Monthly Archives: April 2017

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Outdoor Learning

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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.

“such experiences, from early years to adulthood, will help our children and young people to enter education, employment or training with transferable skills required to meet the opportunities and challenges of a rapidly changing world.” curriculum for excellence through outdoor learning

It has now been highlighted to me that outdoor learning can play a vital part in a children’s education and should be embedded through all areas of the curriculum whether that may be maths, literacy, or any other subject. As well as this I also feel that incorporating digital technology into these types of lessons will allow children to be more innovative learners and allow them to use their own creativity to learn and retain information.

Digital technology plays such an important role in our world today to the extent that the use of email has almost eradicated the need for written letters and the internet can provide all the information you need at the click of a button. It also means that we are now able to video chat to someone on the other side of the world and create different ways to display information rather than just using  paper and the written word. Eventually these will be tools and skills that future employers will look for and by introducing children to the world of digital technology at primary school age will give them the advantage to be more employable in the modern world.

 

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Game Based Learning

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Today we began learning about game based learning and how it can be used for educational purposes. Initially we were allowed to play a game on the wii called Super Mario Kart. We were then asked to describe our favourite character within the game the setting and then use this to create our own setting and character. This I feel would be excellent for children when creating descriptive stories within literacy because by being exposed to visual images and audio sounds they won’t be relying purely on their imagination when describing an image and perhaps will encourage children to describe items in more detail.

After playing the game we were asked in pairs to create different activities that could be linked to the video game such as art, numeracy, technology and literacy. We decided that for our lesson activity the children could create their very own racing event which would also allow us as teachers to integrate subjects to emphasise cross curricular learning. As part of an art lesson we decided that the children could design a map of the track which could include food and drink stalls, the commentators box, the pit stops and anything else the children would like to add in. We also thought we could integrate art and technology by getting the children to design a poster to advertise the event using the activinspire software. As another way of integrating art and technology we thought that we could get the children to design and create their racing cars using materials such as play dough, lego or other building materials and then get them to use iStop motion to create an animation of the race. For our literacy task we decided that the children could be given a role each such as the racing car drivers, the pit crew, the commentators etc. in which they would be interviewed on what their role was throughout the event. After doing so the children could then write a newspaper article describing the event using the eBook app on the iPad. Finally as a numeracy activity we decided that the children could decide the cost of the tickets and how many people attended the event and therefore could work the total cost of the tickets bough for of the event. Also we would allow children to create their own prices for food and drink at each stall and create problem solving questions such as: “If a drink costs 60p and the total of drinks bought on the day of the racing events was £10.60, how many customers bought a drink?”

Initially I was skeptical of using games within education, however by creating my own activites it has shown me just how relevant and varied the lessons can be and by using digital technology the activity can be fun and creative rather than just putting pencil to paper. After researching the benefits of  using game based learning it became apparent to me that they’re are several reasons why this should be integrated into a child’s education. According to teachthought.com game based learning increases a child’s memory capacity as a game often relies on memorisation of sequences and patterns often to win. As well as helping children to improve their fast-track thinking and problem solving skills as children often need to utilise their logic to be ahead of the game in order to solve problems and complete levels. Game based learning, as stated by teach thought.com, is excellent for helping children to develop their skill building as mystery games often require map reading skills and other games such as Fifa and other football management games introduce children to managing finances and general project management.

After taking time to read through this research it has become apparent to me that game based learning is a great way to introduce children to real life scenarios such as map reading and money management which are skills that all children will need to develop. It is also a fun and interactive way of learning that allow the children to forget their being educated and have an enjoyable learning experience. Therefor I feel I will include game based learning within my lessons as a future teacher as it has huge potential to encourage cross curricular learning.