Everyone Counts

A very useful resource aimed at connecting Geography with some numeracy skills.
It has been produced by Oxfam, and is called Everyone Counts.
Oxfam is a UK based charity which works to support people in need, and fund development projects.
Aimed at 8-12 year olds.

Everyone Counts is an engaging resource which supports key elements of the maths curriculum. Using real-life data about children living in four countries around the world, pupils will develop their skills and understanding of topics such as time and data handling.

The resource also explores how inequality affects the lives of children in different parts of the globe.

There are plenty of useful resources and ideas that could be adapted to a number of subjects, and other scenarios, and plenty of inspiration for those wanting to connect this with development data.

I-USE Teacher training Pilot course

Two images taken during our pilot teacher training course which is taking place at the University of the Aegean this week.
Iain Palôt is presenting in the top image.

Press release on our GitHub announcement

I-USE Toolbox Newsletter

Pilot Teacher Training Course underway

We're now underway with our Pilot training course at the University of Aegean on the Isle of Lesvos.
Thanks to all the participants for your energy and enthusiasm.

I-Use pilot teacher training course http://t.co/LZL2M2NUwr pic.twitter.com/VRTjbFo7aW
— I-Use (@StatsinEdu) September 10, 2014

Research in Education

The Research in Education event was held this weekend.
It brought together a range of educators with a background or interest in how research could influence classroom practice.
One presentation by David Didau not only had some interesting insights into the value of research, but also on the nature of causality and coincidence... Some good examples to use when showing why it's important to be sceptical about the use of statistics on occasions...

David Didau ResearchED from David Didau

I-USE code now on Github

The I_USE website has a series of tools, and one in particular is ground-breaking.
It offers users the chance to create their own maps by entering data into a simple interface on the site. This produces an interactive map which has more flexibility than any previous tool.
Global maps can be produced in seconds to show data that has been collected by users, or obtained from other sources.

We have now placed the code for these tools on the GITHUB site, which is a repository of code that can be used by developers. The relevant page where the code has been placed is HERE.

This is very rare for a project with our EU funding, and is done in the spirit of collaboration, and to also bridge the gap between education and technology.

We're excited to see what developers might do with the code, and blur the distinction between education and cutting edge technology. It's very rare for projects with the EU LLP funding that we have to share code openly in this way. Another example of I_USE exploring new avenues...

You can give the tool a go on our developers page here which is a version of the page on the full I-USE website.

Thanks to our wonderful colleagues Alex Kotsev and Veselin Vasilev for their work on the coding and documentation.

Moodle Courses under construction

As preparations continue for the meeting and sample courses in Greece in September, the first of the courses that we are going to be running for the I-USE project are now taking shape.

We have a group of teachers who are going to be trialling the course in the 2nd week of September at the University of the Aegean  in Mytiline on the island of Lesvos.

There will be a series of activities covering several subjects and time for the participants to reflect on the process of involvement. Feedback will appear here during the meeting.