The intentions of today’s digital technologies class was to learn about and use multimodal texts. Alongside this, we used ActivInspire to create slides that we can use within a classroom setting to introduce mathematics within the topic of Egyptians.
One of our many discussions included how to ensure lessons are suitable for children with additional support needs. We were informed that using a yellow background with blue writing and comic sans font is appropriate for helping children with dyslexic tendencies, as this makes it easier for them to read. Beauchamp (2012, p8), agrees with this by saying multimodal texts often make the lesson easier to understand, “the multimodality of technology is another reason to use it, as it allows teachers to present an idea in a variety of different ways to help pupils understand it”.
The multimodal text that we created was from the programme ActivInspire. A multimodal text is where its creator will use two or more semiotic systems to create the text. There are five semiotic systems, these are as follows:
- Linguistic
- Visual
- Audio
- Gestural
- Spatial
Prior to creating our multimodal text, my partner and I agreed to create a numeracy lesson through the topic of the Egyptians. We created a key, where a number would equal to different hieroglyphics. The aim was for the children to be able to add up simple sums with the hieroglyphics, rather than numbers. Once the children understood how to add with the hieroglyphics, we moved on to multiplying with the hieroglyphics. Once the children have finished their work, they can come up and retrieve their answers by moving the revealer. The CfE level that we created this lesson for is first level as follows:
- When a picture or symbol is used to replace a number in a number statement, I can find its value using my knowledge of number facts and explain my thinking to others. MTH 1-15b
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I can demonstrate a range of basic problem solving skills by building simple programs to carry out a given task, using an appropriate language. TCH 1-15a
I will definitely use ActivInspire within the classroom, this is an exciting and fun way to present lessons to children. As a result of ActivInspire, I believe the children will be very engaged as they can use the smart board.
References
Beauchamp, G. (2012) ICT in the Primary School: From Pedagogy to Practice. Pearson.
