2.1 Curriculum – Page 5

Digital Technologies Week 5 – eBooks

The Oxford English Dictionary defines an eBook as “an electronic version of a printed book which can be read on a computer or a specifically designed handheld device.” Today in Digital Technologies we designed our own eBooks and examined how they could be useful in the classroom. First of all, we were given a task … Continue reading “Digital Technologies Week 5 – eBooks”

First of all, we were given a task in groups to create a brochure for UWS with prospective students in mind. We used the Book Creator app on an iPad. To make the University seem appealing to new applicants, we fully utilised the features of the app. It was very easy to customise the book by selecting appropriate colours and fonts for our purpose. It was also simple to insert videos and images taken or saved on the iPad. In less than half an hour we had managed to familiarise ourselves with the app and create an effective multimodal text which made use of a number of semiotic systems through the inclusion of text, sound and video. Another group took a look at our UWS brochure and said that it was engaging and attractive. This made clear to me how useful it could be in the classroom to be able to create a small eBook in such a short space of time.

With this experience of the book creator app, we were then tasked with creating either a summary of a well-known book or a small eBook to help someone engage with the book. I chose “Matilda” by Roald Dahl. As it is such a long book, I chose to create a short close reading exercise for Key Stage 2 which would encourage reflection on personal relationships. The eBook asks questions about where Matilda likes to spend time and how that relates to the way the people around her treat her. It then goes on to ask for a comparison of how Miss Honey treats her and how her parents treat her, which is an activity which links to LIT 2-14a: “I can make notes, organise them under suitable headings and use them to understand information, develop my thinking, explore problems and create new texts, using my own words as appropriate.” (Scottish Executive, 2004). The last page of the eBook asks for reflection on how different people in their life make them feel through their actions, and how they can affect the feelings of others with their own actions. This links a literacy lesson to Health and Wellbeing outcome HWB 2-05a (“I know that friendship, caring, sharing, fairness, equality and love are important in building positive relationships. As I develop and value relationships, I care and show respect for myself and others.” (Scottish Executive, 2004).). These exercises were not simply written down on paper. I believe that being able to use an iPad to flick through the exercise makes it more effective for a number of reasons. Firstly, it was multimodal as I used a number of Quentin Blake’s illustrations from relevant parts of the book to help prompt the answers to close reading questions that I both wrote in text on the page and inserted as voice clips. As we know, multimodal texts encourage accessibility in the classroom and are a useful way to close a gap in higher order thinking for individuals who may find it more difficult to follow along with reading text. Beauchamp (2012, p.88) further suggests that children who are reading from tablets in the house will be more inclined to use the same mobile devices in their learning than they may be, perhaps, to use physical books.

For myself as a prospective teacher, this was an interesting tool to learn to use. I did not realise how quickly an eBook could be created or that they could include video or voice clips – it was my own misconception that eBooks were simply novels in digital form. It is particularly relevant to me as a budding teacher in Scotland as our Digital Teaching and Learning Strategy specifically aims to develop the skills of our educators (Scottish Government, 2016). While I consider myself relatively competent and experienced with using computers the creation of eBooks for a purpose like this had never occurred to me as a way to embed technology in the classroom. An eBook like this can be created quickly, edited easily for different levels and distributed to students efficiently using Apple AirDrop – as long as iPads are available in the classroom. While this may seem like an unrealistic expectation in the classroom, tablets are getting cheaper all the time and there is motivation in particular by Education Scotland to ensure there are handheld devices available in school to enhance learning (BBC, 2012).

By the time I am a fully qualified teacher, if handheld devices are as widely available as this, I think that the ability to quickly create an eBook will be a useful skill to have.

References

BBC (2012). Education Scotland looks to expand use of tablets in schools. BBC News. [Online] 16 May. Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-18081005 [Accessed: 9 February 2018].

Beauchamp, G. (2012). ICT in the Primary School: From Pedagogy to Practice. Harlow: Pearson. p.88.

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

Scottish Government (2016) Enhancing Teaching and Learning through the use of Digital Technology: A Digital Learning and Teaching Strategy for Scotland. [Online] Available: https://beta.gov.scot/publications/enhancing-learning-teaching-through-use-digital-technology/ [Accessed: 8 January 2017].

Personal Reflection Coding – Scratch Jr 30/1/18

In today’s class we took part in creating a Scratch Jr Project. Where I was to create a Scratch Jr story to help with a literacy lesson within a primary class. This is part of my Assessment throughout my Digital … Continue reading →

Scratch Jr is an introductory programming language that enables young children (ages 5 and up) to create their own interactive stories and games. Children snap together graphical programming blocks to make characters move, jump and sing. Scratch was developed for young people to help them develop creative learning skills for the 21st century. Skills developed include: Creative thinking skills, logical reasoning skills, problem solving skills and collaboration skills (The Lead Project 2014). “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 successs and happiness in today’s world” (The Lead Project 2014). Schools can use Scratch to aid teachers subjects like mathematics, English, music, art, design and information technology (The Lead Project 2014).

A newspaper article states “Rogers said that one group of children found the idea of learning and using HTML quite daunting as it took a couple of sessions to get their hands around the basic layout and formatting. However, over the course of teaching they became much more receptive and began to develop a firmer understanding of how useful HTML could be” (Curtis, S 2013, Pg 4). This shows that if children and adults persevere they will get used to the idea of coding and being able to create scratch projects. Although the more it is linked into the children’s learning they will be able to adapt to using the programme and it may be more beneficial for them to understand stories and lessons by creating their own.

The learning outcomes from the Curriculum for Excellence I chose that linked with my project were; “I can create, capture and manipulate sounds, text and images to communicate experience, ideas and information in creative and engaging ways” (TCH 1-04b/TCH 2-04b) and “I enjoy exploring events and characters in stories and other texts, sharing my thoughts in different ways” (LIT 0-19a).

My story was about a boy and girl named Ben and Holly. They decided to go a walk through the country side to find a lake so that they could play and swim around. They came across a field that had pigs and a horse. They discovered that the horse could talk and it took them by surprise. The horse was called Penny. Penny took Ben and Holly to a woodland area and gave them directions towards the lake. Ben and Holly followed the directions and came across the lake. When they got their Ben and Holly thought that is was peaceful and they swam and played around for hours and hours. The story had an ending where the reader could decide where Ben and Holly would go next on their travels.

This story was created for children to use describing words (Adjectives) to describe the scenes within the story and also to describe the characters and then it enables them to use their own thoughts and ideas on what adventures the characters go on. Throughout progress I would teach the children how to move objects using Scratch Jr when using technologies within the classroom and they could then create their own ending to the story. This would allow the children to progress through their technology skills and it would link in with literacy.

I found Scratch simple and easy to use after watching YouTube tutorials and having a scratch guide to assist me on how to move objects/characters around the screen and how to have the characters speaking. I had never used Scratch until today and to be able to get used to it it would take a period of time. This would be the same for children it would take a couple of lessons to discover the basics of computer coding. I think that the use of scratch Jr within the classroom is a good thing because it allows children to give a character instructions to move around the screen. It helps children bring stories that they may have created to life. It encourages them to use their problem solving skills asking themselves how many moves does it take to move the character off of their screen and how to use instructions to make each character move. Scratch is beneficial for teachers and pupils because it can be made to link in with a range of subjects including technology.

References

Curtis, S (2013) The Telegraph: Teaching our children to code: a quiet revolution [Online] www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/104110036/Teaching-our-children-to-code-a-quiet-revolution.html

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 30 January 2018]

The Lead Project (2014) Super Scratch Prgramming 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.

ActivInspire Presentations 23/01/2018

Today in Digital Technologies we explored the ActivInspire software as a class and individually by viewing tutorial clips online and working in pairs to create a lesson directed for either an early, first or second level outcome. The online tutorials gave us a virtual experience allowing us to be guided through the software, by giving hints and tips on how to use the software effectively and to maximise the usage of this valuable tool in classrooms as a student teacher and as a qualified practicing teacher in the near future.

ActivInspire software allows for information that requires to be communicated to learners, become multimodal. Multimodality is the term which describes a set or forms of texts to adopt two or more semiotic systems; linguistic, visual, gestural, spatial and audio. Using digital technologies within the classroom allows for information to be communicated to learners in a variety of different, attention grabbing ways and by making texts multimodal, enhances the learners experiences in education whilst keeping in line with technology in society today.

The Scottish Government set out a strategy to implement the use of digital technologies in Scottish education for both learners and educators. The four objectives it is focusing on are:

1. Develop the skills and confidence of educators in the appropriate and effective use of digital technology to support learning and teaching.

2. Improve access to digital technology for all learners.

3. Ensure that digital technology is a central consideration in all areas of curriculum and assessment delivery.

4. Empower leaders of change to drive innovation and investment in digital technology for teaching and learning.

By using technologies in the classroom, it allows for children to be introduced and immersed in digital technologies that they may otherwise not be encompassed in at home or in other areas of their educational journeys. It is stated by Beauchamp (2012, p.8) that ‘The multimodality of technology is another reason to use it, as it allows teachers to present ideas in a variety of different ways to help pupils understand it.’ By delivering young learners lessons involving multimodal texts it has the capability to further enhance their understanding of lessons across curricular areas such as literacy, numeracy and science amongst others. It also allows for children and young learners to understand that ‘texts’ do not just come in printed form, but instead they come in many shapes and forms and can in fact be multimodal. Further supporting this suggestion, ‘pupils need to be equipped to view language as ‘metamode’ that enables them to access the meanings of a wide variety of texts, images, sounds and information.’ Beauchamp (2012, p.81). The use of ActivInspire today gave us the opportunity to create a lesson for a first level outcome in a Modern Foreign Language lesson.

My partner and I decided we would combine both our ideas and once we completed the online tutorial videos of how to effectively use the ActivInspire software, we proceeded on to the task and got to work on creating our multimodal lesson plan. We made various flip charts which included sound clips, images and interactivity through use of the smart board pens and various tools such as the spotlight and revealer. We created a Spanish lesson which allowed children to work in individually and with peers and allowed for the children to come up to the smart board to write down their answers and ideas.

Using the ActivInspire software excited me as it gave me an insight into a resource that is used widely across Scottish schools and gave me a quick glance into the different tools and aspects that the software has to offer. At first we found the software a great resource as it allowed us to create an extensively interactive lesson that would grab pupils attention and included all of the semiotic systems across the many Flipchart pages we made. When it came on to using different ‘wow’ factors of ActivInspire I personally really enjoyed the fact there were different attention grabbing tools that children would find exciting and would further encourage their investment and interest in the input being given. However, upon near completion of the lesson plan, when using the revealer tool we encountered an issue whereby the revealer would not stay on the Flipchart page we required and instead went onto the other pages and we could not in turn remove it off of the areas we did not need it on. This really frustrated us and put us slightly off course as we invested more time in trying to fix this issue than completing the task in the time given.

Overall, the use of ActivInspire in the two hour time slot we were given really impressed and excited me. I find it really encouraging to see that there are these resources in place for teachers to use whereby enhancing their lessons and I am very eager to use it in my own class as a student and professional educator. I will most definitely be revisiting the online tutorials and spending more time exploring the software in free time to get more familiar with it and also experiment by creating more lessons and sharing resources with peers in order to gain more knowledge and in depth experiences of the ActivInspire software.

References

Digital Learning and Teaching Strategy for Scotland https://education.gov.scot/scottish-education-system/policy-for-scottish-education/policy-drivers/Digital%20Learning%20and%20Teaching%20Strategy%20for%20Scotland (First accessed on 23/01/2018)

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

Personal Reflection Multimodality – Day 3 of Digital Technologies 23/01/18

Today I took part in making a multi-modal presentation. A text can be described as multi-modal when it combines two or more semiotic systems. There are five semiotic systems that can be involved in a multi-modal text these are; Linguistic, Visual, Audio, Gestural and Spatial. A linguistic text has aspects of vocabulary and grammar of oral and written language, A visual text has aspects such as colour, moving images and still images. An audio text features such as volume, pitch, music and sound effects, A gestural text comprises aspects of movement – speed, still and slow – with facial expression and body language. Spatial is seen in texts with the direction and position of images/writing on the screen and the organisation of objects within a text (Anstey and Bull, 2010). Anstey and Bull ( 2010) give examples of multi-modal texts being a picture book, webpage and live ballet performance. They can also be things like power points, flip charts (ACTIV-Inspire), word documents but also use through a range of different resources. Multi-modal texts can encourage hands-on learning it can encourage children to become interactive with Smart boards that are in some classrooms within school.

Beauchamp (2012, p8) states that “the multi-modality of technology is an other reason to use it, as it allows teachers to present an idea in a variety of ways to help pupils understand it” I felt that this quote that was in the lecturers power point was accurate because teachers need to test ways in which the children in their class learn. Teachers need to make sure that the apps and programmes that they use are not distracting to some children in the class . Teachers can use power points and other programmes as back-up to what they are teaching. “We must challenge the implicit assumption that speech and writing are always central and sufficient for learning” (Beauchamp 2012, p8) Teachers are at the centre of children’s learning and have to have ideas in which they can put across the main message of a lesson or book that children are reading not necessarily with plain words on a page but include images, movement and sound.

In today’s workshop our aim was to create a flip chart lesson with the use of the app ACTIV-Inspire on the mac computer. ACTIV-Inspire can be used to empower teachers to bring their lessons to life and as a student teacher I had an opportunity to bring a lesson to life. In my pair we both decided to make a flip-chart with aquatic animals. With our flip-chart that we created children were able to describe the colour of each aquatic animal and have the opportunity to answer what the animal is named in English and then learn the animals name in Spanish. We aimed the activity at level 2 children who had prior learning of describing words in Spanish. The modern languages outcome from the Curriculum for Excellence (Education Scotland 2004) that my partner and I chose was “I experiment with new language, working out the meaning of words and phrases using vocabulary I have learned so far” [MLAN 2-11c]. With our multi-modal text we had a range of visuals to help the children guess the topic that we were learning about, It also had a sound effect of Under the Sea from the little mermaid to get the children’s mind’s thinking about what we could be learning about. It had written word in both English and Spanish of the animals names and also the colours. At the end of the lesson we had two interactive games where the children were to match the animals to their Spanish name and also to their Spanish colours.

In my opinion I think that ACTIV-Inspire is a a good resource for teachers and student teachers to use to create a lesson for children to learn. Although I found it difficult to get my head around I think if I had more experience using the programme and watch step by step tutorials more than once that I would get the hang of it. It allows children to become interactive in their learning environment and encourages communication of lessons in a different way. It adds variety and choice to lesson plans. Multi-modal texts can be used alongside the Curriculum for Excellence in a range of ways.

Multi-modal texts in my opinion can help student teachers and teachers in a variety of ways because it can allow them to see what children are benefiting from seeing the text in a different perspective. It changes learning from being teacher led to child led as the children can get involved in the activities that the teachers have set throughout programmes on a computer/IPad. Multi-modal texts can add a variety of different techniques into learning for example; if the children are reading a book in the classroom teachers can make the book into their own and add in parts of the book so that children can use adjectives to describe specific scenes in the book.

References

Anstey, M. and Bull, G. (June 2010) Curriculum & Leadership Journal – An electronic journal for leaders in education – Helping Teachers to explore multi-modal texts. [Online] http://www.curriculum.edu.au/leader/helping_teachers_to_explore_multimodal_texts,31522.html?issueID=12141 [Accessed 23 January 2018 ]

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

Digital Technologies Week 2 – Programmable Toys

In this weeks Digital Technologies input we were introduced to programmable toys, and how to use these in the classroom to enhance learning in many subjects – not just Technology. We were set the task of designing and planning a Bee-Bot activity with the potential to fulfil one Technology outcome and at least one Numeracy … Continue reading “Digital Technologies Week 2 – Programmable Toys”

Before the input I was already somewhat familiar with the concept of programmable toys as my son received a Fisher-Price Code-a-Pillar as a gift on his third birthday. Observing him playing with the toy, I could see the value of programmable toys as a way to teach young children about logical sequencing and how to put a concept into words (NCTE, 2012). These transferable skills are particularly valuable in the workplace as the technology sector is booming and the ability to code is an asset to any individual wishing to pursue a career in the STEM field.

With these things in mind, it is no wonder that programmable toys are becoming more popular and their uses in the classroom are being exploited across the curriculum, even from the Early Years.

There is a heavy importance placed on Active Learning in the Early Years in the Curriculum for Excellence (Scottish Executive, 2007). It is essential not to teach programming in isolation. For instance, my son found the Code-a-Pillar fun for a few turns but after a while he grew bored of it. The toy moving in different ways depending on how he orders the segments is interesting for him but there are a limited number of different ways these can be sequenced without investing in costly expansion packs.

This is what makes Bee-Bot such a useful tool in the classroom. Its possibilities are not limited only to learning outcomes in Technology and there is an abundance of resources out there to assist with lessons involving Bee-Bot. My group and I were immediately inspired by one of these resources – a suggestion for an activity where bee-bot is given a list to go shopping (Lydon, 2007, p.40). We got to work creating a supermarket on a grid suitable for Bee-Bot to navigate and we designed an activity to meet these Experiences and Outcomes from the Curriculum for Excellence (Scottish Executive, 2004):

“I understand that sequences of instructions are used to control computing technology.” (TCH 0-14a).
“I can develop a sequence of instructions and run them using programmable devices or equivalent.” (TCH 0-15a).
“I am developing my awareness of how money is used and can recognise and use a range of coins.” (MNU 0-09a).
“In movement, games and using technology I can use simple directions and describe positions.” (MTH 0-17a).

We drew arrows to direct children through the ‘aisles’ of the supermarket (TCH 0-14a) and brightly coloured every day products with price tags on the ‘shelves’ of the supermarkets.

Armed with a shopping list and a ‘purse’ of coins, their job was to guide Bee-Bot to the items on their list (TCH 0-15a, MTH 0-17a) and use coins to help them keep track of the cost of individual items along the way (MNU 0-09a), and at the end of their ‘shopping trip’ to calculate the total cost of their shopping.

There were a number of benefits to this activity as a teacher. It did not take very long to implement the design and the mat could be used again and again with different shopping lists to give the activity varying levels of challenge when it comes to counting the money out. It is also very flexible enough to meet other outcomes, even at first level. For instance, by giving the children a bank note instead of their coins to pay for their shopping, they could try their hand at “[using] money to pay for items and [working] out how much change [they] should receive,” which is outcome MNU 1-09a. There is even scope for meeting Modern Language outcomes in this activity. If the child is supplied with a list in a language such as French or Spanish, this could meet part of the criteria for MLAN 1-08b; “I can work on my own or with others to demonstrate my understanding of words and phrases containing familiar language.”

With Bee-Bot in the classroom, the only thing holding you back is your imagination. There is an abundance of resources available to teachers to help them plan lessons that can utilise Bee-Bot to teach skills not only in Technologies but also across the curriculum. Children in First Level could even design their own mats and stories to go along with them as a Literacy lesson in creative writing.

In my opinion, Bee-Bot is superior in functionality to the only other programmable toy I am familiar with – the Fisher-Price Code-a-Pillar – for a number of reasons. Bee-Bot can store 40 instructions in each sequence whereas the Code-a-Pillar comes with only 8 segments. Bee-Bot moves 15cm with each instruction, meaning it does not take up as much room as the Code-a-Pillar which can move as far as three feet when programmed to move straight ahead. Pekárová (2008) argues that one of the best things about Bee-Bot is that activities can be designed for children that simulate real-life problem-solving scenarios. This is concurrent with the Active Learning environment that is endorsed within the Scottish curriculum in the Early Years. On the other hand, it is hard to imagine a scenario in which the Code-a-Pillar could be linked to real life. It is certainly more colourful than the Bee-Bot, however yet again the latter is unmatched in the amount of resources available online, such as printable ‘outfits’ for Bee-Bot that children can decorate themselves.

As a student teacher with an interest in technology it has been an interesting and fun experience to learn about how programmable toys can be used across the curriculum. I think that Bee-Bot in particular has the potential to provide children with a solid grounding in a number of logical thinking skills, while allowing them to have fun and take part in learning in all areas of the curriculum. I also think it has the potential to support teachers as a useful, incredibly versatile resource. I find myself fully convinced of the benefits of Bee-Bot compared to another programmable toy I have encountered, and I look forward to seeing how else it can be used in the classroom.

References

Lydon, A. (2007). Let’s Go with Bee-Bot. Nottingham: TTS Group.

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

Pekárová, J. (ed.) (2008). Intl. Conf. on Simulation, Modeling and Programming for Autonomous Robots. Venice, Italy, 3-4 November 2008. pp. 112-121.

Scottish Executive (2007). Building the Curriculum 2: Active learning in the early years. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive.

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

Personal Reflection Bee-Bot – Day 2 16/01/18

Today I was learning to use a programmable toy – Bee-Bot. I have not had a lot of experience using Bee-Bot. Although I think it is straight forward and easy to use. In my group we came up with a couple of ideas to use related to a mathematical activity. The ideas we came up with were; Time, shape, times tables, counting, recognition of numbers and money. The idea we progressed on was the concept of time mixed in with a child’s daily routine. We used the Curriculum for Excellence (Education Scotland, 2004) outcomes “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]” and also “I can tell the time using 12-hour clocks, realising there is a link with 24-hour rotation, explain how it impacts on my daily routine and ensure that I am organised and ready for events throughout my day. [MNU 1-10a]”. With this concept we created a mat with a range of analogue clocks with a digital time at the bottom of each box so that children were seeing what 24 hour time looked like and also what an analogue clock form looks like. Although it was mainly for children at level 1 stage who may have had prior learning of time with a grasp of what O’clock, Quarter Past, Half Past and Quarter to looked like. With the mat that we created children were able to involve their daily routine for example; what time school starts/ends, what time they get dinner, brush their teeth and go to bed. This enhances children’s learning of time because using Bee-bot changes learning to become more interactive and allows children to work with their peers in groups. It also allows children to think of their own daily routine and links it to what they do on a daily basis. Bee-Bot can help children who struggle with sitting at a table writing as it gets the child out of their seat and able to interact with others.

The role of programmable toys in education dates back to the 1960’s when Seymour Papert created the programming language called logo. The learner will control the movement of a ‘turtle’ that will draw lines on a screen when instructions have been given. For example ‘fd 5’ and ‘rt90’. Students learn about lengths and angles while creating patterns and diagrams. (Transum 2018).

Janka (2008, p2) states the benefits from use of programmable toys, “the curriculum introduces programmable toys as a good example for developing knowledge and understanding of the contemporary world”. She also states that in the field of mathematical development, children should develop the ability to describe simple journey and instruct the programmable toys in order to develop positional language and estimation”. This Benefit was useful to me because my assessment on Bee-bot was related to a mathematical activity and to make the Bee-bot maze I had to measure the length that Bee-bot moved which is 15cm (Bee-Bots body length) and estimate how the robot turned and found that he turned in right angles.

The National Centre for Technology in Education (NCTE, 2012, p1) explains that a benefit of floor robots is that it helps with sequencing, measuring, comparing, lengths, space orientation and expressing concepts in words. Another benefit from the National Centre for Technology in Education (2012, p1) states that floor robots encourage group interaction, conversation and collaboration. Page 1 also states that floor robots are usually appealing to young children because of the design of bright, clear buttons and are a robust design (NCTE 2012).

Personally I think that Bee-bot is useful because it allows children to follow a set of instructions, it keeps their brain active, it is an interactive and hands-on activity for children to take part in, it allows children to use their problem solving skills and follow patterns and sequences. It is beneficial for student teachers and teachers as it helps teachers when teaching children about directions along with many other curricular areas within the curriculum for excellence.

References

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

NCTE (National centre for Technology in Education) (2012) NCTE Floor Robots – Focus on Literacy & Numeracy. [Online] http://www.ncte.ie/media/NCTE_Floor_robots_focus_on_literacy_nu

meracy_primary_12-06.pdf [Accessed: 3rd January 2018]

Transum (2018) – Logo [Online] http://www.transum.org/software/Logo/ [Accessed: 16th January 2018]

Programmable Toys (16/01/2018)

Today in our second class of Digital Technology we were introduced to the concept of programmable toys, with the main focus in particular on Bee-Bot. I had prior experience of using this programmable toy as we had previously undertaken a lesson in Semester 1, which introduced us to the unit, gave us an understanding on how it works, areas in the curriculum in which we can utilise it whilst interlinking Curriculum E’s and O’s across the three early level/primary school levels – early, first and second. My first experience using Bee-Bot I thoroughly enjoyed, as it gave me my first proper experience of getting hands on with this type of programmable toy and made me feel excited at the prospect of using it in the classroom with pupils. We had created a game which focused on literacy outcomes, whereas today we focused on numeracy and chose a first level outcome in which as a group we to structured an activity around.

As suggested by Janka (2008, P.2), ‘The curriculum introduces programmable toys as a good example for developing knowledge and understanding of the contemporary world”. Being able to integrate technology into the classroom I feel is important as it provides young learners with having experiences of technologies that surround them consistently. Furthermore, the National Centre for Technology in Education (2012, p1) states that the use of floor robots impose a variety of benefits on young learners. These benefits include: Developing skills such as logical sequencing, measuring, comparing lengths, space orientation and expressing concepts in words; encouraging group interaction, collaboration and conversation swell as providing a vehicle for the introduction of key concepts to young learners in an easy and friendly way.

The first level outcome which we used as a framework for our Bee-Bot activity was MTH 1-17a; ‘I can describe, follow and record routes and journeys using signs, words and angles associated with direction and turning’. We chose to base the theme of our activity on worldwide flags and famous landmarks, with direction and navigation being the prominent focus. We created brightly coloured images on the activity mat along with a set of questions that gave instructions to the participants. Bee-Bot required to be programmed to reach the specific destination along with a set of directions for each question tone recorded by those pupils in participation.

Overall, I felt we produced a brilliant resource which could easily be adapted to allow early and second level pupils to also use this is a learning aid. The use of the Bee-Bot today highlighted the importance of making activities intriguing and fun whilst eliminating the potential of repetition. Bee-Bot is a format of digital technology that if I am able to have access to, I will certainly endeavour to use in my future career as a rimy educator. I feel that it is an exciting and autonomous piece of equipment which brings children together in their educational journey to work as part of a team and also promotes their creativeness if they wanted to produce their own game or resource for the floor bot and also develops their problem solving and critical thinking skills. I look forward to seeing what next week brings in Digital Technology as I felt today’s lesson and activity was of great benefit to me as a prospective teacher.

Digital Technologies Week 2 – 16.1.18

In week 2 of Digital Technologies, we were looked at the concept of programmable toys and in particular we focused on the Bee-Bot. I had some knowledge of the Bee-Bot from when we previously looked at it in semester 1 in our Literacy for Understanding unit. The purpose of today’s assessment task was to create a theme and make links to numeracy using the Bee-Bot. In addition to this, we also had to consider the Curriculum for Excellence experiences and outcomes that would relate to our task. I was excited at the prospect of creating an activity using the Bee-Bot. Before we started creating our activity, we watched some support videos to convey how children were responding to the Bee-Bot and how it can be tailored to suit any age through primary school. In our group, we came up with game where we had a board with squares which were numbered from 1-12. We created flashcards with various addition and subtraction questions which were worded differently. These were split into two categories. One category had questions that were basic questions, which were worth one point. The other category had slightly harder questions for children who were more able and they were worth two points each. The aim of the game is to answer the questions and move the Bee-Bot to the correct position by programming it. The person who reaches a total of 5 points first wins the game. This activity was tailored to the needs of the early level. However, by changing the questions on the flashcards, it could be used for first and second level too. It is a great activity that is easily adaptable to the topic as well as the age range. I found the use of the Bee-Bot quite effective and is something I will keep in mind for my teaching career.

There are many benefits of using the Bee-Bot in the classroom. According to Lydon (2008), children are interacting with technology every day and she discovered that nursery children have improved their problem solving, literacy, numeracy and thinking skills whilst using programmable toys. The Bee-Bot is said to increase concentration levels, the attention span of children and can enhance their engagement in the activity (Lydon, 2008). Another benefit of the Bee-Bot is that children gain independence. Lydon (2008,p.2) claimed that “twelve children out of twenty-eight were able to use the Bee-Bot without any adult help after the initial instructions.” The children are able to quickly and intuitively work out how the Bee-Bot works and this is a useful tool for them. It is very simple and effective. Janka (2008) states that “the curriculum introduces programmable toys as a good example for developing knowledge and understanding of the contemporary world.” In addition to this, the Bee-Bot can also improve other areas of the Curriculum including social science subjects such as history, geography, science and religious education (Janka,2008). I think it is a useful resource and can be tailored to suit all subjects and all ages. The National Centre for Technology (2012, p.1) also states 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.” Overall, many professionals agree that programmable toys definitely have a positive impact on the child’s learning. After trialling out our Bee-Bot activity today, I can understand and visualise how effective this would be in classrooms. Technology is advancing in our society and I think it is vital as a teacher, that we keep up with technology and use it to our advantage. After reading the Curriculum for Excellence, there are many experiences and outcomes that Bee-Bot can cover such as MNU 0-03a, which is the use of practical materials & can count on and back to help understand addition, subtraction and recording ideas and solutions in different ways. MNU 1-03a which is the use of addition, subtraction, mulitplication and division when problem solving, and making the best use o the mental strategies and written skills that have been developed. TCH 0-9a and TCH 1-09a show the development of problem solving strategies, navigation and co-ordination skills, as I play and learn with electronic games, remote control or programmable toys (Education Scotland, 2009). This indicates that programmable toys cover various experiences and outcomes in CfE and is an excellent resource for teachers.

References

Education Scotland (2009). Curriculum for Excellence: Numeracy and Mathematics. Experience 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: 16th January]

ICTopus Article (2008) Sharing Good Practice: Robots in Early Education by Alison Lydon. [Online] https://oponoa-programmeertalen.wikispaces.com/file/view/BeeBot_article.pdf [Accessed: 16th January 2018]

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

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

Digital Technology in Scottish Education & Personal Reflection

Upon completion of my first class in Digital Technologies, it has opened my eyes wider and allowed me to discover the real potential and benefits that Digital Technologies have in the Scottish Education system. As a first year student, the thought of using technology in the classroom to me feels natural due to being surrounded by technology along with the ever-changing society we live in, thus keeping in line with modern technology that encompasses us naturally on a daily basis. I feel as being both a parent and a student undertaking a degree programme in primary eduction, contextualising every day situations for young learners is crucial in order to provide like for like examples of everyday living. This can be done throughout various areas of the curriculum including numeracy, literacy, health and wellbeing and science. The importance of using digital technologies throughout education will be explored and analysed along with evidence supporting the cause of using this autonomous learning tool throughout schools for children and young people.

Having accessed and read through the Scottish Government published document ‘Enhancing Learning and Teaching through the use of Digital Technology – A Digital Learning and Teaching Strategy for Scotland’ (2016) it allowed me to gain a greater understanding on the proposals set out by our Government alongside crucial evidence which supports the basis for their strategies. The Scottish Government intends to expand the use of Digital Technologies in educational settings in order to achieve four goals:

To develop the skills and confidence of educators in the appropriate and effective use of digital technology in order to support learning and education; to improve access to digital technology to all learners; Ensure that digital technology is a central consideration in all areas of curriculum and assessment delivery and empower leaders of change to drive innovation and investment in digital technology for learning and teaching.

These strategies if met, will ultimately benefit Scotland’s children between the ages of three and eighteen. Research has been conducted in order to gain a deeper insight into what beneficiaries really think of their current educational system in regards to digital technology within their classrooms and the results of these were which intrigued and surprised me by far. A Children’s Parliament consultation which seen ninety-two children between the ages of eight and eleven take part provided researchers with an insight into how they believed technology impacted their education. It was concluded that participants stated that the use of Digital Technology makes learning more fun and they would like to see it used more (but not over-used). They also stated that their access to Digital Technology in school was constrained due to a lack of digital equipment and their teachers being limited in skills in relation to the use of Digital Technology. Similarly, a separate consultation conducted by Young Scot which saw 250 children between the ages of eleven and twenty-five participate, gave an outcome of similar stance. They stated that teachers lacked knowledge of how to use the technological equipment they already had and also noted that the resources they do have could be unreliable and misused. However, on a positive note, they also found that Digital Technology was an important learning aid in the classroom, a good tool for revision and provided and interactive learning experience.

Furthermore to the evidence given by our own young Scottish learners, the Independent Literature Review on the impact on digital technology on learning and teaching proposes that there is potential for digital technologies to support and contribute to five educational priorities:

Raising attainment; tackling inequalities and promoting inclusion; improving transitions into employment; enhancing parental engagement and improving the efficiency of the educational system.

From the resources I had access to, to allow me to base my reflection upon it has became highly evident to me that indeed Scottish education needs to crucially implement the proposed strategies in order to give our future generations the best chance to succeed in life. This can be done by meeting their proposed goals of raising attainment, improving employability and learners skillsets along with keeping young people and educators up to date with the technology that surrounds them in the society they are surrounded by. As a prospective teacher I am feeling very encouraged by the plans and strategies outlined in order to give pupils and teachers the best educational results for both parties and look forward to continuing my Digital Technology module by gaining new skills and ideologies that will support me in my own classroom one day.

References

Scottish Government (2016) A Digital Learning and Teaching Strategy for Scotland. Edinburgh: Scottish Government (Online) Available at: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0050/0050 [Accessed: 09 January 2018]