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Post Primary Teacher Courses

Download the Creative Learning Centre's
POST PRIMARY TEACHER TRAINING COURSES
Brochure with Full Course Descriptions

Below is a list of ICT courses we can offer your school at a location / time that suits your school's needs. Tailor-made courses can be designed to cover the ICT skills and topics your school requires. Contact us to discuss your training needs.

	KEY STAGE 3
	WHOLE-STAFF & INTER-DEPARTMENTAL TRAINING DAYS Course Duration: 1 x Day / 2 x Twilights Software Used: Various / TBC The Creative Learning Centres would strongly recommend that schools consider taking part in a whole staff inter-departmental training day, where creative learning centre staff visit the school and provide teaching staff with tailored training, advice and the benefits of their expertise onsite, within the school environment. This type of whole school training and development opportunity is a highly effective introduction to the potential creative use of ICT across a school’s curricular and ex-curricular programme. The course offers support and advice in relation to resources, best practice, management and planning across the curriculum. This is a popular area of the centres’ professional development programme and is in high demand. Day courses must be booked well in advance, on a first come first served basis and by a process of application only.
	HOW TO USE YOUR COMPUTER CREATIVELY Course Duration: 1 x Day / 2 x Twilights Software Used: iLife (Mac), Audacity, Photo Story, Windows Movie Maker (PC) Teachers who are curious about how their classroom computer can be used in more creative ways are the primary target for this course. The purpose of the day is to begin to show teachers what is possible when using their computer platform, whether PC or Mac-based, and to give them some of the basic skills and confidence they will need to help them explore the software environment within their own classroom. Course activities will include the creation of slideshows, digital stories and comic strips.
	HOW TO USE YOUR STILLS CAMERA CREATIVELY Course Duration: 2 x Days / 4 x Twilights Software Used: PowerPoint (PC/Mac), ComicLife (Mac), PhotoStory (PC) This introductory course will enable teachers to explore the use of the digital stills camera as a tool to help their pupils view, understand and create still and moving images in the classroom. The course will help teachers to identify innovative ways of using the camera as a tool for gathering, creating and sharing stories in the classroom. The course will also take teachers through the basic stages of moving image production using still images, including a guide on how to storyboard and compose photos effectively. Some advice will also be offered on features which teachers should look out for when choosing a camera for their own classroom.
	HOW TO USE SOUND CREATIVELY IN THE CLASSROOM Course Duration: 1 x Day / 2 x Twilights Software Used: Audacity (freeware for PC/Mac) & Windows Movie Maker (PC), GarageBand & iMovie (Mac) This course will explore the creative use of sound in the classroom, introducing teachers to sound recording and sound manipulation. Sound will be explored as a tool for learning across the curriculum and the course will pay particular attention to the linking of sound with words. Using a text or a poem, teachers will learn how to make and record sound effects, to record a narration, to source, download and add online sound effects and to export the final narration to CD.
	STARTING DIGITAL IMAGING USING PHOTOSHOP Course Duration: 2 x Days / 4 x Twilights Software Used: PhotoShop (PC/Mac) This course will introduce teachers to the potential for using image manipulation as a way of bringing the creative use of ICT into the classroom. The course will look at existing best practice and will take teachers step-by-step through the stages of navigating the Photoshop interface. Tasks will include work with digital photographs, creation of images from scratch, layering and basic image adjustment and manipulation.
	STARTING DIGITAL VIDEO Course Duration: 2 x Days / 4 x Twilights Software Used: Windows Movie Maker (PC), iMovie (Mac) This introductory course will introduce teachers in a hands-on environment to the basic process of making a digital film. Topics covered in the course will include film language, shot composition, storyboarding and camera movement. Teachers will also learn how to edit and add sound and captions to their finished piece. The course will be ideally suited to teachers who have already undertaken some moving image work in the classroom using a digital stills camera and are now hoping to move into digital video camera work.
	STARTING DIGITAL STORYTELLING Course Duration: 2 x Days / 4 x Twilights Software Used: iMovie (Mac), Windows Movie Maker (PC) This introductory course will enable teachers to explore the use of a digital stills camera as a tool to help their pupils view, understand & create moving image productions in the classroom. In particular, it will focus on ways in which digital technology can be used to gather, create and share stories and will consider different approaches to managing and organising this work in the classroom, with some examples of best practice in this area. The course will take teachers through all the basic stages of moving image production using still images, including a guide on how to storyboard and compose photos effectively. Using basic editing software, teachers will be given the opportunity to edit their images together into a finished piece with sound, titles and credits and these will be screened and evaluated at the end of the course.
	STARTING STOP-MOTION ANIMATION Course Duration: 2 x Days / 4 x Twilights Software Used: iStopMotion (Mac) (PC software will also be referred to) This hands-on introductory course will introduce teachers to some of the ways of using stop-motion animation as a creative tool for teaching and learning in the classroom. Teachers will be introduced to the simple step-by-step stages of the stop-motion animation process and will also look at the use of sound and voice-over. Some examples of good teaching practice in this area will also be discussed and teachers will then be given the time to explore and share possible ways in which they might begin to use animation in their own classes.
	DEVELOPING CROSS-CURRICULAR PROGRAMMES USING ICT Course Duration: 1 x Day / 2 x Twilights Software Used: Various / TBC* This course is for senior teachers or curriculum leaders who are keen to develop opportunities for their pupils to develop their knowledge and skills across a number of different curriculum areas and will focus on looking at how the creative use of ICT can be a vehicle for developing a themed or programmed approach to making this possible. The course will be of most benefit to senior teachers with some digital media experience and it would be encouraged that teachers from different departments attend together. The course will include the sharing of some examples of cross curricular practice and will help identify how existing school capacity might be best put to use in the development and implementation of an inter-departmental strategic plan. (*Please note this course will offer the opportunity to see how some software works but very little opportunity to train on it.)
	CROSS-CURRICULAR LEARNING USING ICT RESOURCES Course Duration: 2 x Days / 4 x Twilights Software Used: Photoshop (PC/Mac), PowerPoint (PC/Mac), Windows Movie Maker (PC) or iMovie (Mac) The new curriculum now requires that all pupils have the opportunity to acquire and develop skills in a variety of curricular areas. Through the creative use of ICT resources, many topics such as the Black Death, World War One, the Holocaust, Shakespeare and the Environment can now be explored in new and exciting ways. This programme will demonstrate how digital resources such as images, video, and sound can be used to promote cross-curricular learning. Activities may take the form of graphic design, music composition, digital storytelling or filmmaking. Sample resources, lesson plans and pupil work will be then be used to exemplify how teachers might implement similar tasks in their school. Teachers will also receive a hands-on introduction to the video editing process using moving image and archive footage.
	USING ICT IN AN AREA OF LEARNING Course Duration: 2 x Days / 4 x Twilights Software Used: Various / TBC This 2 day course is for teachers representing a particular subject or area of learning and will demonstrate how ICT can be used to teach a theme or topic relevant to that subject. Activities will demonstrate how pupils can acquire and develop their ICT skills, whilst at the same time being creative in how they engage with the area of learning concerned. Specific time will be allocated on the second day for teachers to plan and share ideas for tasks and activities which they might introduce in their own classes. The chosen areas of learning in which courses are offered each year will change annually and be developed and tailored accordingly by each individual centre. Please refer to the centres’ course calendars to find out what is on offer.
	KEY STAGE 4 & SPECIALIST COURSES G
	DIGITAL MUSIC COMPOSITION Course Duration: 2 x Days / 4 x Twilights Software Used: GarageBand (Mac) or Sony Acid (PC) On this course teachers will learn to use a range of different music software tools to create original music compositions, assembling music loops into a completed piece. This will be an opportunity for teachers to interact with professional musicians and to seek advice about equipment, resources and software. A sample course structure for the Occupational Studies Digital Music unit may also be provided for those teachers attending the course, who are offering the Music Composition subject unit.
	LIGHTING AND SOUND RECORDING FOR FILM Course Duration: 1 x Day / 2 x Twilights Software Used: Audacity (PC/Mac) & Windows Movie Maker (PC), GarageBand (Mac) & iMovie (Mac) This course is targeted at teachers who are teaching film or documentary-style production within their subject area and would like to improve their use of lighting and sound. It would be of benefit both to beginners and to those who already have some film experience. The first part of the course will explore the creative use of lighting in film to create different moods and effects whilst the second part of the course will focus on looking at ways of improving sound and narration on production projects. Overall, teachers should gain knowledge and skills which will help them to improve the standard of both their own and their pupils’ production work.
	ADVANCED PHOTOSHOP Course Duration: 2 x Days / 4 x Twilights Software Used: Photoshop This course is aimed at teachers with some previous Photoshop experience especially in the use of layers and basic tools. It will focus on the advanced use of all elements of Photoshop including advanced use of layers, use of advanced Photoshop tools, creating complex images, advanced export options and preparing images for print. The course will build on teachers’ existing knowledge and will develop their skills to an expert level. This will enable teachers to use advanced Photoshop across the curriculum and may also bring other added benefits to their school (e.g. by helping to develop expertise in the designing of flyers etc.). During the course participants will also be given the opportunity to troubleshoot any problems or issues they may be having with the use of Photoshop in class. Time will also be set aside to allow teachers to share and develop ideas for further resources and activities they might be able to introduce in the classroom.
	REVISITING STOP-MOTION ANIMATION Course Duration: 2 x Days / 4 x Twilights Software Used: Frame Thief (Mac) or Stop Motion Pro (PC) This is a refresher course for teachers who already have a basic understanding of stop-motion animation. Teachers will be able to build on their skills in model making, set design and the use of stop-motion animation software. This course will also give teachers an opportunity to receive help with any issues they may have with the use animation in their own classroom.
	REVISITING BASIC EDITING Course Duration: 1 x Day / 2 x Twilights Software Used: iMovie (Mac) / Windows Movie Maker (PC) This course is designed for teachers who have had some previous experience in using iMovie or Windows Movie Maker. It will offer teachers the opportunity to refresh their editing skills in addition to developing some new techniques. Course content will include editing techniques for film, animation, and digital storytelling. Time will also be set aside to troubleshoot individual teacher’s issues and problems with software use.
	USING FINAL CUT EDITING SOFTWARE Course Duration: 2 x Days / 4 x Twilights Software Used: Final Cut Express or Final Cut Pro (Mac) Final Cut is now an industry standard editing package, used throughout the media field. It will open up endless possibilities for editing as well as more advanced post-production techniques. The first part of this course will focus on showing teachers how to create and export a finished project using the interface and basic functions of Final Cut whilst on the second day, teachers will be introduced to the use of more advanced effects. This course is suited to teachers with previous editing experience and ideally also with some existing experience in Final Cut. (Teachers with no previous experience in Final Cut can still attend but should expect a steep learning curve.) The course would also be of benefit to teachers of CCEA’s Moving Image Arts GCSE, AS and A-Level.
	STARTING WEB DESIGN Course Duration: 3 x Days / 6 x Twilights Software Used: Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia DreamWeaver This course will help teachers to learn how to create web pages from scratch starting with planning and design to uploading onto the Internet. Teachers will be shown how to create their own web graphics, such as buttons and banners, using Adobe Photoshop software and will then use Macromedia Dreamweaver to layout images and text and to create links. Sample lesson plans and web design activities can be shared to assist teachers who are delivering CCEA’s Occupational Studies unit in Internet Authoring.
	STARTING FLASH Course Duration: 2 x Days / 4 x Twilights Software Used: Adobe Flash This Starting Flash course is designed for teachers with no prior experience of Adobe Flash software. This course is aimed at teachers who wish to gain an introduction to the field of computer animation using Adobe Flash and it may be of particular interest to teachers of Moving Image Arts or Art & Design. The course will offer a hands-on introduction to the Flash interface and will cover basic Flash skills but please note that this course is not designed as a preparation for delivering CCEA’s Occupational Studies Flash Animation unit. The course will also offer a preview of exemplar pupil work using Flash.

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