TECHNOLOGIES
At Neilston we want to give our children as rich a variety of learning opportunities as possible. We feel that it is essential that our pupils have the opportunity to experience new technologies and to develop the searching, sorting and filtering skills that are likely to be part of everyday life.
The Curriculum for Excellence technologies framework is organised to offer opportunities for personalisation and choice using diverse contexts for learning. The framework has six organisers, namely:
- Technological developments in society
- ICT to enhance learning
- Business
- Computing science
- Food and textiles
- Craft, design engineering and graphics
ICT
Being skilled in using ICT is essential if our pupils are to be effective contributors able to communicate and interact on a global scale. Our pupils will develop their skills in ICT within and across curriculum areas to equip them with the learning and employability skills required for the 21st century.
Our pupils will also be encouraged to consider the safe use of computer equipment, education network, internet and mobile technologies. In Neilston we use PCs throughout the school. During ICT our pupils will be encouraged to:
- Develop confidence and skills in using ICT
- Make use of ICT to create and present their own ideas and materials
- Use ICT to collect and analyse structured information and to solve problems
- Employ ICT to search for information and to research topics
- Use ICT to communicate and collaborate with others
- Employ ICT to control and model aspects of the environment
- Be aware of and be informed about the applications and implications of ICT in society
- Learn how to keep safe on the computers
East Renfrewshire Council has a single connection the internet for schools and maintains the systems which prevent pupils from having access to unsuitable material. However, no system can guarantee 100% protection. We therefore stress the importance of using the network and the internet safely and, as a school, ensure internet access is supervised. We discuss network etiquette principles and how to manage the increasing use of mobile technologies. We also ask all our pupils to complete an Acceptable Information and Communication Technology (ICT) User Agreement and ask our parents to sign these agreements.
We take the safety and security of our pupils very seriously and every parent/carer is asked to give signed permission to allow their child to be photographed. These photographs will be for school work and occasionally by the local press. As mobile phones now take pictures and have internet access we ask that children bringing mobile phones to school switch these off on entering school premises. These will be kept off during the school day. Any contact with your child can be done through out school office.
Further information on the use of photography in schools can be found in
Parental Information Leaflets – Photographing Children at School
Technology is a creative form of expression whereby people interact with their environment in order to bring about change in response to needs and wants. It has a vital part to play in a child’s development and their appreciation of the world around them. It involves designing, communicating, creating, testing and evaluating encouraging young people to develop ideas and seek alternatives and solve practical problems in a variety of ways.
In Neilston we aim to:
- Promote discovery and actively foster ingenuity, imagination and inventiveness in design
- Develop a problem solving attitude to everyday situations
- Encourage positive attitudes and independence of thought
- Raise awareness of materials, their uses and limitations
- Enhance the child’s appreciation of the environment and to influenced it for the good
- Develop the necessary social skills to work cooperatively as part of a team
- Encourage the awareness of the aesthetic, economic and technological quality of their work and that of others
Our desired outcome is technological capability. We ensure that a range of technology activities provide each pupil with opportunities to sharpen technological perspective, strengthen confidence, deepen sensitivity and heighten creativity.
Further information on Safe Use of ICT can be found in
- Parental Information Leaflets – Internet. A Guide for Parents
- E- Portfolios for Parents
- ICT Handy Hints
Technology
