Don Cumming and Dan Lyndon: the Power of Two.

We begin with half a picture, handed to us on the way in. We have to find the other half and with this person, find the question to go with it and answer it. Pictures and questions are colour coded.

According to Vanilla Ice, collaboration is key. Darwin suggested that people who collaborate are slightly more involved. This session is about collaborating with other teachers to improve your teaching.

Dan and Don did some interschool blogging as part of their study of the slave trade. Students can comment on key questions that were set and were then able to feed back to each other. Then they wrote to English Heritage to ask for a blue plaque for Equiano, and marked each other’s letters. Don suggests teaming up with another school and starting with postcards.

Don then suggests adding Wikipedia entries: collaborating with the world, and then searching for historians to find more information.

Dan talks about using the TASC wheel, developed by Belle Wallace. Thinking Actively in a Social Context.

It’s based on the way the brain works. It looks quite similar to the TEEP cycle, I think.

Googledocs also good for collaboration: Dan has used it to discuss historiography with year 13 students. We also looked at Wikispaces. Inspired to read Jill Livingston: Rebel Girls. It’s not actually  Livingstone – that was autocorrect!

We did a carousel activity, looking at blogging to improve student writing, wikis to improve their research, podcasting and the TASC wheel.

I am reminded to join Dropbox.

Fab session! Lots of hands-on ideas I can use.