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 … Continue reading

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]

 

 

 

 

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 … Continue reading

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]

 

 

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