March 13, 2018
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Personal Reflection Digital Technologies Game Based Learning with MineCraft – 13/03/18

Todays session was around games based learning with Minecraft. Minecraft is an online game that many children play. It is a creativity game where they can build and create a range of buildings with a range of different materials. “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. (Mag Book 2014, pg. 3)”. Children came in from a local primary school to show us how to work Minecraft and then we were able to explore it for ourselves. I had previous experience of playing Minecraft on a PlayStation 4 and an Xbox so using it on an iPad was a different experience within itself although I knew how the game worked.

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.” This shows that children regularly play games almost every day. Encouraging gaming within their education could make learning more exciting along with teachers learning from the children because most of the pupils in the classroom would have played the games that teachers introduce.

Bray (2012) states that “Games-based Learning has the most transformational impact when it is combined with good learning and teaching.” As I learned last week a simple game like guitar hero or Mario Kart can influence a range of areas within the curriculum. Bray (2012) also states that in a classroom setting, games should not just be used as rewards or for entertainment but as a whole new approach to learning. Games based learning can bring relevance to what children play outside of a learning environment and can encourage a range of ideas to benefit their learning.

“Achieving particular educational objectives through the use of the game was more dependent upon a teacher’s knowledge of the curriculum with which they were working than it was on their ability with the game” (Beauchamp, 2012, p.10). This shows that teachers do not need to know how to use the game but need to have knowledge of learning outcomes from the curriculum to relate to the game. Beauchamp (2012) also states that the type of skills that could be developed by ICT games are: Strategic Thinking, Planning, Communication, Application of numbers, Negotiating Skills, Group decision-making and Data Handling Skills (Beauchamp, 2012, p.10). Gaming helps children’s interaction skills as well as developing their skills within other areas.

We had a chance to explore Minecraft with two primary six children. We used one of the pupils iPads and saw the different worlds that they have created throughout school and at home. It amazed me how the pupils used the iPad really quickly and easily. Throughout the tutorial with the children we were able to ask them a range of questions regarding the use of Minecraft.

The children then handed over the iPads to us and it felt like a new experience completely. We were allowed to ask the pupils for help but they were not able to touch the iPad and only use their mouths to tell us what to do. I could see that the pupils were tempted to take the iPad from us and show us how to do it but they had to stop themselves. I think personally that it was a great experience learning from the pupils because they are involved in games when they are at home and they knew more about Minecraft than what our group did. The pupils were within the role of the teacher and had to allow us to figure it out. I thought that allowing them to teach us is a useful idea because they are more confident when using the game than what we were.

Within the Curriculum for Excellence games based learning with Minecraft links with a range of areas I chose two outcomes one from literacy and one from technology. The literacy outcome I chose was “When I engage with others, I can respond in ways appropriate to my role, show that I value others’ contributions and use these to build on thinking (LIT 2-02a)” (Education Scotland 2004) . I chose this outcome because with games based learning children are interacting with their peers and can respond to others if they are unsure of a certain part of the game and be able to help each other, but also helping and interacting with the teacher. The technology outcome I chose was “I can explore and experiment with digital technologies and can use what I learn to support and enhance leaning in different contexts (TCH 1-01a)” (Education Scotland 2004). I chose this because the children are exploring the use of technology but using it to enhance their learning in different ways.

I think that the use of games like Minecraft in the classroom is useful because it makes learning fun and interactive. As a developing student teacher I definetly would bring a game like Minecraft into the classroom because I could choose a topic such as; Ancient Greece, Rome or Harry Potter and allow the children to use Minecraft to create the buildings within the topic. Also the children creating their own imaginative stories and then build their story within Minecraft. It allows children to talk to each other, help each other and be learning at the same time. Another benefit of using Minecraft is that it can link across the curriculum. It also allows teachers to learn about games that children play at home and brings relevance into the learning environment. The teacher doesn’t need to be confident with a game to link it into the curriculum. The teacher can let the children take over and show them what to do.

References

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

Bray, O. (2012) Playful Learning: Computer Games in Education. [Online] https ://www.slideshare.net/Microsofteduk/playful-learning-computer-games-in-education [Accessed 13th March 2018]

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 13th March]

MagBook (2014) How to Do Everything in Minecraft

Ofcom (2001), Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes [Online] – https://www.slideshare.net/Microsofteduk/playful-learning-computer-games-in-education [Accessed 13th March 2018]

March 6, 2018
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Personal Reflection Digital Technologies Game Based Learning – 06/03/18

Today within digital technologies we explored games based learning. With Games-based learning “students are provided with a game filled experience driven by play” (Farber, M 2016) At first we created a mind map in a small group of what we thought the positives and negatives of games based learning was. Some examples we put down were; links to the curriculum, engagement with others, creativity is involved and is relevant to children’s lives.

After further reading we then added to our mind map of the positives of games based learning this included; it not always teacher led, it can links to cross curricular activities such as literacy, maths and art. We also included that it encourages children to look at things differently.

Learning Teaching Scotland (2010 pg. 12) say that “Over the past decade, the use of digital gaming in education has prompted considerable attention in exploring how and why games might be powerful tools in the classroom. As a result of this interest, there is a considerable body of literature available on game-based learning in the classroom and the potential benefits of this for education and learning.”

When developing my knowledge I found that there is a history behind games based learning “The link between learning and playing is longstanding and predates the digital era by thousands of years (Higher Education Academy 2015). Theorists Jean Piaget and Leonard Vygotsky have argued that play is a an important part of brain development from birth and throughout adulthood (Higher Education Academy 2015). I think that play stimulates childrens minds as it encourages them to think actively instead of being at a desk writing on a piece of paper and play is interactive so it allows children to interact with their peers. Higher Education Academy (2015) says that the advent of computing (1980) and the internet (1990) created many opportunities for ‘play’ in the form of video and computer games. It also says that “Games-based learning is the integration of going into learning experiences to increase engagement and motivation” (Higher Education Academy 2015).

For today’s session we were to explore the Nintendo Wii and experience the game of Mario Kart although the lecturer was unable to find the wire to connect the WII so instead we watched a video of Mario Kart and then created our own Character and car to replace the exploration of the Wii. I already had previous experience with the Wii therefore I had an idea of what Mario Kart looked like and had the opportunity to explore the Wii when I was younger. The character I drew was Mickey Mouse, Mickey had a red an white convertible that had great speed and handling with a poor acceleration rate.

We then worked within a small group to create an Interdisciplinary Learning plan (IDL) to show the number of curricular areas that game-based learning can cross. The plan was based on Mario Kart. The ideas we came up with linked to the Curriculum for Excellence through Art, Drama, Numeracy, Literacy and Technology. Our art ideas included creating a garage, race track, tickets, the car and the character who was racing. The outcome this linked to; “I have the opportunity to choose and explore an extended range of media and technologies to create images and objects, comparing and combining them for tasks (EXA 2-02a)”(Education Scotland 2004) . The technology idea that we came up with was to create an iMovie trailer to introduce the race and the characters. The outcome this linked to; “I can explore and experiment with digital technologies and can use what I learn to support and enhance leaning in different contexts (TCH 1-01a)” (Education Scotland 2004) . The idea for literacy was to create a description of characters and the cars that were used through use of adjectives. The outcome this linked to; “By considering the type of text I am creating I can select ideas and relevant information and organise these in a logical sequence and use words which will be interesting and/or useful to others (LIT 1-26a)” (Education Scotland 2004).

I was surprised when I considered how many areas across the curriculum that Games-Based learning can fit in to. This made me consider using it within my future teaching career as a topic of the children’s learning.

The benefits of Games-Based Learning are; increase of motivation, attention grabbing. recall of information, reinforcing knowledge and that it is stress free and pleasurable. The potential challenges for teachers are: it could be challenging identifying a suitable game or part of a game, integrating the game into time and structure of daily planning. The teachers confidence and skills on computers and the use of resources. The school budget may also be a challenge. A potential challenge could also be linking the game to a specific area within the curriculum (Learning and Teaching Scotland 2010, pg. 20)

As role models teachers must ensure that game based learning has a positive impact on social skills, that it supports and enhances learning, it develops skills and provides opportunities to apply skills.

I think that games based learning is a tool worth taking into my future career as it would engage children in many different ways and it links to consoles that they may play at home such as the Xbox, Wii and Playstation. The children may have more knowledge of the game than me but it is nothing to be embarrassed about because I could learn more about the game from them and then include it in a range of areas within the curriculum. It enables children to interact with each other and allows them to increase in depth knowledge of what a game could add to their learning. It also encourages children to be interactive, working in teams and collaborating a range of ideas into one. It allows the children to use their imagination.

References

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

Higher Education Academy (2015) – Gamification and Games-Based Learning [Online] https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/gamification-and-games-based-learning [Accessed on 6th March 2018]

Learning, Teaching Scotland (2010) – FutureLab – The Impact of Console Games in the Classroom [Online] https://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/FUTL25/FUTL25.pdf [Accessed on 6th March 2018)

February 27, 2018
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Personal Reflection Digital Technologies – Mobile Devices 27/02/18

In today’s class I learned about the use of mobile devices to enhance learning. After having a tutorial around mobile devices through digital literacy within my first trimester I found the use of Easi-Speak microphones beneficial and easy to use, therefore I was excited to spend time using them to create a poem and recording it. At first I did some further reading from teaching times and found that “39 per cent of teachers stated that children should not have access out of school to mobile phones, while another 29 per cent of teachers said the ideal situation would be if all pupils had access to a mobile.Schools also believe that children’s preference for technology both at home and at school is evolving quickly, just as technology is continuing to change at a rapid pace” (Scottish Government 2016).

Majority of schools that were surveyed schools identify that home computers are used as a personal revision tool with 64% of schools providing directed homework by teachers that required access to computers at home. Only a quarter of schools believe that the majority of pupils use computers for entertainment and social networking exclusively and not for educational activities. (Scottish Government 2016).

I also read an article on the telegraph about how technology is reshaping teaching it stated that ” Over four in 10 households now have a tablet, meaning that children are becoming computer-literate before they’ve even started primary school – and we’ve all heard about the techno-babies who can handle an iPad before they have learnt how to tie their own shoelaces”. I think this is relevant because my two year old niece is in nursery and she is able to use educational games on my IPad where there are a range of shapes with different size and colour and they have to be moved to the specific space where they would fit and she was able to move the shapes around the screen to the space they fit in. She also used the IPad to listen to the songs/nursery rhymes that she learns in nursery and is able to choose the song from the list allocated under the video she is watching. This shows that she is already using an IPad before she has learnt to get her self dressed and tie her lace.

We were to answer a question “Should mobile devices be used in the classroom?” To this I answered yes I think that mobile devices are effective because children can create their own short story or poem and be able to act as the main characters through use of devices such as IPad’s, laptops, Easi-speak Microphones and talking tins. These are both tools used to record speech. They have memory on them that can easily be transferred to computers. It also allows the children to record their CVC words such at CAT, MAT, DOG and FROG and then spell them. This may help the children learn because they are saying it out loud and then spelling it so that they can play it back to themselves. This will help children who do not take information in when writing it with pen and paper. It could also benefit children who have additional support needs and struggle with spelling of their words if they work in partners their partner could spell it out and the child is able to play it back.

Today we explored Talking Tin and Easi Speak microphones. We were to create and “I am…” poem using the Easi-Speak Microphone. We were given sentence starters and were asked to finish the sentence. To do this we were to work in pairs and created our poem. At first we wrote down the ending of the sentences so that we could then record it. Once it was recorded we were to use Microsoft Powerpoint to put each line of our poem on to a slide and then add a picture using an online resource called Pixabay. We linked our ‘I am’ poem to a literacy and technology outcome within the Curriculum for Excellence. The technology one I thought that linked was “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” (Education Scotland 2014). I thought this linked because the use of Easi speak microphones is a different technology from recording through a laptop or Ipad. It also includes progression of other subjects for children’s learning through the use of technology. The literacy one I thought that linked was “I enjoy exploring and playing with the patterns and sounds of language, and can use what I learn. LIT 0-01a / LIT 0-11a /LIT 0-20a” (Education Scotland 2004). I thought that this was useful because the poem uses sounds of language to become a rhyme and being able to play around with words to make it rhyme with the next.

Emma Robertson & Shannon Scott I am Poem powerpoint

I found this as a learner easy to get my head around and straight forward. I enjoyed taking part in the task. As a teacher I think because the use of mobile devices such as Easi-speak microphones are straightforward and easy to use children would be able to understand it and learn a lot from it. I think that children would be keen to get involved and enjoy the use of it as a tool for learning. It is also beneficial for teachers because it is easy to transfer onto a computer/memory stick so that they have evidence of child’s progression and it isn’t all pen to paper work.

We then explored Talking Tins, talking tins are the similar to easi-speak microphones it is another tool used for recording items. With this we recorded a short paragraph of our poem. I didn’t find this as useful as the easi-speak microphones when we recorded a line it seemed to cut out although there could have been a short memory fault within the talking tin. Although it can be a beneficial tool for children to record CVC words within a literacy lesson or the times tables within a maths lesson to help the children learn effectively.

I think that the use of mobile devices is effective within the classroom as it influences children to learn in a range of ways. It allows teaching to become flexible and interactive. It allows children with additional support needs to progress in ways that they may not always achieve through pen and paper. It encourages children to be comfortable within themselves when hearing their own voice so that they do not feel uncomfortable when hearing it.

As adults my partner and I both hated our own voices and through use of a range of technology I have become more confident with putting my own voice into lesson plans/projects that I have created throughout my digital technology sessions.

References.

Curtis, S. (2014) – Digital Learning: how technology is reshaping teaching [Online] – https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/11051228/Digital-learning-how-technology-is-reshaping-teaching.html [Accessed: 27th February 2018]

Scottish Government (2016) Teaching Times – Games Consoles Benefit Children’s Education [Online] – https://www.teachingtimes.com/articles/games-consoles-education.htm [Accessed 27th February 2018]

Pixabay (2018) https://pixabay.com/en/photos/?q=student&hp=&image_type=all&order=popular&cat=&min_width=&min_height=

February 21, 2018
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Personal Reflection Digital Technologies – Animation 20/02/18

Today within Digital technologies we learned about Animation. Bertrancourt (2005) “suggests three ways in which animation can be used to enhance learning: 1.To enhance learners’ visual representations. 2.To illustrate processes. 3.To provide an interactive element.” According to Moving Image Education there are five main types of animation: 1.Cutout – quickest and easiest, 2. Stop-motion – example is plasticine models, 3.Pixillation – humans become the puppets, 4.Drawn – example is the classical Disney animation and 5.Computer – also known as CGI and found in games and movies (Moving Image Education).

Moving Image Education quotes that “Almost anything can be put under the camera and animated – sand, paint, clothes, jewellery, ice, found objects, foliage etc. Likewise, almost anything can form a background.” Moving Image Education states that animating while being in a classroom does not have to be with Play Doh or Plasticine models – cutout animation is by far the easiest technique to start on”.

This makes animation easily accessible as a teacher can explore the apps available with the children to create an animation and use items around the classroom that the children could be involved in making. Children can draw characters or scenes for the story to make it their own.

Throughout my Trimester 1 I had some use of the app puppet pals to create an animation but I never used it previous to that. Therefore I have not had a lot of experience using it or the app called IStopMotion.

At first we were able to explore Puppet Pals app on the IPad. With this we were to create an animation based on a fairy tale story that we had previously read. We were to include voice recording, movement, change the size of characters and the story was to include a beginning, middle and end. My partner and I created a Beginning and a middle of our story but had not had the chance to finish it. The app was easy to use when we got used to it. I found that it would be beneficial for children if it was used within the classroom as it could help children with ASN who find it difficult to create a story by writing it. Beauchamp, 2012, p.55); “e-Inclusion aims to use digital technologies to minimise the problems that pupils with learning difficulties experience”. It allows them to create a story of their own through use of the IPad. It gives the children opportunity to put their own voice into a story to create their own characters and imagine how characters would say things at specific points within their story.

Beauchamp (2012, p.54) states that “through the use of ICT and technology it could allow pupils to accomplish something that could be difficult or even impossible to achieve in any other way”. The use of technology includes those who find it difficult to write a story with pencil and paper. It also allows them to be involved in something that they may not always be able to take part in without a lot of support. Beauchamp (2012) also states that ICT should not be viewed as a subject separate from all other subject areas as it is something that contributes to all areas of learning. This could be through use of interactive games on the smart board relating to literacy and maths or being able to create stories and bring them to life with use of apps such as Puppet Pals.

For the task of creating and IStopMotion animation we worked within pairs. Me and my partner to create our animation we used coloured pens and paper to create the scene of the sea and the boats that were floating in the background. We used Lego to create a port and diving boards. We used bear figurines as our main characters. We used a toy boat for the police boat. Our animation was a family of teddy bears enjoying a day at the beach. The teddy bears were diving from the boards into the sea and when it came to the youngest bear he got frightened and the police boat saved the day and rescued him and took him back to the port where all his family swam and followed. After the bears arrived back to the port they were greeted by their friend and the two children went off to play and build sandcastles. While the animation played Summer Holiday by Cliff Richard.

For our animation we linked it to three outcomes within the curriculum for excellence. The technology outcome we linked it to; “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” (Education Scotland 2004). I used this because the children would be using the IPad to experiment and explore the apps available to them to be able to create animation. I also linked it to an Expressive Arts outcome; “I have the opportunity to choose and explore a range of media and technologies to create images and objects, discovering their effects and suitability for specific tasks. EXA 1-02a” (Education Scotland 2004). I used this because the children are able to create scenes throughout art to create their stories and bring them to life. Finally I linked it to Literacy as the children are able to explore the event happening in the story and also have idea of who the characters are to learn how to create their own using their imagination. “I enjoy exploring events and characters in stories and other texts and I use what I learn to invent my own, sharing these with others in imaginative ways. LIT 0-09b / LIT 0-31a” (Education Scotland 2004).

I think that the use of Animation through technology is a positive because it allows the children to be able to bring imaginative stories to life as they are able to draw their own characters through use of art and cut the characters out so they can create their animation and make their characters move around as if it was a real person. I also think it is beneficial because all resources can be easily accessible to create stories. It is also a fun way to allow children’s imaginations to run wild. It allows children with Additional Support Needs to feel included if they have trouble spelling words and writing as a whole it involves them that they can create a story and tell it through use of technology, art and literacy. It can make the difficult subjects easier for children.

IStopMotion is definitely something I will involve within my teaching career as it is a cross curricular activity that children can take part in bringing in different areas of the curriculum.

References

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

Jarvis, M. (2015) Brilliant Ideas for Using ICT in the Classroom: A Very practical Guide for Teachers and Lecturers. Routledge.

Moving Image Education website: Animation [Online] https ://movingimageeducation.org/create-films/animation [Accessed: 21 February 2018]

February 14, 2018
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Personal Reflection Digital Technologies – Movie Making 13/2/18

Throughout today’s input I enhanced my knowledge of internet safety. Beauchamp (2012, P.58) states that most primary schools will have in place a policy of internet safety although it would most likely be related to official policy documents although may not relate to the reality of pupil’s lives. He also states that the key idea of discussing e-safety is to educate children on the use and dangers of internet not to restrict them of what they can go onto. Beauchamp (2012, p.60) also states that “the most successful schools in terms of education of internet safety are those who ensured that children knew what to do when they came into trouble online”.

Throughout this session I also discovered that there are websites relating to internet safety that involve cartoons and activities that children can take part in. One of the cartoons that can be involved throughout Schools is Hectors World (ThinkUKnow, 2003-08) Personally I think the use of having interactive activities within the classroom relating to internet safety is beneficial for children as it educates them to know what to do if they come across a friend request on social media or gaming devices and they do not know the person they will know how to approach the situation by informing and adult.

When I was at school I do not remember being taught about internet safety and now that internet plays a role in daily life I think that it should be involved in children’s education so that children are aware of how dangerous it can be to accept a friend request from someone that you do not know or to meet up with someone you have spoke to online.

The Scottish Government (2015) states that “Digital technologies appear to be appropriate means to improve basic literacy and numeracy skills, especially in primary settings.” This shows that if a child within a primary school setting was to be shown a cartoon or movie trailer related to internet safety it could improve their basic literacy skills because they could be listening and talking about the video they have been shown. It could introduce discussion to what the children do in relation to the internet. The children could write facts on why the internet is a good thing, they could also research internet safety. It could encourage children to show their families at home the activities and videos online that they were shown in the classroom.

According to Porter (2004), digital storytelling begins with the notion that in the not too distant future, sharing one’s story through the multiple mediums of digital imagery, text, voice, sound, music, video and animation will be the principle hobby of the world’s people.

In today’s session as part of our assessment task the class was asked to work within groups and create a Movie or Trailer in relation to internet safety. Throughout the creation of our activity we were to create a Movie plan (See Attached Images).

We linked our movie to a literacy outcome and a technologies outcome. The literacy outcome I thought that our Movie linked to was; “As I listen or watch, I can identify and discuss the purpose, key words and main ideas of the text, and use this information for a specific purpose” LIT 1-04a (Education Scotland 2004). I thought that this outcome was effective as the children would be introduced to internet safety and could be asked questions with regards to the movie they have watched and if the children were able to pick out the purpose of the text and the main ideas within the text.

The technology outcome I thought that our movie linked to was; “I can extend my knowledge of how to use digital technology to communicate with others and I am aware of ways to keep safe and secure. TCH 1-03a” (Education Scotland 2004). Throughout discussion and use of digital technology children will have a wider understanding of how to approach situations when they are online.

Our movie was named “Hairy Snotter and the Fake Blood Sleaze”, Our production Name was “Woghorts Productions Ltd”. I played the role of the Non Communicative Sleaze – Ron Sleazy. Hairy Snotter was the main character in the movie who had been texting someone online and decided to meet up with them, on the meeting Hairy was approached by a non talking being with the name “Ron Sleazy” that looked nothing like their profile picture online. Mermanny was Hairy’s friend and was able to save Hairy’s day when she intervened on the meeting of Hairy and Ron. Hairy and Mermanny conducted a spell and with their powers were able to make Ron disappear. The message of the movie was to educate children of how dangerous meeting someone from the internet or accepting a friend request off of someone they do not know. Also to inform the children that if they tell someone the adult/carer or teacher will be able to help them.

I think overall the use of IMovie is beneficial for children to use within a primary school because it encourages their learning through use of digital technologies but also allows the children to create a movie or trailer based on a subject and be able to take a different approach to their creation than the rest of the class. I think that the use of IMovie is also beneficial as this session that we took part in today was enjoyable for us – a group of around 25-30 adults – it would be as enjoyable for children. IMovie allows the children to create a movie whether it be through use of props, use of drawings or involving other children to put a message across of what they have been learning about or bringing a story that they have been reading to life involving peers or props within their classroom.

References

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

Porter, B. (2004) Digi Tales: The Art of Telling Digital Stories. Bernajean Porter Publication.

The Scottish Government (2015) Literature Review on the Impact of Digital Technology on Learning and Teaching. [Online] http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/24843/1/00489224.pdf [Accessed 14 February 2018]

ThinkuKnow (2003-2008) Hector’s World – Animated Safety Videos [Online]
https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/5_7/hectorsworld/ [Accessed: 14 February 2018]

February 6, 2018
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Personal Reflection Digital Technologies – E-Books Assessment 6/2/18

Today in Digital Technologies I took part in an E-Book Assessment. Before this in a group we created a mind map of what we thought an E-Book was. Things that we said were; that is an online book, it is easily accessible, it is colourful and bright and it can be used through mobile devices such as; phones, tablets, kindles and laptops.

I had an opportunity to look at a range of sources to see what the definition of an E-Book is, Oxford dictionary says “An electronic version of a printed book which can be read on a computer or a specifically designed handheld device” (Oxford Dictionary 2018).

A Digital Learning and Teaching Strategy for Scotland is structured around four essential objectives: Develop the skills and confidence of teachers; Improve access to digital technology for all learners; Ensure that digital technology is a central consideration in all areas of curriculum and assessment delivery; Empower leaders of change to drive innovation and investment in digital technology for learning and teaching (Scottish Government n.d).

BBC Web-Wise (2018) believe that the only downfall to an E-Book is when you want to lend the book you read to a friend it becomes difficult as it is on your handheld device and the person may need to go and purchase the book itself online or the paper version. E-Books can be multi-modal – A multi-modal text is a text that includes 2 out of the 5 semiotic systems these are; Linguistic, Visual, Audio, Gestural and Spatial (Anstey and Bull, 2010).

Today we were to use Book-Creator App on the IPad. I had some experience during my trimester 1 literacy module to make an E-Book with Book-Creator. It is simple and easy to use as their are tutorials available throughout YouTube and after watching in depth I felt that it was straight forward. You are able to add images, sound, videos and text to the E-Book. It is a beneficial app as it can bring books to life but you can also create your own lesson from a book that has already been written. This can help children who have additional support needs as you are able to highlight the important points in a story and point out different things that they may not understand or get the key message from reading the words in the book.

Today I took part in a group task that included the use of Book Creator to create a brochure about life at University of the West of Scotland (UWS) with this we used the IPad’s and went around the university taking pictures and videos to show what life at UWS is like. This was an interesting task as it allowed us to create a brochure using Book Creator before creating our own text. We got feedback on our Life at UWS Brochure and found it helpful that the feedback was positive. The only thing that could have been improved was the sound within our videos.

When Creating my own I chose a book that I read from when I was younger, Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The Curriculum for Excellence Literacy Outcome I used to create my E-Book was “I can show my understanding of what I listen to or watch by responding to and asking different kinds of questions. LIT 1-07a” (Education Scotland 2004)

The Technology one I used was “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” (Education Scotland 2004).

With this I put all the main parts of the story onto my E-Book along with involving some words from the story I added in questions for children to answer with adjectives and also questions to see how well the children knew the book. Along with the children being able to ask questions about the book I had created. As it was not the whole book that they would have previously listened to or read. The story included images, sound, a recording, text and I made sure that the pictures were visible and that everything had a space where it could have been viewed. This ensured that my E-Book was multi-modal as it had visuals, audio, text and involved a spatial aspect. At the end of the book I never added the traditional ending of Goldilocks and the Three Bears I added a page to allow the children to use their imagination to create an ending involving describing words they had used when reading the E-Book. This was so it could inspire the children to use Book Creator to create their own E-Book with use of sound, images and text.

The use of apps like Book Creator within a primary school setting is useful as it can bring a story to life for children and allow them to hear sound affects to help them imagine what happened for example; what sound the chair made when it broke or what sound did Goldilocks make when she was eating the porridge. It allows them to imagine they are in the story. It also brings children up to date with technology as they could have a chance within the classroom to write an imaginative story and be able to bring it to life. It may assist the child’s imagination if they cant imagine it when writing it on paper.

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 6 February 2018 ]

BBC (2018) Web-Wise What is an E-Book? [Online] http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/guides/about-e-books [Accessed 6 February 2018]

Oxford Dictionary (2018) – E-Book Definition [Online] https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/e-book [Accessed 6 February 2018] Author: Oxford University

Scottish Government (N.D) – Enhancing Learning and Teaching through the use of Digital Technology [Online] http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2016/09/9494 [Accessed 6 February 2018]

February 1, 2018
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Personal Reflection Digital Technologies 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 Technologies module.

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

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

January 23, 2018
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Personal Reflection Digital Technologies Multimodality – 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 in mind two interactive games where the children were to match the animals to their Spanish name and also to learn their Spanish colours. Although we could not complete it as we had to start again due to a setting of a reveal blind attached to all slides on the flip chart.

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. When my partner and I created our flip chart we wanted to put a reveal blind on one of our slides and it ended up going on to all of them and after numerous attempts we could not take it off. We then had to make another one because the reveal blind would not turn off so we were unable to finish 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

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

January 19, 2018
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Personal Reflection Digital Technologies Bee-Bot – 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, the first literacy activity mat that I had took part in creating throughout Trimester 1 worked extremely well and I enjoyed using a resource that will be beneficial for me in my future teaching career. Bee-Bot is a programmable toy in which you give instructions by pressing the arrows on it’s back and the toy moves in the directions you have pressed when you press the green button with a tick marked on it.

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 intertwined 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 in mind we made the Bee-bot grid. My group had to measure the length that Bee-bot moved which is approximately 15cm (Bee-Bots body length) and estimate how the robot turned and found that he turned in right angles. To test if the grid worked we put Bee-bot on to see if it would go into each box before drawing on our grid. We created a mat with a range of analogue clocks with a digital time written in each box so that children were seeing what 24 hour time looked like along with analogue clock form. This activity is for children at level 1 who may have had prior learning of time and have a grasp of what O’clock, Quarter Past, Half Past and Quarter to look 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 link 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’ or ‘arrow’ that will create lines on a screen when instructions have been given. For example ‘fd 5’ and ‘rt90’ – for the arrow to move forward 5 steps and turn 90 degrees to the right. Students learn about lengths and angles while creating patterns and diagrams with Logo. (Transum 2018).

Janka (2008, p2) states the benefits from the 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 journeys and be able to 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 where children would need to instruct Bee-bot to the square on the grid that their flash card they picked stated.

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 have 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 (CfE) for example; literacy and maths. There are also outcomes within the CfE that could link with the use of programmable toys within the technology section.

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]

January 9, 2018
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Personal Reflection of Digital Technologies – 9/1/18

Today I attended my first session of Digital Technology. Walking into the classroom I was not sure what to expect because throughout school I took administration as a subject and had a range of activities to create that would be marked and within this project I created; posters, word documents, power points, excel all related to one area. For example; the opening of a cake shop or to advertise a local sports event. While doing this I used a range of programmes on a computer so I have a background with a handful of computer programmes that I had used many times before so I felt fairly confident. I have a range of skills of being able to type without looking at the keyboard and able to use a range of effects, fonts, spell check, grammar check and animations throughout Microsoft apps.

In the class I learned about what digital technology is within the National Digital Learning and Teaching Strategy (Scottish Government, 2016, Annex A) Digital technology is a term used to describe those digital applications services and resources which are used to find, create, communicate and to use information in a digital context. I think that the use of digital technology within schools helps children develop understandings of what technology is and how they use it in a range of ways.

I also read the National Digital Learning and Teaching Strategy (Scottish Government, 2016, pg 3) and found it interesting that not only learners are gaining skills and learning throughout their time at school it is also educators for example; childcare practitioners and teachers as they are attending training courses to assist them in their digital technology skills. I think this helps as the teachers and childcare practitioners taking on the opportunity of digital technology training courses are positive because it means that children are getting up to date lessons on digital technology through a range of subjects and it allows the teacher to learn new skills that they may not already have known.

The digital Learning and Teaching Strategy (Scottish Government, 2016, Pg 11) contributes towards 5 main educational priorities; raising attainment, tackling inequalities and promoting inclusion, improving transitions into employment, enhancing parental engagement and improving the efficiency of the education system. I think that this is important because some children may not like using a pencil and paper to create a story as they may feel anxious that they can not draw and they may like to create pictures on computers using different apps and this could help their engagement within a classroom environment. I think that raising attainment and tackling inequality is important because some children who don’t perform as well as they should having a laptop. iPad or another use of technology beside them they may perform better than expected.

The curriculum for Excellence (Education Scotland 2004) has many outcomes relating to digital technologies and Digital Literacy; “As with literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing, digital literacy should be placed at the heart of all learning, not only the technologies area of the curriculum. Digital literacy outcomes could be met in any/all curriculum areas and so all practitioners can contribute to and reinforce them.”

Within the class I also had an opportunity to search around Glow. Previously in trimester one I had some experience of the use of Glow but not as much as I would have liked to. Being able to look at Glow in a bit more depth today felt better as I was able to look around the apps that I had added to my launch pad in more depth and see what was on them. I think this is useful because more schools are becoming more and more digital every day and most schools use Glow as a means to communicate with other teachers in the country and also able to keep communication between teachers and parents so that they are able to see what their children are doing within school.

By attending this session I feel that I have become a bit more confident with the use of Glow and also some knowledge of the use of technology within the education system. It is also useful to know that digital technology contributes towards 5 main educational priorities and that children are benefiting from the use of technology in the world as technology is improving every day.

References

Scottish Government (2016) A Digital Learning and Teaching Strategy for Scotland. [Online] Edinburgh: Scottish Government

[Online] Available at: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0050/00505855.pdf [Accessed on 9 January 2018