Month: March 2018

In our last class we focused on using digital technologies in outdoor learning. I was really curious about this class as through my experience I never had the opportunity to use digital technology outside-it was mainly just running about or games. I also noticed that this was the case during my placement.

Outdoor learning has a lot of potential and can be easily accessed throughout primary all the way to teenage years (Learning and Teaching Scotland, 2010). It offers a much more creative and interesting way to learn but also is a lot more fun for the children as they might not necessarily see it as learning but instead as playing. It is also an opportunity to do a lot of team work activities which would further improve the children’s communication skills but also for them to be more comfortable working with each other  (Education Scotland,2010)

‘The core values of Curriculum for Excellence resonate with long-standing key 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)

Outdoor learning can;

1. Develop thinking skills and can aid children in making connections between the different areas of the curriculum
2. It helps the child with personal development such as communication, problem solving skills and team working skills.
3. It is also really healthy as the children are able to get exercise and it promotes different long term sports or activities.
4. it improves children’s ability to be safe outside and know how to act properly to not harm themselves
5. It can also be used by everyone, for example children with ASN can still do outdoor learning which has the potential to really improve their self worth.
6. The children can also develop their science and biology is aspects such as nature, animals and plants.
7. With outdoor learning you can take the children out on field trips that are low cost but really beneficial for the kids.

‘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.’ (Education Scotland,2010)

Today we used QR scanning on the iPad and we went outside to look for the QR codes. This was a really fun and exciting task even though most of us are adults. I personally really enjoyed this task and think the children would love it so would like to try this out during my next year placement. I noticed that it was a lot easier to remember the facts given and the answers to it which can be applied to a large variety of topics. When we came back inside we created out own QR questionnaire in groups. We based ours on health and aimed it for younger children. We also took pictures throughout the outdoor activity and created a pic collage to summarise out time out. Before this we created a sample pic collage to see how to use it. I think this was a great activity both as a learner and potentially using this in the classroom with children.

References-

Education Scotland (2010) Curriculum for Excellence Through Outdoor Learning.

Learning and Teaching Scotland (2010) Curriculum for Excellence Through Outdoor Learning.

In today’s session we focused on finding out more about using games to develop learning. It has a lot of benefits as through using digital games to support learning it increases the children’s attention span and makes it more engaging. It gives the children an opportunity to play and have fun while still developing crucial skills from the curriculum. It helps with developing children’s team-working skills as well as their ability to concur problem solving (Higher Education Academy, 2017). A lot of children also already use gaming devices often making it a tool that they are already able to use-90% of 8-11 use it regularly. Gaming consoles are a part of a daily routine for many children (Ofcom, 2001).

‘Theorists Jean Piaget and Leonard Vygotsky have argued that play is a crucial component of cognitive development from birth and through adulthood’ (Higher Education Academy, 2017).

Games based learning is another source like movies, books and digital technology that when used correctly, has a great advantage for the children in their learning. Games can also be easily incorporated through-out the curriculum and most activities (Matthew Farber, 2016). According to Bray (2012) game based learning can be the most impactful when done properly and should be used as a new way  to teach lessons instead of just being a reward within the classroom.

‘Although game-based learning has had a ‘difficult history’ with teachers who may have felt threatened by children becoming more expert in technology than they are, there is no denying that such platforms offer them a way to engage the pupils in a way they understand and can relate to’ (Stephen Reid, 2016)

A challenge that might arise is using a suitable game to target all the needs so that it isn’t a waste of time (Stephen Reid, 2016). Teaches also need to be aware of what they want to achieve with the games and what outcomes it will achieve (Beauchamp, 2012, p.9)

In groups we created a mind-map based on Mario Kart and what lessons you could do with the game to target several experiences and outcomes, this is what we came up with;

• Literacy-
• Pupils can write own storyline, this will explore punctuation and grammar as well as developing their creative skills.
• Pupils can describe their Mario character.
• Experience and outcome:

  I can use my notes and other types of writing to help me understand information and ideas, explore problems, make decisions, generate and develop ideas or create new text.I recognise the need to acknowledge my sources and can do this appropriately. LIT 2-25a

• Maths-
• Pupils can make price lists for tickets and merchandise for the Mario Kart event
• Decide on promotion deals, this would target money work
• Calculate if they made a profit of the event
• Experience and Outcome:

  I can use the terms profit and loss in buying and selling activities and can make simple calculations for this. MNU 2-09c

• Art-
• Pupils can design their character, kart, tickets and merchandise.
• Experiences and outcomes: I can create and present work that shows developing skill in using the visual elements and concepts. EXA 2-03a,
• Through observing and recording from my experiences across the curriculum, I can create images and objects which show my awareness and recognition of detail. EXA 2-04a

 

• Music-
• Re-create  the Mario Kart theme song and make their own version
• Make their own sound effects
• Experiences and Outcomes:

  I can sing and play music from a range of styles and cultures, showing skill and using performance directions, and/or musical notation. EXA 2-16a

Through my own use of the game I found that there is so many ways you can incorporate games into learning, I believe it is a lot more fun and interesting that the usual way of teaching and could be a great tool to use in the classroom to aid learning even children with ASN.

Minecraft is also a very useful game for developing a variety of different skills it also allows children to creative.  During the created our own building on the game with the help of pupils that came in to our class from school. I think the game is very interesting and has a lot of potential to be used in the classroom for beneficial effects within learning. I  would like to try to use Minecraft when I am on placement for a lesson.                                          ‘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.’ (MagBook, 2014, p.3)

 

References-

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

Higher Education Academy (2017) Gamification and Games-Based Learning [online] https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/gamification-and-games-based-learning [Accessed-6.3.18]

Matthew Farber (2016) Three Ways to use Game Based Learning.  [online] https://www.edutopia.org/article/3-ways-use-game-based-learning-matthew-farber [Accessed-6.3.18]

Stephen Reid (2016) Teachers Experience Games-Based Learning at Minecraft Launch [online] http://futurescot.com/educators-encouraged-open-minds-possibilities-games-based-learning/  [Accessed- 6.3.18]

MagBook (2014)How to Do Everything in Minecraft.

Bray, O. (2012) Playful Learning: Computer Games in Education. [Online] https://www.slideshare.net/Microsofteduk/playful-learning-computer-games-in-education [Accessed-15.3.18]

Ofcom (2001) Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes. [online] https://www.slideshare.net/Microsofteduk/playful-learning-computer-games-in-education [Accessed- 15.3.18]

 

The British Education Suppliers Association (BESA)  believe that schools rely on mobile devices as useful and crucial tool within younger children. Through their research they found that 406 schools acknowledge internet availability at both school and home to be the most useful technology. 75% of teachers also believe that game consoles are beneficial for child development. Ray Barker for BESA stated that the belief to use of mobile phones by young children at home is split between teachers. 39% believe children should have no access to smartphones while 29% think it would be the best option. Up to 69% of pupils would rather use iPads within the classroom an d at home but only 4% of schools supply them. Most schools believe that children use at home laptops and PCs to do online homework (as 64% of schools give homework that can only be done on a computer) and entertainment (Teaching Times,2008)

A large variety of technology is used by children some include; Amazon fire stick, computers, camera’s, Nintendo’s, iPad’s, iPod’s, laptops, mobile phones, Wii and X-box. (Children’s Parliament, 2016)

‘The use of mobile digital technologies in the classroom might be largely unfamiliar to parents, but the benefits can be huge’, stated Drew Buddie, senior vice chair at Naace, he association for the UK’s education technology community ( The Telegraph, 2014)

Today in class we wrote an ‘I am’ poem and recored ourselves reading it using a speaker, we then made a powerpoint presentation based on it. I had a lot of fun working on my partner on this so I can only imagine how much the children would enjoy the task. It was creative but still involved a lot of teaching for the pupils. I think this is a great resource to use in the classroom and hope to try out this lesson in my 2nd year placement!

References-

Children’s Parliament (2016) A Digital Learning and Teaching Strategy for Scotland: The View’s of Children.
[Online] http://www.childrensparliament.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/REPORT_digital-learning-consultation_Childrens-Parliament-1.pdf [Accessed-1.3.18]

Teaching Times (2008) Games Consoles Benefit Children’s Education. [online] https://www.teachingtimes.com/articles/games-consoles-education.htm [Accessed-1.3.18]

The Telegraph (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-1.3.18]

 

Today we had the opportunity to explore the use of animation within the classroom. ICT let’s pupils explore a large range of possibilities that would not be possible without it. ICT is used and incorporated throughout the curriculum and subjects, also children don’t divide their learning into sections but rather see it as one area. E-inclusion has the ability to improve the experience of learning through the use of digital technology for ASN children. (Beauchamp, 2012). Beauchamp (2012) also states that due to the increasing use of ICT in pupils within the school in their daily lives, it should also be used for them to play with.

‘Although teachers may be worried by new technologies… we need to be sure that this is not transmitted to young children, or that other obstacles are not put in the way of their natural curiosity and willingness to explore new technologies’ (Beauchamp, 2012, p.66).

Animation is beneficial in the following three ways:

1. To develop the visual awareness of the learners
2. To show the process of something
3. To make the learning interesting and interactive

Although animation (the visuals and sound) help to further emphasise what is taught and has a positive impact on how the children handle information it can take up more time to teach the children. Animation is when a large number of images are played one after the other to give the impression of movement (Jarvis, 2015).

The 5 types of animation  are-

1. Cutout: simple and fast
2. Stop-motion: large variety of materials can be used such as clay
3. Pixilation- people are recorded
4. Drawn- most Disney films are made with this method
5. Computer- movies and games are made this way (Moving Image Education).

Through my own experience of stop motion I found that it was a really easy and quick way to create my own story, I noticed I used my literacy and art skills and I drew them on paper therefore I think this can be a really engaging and interesting way to reinforce these subjects. If used well I believe that this can be a very useful tool and can be open in an app on an iPad which is also usually easily accessible in schools.

 

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. Animation. [Online] https://movingimageeducation.org/create-films/animation [Accessed: 25.2.18]