Software

Daydream Education, the poster specialist, will be unveiling its new Interactive Whiteboard Charts at this year's ISTE Conference. Based on the content of its award-winning posters, Interactive Whiteboard Charts take classroom presentations to a whole new level, allowing teachers and students to interact with powerful and engaging lesson activities on the Whiteboard.

Compatible will all Interactive Whiteboards, Projectors, Tablets/Slates, PC's and Macs, the ready-made curriculum based software provides comprehensive, exciting and stimulating content enabling teachers to fully integrate technology into every lesson.

Why not visit booth #2165 to see how Daydream can help invigorate your classroom presentations and to collect over $70 worth of FREE Interactive Whiteboard Software, and exclusive ISTE Conference offers!

We're also offering up to 20% discount & FREE Shipping on all orders placed at ISTE!