This weeks class was to use the Book Creator app on the iPad to create a teaching tool and discuss the benefits of using this within the classroom.
The principles and practices of literacy and English, created by Education Scotland, states that the most effective ways to teach literacy and English is by providing “frequent opportunities to communicate in a wide range of contexts.” (Education Scotland, n.d., a). A multimodal text features 5 semiotic systems: gestural, audio, visual, spatial and linguistic thus, covering a wide range of contexts. Alongside this, the document states that there should be “the appropriate and effective use of ICT”, which can be gained from using multimodal texts within the classroom.
There are a number of advantages to using multimodal texts during school time. (Education Scotland, n.d., b) states that ICT in school helps to raise attainment and achievement, closing the gap between the advantaged and disadvantaged and thus, providing them with the skills for the digitally advancing world that awaits them. In the principles and practices document for Technologies it states “[children] establish firm foundations for lifelong learning and, for some, for specialised study and a diverse range of careers.” (Education Scotland, n.d., c). This statement helps to emphasise the importance of digital technologies in the classroom as many children will need these skills for their future careers.
The teaching tool that I had created during today’s session was based around “The cat in the hat”. As the teacher and class progress through the e-Book, they are exposed to many semiotic systems in which this multimodal text involves. The children will be asked to identify rhyming and repeated words, use adjectives and respond to the text.
The areas of the CfE that surrounds this teaching tool are for first level and are as follows;
- To show my understanding, I can respond to different kinds of questions and other close reading tasks and I am learning to create some questions of my own. ENG 1-17a
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Using digital technologies responsibly I can access, retrieve and use information to support, enrich or extend learning in different contexts. TCH 1-02a
References
Education Scotland (n.d., a) Curriculum for Excellence: literacy and English, principles and practice [Online]. Available from: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/literacy-english-pp.pdf [Accessed: 6 February 2018].
Education Scotland (n.d., b) Technologies in Curriculum for Excellence [Online]. Available from: https://education.gov.scot/parentzone/learning-in-scotland/curriculum-areas/Technologies%20in%20Curriculum%20for%20Excellence [Accessed: 6 February 2018].
Education Scotland (n.d., c) Curriculum for Excellence: technologies, principles and practice [Online]. Available from: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/technologies-pp.doc [Accessed: 6 February 2018].
