Dear Chris,

Thank you for such a useful and inspiring staff meeting last week.You came across as enthusiastic,dedicated and entertaining with dozens of realistic tips for busy teaching staff. I particularly enjoyed your inspirational ideas for the use of pictures and videos.

for myself and many colleagues it was the most useful staff meeting in a long time!

Many thanks,

Tiffany Jordan,

Teacher ,Gorsey Bank Primary school,Wilmslow Cheshire

Top 10

A slightly different approach this term ten sites as usual but only seven new sites. I've decided to promote 3 into my "premier league" of sites every school should have in their favourites list. Let me know what you think.
Feel free to email me with your favourites go to the contacts page and drop me a line.contact

My ‘Top 10’ free web sites are:
Premier League:
1. www.poissonrouge.com - Early years KS1 ICT website
2. earth.google.com - Simply the best Geography resource available, any where
3. www.crick.northants.sch.uk/crickweb.htm - A variety of excellent quality flash based curriculum activities designed by a school
New sites:
4. www.sciencelearningcentres.org.uk/WebPortal.aspx?page=1 Really interesting science resource and Professional Development Site
5. www.freeducation.co.uk/cgi-bin/index.cgi from the Time to Teach site I've previously mentioned but has been recently revamped to good effect.
6. ocw.mit.edu/index.html Massachusetts Institute of Technology coursework available for free online. You want to know what it takes to be a rocket scientist, programmer, or merely Seymour Papert It's all here. A massive chunk of the knowledge base of mankind.
7. www.priorywoods.middlesbrough.sch.uk/resources/restop.htm This is a special school in Middlesbrough. The site was recommended by a colleague at the Forest special School. One day all our children will be taught with the approaches used in special schools such as these .
8. www.pumpkingrowingtips.com It's early for Halloween I know but if you want home grown pumpkins for school in autumn here's how. (Cheaper than TESCO every little…….)Fun to grow too.Let me know how you go about watering them over the summer plus the class change- Science ,technology and politics.
9. www.primaryresources.co.uk/old/index.htm Speaks for itself 1 gigabyte of information.
10. audacity.sourceforge.net Free sound recording and editing software. I know it's not a true podcast by any means but it can get your sound files sorted for the web, you will also need LAME http://www.dll-files.com/dllindex/dll-files.shtml?lame_enc Contact me if you have a problem.

Again this is not a hierarchy, all are pieces I have used to good effect in schools and apologies to suppliers of software I haven’t used yet. I’m always willing to have a go at something new.

My ‘Top 10’ pieces of software are:

1. Espresso - Best piece of Primary content available
2. Audacity - Best free sound editting software
3. Antics 3d modelling software- brilliant Free 3d animation software
4. Crazy talk 5- facial animation software, great child motivator
5. Clicker 5 - Great SEN tool
6. Movie maker- best readily available video editing software
7. Sponge Bob Square Pants teaches typing - Beats Mavis out of sight!
8. Classroom Monitor-from Prime Principal -Best assessment and report writing tool I've seen so far
9. School Centre- from Granada- Simple and Brilliant School Development/SEF linking tool
10. Microsoft Office - I know I know, but almost everyone uses it and it has massive built in resources