This week in Digital Technologies we discovered how using mobile devices can enhance learning. Since, mobile devices are used in everyday life all the time, I was very interested to learn more about using them class. Children find mobile devices interesting and fun, therefore, by including them in our lessons it might make them more engaged and motivated.
I have researched this topic and it has been made aware to me that The British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) think that games consoles and smartphones are playing an important role in primary-aged children’s education. Their reason for thinking this has come as a result for thinking this has come because of analysing the response from 406 primary schools about pupils using ICT at school and at home.
The director of BESA, Ray Barker, said: “Our research has found that teachers have very different opinions when it comes to the use of mobile phones by primary school aged children. On the one hand, 39 per cent 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.” (Teaching Times, 2008) This statement proves that ICT use in classroom is making an appearance in the classroom. It is a new concept within teaching, but it is slowly getting approval from more and more educators.
Sophie Curtis from The Telegraph wrote about hoe technology is reshaping teaching. She writes about how children are “fully fledged digital natives” (Curtis. S, 2014) and that she isn’t surprised about technology making an appearance in education because of how involved it is in children’s lives.
Curtis wrote about her experiment comparing two English lessons, one traditional lesson about Macbeth and the other digital about Romeo and Juliet. The traditional lessons involved reading an extract from the play, listening to the teacher explain the themes and then writing her own analysis. Whereas, the digital lesson involved watching clips from the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet, doing some online research and then typing her analysis on a laptop. Her response to this experiment was that she found the digital lesson more intriguing and she never found her mind wandering or losing focus, which is what teachers struggle with a lot during their lessons.
As well as researching about digital learning, I also got the chance to using “Easi-microphones” in class to create an “I am” poem with my partner’s voice reading the poem. This would be an excellent way to teach a class about technology as it is fun, creative and requires them to use literacy skills too. My partner and I decided to write our poem in a humorous to show pupils that learning can be playful and that technology and literacy can be anything you want to be. We focused our “I am poem” on the struggle of always being hungry! This task was very enjoyable because we successfully wrote our poem and used the “Easi-speak microphones” in a light-hearted and enjoyable way.
the Curriculum for Excellence expression and outcome that I have chosen for this particular lesson is focused on Technology and Literacy. For technology, “I explore and experiment with the features and functions of computer technology and I can use what I learn to support and enhance my learning in different contexts (TCH 1-04a / TCH 2-04a)” and for literacy, “Throughout the writing process, I can check that my writing makes sense and meets its purpose (LIT 2-23a)”.
Form this lesson I have definitely gained a better understanding of how technology can enhance learning and look forward to promoting the use of digital learning in my future career.
References
- Teaching Times. (2008) Games Consoles Benefit Children’s Education. [Online] Available: https://www.teachingtimes.com/articles/games-consoles-education.htm [Accessed: 14 January 2018]
- The Telegraph. (2014) Digital Learning: how technology is reshaping teaching. Available: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/11051228/Digital-learning-how-technology-is-reshaping-teaching.html [Accessed: 14 January 2018]
