QA Education Books – review
QA Education Books – Top Picks. We take a look at some of the latest children’s titles as well as CPD books. See the “competitions” section to be in with a chance of winning books throughout the year… The Mermaid Who Couldn’t, written by Ali Redford, illustrated by Kara Simpson (JKP, £9.99) Abandoned on the ocean floor, Mariana the Mermaid feels useless as she can’t swim or join in with the other mermaids. Muriel the Turtle helps her find self-confidence through singing her own mighty song. This therapeutic picture book is for children aged 4-9 who lack self-confidence, including children who have had difficult life experiences. This picture book uses a simple metaphor to show how children who have experienced neglect or who lack confidence can learn to find a sense of self-worth. It will help children explore their feelings and encourage communication. Review: by Ellie’s mum, Lisa Ryder Ellie enjoyed the story. She had a strong emotional reaction to the theme of the book and was quite sad at the beginning of the story but she then became happy at the end. She was attentive throughout the story and asked to hear it again. Ellie liked the pictures but did say that she found the colours dark and a little scary at the beginning. Ellie was very emotional throughout the story and asked questions about her family. We talked about how nice it is to have a family and friends and how the mermaid thought she couldn’t do things at the beginning but once she started to try, she found she could do them. Ellie said that she struggled with climbing in the park on the climbing frames but after she practiced, she can now climb. She said it was scary at first but now it isn’t as scary. The story is a good start for discussions about self-confidence and we could role play it afterwards with her toys. The Noisy Foxes, by Amy Husband, (Willow Tree Books, £6.99) Written and illustrated by Amy Husband, The Noisy Foxes follows a family of foxes who decide to move out of the big, noisy city to look for somewhere quieter to live … but nowhere seems quite right! Distinctive collage-style illustrations add to the charm of this humorous ‘grass isn’t always greener’ tale. Reviews We asked some of our friends to read The Noisy Foxes and this is what they said: Ellie’s mum, Lisa Ryder: Ellie liked the story, the language was simple and we looked at the different words and how they sounded. Ellie loved the illustrations and liked how bright the colors are. She liked to see what was happening in other parts of the pictures. Ellie understood the meaning behind the story and we discussed it however she seemed to be more interested in the pictures. We discussed how sometimes we think we want something else but actually what we want is what we already have. Editor Victoria Galligan: My daughters loved the Noisy Foxes! My two-year-old, Amy, has insisted on reading it every night and it even went to Nanny’s for a sleepover! Kate said she liked the patterns and textures in the illustrations, and Amy liked all the different animals. We talked about the ending and how sometimes it’s nice to go away for a break but good to come home again where you belong. It’s Your Story: From 1 to 10 and From A to Z (from £17.50) Planning a prizegiving, graduation or welcoming a new student? If so mark these all-important milestones with beautifully illustrated personalised Alphabet books from Itsyourstory. Not only a fantastic teaching aid which brings numbers and the alphabet to life by making them the star – but also a perfect keepsake which includes a personal message from you to the child at the front. Called ‘From A to Z” and ‘From 1 to 10’ are this ideal gifts for young children. Every letter is accompanied by a picture and a simple, fun sentence which emphasises the sound – for example, ‘Freddy’s Dinosaur is Daring and Dangerous’, ‘Oliver Octopus has Orange Socks’. The child features in the illustrations and text on every page making it a fun, engaging and relevant read. Readers will get to go on an adventure – meeting lots of different animals, building a sandcastle at the beach and even riding a rocket to the moon! The books are available from Itsyourstory at itsyourstory.co.uk. The 32-page full-colour book includes a message at the front from the sender and retails at £17.50 for the softback version and £20 for the hardback book. Customers upload a photograph of the child as part of the order process. Review: By editor Victoria Galligan The books are amazingly engaging: my daughters (aged two and six) were both completely fascinated by the fact that their faces were actually on the cover and the pages. My eldest daughter could read the book alone and love the ‘L’ page, which sees her licking a lemon lolly. And my younger daughter couldn’t flick through the pages fast enough – we read the book several times in one go as she kept missing the pages! She was so eager to see what Amy did next! Fully recommended by us. Also out now: Educating Outside, by Helen Porter (Bloomsbury, £19.99) Educating Outside is a toolkit of outdoor learning ideas to inspire primary school teachers to head outside with their pupils and enrich their learning experiences across the curriculum. Although the benefits of learning outside are well documented, outdoor activities often decline as children progress through their education. There are many reasons for this: lack of time in the curriculum, lack of training, lack of teacher confidence, or simply lack of inspiration. Educating Outside contains a bank of outdoor learning ideas that can be used to enhance and enrich your classes’ learning experiences across the curriculum; including in science, history, geography, art and design, English and maths. Each lesson idea is linked to a specific programme of study and outlines required resources, links to soft
Children’s Meditations In My Heart: review
Review: Children’s Meditations In My Heart, by Gitte Winter Graugaard (£14.95, Room For Reflection Publishing) With test season in full swing, the importance of pupils getting a good night’s sleep is paramount. But worries about school, friends, arguments and all the other stresses which feature in everyday life can prevent children from nodding off. The Danish – who coined the term ‘hygge’ for homely, cosy feelings and moments with loved ones – have found that children can be lulled to sleep in minutes thanks to meditation-style ‘stories’ and author Gitte Winter Graugaard has let us in with their secret in her new book, Children’s Meditations In My Heart. Gitte says, “Children today sleep one hour less than we did 25 years ago. It might be the same in your country? We need to teach our children to handle their thoughts and get enough sleep. “This is a collection of meditations originally published in Danish, which focus on the love you already share in your family. They give you a language full of symbols of love, and strengthen your child’s sense of belonging and self-love. “The book contains four short stories for sharing together. After a brief introduction, you will guide your child into their heart and teach your child to fill their heart with love. In the later meditations, your child will learn to send and receive love from a distance, to pick up love from the little cloud of love, and to send love out into the universe. “You will also enjoy your own beautiful journey into your heartland with your child. If it’s been a long time since you’ve been there, you can feel confident that your child will show you the way.” Our editor Victoria Galligan’s review of the book, which she read with her children – aged six and two. Victoria said, “Children’s Meditations in My Heart is a beautiful book, inside and out. The cover shows a heart being projected out of a door on a mountain: and all becomes clear when you settle down at bedtime. “The message in the stories is direct and soothing: you are loved, and when you love others it makes you happy. “The stories feature mental pictures of nature scenes and encourage deep breathing and quiet reflection, telling children to ‘think about your heart’ and ‘choose what colour your flower is’ but not to talk, just to reflect. “My six-year-old took part wholeheartedly and was pretty much instantly relaxed. I’m not going to lie: bedtimes in our house can get quite frantic so I didn’t hold high expectations of the book’s magic. But she lay down and closed her eyes straight away, breathing deeply and smiling as I read the mediation. She loved the part where the love spreads through each part of the body, before beaming out onto all she meets! “The book recommends reading to children separately and our two-year-old is perhaps a little too young to stop and listen for eight to ten minutes, which is how long the stories take (allowing for some quiet reflection periods). Maybe when she is four or five, she will appreciate the meditation and partake better! “I would recommend to parents who are finding it hard to settle children at night, particularly after a stressful day at school or at other anxious times. I am sure older children will react well too: who doesn’t love some quiet reflection at night, and some precious, relaxing time with a loved one? “Our six-year-old now looks forward to the meditation and loves putting on an eye mask while she listens. She is left feeling calm, content and loving and we always finish with a goodnight cuddle before she drifts off completely. As for our toddler – well I’m still working on it! The Children’s Meditations In My Heart is available from amazon.co.uk priced £14.95 for a hard copy, £4.97 for a Kindle copy, and £5.09 for a pdf download from roomforreflection.com.
DigiLab 3D45 Review: Dremel’s 3D printer is school friendly!
With 3D printing making a splash in industry, schools are beginning to invest in the technology to help prepare students for future careers. But with the cost relatively high and the technology still emerging, is it worth handing over much-needed funding? Here, we review the Dremel DigiLab 3D45 model to explore whether 3D printing is a realistic avenue for schools to explore. Armed with a scraper and two sticks of purple glue, our tech-minded colleague Frank McLaughlin set up the DigiLab, which was generously loaned to us by Dremel (part of the Bosch group). Dremel launched their DigiLab 3D45 at the BETT show recently because it has been designed specifically for schools. Frank had a good knowledge of how 3D printing works – although he had never used a 3D printer before – and informed me that a spool of plastic thread (or filament) was responsible for printing the 3D objects. So we loaded the spool into the side of the machine and threaded the filament into the correct parts. Dremel informed us that an environmentally friendly, plant-based plastic, PLA, can be used with the DigiLab. Creating awe and wonder in DT On reading the easy-to-follow, relatively short set of instructions, we set about choosing a design to build. The touch-screen menu allowed us to easily navigate to a frog model, which the printer informed us would take 1hr 30mins. We took the purple glue stick and lubricated the glass platform to avoid the object from being welded onto the plate. Over the next couple of hours, with the lights dimmed and the printer illuminated like some kind of plastic-melting UFO, staff from around the office bobbed in to express their awe and wonder. Thanks to its fully enclosed see-through chamber, we could see every stage of creation as the hair-thin strands of melted plastic build up the shapes, layer by layer. With cries of “It’s like magic!” and “What else can we make?” it’s clear to see the excitement levels in schools will be piqued with a 3D printer. The possibilities are endless and the only limits are the students’ imagination. The end completion time was extended throughout printing, so the first job ran over our working day. Frog ended up remaining headless, however we were able to see the honeycomb effect within the body of the objects printed – which saves on filament and is fantastically strong. There’s also an integrated camera so students and teachers can monitor and control multiple printers remotely. Frank monitored the printing of the first object – while printing the machine should not be left unattended, something to consider when longer jobs are being built in school hours – and then began creating his own designs including a QA Education logo and a Euromedia heart keyring. As well as a few designs included with the printer to get you started, nets are available on the web if students want a quick start. Designing your own net can be done in a variety of software packages such as Autodesk’s Print Studio. Cross-curricular potential After using the printer and discussing the possibility of creating various objects, we realised that a 3D printer can be fully cross-curricular as well as improving DT and computing skills. Studying business? Make an object to sell at enterprise. Art student? Design your own decorative object. Future engineer? Solve a problem by building a solution. Dremel are keen to impress how important it is that pupils have a good knowledge of 3D design and build. John Kavanagh, Dremel’s global president, said, “3D printers have become an essential teaching tool as the world’s economies gear to the needs of the next industrial revolution. The Dremel DigiLab suite provides the tools and range to inspire children and give them the skills they’ll need for the workplace of the future. The DigiLab 3D45 is the first 3D printer designed to perfectly suit the school environment. It combines simplicity of use and reliability with the capacity to produce advanced designs at a price that schools can afford.” Michael Miller, technology and computer science teacher at Otsego Public Schools in the USA and a Dremel 3D Ambassador, said, “The integration of 3D printing into the classroom, from design and technology to history, inspires students. The Dremel Digilab 3D printing product suite is perfect for introducing children to the basics of 3D design and printing, and enabling them to develop their skills from starting school to heading to university. 3D printing is a great way to close the disconnect between the skills we teach in the classroom and the world of work.” QA Education checks out software, preparation and the scope for students with the Dremel DigiLab 3D45 Here, Frank gives his technical review and suggests how the 3D printer can be operated in DT lessons: • Set-up speed: To set the DigiLab takes hardly any time at all. It is built for easy usage, all of it is pretty much self-explanatory. • Ease of use: The printer is almost plug in and print. It’s so easy to use, you just add the filament, hook the filament to the extruder, calibrate the glass platform (which is literally pressing a button) and you are good to go. • Time: The DigiLab takes around five minutes to heat up before it can begin sculpting. The clock is not always dependable with sculptures sometimes taking up to an extra hour longer than expected. Despite the guesstimates the DigiLab’s speed, for what it prints, is impressive. • Display: The DigiLab utilises a clear and user-friendly interactive touch screen to display how long the sculptures will take to create. It also shows the temperature of the glass platform as well as the temperature of the nozzle. • Noise: The machine is quite loud, as can be expected of a 3D printer, so may need to be sited away from pupils’ desks. • Software: Works best with recommended files .g3drem and these can be created with relative ease with the Autodesk Print Studio. Just
Varidesk standing desk review
Time to boost fitness levels using a height-adjustable standing desk? Review by Shirley Chisnall, Editor, QA Education magazine The NHS website explains ‘Why sitting too much is bad for your health’, and the general advice is that adults aged 19 to 64 should try to sit down less throughout the day, including at work and when travelling to and from work. It’s not as if we’ve only just discovered the importance of being more active – according to the NHS website the link between illness and sitting first emerged in the 1950s, when researchers found London bus drivers were twice as likely to have heart attacks as their bus conductor colleagues. Although we’re frequently urged to consume less sugar and take more exercise, it’s taking longer for designers to plan our schools and offices to meet the requirements to be less sendentary. Some of the UK’s largest companies have taken steps to remove chairs from reception desks. Customer service points too, are increasingly managed by staff who are required to stand most of the time, while many supermarkets let employees choose whether to sit or stand at the checkout. The fact remains that even if you proactively work on your fitness and go to the gym, or walk for 30 to 45 minutes a day, if you work in front of a computer screen and sit down the rest of the day you would still be categorised as having a ‘sedentary lifestyle’. Varidesk standing desk review I was recently invited to test the Varidesk, a solution designed to fit on top of a standard desk which can easily be raised with a handle at each side to bring the computer to a convenient height to use when standing. The Varidesk offers the option of sitting or standing at different times of the day – and apart from the health benefits, standing is known to improve concentration. A height-adjustable desk set to transform the working environment, Varidesk point out that concentration often wanes as we mentally exhaust ourselves in our day by day jobs and as we sit, we become more tired and lose focus. Daydreaming, forgetting meetings and tasks all become more common as we are mentally fatigued. Sitting all day has negative impacts on your mind, and can affect your performance at work. You can combat this by simply adjusting your position whilst working throughout the work day and this can vastly improve your state of mind. Using a standing desk can help you fight out of the mental block you found yourself in. This can help you get back your focus and improve your productivity. With a standing desk you can also burn up to an additional 50 calories per hour. In the editorial department at Euromedia, we’re all keen to reap the benefits but we’re also perhaps a bit set in our ways. However, I really like the fact that when lowered the Varidesk has a raised platform that brings the computer screen to a convenient eye level. It is also excellent because it can be converted so easily, and raised and lowered, to add variety to the working day. For standing to become a feature of the modern office environment the Varidesk is certainly a great option. Who knows as we get more used to standing at work perhaps we will also more readily adopt the advice to stand while we are chatting on the phone – and not spend too long on the sofa when we get home. On an average day, we sit while driving to work, and even the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn apparently prefers to sit while commuting on the train, many people also sit at work for around 8 hours a day, and after another commute, then sit in front of the TV for on average 3 hours a night, before going to bed for 7 to 8 hours. It means although we are very busy and tired we just aren’t as active as we could be. Using a standing desk offers to break this cycle. The Varidesk Pro Plus 36 costs £335 from Varidesk . For more details see varidesk.com