AFRICA TREND

Submitted by Fiona Beal OneNote is one of my favourite applications for keeping organised and I will definitely be making more of this application at my school this year. I have written about OneNote before so I don’t want to repeat myself, but there are a number of reasons why this application has really captured my attention for personal use and use in my lessons. 1. OneNote is free and easy to access  I love the fact that the application is free and that it is a cross platform tool. I can access it from my phone, my tablet and my laptop. You need to have a Microsoft account to access your OneNote. My learners also use OneNote online. Hopefully this year we’ll be accessing Office 365. 2. Use it like an online notebook  I like the way a OneNote notebook resembles a binder. I feel as though I am really organised when I use OneNote. Once you are in OneNote you create a notebook…as many as you like. You can use sections to divide your notes into the categories that you want. You can eve

The Internet is currently full of posts about using Microsoft products effectively in the classroom. Here are a The Internet is currently full of posts about using Microsoft products effectively in the classroom. Here are a number of them from this past week. The list is embedded below but can also be found at: this link: http://bit.ly/2Esz6dG . The link to the back-dated posts is: http://bit.ly/1GVLTUZ   <br /></div>

Submitted by Fiona Beal Do you know AudioNote? It is a notepad and audio recorder for iOs, Android, Windows and Mac! I have been using it for a couple of years now on my iPad ( https://goo.gl/sgRwW3 )  and on my Windows 10 laptop ( https://goo.gl/Q9ydwR ). Whenever I am in a workshop, lecture or any situation where I need to take notes linked to recorded audio, I use AudioNote. AudioNote has a free and a paid version. I used the free version for quite a while and then moved over to the paid version for a longer recording time limit. How AudioNote works Say for example you are in a lecture and you are taking notes, As you take your notes, with the sound recording on as well, AudioNote indexes your notes by putting the times in the margin as the talk progresses. When you are reviewing your notes later, and you can’t fully remember what was said, you just click on the time slot to get to the actual point in the lecture where the speaker was talking. You can also highlight information,

After looking through all the Google posts that were shared to various subscriptions recently, these are a selection that look useful for teachers  https://goo.gl/GyT8Tr . (The link to previous posts can be found here https://goo.gl/CNO3M2 ).

Submitted by Fiona Beal One of the programs I sorely miss on my Windows 10 computer is Windows Movie Maker (or Windows Live Movie Maker as it was later named.)  I  had used it for several years before Microsoft discontinued it in Jan 2017. I really missed using it in my classes at school.  As I searched the Internet there seemed no way to download this program successfully. Until, one day, I  came across a YouTube video named Windows MovieMaker Full Version FREE!! ||2017 It seems there IS still a way to download and use this program! It was worth a try! To cut a long story short…I tried following the directions and IT WORKED! So I thought I would share it in case you would like to do the same.  So, let’s get started on the first part of getting Windows Movie Maker. 1. Get Movie Maker here http://www.windows-movie-maker.org/ 2. Follow the prompts. 3. Accept the License Agreement 4. Set the destination folder 5. Select the Start menu folder 6. Don’t select Quick Launch It gets a bit comp

The Internet is currently full of posts about using Microsoft products effectively in the classroom. Here are a The Internet is currently full of posts about using Microsoft products effectively in the classroom. Here are a number of them from this past week. The list is embedded below but can also be found at  http://bit.ly/2BqkQDZ   . The link to the back-dated posts is:  http://bit.ly/1GVLTUZ

After looking through all the Google posts that were shared to various subscriptions recently, these are a selection that look useful for teachers  https://goo.gl/BaagZ2     .  (The link to previous posts can be found here  https://goo.gl/CNO3M2 ). 

On Thursday  Thursday 30th November 2017 at 3:15pm (GMT+2)  we held a free SchoolNet webinar entitled ' Putting your story on the map with Google Tour Builder ' ' which was presented by Linda Foulkes, S MIEE / Freelance Trainer / Consultant / Courseware Author / eLearning Content Creator at Foulkes@Work in the United Kingdom.  How much do you know about Google Tour Builder? Google describes its product like this: "Tour Builder is a new way to show people the places you've visited and the experiences you had along the way using Google Earth. It lets you pick the locations right on the map, add in photos, text, and video, and then share your creation. " Webinar description Linda said, "Students and Teachers can create an interactive timeline-like experience to share information using features from Google Earth, Google Drive, YouTube, Photos, and so much more, using the free tool, Google Tour Builder. Creating a Google Tour transforms your traditional intera

Recently on 16 – 17 November the inaugural BCX Disrupt Summit took place in Johannesberg, hosted in collaboration with BrainFarm, with the exhilarating Kyalami racetrack as the backdrop. Omashani from SchoolNet attended. The BCX Disrupt website advertised the event saying: “ For the first time in Africa, the world’s greatest thinkers gathered on one stage, giving us a glimpse of a future brimming with opportunity.”   Listen to will.I.am announcing this inspirational event in this short 49 second video There was an impressive lineup of speakers: If you missed the summit but you’re keen to be exposed to some of the great talkss, the best of the videos are available to watch on YouTube at:  http://bit.ly/2A30Z9o    Here are some examples:  BCX Disrupt also has an interesting Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/pg/BCXworld/

SchoolNet SA was invited to brainstorm at the Goethe Institut more than a year ago.  It is most pleasing to now report on the outcome - a new Science learning app called I am Science which targets early high school girls in disadvantaged areas and aims to smash gender stereotyping in science, biased against girls and women.   The initiative is being implemented by the Goethe-Institut with support from the GIZ and financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The Goethe Institut was concerned that only 30% of science researchers in the world are women and the gender, digital and science divide has only increased in developing countries since 2013. Bridging this gap is complicated because its roots run deep. Unequal access to education for girls; gender stereotypes and poor access to science labs are just some of the obstacles in the way of girls being curious about science and technology. That's where I Am Science comes in. The

SchoolNet South Africa has been conducting a fascinating research project over the past four years, called Learning Gains through Play (LGP) which is funded by the D G Murray Trust. Ten schools received technology in the form of a bank of tablets with carefully selected apps and Xbox Kinect console, large-screen TV and games. Teachers received personal tablets and intensive professional development training in mastering and embedding technology in classroom teaching and learning and learner-driven activities focusing on learning through play. A change-leadership course for school leaders and a peer-mentoring programme for participating teachers strengthened the project design by creating a supportive environment for these teachers to explore new pedagogies.   The peer coaching programme ensure that the learnings from the training would be sustained after the project end. Tracking over four years Learning Gains through Play Project learners were tracked over a four year period to assess

The Internet is currently full of posts about using Microsoft products effectively in the classroom. Here are a The Internet is currently full of posts about using Microsoft products effectively in the classroom. Here are a number of them from this past week. The list is embedded below but can also be found at  http://bit.ly/2Btf7x8 . The link to the back-d ated posts is:  http://bit.ly/1GVLTUZ

Submitted by Megan Rademeyer Microsoft’s annual Skype-a-Thon is a 48-hour long event that aims to connect classrooms across continents, travelling over 10 million virtual miles and connecting half a million students. Between 28 and 29 November 2017 a number of schools in South Africa and Lesotho got involved by connecting with other students, sharing stories, playing games and collaborating on subjects that the classes shared in common. Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert Mpho Phakisi of Lesotho got her students involved in the Skype-A-Thon. She connected her learners from Phethahatso English Medium Community School with learners in Libya, Malaysia, Russia, Canada and France. As exciting as it was for the Lesotho learners to get to speak to learners from different countries, it was as exciting for the foreign learners to connect with children from the mountain kingdom – in a small country they had possibly never heard of.  Mpho said, "We had a great session with Aliff Othman clas

SchoolNet Conference goers in 2017 will remember the valuable contribution made by our overseas presenter, Peter Rafferty and his infectious enthusiasm for innovation in teaching. He has taken the time to write this article about his visit to South Africa. Even more interesting is the way he relates his experiences in South Africa to his own experiences as a learner when he was at school and as a teacher now in England and somehow Peter manages to subtly highlight the impact that technology has had on teaching and learning. Peter writes: "In 1966 Francis Chichester became the first person to sail single handed around the world by the Clipper route and in doing so became the fastest circumnavigator in nine months and one day. I remember his journey pretty clearly, because as a pupil at St Anne’s Primary School (Ormskirk, UK) we followed his journey as a class project on a great big map on our classroom wall. The thing I could never quite understand, at the time, was that Francis

Submitted by Megan Rademeyer Microsoft is once again teaming up with Code.org to support the Hour of Code. Although the activities on code.org/minecraft can be completed at no cost at any time , learners around the world are encouraged to be part of an initiative to get students learning the basics of coding during Computer Science Education Week – between 4 and 10 December 2017. You may have got your learners doing the Minecraft themed Hour of Code activities last year, and if you would like to use these tutorials again, they are still available. This year, however, Minecraft is supporting the Hour of Code with a NEW Minecraft tutorial that introduces a new character: the Minecraft Agent! This tutorial is focused on helping students learn to write code that will help their Agent overcome obstacles. Using the Minecraft world they know and love, students of all ages and any experience level can learn the basics of coding, and how to use problem solving and critical thinking to achieve

After looking through all the Google posts that were shared to various subscriptions recently, these are a selection that look useful for teachers  https://goo.gl/NWoBGD     .  (The link to previous posts can be found here  https://goo.gl/CNO3M2 ).