Today, class was quite different as we were out of class for a short time. We were walking around the university campus taking photographs and videos on an iPad in order to create an ebook brochure about life at UWS.  This was simply just a practice for us in preparation for our ebook assessment later in class. Some other ways that we prepared for our ebook assessment was watching youtube videos and tutorials about how to create an ebook using the ‘Book-Creator’ app on the iPad. The videos were easily accessible and it was fairly easy to follow the step by step instructions.

So why are we learning about ebooks? When a teacher plans a lesson, they will try to include many different kinds of text and as a trainee teacher it is important that I keep up to date with recent technologies. The reason for doing this is, we must ‘future proof’ our young learners because if we as educators do not keep up to date and teach young learners about new digital technologies we a basically short changing young learners in the classroom, according to Naughton (2012).

The variation of text now a days are pretty much endless, for example text books, white boards, short movies, comics, interactive smart boards and of course ebooks.  There are various benefits of an ebook, such as they can be interactive, personalised, interesting, space saving, reduces carbon foot print and they give young learners the opportunity to work and learn independently.

The ebook that I was creating today had to fall into the category of ‘multimodal’. For an ebook to be multimodal it must have two out of the five semiotic systems which are linguistic, visual, audio, gestural and spatial.  Beauchamp (2012) suggests that young learners need to be around digital technology in order to understand ‘metamode language’ this enables them to understand the meanings of the many different ways in which we can read and understand such as texts, images, sounds and information.

The ebook I created today was based around ‘Room on the Broom’ by Julia Donaldson. The reason I picked this book is because it is one of my daughters favourite books and I know it well, I knew I could create a good multimodal ebook based around the story. To ensure it would be multimodal the semiotic systems I included in the ebook were:

• Visual – Using a variety of colourful illistrations to attract attention.
• Audio – I recorded my voice and sound effects to play throughout the ebook for interaction.
• Spatial – I strategically placed the illustrations and text to ensure the ebook was easy to follow.

Before I created the ebook I looked at the curriculum for excellence experiences and outcomes and in order for me to decided which level I was creating the text for. I am aiming for level one, which is roughly p2-p4 children aged 5 – 8 years old, however I also feel that the text can be easily adjusted to suit lower or higher levels in primary school if need be. The experiences and outcomes chosen are listed below:

LIT 1-04a: As I listen or watch, I can identify and discuss the purpose, the key words and main ideas of the text, and use this information for a specific purpose.

TCH 1-01a: I can explore and experiment with digital technologies and can use what I learn to support and enhance my learning in different context.

Looking over todays activities and assessment it has opened my eyes up to the potential that is out there with in digital technology across the curriculum. As each week passes in this module I am delighted with the wealth of knowledge that I gain each week. To think this morning I hadn’t read an ebook before and now I have created one, it goes to show how fast technology is moving. Some say that they love nothing more than buying a brand new book, they like the smell and the feeling of pages however when you list these benefits next to ebook benefits the ebook will most certainly win each time.

References

• Beauchamp, G. (2012) ICT in the Primary School. [Online] Available: dawsonera.com/readonline/9781408251379 [Accessed: 7 February 2018].
• Education Scotland. (2004) Curriculum for Excellence; Experiences and Outcomes. [Online] Available: https://education.gov.scot/scottish-education-system/policy-for-scottish-education/policy-drivers [Accessed: 7 February 2018].
• Naughton, J. (2012) Why all our kids should be taught how to code. [Online] 31 March. Available: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/mar/31/why-kids-should-be-taught-code [Accessed: 7 February 2018].

This week in the Digital Technology we were introduced to ‘coding’.  To be successful in coding, means you must have the ability to input ‘communicate’ information in a specific sequence, which will lead you to an end result, a finished product.  I think coding is similar to building a jigsaw, each piece plays a part in creating the finished jigsaw and with a piece missing the jigsaw is incomplete, in other words, it is unsuccessful.  Coding works in a similar way, therefor in order for young learners to do this successfully they need to challenge their problem solving and communication skills.

It is crucial that young learners today learn about coding and also most importantly that they understand coding, this is because technology is ever changing, ScratchJr (n.d).  Education must keep up to date with digital technology on the same level that they keep up to date with mathematics, literacy and science.  It is vital for future generations that this is understanding is actioned now, “The reason is that there’s no better way of helping someone to understand ideas such as recursion or algorithms than by getting them to write the code that will implement those concepts”, according to Naughton (2012, p.3).

The application we were using today was ScratchJr, which is used by educators and children across education.  ScratchJr is an introductory programming language that enables young children from 5 years old to create their own interactive stories and games.  Skills developed while using ScratchJr include:

• Creative thinking skills
• Logical reasoning skills
• Problem solving skills
• Collaboration skills

As part of class today we were asked to create an interactive story for a literacy lesson using ScratchJr.  Some thing that would promote literacy skills such as missing out the end to a story in order for children to predict an ending.  By doing this children can then explore their thoughts and ideas, get creative!  The lesson I planned today will be aimed at for around early level, which is roughly nursery aged 3 yrs – primary 1 aged 5yrs.  The literature is based around a mission to space, traveling through the solar system which includes a moon landing and the potential to explore the moon.

LIT 0 – 19a: I enjoy exploring events and characters in stories and other text, sharing my thoughts in different ways.

TCH 0 – 01a: I can explore digital technologies and use what I learn to solve problems and share ideas and thoughts.

SCN 0 – 20a: I can talk about science stories to develop my understanding of science and the world around me.

Looking back over class today and having the opportunity to use the iPad and ScratchJr I can see how beneficial this type of technology is to young learners.  It really engages your creativeness and it also allows you to correct any mistakes you have made therefor there is an opportunity to learn and progress further from making mistakes and fixing them.  I am happy that I am being introduced to yet another coding device that I can use in the classroom, in this case the device was assisting mostly with literacy where as before I used coding with the Bee Bot for mathematics.

I understand ways in which these technologies can be used across the curriculum and that they will develop over the years, allowing our young learners to be confident in the future when dealing with digital technology in various context.

References

• Education Scotland. (2004) Curriculum for Excellence; Experiences and Outcomes. [Online] Available: https://education.gov.scot/scottish-education-system/policy-for-scottish-education/policy-drivers [Accessed: 3 February 2018].
• Naughton, J. (2012) Why all our kids should be taught how to code. [Online] Available: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/mar/31/why-kids-should-be-taught-code [Accessed: 3 February 2018].
• ScratchJr. (n.d) [Online] Available: https://www.scratchjr.org/about/info [Accessed: 3 February 2018].

Today in class we were learning about multimodal text.  This wasn’t the first time that we had discussed this topic, as we studied multimodal text last year during a literacy lecture.  I was very interested to learn more as I already knew what some of the benefits that multimodal text bring to children in the classroom and their learning experiences.  Benefits such as interaction, collaboration, memorable and engaging, some of which will be discussed during this blog.

So what is a multimodal text? A multimodal text is is a piece of text that includes two or more semiotic systems.  Here are the five semiotic systems; linguistic, visual, audio, gestural or spatial, so by using two or more of these features you instantly have a multimodal text. Enabling you to create text for lessons that will have positive impact on young learners.  As studied by the Scottish Government (2015), digital technologies is an appropriate way to improve most literacy and numeracy skills, this has been seen particularly in primary school settings.

The application we were using today was called ‘Activinspire’, this is an interactive application that is both user friendly for children and teacher.  Like ‘Power Point’, it allows you to create and design your own slides, thus meaning you have complete control when it comes to adapting text for each level throughout education.  “The multimodality of technology…allows teachers to present an idea in a variety of different ways to help pupils understand it” according to Beauchamp (2012, p.8).

Together in pairs we looked at which area and level of the curriculum we would like to focus on and we brainstormed our thoughts and ideas.  We decided we would create a lesson for first level, the lesson would cover numeracy and mathematics experiences and outcomes and the subject would be ‘time’.  We chose time as we agreed that young learners could relate with time, therefor they would be engaged during the lesson and they could discuss outside activities which would contribute to the lesson. Below is the curriculum experiences and outcomes that we though would best fit our multimodal text.

MNU 1 – 10a:  I can tell time using 12 hour clocks realising there is a link with 24 hour notation, explain how it impacts on my daily routine and ensure that I am organised and ready for events throughout my day.

Activinspire is as I mentioned before, is both teacher and pupil friendly, as it can be changed to a studio format which is more formal and less likely to be used by children and more by the teacher. The application that the children use is also interactive by touch, for example on a smart board the children can write an answer or use a dragging motion to move images on the screen, depending on the text and task set. “Touch displays can become a social learning tool encouraging hands-on experiences, thereby helping children to learn by doing.” according to Prandstatter (2014).  This is a great oppertunity for communication in class as not all children actively speak out but are more than happy to participate with interactive technology which you may not have seen from the child if the task included a text book, reading book or worksheet.

I have witnessed this type of activity in a classroom environment and it does create great interaction within the children, as they all are so keen to participate and use the technology.  It is hard to explain the sheer excitement in the classroom when this type of activity is happening, children you thought were timid or shy are now desperate to participate and the children also laugh as they collaborate with their peers .  As stated by Beauchamp “There has been much research in recent years in the United Kingdom (UK) that explores how ICT contributes towards talk in the classroom.  This is particularly true when using the interactive white board, especially in the context of whole class teaching.” (2012, p.81).

I think it is of great importantance to have such a high mood in the class room, as it has huge positive impact on a child’s day and on what was learned that day.  I know that it works as I have witnessed it for myself while out on school placement and as I gain confidence with digital technology through my digital technology module, I will almost certainly be looking into using applications like this for interactive lessons in my future career.

References

• Beauchamp, G. (2012) ICT in the Primary School. [Online] Available: dawsonera.com/readonline/9781408251379 [Accessed: 25 January 2018].
• Education Scotland. (2004) Curriculum for Excellence; Experiences and Outcomes. [Online] Available: https://education.gov.scot/scottish-education-system/policy-for-scottish-education/policy-drivers [Accessed: 25 January 2018].

In the Digital Technology class today we were looking at the use of programmable toys in a classroom. We discussed their function in education, focusing mainly on early years and how they can be used in relation to the various areas of the curriculum including literacy and numeracy.

The toy chosen for us to work with was the Bee-Bot, ‘The programmable toy Bee-Bot4 was awarded as the most impressive hardware for kindergarten and lower primary school children on the world educational technology market BETT 2006’ according to Janka (2008, p.3).

I have been lucky enough to work with Bee-Bot in the past both in university and while out on school placement.  I would say that I am fairly confident using the Bee-Bot however when I was asked to try the Bee-Bot downloadable app on the iPad I found it quite difficult.  I am assuming it was teething problems and I will be ok with it next time.

In our small groups we brought together our ideas and we designed a lesson plan that would include a Bee-Bot and a Bee-Bot mat. The lesson would make clear links to the Curriculum for Excellence experiences and outcomes across all levels to ensure we could use the lesson through out the school.

The group decided that a number grid would be good as numbers are used across all levels and also that greater numbers could be added allowing the children to challenge themselves. We made a mixture of flash cards which included addition and subtraction questions, we also used a mixture of symbols and words within the questions.  The children would work on a points based system and record their answers and scores, first to reach five points was the winner. Most questions were worth one point however in-order to encourage the children to challenge their own abilities we awarded slightly more challenging questions with two points.  There was also a discussion in the group about the lesson moving to higher levels and in that case, the children can be in control of the activity and make flash cards for their peers that they thought to be more challenging.

All of this supports development in the ‘four capacities’ which are:

• Confident individuals
• Effective contributors
• Responsible citizens
• Successful learns

I say this because, as a class we discussed what the benefits are of programmable toys.  Some of the benefits included were; concentration, estimation, communication, problem solving, interactive learning and instant feedback. All of which are crutial for development, according to Janka (2008).  When taking into consideration the benefits, the small group decided which learning experiences and outcomes would link to our lesson plan. The E’s and O’s best related were Mathematics and Technologies:

• Education Scotland. (2004) Curriculum for Excellence; Experiences and Outcomes. [Online] Available: https://education.gov.scot/scottish-education-system/policy-for-scottish-education/policy-drivers [Accessed: 16 January 2018].
• Janka, P. (2008) Using a Programmable Toy at Preschool Age: Why and How? [Online] Available: http://www.terecop.eu/downloads/simbar2008/pekarova.pdf  [Access: 16 January 2018].
• Lydon, A. ( 2007) Let’s Go With Bee-Bot: Using your Bee-Bot across the curriculum. TTS Group Ltd.
• NCTE (National centre for Technology in Education). (2012) NCTE Floor Robots – Focus on Literacy & Numeracy. [Online] Available: http://www.ncte.ie/media/NCTE_Floor_robots_focus_on_literacy_numeracy_primary_12-06.pdf [Accessed: 16 January 2018].

Today was the first day of the Digital Technology module.  When I saw that this module was available to me, I jumped at the opportunity.  This is because, when I myself was at primary school as a child there was very little digital technology and I am interested to know where digital technology can be used in a school environment.

At this stage in my BA Honours degree I currently feel that children probably know more than me regarding digital technology and this was reflected upon when I was out on my first school placement.  I was completely taken a back to see how much of the school day the children use digital technology and also that it was second nature to them.

I think this a wonderful idea as the children of today will continue to use technology throughout their education, moving with the times.  This then means that they will be more than prepared for the outside world when it comes to gaining employment in the future, according to Beauchamp (2012).

In the lecture today we were told that the Scottish Government have invested a vast amount of time and money into IT, this can be seen in ‘The National Digital Learning and Teaching Strategy (2016)’.  The strategy will be funded over the next 3-5 years and will focus on children aged 3-18 years old, Scottish Government (2016).  Which again I feel is going to be very beneficial to Scotland in the future as the country will have well educated young adults with adaptable skills in IT.

In the document the government have broken down how the departments involved can contribute and enhance the quality of digital technologies not only for children but for educators, parents and carers. Included in the document is information about the role of the Government, the role of local authorities, the role of the establishment and what they can all to ensure pupils have the relevant level of IT skills.

Examples of this could be that schools are encouraged to involve children, parents and carers in areas of development in order to encourage anytime/anywhere learning. They are advised to take onboard new ideas and utilise staff/parents alike, which hand in hand works with the role of the Government who will now take onboard tried and test ideas which encourages partnerships (Scottish Government, 2016).

At the end of the lecture, I did wonder if I will ever know all there is to know about digital technology and the answer is possibly not. However, I had a conversation with my lecturer about was it acceptable to use a child’s knowledge during a lesson and this was fedback to me as defiantly yes.  To involve a child in a lesson not only means that the information is coming from a reliable source (as the child will have embeded knowledge). This also means that the child will have a great sense of achievement, communication and leadership, which will encourage them to help others.  In result of this, confidence and self esteem are present in the child which is of great value to children today.

If I can achieve this then I will know that I am doing my job correctly “the role of the teacher as scaffolder, mentor and facilitator will always remain vital,” according to Beauchamp (2012, p.142).

In conclusion, the first lecture went very well. I now know about Government strategies that are in place to support and enhance digital technology within education. I know there will be support for me as a student and as an educator.  Therefor, there should be no need to worry about my knowledge and skills as there are procedures in place to improve and support. I carried out further reading and look forward to continuing with this, as it will help me to understand why digital technology is so important in education today.

References

• Beauchamp, G. (2012) ICT in the Primary School. [Online] Available: dawsonera.com/readonline/9781408251379 [Accessed: 13 January 2018].
• Scottish Government. (2016) A Digital Learning and Teaching Strategy for Scotland. Edinburgh: Scottish Government [Online] Available: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0050/00505855.pdf [Accessed: 11 January 2018].