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Paul Nisbet

Learning at home - textbooks and copyright

Posted by Paul Nisbet on the 28th January, 2021

With schools closed and students learning at home, how can teachers continue to teach with the textbooks purchased for use in class? Can we make copies for students to use at home? Can we distribute textbooks from the Books for All website?   Recently we've seen and heard of colleagues shar...

How to read maths with Immersive Reader

Posted by Paul Nisbet on the 26th January, 2021

Last Friday a teacher asked if we knew how to read mathematical expressions with Immersive Reader. Here's how it can be done. The question: We are looking for an alternative to PDF for Mathematics papers as we have a number of pupils who rely on use of Immersive Reader. At the moment they are s...

Technology-based Assessment Arrangements - SQA Digital Exams on iPad

Posted by Paul Nisbet on the 13th January, 2021

With the latest version of Books on the iPad you can type into answer boxes on SQA Digital Question Papers. Find out how in this blog. SQA Digital Question papers are PDF files and the question-and-answer papers have 'form fields' for students to type their answers on screen. Previously, you...

Technology-based Assessment Arrangements - digital assessments must be accessible

Posted by Paul Nisbet on the 7th January, 2021

Digital Assessments must be accessible to all learners including students with disabilities or additional support needs. In this blog we explore what this means and how to create accessible assessments. More students in more schools and local authorities are being provided with personal devices, and...

Technology-based Assessment Arrangements - during lockdown at home

Posted by Paul Nisbet on the 6th January, 2021

On Monday the First Minister announced that schools would only be open for children of key workers and vulnerable children for January. In many schools, January is 'prelim month', so how can prelims or assessments be undertaken when most learners are at home? Summary The main points put forw...

Technology-based Assessment Arrangements - speech to text alternatives to scribes

Posted by Paul Nisbet on the 16th December, 2020

Modern digital devices all offer free, built-in speech-to-text or computer dictation tools. Can learners with disabilities or additional support needs use these tools for National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher assessments?  Over the past few weeks several teachers have contacted us asking about...

Technology-based Assessment Arrangements - which digital formats?

Posted by Paul Nisbet on the 15th December, 2020

Which digital formats should we use for our internal National 5, Higher and Advanced higher assessments?  In this blog, we explore some options for creating and administering internal assessments for National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher. This is quite a long post so I encourage you to read th...

Technology-based Assessment Arrangements - internet security

Posted by Paul Nisbet on the 14th December, 2020

How can we manage and administer digital assessments for National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher in 2021? Can we use cloud-based tools such as OneDrive or Google Classroom? Cloud-based administration of assessments A few years ago, most schools and local authorities in Scotland deployed technology ru...

Technology-based Assessment Arrangements for SQA 2020-21 assessments

Posted by Paul Nisbet on the 14th December, 2020

All National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher assessments are now going to be assessed by schools and centres internally. What does this involve for learners with disabilities or additional support needs who use technology to access learning? Covid-19 has already had significant impact on teaching, lea...

Predictable 6 speaks Scottish!

Posted by Paul Nisbet on the 7th August, 2020

The latest version of Predictable 6, the text-based communication app from TherapyBox, can speak with the Scottish adult and child voices Heather, Stuart, Andrew and Mairi. Let's find out how they sound and work. Predictable 6 is a text-based communication aid app for iPad, Android and Windows. ...

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