Tuesday the 9th of January was my first day in my personal choice module; Digital Technology. I decided to pick this module as I felt my own knowledge on technology could be explored further. Today was mostly an introduction to the module however, we covered a lot. We were able to take part in a discussion about what we thought technology was, after listening to an introduction then exploring different studies on Moodle about technology in the classroom environment.
The term Digital technology intrigued me. I understood technology and have a reasonable understanding of technology although I never understood how much we could use it or the different environments we could use it in. After browsing Moodle I read the document ‘Enhancing Learning and Teaching Through the use of Digital Technology.’ I grasped from the document as a whole that children had more knowledge than teachers about digital technology and they wanted to instil this knowledge into teachers in order to use this effectively within the classroom. It was suggested in this document that technology could benefit learning and teaching, ”If used effectively and appropriately digital technology can enhance learning and teaching.” (Scottish Government 2016, page 3) I thought it was interesting that when the ”Children parliament consulted with 92 children, they thought that access to digital technology in school is constrained by the lack of digital equipment and limitations in the skills of their teachers in using digital technology” (Scottish Government 2016, page 8) This stood out to me as it reminded of my experience within school. Computer’s and technology were always fun to use however, we did not use these resources often in our learning as the teacher lacked Knowledge in this area.
Later in the day we accessed glow and spent time looking around and adding new tiles to our launch pad we thought would be of use, not only for this module but for future use in the teaching career. Glow is something I have been familiar with since primary school but was always unsure how to use it correctly. It was not until today I realised how glow is a useful tool and the resources it carried that would and can help me throughout this journey. ‘Primary Resources’ and ‘BBC Languages’ are so far the tiles I like most. I explored both and feel these are the two which will help me in the years to come when on new placements.
Overall, my first experience of Digital Technology was exciting and enjoyable. Although this first lesson was primarily about familiarising ourselves with the content of the course and what to expect I know it is something I will enjoy. After today it has also become clear my knowledge in technology is not what I thought, I have a long way to come to be able to be fully confident in all aspects of digital technology. I look forward to exploring new things and being challenged along the way in this course.
References
Scottish Government (2016) Enhancing Teaching and Learning through the use of Digital Technology: A Digital Learning and Teaching Strategy for Scotland.
[Online] Available at: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0050/00505855.pdf
[ Accessed: 9th January 2018]
