Love this #IPACA challenge!

I have to pick out this #IPACA challenge from Chris Newman (Head of Faculty for T.E.D at IPACA). This is a great example of Digital Learning and I am certain it will get many of our young learners very excited about Digital Design Technology -

Can you design a house for your House?

Mr Newman recently had a very fun trip to see year six pupils, where we talked about the exciting new 3D printers. The pupils looked at some exciting objects that had been made using the machines and also looked at a designing application called Sketchup.  Sketchup is free to download and is easy to learn, using one of many YouTube tutorials. Sketchup allows you to design and make your own unique models.

Mr. Newman has also made a short video clip to demonstrate some of the key features of Sketchup -

The following challenge is now open to all Y6 students:

Mr. Newman would like you to try 'Sketchup' (for free) and design a model house, for your House (Anning, Coode, Penn or Wren).

To this, just follow the below steps:

1. Watch the video above.

2. Download the 'Sketchup' application at: http://google-sketchup.en.softonic.com/

3. Get to work designing (and maybe the watch the video a few more times).

When finished, you can email Mr Newman (cnewman@ipaca.org.uk) and attach your cool design. Mr. Newman will then arrange for your design to be 3D printed at Royal Manor Campus.

Good luck, and most important of all, have fun.

NEW BLOG - Learner Led Design

I have add a new blog 'Learner Led Design' to this site and include the link in the ribbon. Please see below for the first blog post from this new area. This post is entitled 'The story so far...' -

The below video highlights the work which has began at the Isle of Portland Aldridge Community Academy to develop 'Learner Led Design'. The presentation draws links (a lot of links) to Professor Stephen Heppell's work and also that of Juliette Heppell at Lampton School, London.

#IPACA's 44TB of FREE CLOUD STORAGE

Exciting news from Google this week: Google storage quota is being unified across Gmail and Drive.

This means that Google are replacing the current, separate storage allowances – 25 GB for Gmail and 5 GB for Drive – with a single 30 GB quota that will cover Gmail, Drive and Google+ Photos. Should users need more than the 30 GB quota, they can purchase additional Drive storage using the existing ordering points, and the higher allowance will continue to be spread across all of these services. This update is expected to roll out to Rapid Release domains from 28 May 2013 and to Scheduled Release domains from 11 June 2013.

Here is how the change will affect users:

• Each user will have a total of 30 GB of included storage that can be used across Gmail, Drive and Google+ Photos.

• Users who needed extra storage under the old plans may no longer require it. For example, a Gmail user with just 3 GB of emails stored will be able to store up to 27 GB of files in Drive without a need to license additional storage.

• Gmail inboxes are no longer limited to 25 GB. Each user can store up to 16 TB of emails by purchasing additional storage licences.

• As before, when users approach their storage quota, additional storage should be purchased to continue using Drive and Gmail normally.

• Also as before, files created in Docs, Sheets and Slides, as well as photos in Google+ smaller than 2048px, won't count against storage quota.

This is great news for us here at IPACA as we are increasingly using Google services in all we do and it now means we have a combined total of around about 44TB of FREE online storage at our collective disposal.
I personally find this incredibly exciting and it shows the way technology is changing, developing and supporting us all.

For reference - the current on-site storage capacity at Royal Manor Campus is around 4TB - therefore by using Google services we are increasing our current capacity by well over 1000%. 

Shortlisted for 2013 TES Award

Year 7 learners from the Isle of Portland Aldridge Community Academy (IPACA) have been shortlisted twice for the Times Education Supplement Award for ‘Creativity’. The recognition comes after creating campaigns to support Digital Design Technology in schools.

The competition, which was open to all secondary schools in the country, has four finalists, two of which are from IPACA. The Academy’s Director of Digital Learning and Innovation Gary Spracklen said: ‘It is a real honour to have two separate teams selected for such a prestigious national award in our first year as an Academy. It’s great recognition of the hard work put in by students and staff on these projects, which have included showcasing the very latest ’3D print technology’ we have at the Academy. This recognition highlights our desire to be world-leading school in this field and is just one example of how we are embracing Digital Technology to support all our learners’.

Speaking about her involvement in the ‘IPACAMakey’ group, Year 7 student Naome Smith said, ‘I really enjoyed working on this project and I am really excited that we have made it to the final. Our project was focused on telling people about the amazing 3D printers we have at school. We created a 3D character called ‘Oni the Octopus’ and plan to take him to visit primary pupils within our Academy and tell them about the magic of Digital Design Technology’. Fellow team member Naome Wrightson added: ‘I can’t believe both groups for our school have made the final - that is really special! I loved working on the project and can’t wait to design more 3D products soon, I think this type of printing is the future.’

The second group, ‘IPACAMakers’ also spoke of their delight in being shortlisted, Year 7 student Matthew Price said: ‘I am so pleased all our hard work has paid off, this is so exciting! Our project was all around Pewter Jewellery and how a CNC Milling Machine can be used to create higher specification products’. Fellow group member Lottie Longshaw added, ‘We feel really proud that our work has been shortlisted for the award and cannot wait to hear the results’.

Representatives from the Isle of Portland Aldridge Community Academy will now travel to London on Friday 5th July to attend the TES Awards ceremony at the Park Plaza Hotel.