When we started making our times tables resources, we had no idea just how many lessons, games and activities we'd end up creating. By the time we were done, we had just under 150 learning activities, ready and waiting to support children in developing their times tables knowledge. This presented a unique challenge though - directing children to the most appropriate activity, helping them get to their learning quickly. In fact, this desire to get students learning quickly has always been a core aim for Studyzone.tv: it's why we have our QR code login system; it's why every less... (Read More)

During the research and creation of our grammar videos, we've come across a number of differing opinions on certain grammatical terms. In particular, we felt the need to clarify exactly which words were classed as coordinating conjunctions and which would be accepted in the grammar test. We were surprised by what we found. As a teacher, you may well be used to telling your children the FANBOYS acronym for remembering coordinating conjunctions: F = forA = andN = norB = butO = orY = yetS = so Whilst this is a great acronym for improving writing, some would argue it's not actual... (Read More)

It would be fair to say that I have been looking for a really great control technology solution pretty much since I started my teaching career. I’ve tried out lots of devices, each with their own set of pros and cons:   Pros Cons Lego Mindstorms Very capable Includes a range of sensors Latest versions can be controlled by mobile devices Expensive. As a result, students would have limited access. Lego Wedo Simple device that is easy to learn Includes a range of sensors Can be integrated with Scratch Supports a... (Read More)

This Saturday we joined thousands of other coders around the world as we hosted our first ever World Scratch Day 2015 event in Canterbury. It was an excellent day which saw over 35 children and adults working together to solve problems, debug and collaborate. We kick started the day with a robotics enabled registration system, of course built in Scratch and with Lego Wedo equipment, where the attendees had to wave their hand in front of a sensor before entering their name. Names were then picked at random by the program, giving everyone a chance to introduce themselves to the group. We h... (Read More)

2014 was a great year for Studyzone.tv. The number of active users on the site increased significantly with registered users answering over 2.5 million questions in our games. We also expanded our curriculum resources to include videos and worksheets to support the delivery of computer coding, in line with the new Curriculum for computing. It's now time to look ahead to 2015 and beyond. Having made the move from full time to part time teaching to free me up to develop the site, the time has now come to monetise Studyzone.tv through subscriptions for some resources. I have thought long a... (Read More)