Augmented Reality with Motion Stills

This week, I've found the Motion Stills app by Google.

It does three things:

- AR Mode

- Motion Still

- Fast-Forward

The 'Motion Still' takes a 4 second (I think) video/gif that will play and keep repeating. A rather contemporary way of recording video that the pupils should relate to. There are numerous ways this short video could be used in class...

The 'Fast-Forward' does exactly what it says. Easy way to record something and then have it sped up without having to involve editing software. 

The 'AR Mode' is the new addition to the app and the one I see being most useful. Augmented reality has been around for a little while now. I'm amazed by it, but Skype amazes me too! The thing about augmented reality that's brilliant is that whenever I've used it in class, it has enthused the children. They know what they are seeing is not real and I know it too. But it's like its real and we can all enter that imaginary world through the augmented reality and pretend we're there. The AR Mode includes: a dog, spaceship, heart, basketball, spider, dinosaur, chicken, alien, gingerbread man, globe and a robot.

I've been having a play. While me mam was eating her dinner and 'finding' bugs on the kitchen floor.

I can see this being a really useful writing prompt too, or for creating a story sequence, or any other ideas you may have...  

The gif or video can easily be exported to many apps for #AppSmashing or as a finished product. 

#TeachMeet: Gender in the 21st Century - Degenderise That Statement

On Wednesday 25th April 2018, we presented at a TeachMeet in Kimbolton:

Part Part Whole, Bar Model & Perimeter

Earlier this year, we were calculating perimeter of compound shapes with some missing measurements. Some children were struggling to work out which measurements were missing. 

So, we took to using the bar model to offer some support.

1. Count the sides of the shape
2. Colour horizontal sides one colour and vertical sides another colour
3. Identify which sides have an unknown length
4. Use 'Part Part Whole' bar model (one for horizontal and one for vertical) to help find missing lengths
4a. The bar models can also be colour coded the same as the sides
5. Check the number of lengths found matches number of sides and looks sensible 
6. Add them up...

It worked well for us. Of course, as always with the bar model, it will help work towards an answer, but not give an answer. 

Every Primary Teacher Needs a... Lab Coat

It's Liam writing this one. As a trainee teacher, I observed Dan (the other 1/2 of Primary Ideas) teach art with a lab coat on. I saw him in his lab coat in his art lesson and it made sense.

So, I purchased one - actually it came from Santa somehow, but that's another story! From my NQT year (2006) to now, I've had a lab coat in my classroom. It comes out for water colours, clay, 'messy science' and various other activities. It allows myself to throw myself in without worrying about my clothes. The 30 children have art aprons on, so why shouldn't I? Currently, 11 years on, we're still the only two members of staff in our school with a lab coat for art. Mine gets borrowed fortnightly! why has no one else got one? 'Cos they keep borrowing mine, I know! 

So, get yer self a lab coat - you'll use it loads! 

Proud of Your Work?

Lee recently published his 'Taking Teaching Back Episode 1 - Book Scrutinies' video. While watching it, one of his points really struck a chord with me.

The above image is from 5:14 in the video. I've seen this online many times and thought it a good idea, but never got round to it. Lee's point is about the extra work this places on the teacher. His solution is something along these lines...

This is a poster we've now placed in our classrooms. We used 'iPad' as those are the devices we have and used 'Google Drive' as every child has access. You can adapt it for the devices your school has and whatever cloud the children have access to.

So, 'Request a Selfie' nice but no thanks. Take your own photo, put it in your own cloud and show the adults at home: yes please.

Any similar ideas, please let us know. And, check out Lee on YouTube (Or Facebook - he's Facebook royalty!)

The Canary in the Coal Mine (Classroom)

Whilst watching The Graham Norton Show last week, I discovered a name for something I often do with with class.

One of Graham's guests was Tom Hanks. Hanks asked Norton if he'd ready the copy of the book he'd sent him. Norton replied that he had, and that he'd found the 'Canary in the Coal Mine'. On one of the pages, to test if Graham Norton would read the book, Tom Hanks had left an inscription for him to read. 

Hanks described this as a 'Canary in the Coal Mine' and added that they're often put into scripts to check that the actors read the script. 

The above picture is one I recently used with my class. You'll see that not only did I give them a sentence that didn't need correcting (that was the activity), but I repeated it. How many would notice? How many would plough on regardless?

So, in slides, worksheets and in your own speech, start dropping in the odd canary to check the people in the coal mine as still 'with it'.

The Piano Key Problem

I was watching a program about how a piano works earlier with my daughter. One of the facts was about the number of white and black keys. Wonder if children can use their reasoning skills (drawing a picture, making a model or looking for a pattern) to solve this:

___________________________________________________________________

On an 88 key piano, there are 52 white keys. How many are black? 

The lowest key (first note) is an A. The last note is C.How many A, B, C, D, E, F & G notes are there?

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A copy of this can be found here.

Here's the answer with a picture from Piano-Keyboard-Guide.com: