Eco-Schools and the Pod
Eco-Schools have teamed up with the Pod to provide a package aimed at helping schools in England along their sustainable journey.
What is the Pod
The Pod is an interactive on-line resource for teachers of Key Stages 2 and 3 children.
It sits at the heart of EDF Energy’s Programme for Greener Schools. It has been designed with the help of Eco-Schools, the Eden Project and the London 2012 Education Programme - Get Set. The Pod aims to engage with 2.5million children by 2012 and to make real and measurable
improvement to the energy use and
carbon output of schools across the UK.
Take a look today, at
www.jointhepod.org
So how can schools use the Pod to get Bronze, Silver and Green Flag status?
By working together with the Pod we can offer even more support to schools by providing
lots of free practical and simple to use materials.
For teachers, it has resource packs, lesson plans and on-line activities for the classroom and also information and research about the topics of energy, water, transport and waste.
For students, the Pod provides blogging functionality and a fantastic new Gallery where photos and films can be posted so that students can share their ideas and help inspire each other.
For parents, the Pod provides a place where they can see some of the projects their children have been taking part in. They can; look at the blogs,
see photos and films on the gallery, and look at the schools podometers, eco-code and medals on the schools home page.
Once schools have formed an action team and produced an environmental review and action plan, the Pod can provide the inspiration to address the issues highlighted through a range of themed activities and resources.
All the activities and materials developed by the Pod have been approved by Eco-Schools; this means that using the Pod in your school will help you to progress to a bronze, silver and green flag award. For example by completing the ‘Goodbye Standby’ activity, schools will automatically have completed most if not all of the steps needed to achieve a Bronze or Silver Eco-Schools Award.
Schools can also reference Pod activities when completing their Green Flag Application to demonstrate how they have addressed the nine topics within the Eco-Schools programme.
Each school has a Blog for activities they undertake. Students can blog about their progress, ideas and thoughts on the activity.
Following feedback from teachers, a general blog has been added which students can use to talk about all of their green projects.
The Pod provides teachers and students with a simple framework from which to learn about green issues, run green activities and share their good practise. We’ve called this framework ‘Learn, Act, Inspire.’
How does the Pod and ‘Learn Act Inspire’ work?
Learn Act Inspire is a framework developed with the Eden Project to place each topic into context for teachers and students
Learn
Firstly there is information, reference materials and research links available for each of the green topics. Students learn about the issues around a key green topic through the available, lesson plans, online games and information packs.
Act
Then there are lesson plans and resource packs which you want to use with your class or eco-committee, additionally each topic has its own set of activities games and area to record achievements.
Inspire
Students are asked to blog about their activities and complete a lesson learned report so that they can share and learn from each others experiences. Students can also see the podometers which measure potential savings from completed activities.
How do schools record their progress?
Schools win medals for each activity they complete. Running an activity has several stages.
To begin with students audit current behaviour, for example, how many electronic devices have been left switched on in the school?
Then they run a campaign to change behaviour. They write a blog about what they are doing, sharing images, movies, podcasts and written work.
When the campaign is finished, students carry out a second audit.
The medal they win depends on the difference students have made in their school and how much effort has been put into their blog.
In addition to winning Pod medals, completing an activity on the Pod will also count towards your Eco-Schools Bronze, Silver and Green Flag accreditation.
Each school has its own set of “Podometers” which calculate the potential savings the school has made.
A national set of Podometers calculate the total potential savings schools have made.
Each Podometer saving is converted into a realistic comparison.
How do students pass their knowledge on?
Sharing information with the rest of the school is a great way to start inspiring other students. A great way to do this is by creating a green notice board to display things they have learned or by holding a whole school assembly.
Other schools can read the blogs that students have written on the Pod website.
Students are asked to include at least one Lessons Learned Report in each blog. This contains information about how they overcame any challenges they faced as well as ideas that worked particularly well.
Students can upload images on to the Pod gallery, illustrating how they are continuing to change their school.
Students’ audit figures are fed into their school podometers. These demonstrate the potential energy, water, waste and carbon savings the school has made.
To join the thousands of other teachers across the UK using the Pod and its resources please register at
www.jointhepod.org