The session started with the representative group of children sharing what they value and what they enjoy doing. They reported that:
They particularly enjoy:
Craig and his pupils come from one of our Fenland schools.
"As a rural school, some pupils really value Starz as a communication tool. They can stay in touch with their friends even though they live on rural locations far away from one another."
"With the demands of a Deputy Headship, it is not currently practical to undertake any large projects within the platform - there just isn't enough time to comit!"
Previously, as class teacher in another school, Craig shared their class' hatching chicks, county-wide with pupils responding as experts to questions posted in a forum and posting regular updates in the Blog.
Now he find it enough to use the class community to inform the children what their main topic of study is for the term, using internal pages to provide appropriate weblinks - added as they are used rather than hunting for them in advance.
Having taught the children how to use the site, he now expects a minimum level of capability so they CAN use Starz when directed, while some children use Starz out of choice.
The children are allowed to create forum topics on most things and Craig has noted the increased enjoyment of having ownership of this area.
| Key messages from this workshop were: |
| "Don't spend a lot of time creating resources... the children don't care if it looks pretty; they just want access to the 'stuff'." |
| "Find a balance between the time you put in and the impact that it has. Craig acknowledged that if he put more time into the platform he would get much more impact, but time is something that he does not have at present.He is more than happy with the impact that access to Starz has already made on his pupils." |
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There is clear evidence of increased levels of confidence, both academically and socially. Craig shared anecdotal evidence of impact on children's academic progress from their use of the blogs and linked websites. |