Travis is a dog - more specifically, Travis is a dog owned by early years teacher Amanda Pickard - and he is here to talk about sentences.

Travis explains that sentences need a capital letter, a full stop and spaces between each word. Then he dons his glasses and tells his audience - Ms Pickard’s P1 class at Ayr Grammar Primary in South Ayrshire - that he is looking forward to reading their work.

Meanwhile, in Fife, primary teacher Hannah MacGregor’s chicken, Christina, has been talking about time, and her pigs, Peppa and Georgia, recently performed a rendition of Up in the Morning Early by Robert Burns to mark Burns Night on Monday.

I have been loving using @MyTalkingPet to create engaging videos for my learners. On this Burns Night, I couldn’t resist sharing something to celebrate... #HappyBurnsDay pic.twitter.com/NGVHyDr9gB

- Mrs MacGregor (@MrsHMacGregor) January 25, 2021

These teachers have been animating their pets - which also include some sheep; two cats, Hobbes and Herbert; and Wilson the budgie - in a bid to catch their pupils’ attention and make remote learning something they look forward to, as well as something that makes them smile.

Teachers’ pets make online learning fun

The teachers get their animals talking by using an app that brings photos of pets to life.

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Ms Pickard says: “I started this during the first lockdown - remote learning for my wee ones was pretty tricky, so I was looking for different things to help excite, inspire and engage them.”

She heard from one parent that the animated animals had transformed her child’s experience of learning in lockdown.

“The first bit of feedback was from a mum who told me her wee one had been struggling, but as soon as she saw Travis, everything changed for the better,” Ms Pickard explains.

“I think that’s one of the most amazing things when you work with wee ones - their imaginations, creativity and enthusiasm for play, stories and pretend is limitless. I love it so much.”

Ms MacGregor, who teaches P4-5 (children aged around 8) at Tulliallan Primary, in Fife, says she saw what Ms Pickard was doing and was inspired to give it a go. Now she uses animals to introduce the numeracy and maths learning every day.

She says: “I started by animating my pets with a short video each day, introducing the topic. Now I have photos of pets from all staff members who are ‘sending messages’ to the learners.

“So far the kids have responded well - the videos get them thinking about the topic and also make them smile, which is important just now.

“It’s boosting staff, too, seeing their pets contribute - it’s lots of fun but, importantly, engaging, too.”