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

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

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

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

References:

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

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

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

Within this week’s class of Digital Technologies we focused on multimodality, through this I gained a great deal of knowledge about the importance of multimodal presentations.  We also worked in pairs to complete an ActivInspire flipchart, the opportunity beforehand of seeing some examples and watching tutorials on how to work it was very beneficial as this was the first time that I had used it.

Although I was first introduced to multimodality in the Literacy module in semester 1, I was glad we got to reiterate our knowledge during the lesson today as I feel as though it is a very important part of teaching.  This is backed up by (Beauchamp, 2012, p100) when he states “The ability of ICT to present ideas in a variety of ways can help to structure new experiences but only if you as the teacher have sufficient understanding on the area yourself.”  Due to this, I am very pleased that my understanding surrounding multimodality has increased significantly.  Multimodal texts include two or more semiotic systems, which include; Linguistic, Visual, Audio, Gestural and Spatial.  As a student teacher I see the true importance of multimodal presentations, as they will captivate, engage and motivate children, this ensuring lessons stay memorable.  This is something that I am very passionate about, as in future years when teaching I always want the children to remember the lessons that I have carried out, this letting me know that they have got the most out of what I have taught them.

Myself and my partner created an ActivInspire flipchart based around Literacy, which covered the Curriculum for Excellence outcome ‘Throughout the writing process, I can check that my writing makes sense”- LIT 1-23a.  I thoroughly enjoyed the idea of this flipchart being child led if it was to be carried out, this meaning the children would learn by doing (Prandstatter, 2014).  Our flipchart had a jungle theme and the animals included could be dragged into the middle of the screen and have an adjective wrote about them.  After this, the last two pages contained lines where all the children would come up individually and write a sentence about the animals and setting, along with including the adjectives that they had wrote.  All the sentences would have to flow to make one story, this meaning children would have to thoroughly check their writing to make sure that what they were saying fitted in well with what others had wrote – this matched with the outcome that we had used perfectly. From creating an ActivInspire flipchart I am now able to identify how much learners benefits from multimodal presentations.

Therefore, I am now aware how important multimodality is within education, and how it can fit into any area within the Curriculum.  I am excited for future placements and years of being a teacher to be able to prepare lessons on resources such as ActivInspire as I feel as though it will captivate all learners through the pictures, sounds, text etc that can be used on it.  From my last placement I identified how much children like to be in control of their learning through seeing their excitement of writing on the smartboard or the whiteboard.   From this I am going to ensure, where appropriate, that a lot of my lessons are child led.

References:

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

Prandstatter, J. (2014) Interactive Displays in Early Years Classes. [Online] Available: http://connectlearningtoday.com/interactive-displays-early-years-classes/ [Accessed 24 January 2017]

Today’s lesson focused around the use of programmable toys used in education, in particular Bee-bots.  From this, I gained knowledge on when programmable toys were first used in education, what the benefits of them are and I also worked as part of a group to create our own numeracy lesson using a Bee-bot.  Throughout this task, we had to think about Curriculum for Excellence outcomes, this gave me good insight into what creating lessons will be like in future years of being a teacher.

I was surprised when I learned that programmable toys were first used in education in the 1960’s when Seymour Papert created Logo.  Logo allows children to participate in complex programming as they can control an arrow which allows them to draw shapes, symbols etc.  Ever since then, the use of programmable toys within education has expanded and children continue to get more out of technology as time goes on.  This is stated by (Janka, 2008, p2) “The curriculum introduces programmable toys as a good example for developing knowledge and understanding of the contemporary world.”  As well as this, programmable toys have numerous amounts of benefits.  As technology such as Bee-bots allow children to see if they are correct or incorrect quickly, they can gain instant feedback.  Through this, the children are always in control and learning hands on, this allowing time for them to engage and get the most out of their learning.  Children are often able to pick up how to work them quickly, this is backed up by (Lydon, 2008) as she introduced twenty-eight nursery children to Bee-bots and twelve were able to use them themselves without any further help after only being told how to use them once.  This shows the active engagement children have with independent learning and how much they appreciate a challenge through using programmable toys for the first time.

After working in a group using Bee-bots, I am aware how engaging and active learning with programmable toys is as I loved creating a game using them.  From this, I can understand why children get so many benefits out of using them and how much of an important role they play within the curriculum.  My group created a numeracy game with the Bee-bots, in which compass bearings and the three times tables were used.  We made it fun by giving it a treasure hunt theme, in which there was different obstacles to get through on a boat such as sea creatures, anchors, coins etc.  The start box had the question “3×1”, from this, there was a card with 3 on it which gave the direction to go in to get to the next question.  Eventually, the right answers led to a key, which enabled the treasure hunt box on the last square to be opened.  We even gave the Bee-bot an eyepatch to match with the theme! This learning game which could be used in future years as a lesson fits in with this Curriculum for Excellence outcome – TCH-101a ‘I can explore and experiment with digital technologies and can use what I learn to support and enhance my learning in different contexts.’  We choose this outcome as the game we created allows the opportunity for mathematical skills as a whole to be improved, through working on times table and direction skills.  Therefore, if children were to ever engage with this, they would be able to take what they have learned into maths lessons and the outside world.  Due to this, this curricular outcome would also fit into a lesson like this – ‘Having determined which calculations are needed, I can solve problems involving whole numbers using a range of methods, sharing my approaches and solutions with others.’ – MNU 2-03a.

Overall, this class enabled me to recognise the importance of programmable toys and although they were first introduced in the 1960’s within education, as time goes on they are getting more engaging and allow children to be creative and learn hands on.  I thoroughly enjoyed creating my own learning game with my group and it has made me even more excited to become a teacher and plan lessons to see how much children learn and get satisfaction out of using technology.

References:

ICTopus Article (2008) Sharing Good Practice: Robots in Early Education by Alison Lydon. [Online] Available: https://oponoa-programmeertalen.wikispaces.com/file/view/BeeBot article.pdf [Accessed: 17 January 2018]

Janka, P. (2008) Using a Programmable Toy at Preschool Age: Why and How? [Online] Available: http://www.terecop.eu/downloads/simbar2008/pekarova.pdf [Accessed: 17 January 2018]

Within my first class of Digital Technologies we focused on what digital technology is, along with identifying our strengths and things we wish to expand our knowledge on throughout this module.  Within class we read “Enhancing learning and teaching through the use of digital technology” which was published by the Scottish Government in 2016.  We also spent time looking on Glow, which was very beneficial as Glow Blogs are a key aspect to completing this module successfully.

Before this class, my idea of digital technology was vague and I mostly associated it with all being online, however I now have the understanding that there are many more different aspects to it.  For example, Bee-bots are educational and a useful form of digital technology.  Not only do they fit into Technology Curriculum for Excellence Experience and Outcomes, but they could also be used in many other lessons throughout the curriculum, such as Mathematics:

Having investigated where, why and how scale is used and expressed, I can apply my understanding to interpret
simple models, maps and plans. – MTH 2-17d

I also found out different facts about digital technology that I did not previously know, such as how it helps to increase levels of attainment and therefore close the attainment gap.  Due to this, I feel as though this module has been beneficial for my learning already as my understanding of what digital technology is has increased.  To be able to identify our progress at the end of the module we highlighted aspects we felt we were and were not most confident in, or had never worked with before.  This gave me a good opportunity to think about what I need to work on most and what different forms of digital technology I will be working on in upcoming weeks.

The Scottish Government (2016) highlighted four main objectives that they wish to carry out to ensure digital technology helps children in all aspects of the curriculum.

• Develop the skills of educators
• Improve access
• Empower leaders
• Enhance curriculum and assessment delivery

I feel as though these points are very important as if teachers are not comfortable working with digital technology themselves, then they will lack confidence and find it hard to engage children in their lessons.  Therefore, teachers being given the appropriate training means they will be able to highlight the positive effect digital technology has on children and from this they may themselves take great enjoyment in creating lessons for all areas throughout the curriculum.   Ninety-two children between ages eight to eleven consulted with the children’s parliament, during this they talked about how learning with technology is fun.  Therefore, through teachers incorporating technology into the curriculum where appropriate, children will be more interested and focused as they are learning through something they take an interest in.  As children growing up nowadays are constantly being introduced to new technology – I find it essential as a student teacher that I am constantly aware of the latest gadgets and resources children are engaging with (Prensky, 2001). From this, I have been able to identify the importance of teacher knowledge on digital technology, therefore I am satisfied that I choose this module as I feel as though it will increase my confidence in relation to teaching with technology in future years.

We also spent time navigating glow and adding tiles onto our launch pads, this allowed me to identify useful tiles for just now whilst studying and also for future years of being a teacher.  I found this time very important as reflecting through Glow Blogs is essential within this module, therefore exploring the site made me more confident with using it.

Overall, the first class of the module Digital Technologies enabled my understanding of what digital technology is to be expanded, as well as giving me the time to explore different books and Glow.  I am pleased that I choose this module as already I have been made aware of how important it is for educators to be confident in teaching with technology.  Therefore, through this module I am hopeful that my confidence and skills with using digital technology will increase.

References:

Prensky, M. (2001) Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. [Moodle Resource] Available: Digital Technologies module on Moodle. [Accessed: 9 January 2018]

The Scottish Government (2016) Enhancing learning and teaching through the use of digital technology [Moodle Resource] Available: Digital Technologies module on Moodle. [Accessed: 9 January 2018]