1000 Scans Later

As I sit here scanning what feels like 1000 send in sheets into the computer, I wonder where Distance Ed will go in the future. Just last year we still filled in books and used 'snail mail' to get the kid's written work into school and now we scan and email their sheets. Some students even do them straight onto the pdfs provided on the kid's 'misticks'. 'Mistick', who would have ever thought that would become a regular part of children's vocabulary and it isn't even correctly spelt.

Mr Year 1 has completed a photostory about how he has changed, I have two in year 4 surveying their class and other school members by email and a girl in year 7 who has made a wiki and uploads her work onto blackboard. All of this was foreign and to us and is now considered normal. Technology (and it's terms) are something kids are growing up knowing all about and they aren't scared of using it.

A favourite and completely acceptable saying in our schoolroom is 'Google it' ... "hang on I'll Google it" ... "can I Google it?"

Technology or not children still need to learn to add and take away, they need to learn their times tables, how to spell and about nouns. As someone I know said recently 'technology is only a tool' and that is what it is in Distance Ed, a tool to teach the children the concepts they need to learn. There is however always a place for the good old MAB, pencil and paper, blackboard or whiteboard, counters and walls of words because despite the age of these tools they still do the job very nicely indeed.

So about 1000 20 scanned sheets later I'll leave you with a couple of photos from the schoolroom.

Mr Yr 1 writing about the jet stream he just saw in the sky.
Sometimes taking writing outside can make all the difference.

Out MABs and 3D shapes are anything from
castles to rocket ships for some.

But for others they are a great way of learning place value
giving a physical thing to touch and count.