Over the last few months we have been travelling round the country attending exhibitions and conferences. These events give us the opportunity to meet schools and nurseries using StoryPhones. It’s always good to meet everyone and hearing how they and the children are using their StoryPhones MP3 players. We know just how creative teachers and children can be with an open ended resource like StoryPhones and your comments prove this. Here’s what some schools and nurseries had to say…

“We bought StoryPhones in 2009 and they’re still going strong”

“We made binoculars in the workshop and put jungle sounds on the Headsets and went outside looking for the animals”

“We have eleven StoryPhones systems in our school and we use them all the time”

“We use our StoryPhones systems for group reading”

” Our children love StoryPhones, they find them so easy to use”

” Children learning to speak English love listening to tracks on the StoryPhones Headsets”

If you’d like to know more about how to use StoryPhones in your school or nursery you can visit our Products Page and download a case study or watch a video and you can also read our entries on our Resources Blog. There’s always someone here in the office to help too, phone us on 0845 652 0906.

We are out and about again this year attending a variety of exhibitions and conferences. If you are visiting any of these events, come along and say hello. You will be able to find out more about our StoryPhones MP3 systems and MP3 players and try them out for yourselves. We will be demonstrating our new 2GB audio systems, along with our loudspeaking, recording MP3 players. We’ll also have the latest news about the on line download store and  the latest audio stories and resources from new publishers. Eleanor Johnson, the creator of StoryPhones is usually on our stand and she always enjoys chatting about audio resources and explaining the different ways schools and nurseries are using their StoryPhones MP3 players.

You can see StoryPhones at:

Northumberland Early Years Conference, Newcastle Race Course – Friday 1st March 2013

Hertfordshire National ICT and Computer Science Festival, Hertfordshire Development Centre – Wednesday 6th March 2013

Newcastle Upon Tyne Early Years Conference, St James’ Park – Friday 8th March 2013

Sunderland Early Years Conference, Red House School – Saturday 9th March 2013

The National Primary Headteachers Conference, Stratford on Avon, Wednesday 22nd and 23rd May 2013

East Midlands Literacy Conference, Stoke Rochford Hall – Friday 7th June 2013

ICT and Inclusion: CALL Scotland, Edinburgh – Tuesday 18th June 2013

ICT and Inclusion: CALL Scotland, Glasgow – Wednesday 19th June 2013

West of England ICT Conference and Exhibition, Bristol – Thursday 27th June 2013

We’ll look forward to meeting everyone at these events.

On the 18th September we visited Cairellot Children’s Centre, at Bishopton in Renfrewshire to lead a StoryPhones training session. We were so lucky with the weather bearing in mind how awful it was just a week later and we had a glorious drive across the Cheviots and up through the borders of Scotland.

We have never visited Cairellot Children’s Centre before, however, we count Rosie Elliot and her team as old friends since we’ve been in touch with them for the last two years. Rosie has been a champion of StoryPhones since she bought a system several years ago and has provided several references and case studies for us. We were excited to meet everyone and to see StoryPhones in action.

It was a very good training session, we always try to run a relaxed, interactive session and encourage everyone to join in, ask questions and eat sweets! Cairellot’s training room was an ideal venue and Gillian kept us well organised with tea and coffee. I was so pleased when Linda, a senior practitioner at Cairellot agreed to come up and share their StoryPhones activities with our delegates. Linda and her team make great use of their system and encourage the children to incorporate the Headsets and loud speaking player into their play and activities. Linda was keen to empasise how easy to use the players were, how rugged they were and how the children’s storytelling, creativity and listening skills had impoved

Linda also agreed to talk about Cairellot’s experiences with StoryPhones and to let us record this. Here’s Linda’s interview Cairellot Interview September 2012

So… a big thank you to Rosie, Linda and Gillian and everyone at Cairellot.

The Education Show, Thursday 14th – Saturday 16th March: Stand E121

We are back at the Education Show at the NEC in Birmingham in March and we’re all looking forward to meeting everyone. It’s a great opportunity to meet new visitors on our stand, and there’s always a warm welcome for our customers too.

This year we are launching a 2GB StoryPhones audio system and a 2GB Little Listener loud speaking MP3 player. The BookShelf download store also goes from strength to strength and we now have titles to download from Usborne Books, BBC AudioGo and Barefoot Books.

We have a very good customer support system in place and are often in contact with schools and nurseries around the country who are using StoryPhones MP3 players everyday to support their children’s learning. These settings are using their MP3 players in so many creative ways from singing  outside to weekly guided reading sessions.

If you visit our stand, you will have the opportunity to see how our innovative MP3 audio systems and players work and have the chance to try them out for yourself. Eleanor Johnson, the creator of StoryPhones, will also be on the our stand. Eleanor  has a great interest in the way the regular use of audio resources and listening activities can benefit children’s learning and love of stories and she will be available to chat to through out the three days of the exhibition.

We’ll look forward to seeing you there.

BETT is one of the biggest educational ICT shows in the world. There are hundreds of exhibitors to visit and it’s well worth planning your visit in advance. To help you make the most of your visit and make sure you see some of the best suppliers and exhibitors at the show, you can download the BETT Trail App. The App provides information about these exhibitors, tells you all about their new products and has a competition to enter. As you are visiting the exhibitors, register this on your app and find out the answer to a simple question, there’ll be lots of friendly stand staff to help. To enter the prize draw, simply upload your score along with your details and you may win a prize.

Download the App here, pay a visit our stand, G245 and don’t forget to ask us the answer to our question!

It’s hard to believe that another year has passed and we are now busy preparing for our fifth visit to BETT, one of the world’s largest educational ICT exhibition and conference. If you are a visitor or an exhibitor, BETT is always an exciting event, the atmosphere is  busy, lively and vibrant. There’s also an expansive programme of seminars and training events on offer with opportunities to learn about the latest ideas, thoughts and technologies. This year, BETT will be held for the first time at ExCel, London, situated in the heart of London’s Royal Docks.

Visit StoryPhones – Stand G245

New for 2013

We have some exciting new features and updates to tell you about!

* New 2GB memory StoryPhones players

* New Personal MP3 players for home users

* Improved recording feature with immediate playback

* 100’s of new audio books and resources in the StoryPhones download store, including titles from AudioGo(BBC), Usborne Books and Barefoot Books

* Increased compatibility with different audio formats. As well as MP3 and WAV, you can now add WMA, M4A, AAC, M4B, OGG and AMR audio files on your StoryPhones MP3 players

* New web shop for online purchasing

We’ll have a warm welcome for you when you visit our stand, and we”ll look forward to meeting everyone there!

The aim of this conference is to help delegates understand the needs of those with dyslexia and to gain insight into ways of supporting them. Anyone working with or supports children, young people and adults with dyslexia are invited to attend this exciting conference and take part in workshops and talks led by highly knowledgeable and experienced speakers.

The key note speakers include Neil MacKay. Previously Senior Teacher/SENCO in a large secondary school in North Wales and now an independent consultant and trainer, Neil is the originator of the phrase and the concept “Dyslexia Friendly Schools.  He now works with schools across the UK and abroad to develop inclusive practice. In his keynote, he will share his experience in noticing and responding to dyslexic learning types.

The second key note speaker, June Todd has 22 years of experience as a head teacher and is now a very successful consultant. Her training is delivered from her breadth of experience and also from the heart as she shares her beliefs. Her training sessions present strategies, information and resources that can be used to raise achievement and improve teaching and learning which come together to provide a focus on school improvement. Her keynote will focus on how to make schools dyslexia friendly places.

Workshop leaders

Neil and June will also be leading workshops at the conference and they will be joined by more experts in the field.

Judith Wolfe (AMBDA) is co author of ‘Dyslexia A Practical Guide for Teachers and Parents’ (David Fulton), is a specialist teacher in Dyslexia and presently a Secondary SENCo in St. Wilfrid’s RC College S. Tyneside. She is a member of the SENCo Forum Advisory Group and PATOSS (Professional Association for Teachers and Assessors of Students with Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD).

Helen Irving (AMBDA) has over thirty years of experience as a specialist teacher in Special Educational Needs (SEN) in schools across all key stages, a specialist teacher in Dyslexia, advisory teacher, trainer and training manager for SEN for Sunderland Authority and more recently an associate tutor for dyslexia with Edge Hill University.  She is presently an independent consultant and trainer in a wide range of special needs issues with a particular emphasis on dyslexia.

Mike Stansfield is presently manager of the Medical & Physical Disabilities Support Team in Sunderland Authority. He has a special interest and knowledge in ICT which supports children and young people with learning difficulties, including Dyslexia. He regularly delivers local and regional training on specific programmes and resources (including the use of iPads).

Shelley Hughes is a regional speaker and representative for Pearson Assessment. She regularly speaks to audiences on assessment including Working Memory Rating Scale (WMRS) and Cogmed Working Memory Training which is a computer-based solution for attention problems caused by poor working memory.

The conference will also include an exhibition of leading providers of resources for supporting individuals with dyslexia and StoryPhones is delighted to be part of this exhibition and exciting conference.

For more information please contact Margaret Parsons on 0191 515 2145 or margaret.parsons@sunderland.ac.uk

Visit us on Stand 155,

Business Design Centre, Islington. Exhibition is open 10.00 till 5.00 on both days

We are looking forward to exhibiting at the TES Special Educational Needs Show next week. Our MP3 Headsets and loud speaking players make listening an easy, accessible activity. They’re rugged too, very good for the rough and tumble of everyday use.

If you are visiting the Exhibition, please call into Stand 155 to try our StoryPhones MP3 audio systems and loud speaking players. StoryPhones MP3 players are:

robust, wire free, rechargeable, switch accessible and can…

play automatically, allow personalised access to the function buttons, play in groups, record and give children…

independent access to audio resources, support story telling and reading development, encourage speaking and listening skills, and we have…

child friendly software, a very good advice and support service, endless enthusiasm for supporting children’s learning and education!

We will look forward to meeting you.

We are now holding StoryPhones training days. These are practical, hands on sessions covering all aspects of StoryPhones including lots of tips and ideas for creative ways of using your StoryPhones audio system to support your children’s learning. The sessions are held in a relaxed, informal way with plenty of opportunities to ask questions and join in.

Our first training session held on Thursday 24th May, was completely booked up. Practitions from a wide variety of settings including nurseries, primary schools and special schools came along to the session. We followed a full programme over the three hours and everyone went away fired with enthusiasm and brimming with ideas.

Here are a few comments from our attendees.

“Excellent training, thank you”

“Clear explaination of how to use the system, lots of  ideas for resources to use. Excellent”

“Very clear, friendly and informative”

When’s the next training day?

We have two training sessions running over the next few weeks:

Thursday 31st May 12.45 – 3.45, Annfield Plain, Co Durham, DH9 7XN - limited places

Tuesday 12th June 1.00 – 4.00, South Leeds CLC, Beeston, LS11 5TT – spaces available

If you would like to attend one of our training sessions, please contact Hilary Jaques on 01207 524877 or email hilary@ameeca.co.uk

Keep in touch about our training days!

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to find out when our next training days are being held.

We work very closely with our publishers and content providers to make their wide range of wonderful audio resources available to our customers. The Education Show gives us the opportunity to meet up with them and find out about new resources and let them know how schools and nurseries are using StoryPhones to listen to these stories, songs and audio resources. Here’s who we met this year.

Pearson Bug Club

We have the Pearson Rigby Star audio resources in our download store and we are very excited that we now have many titles from the award winning Bug Club Reading Programme available to download. StoryPhones customers have exclusive access to these MP3 audio stories.

Sticky Kids

Sticky Kids have some brilliant songs and they have recently released their latest album ready for the Olympics. Called ‘Go For Gold’, it will inspire your children to run and jump and leap for the Olympics and beyond.

Letterland

Letterland’s really colourful stand attracted lots of visitors and we found out more about their new ‘Fix-It Phonics’ resouces, helping to teach English to children around the world. We really liked Letterland’s award winning Cookbook, you can now eat your way through the alphabet! StoryPhones schools and nurseries can download ABC Stories, Beyond ABC Stories, Handwriting Songs and Alphabet Songs from our download store. You can also order the books to accompany the songs and stories.

Yellow Door

We have lots of resources created by Yellow Door available to download. The ‘Come Alive Stories’ are toe tapping and difficult not to sing along to. We have recently added new titles for the ‘Tune Into …’ series and the ‘Come Alive Phonics’ pack, a lovely, multi sensory way of introducing phonics.

And Finally …

We took our Beat Baby along to the Education Show to join us on our stand. Many  of Ros Bayley’s stories, raps and Beat Baby resources can be downloaded from the download store and Beat Baby always comes along with us.

Beat Baby is a delightful character and supports the resouces Ros Bayley has created to introduce and develop rhythm and steady beat in young children.