diva: eattain 2007

I attended the diva Eattain 2007 event yesterday held at the Magna Arena in Rotherham. It was a 6.30am start (my second 6.30am event this year), which didn't impress me and Hayley at all...miserable, dark, cold and wet weather didn't make matters better either! I'd never been in the Magna Centre (some weekends, Gatecrasher is held here).
This Eattain event held yesterday was to show members of the public, school teachers, students, etc the benefits of using Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in education.

Using practical and interactive examples of the vast range of eLearning projects taking place across the UK, 'eAttain’ was designed to demonstrate how technology can be used to boost learning, and raise attainment in schools and colleges to transform the learning experience for both students and teachers.

Hosted by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council School Effectiveness Service, was to inspire and motivate educational leaders, to implement eLearning practices within their own institutions and in turn boost the attainment of young people throughout the UK.

The event ran quite smoothly. In the afternoon I got the chance to sit at the Student Journalist desk with some pupils from Swinton Comprehensive, interacting with them on what they'd been up to on the project, finding out what they thought about the board game I'd designed for the Project (still in the development stages). It was really good to see the enthusiasm these young people had for the journalism project. They genuinely seemed to enjoy participating in the discussions with speakers/presenters, observing the workshop performances and distributing this month's SJP newsletters to delegates. I made some new little friends here too :) ...I'll try and grab some pictures soon and get these posted up.


After work today, I finally got to watch Elizabeth: The Golden Age with Melanie. This film takes place nearly three decades after the events that established the 25-year-old as queen of England in 1558. Like always with these kinda historic films, the costumes and set designs were amazing! Cate Blanchett is stunning as the cold, heartless and strong-minded Queen of England (who said the Spice Girls started off girl power?)...I did learn something from watching this movie, I need to read up on my history!!