We are delighted to announce that in the next few weeks we will be introducing our new improved Glow Mail with its easy to use interface. With everything loading in the one window, Glow Mail will include smoother and easier features for you to use.

As well as our new Glow Mail, we will be introducing user friendly Glow Forums. The administrator of a Glow Group can simply add this web part to the Group to get started. This new Glow Forums allows you to manage your discussions in an easier way with a ‘view your posts’ link.

Would you like to find out more? You can log on to the interactive Glow Refresh Glow Group where we talk you through the planned improvements and you can get a sneak preview of what the new functions will look like.

It doesn’t matter how often you’ve used Glow or what you use it for, we’re keen to hear how it’s helping you and the young people you work with.

For the chance to win an iPod, please complete our online questionnaire before March 31st 2010. If you have completed the survey since the Scottish Learning Festival in September 2009, you too are in with a chance of winning the prize.

The survey sits in Glow so you’ll need your user name and password to take part and is open to all teaching and non-teaching Practitioners only. Start the Online Questionnaire here.

We are pleased to remind you that we will be running three Building Glow Communities events at Stirling Management Centre in May.

This batch of events will be for Technologies, Additional Support Needs and Expressive Arts.

As before, practitioners will work in small groups to create Glow Groups in which they and their pupils can collaborate over the coming months. The groups created will be made visible to all teachers and pupils nationally to act as examples of good practice. This will be a unique opportunity to work alongside colleagues from across the country to share ideas, experiences and resources.

Applicants must have a Glow account and should have some experience of creating Glow Groups.

To apply for the event, please visit the Building Glow Communities Glow Group and click on the link ‘Building Glow Communities application form’ which sits directly under the table of dates.  You can also access the application form by clicking ‘new item’ under the link. The dates of each event are shown below:

Technologies 4-5 May
Additional Support Needs 17-18 May
Expressive Arts 25-26 May

It all begins innocently enough,
with the picture on the right giving you a clue to some of  the work you’ll need to carry out.

As usual, the 3rd puzzle is sure to get you thinking, or quite possibly tearing your hair out!

You’ll find the Puzzles by using the link below:

Monthly Maths Puzzles Glow Group

Best of luck!

Pupils across Scotland will have the chance to take part in activities and Glow Meets about five hot science topics in the Too Hot to Handle? series in the next few months, starting next week with Space for P6-S1 on 25^th March.

Cathy Southworth from Edinburgh University is heading up this development and is keen to involve as many youngsters as possible. She says, “Too Hot To Handle? is here to support the Topical Science organiser of a Curriculum for Excellence from P6-S3. It provides access to current scientists in Scotland that work on a range of hot topics, through a vidcast, teaching materials and a discussion board for questions about the topics that are answered by the scientists, and a GLOW meet where you can grill the scientists with questions.”

As well as learning about the science, pupils will get a flavour of the excitement of being a scientist.

Visit the Too Hot to Handle Glow Group. Have a look at the wealth of materials for the Space topic, show your class the videos, post some questions for the scientists on the discussion board and come into the Glow Meet on 25^th to grill the space scientists – Noe Kains from The University of St Andrews and Duncan Forgan and Chris Evans from The Royal Observatory, Edinburgh.

There will be a competition challenge on the day and members of your class could win a prize.  

Other topics in the series:
Flu Fighters for 2nd level (P6-P7) ready for after the Easter break; Glow Meet 20th May
Biodiversity Buzz for 2^nd & 3^rd  levels (P7-S2) ready for after the Easter break; Glow Meet 25th May
Doable Renewables for 2^nd & 3^rd  levels (P7-S2) ready for May; Glow Meet 15th June
Me and my Brain for third and fourth levels (S1-S3) ready for May; Glow Meet 17th June

This week too, we have another two science based Glow Meets:
Dr Bunhead’s Spoofbusters on 16^th (1.30 – 2.30) for upper primary and secondary pupils,
Industrial Chemistry on 18^th (1.45-2.45) for Higher and AH Chemistry pupils.

All these Glow Meets use the same Science Glow Meet webpart in the National Sciences Glow Group. 

How is your memory? Could it be improved?

Join Drew McAdam, Scotland’s foremost mindreader to find out how to improve your memory and learning techniques.

Join this Glow Meet in collaboration with the BBC and find out how to use systems to make the most of your memory. You can put these to good use for revision or in fact anything else!

Drew will be working with an S4 class at Kirkintilloch High School and allowing everyone else to join using Glow Meet. These techniques can be applied across the curriculum and used by pupils at a range of stages.

Ever wished you could get your brain to work better? Brainsmart can help you discover how to:

* maximise your memory
* get motivated
* achieve your goals

Find out more about the BBC Brainsmart website:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/brainsmart/

Sign up and take part in the Brainsmart Glow group:

https://portal.glowscotland.org.uk/establishments/nationalsite/MINDPLAY%20with%20Drew%20McAdam/default.aspx

Join author Annemarie Allan in Glow Meet to find out more about Breaker, an undersea adventure.

‘Tom and Beth are not happy when they move to North Berwick and find themselves facing a rainy, windswept beach, a house that’s falling apart and a school full or strangers. When they meet Professor Macblain, with his weird and wonderful inventions, little do they know that he has a secret: not only is he a thief, but he has stolen the one thing that can save the Firth of Forth from environmental catastrophe.’

Find out what inspires Annemarie to write, delve in to the wonderful world of sealife in North Berwick and ask her questions. Explore a range of themes such as family, making friends and moving to a new place. Find out more about living by the sea, green energy, science and the environment.

Law Primary will be joining Annemarie at the Scottish Seabird Centre to get some insight into being an author, writing skills and the wonderful book Breaker which is set in North Berwick where they go to school.

This Glow Meet is aimed at pupils from P4 – P7 and is being run in partnership with the Scottish Seabird Centre and Floris Books.

Find out more
To sign up for this Glow Meet click here to visit the Glow group.

In this cookbook we will look at how Marie-Louise used Glow Learn to develop a short course for the learners in their topic, The Vikings. Marie-Louise found that through using the Glow Learn platform the learners were able to make full use of their allocated ICT time and the learning in this time was purposeful and ensured that ICT was supporting learning.

Various video clips will talk you through the project including how to create learning objectives in Glow Learn, how to add pupils to the course and how to track pupils’ work using monitor and Track.

Visit this Glowing Cookbook to get started.

There are five standalone Early Years Centres and eight Nursery Schools in West Lothian. Since these Early Years establishments are not attached to a school, they do not have access to a school Glow establishment site. West Lothian therefore asked to have a separate, single Glow establishment created for the standalone Early Years establishments. The staff in all of these nurseries had their Glow accounts provisioned within this establishment, which is called ‘West Lothian Early Years’ to enable them to all work together.

Visit this Glowing Cookbook and follow Margo’s story including video footage of how to set up a Glow Meet.

Parents have the right to ‘Just Ask’ for help for their child, either from school or the local authority, to help them navigate their way through whatever issue is affecting them. There are a wide range of reasons why children may need additional support for the learning at school, and these can be temporary as well as long-term. Help is entirely individualised to the child’s needs and parents are fully involved along the way.

Find out more about how you can access additional support for your child in a special Glow Meet to be held on Wednesday 24th March. The event takes place in the Parents Glow Group 11-12pm and again from 7-8pm.

A representative from Enquire, the independent advisory service, will be available to answer your questions and there will also be case studies of young people who have been helped and more information on the range of issues and help that can be provided.

If you think your child may benefit from extra help it is your right to request it. Whatever you think might be affecting them at school; all you have to do is ask. For information on how to make sure your child gets everything they need from their education call the Enquire helpline on 0845 123 2303 or visit infoscotland.com/justask.

If you require further information about this special Glow Meet or you just want some help to access it please contact Jennifer McDougall, Glow Development Officer – j.mcdougall@ltscotland.org.uk