2.1 Curriculum – Page 4

QR Codes and Outdoor Learning – 20th March

And so it has arrived, our final class in Digital Technologies. Today we explored and learnt about the use of QR (Quick Response) Codes and the benefits of Outdoor Learning. I have had some previous experience using QR codes but mainly through working in retail and through simple day to day tasks like shopping and using social media. I had never once considered the thought of using QR Codes in the classroom, until now. The theme of today’s lesson was to partake in an outdoor activity where we had to locate six hidden clues, answer the multiple choice questions and scan the QR code to be able to continue to the next clue. Once all the clues had been found and answered, each answer gave us a letter which in the end had to be unscrambled and the correct word made up. This word linked to a Scottish IDL topic. The purpose of using the QR Codes in this activity was designed to enhance our (and future pupils) outdoor learning experiences. This was just one example of how they could be used effectively and successfully as I and the rest of my team thoroughly enjoyed the activity.

The effectiveness of Outdoor Learning in education is outlined by Learning and Teaching Scotland (2010) who state that “…it’s clear that the outdoor environment offers motivating, exciting, different, relevant and easily accessible activities from pre-school years through to college.” This was certainly evidenced today in our group’s case as we all found the task fun, rewarding and enjoyable and found working outdoors also promoted other positive factors such as learning about the environment and creating memories that will be remembered for years to come. We collated images taken from our time outdoors in an app called PicCollage. PicCollage allows for many images to be organised together in various styles in the one image and is a great way of sharing with others in order to give a quick insight into a particular event or activity.

The Curriculum for Excellence support Outdoor Learning and this too is highlighted in the 7 Design Principles:

Challenge & Enjoyment; Breadth; Coherence; Personalisation & Choice; Relevance; Progression and Depth.

“The core values of Curriculum for Excellence resonate with long-standing key concepts of outdoor learning. Challenge, enjoyment, relevance, depth, development of the whole person and an adventurous approach to learning are at the core of outdoor pedagogy…” Education Scotland (2010)

Outdoor Learning offers a variety of positive effects on both student and learner: It allows for pupils and teachers to learn and communicate in other ways that maybe hadn’t been achieved previously in a classroom setting; promotes the building of positive relationships between both peers and professionals along with enhancing self-awareness and the understanding of others. (Education Scotland 2010). Along with the aforementioned aspects of Outdoor Learning it also promotes other advantages to our young learners such as: Developing their critical thinking and problem solving skills, personal development and achievement; promotes a healthy lifestyle and can lead to lifelong recreational hobbies such as walking, cycling and swimming; provides opportunities for children to develop skills in order to assess and manage risks; promotes inclusion and equality broadly and can lead to resolution, increased feeling of self-worth and confidence along with personal achievements.

There are many areas that both Outdoor Learning and QR Code activities could be used within the curriculum including Literacy, Health and Wellbeing and Modern Languages. The activity we completed today would encompass the following experiences and outcomes from the Curriculum for Excellence:

I can communicate clearly when engaging with others within and beyond my place of learning, using selected resources as required. LIT 1-10a

Through taking part in a variety of events and activities, I am learning to recognise my own skills and abilities as well as those of others. HWB 1-19a

I work on my own and with others to understand text using appropriate resources, demonstrating my
understanding by matching written words to pictures and by reconstructing the text in a logical sequence, for example. MLAN 2-08a

Upon completion of our class task, we then gathered back into the classroom to create our own activity based on the same ideas and principles of the one we had just completed. I chose to create a quiz based around the topic of Easter and was similar in format to the one we had just finished as a class. By doing so, it showed me just how easy it was to create a simple yet fun and fulfilling activity that I know children would get excited and geared up for and thus encourages their learning and enhances their experiences of education. In just 20 minutes I had created a relevant and educational activity that children would find engaging, fun and that they would certainly get excited about whilst being educational at the same time.

Overall, the use of the QR Codes in the outdoor learning activity allowed me to see yet another fantastic resource that could be utilised in many different areas of education whilst giving young learners fun and memorable educational experiences. I will certainly use this resource in the classroom as a professional and look forward to seeing my pupils reactions when they are participating and having fun outdoors. I know that they will get just as much as enjoyment and fulfilment out of a similar lesson as we did today in our last class of Digital Technologies.

So, today sees us at the end of our Digital Technologies journey with this being the last instalment of what I can only describe as being one of the most rewarding and educationally rich experiences I have had so far throughout my time at UWS. Since starting the module back in January, taking us up until now – almost at the end of March – I can honestly say that my attitude towards technology both in and outside of the classroom has changed significantly from the opinions and feelings I presented towards it at the start of Trimester 2. I have gained a wealth of knowledge, ideas and skills through undertaking this module and I am so glad that I choose it as part of my BA1 learning experience. The lessons throughout the module have evidenced to me the clear links to education and curriculum and have allowed me the opportunity to delve deeper into areas of digital technology that I may never of had the chance to do so beforehand and for that I feel grateful and rewarded. I look forward to putting the skills and knowledge I have adopted in this short space of time into practice into what I hope will be a long and successful teaching career.

References

Curriculum for Excellence: Experiences and Outcomes. [Online] Available at: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/all-experiences-and-outcomes.pdf. First Accessed: 21st March 2018.

Education Scotland (2010) Curriculum for Excellence Through Outdoor Learning.

Learning and Teaching Scotland (2010) Curriculum for Excellence Through Outdoor Learning

Personal Reflection of Digital Technologies – Outdoor Learning 20/03/18

Today was the last session of digital technologies. We took part in an outdoor learning session. Within the session we used two apps; Pic Collage and QR code scanner. I have previously used Pic Collage and I am comfortable using the app although, I have not used QR code scanner before. I feel sad that it was the last session because I have thoroughly enjoyed learning how to use different technologies within the Curriculum.

“Outdoor learning experiences are often remembered for a lifetime. Integrating learning and outdoor experiences, whether through play in the immediate grounds or adventures further afield, provides relevance and depth to the curriculum in ways that are difficult to achieve indoors” (Learning and Teaching Scotland 2010). This shows that when children are outdoors they are still learning within the curriculum along with it being a memorable experience of school. This is because they are not within the same environment as they are every day.

Education Scotland (2010) states “the outdoor environment offers motivating, exciting, different, relevant and easily accessible activities from pre-school years through to college.” I think that this is effective because as a group of adults we found that outdoor learning was exciting and we enjoyed being outside of a classroom situation.

Outdoor learning encourages inclusion for those with skills that are not always visible when they are in a classroom setting. Outdoor learning can change children’s perception when they are outdoors as they may come across a place that they may not have been before. Outdoor learning encourages a healthy lifestyle as the children could be hill walking, cycling or skiing. Outdoor learning is positive as it encourages children’s personal development skills through communication, problem solving and working with others. Outdoor learning also enables children to manage their health and safety assessing risks and develop their skills with health and safety. Outdoor learning also encourages children to make links to their curriculum.

“The core values of Curriculum for Excellence resonate with long-standing key concepts of outdoor learning. Challenge, enjoyment, relevance, depth, development of the whole person and an adventurous approach to learning are at the core of outdoor pedagogy” (Education Scotland, 2010).

Education Scotland (2010) also states that outdoor learning allows pupils and staff to see each other within a different environment that can improve one’s self awareness and understanding of others. It can also build positive relationships between staff and pupils.

“The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 is about improving the well-being of children and young people in Scotland. The Act is wide ranging and includes key parts of the Getting it right for Every Child, commonly known as GIRFEC” (Scottish Government 2017). At the centre of the Scottish Governemnts GIRFEC approach is the well-being wheel with eight indicators that make the name SHANARRI. SHANARRI stands for Safe, Healthy, Active, Nurture, Achieving, Responsible, Respect and Included. During the session we worked in pairs to discuss how Outdoor learning links to the eight aspects. The ideas we came up with were; When children are out with a classroom they are still achieving outcomes of the curriculum and learning how to be responsible when they are outside. They are also included, keeping themselves safe when assessing risks, along with being active and healthy if the children are out walking to places and doing other activities. The children are also gaining respect for the environment and people around them. They are respecting the teacher for allowing them to have responsibility of their own safety and learning. This shows that outdoor learning achieves most of the eight aspects.

We explored the Pic Collage app. To explore we picked a topic that could be summarised. My partner and I took pictures around the university campus grounds and we were able to transfer them to pic collage change the effect of them and put them into a grid so that they were all positioned. My partner and I had both previously used pic collage and found it easy to use and known how to work it.

We explored QR Code Scanner app we found out that QR – means Quick Response, ›a QR Code is an ‘image-based hypertext link’, they are a type of two-dimensional barcode. ›A QR code – can store 7089 numbers and a QR code can link to a short bit of text, an audio recording, a website, a phone number, an email address, a map location, an calendar event. Your generated QR code can be placed anywhere – printed, embedded. We hunted for barcodes that were situated around the campus grounds. When we scanned the barcode a question appeared based on a Social Studies topic around Scotland. When answering the questions you had a letter next to the two options and then with the right answers you had to create word out of the letter next to it. This was an exciting task as every one in the class wanted to become first at achieving the word. We figured it out and then scanned the last barcode and it told us the correct answer. My group were the first to come up with the word HAGGIS.

I had the opportunity to create my own task to use with QR Reader. I created my own barcodes with questions related to money for first level students. The children are given questions involving an item that is a specific price and the children are given an amount that they have. Then they have to work out what change that they would receive back. I linked this to an outcome from both technology and numeracy. The numeracy outcome I linked it to was; “I can use money to pay for items and can work out how much change I should receive” MNU 1-09a (Education Scotland 2004). The technology outcome I linked it to was “I can explore and experiment with digital technologies and can use what I learn to support and enhance my learning in different contexts TCH 1-01a” (Education Scotland 2004).

Money BA1 Digital Tech

I thought that the QR Reader app was easy to use and is a useful resource to take on as a student teacher. I would recommend the app as it is quick and easy to use and does not take long to create the barcodes to create an activity. It can also be used across the curriculum for a range of subjects involving the 7 Design Principles of the Curriculum for Excellence.

I think that the use of outdoor learning is positive because it enables children to explore outdoors in a different way whilst learning at the same time. Outdoor learning allows children to feel included and be responsible when outdoors as they are out of the controlled environment that they are normally in. I think that uses of apps such as pic collage and QR code scanner can encourage learning in different ways when pupils are creating treasure hunts for their peers. It also develops children’s imagination when thinking of the clues to give their peers. It enhances problem solving and group work along with children’s conversation skills of when to talk and when to listen.

Throughout todays session of outdoor learning I think that I will involve it in my future career because it is active for the children and achieves majority of the 7 principles within the curriculum for excellence. It also links across the curriculum. Outdoor learning is a beneficial tool that will encourage children to learn in a different way.

Overall throughout Digital Technologies my knowledge has increased with the use of technology and its uses within the classroom. I always thought that the use of technology within a classroom would be using a computer to type up pupils literacy/language work or playing a range of games to assist their mathematics. I have found that their is more technology that could be used across the curriculum that would also link with other subjects such as; gaming, beebot and use of mobile devices, with I would never have thought devices like these could be involved within education. I have enjoyed my time working within Digital Technologies and definetly have developed plans for future lessons when I become a teacher. I also realised that teachers do not need to be highly skilled when using technology because if the technology being used is relevant to the children they will be able to show teachers how to work it.

References

Education Scotland (2004) – Curriculum for Excellence; Experiences and Outcomes [Online] https://education.gov.scot/scottish-education-system/policy-for-scottish-education/policy-drivers/cfe-(building-from-the-statement-appendix-incl-btc1-5)/Experiences%20and%20outcomes [Accessed on 20th March]

Learning and Teaching Scotland (2010) Curriculum for Excellence Through Outdoor Learning.

Scottish Government (2017) Getting it Right – Well-being Wheel (SHANARRI Wheel) [Online] http://www.gov.scot/Topics/People/Young-People/gettingitright/wellbeing [Accessed on 20th March]

Animation!

This week in Digital Technologies we were learning about the art of animation. I would consider myself to be quite a crafty, creative person so for me this really got me excited and I wanted to jump right in and get started. After those initial feelings, I started to worry that maybe we wouldn’t have enough time to create an animation as 1 – I had never actually created an animation before so I didn’t know what kind of time frame it would take and 2 – I was feeling a bit wary of the resources we had available to us.

Today’s task was to create an animation of anything we wanted. This was an individual task however we were allowed to work in pairs if we wanted to and I thought that by working with another individual, in this case then two heads were better than one. Jarvis (2015, p.89) states that ”animation involves the stringing together a sequence of static images, generally so that they appear to move.” Having never strung any images together before in order for them to appear as though they were moving, I was still feeling a little apprehensive about the task.

Firstly, we began to explore the app ‘Puppet Pals’ which gave us some depth and knowledge into how an animation app works and the types of features and tools it has to allows us to create an animation that stood out and worked well. In this app we were to create a short animation based on a classic fairytale. It had to include voice recordings, movement from the characters, the characters changing size and also have a structure – a beginning, middle and an end. This short 10 minutes exploring the app put me at ease as it showed me how animation worked and the different features that could be used to create a strong animation.

Since the start of this module on digital technologies, it has left me feeling excited as a student teacher due to the amount of technology that is out there as a prospective teacher to be able to use with my future pupils. Reflecting back on my own time as a primary school aged child, there were nowhere near half the amount of fun and valuable resources that there are now in my educational journey and the thought of being able to use them while I was at school I know that not only me but my friends and peers would have had a great time using them. This simply just evidences how quickly the times move and how fast paced the development in technology has become. As suggested by Beauchamp, (2012) ICT allows pupils to ”achieve something that would be very difficult or even impossible to achieve in any other way.” Reflecting back on my first year school experience placement, I came across numerous children who all had their own individual learning style and watching them create or succeed through the use of digital technology was evidencing just how important the use of this tool is in the classroom. Furthermore, Beauchamp states that ”e-Inclusion aims to use digital technologies to minimise the problems that pupils with learning difficulties experience.” By giving all children in primary schools the same opportunities across their educational journey but in particular through access to technology, we are closing in on the gap of problems that pupils who have learning difficulties can experience.

After exploring puppet pals, my partner and I began to create our own props and scene for our own animation. We worked collaboratively and worked within our allocated time to create a short animation using small wooden characters who were school pupils, and a pink bendy character who was the class teacher. I created a backdrop by simply drawing and colouring a school classroom and by one of us recording and the other moving the characters in order for us to create a series of stills and frames, once put together they created our short animation. We added features including a clock which we moved in most frames to give the idea of time going by and changing some of the characters to represent different emotions during different parts of the scene. Once we completed our recording, we enjoyed looking back on the final piece and were really pleased with it. It is a great way for children to use their creative and cognitive skills along with their patience and persistence in order to create a piece of work that is effective, fun and created animations to a high standard. The tutorials and Moving Image Education website provided a lot of helpful hints and tips in order to produce a great animation despite it being my first time using and creating with this resource.

Having completed our animation and after watching it back, it gave me a sense of achievement as I was worried at the beginning having never made an animation before and not being sure of where it would fit into the classroom. However, after looking through the Scottish Education Experiences and Outcomes, it became a lot clearer that what we created linked to certain aspects of these, and in a classroom this type of technology would be an effective tool across many areas of the curriculum, such as:

I have the opportunity to choose and explore a range of media and technologies to create images and objects, discovering their effect and suitability for specific tasks. EXA 1-02a

I regularly select subject, purpose, format and resources to create texts of my choice. LIT 1-01a/2-01b

I enjoy exploring events and characters in stories and other texts and I use what I learn to invent my own, sharing these with others in imaginative ways. LIT 0-09b / LIT 0-31a

Animation could be used in a variety ways through a variety of areas in order to enhance pupils learning whilst supporting it at the same time. Despite my set backs at the beginning, throughout the course of creating the animation I found it to be a great task to collaborate on and a resource that I definitely would consider to be fun and educational for children across all levels at primary school. As suggested by Beauchamp (2012, p.66) ”ICT equipment is part of pupils’ everyday life, so should be part of their everyday play.” This type of technology tool would be an ideal resource to incorporate into a child’s everyday play as it encompasses a variety of skills and educational aspects that only impose positive aspects on the child.

References

›Beauchamp, G. (2012) ICT in the Primary Classroom: From Pedagogy top Practice. Pearson.

›Jarvis, M. (2015) Brilliant Ideas for Using ICT in the Classroom: A Very practical Guide for Teachers and Lecturers. Routledge.

Personal Reflection Game Based Learning – 06/02/18

Today within digital technologies we explored games based learning. With Games-based learning “students are provided with a game filled experience driven by play” (Farber, M 2016) At first we created a mind map in a small group of what we thought the positives and negatives of games based learning was. Some examples we put down were; links to the curriculum, engagement with others, creativity is involved and is relevant to children’s lives.

After further reading we then added to our mind map of the positives of games based learning this included; it not always teacher led, it can links to cross curricular activities such as literacy, maths and art. We also included that it encourages children to look at things differently.

Learning Teaching Scotland (2010 pg. 12) say that “Over the past decade, the use of digital gaming in education has prompted considerable attention in exploring how and why games might be powerful tools in the classroom. As a result of this interest, there is a considerable body of literature available on game-based learning in the classroom and the potential benefits of this for education and learning.”

When developing my knowledge I found that there is a history behind games based learning “The link between learning and playing is longstanding and predates the digital era by thousands of years (Higher Education Academy 2015). Theorists Jean Piaget and Leonard Vygotsky have argued that play is a an important part of brain development from birth and throughout adulthood (Higher Education Academy 2015). I think that play stimulates childrens minds as it encourages them to think actively instead of being at a desk writing on a piece of paper and play is interactive so it allows children to interact with their peers. Higher Education Academy (2015) says that the advent of computing (1980) and the internet (1990) created many opportunities for ‘play’ in the form of video and computer games. It also says that “Games-based learning is the integration of going into learning experiences to increase engagement and motivation” (Higher Education Academy 2015).

For today’s session we were to explore the Nintendo Wii and experience the game of Mario Kart although the lecturer was unable to find the wire to connect the WII so instead we watched a video of Mario Kart and then created our own Character and car to replace the exploration of the Wii. I already had previous experience with the Wii therefore I had an idea of what Mario Kart looked like and had the opportunity to explore the Wii when I was younger. The character I drew was Mickey Mouse, Mickey had a red an white convertible that had great speed and handling with a poor acceleration rate.

We then worked within a small group to create an Interdisciplinary Learning plan (IDL) to show the number of curricular areas that game-based learning can cross. The plan was based on Mario Kart. The ideas we came up with linked to the Curriculum for Excellence through Art, Drama, Numeracy, Literacy and Technology. Our art ideas included creating a garage, race track, tickets, the car and the character who was racing. The outcome this linked to; “I have the opportunity to choose and explore an extended range of media and technologies to create images and objects, comparing and combining them for tasks (EXA 2-02a)”(Education Scotland 2004) . The technology idea that we came up with was to create an iMovie trailer to introduce the race and the characters. The outcome this linked to; “I can explore and experiment with digital technologies and can use what I learn to support and enhance leaning in different contexts (TCH 1-01a)” (Education Scotland 2004) . The idea for literacy was to create a description of characters and the cars that were used through use of adjectives. The outcome this linked to; “By considering the type of text I am creating I can select ideas and relevant information and organise these in a logical sequence and use words which will be interesting and/or useful to others (LIT 1-26a)” (Education Scotland 2004).

I was surprised when I considered how many areas across the curriculum that Games-Based learning can fit in to. This made me consider using it within my future teaching career as a topic of the children’s learning.

The benefits of Games-Based Learning are; increase of motivation, attention grabbing. recall of information, reinforcing knowledge and that it is stress free and pleasurable. The potential challenges for teachers are: it could be challenging identifying a suitable game or part of a game, integrating the game into time and structure of daily planning. The teachers confidence and skills on computers and the use of resources. The school budget may also be a challenge. A potential challenge could also be linking the game to a specific area within the curriculum (Learning and Teaching Scotland 2010, pg. 20)

As role models teachers must ensure that game based learning has a positive impact on social skills, that it supports and enhances learning, it develops skills and provides opportunities to apply skills.

I think that games based learning is a tool worth taking into my future career as it would engage children in many different ways and it links to consoles that they may play at home such as the Xbox, Wii and Playstation. The children may have more knowledge of the game than me but it is nothing to be embarrassed about because I could learn more about the game from them and then include it in a range of areas within the curriculum. It enables children to interact with each other and allows them to increase in depth knowledge of what a game could add to their learning. It also encourages children to be interactive, working in teams and collaborating a range of ideas into one. It allows the children to use their imagination.

References

Farber, M (2016) Edutopia – 3 Ways to use Game-Based Learning [Online] https://www.edutopia.org/article/3-ways-use-game-based-learning-matthew-farber [Accessed on 6th February 2018]

Higher Education Academy (2015) – Gamification and Games-Based Learning [Online] https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/gamification-and-games-based-learning [Accessed on 6th February 2018]

Learning, Teaching Scotland (2010) – FutureLab – The Impact of Console Games in the Classroom [Online] https://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/FUTL25/FUTL25.pdf [Accessed on 6th February 2018)

Digital Technologies Week 7 – 20.2.18

This week in Digital Technologies, we learned about animation by using the applications, Puppet Pals and iStop Motion. Firstly, we looked at Puppet Pals on the iPad. As a pair, we had to create a fairy tale story using the Puppet Pals application. Personally, it took a little while to familiarise myself with how to change the scene and move the characters in and out of a different scene. Although, once I was familiar with the concept of it, I thought it was a really useful tool, as children can talk and record the story whilst moving the characters. It was really effective. It would be something I would use in my classroom.

iStop motion was the other animated application we looked at today. I also found this slightly tricky to use at first but after playing around with it for five or ten minutes it became fairly straight forward to use. Jarvis (2005) suggests that “Animation involves the stringing together a sequence of static images, generally so that they appear to move.” We used lego to create a space story, using only music and pictures. By combining these together it created an animated video. The only drawback is that it is very time consuming.

However, animation has a “big visual impact” (Jarvis, 2005). Using cut out animation is the easiest technique to begin with. “Animation breathes life into something that would not normally move (Moving Image Education). There are five main types of animation according to Moving Image Education : Cut out which is the quickest and easiest; iStop motion for example using plasticine models; pixilation where humans become puppets; drawings for example the Disney animation; and computer such as games and movie. Animation can be used to enhance learning. Bertrancourt (2005) suggests that there are three easy that animation can do this. It can enhance the learners’ visual representation, it illustrates information processes and it can provide an interactive element. I think animation should be used in classrooms as it has many benefits to a child’s learning. Technology is changing at a rapid pace in today’s society, and Beauchamp (2012, p 66) feels that “ICT equipment is part of pupils’ everyday life, so should be part of their everyday play.” I think this is vital for children as technology will keep them interested in their task as it is something they use everyday. ICT allows children to create things that they would not be able to achieve in any other way. e-Inclusion also uses digital technologies to help children with learning difficulties and minimises the problems they face with this. In addition to this, teachers must be confident with using digital technologies. As technology grows teachers may be worried by new technologies so it is important that they do not pass this onto young children, as they should be exploring these new technologies (Beauchamp, 2012).

Experiences & outcomes for animation:

“I can explore and experiment with digital technologies and can use what I learn to support and enhance my learning in different contexts.” TCH 1-01a

“I can use a range of graphic techniques, manually and digitally, to communicate ideas, concepts or products, experimenting with the use of shape, colour and texture to enhance my work.” TCH 2-11a

“I enjoy exploring events and characters in stories and other texts, sharing my thoughts in different ways.” LIT 0-01c

“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

Overall, I enjoyed using Puppet Pals and iStop Motion on the iPads to create stories. I think it is a very beneficial tool for the classroom. However, it is very time consuming so this is something that as a teacher I would have to be mindful of when creating a task.

References

›Beauchamp, G. (2012) ICT in the Primary Classroom: From Pedagogy top Practice. Pearson.

Education Scotland (2009) Curriculum for Excellence: Literacy Experience and Outcomes. [Online] https://education.gov.scot/Documents/literacy-across-learning-eo.pdf [Accessed: 28th February 2018]

Education Scotland (2009) Curriculum for Excellence: Technologies Experiences and Outcomes. [Online]https://education.gov.scot/Documents/Technologies-es-os.pdf [Accessed: 28th February 2018]

›Jarvis, M. (2015) Brilliant Ideas for Using ICT in the Classroom: A Very practical Guide for Teachers and Lecturers. Routledge.

›Moving Image Education. [Online] https ://movingimageeducation.org/create-films/animation [Accessed: 28th February 2018]

Movie Making 13/02/2018

When I realised today we would be making our own movies, I was quite excited at the prospect and had a few ideas float around in my head of what I thought would work well. Working in a group, we were given the task to create a short movie, using the iMovie app on an iPad. The product was to be centred around the topic of ‘Internet Safety’ and be appropriate to view by primary school children which also gave a clear message to it’s audience.

Once we got our group, we came together and brainstormed, we collaborated effectively which resulted in us combining a few of our ideas together and came up with the idea to create a short film based on a popular young wizard and his friends – but with a twist. We all had various roles in the group; actor/actress, visual technician, head of wardrobe, runner and producer to name a few. The role I undertook myself was that of one of the main characters – Hairy Snotter. Miss Snotter was a young witch who was invited to a meeting place to meet with one of her friends. Little did she know that by talking to her ‘friend’ online she was actually being targeted by a stranger posing to be her friend and in fact almost landed herself in a lot of trouble. Thankfully her friend Mermione came to the rescue and advised Hairy to get rid of the imposter by casting a spell on him. Once they worked their magic on the imposter, we came out of character to inform the audience on the importance of staying safe online and advising them on where they can seek more help and information about keeping themselves safe online.

We centred our movie around cross-curricular experiences and outcomes. These touched on areas such as Health & Wellbeing, Literacy and Technology:

As I listen or watch, I can identify and discuss the purpose, main ideas and supporting detail contained within the text, and use this information for different purposes. LIT 2-04a

I listen or watch for useful or interesting information and I use this to make choices or learn new things. LIT 0-04a

To help me develop an informed view, I can distinguish fact from opinion, and I am learning to recognise when my sources try to influence me and how useful these are. LIT 2-08a

I can communicate clearly when engaging with others within and beyond my place of learning, using selected resources3 as required. LIT 1-10a

I can explore and experiment with digital technologies and can use what I learn to support and enhance my learning in different contexts. TCH 1-01a

I can explore online communities demonstrating an understanding of responsible digital behaviour and I’m aware of how to keep myself safe and secure. TCH 2-03a

I understand that there are people I can talk to and that there are a number of ways in which I can gain access to practical and emotional support to help me and others in a range of circumstances. HWB 0-03a / HWB 1-03a / HWB 2-03a / HWB 3-03a / HWB 4-03a

Our message to the audience was clear – you cannot be too careful when using the internet. You may think you know who you are talking to and feel like you can trust the person at the other side of the screen. However, the internet can be a very dangerous place and can cause hurt and serious harm to those who choose to use it.

As a group we all had great fun creating our mini movie. There were great laughs and enjoyment throughout the time we were in character and out of character and used various props, settings and visuals to create an effective movie which would be memorable for the right reasons. When it came to using the iMovie app it was a brilliant resource that allowed us to put together snippets of video clips and stills we had created and piece them together in a way that produced a great end result. The tutorials we viewed individually prior to starting our movie were very useful as it gave us a valuable insight into the features and tools that were available to us and which gave our movie the important finishing touches.

Crating the movie was all fun and games yes, but remembering the reason why we were dong it left quite the impact on me being a mother and also a student teacher. Being an adult and being responsible for the safety of my own child and pupils now and in the future, creating a short movie reminded me of just how scary and dark the internet can be and that it can suck in the most vulnerable and trusting of children and have terrible outcomes. It is of great importance to educate our children on the importance of using the internet safely and effectively both in and out of the classroom and ensuring they are aware of what they should and should not be doing online. It is also vital to ensure children know they can seek advice and help from trusted adults such as their parents/carers or teachers regardless of how much trouble they might think they are in or if they feel they are being targeted in any way whatsoever. As stated by Simpson and Toyn (2012), ”If we can educate children that they always have an adult they can seek support from, we can help keep children safe online”.

Using the iMovie app in today’s class certainly demonstrated and evidenced that it would also be just as an effective tool for children in the classroom as it was for me as an adult learner. The iMovie app would allow children to develop their skillset in technology and other areas of the curriculum by allowing them to work on their own project or movie as an individual or as part of a team. It can be from as simple as taking the iPad out to film a simple literacy task such as recording items they can see in the classroom or playground that begin with a certain sound or letter, to interviewing peers or members of staff in their school as part of their IDL topic or for research on a class project. iMovie can give children the opportunity to be autonomous and create something that maybe otherwise they wouldn’t be able to create through writing, talking or drawing. iMovie allows for children to show off their creative talents and witness their end result by viewing their finished product and feeling a great sense of achievement.

Beauchamp (2012) suggested that “…the most successful schools… in terms of e-safety ensured that pupils knew what to do when things went wrong”. By teaching our future generation about the safe use of the internet, we are ensuring our children and pupils are set in good stead for a future where they will be engulfed by technology, the internet and social medias. Children take chances and make mistakes. They are testing their own boundaries and their parents and teachers. However, by implementing e-safety in primary schools we are making our children and young learners know that it is important they ask for help and advice when it comes to the internet and to trust the adult they know and can see, not the person behind the keyboard.

Overall, today was a great success. I found using the iMovie app enjoyable and it is certainly a resource I will be looking to use in my own classroom in the future. I found it to be particularly effective around today’s topic and can only imagine the other types of awareness can be raised through the use of one digital technology tool in the classroom.

References

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

Scottish Government (2008) The Curriculum for Excellence [Online] Available at: http://www.education.gov.scot/Documents/all-experiences-and-outcomes.pdf [First Accessed 13 February 2018]

Simpson D., Toyn M. (2012) Primary ICT Across the Curriculum. Sage

Digital Technologies Week 7 – Animation

According to the Moving Image Education website, “Animation ‘breathes life into something that wouldn’t normally move’.” Today we were challenged with creating a stop-motion animation to tell part of a story. I was soon inspired with thoughts of Wallace and Gromit-style plasticine models. My expectations were quickly altered as I watched a series of tutorials … Continue reading “Digital Technologies Week 7 – Animation”

I was soon inspired with thoughts of Wallace and Gromit-style plasticine models. My expectations were quickly altered as I watched a series of tutorials and discovered the time and skill that it takes to produce something of the sort.

Rather than simply being a beginners’ sort of movie-making, animation is an art in its own right. There are five different types of animation, which serve different purposes: cutout, stop-motion model, pixillation, drawn and computer animations (Moving Image Education).

We found that the simplest to create was cutout animation and My partner and I were lucky enough to have had experience with the iStop Motion app on placement where we created a scene for their Viking topic with small groups of primary three children.

We decided to challenge ourselves with creating a scene in the plasticine stop motion style. We had an hour and a half to fully familiarise ourselves with the app and create our scene. We began by animating the process of creating one plasticine character, with little details such as the character picking up his second arm and ‘putting it on’ by himself. It was a very fun and engaging session and as we went we were further inspired, which culminated in a 14 second sequence where another character came along and jumped on the original and made a ‘splash.’

This was a fun activity with the potential to form a basis of a very engaging lesson. Besides the obvious development of Technology skills that takes place when creating an animation, asking children to do a task like this gives them an opportunity to “communicate clearly when engaging with others within and beyond my place of learning, using selected resources as required,” meeting the Literacy outcome LIT 1-10a (Scottish Government, 2004). A lesson creating animation is yet another opportunity to use Technology in the classroom in a way that promotes inclusion for those students with additional support needs, who may not be able to tell their story as well by putting pen to paper as they can by designing a model and ‘bringing it to life.’

The only limitation I could see with this in a lesson is that it took us the full hour and a half to create 14 seconds of footage. However, this could be useful in the classroom to promote groupwork – with small groups of children each creating one snippet of a story.

One key finding of the Digital Literacy Impact Review (Scottish Government, 2015) was that while there is evidence that digital tools and resources can help to close the attainment gap, it is just as important that teachers are equipped with the skills to use it; it is not enough simply that the technology is available for use in the classroom, teachers must be familiar with it and competent when using it. After this session, I am confident in my ability to use the iStop Motion app to create animations and quite excited to hopefully see it used, or use it myself, in the classroom again on my next placement.

References

Moving Image Education: [Online] https ://movingimageeducation.org/create-films/animation [Accessed: 21 February 2018].

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

Scottish Government. 2015. Digital Literacy Impact Review. [Online] Edinburgh: APS. [Accessed: 21 February 2018].

Personal Reflection Digital Technologies – Animation 20/02/18

Today within Digital technologies we learned about Animation. Bertrancourt (2005) “suggests three ways in which animation can be used to enhance learning: 1.To enhance learners’ visual representations. 2.To illustrate processes. 3.To provide an interactive element.” According to Moving Image Education there are five main types of animation: 1.Cutout – quickest and easiest, 2. Stop-motion – example is plasticine models, 3.Pixillation – humans become the puppets, 4.Drawn – example is the classical Disney animation and 5.Computer – also known as CGI and found in games and movies (Moving Image Education).

Moving Image Education quotes that “Almost anything can be put under the camera and animated – sand, paint, clothes, jewellery, ice, found objects, foliage etc. Likewise, almost anything can form a background.” Moving Image Education states that animating while being in a classroom does not have to be with Play Doh or Plasticine models – cutout animation is by far the easiest technique to start on”.

This makes animation easily accessible as a teacher can explore the apps available with the children to create an animation and use items around the classroom that the children could be involved in making. Children can draw characters or scenes for the story to make it their own.

Throughout my Trimester 1 I had some use of the app puppet pals to create an animation but I never used it previous to that. Therefore I have not had a lot of experience using it or the app called IStopMotion.

At first we were able to explore Puppet Pals app on the IPad. With this we were to create an animation based on a fairy tale story that we had previously read. We were to include voice recording, movement, change the size of characters and the story was to include a beginning, middle and end. My partner and I created a Beginning and a middle of our story but had not had the chance to finish it. The app was easy to use when we got used to it. I found that it would be beneficial for children if it was used within the classroom as it could help children with ASN who find it difficult to create a story by writing it. Beauchamp, 2012, p.55); “e-Inclusion aims to use digital technologies to minimise the problems that pupils with learning difficulties experience”. It allows them to create a story of their own through use of the IPad. It gives the children opportunity to put their own voice into a story to create their own characters and imagine how characters would say things at specific points within their story.

Beauchamp (2012, p.54) states that “through the use of ICT and technology it could allow pupils to accomplish something that could be difficult or even impossible to achieve in any other way”. The use of technology includes those who find it difficult to write a story with pencil and paper. It also allows them to be involved in something that they may not always be able to take part in without a lot of support. Beauchamp (2012) also states that ICT should not be viewed as a subject separate from all other subject areas as it is something that contributes to all areas of learning. This could be through use of interactive games on the smart board relating to literacy and maths or being able to create stories and bring them to life with use of apps such as Puppet Pals.

For the task of creating and IStopMotion animation we worked within pairs. Me and my partner to create our animation we used coloured pens and paper to create the scene of the sea and the boats that were floating in the background. We used Lego to create a port and diving boards. We used bear figurines as our main characters. We used a toy boat for the police boat. Our animation was a family of teddy bears enjoying a day at the beach. The teddy bears were diving from the boards into the sea and when it came to the youngest bear he got frightened and the police boat saved the day and rescued him and took him back to the port where all his family swam and followed. After the bears arrived back to the port they were greeted by their friend and the two children went off to play and build sandcastles. While the animation played Summer Holiday by Cliff Richard.

For our animation we linked it to three outcomes within the curriculum for excellence. The technology outcome we linked it to; “I can explore and experiment with digital technologies and can use what I learn to support and enhance my learning in different contexts. TCH 1-01a” (Education Scotland 2004). I used this because the children would be using the IPad to experiment and explore the apps available to them to be able to create animation. I also linked it to an Expressive Arts outcome; “I have the opportunity to choose and explore a range of media and technologies to create images and objects, discovering their effects and suitability for specific tasks. EXA 1-02a” (Education Scotland 2004). I used this because the children are able to create scenes throughout art to create their stories and bring them to life. Finally I linked it to Literacy as the children are able to explore the event happening in the story and also have idea of who the characters are to learn how to create their own using their imagination. “I enjoy exploring events and characters in stories and other texts and I use what I learn to invent my own, sharing these with others in imaginative ways. LIT 0-09b / LIT 0-31a” (Education Scotland 2004).

I think that the use of Animation through technology is a positive because it allows the children to be able to bring imaginative stories to life as they are able to draw their own characters through use of art and cut the characters out so they can create their animation and make their characters move around as if it was a real person. I also think it is beneficial because all resources can be easily accessible to create stories. It is also a fun way to allow children’s imaginations to run wild. It allows children with Additional Support Needs to feel included if they have trouble spelling words and writing as a whole it involves them that they can create a story and tell it through use of technology, art and literacy. It can make the difficult subjects easier for children.

IStopMotion is definitely something I will involve within my teaching career as it is a cross curricular activity that children can take part in bringing in different areas of the curriculum.

References

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

Jarvis, M. (2015) Brilliant Ideas for Using ICT in the Classroom: A Very practical Guide for Teachers and Lecturers. Routledge.

Moving Image Education website: Animation [Online] https ://movingimageeducation.org/create-films/animation [Accessed: 21 February 2018]

eBooks in Education… 05/02/2018

Reflecting upon today’s class of eBooks, I firstly found myself thinking about how fast the Digital Technologies module has gone in so far. It seemed that not long ago we were faced with a range of modules in which we got to select our own choice for undertaking in our second trimester. When I first looked over the options, Digital Technologies was the one which certainly caught my attention first. I assumed that it would be a module which explored the use of ‘teacher’ resources in a classroom such as SmartBoards or getting to grips with printers and photocopiers – quite naive, I know. But knowing that I had areas I needed to develop to become more competent in the technology field, I was looking forward to getting started and expanding my skillset and knowledge. However, looking back at the first class and receiving our introduction to the module, I quickly realised that it was going to be a module that not only enhanced my own learning and knowledge, but also that of the pupils I teach in the near and distant future – wow!

When we were asked the question of, “What is an eBook to you?” I immediately thought ‘kindle’. This then led me to think of the prospect of children sat in a classroom, with their heads bowed, stuck in a smart device reading their reading books or taking instruction or direction from what I can only assume would be another hand held wifi enabled device they would then have access to. Not that I am against technology, but I do find that children in society today are easily pacified with their iPads or mobile phones which when I was younger, I never had access to. I find myself quite a traditionalist when it comes to books. I thoroughly enjoy the experience of reading a ‘real’ book. Flicking through the pages, eager to find out what happens next; convincing myself that at the end of each chapter i’ll put it down and go to sleep but knowing that really i’m lying to myself and I will instead fall asleep and wake up with it somewhere at the side of my bed; being able to mark my page with the homemade bookmark my daughter made me which is adorned with hearts and kisses. I love the feel of a real book and so was a bit sceptical at first when I was wondering where eBooks would fit into a classroom.

The Oxford Dictionary’s definition of an eBook is as follows:

‘An electronic version of a printed book that can be read on a computer or handheld device designed specifically for this purpose’.

Up until today’s class, that is exactly how I interpreted what an eBook was. However after today’s input I can gladly say that I now no longer have the aforementioned perception. After discussing in groups with peers what we considered an eBook to be, I gained a lot more in depth understanding of eBooks. Not just used for novels, but can be used in the kitchen for cookbooks and recipes, for online shopping and accessing catalogues along with academic texts and journals.

One of the tasks we were given today was to create an eBrochure as a group, designed to give information on life as a student at the University of the West of Scotland, using the Book Creator app on an iPad. The beauty of the Book Creator app was that it allowed us to turn what could have been just text and images to inform others, into a multimodal text; containing sound, moving images, and text along with spatial and gestural aspects. In completing our task, the Book Creator app highly appealed to me as both a student and prospective professional primary educator. Simply, taking a novel or short story and creating a multimodal eBook that contains a host of different, eye-catching and attention grabbing features allowed me to see the real benefits that eBooks would have in a classroom and most definitely gave me the answer to my question – ‘where do ebooks fit in a classroom?’

Our final task today was to take a children’s novel and create our own eBook version of it, which was focused around a literacy outcome. After having created the eBrochure I was enjoying exploring the different features of the app and found myself keen to get to grips and become more familiarised with the app. I wanted to create an eBook that I thought would be of benefit to a learner/learners who have different learning styles but also for children of all abilities in order to enhance their learning experience through digital technologies. The use of eBooks have a variety of benefits on children and young learners; from assisting children who require different resources and tools to suit their own learning style, to enhance children’s skillset and knowledge on ICT equipment in the classroom and to also give children an equal and fair chance of discovering what type of technology is available to not only access but to use to its maximum capacity. This is evidenced and supported by Beauchamp (2012), who stated that “The first, and perhaps most important reason for using ICT in the classroom is that it can have a positive effect on attainment.” The findings by Beauchamp evidence that technology can in fact have positive impacts on raising attainment and assisting in closing the gap.

Technology in the classroom covers a wealth of subject areas, not only literacy. It can be used in science, arts, health and wellbeing and numeracy to name a few. Although our task today was centred on literacy, it also covered another area of the curriculum – technology. The following experiences and outcomes were the ones in which i focused my eBook on and evidence that technology in the classroom does not cover only one area of the curriculum.

I am learning to select and use strategies and resources before I read, and as I read, to help make the meaning of texts clear. LIT 1-13a

I regularly select and read, listen to or watch texts which I enjoy and find interesting, and I can explain why I prefer certain texts and authors. LIT 1-11a/LIT 2-11a

I can explore and experiment with digital technologies and can use what I learn to support and enhance my learning in different contexts. TCH 1-01a

I can explore digital technologies and use what I learn to solve problems and share ideas and thoughts. TCH 0-01a

Overall, today’s input has managed to successfully change my viewpoint on having eBooks in the classroom. By taking a simple text and creating a multimodal creation out of it, it will allow me to engage my pupils in the future with technology effectively and also deliver lessons which they will not find repetitive and mundane. In conclusion, it was found by ‘A Digital Learning and Teaching Strategy for Scotland – The Views of Children’ that,

“Looking forward, children thought that accessing iPads or other classroom technology should be seen as the usual/normal thing to do, and not just something offered as a reward or part of Golden Time.”

Our children and young learners in Scottish education feel that technology should be incorporated into a daily teaching environment and should not be seen as a reward or accolade for them. Using the Book Creator app is certainly a resource that I endeavour to use in my classroom as a professional along with many other exciting and beneficial programmes I have discovered throughout the course of the Digital Technologies module. While still enjoying the thrill of a paperback book myself, I certainly now see the benefits for myself as to how the Book Creator app and eBooks can have a staggering affect on children’s education, while increasing my own knowledge and skillset as a prospective teacher.

References

Beauchamp, G (2017) Computing and ICT in the Primary School From Pedagogy to Practice 2nd ed. London: Routledge.

Oxford Dictionary (2018) – E-Book Definition. Available online at: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/e-book [First Accessed: 9th February 2018] Author: Oxford University.

Scottish Government. (2016) A Digital Learning and Teaching Strategy for Scotland. Edinburgh: Scottish Government. Available online at: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0050/0050 [First Accessed: 9th February 2018].

Scottish Government (2008) The Curriculum for Excellence Available online at: http://www.education.gov.scot/Documents/all-experiences-and-outcomes.pdf [First Accessed: 10th February 2018]

Digital Technology – Week 2 – Bee-Bot – 16/01/18

Today’s input was about programmable toys, specifically Bee-Bot, and how they can be used to enhance teaching and learning in the classroom. I had only had the chance to use Bee-Bot on one other occasion, but I was excited to use it again as I think that it is an excellent tool. Bee-Bot is very easy to use- directed by the arrow buttons on the top- and can be used on any kind of mat made for it. Therefore it has the potential to be used in any lesson.

Our task for today – in groups- was to create our own mat to aid in teaching a numeracy lesson with reference to the Curriculum for Excellence experiences and outcomes. We had quite a few ideas initially- money, times tables, shape, time- but we eventually chose to go with time and paired this with daily routine.

These are the Experiences and Outcomes we chose to base our project on:

I can tell the time using 12 hour clocks, realising there is a link with 24 hour notation, explain how it impacts on my daily routine and ensure that I am organised and ready for events throughout my day.

MNU 1-10a

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 / TCH 1-09a

(Education Scotland, 2004)

We then created a mat with a range of analog clocks drawn in each box with a digital time written underneath. This would allow the children to see the link between the 24 hour clock and how it looked with the 12 hour clock and how it looked. The activity was aimed towards children at level 1 who would have some previous knowledge of time and routine. We tried to include routine times that would not be too difficult for the children to understand e.g. when school starts/ends, lunch/play time etc. We also had what time they brushed their teeth and when they went to bed- for this we had the hands of the clock left separately so that the children could put this time in themselves, as these times may vary from child to child.

The use of programmable toys in education dates back to the 1960’s when Seymour Papert created Logo. It was a fairly simple programming tool, aimed at helping children become familiar with how computer programming worked (Transom).

Some of the benefits of using the programmable toys in the classroom are: they help with the development of key skills such as logical sequencing, measuring and expressing concepts in words. Children usually enjoy using them as they have bright and obvious buttons. Also they help make children interact in groups and bring about discussion (NCTE, 2012).

Janka (2008) states that “there is a widespread belief among educators and parents that children will require technological competencies to succeed in the workplace.” I would agree with this as almost all jobs in today’s society involve the use of some kind of technology. It is also important that children have a good level of digital literacy and actually understand how these types of programmes work so that they properly understand the applications they are using.

Overall, the session today was very informative. I feel that it has given me many practical applications for within the classroom, as well as informing me on why these types of programmable toys can be so important. I think that when I go on to teach my own class this will come in very handy and I will enjoy using it to teach.

References

Janka, P. (2008) Using a Programmable Toy at Preschool Age: Why and How? [Online] Available: http://www.terecop.eu/downloads/simbar2008/pekarova.pdf [Accessed: 16th January 2018]

Transom – Logo [Online] Available: http://www.transum.org/software/Logo/ [Accessed: 16th January 2018]

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