28 - 30 September 2010	Win an Interactive Classroom Makeover!	Vote for our Khanya Celebrity!

Living Science at Livingstone High

The Science Department at Livingstone High, a newly constituted body managed by acting subject head Samantha Heneke, is using technology in an innovative way to bring science alive for learners at the school.  While each member of the team has unique experiences in science methodology, their common desire is to be innovative in the application of ICT in the delivery of the curriculum.

To this end, all members of the team attended training sessions with Khanya’s Science Co-ordinator, Craig Sanders, in the use of Crocodile Clips, a science software package that is enjoying success in Western Cape Schools.

The hands-on nature of the training enabled the team to engage with the software using the Interactive Electronic Whiteboard.  Science educators are able to copy the software onto their home computers;  this will accelerate the process of integration into classroom practice.

The software is already making a huge impact in the classroom.  Mrs Isaacs, one of the science educators at Livingstone High, arouses interest in the classroom with the use of animations to examine the force exerted on an object as a result of gravity.  The clip showed that this was related to the mass of the object and the distance between the object and the attracting body.  Having sparked interest among the learners, Mrs Isaacs blends conventional teaching methods with the Interactive Electronic Whiteboard.

Taking technology and Crocodile Clips one step further, Mr Tirivavi has created his own clips.  With the 2010 World Cup in mind, Mr Tirivavi wanted to show his learners the relationship between Kinetic energy and the potential energy of a falling soccer ball.  This ability to create new clips is a particularly outstanding feature of this software as it allows educators to custom-make a presentation.

Educators at Livingstone High are constantly looking for new ways to reach their learners, to make the curriculum relevant to their learners and technology is proving to be the key.