Reflecting on a very enjoyable seminar in sunny – yes literally – Edinburgh on Saturday. There was an excellent turnout for a Saturday morning, proving yet again that if teachers feel that they have an opportunity to learn something new or hear a different slant on learning and teaching they will seek it out, even if it means giving up some of their leisure time. There was a real buzz in the room, and it wasn’t entirely down to the air conditioning system, as delegates wrestled with the reading strategies and were asked to re-think the whole notion of literacy, reading and texts in a society where electronic media are becoming the norm, rather than the exception. To paraphrase David Warlick, this isn’t about using or embedding technology, it’s about re-defining literacy.
The morning was made all the more enjoyable for me by the presence of my good friends Mike Coulter of Digital Agency, who came along to take some photos, and Dave Terron, an English teacher at Elgin Academy, who spoke about his work in school with Inanimate Alice ,Samorost and Machinarium, as well as providing an excellent starter sheet for participants. Thanks to both of them for their contributions. Thanks also to Mike for the Flickr slideshow. You can see more of his photo sets by clicking here. You can see more of my photo sets by clcking on any of the photographs under My Photos in the other column.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Bill Boyd - The Literacy Adviser 
As Primary practitioners we found the insights into the increasing use of digital narrative resources interesting and informative. Your links with the Curriculum for
Excellence were also illuminating. Well worth attending.
Many thanks.
Thanks for the comments. Glad you found it useful. Keep checking the blog for updates on digital storytelling. You may also want to check out the list of best books for 10-14 year olds, including the best graphic novels, by clicking the Tab at the top of the page.
Rgds
Bill
This was very informative and illuminating. I enjoyed the presentation very much and thought it was engaging and fun at same time,
I particularly liked the use of technology to enhance the reading experience and especially motivate boys..
Would be good to see something like this geared for younger children in the future.
A good way to spend Saturday morning & enjoyed meeting folks from other authorities too.
Thanks Chris. I’m sure the same principles could be adapted to work with younger children as well but I don’t have any experience in that area. You could check out the Early Years pages on the Learning and Teaching Scotland website or get yourself a Twitter account and find some people who are working in early years and using technology in the classroom.
Good luck.
Bill
Pingback: Flip’n Dumfries « Bill Boyd – The Literacy Adviser