BusinessName

We have decided to be a delivery partner again this year especially after winning an award last year at the first attempt for the best new comer website.
This year we want to do better and we want more people involved. The BBC have sent out a letter to Secondary Head Teachers asking if they want to be involved. We would like all schools to be involved. The age category is Key Stage 3 and it can be any department within the school not ICT.
We will have practice days at the CLC where we will show students how to report stories but we will put a time limit on this and the students will be under great pressure to get the story complete and published as they would be in the rel world. The practice days are as follows:
13th November 2008
11th December 2008
15th January 2009
12th February 2009
WIth the School Report day on 26th March 2009

This year we hope to get all schools attending and contributing to the day even if they are not in the CLC on the day. We will hope to have reports outside the CLC bringing back location reports. This is a fantastic opportunity for students to show what they can do under pressure. Make sure the school has received the letter, look at the BBC website www.bbc.co.uk/schoolreport also look at our website www.ictgateshead.org/schoolreport and hopefully this will inspire you to get involved. Contact us if you need mare information but get it soon to get the most out of this great experience.

ICT Team

100 free whiteboard resources from Crocodile Clips

This week, the people from Crocodile clips uploaded another 100 free electronics resources to the Yenka website. They are by the acclaimed author Dr Bill Philips:

http://www.yenka.com/freecontent/

Some more good news: these new resources, and the 700 for science and
mathematics we uploaded a fortnight ago, now use the full screen when
playing. This makes them ideal for use on interactive whiteboards.

The resources all come from our Absorb courses - Absorb Mathematics, Absorb
Physics and Absorb Electronics. The full courses also include a narrative
text, which explains each topic, and interactive questions. You can read
more about the full courses on:

http://www.crocodile-clips.com/Our_Products/Absorb_Courseware/

Students and teachers are encouraged to participate in a global campaign during 25 February - 8 March 2008, to observe and record the magnitude of visible stars as a means of measuring light pollution in a given location.

GLOBE at Night is an easy observation and reporting activity that takes approximately 15-30 minutes to complete.

Students should be encouraged to participate with their parents or families in this global campaign

To get more information go to Globe at Night Project

BBC News School Report gives 12 and 13-year-olds from UK schools the chance to make their own TV, radio or online news at school and to broadcast it for real.

While the project is devised for this age group, students aged 11 to 14 may also take part.

Gateshead CLC is involved in this project and Mike Carter will be travelling to London on the 4th October to get more information.

To find out more information Click Here

If your school would like to take part contact Mike Carter via email with School Report as the Subject.

The annual ICT Conference will take place on July 12th 2007 at Gateshead CLC we are looking forward to your attendance as we have some fantastic things to share with you. Keep looking here to find more information about the event.
ICT team

Middle leaders’ self-evaluation guide

This guidance is aimed at middle leaders in secondary schools: subject and year leaders, SENCOs and other coordinators of aspects of school improvement. It provides guidance for middle leaders in evaluating the performance of their teams and the teams’ impact on pupils. It is designed to support middle leaders’ contribution to the school self-evaluation process, and the inspection process, through evidence gathering and making judgements

Download from here

The Secondary Strategy for ICT invites all Secondary Heads of Department to a half a day core training. The purpose of this session is to share understanding of issues affecting teaching and learning in ICT. This is the second of these meetings, which have an overall theme of progression from 11 to 16.
This meeting concentrates on tracking pupil's progression into and through Key stages 3 & 4.

The meeting will be held between 12.00pm and 3.30pm, 16th November 2005, at Gateshead CLC. A buffet lunch will be provided.

Gateshead CLC is now based at: -

Units 6 & 13
Keel Row
The Watermark
Metro Riverside Park
Gateshead
NE11 9SZ

email: steve@gatesheadclc.co.uk
Tel: 07886656058

The CyberCafe is an integral part of the Internet Proficiency Scheme developed to help teachers educate children on staying safe on the Internet. The scheme has been developed by Becta, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) and aims to develop a set of safe and discriminating behaviours for pupils to adopt when using the Internet and other technologies.

Click here to access the site

The NetSmartz Workshop is an interactive, educational safety resource that teaches kids and teens how to stay safer on the Internet. NetSmartz combines the newest technologies available and the most current information to create high-impact educational activities that are well received by even the most tech-savvy kids. Parents, guardians, educators, and law enforcement also have access to additional resources for learning and teaching about the dangers children may face online. NetSmartz was created by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC) and Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA).

Click here to access the site. If you click Teens and scroll down to Tracking Teresa - this flash program explains the need to educate both Pupils and Parents about the Internet.

There will be a meeting of the Content and Development Group in the ICT Centre in Dryden on the 20th May 2005 1.30 - 3.30.

The three units in this booklet are designed to support the teaching of ICT in Year 9 to secure achievement at level 5.

Evidence suggests that the three key areas that pupils find difficult are control and monitoring, handling data, and modelling. The choice of objectives and the range of activities suggested in the units are designed to support both teaching and summative assessment in these key areas. They are based on the three case studies and show one way in which they can be adapted to meet the needs of pupils who are capable of attaining level 5 but may not have evidence to support such a judgement.

The units do not cover the whole content of the case studies but do focus on those areas that pupils find difficult. They are designed to enable pupils to demonstrate their ICT capability and follow ideas already exemplified in the sample teaching units. It is important that the original case studies are referred to as teachers prepare to teach these units.

Download the Units and resources here:-
Securing Level 5 in ICT

The kS3 ICT national pilot for testing capability will be available for the participation of all schools during the summer of 2005. An invitation, from DFES, to take part in this test has been sent to all schools before the full implementation takes place in summer 2006. If you have missed the initial opertunity to register your school for the test you can still do so by going online to http://www.ks3ictpilot.com/ , and click on the link to Express an Interest. This will take you through the process of how to become acredited.

Whickham School and Thomas Hepburn took part in the technical pilot in the summer term of 2004. The tests were very well received by the pupils who enjoyed the challenge that the interactive experience gave. The schools are still awaiting feedback from the test.

Core training for schools this year will revolve around the implementation and preperation for the test. All schools are urged to take advantage of this years core training and to take part in the pilot test to gain maximum advantage for pupils sitting the test in 2006.

Core training will begin at the end of the Autumn term.

This article also appears in "Keysatge 3 Matters".

QCA with ACCAC (the Qualifications Curriculum and Assessment Authority for Wales) and CCEA (the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment in Northern Ireland) has developed a national framework of qualifications to guarantee quality and standards. The framework meets the needs of learners and those who provide education, employment and training.

The ICT-related qualifications that have been admitted to this framework include:

* certificate of achievement
* GCSE
* Applied GCSE in ICT (Double Award)
* A and AS level
* AVCE
* ASVCE
* NVQ
* IT key skills.

Information can be found at;
http://www.qca.org.uk/ages14-19/subjects/3147.html

Key Stage 3 ICT Onscreen Test

The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) is developing an onscreen test to provide an independent measure of pupils' attainment in ICT at key stage 3. It will assess ICT capability across levels 3-8 of the national curriculum.

The first phase of the project is a Technical Pilot, which is currently taking place with 2% of schools across England. On completion of the 2% Technical Pilot, a National pilot of the KS3 ICT onscreen tests will take place in the 2004 / 2005 academic year. Further details of this pilot will be available on the test website from February 2nd 2004. All schools who can meet the technical specification will be able to join the trial. Please get involved.

How can I get involved?

Participation in the 2005 National Pilot will involve becoming an Approved Test Centre. If you are interested in arranging for your school to take part, you will be able to register your interest online from 2nd February 2004.

KS3 Online Test Site