Background

Our school is currently trying to update the teaching of I.C.T. and the hardware available to use in class.  When I decided to loan out the DSis the school had placed an order for IPads but only had laptops and Desktops timetabled to classes.  Therfore I wanted to loan the DSis to give more opportunities to my class and other pupils in school to use technology to enhance their learning.

How ICT supported learning and teaching

Primarily I used the DSis as a finishing task, where the pupils could practise their quick mental maths and reading skills on the Brain Training.  I rotated the DSis arounf the groups in the class so that everyone was given an opportunityto practise and ‘beat their brain age’.  As the IPads arrived in school I was then able to give more pupils the chance to use I.C.T. as a finishing/consolidation task.

Impact / conclusion

Pupils were more engaged in their finishing task when using the DSi as they saw it as luxury or playing a game – even though they were still learning.  It was also clear to see pupils helping one another and working together (pairing up and sharing a DSi) to get a better score or result.  The class loved the chance to use the DSis and I am sure they will have the same enthusiasm with the new school IPads.