A Groundbreaking Day at ASE

So Friday the 13th has come and gone, and it actually proved a huge success for us at ASE. The Virtual Classroom experiment worked well and students from 4 schools in 4 different locations were able to collaborate on a project and present their work to each other in real time. Ulverston Victoria in Cumbria, Bluecoat in Oldham, Sacred Heart High School in Hammersmith and Beechencliff School in Bath were each given seven questions relating to the number 13 and superstition. Their results were then shared, via PowerPoint presentations and voice via headsets amongst the group.

As it turns out, most students did not think that the number 13 was unlucky. Most UK streets have a house number 13, and this was proved to be the case both in the North and South. Also, it was discovered that many famous people such as Robbie Williams were born on the 13th day of the month. Such celebrities were thought of as being 'lucky' people therefore deducing that the 'unlucky' tag associated with the number 13 was nothing more than superstition. The point of this exercise was to get a network of schools online at the same time to disseminate and discuss their findings. Schools that otherwise may never have had the opportunity to meet each other in person, were able to collaborate on a piece of work and share their new found knowledge with each other.....and us, in real time. It was a groundbreaking day for Taecanet, as well as all of the schools involved, and ASE who kindly hosted the event.

The rest of the day was also very positive with some significant interest in the Taecanet Springboard service from teachers and LEA representatives alike. There were a number of other exhibitors present some with exotic creatures, as you can see from the photo. We were treated to a Galileo performance describing some of his work, and also a firework display at the end of the event by Dr Jackie Akhavan. This was an obvious highlight with an in-depth explanation, and demonstration of the chemical processes involved in the detonation of fireworks. This was a rousing end to a great event and my thanks to Gaynor Sharp for her support and organisation.