The importance of teaching pupils to be safe online

The majority of children now a days use or own a device that can access the internet and so it is important that at home and at school they are taught how to keep safe when using the internet for research or educational gaming. When pupils are using the internet at school there are safeguards in place to prevent them from accessing inappropriate content but no system is fool proof and so it is important to explain to pupils that if they come across anything of this nature they tell an adult immediately. Young children should not be able to... Read More »

What is augmented reality and how can it be used in education?

It has been shown that knowledge retention improves dramatically when children’s learning incorporates audio, video, and visuals and so a growing number of schools are embracing the use of augmented reality in the curriculum. Augmented reality is in simple terms an enhanced version of the real world that is achieved through the use of digital visual elements and sound delivered via technology. The applications of augmented reality in schools are vast and as teachers get to grips with the technology they are finding more and more exciting ways of using it to enhance children’s learning. With young children it is... Read More »

Tips for online research in the classroom

Many teachers use websites for a range of purposes with pupils in the classroom and this practice has many positives as it can be an effective way to integrate technology into lessons covering a range of subjects. Pupils are usually highly motivated when using computers in their lessons and it is useful to be able to use this motivation to build on their learning. It is important that in these lessons like in any other the teacher has planned the lesson and knows exactly which websites will be used and has looked at them previously to check their suitability for... Read More »

Should teachers accept end of term gifts from pupils?

The tradition in some schools to give a gift to the class teacher and teaching assistant at the end of term to thank them has been around for a while but some schools try to discourage this practice or ban it completely. There are a variety of reasons that some schools are uncomfortable with this gift-giving with one reason being that it could be construed as a bribe. The thought that any teacher would treat a pupil in their class differently because of a gift is however ludicrous. Another reason that people who are against this idea give is that... Read More »

Will a tutor help my child to catch up academically?

Many children have missed out on time in the classroom both last year and this year and continue to do so if they are required to isolate for any reason. Some parents are worried about this and the effect it has had on their children and want to help them to catch up and so parents are turning to private tutors to support their child’s learning at home. Although the financial commitment of hiring a private tutor is considerable and possibly out of the reach of most families some parents feel that it is necessary to ensure their child progresses... Read More »