January 2018 – UWS BA ePDPs

Digital Technologies – 30.1.18 Week 4

In our fourth week of Digital Technologies, we looked at the concept of coding using the Scratch Jr application. Scratch Jr is an introductory programming language that allows children aged 5 and up to be creative and interactive by creating … Continue reading →

When children create programs, it allows them to develop their creative thinking skills, logical reasoning skills, problem solving skills and their collaboration skills (Scratch Jr, 2017). “Scratch was developed for young people to help them develop creative learning skills for the 21st century” (Scratch, 2017). According to The Lead Project (2014), “Scratch is designed for exploration and experimentation, so it supports any different learning style.” It can help support teachers in many different subjects such as maths, literacy, art, music and information technology (The Lead Project, 2014). The ability to code computer programs is a vital part of literacy in society today. Some people believe that coding is the new literacy. Coding can aid people in learning important strategies for problem solving, the communicating ideas and designing projects (The Lead Project, 2014).

The aim of today was to complete an assessment by creating our own adventure story using Scratch Jr on the iPads. Initially I thought it would be a challenging task. However, after following the activity card instructions on how to move characters, change the backgrounds and add speech, it became easier to do. My activity started off with an under the sea theme with animals that live under the sea. I started off the story with a fish looking for his friend and the task for the children would be to write about what they think will happen next. As a teacher, I would also ask them about the animals that are in the story and what other animals could live under the sea. In addition to this, I would also ask questions about how the characters are feeling throughout the story and how that made them feel. This would give children ideas for writing their part of the story and open up their imagination, whilst also learning about animals that live under water.

The technology experiences and outcomes that are covered within this activity are: TCH 1-04b/2-04b, “I can create, capture and manipulate sounds, text and images to communicate experiences, ideas and information in creative and engaging ways.” The literacy experiences and outcomes that are being covered are: LIT 0-09b/LIT 0-31a, “I enjoy exploring events and characters I stories and other texts and I use what I learn to invent my own, sharing these with others in imaginative ways.” (Education Scotland, 2017)

Codeacademy is another website that provides various coding languages. It can be easily accessed at school and at home. This means that children can log into the browser at school, log their progress and pick up where they left off. They would also be able to use this resource to set homework, do quizzes and play games. In addition to this, teachers can use lesson plans for all levels throughout school and is an effective way of checking homework (Telegraph,2014). The ability to code computer programs is a vital part of literacy in society today. Some people believe that coding is the new literacy. Coding can aid in learning important strategies for problem solving, communication of ideas and designing projects (TESL-EJ, 2017).

Today was my first experience of coding, and I thought it would be really complex and difficult to understand. However, it turned out to be simple and straight forward as I followed the instruction cards. As a student teacher, I would use Scratch Jr in my classroom as it has many benefits for the children, and also for me as an educator. It would increase and improve the children’s imagination skills, literacy and numeracy skills, problem solving skills, and logical skills In In addition to this, Scratch Jr can be tailored to any subject which is very useful and effective as a teacher. As individuals we must keep up with the digital technology that is readily available to us. In education, we should use this to our advantage to ensure that children grow up understanding how to use technology surrounding them and not be afraid to use it. Overall, Scratch Jr is easy to use, is readily available on the internet browser and is free to use. It is an effective resource for the classroom.

References

Education Scotland (2017) Benchmarks : Literacy and English. [Online] Available: https://education.gov.scot [Accessed : 30th January]

Education Scotland (2017) Benchmarks : Technologies. [Online] Available: https://education.gov.scot [Accessed : 30th January]

Scratch (2017). [Online] Available: https://scratch.mit.edu/ [Accessed:30th January]

Scratch Jr (2017). [Online] Available: https://www.scratchjr.org/teach/activities [Accessed:30th January]

Telegraph (2014) Teaching our children to code: a quiet revolution [Online] Available: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/10410036/Teac…[Accessed: 30th January 2018]

›The Lead Project (2014) Super Scratch Programming Adventure: Learn to Program by Making Cool Games! No Starch Press.

TESL-EJ (2017) [Online] Available: http://www.tesl-ej.org/wordpress/issues/volume21/ej82/ej82int/ [Accessed : 30th January]

Digital Technologies – Coding 30/01/18

Today within my Digital Technologies class I was introduced to Coding for the first time, during this time we focused directly on Scratch Jr. I became aware very quickly that coding is an important aspect within children’s learning as it can broaden knowledge and enable very beneficial lessons within a range of different areas, such as Literacy. The benefits of coding that I am now aware of have allowed me to recognise how important powerful is, therefore when I am planning lessons in future I will ensure I often use interactive games such as Scratch Jr.

There are many different benefits Coding has within the classroom, such as how it enables children to problem solve. This would help them in all aspects of life and education, this showing that Coding should not just be used for Technology lessons. Coding also allows children to communicate effectively, this is because they can convey their own ideas and stories. As children gain design and creativity skills through coding, they would have the experience and be able to design projects. Not only does coding allow skills to be developed and shown within school, but it also leads children to successful jobs “Gaming companies want more programmers. The government wants more high-tech start-ups. Manufacturers want trainees who can design embedded systems.” (Naughton, 2011, p2) These benefits show exactly how important coding is within society today. Scratch Jr is the coding programme that I focused on, which enables children aged five years and over to create their own interactive story. Scratch Jr has a wide range of different backgrounds, animals, people and objects that can be placed on slides. All of these different things can be made to move, sing, speak etc. The Lead Project (2014) back up the previously stated benefits mentioned as it is stated how Scratch Jr allows children to “think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively – essential skills for success and happiness in today’s world.”

I would love to deliver my Scratch Jr activity during a Literacy lesson to children in the future as I feel as though they would think about the previous text within it, and from this be able to continue the story. I would start this lesson by introducing them to the text, which is based on animals, their friends and where they live. On the end slide instead of introducing another animal I wrote “Where do you think my friends live?” – this would allow children to continue the story, whilst demonstrating their writing skills. It would also highlight that they have read the story accurately if they are able to keep it flowing like the previous slides, and also not repeat a slide on an animal that has already been discussed. I think this lesson would be best aimed at children in Primary 2, and before they continue the story I would create a mind-map with them about where different animals live, this allowing them to think about what they are going to write before starting. The interactive story I created is based around this Curriculum for Excellence outcome – ‘I explore and experiment with the features and functions of computer technology and I can use what I learn to support and enhance my learning in different contexts’ TCH 1-04a / TCH 2-04a. This specific Technology outcome highlights that the activity I created not only develops knowledge within technology, but also literacy. Another outcome which focuses on this is – ‘Using what I know about the features of different types of texts, I can find, select, sort and use information for a specific purpose’ LIT 1-14a. I feel as though this Literacy outcome fits in perfectly with the Scratch Jr activity I created as the story gives the information and ideas that is needed to be able to be able to finish it.

I am grateful that this module is allowing me to develop my knowledge in areas such as Coding, because otherwise I would have not been confident in teaching a lesson based around Scratch Jr or any other coding programme. Teachers who are not confident in Coding often need to be trained (Curtis, 2003), therefore I believe my knowledge will have a positive effect on the children I am teaching. Overall, I learned a lot today, as previously I would have just associated coding with technology lessons, however it fits into many different curricular subjects.

References:

Curtis, S. (2013) Teaching our children to code: a quiet revolution. [Moodle Resource] Available: Digital Technologies module on Moodle. [Accessed 30 January 2018]

Naughton, N. (2012) Why all our kids should be taught how to code. [Moodle Resource] Available: Digital Technologies module on Moodle. [Accessed 30 January 2018]

The Lead Project (2014) Super Scratch Programming Adventure: Learn to Program by Making Cool Games! No Starch Press.

Digital Technologies – Week 4

This week in Digital Technologies, we were focusing on the benefits of using coding in the class room. Coding is an important part of learning in today’s society and in order to explore this, we used the computer coding program Scratch Jr., to create an interactive story. The ability to code computer programs is an important part of not only …

Continue reading “Digital Technologies – Week 4”

The ability to code computer programs is an important part of not only learning, but in many aspects of literacy, and becoming increasingly known as the new literacy. When people begin to learn to code, they learn the important skills and strategies for solving problems, communicating their ideas in a different way and designing creative projects.

Scratch Jr. is an introductory programming language that enables young children who are of age 5 and above, and create their own by having the improved knowledge of coding prior to utilising Scratch Jr. The Lead Project, (2014) discusses the skills acquired by the coding program: “As young people create Scratch projects, they are not just learning how to write computer programs. They are learning to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively – essential skills for success and happiness in today’s world.” When a child is using Scratch Jr., they are having to navigate their way around the rules of coding, plan ahead, set the scenes and create different characters “Sprites”.

Scratch Jr. is widely used in education establishments, as it links in effectively with the Scottish Curriculum, ranging from Early level to Second level. “Scratch is designed for exploration and experimentation, so it supports any different learning style.” (The Lead Project, 2014) Schools are benefiting from coding programs such as Scratch Jr. as it’s benefits are endless for educators. it helps aid them in teaching subjects such as English, Maths, Music and Information Technology.

During the workshop, we created an interactive story using Scratch Jr., using our prior knowledge of coding and incorporating the Scottish curriculum Experiences and Outcome’s throughout the course of the interactive story. I had created a story, whereby an octopus and two other fish were in the ocean. The octopus had lost his lucky star and the two fish were to help him find it. The fish came across objects which were not the star, until the other fish had found where it may be. the children were then brought to a scene at night time, where the question was asked: “What might happen next?” This will allow the children to describe scenes, the character’s feelings and think ahead about what may happen next in the story line, developing their creative thinking skills.

The Scottish Curriculum Experience’s and Outcomes which link in with my Scratch Jr. story creation were:

“I explore and experiment with the features and functions of computer technology and I can use what I learn to support and enhance my learning in different contexts” TCH 1-04a/TCH 2-04a.

In relation to Literacy, the relevant outcome which links in to the task was:

“I enjoy creating texts of my choice and I regularly select subject, purpose, format and resources to suit the needs of my audience.” LIT 1-20a / LIT 2-20a

Moreover, I felt that it was beneficial being introduced to Scratch Jr., as I feel that it is an extremely useful source to use within a classroom environment, when teaching different lessons in an interactive way. I definitely will use this in the future when I become a teacher as I think it will encourage the pupils to create stories, with the prompt of an educator. not only developing creativity, but problem solving, collaborating and logically reasoning.

References:

The Lead Project (2014) Super Scratch Programming Adventure: Learn to Program by Making Cool Games! No Starch Press.https://www.facebook.com/

Coding

Coding can be used in the classroom to enhance learning of wide range of curricular areas. There are many benefits to use coding in the classroom; coding is an important skill in todays society, coding is believed by some to be the new literacy and children learn important strategies for solving problems, designing projects, and communicating ideas in everyday life. I believe coding could also be used to boost children’s confidence in curricular areas in which they struggle.

Scratch Jr. is an introductory programming language that gives young children, from early level, the opportunity to create their own interactive stories and games. In the classroom, Scratch Jr can be used to create a story using a variety of different, simple codes and offer children freedom in their writing while developing skills involved in technologies. “As young people create Scratch projects, they are not just learning how to write computer programs. They are learning to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively – essential skills for success and happiness in today’s world.” (The Lead Project, 2014) Scratch allows children to learn how to code, in a fun and interesting way, while developing skills in other curricular areas too.

Today in Digital Technologies, I used Scratch Jr to create a lesson in which the pupils will develop their technology skills as well as their literacy skills. I created a set of Scratch Jr slides that portray the story of brother and sister, Sam and Jane, out on a walk. Sam and Jane find a forest and decide to go exploring. The forest is spookier than they expected and they have to run away from a snake. The brother and sister manage to escape the forest safely and they return home to the city. The lesson is focused around the two following CfE Experiences and Outcomes; one is a literacy outcome and one is a technology outcome:

I enjoy creating texts of my choice and I regularly select subject, purpose, format and resources to suit the needs of my audience. LIT 1-20a / LIT 2-20a

I can create, capture and manipulate sounds, text and images to communicate experiences, ideas and information in creative and engaging ways. TCH 1-04b / TCH 2-04b

As a future teacher, having previously built upon Scratch Jr skills, I would play the first half of the story to the class (until the children enter the forest). I would then explain the task to the class. The class would be asked to finish the story, using Scratch Jr, explaining what they think will happen next. After having explained the task, I would show the class the rest of the story about Sam and Jane to help stimulate ideas about what could happen.

I would use Scratch Jr in the classroom as I believe it is an engaging and fun way of boosting the children’s skills. I also found Scratch Jr slides enjoyable to make and gave me freedom when creating my lesson. Being limited to four slides meant I had to condense my story further than anticipated, however, knowing about this limitation, next time I would try to put longer codes on each slide.

REFERENCES:

The Lead Project (2014) Super Scratch Programming Adventure: Learn to Program by Making Cool Games! No Starch Press.

Digital Technologies Week 4.

Today’s session was an introduction to the use of Scratch Jr in the classroom. Scratch Jr is aimed at children aged five and above to create interactive games, animations and stories. The Lead Project (2014) stated, “As young people create Scratch projects, they are not just learning how to write computer programs. They are learning …

Continue reading “Digital Technologies Week 4.”

Today’s session was an introduction to the use of Scratch Jr in the classroom. Scratch Jr is aimed at children aged five and above to create interactive games, animations and stories.

The Lead Project (2014) stated, “As young people create Scratch projects, they are not just learning how to write computer programs. They are learning to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively – essential skills for success and happiness in today’s world”. From this, the benefits of coding programs are exhibited. Alongside having a fun lesson on the iPads, children are gaining skills which they will require later in life in the adult world. Furthermore, this organisation also believe that Scratch Jr is a key tool for a teacher as they can use this application for a number of lessons including: English, mathematics, music, information technology and art & design (The Lead Project, 2014).

The lesson that I created today was aimed for the early level within the Curriculum for Excellence. The lesson was based on phonics and the “oo” sound. The Experiences and Outcomes that I have highlighted for this lesson are as follows;

I explore sounds, letters and words, discovering how they work together, and I can use what I learn to help me as I read or write. ENG 0-12a / LIT 0-13a / LIT 0-21a

I am developing problem-solving strategies, navigation and co-ordination skills, as I play and learn with electronic games, remote control or programmable, I can work individually or collaboratively to design and implement a game toys. TCH 0-09a / TCH 1-09a

To introduce the lesson to the children, we will sit as a group and I will show them that the characters are looking for phonics with the “oo” sound. We will then progress on to the next slide which asks the children to identify the words with the correct phonic. One-by-one, I will ask the children to come up and select the word they believe features the “oo” sound. Finally, I will direct them to their tables where the game will be set up on an iPad and they will have to think of words for themselves with the “oo” phonic and they are able to add them into the game for themselves.

I will definitely take this lesson into the classroom with me. I believe that the children will enjoy this whilst gaining vital skills for later in life. I thoroughly enjoyed today’s session.

References

›The Lead Project (2014) Super Scratch Programming Adventure: Learn to Program by Making Cool Games! No Starch Press.

Digital Technologies Reflection 30.1.18

Coding is can benefit classrooms by giving the ability to code to computer programmes and is an important part of literacy in today’s society. It has also been stated hat some people believe that coding is the new literacy, and finally when people learn to code they learn important strategies for solving problems, designing projects …

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Coding can then develop key skills for learners such as: creative thinking, logical reasoning, problem solving and collaboration. This will then be used through their lives and will aid and encourage them to use technology for many different curricular areas such as mathematics, English, music, art, design and information technology and I believe it will enrich their understanding of other topics within the classroom that require the use of technology and this will be enhance their learning.

“As young people create Scratch projects, they are not just learning how to write computer programs. They are learning to think creatively, reason systematically and work collaboratively – essential skills for success and happiness in today’s society.” (The Lead Project,2014)

Encountering, the process of making a story come to life using Scratch I went through a plan to understand what experiences and outcomes the children will be learning from and what they will gain throughout the lesson. This lesson that I prepared using the application was aimed at first and second level but can be used and adapted to early level as well.

From the subject of technology, the most relevant outcome towards my lesson was “I explore and experiment with the features and functions of computer technology and I can use what I learn to support and enhance my learning in different contexts” TCH 1-04a/TCH 2-04a.

From the subject of literacy, I begin to search deeper into story telling and creativity, this led me to be guided by “I can convey information, describe events or processes, share my opinions or persuade my reader in different ways” LIT 1-28a/LIT 2-28a.

Briefly describing my story using Scratch I wanted the children to create their own ending to the story that I began to create and increase their imagination and their developed skills of writing.

Slide 1 – I introduced the fact that the bat was following them around and the Melissa began to get frightened.
Slide 2 – I indicated to the viewers that the girl felt safe in her house but the bat was still outside hovering for her attention.
Slide 3 – Finally, the bat approaches her and actually is friendly and is wanting her to help him.
Finally, the fourth slide tells the children to go and explore their imagination by making up the ending of the story that was created for them to use.

References –

The Lead Project (2014) Super Scratch Programming Adventure: Learn to Program by Making Cool Games! No Starch Press.

Digital Technologies Week 3 – Multimodal Texts

We have looked at how multimodal texts can enhance literacy lessons before but in this week of Digital Technologies we took a closer look and created our own multimodal texts using the Promethean ActivInspire app. Multimodal is a term that refers to any text that combines two or more semiotic systems. These are visual, gestural, … Continue reading “Digital Technologies Week 3 – Multimodal Texts”

Multimodal is a term that refers to any text that combines two or more semiotic systems. These are visual, gestural, spatial, linguistic and aural. The children of today are bombarded with multimodal texts more than any generation before them due to the rise of technology. “The increased use of multimodal texts, digital communication, social networking and the other forms of electronic communication encountered by children and young people in their daily lives,” is reflected in the Curriculum for Excellence (Scottish Government, n.d., p.4) with the active inclusion of these multimodal texts.

Multimodal texts have been shown to be effective in classrooms because they allow a text to be understood and engaged with by more individuals. A child who struggles with reading as quickly as their peers may benefit from audio to support the text and vice versa. Multimodal texts in the classroom are a way to present ideas in “a variety of different ways to help pupils understand [them].” (Beauchamp, 2012, p.8).

With a group of other students, I used ActivInspire to create a multimodal text that would be suitable in an Early Years setting. It took the form of a ‘fill in the gap’ exercise. The background of each slide in the presentation was a place such as the jungle, the sea or a house. It asked who lives here, accompanied with an animal name in the form “c_ab,” for “crab” for instance, with a selection of letters underneath to be dragged and dropped into the space to complete the word. In the classroom, children could be asked what animal it is likely to be and what letter is missing from the word. Once the children have worked out the word, or if they are really stuck, there is a picture of the animal beside the word which can be revealed; this reminded me of ‘lift the flap’ books and struck me as very likely to keep children engaged. And of course, with an Interactive White Board, children would likely enjoy being invited up to drag and drop the letters or reveal the animal themselves, creating a “hands-on experience,” (Prandstatter, 2014). If I were to do this task again and able to invest more time in creating, I would include animal noises to increase the multimodality of the text.

Before this session, if asked to create a presentation to support a lesson, I would have instinctively used Microsoft PowerPoint, however a lot of the functions that make ActivInspire particularly engaging for children are not as easy to achieve with PowerPoint. ActivInspire is an accessible app. It is free and quick to download on both Microsoft and Apple computers. My group and I created our presentation on an Apple Mac and I expected to run into formatting issues when opening the file on my Microsoft laptop, but I did not experience any. There was a learning curve with the app when working out how to do more advanced operations but there is an abundance of tutorials available on YouTube to assist with this. My group was able to create our presentation within around an hour of being introduced to the app.

In my opinion, for these reasons, ActivInspire is a very useful tool in the classroom. It is easy to use, accessible and, if you know your way around the app, it can be to create an engaging, multimodal text to support a lesson in a matter of minutes. Following this week of Digital Technologies, I will definitely consider using ActivInspire before Microsoft PowerPoint in the primary classroom setting.

References

Beauchamp, G. (2012). ICT in the Primary School: From Pedagogy to Practice. Harlow: Pearson. p.8.

Prandstatter, J. (2014). Interactive Displays in Early Years Classes. [Blog: Online]. Available: http://connectlearningtoday.com/interactive-displays-early-years-classes/ [Accessed: 26 January 2018].

Scottish Government (n.d.). Curriculum for Excellence: Literacy and English Principles and Practice. Edinburgh: Scottish Government. p.4.

Digital Technology Week 3- 23/01/2018 (Multimodal)

During today’s lesson we discussed multimodal presentations, how they can be used in the classroom and the benefits which come alongside this. In order to be described as multimodal a text must combine two or more semiotic systems. The semiotic systems are as follows; Linguistic Visual Audio Gestural Spatial During the lesson we discussed the […]

Linguistic
Visual
Audio
Gestural
Spatial

During the lesson we discussed the many positives to using multi modal texts effectively within classrooms including engagement, personalisation, captivating, interactive and the depth of learning which can be not only taught but discovered; “The multimodality of technology…allows teachers to present an idea in a variety of different ways to help pupils understand it” Beauchamp (2012, p.8).

There are many different ways in which multimodal technology is used within classrooms today however during our lesson this week we focused upon the ActivInspire programme. At first I viewed the ActivInspire programme as similar to Powerpoint however by the end of the lesson I realised that it was so much more. There are almost endless interactive options within the programme as it can be used alongside the interactive whiteboards found in many schools in Scotland and so as I mentioned previously children can not only learn but discover for themselves with hands-on learning opportunities Janice Prandstatter a teaching and learning consultant also discusses the use of touch displays with children, “Touch displays can become a social learning tool encouraging hands-on experiences, thereby helping children to learn by doing.” (Prandstatter, J, 2014).

After watching some tutorial videos we began creating our own ActivInspire presentation for a chosen lesson using some of the new skills we had gained from watching the videos but also giving us a chance to work the programme out for ourselves. It took me a while to get to grips with the programme as it was so new and different to any programme I had used before and I would unconsciously revert back to built in habits from other programmes. Once I began to feel more confident with it I began discovering some of the countless opportunities available for creating unique and personalised learning materials. I love the interactivity which is available for children to be able to interact with the presentation you have created for them in order to enhance their lesson. Below are some pictures of the presentation I created.

Interactive lessons and multimodality can and should, where appropriate, be used across the curriculum and as teacher’s and educators become more familiar and confident with multimodality it is becoming increasingly relevant within Literacy and English. “The Literacy and English framework reflects the increased use of multimodal texts, digital communication, social networking and the other forms of electronic communication encountered by children and young people in their every day lives” (Scottish Executive, 2004). Children currently in schools have grown up with technology and multimodality this therfore must be acknowledged and the way we teach must adhere to this new, highly stimulated, way of life as well as acknowledging the different text types children are both used to seeing and are comfortable with, many of which are multimodal. However as I have discussed in previous blogs, as always, as Beauchamp (2012, P100) discusses; “The ability to present ideas in a variety of ways can help to structure new experiences but only if you as the teacher have sufficient understanding on the area yourself”. This is one of the many reasons why digital technology modules are so important to students studying to become teachers, ensuring the next generation of teachers can effectively use various digital technologies one the classroom. Including incorporating multimodality know how, where and when is best to use it.

References

Beauchamp, G. (2012) ICT in the Primary School: From Pedagogy to Practice Pearson.

Prandstatter, J (2014) Interactive displays in early year classes [Online] Available: http://connectlearningtoday.com/interactive-displays-early-years-classes/ [Accessed: 29/01/2018]

Scottish Executive (2004) Curriculum for Excellence. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive

Digital Technology Week 3

I was unfortunately unable to attend the lesson on multimodality this week due to being unwell but have since read up on the subject and looked over notes that my peer made during class. Multimodal presentations are great ways for … Continue reading →

I was unfortunately unable to attend the lesson on multimodality this week due to being unwell but have since read up on the subject and looked over notes that my peer made during class.

Multimodal presentations are great ways for teachers to present an idea in many different forms to help pupils grasp the concept and engage in the topic (Beauchamp, 2012, p.8). The Curriculum for Excellence believe that today literacy and the English language are developed more through multimodal texts, digital communication, social networking and other forms of communication that children encounter (Curriculum for Excellence – Literacy and English Principles and Practice paper). A multimodal text is combined with two or more semiotic systems which are:

Linguistic
Visual
Audio
Gestural
Spatial

Children are more engaged in learning when they understand exactly what it is they are being taught. The ability that ICT has in allowing children to understand something is phenomenal, of course, as long as their teacher has a strong understanding (Beauchamp, 2012, p.100). Such use of ICT through multimodal presentations bring captivation, motivation, interactivity, personalisation, dynamics, memorisation and engagement.

“ActiveInspire” is a tool that I became familiar with during my time on placement in November. The tool helps teacher’s make lessons more fun by allowing interaction and for children to use their imagination on interactive whiteboards. During placement, my class were set the task of creating a scary story and each group used their imagination to come up with a scene, eventually joining everyone’s ideas together as a whole class.

I loved using “ActiveInspire” during placement and feel confident working with multimodal to engage children’s learning and understanding.

References

Beauchamp, G. (2012) ICT in the Primary School: From Pedagogy to Practice. Pearson.

Education Scotland https://education.gov.scot

Digital Technologies Week 2 – 16th January 2018

During today’s session, we were exploring BeeBot with regards to numeracy. We have previously looked into the use of BeeBot within a classroom setting with regards to literacy and this prior learning helped to guide us during today’s session. We also studied the benefits of using BeeBot. In addition to this, we created a BeeBot […]

According to Janka, “The curriculum introduces programmable toys as a good example for developing knowledge and understanding of the contemporary world.” (Janka, 2008, p.2) This presents the idea that programmable toys are beneficial to children in their learning. It allows children to be engaged with their learning while being productive. Young people are also more interactive and creative which are valuable skills for the world of work.

It is also highlighted that, “[Floor robots in the classroom] help with the development of skills such as a logical sequencing, measuring, comparing lengths, space orientation, and expressing concepts in words.” (National centre for Technology in Education, 2012, p.1) Programmable toys are of great importance within numeracy and all areas of the curriculum as they allow children to be in control of their learning and to make the experience enjoyable for them.

Myself and my peer decided to create a ‘snakes and ladders’ map for our assessment this week. We were able to design the map to address several levels and abilities. For early years, the map is simply a game of snakes and ladders involving the BeeBot. Whereas, for first level learners the map allows them to see a visual representation of the numbers, the name of the numbers and the amount represented by circles in this instance and they must roll the dice to move the BeeBot around the map. For second level, the young learners will have to work out addition or multiplication sums to navigate the BeeBot around the map.

We were asked to allocate our creation to match certain experiences and outcomes of the Curriculum for Excellence and we chose the following:

“In movement, games, and using technology I can use simple directions and describe positions.” -MTH 0-17a

“I am developing problem-solving strategies, navigation and co-ordination skills, as I play and learn with electronic games, remote control or programmable toys.” -TCH 0-09a

Today’s session allowed me to become more comfortable usingBeebot and to understand the background and benefits of programmable toys.

References

Janka, P. (2008) Using a Programmable Toy at Preschool Age: Why and How [Online]. Available from: http://www.terecop.eu/downloads/simbar2008/pekarova.pdf [Accessed: 16 January 2018] NCTE (National centre for Technology in Education) (2012)

NCTE (National centre for Technology in Education) (2012) NCTE Floor Robots – Focus on Literacy & Numeracy. [Online]. Available from: http://www.ncte.ie/media/NCTE_Floor_robots_focus_on_literacy_numeracy_primary_12-06.pdf [Accessed: 16 January 2018].