UPDATE: Mr Britland’s KS3 ICT Curriculum V1.1 – (Free Booklet)
I have finally updated my ICT curriculum. Here is the link: Mr Britland’s ICT Curriculum V1.1 The updates are: The strands … Read More
Why Performance Related Pay for Teachers is a Bad Idea (UPDATE)
UPDATE: Please see the bottom of the post for Union reactions. The DfE have posted this news item today: All … Read More
(Updated) Online / technology safety for parents (Presentation/Video included)
UPDATED – New presentation included Follow @mattbritland Last academic year we had several requests from parents for some information about … Read More
Using Facebook Groups in School – A Brief Report/Evaluation
For the past year I have been trialing the use of Facebook groups in school, to see if they improved communication with some of our students.
I have finally written a brief report on my findings. These include surveys given to teachers and students, as well as some recommendations for next year.
Click on the link below to download the report.
You may also be interested in more of my posts on Social Networks:
JISC Inform – Social Media, Who Needs It?
E-Safety Presentation for Parents – Part 2: Social Networks
2013: Graphics Design (Album Covers) Year 9 – Example Work
This is the first time I have used Photoshop with these project and the results have been amazing. In previous years I have used Fireworks, but this year I wanted the project to be more challenging.
To help my students, I created some tutorial videos. These videos were very useful, especially for students who missed lessons or wanted a recap. You can watch these videos HERE.
I would like to thank WNA Visual for their help and advice. If I was you, I would head over to their website and have a look at their portfolio. If you need any work done, definitely given them a shout.
Have a look at some of my the album covers below, any questions, let me know.
PS (Photoshop) Touch for iPhone: Review
Firstly, I have got to say, I’m a massive fan of Adobe Photoshop and I love using it with my students. I was curious how a stripped down version would work on my iPhone 5, after all, the screen is pretty small. It has to be said, after using it, its clear that a lot of work has gone into this . I’m very impressed.
When I first opened the App I wasn’t sure what to expect or how it would compare to the iPad version. The interface is very similar, with changes only made to take into account of the screen size. From what I can see all the functionality is the same. The UI is simple and not too overwhelming, it looks clean and it is easy to navigate.
So what is it like to use…
In order to give it a proper test, I decided to try and replicate an album cover that I produced in Photoshop for school a couple of months ago. I wanted to see how it compared. You can see the original below:
Original Photoshop Version
As a Creative Cloud user, I was able to download the images the original cover was made from, onto my iPhone from the cloud. Easy. You can also import images from your camera, photo library or clipboard.
Cutting out the original image of Jay-Z was a bit awkward, but I was impressed with the various option available to do it. You can use the lasso tool or use your finger to trace around the parts that you want. What really blew me away was the ‘Refine Edges’ tool. Very similar to ‘big’ Photoshop. But, again, a little bit awkward because of the screen size. If I was a bit more patient and with practice I am sure it would get easier.
Some of the editing tools
Once I cut Jay-Z out I then added more layers which are images from the cloud. The laters can all be arranged as you would do in the desktop version of Photoshop. You can even change the blending options of each layer. Happy days.
The layers
You can add adjust each layer by changing things like Brightness/Contrast, Saturation, Levels, Curves and many more.
Adjustment Options
And of course, Photoshop would not be the same without some image effects. The effects available are pretty good, but I am sure we will see more added in the future.
Effects
Once I had added my layers, made some adjustments my album cover was ready. I was even able to add some lens flare. I love lens flare and there are several options, even a JJ (Abrams option). There are several options for export, you can upload to creative cloud, save to Camera Roll, share in different ways or save to iTunes.
The final album cover looked pretty good, compared to the original. I found it quite difficult during the cutting out the image process and you can see it isn’t perfect. The screen size is not ideal for this sort of editing, the iPad is obviously far better for this sort of thing. I would also like to see more fonts available. However, for an iPhone App I am very impressed and really enjoyed using it. The available tools and options are amazing for a iPhone App. I would definitely recommend. It is especially good for anyone who wants to quickly mock up a design for a larger project. To be honest though, the results can be really professional.
Final Album cover made in PS Touch for iPhone
As you can see the image created on my iPhone is impressive when you compare it to the one I created on my MacBook Pro on Photoshop CS6.
My verdict: 4 out 5
(Video Clip) E-Safety Presentation for Parents – Part 2: Social Networks
This is another short clip from my presentation to parents.
You can access the Google Docs slides here.
(UPDATED) ONLINE / TECHNOLOGY SAFETY FOR PARENTS (PRESENTATION/VIDEO INCLUDED)
Watch the 1st clip HERE.
(Video Clip) E-Safety Presentation for Parents – Part 1: Online Gaming
This is a clip from a presentation that myself and a colleague gave to parents earlier this month. The purpose of the presentation, was to give parents an idea of what some children were doing online/how they were using technology. The presentation we used can can be found here.
The talk was 2h hours long and I will post a few clips over the next month or so.
This particular clip if from the short section on ‘Online Gaming’.
JISC Inform – Social Media, Who Needs It?
Last summer, Kingston Grammar School ICT teacher Matt Britland opened up the debate about the benefits and risks of using social media in teaching and learning in an article for the Guardian Teacher Network. Here, Jisc Inform looks at how universities and colleges are tackling those issues and asks – do we really need to bother?
Read the rest here
Augmented Reality – Bring Displays to Life
Over the past few months, myself and our Librarian, Helen Cleaves have been working on some augmented reality (AR) displays.
The idea was for students to create a movie trailer for their favourite books. They could use any device they wanted to. Most students used the school iPads and the movie trailer feature on iMovie.
Once the trailers were finished, a poster was made with images of the featured books. Using Aurasma Studio we then created a ‘Aura’ for each book.
Students and teachers can now download the Aurasma App and watch the movie trailer by pointing their smartphone/tablet camera at the book cover.
The AR even works on the actual book covers and not just the ones on the poster.
Our students have loved it. They can now interact with the display which they have found really fun. It also gives them a great idea about what each of the books are about in a engaging and visual way.
We are now working on displays for other departments.
The video is not fantastic, but it will give you an idea of what we have been doing.
Videos
I will admit that this is not the most exciting video I have ever posted! However, it does give you an idea how the iTunes U Course Manager works and how easy it is.
It is probably not a good idea to make a video when you need sleep. Oh well…enjoy!
A quick guide/tutorial to Guided Access in iOS6.
Galleries
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This gallery contains 24 photos.
