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FactFile
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It's Our Website! - Giffard Park School
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See What we are Doing!
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Once upon a time, building a school website was the domain of a technical expert, often bought in at great expense from outside. Teachers, children and parents at Giffard Park School, Milton Keynes, know that this approach is not the most effective way to develop and maintain a website. They are creating their own website using the Millennium Schools website building kit. Mike Lewis is the ICT Co-ordinator. He recognises the potential of Millennium Schools to enhance learning, increase confidence in teachers and children, and improve communications within and outside the school. Mike says, "Millennium Schools is so easy to use, that there is great potential for all groups within the school community to publish their own pages without the need for "expert" help."
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Accelerating Development
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Focus on Food Pages Created by Children with Moderate Learning Difficulties
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Children love seeing their achievements published on the web. This is especially true for children with learning difficulties who often see others achieve while they struggle. Mike says, "Working on web pages helps children see themselves as achievers, which increases their confidence and accelerates their development."
As part of a practical project on healthy eating, children with moderate learning difficulties worked with class teachers to publish recipes, a menu and a project report on their experiences. Mike says, "Building a web page is steadily becoming an integral part of special projects. The Focus on Food pages completed by the MLD department are a good example of this. Children were motivated to record their activities knowing that they would need to write a report for the website. Publishing a recipe on the web was a great stimulus for writing instructions."
Eleven-year-old Alison studies in the MLD department and is a frequent visitor to the school website. She says, "It's brilliant, I love to go on it [the website] on my computer and home and see what we've done." Other children comment, "It is really fantastic to be able to tell friends and family to visit the school site to see what we have been doing."
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A Sense of Purpose
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Reporting on Special Projects
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And it doesn't stop here. Other children work in small groups to publish information about projects and special events. Mike says, "Millennium Schools is one of the few ICT applications that enables children to perform a "real" task. Writing for the web gives children a sense of purpose, and can lead to interesting discussions about the intended audience. It is very quick to learn the basics and you really can publish a page in minutes."
Participation in the school website has extended to the wider school community. Teachers use the site to communicate aspects of the curriculum and the Parent's Association publish details of activities and events.
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