Monthly Archives: March 2018

Digital Technologies Week 11 – 20.3.18

2.1 Curriculum, Digital Techologies

In our final week in Digital Technologies, we looked at using QR codes to enhance outdoor learning. Outdoor learning was something that I experienced at school without the technology aspect of learning, so I was looking forward to experience the outdoors and combine it with technology.

“Outdoor learning experiences are often remembered for a lifetime. Integrating learning and outdoor experiences, whether through play in the immediate grounds or adventures further afield, provides relevance and depth to the curriculum in ways that are difficult to achieve indoors” (Learning & Teaching Scotland,2010). If children are enjoying a lesson, they are more likely to remember it and retain the information they learned. This is one of the reasons I think Digital Technology is a useful resource for teachers. It is an enjoyable experience not only for children but for the teachers too.

In conjunction with exploring the QR reader, we also looked at an application called Pic Collage. To become familiar with the app, we created a collage of our life here at UWS before we started the task. Our task today was to crack the QR code by using the QR Reader on the iPad  and find all the QR codes outside.  Each QR code asked us a question and gave us a letter for each answer. From this, we had to figure out the secret word and scan the QR to confirm we were right. QR stands for quick response  and is based on an image-based hyperlink. A QR code can store 7089 numbers in comparison with a standard barcode that can only hold up to 30 numbers. ›A QR code can also  link to a short bit of text, an audio recording, a website, a phone number, an email address, a map location, an calendar event. We then had to create a collage based on our outdoor learning task using Pic Collage. I thought this was a great task. It is fun and exciting for children and allows them to experience the outdoors and their surroundings. Learning and Teaching Scotland (2010) suggest that “it’s clear that the outdoor environment offers motivating, exciting, different, relevant and easily accessible activities from pre-school years through to college.” There are many advantages of outdoor learning. It can help develop their critical thinking skills as it can help children to make links with other curricular areas. It enhances their personal development such as their problem solving skills, communication with each other and working with others. In addition to this, it can also promote a healthy lifestyle which can then lead to a life long recreation such as hill walking, cycling, and swimming. Personal safety is another advantage of outdoor learning as it can provide opportunities for children to develop skills to assess and manage the risks that outdoor learning can impose. One of the biggest advantages for me is that outdoor learning includes everyone. It can provide opportunities for children to use a wide range of skills and abilities that are not always visible in the classroom. This in turn can increase individual’s self-worth and change the way other children perceive them. Children are always exploring the outdoors and Beauchamp (2012) states that “children are citizens of their localities, making contributions to the communities whether playing sport, interacting with others or simply hanging out with friends”. Outdoor learning helps children to interact and communicate with others. This is a valuable skill they use in life. The 7 Principles of Design in the Curriculum for Excellence  resonates with the essential concepts of outdoor learning. “Challenge, enjoyment, relevance, depth, development of the whole person and an adventurous approach to learning are at the core of outdoor pedagogy” (Education Scotland, 2010).

 

Throughout this lesson, I thought it was quite interesting how many aspects of the GIRFEC (Getting it Right for Every Child) was covered by outdoor learning. The SHANNARI Wheel demonstrates eight Health & Wellbeing indicators for children; Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible and Included. It also links in with the four capacities in the Curriculum for Excellence ; Successful Learners, Confident Individuals, Effective Contributors, and Responsible Citizens. In pairs, we had to pick one of these indicators and discuss our thoughts on how outdoor learning can achieve these indicators. We picked respect as it is important that children learn to respect the environment and not pick any living flowers or leaves from trees, keeping quiet in certain areas, and not littering. Respect also occurs between the pupil and the teacher. For example, if the teacher explains to a child not to do something and gives a good reasons to stay safe, the pupil then respects the rules the teacher has set. By following the rules the teacher has set the children are safe and become responsible for their own actions. All of these indicators can be achieved by outdoor learning and it is vital the children have the opportunity to experience it.

Experience & Outcomes from Outdoor Learning:

“I am learning to assess and manage risk, to protect myself and others, and to reduce the potential for harm when possible.” HWB 0-16a / HWB 1-16a / HWB 2-16a

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

“I 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

 

In conclusion, I think it is vital that children experience outdoor learning. After experiencing today’s lesson, outdoor learning is definitely an enjoyable and memorable way of learning. As a teacher, you want the children to remember and take lots of experiences from your lesson. They also gain many valuable skills such as communication, critical thinking skills, problem solving skills and this helps them grow as an individual. Outdoor learning also covers many cross- curricular areas. By using the QR reader, many quizzes can be created and can be tailored to suit the topic that is being covered. This application gives teachers flexibility as it can be adapted to any age. The SHANNARI Wheel is also an important aspect to follow as many of them can be covered by outdoor learning. It can build up their personal development and also promotes a healthy lifestyle.. These skills will be carried throughout their lifetime.

 

Throughout this module, I feel that my confidence has grown week by week. Some areas of Digital Technologies I have experienced before and had a sound knowledge of. However, there are many areas that I had never came across before such as Minecraft and Scratch Jr, but now I feel I could use them in the classroom. Digital Technologies has opened up my mind to various lesson planning ideas in the classroom and the links to the Curriculum for Excellence for those lessons. I have learned a lot about using technology in the classroom and the benefits it can have for children. With technology growing in today’s society, it is important as a teacher that we keep up with it and embed it within children’s learning so that they are picking up essential skills such as problem solving, critical thinking skills and communication skills. I can see how teachers would be afraid of using technology in the classroom, however it is vital that they have the support within the curriculum to gain that confidence to teach it in schools. I looked back to my Success Wheel from the first session in comparison to the last session, to reflect on my confidence and knowledge on various areas of digital technology. I feel that my knowledge has increased in technology and have learned new things that can be used in the classroom. My confidence has grown and  in my future career as a teacher digital technology is something that I will definitely use in my classroom.

 

 

References

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

›Education Scotland (2010) Curriculum for Excellence Through Outdoor Learning. [Online] Available: http://moodle.uws.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/105271/mod_resource/content/3/cfeoutdoorlearningfinal_tcm4-596061%20copy.pdf [Accessed: 27th March 2018]

Education Scotland (2016) Curriculum for Excellence: Technologies Experiences and Outcomes. [Online] Available: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/Technologies-es-os.pdf [Accessed: 27th March 2018]

›Learning and Teaching Scotland (2010) Curriculum for Excellence Through Outdoor Learning. [Online] Available:https://education.gov.scot/Documents/cfe-through-outdoor-learning.pdf [Accessed: 27th March 2018]

Scottish Government (2010) [Online] Available: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0043/00438639.jpg  [Accessed: 27th March 2018]

 

Digital Technologies Week 10 – 13.3.18

2.1 Curriculum, Digital Techologies, Literacy

This week in Digital Technologies we continued to look at Games-Based Learning, and in particular we looked at the video game Minecraft. I was apprehensive at playing the game, as it was something I had never played before. Thankfully, we had a group of Digital Leaders from a local primary school to show us how to use Minecraft.

Before the pupils arrived, we watched a few YouTube videos to show us what Minecraft was, the aim of the game, and the basic tools on how to create a Minecraft World. At first, it looked very complicated and confusing, as the graphics did not seem to be very modern. However, there are many children in today’s society that play Minecraft frequently so I tried to have an open mind whilst exploring the game. According to Magbook (2014) “Minecraft is a worldwide phenomenon. Since it was first released back in 2011, it’s been taken to the hearts of thousands and thousands of gamers.” The Digital Leaders from a local primary school arrived and they showed us how to use it and what creations they had made. The pupils created various objects such as scenes from Harry Potter, shops, and houses. If they are in the same room, they can share their worlds with each other to see what they have created. There are so many possibilities and I thought it was a great stimulus for their imagination. The pupils explained that Minecraft can be used for literacy, technology, health and wellbeing, and many topic areas such as the Romans, Titanic, or the Egyptians. The task for the day was to design a World by creating objects using Minecraft.

Video games are extremely popular in today’s society. Ofcom Report (2011) states that “gaming is hugely popular in the UK with almost 86% of 5-7 year old children and 90% of 8-11 year old children using gaming devices regularly.” As a student teacher, I think it is important to integrate Games-Based Learning into the classroom. As Ofcom suggests, children are using their gaming devices regularly, therefore teachers should embed it within their learning. It will keep pupils interested in the task at hand, it is something they relate to from out of school and it can stimulate creativity.  Beauchamp (2012, p.9) suggests that “Children spend most of their time on games not found in schools.” However, if schools introduced games to children during a lesson, they may start to use it outside of school and this can have an great educational impact on them. Bray (2012) suggests that “in a classroom setting, games  should not just be used as rewards or for entertainment  but as a whole new approach to learning.” The game part is only a small part of the task, but if the game is introduced as a stimulus and is then followed by a task, the children are more likely to be engaged and enthusiastic. In addition to this, Beauchamp (2012, p10) states that there are many skills that could be enhanced by playing ICT games such as strategic thinking, planning, communication, application of numbers, negotiating skills, group decision-making and data handling skills. All of these skills are very important and can benefit the child’s learning.

Links to Experiences and Outcomes:

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

“As I play and learn, I enjoy exploring interesting materials for writing and different ways of recording my experiences and feelings, ideas and information.” LIT 0-21b

“In everyday activity and play, I explore and make choices to develop my learning and interests. I am encouraged to use and share my experiences.” HWB 0-19

(Education Scotland, 2004)

“I can explore and experiment with sketching, manually or digitally, to represent ideas in different learning contexts.” TCH 1-11a

(Education Scotland, 2016)

 

After exploring Minecraft, I have found that it is a great game for stimulating the imagination. It enhances so many valuable skills in pupils that can be applied to many curricular subjects. Video games are played by children outside of school so by using them in class it would keep them engaged and interested in the topic. It was interesting to gain the knowledge of primary school children and I learned a lot of valuable information from them. Games-Based Learning is something I would use in my classroom because it is important to keep subjects interesting and make the learning enjoyable.

 

 

 

 

 

References

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

Bray, O. (2012) Playful Learning: Computer Games in Education. [Online] Available: https://www.slideshare.net/Microsofteduk/playful-learning-computer-games-in-education [Accessed: 19th March 2018]

Education Scotland (2004) Curriculum for Excellence: Literacy and English. Experiences and Outcomes.[Online] Available: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/literacy-english-eo.pdf [Accessed: 19th March 2018]

Education Scotland (2004) Curriculum for Excellence: Health and Wellbeing. Experiences and Outcomes. [Online] Available: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/health-and-wellbeing-eo.pdf [Accessed: 19th March 2018]

Education Scotland (2016) Curriculum for Excellence: Technologies. Experiences and Outcomes. [Online]Available: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/Technologies-es-os.pdf [Accessed: 19th March 2018]

Ofcom (2001) Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes [Online] Available: https://www.slideshare.net/Microsofteduk/playful-learning-computer-games-in-education [Accessed: 19th March 2018]

MagBook (2014) How to Do Everything in Minecraft.

Pixabay. [Online] Available: https://pixabay.com/en/photos/?q=minecraft&hp=&image_type=all&order=popular&cat=&min_width=&min_height= [Accessed: 19th March 2018]

 

Digital Technologies Week 9 – 6.3.18

Digital Techologies, Literacy

The topic of discussion today in Digital Technologies was about Games-based Learning and why we should be using it in schools. In addition to this, we looked at the video game Mario Kart. It was a game I played throughout my childhood, so it was very familiar to me. We created our own Mario character and our own kart too. We also created a mind map of the positive effects of Games-based Learning in the classroom. This was followed by an Interdisciplinary Learning plan where we came up with activities that could be used in the classroom, based on Mario Kart. Our Mario kart with a rocket exhaust and had pizza wheels. We based our activities on the pizza wheels and related them to areas of the curriculum. Our maths activity was based on fractions of the pizza, where they would be asked questions like “If someone ate 1/8th of a pizza, how many 8ths are left?” They had to research the recipe using the search engine on the internet and then write down the recipe structured the way a recipe should be. This involved digital and literacy skills. Finally, we would get them to make a pizza which would link into Health and Wellbeing area of the Curriculum. Whilst finding the experience and outcomes of these tasks, I found that some of them overlapped. For example, maths was also used in the weighing and measuring of the ingredients. This would also cover the weight and measure experience and outcome.

Digital Games-based Learning is defined as “ the integration of gaming into learning experiences to increase engagement and motivation” (Higher Education Academy, 2017). From personal experience of growing up around video games, I think it is engaging and is something that children would enjoy as it is something that I enjoy. My initial thought was that games based learning might not be really effective tool for the classroom, as it may be a  distraction. However, after discussing and reading in detail on the use of games-based learning, I found that there are many advantages of using it in the classroom. Some of these advantages include an increase in motivation, reinforces knowledge, it is enjoyable, engaging and will grab children’s attention. “Like novels, films, plays and other media, games can be high quality materials a teacher uses to enable students to access the curriculum” (Edutopia, 2016). Game-based Learning is another useful and interesting tool that can be used effectively in the class and can link to many experiences and outcomes from the Curriculum for Excellence.

Computing started in the 1980s and when the internet came along in the 1990s, it allowed children to play in the form of video and computer games (Higher Education Academy, 2017).  However, the transition of using Games-based Learning in classrooms is moving slowly. This could be down to the fact that teachers do not have the confidence to use video games as part of their lesson. Jean Piaget and Leonard Vygotsky suggest that play is a vital part of cognitive development throughout someone’s entire life (Higher Education Academy, 2017). It is important that as teachers we are clear about what the learning intentions are and also that we implement games and the discussion around them. In addition to this, appropriate and relevant games must be used for the tasks to achieve the outcomes (Learning and Teaching Scotland). We are role models for our pupils, therefore we must ensure that game-based learning has positive impacts on their social skills, enhances their learning, supports and develops learning and that they are given the opportunity to apply those skills.

After today’s session, my opinion has changed about the use of video/ computer games in the classroom. I have increased my understanding and knowledge into how game-based learning can have positive effects on the children and their learning. It is important to keep them engaged, so they can develop their skills.  This also has benefits for teachers, as there are many activities that can be planned around a video game. One activity can cross many curricular areas in the Curriculum for Excellence.  I think classrooms need to use this resource more often.

 

Experiences and Outcomes for this resource:

“I can share out a group of items by making  smaller groups. I can split a whole object into smaller parts.”  MNU 0-07a

“Through exploring how groups of items can be shared equally, I can find a fraction of an amount by applying my knowledge of division.” MNU 1-07b

“I have experimented with everyday items as units of measure to investigate and compare sizes and amounts in my environment, sharing my findings with others.” MNU 0-11a

“I can present my writing in a way that will make it legible and attractive for my reader, combining words, images and other features.” LIT 1-24a

“I enjoy eating a diversity of foods in a range of social situations. ”
HWB 0-29a / HWB 1-29a / HWB 2-29a

“I experience a sense of enjoyment and achievement when preparing simple healthy foods and drinks.”  HWB 1-30b

(Education Scotland, 2004)

“I can use digital technologies to explore how to search and find information.” TCH 0-02a (Education Scotland, 2016)

 

 

 

References

Education Scotland (2004) Curriculum for Excellence.[Online] Available: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/all-experiences-and-outcomes.pdf [Accessed: 6th March]

Edutopia (2016) 3 Ways to Use Game-Based Learning. [Online] Available: https://www.edutopia.org/article/3-ways-use-game-based-learning-matthew-farber  [Accessed:6th March 2018]

Higher Education Academy (2017) Gamification and Games-Based Learning. [Online] Available: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/gamification-and-games-based-learning  [Accessed: 6th March 2018]