Tech, Teaching, and Creative Play: Your Weekly 5-Minute Friday Digest
By Phillippa Chippendale — ICT in Schools Team
Hello Everyone! Here’s your weekly 5 Minutes on Friday digest of educational technology updates. Our team has gathered the latest developments, trending curriculum ideas, and emerging classroom resources to keep you fully up to speed on the world of technology, education, and innovation.
Take five minutes to catch up and enjoy the weekend ahead!
🌟 Featured Resource: Common Sense Media
If you aren’t already using it, Common Sense Media is a highly trusted, non-profit digital resource that provides independent, age-based ratings and reviews for movies, TV shows, games, books, and apps. It is an invaluable guide to help parents and teachers make informed, safe, and healthy media choices for children. Furthermore, the organization actively advocates for student digital privacy, stronger education initiatives, and better tech policies to ensure safer online environments.
💻 Digital Citizenship: Ready-to-Use Classroom Slides
To make implementing digital citizenship seamless this term, check out these targeted, interactive lesson slides:
- Year 5: Friend vs. Followers – This critical lesson explores the distinct differences between parasocial relationships (online personas) and real friendships, helping students separate real compassion from less authentic connections.👉 Access the Y5 Lesson Slides Here
- Year 6: Your Curated Self – When students realize that online profiles rarely reveal the whole person, it becomes much easier for them to analyze how digital creators intentionally shape their online identities.👉 Access the Y6 Lesson Slides Here
- Year 7: Tech & Values – This thought-provoking activity connects students directly with what is truly meaningful in their lives and challenges them to examine whether their current media and technology usage actually supports what is important to them.👉 Access the Y7 Lesson Slides Here
🧱 The Launch of Play@TED on YouTube
TED and LEGO have joined forces to launch Play@TED, an exciting new initiative on YouTube. This collaborative movement brings together leading global experts to discuss the transformative, cognitive power of creative play in childhood development.
The live event launched on 14th May 2026. You can discover more about the global movement or stream the broadcast using the official links below:
📺 Watch the Live Broadcast on YouTube
📅 Upcoming Professional Development & “Duo Courses”
Reminder: Professional development courses are FREE to all schools within our current service agreement. For non-enrolled schools, places are available for £40 + VAT per person.
How Our Duo Courses Work
Our innovative “Duo” training format helps your school maximize its curriculum budget:
- The Training: A class teacher completes the specified professional development training session.
- The Class Visit: You can then book a half-day visit to The Word for your entire class to practice their new skills hands-on.
The Budget Benefit: Teachers who complete the training unlock a 50% discount on the corresponding half-day class visit, reducing the cost to just 30 curriculum points instead of the usual 60. (Note: To benefit from the professional development aspect, the attending teacher must accompany their class to the half-day session. This reduction can be claimed once per specific Duo course topic).
Summer Term Lineup:
- Duo Course: Y4 Repetition in Shapes (Pictoblox) 📅 19th May at 4:00 PM
- AI Champions Network Termly Meeting 📅 21st May at 4:00 PM
- Duo Course: Y2/3 Stikbot Animation 📅 9th June at 4:00 PM
- Summer Termly Website Clinic (Virtual Session) 📅 10th June at 1:30 PM
📨 How to Book: Ready to secure your place? Contact Julia directly via email at [email protected].
📌 Timetable Reminder: Curriculum Bookings 2026/2027
The standard annual allocation gives your school 180 curriculum points to use over the 2026 – 2027 academic year.
Popular calendar slots across the region are quick to fill up. To secure your school’s preferred dates for class workshops and support next year, please get in touch with our booking office NOW to avoid disappointment.
Thank you for reading this week’s news update! Be sure to subscribe or tune in next week for fresh EdTech developments, practical digital resources, and leadership insights. If there’s a particular technology topic or curriculum focus you’d love to see us feature, don’t hesitate to reach out with your feedback.
Have a lovely weekend!