Monday, January 28, 2008
Get involved and have your say. January 08
Some opportunities, consultations and competitions spotted this month.
Futurelab’s annual call for ideas
is focusing on ‘Imagine a way to support learning outside school’. Anyone with an interest in education, including school staff and students can enter. The most innovative ideas will be developed with a team of experts and showcased through a series of high profile events and the media. Open from 21 Jan–29 Feb 2008. For details on how to enter click here
LAFTAs Languages Competition
is asking young people between the ages of 13 and 21 to create two-minute film clips demonstrating the importance of language learning.The judging panel is drawn from the worlds of film, broadcasting and languages andincludes comedian Eddie Izzard, journalist Sir Trevor MacDonald, and Sky Sports’ Guillem Balagué.The judges will be looking for clips that demonstrate the most creative and original approach to the subject and the most convincing case for being able to speak more than one language, and will not be judging on technical ability.Entries can be from individuals or groups, making this ideal as a classroom activity to get students thinking about language learning.You can find further information on the competition hereand on the youtubepage.Read the full press release here.The deadline for the competition is 31 March 2008.
The European Awards for languages
are run by the European Commission and organised by the National Centre for Languages (CLIT) in the UK. There are considerable gains in terms of prizes of £1,000, learning materials and an overall winner awarded £2,000 at a ceremony in London in the autumn. The awards are for initiatives and projects which involve creative and motivating ways to learn languages other than English. It is possible to enter a method or scheme you are already using, the only down side is the closing date of February 1st. So if you have a quiet week (!) and have a project up and running it might be worth filling in an application form.. Visit the applications section and either apply on-line or download the application form and send by e-mail or post.
The DCSF Year of Reading
was launched by Ed Balls with events and opportunities in every area of the country organised by 146 local reading coordinators. There is also a web-site with further activities, competitions and resources. There is a word of the week, as well as an opportunity to register yourself or your school and any events you have organised yourself. Read more
The (healthy lifestyle) experiment
is a major project set up by the DCSF and supported by Teachers TV. During National Science and Engineering week there is a nationwide project to see what impact diet and lifestyle have on readiness to learn. The project provides online interviews and assessments and analysis of the children, providing a useful insight for class teachers, school leaders and wider educationalists. To take partClick here where you can register and download lesson and activity plans and ideas. The week of the research is 10th-14th march 2008.
inet student voice conferences
are running four online debates on current global issues encouraging students from all over world to discuss the conerns with each other. The discussions are based around materials students submit. Students can submit written pieces, pictures, presentations, videos or audio recordings to explain their point of view, which others can then comment on. Click here to register