Inspiring ideas for EYFS and Key Stage 1

1. Role Play• Using the forum tool• Using the chat tool• Role Play example2. Using the video tool• Puppets and teddy bears• Let the children present their work• Making a News bulletin3. Using Email4. Personal Blogs5. Surveys and graphs6. Updating your community

Inspiring online learning in KS2

•Create a staff account for a character from fiction or history, for example Little Red Riding Hood or Samuel Pepys.•Log in to the learning platform as that character. •Using the forum area you can allow the children to ask interview style questions to the character.

Role Play: using the Forum tool

• A conversation could also be had using the chat room facility, logging into the platform as the character and allowing the children to talk live to the character (or another member of staff pretending to be the character).

Note: You will have to change the theme of your community to Improver if you wish to enable chat.

• To supplement your lesson you could also get the children to email the character with follow up questions or comments.

Role Play: using the Chat tool

The above shows an example of how a Year 2 teacher created an account for Samuel Pepys and started a thread in the forum called ‘Ask Samuel Pepys’.

The children were encouraged to ask questions whatever way they wanted. Many used webcams to record their questions.

Role Play: an example

Nightingale School, NorfolkNightingale School, Norfolk

The children asked some excellent questions which kept Samuel Pepys busy.

Role Play: an example

The above shows an example of how a Reception/Nursery teacher and parent used the webcam tool in DB Primary to record some short puppet videos to ask the children questions.

Children logged in at home with their parents who helped them leave responses to these questions.

Using a webcam: puppets and teddy bears

Nightingale School, NorfolkNightingale School, Norfolk

Using a webcam: children present their work

Eastcote School, BexleyEastcote School, Bexley

Cake by Ben

During Poetry week, a teacher decided to do something a little different to inspire children’s interest in the topic.

The children in his class used webcams and the DB Primary in-built recording software to record themselves reciting their own poetry.

This gave them a chance to review their own performance as well as providing them with an audience for their own work.

“The activity allowed us to do something using ICT that the children hadn’t done before which they really enjoyed as well as linking to some curriculum targets we needed to cover.” Mr. Tomlins, Eastcote Primary School in Bexley.

Children can write a news report about events at school, a topic of learning or one of their interests.This can be recorded in the children’s mywork area on their homepage.

Finished videos can be published to the class gallery for all members to view once approved by the teacher.

Using a webcam: news bulletin

Using Email

At Christmas you could set up an account for Father Christmas.As a task children must write an email in reply.

Using personal blogs

Have the children update their blog every week with news about what they did on the weekend.

This can be set a recurring task.

Surveys and interpreting graphsEastcote School, Bexley

This is a survey created by a Year 2 child.

Before being published, the teacher logged onto their computer and was able to approve the survey or make suggestions for improvements before publishing it.

By the end of the lesson, children were able to create a survey of their own and also complete the surveys. In following lessons they were able to look at their results and work out their own conclusions.

If you would like the children in your class to create their own surveys you will have to change theme of the community to Improver from Starter in the community administration area (click on the cogs to get there).

Updating your community

Create a welcome message on the wiki.Perhaps you could include a picture of your class.

You can include links to websites so the children can build on learning that has taken place in the class.

Updating your community

Enable the blog on your front page.Update with class and school events,

achievements, current learning and links to websites.

If you would like any more information then please click on your ‘Need help?’ button on your homepage.

Otherwise please contact our support team on:

Telephone – 01273 201 701Email – support@dbprimary.com