ictopus - primary resources

New online service to support primary educators

Subscribers to the Becta ICT Advice Direct2U service were informed this week of a new scheme to provide primary teachers with up-to-the minute ICT information.

Ictopus (ICT online primary user support) is a support service for primary education. Anyone can sign up for the service (free of charge) to receive a weekly six page printable magazine and a set of activity suggestions. There will also be a regular newsletter or e-bulletin. These resources (and more) will be archived on the ictopus website where there will also be access to classroom activities, software and a variety of other resources and projects. Ictopus builds on the Becta Direct2U service and also, for those of you who may remember it, the legacy of MAPE (Micros and Primary Education).

Each edition of the weekly magazine, ‘Sharing Good Practice’, will have 6 pages and will comprise case-study articles, top tips for using ICT effectively in primary education, website recommendations and a variety of teaching plans and other resources. It will be available as a download in a printable format that could be displayed on a staff notice board or coffee table, slotted into individual staff pigeonholes and stored in a ring binder for future reference. It is proposed to have a coherent theme for each edition and the overall focus is to be on disseminating good practice.

The weekly activity ideas, ‘Lessons2go’, are a development of the Direct2U activities. These lessons aim to provide ideas for the use of ICT across the primary key stages and curriculum. The pick of the original lessons will be updated, including the checking of web links and inclusion of any new developments. A regularly updated index will be available so that lessons can be found for different key stages, subjects or year groups. This should assist key stage coordinators, ICT coordinators and class teachers. Although aimed primarily at the school user it is hoped that the resources will also benefit advisers, teacher training tutors/mentors and parents.

In addition there will be an e-bulletin which will keep colleagues up-to-date with all things ICT on a very regular basis, including links to a ‘website of the moment’ as new and exciting things come to light.

Users will be able to sign up for each service individually. Resources will be despatched to you as they are issued and will also be archived on the website.

Ictopus is run by a group of primary teachers, university lecturers and consultants who wish to support colleagues working in the field of primary education. It aims to be flexible and adaptive to your needs and to provide a forum for dissemination of the excellent practice currently found in many schools.

The service launches in September 2007 but you can sign up for it right now by visiting the website www.ictopus.org.uk.