OOKL – explore the world around you

In the Guardian, Richard Needham, chair-elect of the Association for Science Education, discusses how the challenge of furthering the use of ICT in science teaching lies not in improving teachers’ technology skills but in changing their attitudes.

“The bigger challenge is to pass on the control of technology to the pupils, giving them responsibility for the pace and direction of their learning,” he says, citing OOKL as an ‘exciting’ example of how this is taking place in schools.

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8 June 2009 : London

Museums etc is organising a seminar on how mobile technology is being used in practice in museums.

The day will consist of two related parts. The morning session will introduce participants to a range of current learning options using mobile technology, and provide in-depth, research-based feedback about its effectiveness in the learning process within museums, galleries and heritage organisations.

The afternoon session will be held at the National Maritime Museum where participants will hear and see first-hand how OOKL is being successfully used; the Museum will also be sharing the results of recently commissioned research; and, finally, participants will themselves be able to use the technology in a museum context.

For more details about the seminar click here

Heaton primary school in bradford have developed a simple three stage tool to help teachers get the most from OOKL.

The first step gets the teachers to activate their class. Start by getting them to question or investigate their surroundings. Find five things that show life in the victorian era, ask others what they like about the forest, how would you advertise your school, create a sound map of the wood, tell others about what you did in the local village, record the making of a shelter…

The next step is to help students to collect observations and evidence as they go. Learning by doing is a natural way of enjoying the tasks that you’ve been set. Write 3 sentences about what you see, record comments beginning with ‘I can see…”, photograph details from a painting that inspire or confuse you, discover a trail through the woods by collecting objects and following clues…

Back at school, use the things that you and your classmates have created to make something that you can present to others. Make a report, create a collage of images, publish a podcast of your sounds, develop a multimedia web presentation.

Download their guide stages_of_ookl

The Museum of Nottingham are using OOKL to help visitors to explore the city’s social history over the last 300 years. As visitors tour the venue they’ll discover everything from toy dalek’s from Doctor Who to Dolly tubs which people used to wash their clothes before washing machines were invented.

The Horniman Museum will be using OOKL to support their educational programme both within the building and in their adjacent gardens.

OOKL is being used in Wrexham to help young people discover the Industrial Heritage of the region. Bersham Heritage Centre is on the site of an important 18th Century industrial complex.

Find Your talent in Bolton

Bolton Council are using OOKL to help young people to find their talent through culture and sport. The programme will start in Bolton Museum and the Reebok Football Stadium.

In a double first, OOKL has found a new home at Wix Primary school in Wandsworth, South London. Wix is not only the first OOKL school in Wandsworth, but also the first state funded bilingual school in England. The students can use OOKL in english, but they can also change predictive text to francais (and Deutsch, Italiano, Portugues and Espanol) so they can practice blogging in french or interview their classmates in Spanish. 

With OOKL’s new audio function students will be able to listen to foreign phrases and translate them when they are on field trips too. How are you?