1. Using technology to help girls learn
Hilary Robertson
English department,
Hitchin Girls’ School
Teaching English and Media Studies is my passion, with the clear intention of making the best use of new technology, where it is appropriate for improving my teaching and students’ learning.

2. 5
My own ‘How can I?’ wiki acts as a portal to some of the other wikis that I use. Please visit me at howcani.pbwiki.com

3. So, why a wiki? Encouraging independent learning
Bright girls with ICT skills
Two-way communication with students
Developing awareness of ICT applications
Taking students beyond MSN and Facebook
A document bank
Reassurance outside the class
Hitchin Girls’ School is an academic environment where sixth formers are keen to read and generally well-motivated, although they don’t always apply ICT skills as widely as they need.
I have forged links with several of the girls on Facebook, encouraging them to realise that their lives are open to scrutiny and they should be careful about how they present themselves online, while using new technology effectively across their whole lives.

4. The front page of the wiki takes students through to the individual pages for the units they are studying, via the side bar.
It is useful as a notice board and can be updated quickly and regularly.

5. This page shows how we’ve included links.
You will see that the side bar has changed to reflect the new syllabus: changes like these take seconds and allow for a dynamic site.

6. Links from the main site direct the girls to individual sites for chapter analyses: the writing of these help them get to know the texts in more depth.
Not only can they add words, but they can also import photos

7. A comment from a previous student:
The best thing is when the advice swaps across year groups: Kelly independently added this comment about Larkin at the start of the year .
New year 12s found it particularly helpful to hear from someone who had been through that unit already.

8. As these are all free, new ones can be added to suit different groups of students.
This has been created to help with our new Media Studies specification.
Links and images help the students get to know the subject better.

9. Increasingly, students have valued the wiki. I now use one with my form. All students comments, have RSS feeds and appreciate the regular updates. They can share information and usually look at their wiki first, before asking a teacher, especially if they have missed a lesson.

10. But of course … Does it make a difference to exam grades?
Will it make a difference to future employability?
The measurables will only come over time, although improving exam grades was not a key driver.
Any questions?