04“The feedback time and againcentred on how much staff hadgained from the experience andfrequently how much parents andpupils had valued the projects.“Behind the Scenes at <strong>E2BN</strong>Brendan Routledge, a former advisor for Suffolk County Council, and Caroline Cuerdan, a former Headteacher,are both currently working on projects with <strong>E2BN</strong>. They explain how they became involved with <strong>E2BN</strong> andhow they have used the resources and services to enhance teaching and learning.Brendan’s Story...Tell us a bit about yourself?I often think that I have had a veryprivileged existence over the last 25 yearsor so. I have had lots of chances to seeeducation from so many different angles.16 years as a classroom teacher, year leaderand subject leader in middle schools gaveme some fantastic experiences and somevery happy moments. Then a further sevenyears working for Suffolk County Council asan advisory teacher for ICT allowed me towork alongside many wonderful teachersand children. These were very excitingtimes, when the Internet was seen as just apassing fad.www.e2bn.orgFor the last six years I have been continuingthat same work but as a freelance consultant.I work with a host of organisations andcompanies including, of course, <strong>E2BN</strong>.How did you first hear about <strong>E2BN</strong>?Well, in my role at Suffolk County Council,I liaised with <strong>E2BN</strong> in terms of content andresource development and I can claim to havebeen at the very first meeting of the <strong>E2BN</strong>Learning Group. Almost 12 years later andhere I still am.How did you become involved with <strong>E2BN</strong>?As a member of the Learning Group, I becameinvolved in the development of teaching andlearning materials.These made the best use of the new andemerging technologies. In those early days ourapproach was to consult with teachers withregard to what they wanted us to develop,help them work their ideas into more definiteproposals and then, funds allowing, bringthem alongside the experts to bring theirconcept to fruition. It was all very excitingand some of our best resources come fromthat time – Myths and Legends, the Gallery,and FlashMeeting to name just a few.When I left my post at SCC my role with<strong>E2BN</strong> developed further so that I was alsooffering training opportunities to schoolsbased around these resources
PeopleHow has it benefitted schools?One of the most rewarding parts of the workI have done with <strong>E2BN</strong> has been the numberof times that I have been to a school anddemonstrated some of the free resources,such as Myths and Legends or the Gallery andbeen met with cries of ‘wow’, ‘incredible’and even ‘well that’s my resources sorted forthe rest of this year then’. The quality of theresources we have produced never fails toimpress teachers and children alike and thefact that the resources have been free forall these years and accessible to learners inand out of school makes them an absolutelyinvaluable set of tools for learning.What projects have you been involved with?I’ve lost count to be honest, but lots. Atsome stage I have been involved with almostall the <strong>E2BN</strong> packages whether that be as theperson creating the video, audio and photoresources or as the one doing the researchand writing or even as the trainer for thoseteachers that have come on <strong>E2BN</strong>’s courses.Working on projects like the HistoryCookbook in Cookit has been really enjoyablealthough sometimes at the end of a dayfilming in a Tudor kitchen with a roaring fireand no chimney I begin to see the appeal ofworking in an office with air conditioning!What are you working on now?I am working on a pack of resources basedaround the Myths and Legends site to supportthe teaching of Literacy. I am also developingthe new version of our War Witness site – arecent holiday in Berlin has been invaluablewith that particular piece of work. Andwe’ve some more work to do on the History’sHeroes site.We are just getting started on a new projectwhich will support teachers and learnersin KS3 and 4 around the area of EconomicWellbeing and Financial Capability, a projectwe are developing jointly with the BaringArchive.And the future?Ah, tricky one. We’ve just had a change ofgovernment of course and who knows howthat will all pan out. What has been greatabout working with <strong>E2BN</strong> has been the waypeople constantly contact us and suggestnew projects and resource packs that wemight produce with them. Some of our mostfascinating projects – Victorian Crime &Punishment, Making The News – have beendeveloped because teachers were telling usthat it was something they really needed tohelp them do their job.If I’ve learned nothing else in my yearsin education it’s that teachers areamazingly resourceful and imaginativeand so somewhere at this moment thereis a teacher thinking, “If only there was aresource, a website that would let my pupilscreate…”. If that’s you, then get in touch.Caroline’s Story...Tell us a bit about yourself?My name is Caroline Cuerdan and I have over20 years’ educational experience, workinglatterly as a Headteacher. For the last twoyears I have been working as an EducationConsultant and Change Coach for a range ofclients, which is exciting and presents somefabulous challenges. I love all aspects of mywork and enjoy the creativity and flexibilityit requires. It is particularly rewarding towork with the <strong>E2BN</strong> Team, who are hugelyinnovative.How did you first hear about <strong>E2BN</strong>?I first discovered <strong>E2BN</strong> about ten years ago,when I took part in a Digital Storytellingproject. I found out about the projectthrough the Newsletter sent to all schools.At the time, I was the Literacy Co-ordinatorand a Year 6 Teacher; we were trying to findways to develop boys’ writing. It seemed likea good opportunity to combine ICT with theskills needed for writing narrative stories.The project was great fun, my Year 6 resultswent up and I was sold on <strong>E2BN</strong> thereafter.Did it make a difference in your school?I became something of an <strong>E2BN</strong> advocate,truly believing that the best ICT practicecould open doors for children’s learning. Imade frequent use of Myths and Legendsto teach concepts like paragraphing,characterisation and dialogue. The Pathéresources were fantastic as primary sourcesfor History: they made learning so accessible.We made mini-movies, created digitalstories, filmed interviews based on clips, thelist is endless. I also loved the Gallery; whereelse could you find such an amazing range ofbeautiful images, at no cost to use?Once I became a Headteacher, the value of<strong>E2BN</strong> only increased. The staff training <strong>E2BN</strong>offered far outstripped much of what wasavailable locally. I was so impressed that Itook my entire teaching and support staff tothe conference where they all participatedin at least one training session as well ashaving the opportunity to hear inspirationalspeakers. I encouraged staff to take part inprojects run by <strong>E2BN</strong>. The feedback, timeand again, centred on how much staff hadgained from the experience and frequentlyhow much parents and pupils had valued theprojects.What benefits do you think <strong>E2BN</strong> offers?I didn’t at the start know how many services<strong>E2BN</strong> was offering my school: free Gigajam;free Pathé; projects we could contribute tothe development of; filtering; E-Safety; freeresources to use, share and add to; to namebut a few. Colleagues from other countieswere frequently surprised by how much<strong>E2BN</strong> offered us. Of course if your countydoesn’t subscribe to <strong>E2BN</strong> membership youcan always buy in as an individual school.How did you become involved with <strong>E2BN</strong>?I became involved with <strong>E2BN</strong> through theCookit! project and the development ofthe History Cookbook in particular. This wasa fantastic idea to look at social history,continuity and change through food. I haveheld a fascination with food history for manyyears and was delighted to become partof the team developing the project. TheHistory Cookbook provides podcasts, images,recipes; some re-worked for a modern cook,some in the original language, using ancienttechniques. The project took us all overthe region, working in some very strangelocations and with some amazing periodcooks. Watching Cathy carrying a hugeburning bundle of twigs across the Tudorkitchen, to light the bread oven, has to be ahighlight from making the podcasts.What projects have you been involved in?I have been lucky enough to work onHistory’s Heroes. It’s a wonderful project,which really encourages thinking anddiscussion; everyone who worked on theproject came away with a favourite, whothey wanted to argue about at length. Theamazing History’s Heroes stand at the <strong>E2BN</strong>conference saw teachers, speakers and <strong>E2BN</strong>staff all involved in voting for their favouritehero. Why not go online and vote yourself?What are you working on now?Currently I am developing a new Licence toCook area for Cookit! This offers recipes,which encourage students to learn basicskills, and is supported with images, podcastsand a glossary. To accompany this there willshortly be some new activities designed tohelp students understand nutrition, so lookout for those on Cookit!I am also working on an exciting scienceproject ‘Birds and Plants’.And the future?The creative and innovative approach<strong>E2BN</strong> has to using technology to inspirelearners is something I really believe in. As aTeacher, then as a Headteacher and now asa developer and coach I have seen time andagain how technology opens doors and mindsto learning, so I hope this work will continuewell into the future.You can find out more about theresources that Caroline and Brendanhave discussed at:www.e2bn.org/learningFor more information on the <strong>E2BN</strong>conference:conference.e2bn.orgwww.e2bn.org
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