In today’s lesson we were exploring mobile devices and their use in the classroom. We looked at different types of mobile devices such as Easi-Speak microphones and the talking tin device. We firstly explored them for ourselves looking at how they work and what they were able to do. We then had to think how they could be useful and incorporated into the classroom.
As both of these devices are things which I had never heard of let alone seen I was sceptical. However, once exploring each for myself and learned how they worked it quickly came apparent how they could be useful in a class room set up. Each device could be used in a range of subjects from mathematics to literacy.
Our Task:
We arranged ourselves into groups and were given a poem to complete. It was called the ‘I Am Poem.’ As we were in a group we changed the name to ‘We Are.’ The beginning of each line was filled out for us for example it would start with ‘I wonder’ and we had to fill in the missing gaps. This could be a useful tool in schools for the first week for each child to get to know one another and each other’s interests. Once completed we used the Easi-Speak microphone to record the poem. Our next step was to use power point in order to create a visual for each line of the poem. Once completed it meant we had created a multimodal text including image and sound. Beauchamp states “Pupils need to be equipped to view language as a ‘metamode’ that enables them to access the meanings of a wide variety of texts, images, sounds and information” Beauchamp 2012 (p.81) This type of lesson backs Beauchamp as instead of just writing the poem out it is giving children the opportunity to create a text in a different way.
Curriculum for Excellence Experiences and Outcomes:
-I can present my writing in a way that will make it legible and attractive for my reader, combining words, images and other features. LIT 1-24a
-I explore and discover different ways of representing ideas in imaginative ways. TCH 0-11a
Overall after today’s lesson I feel I learned more about the use of mobile devices in the classroom. As I have read the articles I think mobile devices have a more positive impact rather than negative on both children and teachers. Furthermore, after experimenting with some of the devices myself I am aware of how these can be incorporated into a number subjects in the classroom.
References
Beauchamp, G. (2012) ICT in the Primary Classroom: From Pedagogy top Practice. Pearson.
Curriculum for Excellence (2004) Experiences and Outcomes
[Online]
Available at: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/all-experiences-and-outcomes.pdf
[Accessed 28th February]
