Using Hwb+ to develop Literacy skills
at Ysgol Pencae.
Bethan Davies
Bethan Davies
Class teacher
Foundation Phase leader
ITC Coordinator
Hwb+ accredited trainer with the Central
South Consortium
Ysgol Pencae
Ysgol Pencae is located in Llandaf, Cardiff
202 pupils aged 4 - 11
10 teachers
A set of computers in each classroom
18 iPads
6 Learn Pads
Being part of the Hwb+ pilot
 One of four schools in the pilot - Ysgol Pencae,
Ysgol Uwchradd Bro Edern, Ysgol Uwchradd
Fitzalan and Ysgol Tredigarville
 Initial training for me as the project leader
 We decided as a school to be child-centred for the
Hwb+ pilot
 Two classes were selected (Years 6 and 2) to take
part in the project in this school
 A scheme was followed to develop the Literacy skills
of pupils involved in the project using Hwb+ tools
A page was created for each of the pilot classes
Year 2
The school's digital
motto
Welcome
message and
picture of
teacher
drawn by a
child
Pictures of
pupils'
experiences
Videos of
class work
Additional
links
Links to useful websites
Year 6
Welcome message
Publications
Homework
inbox
School's digital
motto
Pictures of
pupils'
experiences
Additional
links
Videos of class
work
Quick link to
discussions
Literacy Project
A theme was chosen which was suitable for
Years 2 and 6 - homes
Pupils were introduced to one tool at a time
A class task was set and a related home task
using each tool
An instruction leaflet was prepared to
accompany each task in the project
Discussions
A discussion topic was set asking
pupils to describe their homes.
The interactive element immediately caught pupils' interest.
We got 162 responses over the first weekend.
The pupils started to
interact naturally over the
first weekend.
There was immediate
interaction between the
teacher and pupils.
This was an opportunity to drill language and correct
errors sensitively outside the pressure of the
classroom.
Pupils began experimenting with different elements
naturally.
Blog
Pupils were asked to write a blog about
their local area inserting digital pictures
where possible.
When moderating and publishing the
blogs as a class teacher there was an
opportunity to see common mistakes and
plan to improve the quality of pupils'
written work.
Year 2 pupils' blogging work was used as an opportunity
for pupils to assess each others work. This idea came from
the response of one pupil to another pupil's work.
This pupil's blog was all in yellow to begin with.
I like Gwenlli's blog. It's full of
information but it's very difficult to read
on a computer screen. Yellow isn't a
good colour to use, it would be better
to change the colour
Questionnaire
We worked together as two classes to use the next tool.
Year 6 pupils created a questionnaire for Year 2 to answer
and Year 2 created a questionnaire for Year 6 to answer.
An opportunity
to teach about
different types
of questions.
The children
enjoyed
working with
children in
another class.
The data was
collected and
analysed
creating
different
graphs.
The
questionnaires
were answered
as homework.
WICI
Creating Wici was something new for us as a school.
Firstly the Wici tool was used on Hwb+ to teach about how Wici is webdependent.
Both classes then created 'Our class' Wici with all pupils creating a page
about themselves with links to interests and also to each others pages.
The Year 6 teacher saw an opportunity to use Wici to complete an
annual task in a different way.
Branching stories
were created for
children in the
Reception Class
using Wici on
Hwb+.
I like these stories, they can be
different every time. They're not
boring.
Links were
created to give
the reader a
choice.
Sharing information with parents
 Putting pictures of experiences in the pictures library.
Libraries for
different
experiences.
 Putting curriculum maps and homework in the documents library.
Moving forward after the launch
Training the other teaching staff
 All members of teaching staff had a half-day of specific training.
 The leader created a similar page for all classes.
Foundation Phase
Junior Section
Moving forward after the launch
We decided to be child-centred and focus on using Hwb+ with pupils.
 One tool was introduced at a time in a staff meeting and ideas were
discussed. Time was set aside to use the specific tool before coming back
to show and discuss and introducing the next tool.
Discussions
Year 3
Year 3 are creating
discussions about
different aspects of
classroom life.
Reception Class
Pupils from the
Reception Class are
encouraged to hold
special discussions
with their families.
Moving forward after the launch.
Collaboration
 After hearing that a school in our cluster had
received their own platform we decided to work
together using Hwb+ as a tool.
 We created a discussion on the Year 6 page about
our feelings as we got nearer to moving to the
secondary school.
 A teacher and pupils from the other school were
invited to be part of the discussion.
Moving forward after the launch.
Blogging
Pupils in all classes blog
regularly about their
experiences in school.
Moving forward after the launch.
Wici
All classes create a Wici about the
different contexts.
Impact on standards
 Boys are much keener to do literacy tasks.
 The standard of pupils' work rose immediately as pupils
became aware that there was a real audience for their work.
 Pupils work together and use each other's strengths.
 End of Foundation Phase results Summer 2013 –
100% outcome 5
33.3% outcome 6
With 42.8% of boys attaining outcome 6
 End of Key Stage 2 outcomes Summer 2013 –
90% level 4 Welsh
93.3% level 4 English
36.6% level 5 Welsh
60% level 5 English
Activity
In your groups discuss your tool and
gather ideas about how to use it in class
to enrich teaching and learning.
Hwb Club
 A Hwb club was
developed in school.
 MAT children were
chosen from Year 2 to
Year 6.
 These pupils were trained
on all elements of
Hwb+.
 A special page was
created for the Hwb
Club.
Hwb Club
 The Hwb Club created videos to accompany the different
elements of Hwb+
 Example of Video
 They created a discussion to answer any questions.
Next steps for the Hwb Club
Use pupils from the Hwb Club to train people
in other schools - staff and pupils
Further training for them to be able to edit
their page
Run parent-led training