Computing

Our Christmas Video!!

A short message from Mr Callow

I'm not one for public speaking, so I will let my friends do the talking for me in the video link below. I have spent an amazing 16 years at St Michael's and will leave with many fond memories! #NeverForget

St Michael's Leavers' Video 2016

New and exclusive! Click on the photo above to watch our Year 6 Leavers' Video 2016. I hope this is a little something that will help remind you of the 'time of your lives'.

We would like to wish all the children good luck for the future, may it be a long and happy one! #NeverForget

iPad Showcase (19th July 2016)

Thank you to everyone who came to visit us today. The children were fabulous at showing off these apps: Book Creator, Doink, iMovie, PicCollage, QRafter, Tellagami, Stop Motion Studio, Drawing Pad, Ditty, Pages, String, Quiver...

Here are some of the examples the children made on the day...

It's more than just a collage! (Year 3 - 8th July 2016)

Year 3 were given the task of finding out about an endangered animal from the Rainforest. They researched, using the fabulous DKFindOut (www.dkfindout.com) online encyclopaedia, then had to present their findings in poster format using PicCollage app. Check out their work below.

QR Codes with Year 5 (13th July 2016)

The children in Year 5 have been learning about QR Codes. This are codes that you may have already seen in your day to day life. The children went on a QR Code hunt. They scanned each code with QRafter app, which in turn revealed a new destination at school and a piece to the puzzle.

We then looked at how to create our own QR Codes and have hidden some messages in them for your to discover. Download QRafter app (or another QR scanner) to reveal the children's hidden messages.

Endangered Rainforest Animals (Year 3 - 1st July 2016)

Year 3 were looking at the effects of Rainforest destruction today. In particular, they were concerned about the number of animals who were considered endangered as a result. Did you know all of these animals were on the endangered list? Check out their posters below.

Fantastic Friday - Green Screening (24th June 2016)

We had a really great day using the amazing Doink - Green Screen app. Children used the app for the first time, to create photos and videos, using our homemade green screens. Take a look at some of the results!

Year 6 Stop Frame Animations (18th May 2016)

Over the last two weeks, Year 6 have been preparing to make stop frame animations. Designing the backgrounds, characters and thinking about the story outline. Today, we finally started getting some of the animations recorded.

Stop Frame animation is the process of take individual still photographs, before playing them in continuous motion. The objects are moved in small increments so as to appear to move upon their own when played back. Please follow this link to see more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/clips/z9pvcdm

Katie and Nishty produced their Stop Frame Animation today using 230 frames. Please take a look below.

TOP TIP: Try making an iPad stand using lego. It is important to keep the iPad still and in one place to prevent 'jumpy' animations. Try out my lego iPad stand below.

Year 3 Jungle Weather Reporters using Tellagami (17th May 2016)

he children in Year 3 used the fabulous app called Tellagami to become weather reporters. You won't see them in the videos, as the children have used avatars or Gami's to hide behind. However, you will hear their voices! Watch below.

Logo programming with Year 4 (11th April 2016)

I really enjoyed going back to the ICT suite today and using the desktop computers with Year 4 - they seemed to enjoy it too! Logo is a lovely coding program, where the children control the onscreen robot to navigate around the screen, draw pictures and create amazing effects. Today, Year 4 were introduced to the interface, basic commands and finally had to navigate through mazes without touching the walls!

Easter work on iPads (22nd March 2016)

In our computing lessons, Years 3 and 6 have been looking at different aspects of the Easter Story.

Year 3 concentrated on the Last Supper and began using an app called Adobe Voice, to help share their story. This involved collecting photographs, adding text, music and recording their own voiceovers.

Year 6 were given the task to retell the Easter Story through the work of famous artists. Having already practiced using the iMovie app, they put their new skills to the test to produce some wonderful videos.

Please follow the links below to view their work.

iMovie with Year 5 and Year 6 (2nd March 2016)

Over the last two weeks, Years 5 and 6 have been introduced to another amazing app called iMovie. This app allows you to create stunning videos (see Pipes of Peace, Man in the Office and Leavers Video 2015 at bottom of the page).

Years 5 and 6 were given the task to create a short video of their favourite websites. They had to collect screen captures from those sites and place into a iMovie to create a video. Each clip needed the URL for the website. The children then were allowed to experiment with themes, sounds, transitions, clip length and filters. Finally they had to then record a voiceover, explaining the things you an do on each of the websites in their video.

They had great fun and are now ready to use the skills above to create informative topic videos in other areas of the curriculum (or as part of homework projects!). See below...

Book Creator with Year 3 (1st March 2016)

Over the last week, year 3 have been taking their first look at the amazing Book Creator app. This app is truly fabulous for creating eBooks and comics. It allows you to use a range of multimedia including: sounds, pictures, text, photos... We have given it a try by making a hilarious Joke Book (mostly from Mr Saunders' repertoire!). Take a look below...

Thank you for the iPads

I was recently shown Typorama app and have fallen in love with it already! It allows you to create lovely visuals with words and pictures combined. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all who were involved in the iPad project. Below are photos of our new iPads in use with just a few quotes from the children.

Sharing a photo of a friend (27th January 2016)

Year 5 and 6 used PicCollage app today to take and edit nice, sensible photos of themselves and their friends.

Part of the fun of the internet is being able to share things with friends online -

but we must do it safely!

The children thought about what we must ask ourselves before sharing something online and generated some useful questions. They then used the app to create images as reminders. Please check out the examples below.

Exploring Emoji (22nd January 2016)

Year 3 and 4 were developing their typing skills and exploring using emoji this afternoon. The children worked together to type a nursery rhyme correctly, changing the appearance (colour, size and style) of the font and then exploring swapping words for emoji. Please take a look at some of their work below.

Sharing a photo with a friend (20th January 2016)

In Years 5 and 6, we were discussing how fun it is to share things with our friends online. We discussed if anyone had ever shared anything? Most children answered yes in the form of photos, messages and video clips. I then asked if anyone had shared something they now regret. After a brief silence, a few hands were raised. Although it is great fun to share things with our friends online, we must remember to do it safely. The children then created some posters (with Pages app) to remind them what to think about before posting a photo.

iPad Rules with Years 3 and 4 (15th January 2016)

Following on from the successes with Year 5 and 6, I thought is was important that all of our school users engaged in a discussion about appropriate use of the iPads. Therefore, Years 3 and 4 also produced their own set of rules using Pages app this afternoon.

iPad Rules with Years 5 and 6 (13th January 2016)

The children in Year 5 and 6 were all very excited about working on iPads today. W began the session discussing how to use them appropriately, so that every member of our school community could also enjoy using them in class. The children then created a printable set of rules, to act as a reminder for all classes (and teachers) using the iPads. To do this we used Pages app.

Mix-up Morning (9th January 2016)

For our first ever Mix-up Morning, children in Faith houses become the first users of our new iPads. We decided to look at what the word Faith means. Our discussions included many different words, as the children tried to come up with a definition, so we captured those words in some beautiful word clouds with WordClouds app.

#ManInTheOffice - St Michael's 2015 Christmas Video

Following on from the success of last year's #StMichaelsPipesOfPeace, we have produced our second Christmas Video called #ManInTheOffice, our spin on the John Lewis 2015 advert. Click on the Photo above to see our Christmas Video. Please tell us what you think by using the form at the bottom of the page.

#12AppsofXmas...Day 12 - Stop motion Christmas video.

Get creative! Make your own Stop Frame Animation using Stop Motion Studio app. Click on the Snowman to see my example.

#12AppsofXmas...Day 11 - Retell the Nativity story.

Why not have a go at retelling the Nativity Story using Adobe Voice app. Click on the Snowman to see my example - you could draw your own pictures using Drawing Pad app and use these to retell the story!

#12AppsofXmas...Day 10 - Animoto app.

Create a seasonal video using your festive photos, with Animoto app. Click on the Snowman to see my photo's of this year's Infant Nativity.

#12AppsofXmas...Day 9 - Facetime a loved one.

It's as simple as that! Take time to send some Christmas cheer to a loved one, using the built in Facetime app.

#12AppsofXmas...Day 8 - If your decorations could talk...

Use the wonderfully simple Chatterpix app to bring your Christmas decorations to life. If they could talk, what would they say? You have 30 seconds to record your message. Click on the snowman for an example.

#12AppsofXmas...Day 7 - Create festive Word clouds.

Create beautiful word clouds about Christmas with CloudArt app. Click on the snowman to see an example.

#12AppsofXmas...Day 6 - Send a Christmas message.

Send a 30 second Christmas message with Morfo 3D Booth app. Click on the snowman to hear my message!

#12AppsofXmas...Day 5 - Add festive stickers to your photos.

Use Christmas Booth: Festive Photo Fun app, to add some festive cheer to your photos. Click on the snowman to see an example.

#12AppsofXmas...Day 4 - Make a Christmas GIF image.

Use PowerPoint to create a Christmas Picture and turn this into an animated GIF image (see the instructions below) Click on the snowman for an example.

#12AppsofXmas...Day 3 - Make a Christmas picture.

Draw a festive picture using Drawing Pad app, or using the drawing tools in PowerPoint. Click on the snowman for an example.

#12AppsofXmas...Day 2 - ElfYourself app

Become an Elf and star in your very own personalized video, featuring your photos on dancing elves. Click on the snowman to see an example.

#12AppsofXmas...Day 1 - Christmas Carols using Emoji

Practice your typing skills with Pages app (this is normally already installed on your device). Type a Christmas Carol, then have some fun by swapping words with Emoji. Click on the Snowman above for an example.

Please take a look at the work on these Archived pages...