In our last Digital Technologies lesson we were shown how digital technology can be incorporated into outdoor learning activities and lessons. Recently the importance of using outdoor learning within the education system is being emphasised massively to the extent that in 2010 the Scottish Government stated:

“The journey through education for any child in Scotland must include opportunities for a series of planned, quality outdoor learning experiences”

As a former pupil I do not recall many outdoor learning activities throughout my education. However as a student teacher, on my one week placement, I was able to observe an activity which incorporated both outdoor learning and mathematics. Symmetry and Tessellation was the topic that was being covered and the activity involved the children using objects they found in the playground to create symmetrical images. I felt this was a great activity for the children to be involved in as even the children who were less confident in maths participated fully in the task and it was very easy to tell the children had grasped concepts such as rotational symmetry because they were able to complete worksheets with ease.

For our activity we were required to use apps such as “Photo Booth” and “PicCollage” to complete outdoor activities. A specific activity included finding objects outside and using them to represent the two times table. I felt this was a really good idea as it would allow children to physically see that a number represents a quantity. For example the number two represents two objects. As well as this I also felt it was a creative method of revision instead of just revising numbers on an A4 sheet of paper as I had done in school. Another activity involved finding different leaves found outside and taking pictures of them to later create a collage which identified each leaf. This is another good activity for children to enhance their research and analysis skills enabling them to find information on each leaf using resources such as the internet. As well as this by using digital technology such as iPads children can take photos of their work, for example their creation of the two times table, and use this as a revision tool or even just to keep a log of their work.

Over the past two sessions of Digital Technologies we have been exploring an app on the iPad called Scratch. Scratch is an app which allows you to create projects using animations and has many feature which allows the animation to move, speak, and even have sound effects. After having time to get to know Scratch I felt that it was an excellent tool to create new and creative lessons which will allow the children to also become accustomed to using new forms of technology.  As part of our assessment we were required to create a lesson using Scratch so I decided I would base my lesson on mathematics and would cover the following experiences and outcomes:

*Early level MNU 02a: I have explored numbers, understanding that they represent quantities, and I can use them to count, create sequences and describe order

*Early level TCH 0-03a: I explore software and use what I learn to solve problems and present my ideas, thoughts or information

For my activity I intend to create an under the sea themed game in which the main character “Tom” the cat would ask the child to help him with his counting. Several crabs  appear on the page and Tom will ask the child if they can count how many crabs there are on the page. After the child has time to answer Tom would say the correct answer. Each individual crab would then state that they posses an individual number and Tom will ask the child if they can then put the crabs into order from smallest number to largest. The activity would then be repeated with different sea creatures.

We were also asked to write a step-by-step guide that would enable other teachers to create the game.

*Step 1 – To create your game for your lesson click on the ScratchJr app located on the iPad and wait for the app to load

*Step 2 – Then, click the home button which will take you to the “my projects” page and select the blank page to begin your project

*Step 3 – Select your background by clicking the landscape icon at the top of the screen. Select the under the sea background by clicking on it then click on the tick button at the top right of the page

*Step 4 – To add a character, select the plus button on the left hand side of the screen. You will then have a selection of characters on your screen that you can then insert into your project. You can then insert your character you intend to use into your project by clicking on the character and then clicking the tick button located at the top of the screen. You can repeat this step to insert more characters.

Step 5 – You can then change the colour of the character by clicking the paintbrush icon. You can then change the colour of the character by selecting a colour and the clicking on the character. To write a number above the character use the line icon at the left hand side of the page and use your finger to draw the number

*Step 6 – To move your character click the yellow icon at the bottom of the page and select the green flag icon. Then select the blue flag arrow icon where you will be presented with different directions in which your character can move. To indicate how many steps you want your character to take select the number at the bottom of the arrow and type in the new number by pressing the number at the right hand side of the page. To activate the action, click the green flag at the top right hand side of the page.

Step 7 -To make your character speak select the yellow icon again, then click the purple icon and drag the speech bubble to connect to the flag icon. Click the on the speech bubble to insert text and to activate the action press the green flag again

*Step 8– To insert a new slide click the plus button located at the right hand side of the page

My lesson plan would be as follows:

*My lesson begins with Tom the cat asking the child to count how many crabs appear on the screen. This is to allow the child to recognise that numbers represent quantities and to help them to build on their knowledge of counting.

*Then in the next slide the crabs are then numbered and Tom the cat asks the child if they can then put the crabs into order from smallest to biggest which will allow the child understand order.

Scratch is an excellent tool to use within the classroom as it encourages cross curricular learning. For example my lesson combines mathematics and technology which also allows children to engage in new learning experiences rather than just being exposed to written text. As well as this using Scratch encourages active learning as the colours and movement within the activity will help to keep the children engaged. This task can also be done in pairs which encourages the children to develop their team work and communication skills. Scratch can also be used as a teaching aid in other subjects such as literacy or even history. I feel as a teacher it is beneficial to have a good understanding of this app for it encourages children to explore technology and also to become more innovative by allowing them to create their own projects. The huffington post also highlights that by using digital technology within lessons offers the ability to provide educational experiences that are tailor-made for each student reflecting on their ability level. As well as this a blog called tophat emphasises just how many digital resources there are to help children improve their learning which I now feel should be accessible to children within the classroom to allow them to explore different methods of learning.

Over the past few lessons it has become apparent to me that Glow is an excellent tool for teachers and pupils to use. During my one week placement I found that Glow was heavily embedded within ICT lessons and also used to document pupils’ learning within other subjects. Whilst observing my primary 7 class I was shown that they used the Glow Blogs Central app to write a blog to describe themselves, such as their likes and interests, as well as documenting weekly what they had learned within their subjects. This was to give the children a better understanding of how to use online websites and blogging so they could then take this skill and develop it further in secondary school.

As well as this there are several apps that can be used as great teaching aids and can be a good way of using digital technology throughout lesson plans rather than solely concentrating on written text. Tigtag was an app I found to be extremely useful when creating science based lessons. It enables you to pick which lesson you want to teach by clicking the button “find lessons” where you are presented with a large variety of topics such as material processes, physical processes, life processes and people and places. You can then also select which level you are teaching such as first or second level by clicking on the “curriculum” button at the top hand right of the page.

Once selecting your topic Tigtag then provides you with short video clips and activities which can help introduce the children to the new topic.

Tigtag also provides you with learning objectives and key teaching points which need to be covered within the lesson as well as supplying a starter activity, a main activity, several practical activities and assessments to ensure the pupils have a good understanding of the topic after participating in the lesson.

Overall I feel this is a great tool to be used in schools as it is a great time saver when creating lesson plans whilst also providing the children with fun and interactive activities which keep them engaged and interested during the lesson. Also after this lesson I feel that I would be more confident using digital technology within lessons.

As part of our introduction we were shown that there is also a Bee-Bot app available for iPads. We were allowed to explore the app and the objective of the game was to direct the the Bee-Bot to the flower using the arrows and “Go” button located at the bottom right of the screen. It also became clear that in order to generate new directions the child would need to remember to press the clear button, which is the “X” button, so the Bee-Bot would forget the previous step. I feel this is a great way to introduce children in early and first level to sequences and directions as the child can create a sequence with as many actions as they wish. As well as this they will have to have an understanding of left and right turns and grasp directional language such as forward, backward, left, and right.

As part of today’s Digital Technologies tutorial we were made aware that Bee-Bot is becoming more frequently used within lessons in primary schools across Scotland. Bee-Bot is a programmable toy which can be used within lessons to introduce children to the early stages of coding and programming.

An example activity we were given was based on a lesson about money and linked numeracy and technology to encourage cross curricular learning. The numeracy activity’s objective was to teach the children to recognise coins and by using Bee-Bot within the lesson also taught the children how to use programmable toys.  For example a child could be asked to identify the fifty pence coin by programming the Bee-Bot to move towards the correct coin. Another activity for more able children could be to introduce them to addition and subtraction of money by asking them questions, such as one pound take away fifty pence, and asking them to give the answer by programming Bee-Bot to go to the correct coin.

We were then asked in groups to create our own activity which also promoted cross curricular learning. Our group decided to link numeracy and technology within our activity with the hopes of covering the following experiences and outcomes within curricular for excellence:

Angle, symmetry and transformation at early level MTH 0-17a: “In movement, games and using technology I can use simple directions and describe positions.”

Technology at early level Tch 0-03a: “I explore software and use what I  learn to solve problems and present my ideas, thoughts or information.”

Our activity involved using the grid, as shown in the above image, to ask the children to programme the Bee-Bot to move to a square which had a specific number of items. For example in the above video the child could have been asked to move the Bee-Bot to a square which contained one item, like the sandcastle. As the child did this you could ask them to verbally describe what they were doing in order to get the Bee-Bot to the sandcastle which would allow the child to start using directional language such as left, right, forward and backward. This activity also allows children to start seeing the relation between numbers and quantities. For example a child will have to understand that two palm trees represents the number two.

I felt using the Bee-Bot was a great resource to use within the activity because it would allow the children to physically see the Bee-Bot moving forward, backward left and right and so I feel it would give them a better understanding of directions and how directional language is used in context. Supporting this view are the Professional Development Service for Teachers as they have stated that using floor robots in classrooms have benefits such as: having the ability to develop skills like logical sequencing, measuring, comparing lengths, space orientation and expressing concepts into words. They also claim it benefits children as it encourages group interaction, collaboration and conversation. It is also a great way to link more subjects together as another group related their activity to technology, literacy and health and well being. Therefore I think that by being able to integrate all of these subjects within one lesson will enable the children to explore more creative ways of learning.

http:www.transum.org/software/Logo

On Tuesday we were introduced to the early stages of coding/ programming using a website called Logo. This website allows you to create shapes by moving the turtle (arrow) using the commands listed at the left hand side of the screen as shown in the image above. I feel this would be a great way to introduce children in early level to directional language such as move forward, backward, left and right. It would also be a good resource when introducing angles to children who might be in the top end of first level or early second level. An example of a lesson for this would be to allow the children to create shapes using 90, 180, 270 or 360 degree turns. For example using the command [fd 12 rt 90 fd 12] this will show children what a 90 degree angle looks like. As well as this by using this website we would be encouraging cross curricular learning as we’re allowing the children to engage with technology as well as teaching them mathematics.