Digital Technologies

Digital Technologies – Week 1 09/01/18

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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]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.4 Professional Reflection and Communication, Literacy, Mathematics, Professional Goals and Reflection on Placement

First year placement

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During my two week placement I got to explore all areas within a primary school from P1-P6, this giving me great knowledge and experience of working with children of all ages, and I was able to identify a range of different teacher qualities and styles. The main class that I spent most of my placement time at however was one of three primary five classes and with the teacher being newly qualified she was able to help me to the highest degree possible, this making my time at the school very enjoyable. Due to spending a lot of time with this particular class I gained a great bond with all the children and the teacher, this being something I very much had in mind before going out to placement as I think it is very important to be in a happy, friendly environment to get the best outcome from an experience like this.

The different classes that I went in for one hour per day mainly all focused on mathematics and literacy activities, because of this I found it very easy to fill in the work which was required to be done when out on placement. I also found it very rewarding to complete both peer observations and self-evaluations as it was great to see the improvements I made from the first week to the second as I was able to change things that I was doing that I wasn’t fully happy with. However, a main strength that I found I had on placement was that when speaking to the children I was able able to be heard and seen, this being a very important aspect of communication as this leads on to other positive aspects of both verbal and non-verbal skills.

The school’s enthusiasm and interest in the children was great to see and they work with many external agencies to try and make sure the children within the school get the best education and childhood that they possibly can. They work closely with a woman who tackles attendance and children coming into school late, this was very interesting to see as previously I had never known any other school to work with an agency to try and combat this issue. The children also had an area for the children to go to if they were feeling down or wanted someone to talk to, this really opened by eyes to the caring nature that is within primary schools to ensure children always have someone to talk to.

Overall, my first placement was a great experience which I thoroughly enjoyed, due to the warm and welcoming nature of both the children and all staff members, and how the general feel of the school was great to be within. I am also pleased with how well I got on as an individual and how much the children looked up to me as a professional. Due to this I am even more excited about becoming a primary school teacher and the future placements I have to come.

 

1.3 Trust and Respect, 2.2 Education Systems and Professional Responsibilities, 3.4 Professional Reflection and Communication, Professional Goals and Reflection on Placement

Self-Evaluation study task

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During this independent study task based on observations, self-evaluation and communication skills, I feel as though I have gained more knowledge on what I wish to be like during my time on placement and as a teacher in future years. After watching the Year 3 teacher who was being observed by Sue Cowley I compared what I had written down with a partner, although we had some of the same content gathered from this video, we also had different things wrote down which the other one of us never picked up on. For example, my praise after watching this teacher was that he had a friendly approach with the children, this meaning they will feel comfortable around him and be able to trust him, along with this they will have a sense of respect for him.  However, I felt as though sometimes he never portrayed as much authority as what he should have, due to this sometimes the children were distracted and were never told to participate more or told to stop messing around.

Something that surprised me about this self-study task was that often we fall into a trap of doing and saying things which we think are okay, but when we look back it may have not been the best thing to do at that time. When watching the video on the teacher looking back on a recording of her teaching it made me more aware that often we are unaware of everything that has happened in a day, so often we forget crucial elements. It was interesting to see a teacher recording herself to look back on and I was very surprised this happened, as I personally haven’t seen anything like this before.  However, I think it is a great way to look back and reflect.

I feel as though this self-study task has made me more self-aware and has showed me certain aspects I want to take forward and some I should try and avoid when out on placement. For example, how it is nice to be friendly with the pupils, but there also should be a professional barrier too.  Overall, watching videos of teachers with their classes makes me excited to start placement to get involved within the practical side of things.

2.1 Curriculum, 3.4 Professional Reflection and Communication

My first few weeks at UWS

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During the first couple of weeks at UWS I have been enjoying starting all the different classes that are incorporated within my course. Beforehand, I was the most confident about starting literacy, as English was my favourite subject at school; therefore I felt like this module was where I could contribute to a high degree and share a lot of knowledge within.  Overall I was most nervous about starting Spanish as I have never studied it before, therefore I was hesitant as to what level of difficulty this particular module would be like. However, after looking at all the course handbooks for each module I quickly realised the courses are all set out nicely and easy to follow, this allowed me to look ahead and see what was going to be covered within the next few weeks.   Being able to do this put me at ease as the unknown of what each module would be like was the issue that was worrying me the most.

However, as I am onto my fourth week I am finding all my modules equally understandable and enjoyable.  I am feeling a lot more confident about Spanish as I have realised all the people in my class are also beginners to the subject, therefore we are all in the same position and learning together.  Although literacy was the module I felt most confident about beginning, I have realised every module is preparing me for all the different aspects of becoming a primary teacher, so although I am still confident in literacy, I am also feeling more confident in all the other modules as well.  Due to all of this, in the future going onto my second, third and fourth year of the course I will remind myself that there is no point in feeling anxious over modules that I haven’t even explored yet, as by the end of the year they could end up being the module I find most enjoyable overall.

2.1 Curriculum, Literacy

Situated Communication Independent Study/Reading Task

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Within chapter five of the ‘Finding out about others: the skill of questioning’ book by Hargie (2011) it explores the importance of questions, as they are incorporated within a lot of interpersonal encounters.  There are many different sections within this chapter, such as ‘Purposes of questions’, ‘Probing questions’ and ‘Types of questions.’ Under the section ‘Purposes of questions’ it gives a range of different examples in which questions are used, for example – teachers when teaching their class and sales workers trying to pitch to members of the public.  The ‘Probing questions’ section discusses how questions can be used to prompt people to reply to what others have asked them.  The ‘Types of questions’ section goes into a large amount of detail about recall and process questions, affective questions, leading questions and open and closed questions.  Research mentioned during this section is (Dickson et al, 1997), in which they concluded during counselling that open questions are more effective.  They backed up this evidence with three bullet points which state their opinion such as, open questions produce accurate responses.  However, personally I don’t completely agree with this statement as I feel as though every question type is effective in different ways.  To back up my feelings about this, I think more research should be done to strengthen their argument that open questions are more effective, as I do not think it is fair to just include one source of research from the same kind of environment.

There are also some arguments within this chapter, especially under the ‘Multiple questions’ section, as it starts off by mentioning that multiple questions can be useful in certain circumstances, however it then talks about how they are “wasteful.”  The word wasteful is then indicating that multiple questions are useful at no point in time – this completely contradicting what was said to start with.  I personally found the first paragraph of the chapter beneficial as it made me grasp the concept of just how important questions are, as one teacher portrayed this through a learning experience.  During a lesson she made a rule that nobody was allowed to ask a question, however she quickly realised communication was vague after that, and the children ended up asking questions unintentionally.

 

References:

‘Finding out about others: the skill of questioning’, in Hargie, O. (2011) Skilled Interpersonal Communication: Research, Theory and Practice. 5th ed. London: Routledge.

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