PROJECT OUTLINE

Enjoying Cultures is about allowing students to describe and share, through the use of creating personal Blog pages, local cultural experiences and aspects of their lives that make them proud.

USE OF ICT WITHIN THE PROJECT

The pupils create their own personal blogs containing text and graphics about themselves and their own local cultures. Once the Blog has been created pupils email into the project administrator their own Blog URL. The administrator then (once proof read) uploads a link on the Enjoying Cultures master Blog page found at http://enjoyingcultures.edublogs.org.

Pupils have the opportunity to capture and edit still and moving graphics and then upload these data files onto their own blog pages. Pupils can also create their own podcasts, which in turn can be FTP'd to a web based data archive, thus creating real time link between the reader of a podcast and the data archive. Fortunately by using this technology all the tools required are free to use. For example Audacity for audio, Edublog for creating own blog pages and MS accessories tools free with Windows XP e.g. movie maker.

RESULTS AND BENEFITS

In terms of ICT expertise, staff have benefited from peer tutoring for each other or from, in some cases, their pupils themselves. As part of developing the project the use of video conferencing has helped in over coming any ICT issues. Staff don't feel inhibited in asking or offering a solution to a technical problem in a face to face situation. It is also very time saving in terms of not having to type out a long email with complex technical language. e.g. 'which data file formats is best to use in a certain situation?’.

The project has developed a wide range of key life skills in a context that is new and exciting to many pupils and staff too. Blogging naturally develops ICT skills and allows pupils to be creative in the use of language, numeracy, problem solving, planning and design. In undertaking this project it is hoped that the pupils begin to realise the better they are at these key skills the better they can communicate and become an effective Global Citizen.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

“Not dwelling on stereotypes but on personal experiences in the ‘here and now”
“This was a good project which made use of blogging technology effectively”