eTwinning is a fantastic way to connect your class or school with a European partner at no cost! Using the resources provided by the British council you can involve your students in projects based on a variety of topics, themes and ideas.

Learn eTwinning in three easy steps 

The British Council eTwinning team is offering free online training sessions this autumn to help you get the most from the eTwinning portal.  Delivered by experienced eTwinning users, these hour-long webinars include live on-screen presentations, walkthroughs of the eTwinning website and Q & A sessions.

Learn about eTwinning in three easy steps:

Step one: finding your eTwinning partner

Register now

Step two: starting your eTwinning project

Register now

Step three: using your Twinspace

Register now
You can join webinars directly from your home or school computer. All sessions take place from 16:30-17:30, on various dates during the term.

A new report released on the 19th September which aims to help schools ensure they are handling pupils’ personal information in-line with the law. The report has been written by the Information Commissioner’s Office, and gives practical advice on how to comply with the Data Protection Act. It was prompted by a survey of 400 schools across nine local authority areas that showed that whilst awareness of data protection laws was generally good, schools need to pay more attention to complying with data protection law.

Read more

http://www.ico.gov.uk/news/latest_news/2012/report-offers-school-data-protection-advice-17092012.aspx

2nd – 6th July at Magna Rotherham

Yes that’s right – free, which is why there’s not much time get book your places. This is a national event with schools from all over the country taking part but as it’s in Rotherham, we’d like to make sure that YHGfL schools make the most of this fantastic opportunity. Sign up for as much or as little as you want. Take your pupils or just go yourself, it’s all free and runs over 5 days so loads to choose from:

• 5 days of hands-on interactive and inspiring workshops and lectures from leading figures in education and industry.
• Fully inclusive workshop schedule – from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 5.
• A fully engaged curriculum – Coding/Programmer/Computer Science, Art, Maths, Physics, English, Drama.
• 750+ workshop places and 2000+ activity places – applications encouraged from schools across the country.
• 250 CPD opportunities for teachers and educators to develop existing and new digital skills taking game creation back into the classroom.
• Industry-lead careers surgeries, vital advice and guidance for schools and young people.

For every you need to get the most out of this event, visit the website or download the Planning Your Visit document. They’ve even done your visit risk assessment for you!

http://www.gamesbritannia.com/2012/assets/planningyourvisit.pdf

http://www.gamesbritannia.com/2012/index.php

Tickets for workshops, talks and for entry into the REPLAYED arena are now available to Games Britannia registrants on a first-come-first-served basis.

Additions To The Schedule

Games Brittania are delighted to announce that Alex Warren will be delivering two Creative Writing/Literacy/Puzzle Solving workshops using Quest his free Text Adventure creation tool, and Bruce Grove, the General Manager of OnLive UK will be talking about the future of gaming – specifically cloud based systems that are set to revoluntionise how we play videogames at home and on the move.

Star Wars videogame writer comes to Sheffield

A Sheffield Hallam University graduate who now lives in Austin, Texas, is returning to the city to pass on her experiences of working on one of the world’s largest multiplayer online video games.

Jo Berry, who studied a master’s in creative writing at Sheffield Hallam, is a writer on Star WarsTM: The Old RepublicTM, a ‘massively multiplayer online role-playing game’ based in the Star Wars universe.

For more information and to book your free places:

http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/org/1178088293?s=7706373

Are you starting to hear things about Kodu? Interested in finding out more? The Microsoft Schools UK blog has some case studies, stories from teachers and links to the free download.

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ukschools/archive/2011/05/11/kodu-bringing-fun-to-learning-in-the-classroom.aspx

If you’re a YHGfL member don’t forget you can request a free online training session to get you started on Kodu. Simply email us and we’ll make all the necessary arrangements.

contact@yhgfl.net

UK’s founding father of interactive entertainment to open videogame festival

The co-author of the Livingstone-Hope Next Gen report in 2011, which prompted the government to address ICT in schools, will officially open the Games Britannia videogames education and careers festival in July.

Ian Livingstone OBE, co-creator of the Fighting Fantasy series of interactive adventure books, has given the festival organisers the go-ahead to run a Fighting Fantasy themed workshop. The session, which Ian will help facilitate, will show children how interactive fiction can bring the art of story-telling to videogames.

Ian said: “Interactive fiction is becoming more prevalent in games as players look for deeper, more engaging story-telling and increased scope for decision-making.

“The Games Britannia festival will give children a real look at how videogames involve writing skills and story-telling to create interactive fiction. I hope the Fighting Fantasy workshops will promote a passion for literature and encourage sometimes reluctant readers and writers to …read and write!”

The Fighting Fantasy series of workshops will showcase a new interactive fiction tool, created with writers and schools in mind and completely free of charge, by new creative start-up company inkle

Created by a pair of former videogame developers, Jon Ingold and Joseph Humfrey, inklewriter requires no set-up, no programming and no drawing diagrams – and it enables young people to write and share interactive literature.

Co-creator Jon Ingold said: “Before founding inkle, Joe and I both worked in the videogame industry and we know first-hand the importance of events like Games Britannia, to get kids thinking about how games work and how they’re made.

“It’s a real treat for us to be involved, especially in collaboration with Ian and Fighting Fantasy. We can’t wait to see what the students make with our inklewriter tool!”

Ian Livingstone will also be showcasing his brand new Fighting Fantasy title at the festival, called Blood of the Zombies.

The videogames education and careers festival will take place from 2 to 8 July at the MAGNA Science Adventure Centre, and will celebrate the strength of the UK industry and inspire the next generation of British videogame talent. The festival includes Games Britannia: REPLAYED, which opens the Games Britannia doors to the public for a weekend of games-based learning and entertainment.

Games Britannia, incorporating Games Britannia: REPLAYED, is organised by a partnership including Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, Sheffield Hallam University, Brinsworth Comprehensive School Academy Trust, Replay Events and UK Interactive Entertainment, and is backed by industry companies including Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.

To find out more about the festival, visit  www.gamesbritannia.com/2012/

Have you tried out the new eSafeguarding MOT to test your school? Why not download it today to check your schools progress.

http://www.yhgfl.net/eSafeguarding

For further information why not contact a member of the YHGfL eSafeguarding Team on contact(at)yhgfl.net to have a free eSafeguarding consultation.

The National History Museum have just announced 21 session dates for Spring 2012 for key stages 2,3, 4 and post 16 pupils.

Their videoconference sessions allow your pupils to meet some of the 350 scientists working at the Museum and share the excitement of fieldwork and new discoveries. The sessions cover a range of topics and in Spring 2012 they will follow scientists travelling to remote areas in Costa Rica, the Bahamas and Vietnam. Great for topics on the rainforest, minibeasts, habitats and a range of other science and ecology based curriculum areas.

You can take part in online events with scientists before they embark on fieldwork, communicate with them when they’re out there and then hear about their results when they return. These sessions are always very popular so book early to ensure you avoid disappointment!

To find out more, visit

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/education/school-activities/videoconferences/index.html

Please contact videoconferencing(at)nhm.ac.uk if you have any questions.

If you have never been involved in a video conference session before you’ll be amazed at just how easy it can be! For further support and advice why not email us at YHGfL  contact(at)yhgfl.net

For many schools MFL is now firmly back on the agenda and using ICT is a great way to engage students with MFL. This video from Teachers TV highlights how Voki- a free web tool has been used to great effect in a year 9 Spanish class.

http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/Secondary-Modern-Foreign-Languages-Using-ICT-6085031/

YHGfL are running a workshop in the Autumn Term which will give MFL teachers a chance to try out Voki and a range of other freely available online tools.

http://www.yhgfl.net/CPD/CPD-programme/%28month%29/9/%28year%29/2011

Show.me.uk is a free to use, non-commercial site produced by Culture24, packed with games and resources generated by the UK’s museum, gallery and heritage sector.
Whilst the website is aimed at young people it also has a  section for parents and teachers. The site also has a section on Place to Go, here you can find out about museums, galleries, archives, science centres and heritage sites in your area- great for finding places for a school trip!