Reflections of learning from the module - Week 12

This blog post aims to be reflective on my own learning from this English/ICT module identifying its implications for my role as a future ICT subject leader. As a formal blog post, personal reflective language will used picking at only a few things due to the restrictions of the word count. 

My first point of reflection is that throughout the whole module it has been evident that working with technology and incorporating English into this is a refreshing change from the more routine elements of the curriculum (Stafford, 2011). Stafford (2011) explains that we are continuously surrounded by information conveyed to us through a variety of visual media, where the learning during this module that we must incorporate technology into our teaching has been apparent. The outlook to my future as an ICT subject leader has been greatly looked and thought upon through this module. The considerable amount of learning and reflecting upon different aspects of technology which incorporates English, such as advertising, multimodal texts, copyright and many more has had a clear position on how personally I see technology being used and how in the future as a subject leader the different technologies which could be implemented into children's learning.

The stance throughout this module that children of today are growing up in a highly multimodal environment (Bearne and Wolstencroft, 2007) has had an impact on the way I will be teaching in future practices. From the start of this module on interviewing adults on their attitudes to popular culture and seeing that people agreed that it should be used in the classroom, to the end of the module where the experience of using all kinds of technology in the classroom with children, has been very beneficial and proven that it is valuable to children’s learning. Stafford (2011) states that visual literacy is an exhilarating way of improving and supporting current literacy teaching in primary schools, which holds valuable educational and life skills. Dondis (1973) agrees with this explaining that the advancement of visual literacy is vital to our teaching of current media as reading and writing was to print, asserting that this is truer than ever before.

Through the learning about inter safety issues has had a great impact on the way I will be cautious when setting children tasks to do with the internet.  Duerager and Livingstone (2012) enlighten that it’s the role of the teacher as well as the parents to educate children on internet safety and has taught myself to be aware of the issues of the internet within my teaching. As a future ICT subject leader I will be taking internet safety very seriously and will implement internet safety teaching with children as well as making other adults aware of this.

In conclusion from undertaking this module of ICT with English has furthered my knowledge on all the different types of technology and the issues which these hold in the primary classroom. This module has definitely enriched my learning with how as a future ICT subject leader I could incorporate a cross curricula approach between English and ICT. For the National Curriculum, as far as ICT is concerned, learning means findings things out, developing ideas and making things happen, exchanging and sharing information, and reviewing, modifying, evaluating work as it progresses (Andrews, 2000). This module has shown to me the great importance which technology brings to children’s learning within these aspects. Andrews (2000) explains that literacy is closely tied in with ICT development through changing patterns in communication, which as a future subject leader this module has enlightened me on all aspects of technology which children need to come across within their education.

Bibliography:

Andrews, R. (2000). Learning, Literacy and ICE What’s the Connection? Journal into English in Education. Vol. 34 (3). Pp 3 – 18.

Bearne, E & Wolstencroft, H. (2007). Visual Approaches to Teaching Writing London: Paul Chapman

Dondis, D. (1973) A Primer of Visual Literacy. Cambridge, MA:MIT Press.

Duerager, A. and Livingstone, S. (2012). [pdf] How can parents support children’s internet safety? Available at: <http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/42872/1/How%20can%20parents%20support%20children%E2%80%99s%20internet%20safety%28lsero%29.pdf> [Accessed on 28/03/2014]

Stafford, T. (2011). Teaching Visual Literacy in the Primary Classroom. Abingdon: Routledge

Week 10 Post school informal blog.

This blog reflects on the challenge to produce a talking book on Children’s Rights.

Prior to working with the children, our group planned the project through group messaging on Facebook. We discussed elements such as learning objectives, resources, apps and outcomes etc.  This planning was invaluable to a successful outcome, just as Franklin and Stringer (2010) state about the important stages because creative processes in collaborative work for children rely on planning and evaluation.

The children were shy at first, but once we had introduced ourselves and explained our purpose and the project, the children became responsive. On reflection, it would have been easier to have known the children’s capabilities and their personalities beforehand in order to pitch our level of teaching and engagement to the individual learner. Our aim was to incorporate media literacy in to the curriculum by creating an iBook using Book Creator. The children did successfully create an iBook. The children took to the exercise well and behaviour was very good, except on one occasion, in the nurture room where we had gone to in order to use a quiet area as envisaged by (Franklin and Stringer, 2010). During our transition from the T.V. to the floor, two girls were distracted by a dolls house which was next to them. I was just about to intervene and bring them back on task when, another teacher stepped in and did what I was about to do. In a normal situation, preparing the teaching environment in advance, distractions such as a dolls house could be removed. On reflection, it was only for a brief moment and considering the attention span of Year One children, it is expected.

 

Our first learning objective was, by the end of the session, children could in ‘child speak’, tell us ‘Article 15 on Freedom of Association: Children have the right to meet together and to join groups and organisations, as long as this does not stop other people from enjoying their rights’ (Unicef).  One child kept on referring to article 15 as the right to join a gang; I saw this as his limited connection of prior knowledge and him making inference in order to make that connection. A gang can be an innocent friendly group (such as the Famous Five or My Gang by Brian Moses etc.), only modern reference and media gives it the bad image.

 

The second learning objective was, to understand what animation was and to explain the process. The children found it hard to make connection between pictures and animation. Children will have their own ‘preconceived ideas about what animation is from what they have seen at the cinema and watched on television’ (wikispaces, 2014). Animation is the process by which we see still pictures move. Each picture is shot on film one at a time and is shown consecutively, making the pictures appear to move. We had thought about showing flick books (Warner, 2014) as an example of simple animation but time was critical. At the end of the session they were able to describe what animation was.

The third learning objective was, to learn some capacity in using iPads. One function was the drag and drop to delete a picture while in ‘I can animate’ app. I demonstrated the process and then the children copied.

 

‘One thing that is now widely accepted is that blending animated images with narration rather than text is more effective’ (Manroop, 2008). The children included in their iBook, interviews on their understanding of article 15, this exercise involved speaking and listening which is a curriculum requirement. ‘Ainsworth, S. (2008) suggests that there are six levels to understanding learning through animation: expressive; cognitive, motor and perceptual; affective and motivational; strategic; metacognitive; and rhetorical’ (Cited in Manroop, 2014).

 

Other Challenges that I and my peers found were, letting go, giving ownership, letting children make their mistakes. I found adding captions to iMovie hard and I had to seek help. Holding the iPad still, while moving pieces was difficult for the children and I had to hold the camera while they pressed the camera button. In a future lesson I would consider using the iPad mini for this age group and also add a challenge for them to solve the problem of keeping the camera stationary. One change I would have liked would be to have six children instead of five, because I found the numbers were not balanced.

 

Teaching children digital literacy and capacity is, from my work experience, essential. Therefore, in a future lesson I would set aside more time to fully cover techniques, skills and processes, and knowledge to understand the outcome to achieve the objectives that reach the purpose for the intended audience (Franklin and Stringer, 2010).

 

Bibliography

City and County of Swansea Rights Respecting Schools Award (2014) https://swansea-edunet.gov.uk/en/schools/gwyrosydd/Pages/Rights_Respecting_Schools_Award_.aspx (Accessed on: 21/03/2014)

Clioflics (2014) One Teachers Story http://www.cleo.net.uk/resources/displayframe.php?src=321/consultants_resources%2Fteknical%2Fflashideas%2FButtonTemplate2.html (Accessed on: 20/03/2014)

Franklin, J. and Stringer, O. (2010) I Can Animate Teacher’s Book [online] http://teachnet.eu/cmacaulay/files/ICA_Teachers_Book.pdf (Accessed on: 21/03/2014)

Manroop, (2014) http://www.qudos-animations.co.uk/blog/how-can-animation-facilitate-learning/ (Accessed on: 20/03/2014)

Unicef [online] http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Participation.pdf (Accessed on: 21/03/2014)

Warner, M. (2014)  Animation Ideas http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/ict/animationideas.htm (Accessed on: 20/03/2014)

Wikispaces (2014) https://internet-safety-primary-education.wikispaces.com/animation (Accessed on: 20/03/2014)

Week 12

This blog post reflects upon my own personal development throughout this module, and how it has impacted my future practice. Although a formal blog post, reflective language is used to give a clear perspective of the reflection.

The first point of reflection is the theory. Throughout this module we have had many theory-based lectures, covering a wide range of many sub headings under the umbrella of ‘Digital Literacy’. These have included examining the use of graphic novels, to the ethical issues surrounding ICT. This element of the module is vitally important, as it provides us, as future teachers, with a broad range of knowledge (Bazelgette, 2010), which Robinson (2011) promotes, suggesting that teachers need to be models to the children, and show them that resources do not have to be limited, taking (safe) risks is an innovative way to learn. This is expressed through our seminars, and I feel the message promoted is that there are endless possibilities when using digital literacies (Hague and Payton, 2010), which teachers need to become aware of, so they can enhance children’s learning experiences (Vasquez and Felderman, 2013).

Another main message that is potent through our theory for this module, is that popular culture should be used more in classrooms (Lambirth, 2003). Through using this blog as a basis for reflection and comment throughout the module, and after reading through previous blog posts and comments by others, it is clear that the argument of whether or not popular culture should be used in the classroom sways heavily towards the fact that it should (Kinder, 1999). Marsh and Hallet (2008) suggest that using popular culture is a key way of engaging children with literacy. This relates back to ICT, as popular culture in the modern western world is heavily based around ICT (Bezemer and Kress, 2010). Therefore the logical steps as a teacher, is to introduce elements of ICT within literacy teaching (Burn and Durran, 2007), to ensure children are getting a modern education, which will best equip them with skills they will use later in their lives (Conole, 2010). Pearson and Koppi (2002) harness this message, suggesting that using Web.2.0 technologies as a way of promoting digital literacy, can engage children, and also familiarise them with the skills needed to successfully use ICT and the internet (Potter and Darbyshire, 2010).

Using Web.2.0 technologies, and other forms of digital literacies can also enhance aspects of inclusion (Zhao, 2009; Pearson and Koopi, 2002). However, there are some dangers with using both Web.2.0 technologies and popular culture in the classroom. Marsh and Hallet (2008) express concerns over the types of materials used in the classroom, suggesting that teachers need to be careful with what they choose to use, so as not to upset parents or even other teachers. Pearson and Koppi (2002) highlight the importance of inclusion within all learning, and although they promote the use of ICT as a platform for inclusion, it is important to keep in mind that there are many dangers that come with using ‘risky’ mediums in the classroom (Walsh, 2010). In terms of reflecting on my own significant learning, I feel that all children should be seen as individuals, and taught in whichever way is appropriate and beneficial for them, wherever possible (Robinson, 2011).

The practical seminars have truly helped me see from a ‘hands on’ point of view how to use some of the apps discussed within teaching. This has greatly enhanced my confidence when it comes to ICT, along with changed my view of some of the readings discusses in my blog posts (Heinrich, 2012; John and Sutherland, 2004) and I now feel ready to use this knowledge and apply it to the classroom. In particular, the Book Creator app was most useful during our time in school, but also iMovie, and some of the more creative apps too. Although I have not yet seen the rest of my colleagues’ talking books, I am sure that the knowledge gained during the practical seminars will shine through their work, and will have been a great help, as it was to me.

To conclude, this blog post attempts to summarise my significant learning from the module, however, with a word limit it is difficult to touch upon everything I have learnt throughout this semester. I have found the practical, and the theoretical lectures equally useful, and it has truly broadened my way of thinking and enhanced my confidence in teaching using ICT. Personally the main point of significant learning is that you can teach using digital literacies and ICT, you do not have to teach ICT and literacy separately. Since the visit to school it is clear to me that ICT can be incorporated to every subject, and should not just be left to ICT sessions.

Bazelette, C. (2010) Teaching Media in Primary Schools, London: SAGE.

Bezemer, J. and Kress, G. (2010) Writing in multimodal texts: A social semiotic account of designs of learning, in Written Communication, 25(2), pp. 166-195.

Burn, A. and Durran, J. (2007) Media Literacy in Schools, London: Paul.

Conole, G. (2010) Facilitating new forms of discourse for learning and teaching: harnessing the power of Web.2.0 practices, in Open Learning, 25(2), pp. 141-151.

Hague, C. and Payton, S. (2010) Digital Literacies Across the Curriculum. Bristol: Futurelab.

Heinrich, P. (2012) The iPad as a Tool for Education: A study of the introduction of iPads, Winchester: Naace.

John, P. and Sutherland, R. (2004) Teaching and Learning with ICT: New Technology, New Pedagogy?, in Education, Communication and Information, 4, pp. 101-1-7.

Kinder, M. (1999) Kid’s Media Culture, London: Duke University Press.

Lambirth, A. (2003) ‘“They get enough of that at home”: Understanding Aversion to Popular Culture in schools’ in Reading Literacy and Language, pp. 9-13.

Marsh, J. and Hallet, E. (2008) Desirable Literacies, Los Angeles: SAGE.

Pearson, E. J. and Koppi, A. J. (2002) Inclusion and online learning opportunities: designing for accessibility, in Alt-J, 10(2), pp. 17-28.

Potter, F. and Darbyshire, C. (2010) Understanding and Teaching the ICT National Curriculum, Oxon: David Fulton Publishers.

Robinson, K. (2011) Out of Our Minds, Learning to be Creative, England: Wiley Publishing.

Walsh, M. (2010) Multimodal Literacy: What does it mean for classroom practice?, in Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 33(3), pp. 211-239
Zhao, J. (2009) Group interaction in a Web.2.0 based learning environment: a sociogram analysis, in International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning, 19(2-3), pp. 191-205.

Reflecting on a visit to a local primary school 2

Reflecting upon a visit to local Primary School (working with children).

This blog will continue to discuss reflections regarding the use of technology and media within a local primary school drawing on observations made when actually having the chance to explore children’s understanding of ICT through active participation.

During the second visit to the school, we were given the task to facilitate the creation of a digital ‘talking book’ in groups of five year one pupils, drawing on a chosen article regarding Rights of the Child (UNICEF, 1989). 

The group decided to incorporate article 29-(Goals of education) into their talking book.  We chose this as we passionately felt that education should encourage children to fulfil their potential. However, when presenting this idea to the pupils it was apparent that some of the vocabulary in the article was too complex. Therefore, we agreed to portray the article as ‘being the best that you can be’.

It was interesting to note how competent children were when using the iPads. However, it would be reasonable to argue that ICT is becoming increasingly prominent in today’s society, with more children having access to a wide range of media devices (Ofcom, 2012). Furthermore, Prensky (2001) supports this by claiming that today’s generation are ‘digital natives’, and that growing up in a digital age has meant they possess considerable knowledge regarding technology.

An initial challenge presented to us as students, was the fact that we had a child who spoke very little English within the group. However, as the morning progressed, it was evident that she was quite capable with using an iPad. This was something the other children in the group acknowledged, often communicating by pointing at certain aspects of the software and saying key phrases that she could understand. In this case, it could be argued that the technology provided addressed this challenge, as she was still able to participate and appear to have an understanding of the purpose involved.

When creating their talking books, the children responded well to having the freedom to choose what they felt worked well, as well as experimenting with the iPads. Heinrich (2012) supports this, suggesting that iPads and other forms of digital media are a valuable resource due to do their increasing flexibility with applications that encourage children to employ skills that printed texts may not. This was evident with the children’s decision to use ‘telegami’, an application that combined voice recording with a visual avatar to communicate information. In doing so, children were able to overcome difficulties with spelling and punctuation whilst still incorporating a good use of vocabulary and expression.

Overall, this was an enjoyable and informative experience. I was amazed to see how competent the younger children were with interacting with advanced technology, as well as some of the opportunities that using ICT presented. In my future practices, I hope to foster a similar level of enthusiasm towards technology to support learning.

Bibliography

Heinrich, P. (2012) The iPad as a Tool for Education: A study of the introduction of iPads, Winchester: Naace. 

Ofcom (2012) Children and Parents: Media use and attitudes report. Ofcom

Prensky, M. (2001) ‘Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Part II: Do They Really Think Differently?’ On the Horizon 9 (6) pp.1-9

UNICEF (1989) The United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child, London: UNICEF UK. 

Reflecting on a visit to local primary school (1)

Reflecting upon a visit to local Primary School.

This blog will discuss reflections regarding the use of technology and media within a local primary school drawing on observations made during a visit to the aforementioned school.

Having visited this school was an insightful way of understanding some of the vast opportunities technology has to offer educators. Firstly, it is immediately apparent just how much the school values the contribution technology has in enhancing learning, investing hugely in ICT resources such as iPads, Apple TVs, touch screen computers as well as their own professional radio station studio. Additionally, it was also inspiring to note that a whole school approach was taken, ensuring all members of staff were adequately trained in using the technology provided.

It can be seen that this rapid emergence of digital literacies associated with this digital age are beginning to play an increasingly important role in education, as well as the need to ensure children appreciate these items as educational resources as well as sources of entertainment (John and Sutherland, 2004).

Mills and Levido (2011) support this claim, suggesting that incorporating media such as iPads may encourage collaborative problem solving, as new challenges are presented with the use of new media. Additionally, Potter and Darbyshire (2010) argue that iPads offer a range of educational activities, requiring skills that more conventional learning styles may not be exercised.

I was also interested in the school’s use of film, particularly in the lower key stages. The ICT coordinator and year one teacher expressed a personal interest in film, listing many successes he had experienced. Also, he claimed that he had experimented with film and audio recording across the curriculum to engage pupils as well as addressing the issue of children struggling to translate their thoughts into writing. Furthermore, by using a green screen alongside a fairly simple to manage application on an iPad, he was able to create the illusion that the children in the film were in an exciting environment, which he claimed the children particularly enjoyed.

Brooks-Gunn and Hirschhorn-Donahue (2008) suggest that electronic media is changing dramatically, and I believe that teachers need to change and adapt along with it. Consequently, it can be argued that this particular school adopts a similar ethos, providing easy access to a range of digital media to children of all ages, as well as ensuring it’s staff are passionate enough to utilize the equipment to support their learning.

Overall, my visit to the school was incredibly useful. It allowed me to understand the impact ICT can have on learning when given the necessary funding as well as providing well-trained staff that passionately support the use of it.

Bibliography

Brooks-Gunn, J. and Hirschhorn-Donahue, E. (2008). Children and Electronic media. Journal Research into The Future of The Children. Vol 18 (1).   

John, P and Sutherland, R (2004) Teaching and Learning with ICT: New technology, new pedagogy? Education, Communication and Information, 4, pp101-107

Mills, K.A. & Levido, A. (2011) ‘iPed: Pedagogy for Digital Text Production’ The Reading Teacher: 65(1) pp80-91

Potter, F. and Darbyshire, C. (2010) Understanding and Teaching the ICT National Curriculum, Oxon: Routledge

internet safety

Discuss the importance of E-safety within an educational setting.

Children’s personal use of computers and the Internet has increased dramatically within recent years, with 99% of all children aged eight to seventeen using the Internet (Byron, 2008). Therefore, concern has arisen for the safety of children using the Internet unsupervised (Wishart, 2004).  This blog will outline some of the issues regarding Internet safety, drawing upon various sources to influence the discussion.

The DfES (2002) emphasises the issue of Internet safety for young users portraying some of the attitudes associated with it, stating that three quarters of parents claimed to be concerned for their children’s safety online. Interestingly, Wilshart (2004) suggests that due to parents being fearful towards the Internet, children often do not gain the full benefits of being online. However, there are risks involved with interacting online, which need to be addressed before children can safely engage with the Internet.

Wishart (2004) outlines children accessing unsuitable material as a key concern shared by both parents and teachers. Anastasiades and Vitalaki (2011) suggest that problems of this nature are more likely to occur outside of school, meaning that it is essential teacher’s are able to provide children with the knowledge to inform them of the dangers accompanying online use, as well as providing pedagogical guidance to assist children when navigating the Internet. Despite this, O’Connell, Sange and Barrow (2002) claim that there is a lack in the quality of Internet safety training within the UK, consequently leaving children ill equipped to safely manage challenging circumstances regarding encounters of inappropriate material online. Therefore, it could be argued that schools should ensure teachers are equipped with the necessary skills to deliver adequate Internet safety guidance.

Another significant problem children are exposed to online is securing their personal information (Wishart, 2004). Through using chat rooms and social networking sites, children are divulging extremely personal and private data such as their name, e-mail address and in some cases their mobile phone number and home address, leaving children vulnerable and at risk (Wishart, 2004).

Additionally, through using these aforementioned sites, children are also at risk of bullying (Campbell, 2005). Campbell (2005) continues to claim that cyber bullying has become increasingly prominent in today’s society, affecting many children. Fortunately, there are resources available to assist in dealing with cyber bullying, such as the bullying UK site. This site offers detailed definitions as well as clear and precise guidance for those affected by cyber bullying as well as the opportunity to share experiences.

As a result of these dangers, schemes such as ‘Net –detectives’, an Internet awareness programme aimed at nine to twelve year olds, has been launched (Wishart, 2007). This scheme utilizes a creative online role-play activity in an attempt to educate children about Internet safety in a motivating and challenging environment (Wishart, 2007).

To conclude, although the Internet may pose significant threat to children, with informed guidance, and the implementation of resources, the Internet can be a practical tool used to support children in their daily lives. Furthermore, to enhance my practice, I intend to explore other resources that could be used to encourage and promote the safe use of the Internet. 

Bibliography

Anastasiades, P. S., & Vitalaki, E. (2011). Promoting Internet Safety in Greek Primary Schools: the Teacher's Role. Educational Technology & Society, 14 (2), p.71–80.

BullyingUK. Available at: http://www.bullying.co.uk/cyberbullying/ [Accessed 28.03.2014]

Campbell, M. (2005). Cyber Bullying: An Old Problem in a New Guise?. Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling. 15 (1), p68-76.

Department for Children, Schools and Family. (2003). The Bryon Review. Available at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151715/https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/Byron_Review_Action_Plan.pdf [Accessed on 28.03.2014]

Department for Education and Skills (DfES) (2002). Young people and ICT: findings from a survey conducted Autumn 2001. NGfL Research and Evaluation Series. No. 5. London: Becta.

O’Connell, R., Sange, S., Barrow, C. (2002). Young peopleÕs use of chat rooms. Implications for policy strategies and programs for education. Preston: University of Central Lancashire. Draft report, July 2002.

Wishart, J (2004). Internet safety in emerging educational contexts. Computers and Education. 43 (1) p.193-204

Wishart, J. (2007). Using online role play to teach internet safety awareness. Computers and Education. 48 (3), p.460-473.