Brady Primary School joined the now>press>play community in October 2019. We’re delighted that Headteacher Michael Nunn wrote about his school’s experiences of using now>press>play’s augmented learning resources for the HES School Improvement Newsletter and let us share his thoughts here.
How our school enhances learning with now>press>play
now>press>play is an exciting experience-led learning opportunity for all children within or beyond the classroom setting. At Brady Primary School we have used the resources to augment our topic-based curriculum with experiences that the children would not normally receive as part of a traditional curriculum offer.
now>press>play is an interactive and immersive edtech audio experience where the whole class is transported to an unusual or exciting environment, where every learner feels like they are having a personal 1-to-1 encounter even though they are experiencing the event as part of a larger group. At Brady, we have explored Fractions through a Titanic Experience, as well as learning about Online Safety amongst other things.
How now>press>play’s augmented learning experiences work
Using a guided audio track and a whole-class set of wireless headphones, the children act out or respond to events that sound like they are unfolding around them. Pre and post learning resources are provided as part of the overall package, minimising teacher workload and enhancing the overall experience for learners.
As a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, now>press>play uploaded resources online so that children can learn at home using computers/tablet/mobile devices and headphones. Given the nature of the audio activities, these can also be experienced in a socially distanced manner at school.
Our children and staff’s response to using now>press>play
With 90 different topic areas covering almost all subjects in the curriculum, from EYFS to KS2, now>press>play provides a tailored experience and differentiation for a range of age groups. Follow-up activities allow for additional individual expression and often reinforce other learning that takes part in other curriculum areas. Our children particularly enjoyed the process and interactive nature of the lessons; this hooked them into the rest of the learning on that given topic.
As well as receiving positive feedback from learners, as educators, we have observed the following additional benefits:
- Reluctant writers feel more engaged and root their writing in their experience
- Key vocabulary is reinforced and is evident in the children’s learning
- Children enjoy learning outside of the classroom
- Additional information and some free ‘Experiences’ can be found on the now>press>play website.
Many thanks to the children, staff and Michael Nunn at Brady for sharing their experiences; we are looking forward to supporting their augmented learning in the new academic year.
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