AudioPi: Catholic Christianity & Judaism

Last summer, I was invited to be part of an exciting new project aimed at helping Catholic schools delivering the new GCSE specifications. I spent a lot of time working with the AudioPi team to identify different ways to deliver material that covers all three boards that offer a Catholic paper: AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas. I then worked with a range of teacher script writers to produce entertaining and informative scripts that would be transformed into professional podcasts. This was a new adventure for me, but a fascinating one. There was a whole team who worked on these to ensure they are the best possible resources for students in Catholic schools. Huge thanks goes to Philip Robinson of the CES who worked tirelessly to get them all 'just right'.

So where are they? There are currently 20 Catholic Christianity tutorials and 25 Judaism tutorials

AQA: Catholic Christianity & Judaism

Edexcel: Catholic Christianity & Judaism

Eduqas: Catholic Christianity & Judaism

For each set there are samples you can listen to straight away!

You can then sign up for a free trail <here> so you can listen to the rest. This is obligation free and will allow you and your students to try out the tutorials. They can listen via the website or download to listen to on the move via both the GooglePlay / Android store or the Apple App Store. If you sign up, please mention that you heard of AudioPi via Andy Lewis.

The AudioPi team offer flexible subscription models, and are not just for RE! Other departments in your school may well be interested to see what tutorials are on offer.

Personally, I have rarely found GCSE resources that are suitably tailored to the demands of the Catholic papers, and so this resource is very welcomed. Other student podcasts are too general and don't cover the necessary material. I have been excited to share these with our parents and students - and the feedback is already very positive.

AudioPi are featured on the TeacherToolkit blog <here>:

Anything that encourages students to access their learning outside of school, gets the thumbs up from me. The podcasts are engaging and relevant for today’s academic curriculum and believe it will be a useful asset for teachers and students.” @TeacherToolkit

ARC Launch 2016

Aquinas Resources and Conferences, or ARC, is the work, or ‘work in progress’ of myself, Ant and Philip.

Our venture has been, in part, born out of necessity - the last two years have seen an unprecedented period of change in schools. New GCSEs, new A-Levels, new KS3 assessment systems, Progress 8, the EBacc...  is it any wonder teachers on the ground were reaching out for more help and support?

It has also grown from what I term, “the new democracy” of the internet and social media. As Catholics, working in Catholic schools, we know we are answerable to our own Bishops and must work with our Diocese education teams. However support can variable, and sometimes it only linked to Heads of RE and not every teacher in the classroom. 

We want to be a resource for all those in need, and all those who are willing to share. We want to be a hub of good practice sharing the very best of what is out there already, and what will be produced over the next few years.

There is a spirit of collaboration in existence at the moment which seems unprecedented. The Catholic HEIs, the CES, NBRIA, teachers, schools working together. Surely only good can come of this? There is also more work than ever before with organisations such as NATRE and Culham St Gabriel’s.

We already we have nearly 500 followers on Twitter, over 200 likes on Facebook, there are nearly 450 members of the Catholic RE Facebook group - and posts are often shared on a group of nearly 5000 RE teachers called Save RE. Already this is a significant project.

Ultimately, we want to engage with all those working in Catholic RE, and beyond, to ensure the students get the best possible religious education. The best lessons, the best supported teachers, best resourced departments. RE is the core of the core and our provision must reflect that. 

I began the London RE Hub conference quoting Rabbi Hillel the Elder, “If not you, then who? If not now, then when?” - I think this mantra has inspired all of us. It’s why we have got involved in spec writing, textbook writing, hosting INSET, investigating the possibility of running student conferences, making videos, PowerPoints (Philip is the master). If this isn’t a vocation, I don’t know what is!

However we can’t do it all on our own - despite some people thinking we can! The more who come on board, the more we can achieve. 

Please visit the website, there are flyers about. Ask yourself, what can my contribution be? What can I offer? Ant always reminds us, the Holy Spirit is at work in all his. We do hope this project can bear much fruit.

Listen to the launch <here>

My Nativity Lesson

Last year I wrote an article for UKEdMag on teaching the nativity (see <here>) and have recently written a guest blog for the BYCS on the importance of studying the scripture of the nativity (coming soon!). For RE teachers, there is no excuse for wasted lessons at the end of this term. As a number of teachers seem to be struggling, I thought I would share my end of term 'fun' lesson:

Download PPT

It's not perfect, and perhaps needs to be further polished. I also haven't got to the tasks at the end yet in a 50minute lesson.

Both my Y9 classes loved the lesson today, as did my Y7s... one even said it was the best lesson ever!

Despite our tiredness, it is a privilege for our students to be in the classroom, and really they should be learning to the end. It does frustrate me a little when I hear of teachers watching random videos... especially in RE when there is a real opportunity for learning during the Christmas period.


Image courtesy of: http://www.dosmallthingswithlove.com/2013/11/33-nativity-crafts-christmas.html

Edexcel GCSE Religion & Media

Image courtesy of The Guardian

Firstly, I think religion and the media is fascinating. I always do some really good work on Islamophobia with Y9 for example. However I also feel it is done quite badly on the Edexcel GCSE RS course. It is also an area where teachers are often looking for inspiration...

Background Reading

• Why are we watching Shrek? by Robert Orme - "RE teachers should not have to pretend that there are important religious insights to be gained from spending lessons watching Shrek, Finding Nemo and Bend it like Beckham."
• DVD RE by Dawn Cox - A more general overview of why we use DVDs but also highlights some of the problems.

At the end of the day, for the next two years, we still need to teach it.

This year I have left the media content to the end, in the hope that by doing a distinct 'Religion and the Media' unit, I can cover it a little better. The four areas to cover are:

• How two television and/or radio programmes and/or films about religion may affect a person’s attitude to belief in God.
• How an issue arising from matter of life and death has been presented in one form of the media, for example in a television or radio programme, or in a film, or in the national press.
• How an issue arising from matter of marriage and the family has been presented in one form of the media, for example in a television or radio programme, or in a film, or in the national press.
• How an issue arising from religion and community cohesion has been presented in one form of the media, for example in a television or radio programme, or in a film, or in the national press.

The debate of what media to use comes up frequently on Twitter and Save RE, so I thought it would be valuable to collect some data on what RE teachers are using...

If it is not possible to use the embedded form, please click here: http://tiny.cc/religionmedia - and share widely!

The important bit... see the results here: http://tiny.cc/viewreligionmedia (if you want to be added as an editor to help keep it tidy, please email me at TalkingDonkeyRE@gmail.com) 

Resourcing NEW GCSE / A-Level RS

Image courtesy of Geograph

From 2016 there will be a new GCSE and a new A-Level in Religious Studies. Both will look dramatically different to everything in existence at the moment. Over the last few weeks, there have been conversations happening about what resources people will need. I have been thinking about this from both a personal and wider professional point of view:

1) What will be my priority to seek out to ensure my own teaching and resources are ready for September 2016?

2) What will be a priority, budget wise, to invest in from a department point of view?

Obviously the other thing that I am considering is that I run a non-profit resources website for Catholic RE that does cover parts of the GCSE and A-Level in RS. I am always wondering what, if any, future the site has? See www.CatholicREsource.co.uk . I also run the RC Dropbox and A-Level Dropbox - do these have a future? Will they come in to their own as teachers desperately look to share their new resources in exchange for others? Or will more teachers look to create and then sell their resources (cf TES, Sellfy, Resourceasaurus etc) rather than contribute for free? Will many teachers (due to their over-worked, over-stressed lives) remain as takers rather than givers?

Meeting with colleagues, there is a real fear about the new qualifications. There will be more content, and it will be more demanding. Some new topics entirely, and for many, a second religion at GCSE for the first time. The backdrop is an ongoing lack of time and a lack of money. September 2016 will come around very quickly and where there are so many subjects facing exam reform, as well as budget cuts in general (see <here> for more on this), what will RE departments be able to afford?

I began to really think, what is it that I will really want for September 2016. What would relieve the stress and make life easier for me personally?

CPD

Days out of school are really tough. Everyone may soon be wanting them... exam boards will be trying to 'woo' us all with their new qualifications (Have you heard about the exciting sounding AQA bus tour?). These will be potentially a whole day off, with travel, to look at the specifications; could you do this 3+ times for each board? It's a vital decision so it makes sense to pick carefully. But then, another day or more for more training once you have picked? More days off to brush up on subject knowledge? Also a key question, will it just be for Heads of Department/Subject Leaders? How/when will they disseminate the information? It may be okay for all these days off if it were just one subject. I can see schools limiting heavily what they allow staff to do. 'Rarely Cover' was well-intentioned but poorly realised.

Evenings and weekends have become more 'popular' with the TeachMeet style CPD as well as an increasingly number of other courses, sessions and conferences (ResearchEd, Pedagoo etc). However how many want to give up their precious evenings and weekends? It is a lot to ask already over worked teachers struggling with a work/life balance.

A compromise that I envisioned at a conference that I recently ran, The London RE Hub, was that we should record all the sessions so that people could watch or listen in their own time. In department meetings / INSET, in their car (audio recordings), in their spare time. It really puts the teacher back in control of their CPD and their work/life balance. You can see what I've tried to build as a legacy <here>. This comes off the back of videoing and sharing things like the Culham St Gabriel's weekend RE TeachMeet <here>, various TeachMeet events, and even CPD sessions that I've run for other schools <here>. 

Online Resources

These always sound like the future. Some schools have got rid of libraries, they have 1:1 iPads, BYOD, wifi everywhere. On the other hand, I know of plenty of RE teachers who are based in a ‘temporary building/ Portakabin’ without a projector. I also think it is difficult to assume all students have access to a range of tech at home. Provision varies widely. I love technology, but I am still not sure how these are the future of education, in or outside the classroom just yet.

Textbooks

These for me, remain a key to secondary teaching. They provide a body of input that can be relied on for cover, non-specialists, exam practice, textual references etc. I also refer to the textbook more than the specification in order to make sure I have all bases covered. However on the other hand, I don't think I have ever found a textbook that I have loved that has done everything for me. For GCSE, I currently use a mixture of two. They are also expensive.

PPTs

I often worry about 'death by PowerPoint'. I have also seen so SO many bad PowerPoints; garish colours, silly animations, information overload. 

On the other hand, I realise that these are essentially my lessons plans. The majority of my lessons are sequenced and detailed with my PPTs. They are my guide to the progress and development of the lessons across a unit. However fear not, they are often in a constant state of flux as I change things, (hopefully) improve parts and tasks.

Yet rarely do I just use someone elses. PPTs need to be editable for anyone to make a lesson their own.

Lesson Plans / Schemes of Work

As above really, an outline can be great to see where you need to cover what, but the teacher needs the freedom to use their own strengths, adapting as fit for their own classes.

Videos

YouTube has changed teaching. However not all of it is great. I am a massive fan of Andy McMilan (see <here> ) and I hope he remakes videos for the new GCSE and A-Level specs. I am also starting to use other sites such as TrueTube and this often make a great syllabus. I am trying to collate many of my favourites on CatholicREsouce.co.uk. Students do increasingly expect something professional looking, however they also get a lot of personal videos such as those made by David Webster <here>. Everyone better get busy as soon as the specs are out!

Worksheets

A good worksheet can be hard to beat. A good worksheet takes ages to make...

So, what do you think you will need most with the new GCSE and A-Level RS?

What resources will be most important to you?

CPD (Day out of school)

CPD (Evening / weekend)

CPD (Online via video etc)

Textbooks (Hard copies)

Textbooks (Electronic)

PPTs

Lesson Plans / Schemes of Work

Videos

Worksheets

Exam-style Questions

Anything Else?

Poll url: http://vote.pollcode.com/68861168

Teaching The Nativity

Image courtesy of UKEdMag

I had the privilege of being asked to write something on the Nativity for the Christmas special of UKEdMag. This came during 'busy season' with Y11 Mocks looming, various reports needing writing, short, dark days... 

However, it was a joy to revisit the story of the Nativity that has so much to it, it really is the 'greatest story ever told' (coined by the 1965 film, see <here>). I love the cultural, political, historical aspects alongside the miraculous and joyful. I could teach a whole unit it on, and have indeed moved some of my Nativity work to January so we can study with freshness rather than tired, end of term eyes.

I asked for teaching ideas from Save RE (FB group) and via #REchatUK and have collated them in the article. Thanks to all who contributed.

Read the article <here>
Order a FREE printed copy of the magazine (just pay postage) <here>

Catholic REsource: Taking Matters Into Your Own Hands

Wednesday 1st October 2014 sees the official launch of a website that I have created called Catholic REsource (If you want a sneak peek, it's already live <here>). I have personally put many, many hours into this project as I firmly believe that sometimes 'that person has to be you'. It is easy to bemoan a lack of resources or networking, but seeing what has been possible via Twitter (The Headteachers Roundtable and ResearchEd spring straight to mind), I have been inspired to make this website happen.

I have had this idea for quite a long time. It is hard to find useful resources on TES for Catholic RE and not many people use the resource sharing offered by the CES (<here>). There are a few excellent websites I use, but I saw the need for a place to bring them all together, and give RE teachers an opportunity to add their own resources to be shared by others. Support via Dioceses can vary, and through speaking to others, there appeared to be a need for something.

Last April, I then got an email at school from a fellow Catholic RE teacher, Andy McMillan, which said:

"I myself am a Catholic RE teacher and after a conversation last year with my year 11 tutor group was surprised to know that many students used YouTube for revision videos for other subjects. However, when I asked them if there were any for RS, I was disappointed to find there was a scarcity of material appropriate for the Catholic papers. So, rather than bemoan the lack of resources, I decided to do something about it and create my own, which is why I am now writing to you."

Andy has been incredibly supportive, helping provide a list of email addresses he used. Make sure you check out his videos <here>; they are brilliant!

After building the basics of the site, I wanted to get more people on board and have tried via Twitter to recruit a few people. Completely understandably, it's hard to get people to commit to too much (who has spare time in abundance as a teacher?!), and so I hope the basic infrastructure is now in place that it will be simple to just add links. People can submit resources <here> and they can quickly and easily added. The site will really only be as good as the contributions made... I add the good things I find, and I hope others can do the same.

The most time consuming activity has been trying to find email addresses of people that can help promote this site. Andy had a large number of schools on his list, but I have gone through old emails connected to TERE meetings, my Catholic School Leadership MA, friends, family... as well as all the major RE organisations, Diocese education offices including England, Wales and beyond. On Wednesday, information will be sent to nearly 900 email addresses. 

This is one of the biggest things I've attempted.

I'm very apprehensive about the outcome. It's not about me personally, although I do worry that obviously my name is well attached to the site and I don't want to be the laughing stock of Catholic RE. It's more about this idea of sharing and networking... Can we do it? Can we find the time to do it? Can we do it via a website and social networks? Maybe the answer will be no, and the very idea of that is more crushing than the wasted hours put into this.

Perhaps the revolution will begin slowly, perhaps people will appreciate the site as it is and it will make a contribution for the next year or so for Catholic RE teachers (sadly websites and resources can date quickly).

However, it could be big, and it could be a great success. This would be brilliant for the Catholic RE community. Too often anything that does happen is 'top down'. This is our opportunity, this could be our moment... 

The internet, and especially social networking sites, have enabled teachers to reach out and become part of a 'sharevolution' (S Lockyer). This site is created for Catholic RE teachers by Catholic RE teachers. There is no budget, no time set aside, no agenda, no director... just teachers inspiring and helping other teachers.

If you want to receive the launch email, or know some else who would (teacher, head, chaplain, anyone!), please let me know their emails by dropping me a line <here>.

Perhaps I'll blog next weekend with the result. Wish me luck!

Edit: 1st October was the big launch! Read the Press Release <here>

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Here are the requests that will be going out in the mailing:

What can you do?

• Please spread the word. Forward this blog to every single Catholic RE teacher you know! Please forward within your Dioceses', your school, your friends, your family. Word of mouth will help the site grow and reach even more teachers.
• Please sign up to our mailing list, join our Facebook page and follow our Twitter account. 
• Please send us links to your best Catholic RE resources. We don't host (as that's expensive and we have no money!) so please use a site such as DropBox, GoogleDrive, Sky Drive and TES resources to upload and then send us the link. Please send links via this page <here> 
• Please join the RC Dropbox - there are already 60 teachers sharing resources <here>.
• Please consider helping edit the site. As it grows, we'll need people to help edit, add and tidy the site (only two of us so far!). We use a GoogleSites format. Let us know <here>.
• Please consider supporting or endorsing the site. We'd love to add a few logos to the site of people/organisations that recommend us.
• Please hit comment (or email) and give some feedback...

A-Level RS Dropbox

A-Level RS:

Want to be part of the SHAREVOLUTION? Teach A-Level Religious Studies? Come join...

I already facilitate a RC Dropbox for Catholic RE teachers and chaplains. This is a 'slow burner' with people joining and having a look around and gradually adding things. One day, I hope the CES take me up on their offer to help share resources better!

However, in an moment of decision on Twitter this evening (18/3/14), I've decided to set up an A-Level RS Dropbox. If you don't already have an account with DropBox, please sign up <here>, this link gives more free storage to the account. Please them email me <here> and I will add you to the DropBox, you can add more people! 

There is some other keen RE resource sharers out there.... see <here>