Month: February 2018

In todays Digital technologies session, we were learning about using mobile devices to enhance learning. We were able to look through online documents which explored the many opinions and facts based around the use of mobile devices as an educator and as a child with regards to its benefits within a learning environment.

Mobile devices play an extremely important role in primary education establishments. With the increased use of technology such as smartphones and games consoles at home, the technology skills and benefits they bring are endless to the child.

Children are now entering schools who are fully digital aware with research suggesting that six year olds have the same understanding of communication technology as forty five year olds. Through further reading I discovered the online article by the Telegraph which discussed how technology is reshaping teaching it stated that ” Over four in 10 households now have a tablet, meaning that children are becoming computer-literate before they’ve even started primary school… we’ve all heard about the techno-babies who can handle an iPad before they have learnt how to tie their own shoelaces”. (Curtis, S. 2014) As children nowadays have increasing use and access to mobile devices, their understanding and skills when using them are becoming very advanced from a young age, so it is very beneficial to a child when using this within their education as they have already had a head start.

In education establishments, technology can be used in many ways. Children can take part in electronic quizzes and submit their answers in a digital method. This means their answers are interpreted through a mobile devices in ways in which perhaps written forms may not have.

However, many teachers have different opinions to the use of mobile devices by primary school aged children. Through reading an online article by the teaching times it was stated: “39 per cent of teachers stated that children should not have access out of school to mobile phones, while another 29 per cent of teachers said the ideal situation would be if all pupils had access to a mobile. Schools also believe that children’s preference for technology both at home and at school is evolving quickly, just as technology is continuing to change at a rapid pace” (Scottish Government 2016).

Some children may have limited access to mobile devices at home, whereby possess a disadvantage when utilising technology in the classroom. In contrary to this, using mobile devices in the classroom may help to strengthen their technology skills and build up their confidence when using it in the future if they gain access.

Today we explored Talking Tin and Easi Speak microphones, creating “I am…” poems using the Easi Speak Microphone. This poem consisted of a series of  sentence starters and prompts in order to create a poem that was interesting and unique to the individual. Once we had created our poem it was to be recorded through the Easi Speak microphones. Once it was recorded, the Easi Speak microphones were plugged into the computers and each line of our poems was uploaded to Microsoft Powerpoint and placed on a slide with a picture using the Pixabay website, which is a free to use copyright free website which will be so useful to me as a teacher in the future when creating resources. I have linked the poem below:

I am poem – bethany and orianne

The outcome within the Curriculum for Excellence which  linked to this task was “I can explore and experiment with digital technologies and can use what I learn to support and enhance my learning in different contexts. TCH 1-01a” (Education Scotland 2014).

I found this as a learner an excellent resource for learning and I enjoyed taking part in the task. I will definitely use The Easi speak microphones as a teacher in the future as I feel that this is a very good use of exploration of different digital technologies and is an excellent resource to teach the concept of recording and also links in with using different digital platforms such as Microsoft Powerpoint to help showcase our work. This enables the enhancement of a child’s digital skills and learning how to use technology in a range of different scenarios and contexts. It also helps to reinforce the idea that mobile devices should be used within education establishments as it really does help to enhance a childs overall learning experience.

REFERENCES

Curtis, S. (2014) – Digital Learning: how technology is reshaping teaching [Online] – https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/11051228/Digital-learning-how-technology-is-reshaping-teaching.html [Accessed: 27th February 2018]

Education Scotland (2004) – Curriculum for Excellence; Experiences and Outcomes [Online] https://education.gov.scot/scottish-education-system/policy-for-scottish-education/policy-drivers/cfe-(building-from-the-statement-appendix-incl-btc1-5)/Experiences%20and%20outcomes [Accessed on 27th February 2018]

Scottish Government (2016) Teaching Times – Games Consoles Benefit Children’s Education [Online] – https://www.teachingtimes.com/articles/games-consoles-education.htm [Accessed 27th February 2018]

 

This week’s digital technologies workshop was focused on the use of animation within education and its benefits to the learning development of the child.

Bertrancourt (2005) states that “three ways in which animation can be used to enhance learning: 1. To enhance learners’ visual representations. 2. To illustrate processes. 3. To provide an interactive element.”

As stated by Moving Image Education there are five main types of animation: 1. Cutout – quickest and easiest

2. Stop-motion – example is plasticine models

3.Pixillation – humans become the puppets

4.Drawn – example is the classical Disney animation

5.Computer – also known as CGI and found in games and movies

(Moving Image Education).

Beauchamp (2012, p.54)  states that “through the use of ICT and technology it could allow pupils to accomplish something that could be difficult or even impossible to achieve in any other way”. This powerful use of digital technology a pupil with Additional Support Needs are able to excel throughout their education and portray their learning and understanding of what they have been learning in a modern way.

During today’s session, we explored just some of the many apps on the iPad such as Puppet Pals and iStopMotion to create a story which included a beginning, middle and an end. By doing this we had to take many still images which would be linked together, creating an animation and bringing still objects to life. Our animations also included audio recordings, plasticine models, cutouts and a background which enabled our story to have a setting. My partner and I created a park scene background using pens and paper. We also created plasticine models of three aliens who we named as ‘the blob family’. In our story, the blob’s visited planet earth and were playing ball in the park, when suddenly an apple fell from the tree and hit Mr Blob’s head. We cut out comic strip expressions such as “Ouch!” to illustrate how our plasticine model was feeling when the apple hit their head. We took a series of images of the story which enabled us to illustrate what happened.

For our animation we linked it to the curriculum for excellence experience’s and  outcomes:

“I can explore and experiment with digital technologies and can use what I learn to support and enhance my learning in different contexts. TCH 1-01a” (Education Scotland 2004).

This outcome expresses the fact that a child can use the Ipad apps to explore and support their animation and technology skills and enable them to create different stories to enhance their learning and develop their technology skills in a different way.

I would definitely  use animation in the classroom when I become a teacher, as I found it extremely interesting to see how creative our stories could get and it could benefit a child’s understanding of how some of their favourite films and cartoons are created. To be introduced to these apps at an early stage was beneficial to me as a prospering teacher as I feel that if a teacher is  confident in their ability to teach a lesson using different methods of technology then it will encourage the child to be the same: ‘Although teachers may be worried by new technologies. We need to be sure that this is not transmitted to young children or that other obstacles are not put in the way of their natural curiosity and willingness to explore new technologies’ (Beauchamp 2015).

 

REFERENCES

Beauchamp, G. (2012) ICT in the Primary Classroom: From Pedagogy top Practice. Pearson.

Education Scotland (2004) – Curriculum for Excellence; Experiences and Outcomes [Online] https://education.gov.scot/scottish-education-system/policy-for-scottish-education/policy-drivers/cfe-(building-from-the-statement-appendix-incl-btc1-5)/Experiences%20and%20outcomes [Accessed on 21 February 2018]Moving Image Education website:[Online] https://movingimageeducation.org/create-films/animation [ACCESSED: 20.02.18]

 

 

 

During this week’s session in Digital Technologies, we were learning about the use of mobile devices in order to enhance learning. We were learning and utilising the Book Creator app on the iPad to either create a summary of a book or a teaching aid. This enabled us to discover the many benefits of using this application within a classroom environment as advantages for educators and learners.

Oxford Dictionary defines an eBook as “an electronic version of a printed book which can be read on a computer or a specifically designed handheld device.”

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 contains 2 or more of the 5 semiotic systems: gestural, audio, visual, spatial and linguistic. When a text is multimodal, is makes the learning experience beneficial to the child as it features many different features to suit different types of learning.

(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.

E-books have many advantages in the classroom for both learners and educators.  Using e-books in a classroom environment will prepare students for life, and the development of skills for learning and work. When using technology, children will grasp an awareness of our digitalised society and will prepare them for the working world in the 21st century.  Educators can also use e-books for lessons for pupils who are struggling with texts, which with the aid of book creator, can help to give them a deeper understanding of the text and engage within their own learning and taking responsibility for it.

E-books are small in size and are highly portable. This means that they can be used and promoting outdoor learning which makes the learning fun and exciting and links into a child’s health and wellbeing. E-books allow children to develop their creativity skills, putting their mind to whatever they wish to create, interpreting something in their own unique and modern way, with reference to the 5 semiotic systems.

We created a mind  map at the beginning of the session, demonstrating our knowledge of what an eBook was and what the benefits of using it entailed. 

            

We then went on to look at the content from Moodle, which told us more about eBooks and the many advantages they uphold within a learning environment, which enabled us to add even more to our mind map, creating a tree of knowledge we had learned.

Today during Digital Technologies, we created an e-book using the Book Creator app on the iPads.

I created a teaching aid to support pupils with the book “Baby Brains – The smartest baby in the whole world.”

The CfE experience and outcome which linked in with my e-book creation was:

“I enjoy exploring events and characters in stories and other texts, sharing my thoughts in different ways. LIT 0-19a”

I used many of the semiotic systems which enabled my text to be multimodal. The semiotic systems I included were: Linguistic, as my e-book contained questions for the pupils to consider throughout the eBook to ensure full engagement, such as: How do you think Baby Brain was feeling at this point? or Can you describe 5 items in the room? I also included Audio, as my e-book included sound clippings from YouTube, in order to bring my text to life. Finally, I included Visual, as my e-book had illustrations from the book to help the children.

 

As a prospering teacher I would definitely use e-books in the classroom. I found it very beneficial to have gained the access to the book creator app as a tool for teaching and learning purposes, as it clearly enabled for the 5 semiotic systems to be included within every book. The possibilities were endless and it allowed for a lot of freedom and choice of lessons to create, making literacy and technology lessons highly engaging.

REFERENCES

BBC Webwise article [Online] http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/guides/about-e-books [Accessed: 6 February 2018]

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].