Visit to RM REAL Center

Last month I took my class to the RM REAL Centre in Oxfordshire
to experience the ‘Classroom of the Future’ today.

The children were excited to go as they knew that it was Steve Forbes, from RM, who had given us the iPod Touches and that they would be meeting him.

When we arrived the class thought they had arrived in the land of their dreams! Every time they turned around they saw yet another awesome piece of technology more exciting than the last.

The RM Centre isn’t just about technology though, it also has the latest innovations in furniture and learning spaces.

The boys particularly loved the chairs shaped like puppies and also thought the ‘non-tip’ chairs’ were a great idea as they are often being told to stop leaning back in theirs and thought this would be the solution to that problem!

The children broke off into groups trying the different areas and things within them. One group worked on making a Stop Motion video (link to be added soon). Another group acted like Roving Reporters and used a special sound proof Pod to do podcasting. I wish I’d had a chance to use it as it reminded me of the Cone of Silence from the original Get Smart series.
The third group used the iMacs and were incredibly impressed with how easy they were to use.

It was very interesting to see how quickly the children worked out how to use various technology and how they were able to give ideas about how many of the things they saw and tried could be used back in the classroom.

Thank you very much RM for the opportunity to visit your Research Centre and I would recommend it to others as an interesting and informative day out.

Click HERE for thank you letters to RM.

More Martian Stories

Here are some of the Martian stories other children in the class wrote last month using their iPod Touches, the app Make A Martian and the built in Notes app. When the children finish their writing, they email their work to me so that it can be printed off, edited and marked and then glued in their books.

Ty’s story

1st episode of Martians.
1000 Years ago there was a mysterious alien called a martian. His name was called Sloppy poe. He always slopped his saliva everywhere he goes. Finally he came to earth in his UFO. He was humongous to the Earth and the cities. There was a little girl called Mary F. She was the only person on the earth that calmed the beast down but she didn’t know at first.

2nd episode of Martians.

Soo then Mary F watched the news on television she saw the ugly beast. It was uglier than a witch. So her and her family went to the Market in the USA shopping centre and guess what Mary F saw? She saw the beast. She screamed to her mum and dad. She was screaming MONSTER. Her parents turned around and saw the beast. They was all scared!

What will happen to Mary F? They went somewhere that was safe. So then Mary’s parents was thinking to move to another city. Mary screamed NOO! So she ran up stairs and cried in her room saying I have to help stop the beast… Dum… Dum … Dum… This episode continues.

3rd episode of Martians

Mary F went behind a dumpster. She was whispering “I’m not gonna die.” Instantly so she began to be brave and went to help the USA army defeat the beast. She went to the big enormous beast. The beast raged and grabbed Mary F very angrily.

Mary started to scream. The USA army heard her,they shouted “WHO’S DAUGHTER IS THIS? WE HAVe TO SAVE HER!” “The soldiers shouted YES SIR!” They got there guns and blasters out of there secret dangerous brief case. They fired then Mary F said “stop” she said “let me calm him down.” That’s how she knew she calmed the beast down and then all of the people in USA were happy every after especially Mary F she had a pet- her pet was….
Dum …  Dum …. Dum…

Comments and guess who Mary F’s pet is. Thank you from Ty

(and yes the Mary F is me…. star and heroine!!!)

Farren’s story
One day there was a ugly and angry monster walking around the street. Then he went round scaring people. Then the next day he went back to space.

He went to visit his family but they had forgotten him. “It’s me, Freddy.” They all said “Oh Freddy!
The end

Joseph’s story

I am goo and I like chewing gum. I am not like other aliens. I don’t like pie and six packs of pepsi max. I only like tomatoes and chewing gum. Every time I walk past another Alien they die but I think they are uglier than a gorilla. I think that they are smellier than me but I don’t die when I walked past them . They laugh at me because I have chewing gum all over me. But I run into them with my little horn and spike them and they run home crying to there mum. My house is pretty smelly but I don’t care. I feel bad when the other aliens die when they walk past me.
(scribed by an adult but all his own ideas and choice of words)

My Alien by JJ

He lived on  the moon.
He was scared of people
The other aliens ignore  him.
He hates aliens.
He was very scared of people.
He likes flying.
He likes his food.
He is very rude.
He hates going to bed.
He is very nervous.
He hates going to school.
He hates detention.

Ro-Sean’s story

Years ago there was an alien which was taking over space but Ro-Sean stopped the bad alien.

They all liked the brilliant Ro-Sean. He was the best at beating the bad aliens by running at them and attacking them. All the other alien were good and went with Ro-Sean to fight the bad aliens  The end

and Chapter 3 of Alfie’s story (click here for the previous chapters)

Chapter3 the people got off their phone.
I’m so sorry about that those people are rude let’s get back to the story Dave’s message is that if the people don’t hand over there pizza supplies he would do something beyond horrible to the president. It was to dip the president  in a pot of meat feast pizza. If you ask me it is just plain stupid; I mean a small alien comes down from a planet called Urine and kidnaps the president and demands pizza. The sacrifice was about to begin. They covered the president in apple pie and pepsi. Dave was exited about the sacrifice. So happy that he called all of his home planet and the sacrifice began but no one really cared about the president because he robs everyones money by doing get rich quick schemes like turkey farming and hotel investment and now owns a little hotel so small that a fly would think it’s small. Any way Dave and the people of Urine watched nervously and Dave lowered  the rope. The president said how about a double bubble chewing gum and five dollars and Dave said okay or did he……