Google Apps vs. Commercial LP - a pre-GTA view

This time next week I will be in the middle of my day at the Google Teacher Academy.  Before I go, I thought I'd put down what I currently see as the key differences between using Google Apps and commercial Learning Platforms.  This is probably setting myself up for a fall, as I am sure that many of my preconceptions will be proven to be misconceptions by the end of my time at the GTA and actually, I hope that is the case.  This may come across as a pro-commercial blog post but I am pro-anything that can support schools and enhance learning and teaching for pupils - I simply have more experience with commercial Learning Platforms.

Kodu - is the controller a good idea?

In my previous post, I talked about a control day that took place last week where we introduced Kodu and Scratch to a number of schools.  The feedback about Scratch was universally positive and without exception, every teacher took away ideas as to how they could use Scratch and were keen to get started.  When it came to Kodu however, the feedback was much more mixed.

Kodu and Scratch in Primary schools

My colleague (@lj101) and I are in the process of putting together a control day for our teachers specifically looking at the use of Kodu and Scratch to teach aspects of control. In case you don't know these pieces of software they are both free (the magic word in today's climate!!) and can be used to create/program computer games (amongst other things).

Google Teacher Academy

I am absolutely thrilled (and surprised!!) to have been accepted on to the Google Teacher Academy in April. It is a fantastic opportunity for me to meet like-minded individuals and share ideas and collaborate with other ICT advocates from throughout the UK and beyond.

Introducing myself

I'm new to this so please bear with me. I guess the best place to start is to introduce myself properly. My name is Marc Richardson and I'm currently a Teaching and Learning Advisor - ICT, working for Walsall Children's Services-Serco. My colleague Lucy Jayes (@lj101) and I support around 80 Primary, Nursery and Special schools in the Walsall borough with any/all use of ICT in the curriculum, as well as with the use of It's Learning, the Walsall preferred Learning Platform.