IT Extravaganza at Westbrook Hay!
The two new state-of-the-art IT rooms at Westbrook Hay were officially opened on Thursday 11th February. To celebrate the new facility the school organised an IT extravaganza for the boys and girls aged 3 – 13 years. The two days were dedicated to exploring how technology can be used in the school in many exciting and eye catching ways.The new IT rooms are each equipped with over 20 PCs and the most up-to-date software that can be used, not only in ICT lessons, but also in other areas of the curriculum.
The official opening was by a member of the Royal Family. In fact there was a live video link with the Catherine of Aragon rooms in Hampton Court Palace where Henry VIII, an actor in character, answered questions from the children. They were keen to hear who he was currently married to and why he stole the money from the monasteries! This was watched by all of the children during their school assembly.
The children in Year 7 were delighted when Richard Birkett, a rugby player from London Wasps and England Saxons, made an appearance on Radio WBH which broadcast live during the IT days. The children interviewed Richard during their Desert Island Discs programme.
The parents were very much involved in the event as well and were invited to attend an E-Safety talk for help and advice about keeping safe online, with James Dent, E-Safety advisor for Hertfordshire. Supervision at all times was his recommendation when allowing children time on the computer.
Another firm favourite with the children was the Lego robots session. The children built them with an electronic component, programmed them with their computers and then set them on a course around the classroom.
“The children have been inspired by the interactive activities over the two days and have enjoyed trying things they wouldn’t have done otherwise. In addition, it has shown the staff new ways of using technology in their lessons,” commented Robin Kenyon, Head of ICT.
Some of the other exciting activities during the week included:·
-Science – using USB thermometers and heaters to monitor and log the temperature of cooling substances.
-ActiVote – Digital handsets that enabled each person to answer a question on the board individually and the teacher could collate the results.
-Music – Creating a piece of music by editing together everyday sounds.
-Timing Things – All sorts of different electronic timers to time activities.
-Chromakey – Using a video mixer to put someone into a different background.
-Big Game Bingo – Spot the animal on a live webcam view of a game reserve in Africa. The children scored points for every animal they saw.
-Animation – The children used a webcam and stop frame animation.
-Touch Screen Learning – Little ones used a big touch screen with lots of interactive computer programs and websites.
-Emergency Calls – Lower School children made 'real 999’ calls to the ICT switchboard.
-Till for shopping – Electronic tills helped Lower School children to understand how technology is used when shopping.
-Crazy Talk – Lower School children recorded their voices and Year 8s added the recordings to make it appear as though a picture of another person, animal or cartoon creature spoke with their voice.
-Card Tricks – Professor McOwan showed some fantastic card tricks that help with the understanding of how computers work.
These are just a few of the activities over the course of the two days. Whilst these activities took place, the school also launched its new website.