Looking back on the Module

Formal Blog Task: Media, Language and Multiliteracies/Multimedia and Technology

This blog post is a chance to reflect on the learning and experiences of this module, focusing on the implications for my own future practice and consequent changes in my outlook on digital literacy.

This experience has enlightened me to the prevalence and value of technology in our highly multimodal modern age and how my pedagogy must constantly develop in order to stimulate the ‘digital natives’ that I will be teaching (Bearne and Wolstencroft, 2007; Palfrey and Gasser, 2008). As reflected upon in week 2, the young minds filling our schools have been conditioned through early exposure to varied and diverse media, to expect interactivity in all learning experiences, and it would appear on reflection of this module, that ICT is an ever-changing means to garner their interest and enthusiasm (Bearne, 2003). It is therefore something that I shall aim to incorporate deeply throughout the curriculum (Stafford, 2011). The importance of instilling teachers with the confidence to apply technologies is highlighted by Future Lab (2010) as digital technology has become so embedded in popular culture that it should not be neglected.

As an English specialist, I now acknowledge more than ever how working with technology and incorporating literacy into this is a refreshing change from the more routine elements of the curriculum (Stafford, 2011). Reaching the end of this module, I feel justified in concluding that there is still a place, however for more traditional literacy and that the teacher is to welcome the use of technology as a positive development, but not a replacement of skills such as hand writing. This is a sentiment that was echoed in my parent interview and by Prensky (2001) as well as the blog post on graphic novels that also highlighted concerns over technology undermining the values of the classroom (Scholastic, 2007). Both will have a place in my future classroom with guidance from the National Curriculum (DfEE, 2013) which shapes learning with ICT into finding things out, developing ideas and making things happen, exchanging and sharing information, as well as reviewing, modifying and evaluating work as it progresses (Andrews, 2000).

The nature of the continuous blog task has enabled me to reflect on such concepts as comics and graphic novels, advertising, multi-modal texts, copyright and Tablet technology in terms of how they hold prevalence in children’s lives and education. A key theme has arisen regarding the increased ownership that technological advancement allows children over their learning experiences. Only today at Shirley Warren school, in fact did one of the ICT co-ordinators comment that within the first five years of my teaching career it is likely that more schools will embrace a “bring your own device to school” policy. However, as an adult still in education, I am aware of the potentially negative effect that students having their own devices at hand during lessons sometimes has on their concentration and therefore on the authority of the teacher to focus their class. I do though acknowledge that this is perhaps an inevitable step in the digital age of learning. This relates to the findings of Male and Burden (2013) detailed in my initial blog post regarding Shirley Warren, who emphasise that personal digital devices can challenge traditional pedagogy. Given the emphasis and need for continuous training of teachers highlighted by Dean (2010) as well as the practical experiences, particularly using iPads, offered during this module, I do however feel confident in my ability to engage children in the varied ways that increased access to technology in classrooms demands and look forward to applying and developing these skills with my own class.

References

Andrews, R. (2000). Learning, Literacy and ICE What’s the Connection? Journal into English in Education. Vol. 34 (3). Pp 3 – 18.

Bearne, E. (2003). Rethinking Literacy: Communication, Representation and Text. Reading Literacy and Language, 37(3), 98–103.

Bearne, E & Wolstencroft, H. (2007). Visual Approaches to Teaching Writing London: Paul Chapman

Dean, G. 'Rethinking Literacy' in Bazalgette, C. (ed) (2010) Teaching Media in Primary Classrooms. London: SAGE

DFE/QCA (2013) The National Curriculum in England, DFE/QCA

Future Lab (2010) Digital Literacy Across the Curriculum: (Sections 3.5 – 3.6 Digital Literacy in Practice)

Male, T. and Burden, K. (2013) ‘Access denied? Twenty-first-century technology in schools’ Technology, Pedagogy and Education

Marsh, J., Brooks, G., Hughes, J., Ritchie, L., Roberts, S. and Wright, K. (2005) Digital beginnings: Young children’s use of popular culture, media and new technologies. Sheffield: Literacy Research Centre

Palfrey, J. and Gasser, U. (2008) Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives. New York: Basic Books

Prensky, M. (2001) ‘Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Part II: Do They Really Think Differently?’ in On the Horizon 9 (6) (pdf on LN)

Scholastic (2007) Using Graphic Novels with Children and Teens: A Guide for Teachers and Librarians http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/using-graphic-novels-children-and-teens-guide-teachers-and-librarians Accessed 28-01-14

Stafford, T. (2011). Teaching Visual Literacy in the Primary Classroom. Abingdon: Routledge

Final Blog - Evaluation of the Module

This module has been very effective in developing my knowledge and understanding of how digital media and technology can be used effectively in the primary classroom, which is a key focus in the New National Curriculum (DfE, 2014). Prior to undertaking this module, I lacked in skills and experiences of using different technologies in the classroom, however, by engaging in this module and exploring research in this area, I have gained an understanding of how digital technology and media can be embedded into many curriculum subjects, in order to enhance and support children’s learning experiences.

As an English specialist, it has been very useful and beneficial to see how ICT can be embedded into literacy, by exploring digital literacy. Hague and Payton (2010) state that subject learning needs to be relevant to the digital experiences children are having outside of the classroom. This is supported by Cope & Kalantzis, (2000) who argue that literacy teaching and learning needs to change because the world is changing. Therefore, an implication in my future role as a teacher is to use ICT effectively to support children’s learning experiences in not only literacy but other curriculum subjects. However, at first I lacked in confidence and knowledge of how to embed ICT into literacy lessons, but during this module, I explored many ways to incorporate digital literacy into the classroom. One way that this can be achieved is through the use of multimodal texts. I found that digital texts have equal value to traditional printed texts and can help children become effective readers, writers and communicators in and out of the classroom (Walsh, 2010 and DfEs, 2006).  Not only have I explored how ICT can be used within English, I have also learnt how popular culture and popular texts such as comics, can be used as learning tools for children in literacy. Tiemensma (2009) suggests that by promoting popular texts and comics in the classroom, it can help promote positive attitudes towards reading and learning, leading to an enjoyment of reading. Therefore, by exploring this throughout the module, I have a good understanding of why popular culture and popular texts should be used in my future practice.

 This module also enabled me to experience the use of technology first hand in a school setting. By visiting Shirley Warren Primary school, I was able to see how ICT is celebrated and promoted in a school to enhance curriculum subjects. Before visiting Shirley Warren, I had little experience of using ipad apps and was anxious about using them with children. However, by developing my own skills in this area, I am now aware of the educational experiences they provide for children and how they can be used to develop children’s ICT skills (Apple Inc: 2013). They are also interactive, immersive, and engaging (Apple Inc: 2013). This supports a common theme throughout my blogs, which suggests that teachers need opportunities to explore and discover new literacies (Dean, 2010) & have access to training and the technology (Marsh et al 2005). Therefore, through engaging in this module I feel like I have benefitted in discovering new literacies for my own future practice. I also gained the knowledge of how to assess children’s progress and skills in ICT In relation to the learning objectives we had set for the children.

To conclude, by completing a number of different blogs based on readings, seminar discussions, observations and experiences, it developed my knowledge and understanding in relation to new Medias and technology and their impact on Literacy and curriculum subjects. This has added to my personal professional development as a teacher and is something that I will bring in to my future practice as I feel I have more confidence in my own teaching ability in these areas.

 

Apple Inc (2013) ‘Apps in the Classroom: Using iOS Apps for Teaching and Learning’ [ONLINE] Available: http://images.apple.com/education/docs/L523172A_EDU_App_Guide_062013.pdf

Cope, B. & Kalantzis, M. (Eds.) (2000). Mulitliteracies: Literacy learning and the design of social futures. South Yarra: Macmillan.

 Department for Education (2013) National Curriculum in England: English programmes of study. London: HMSO

 Dean, G. 'Rethinking Literacy' in Bazalgette, C. (ed) (2010) Teaching Media in Primary Classrooms. London: SAGE

Hague, C, & Payton, S (2010) Digital Literacy across the Curriculum, Futurelab, Available at http://www2.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/handbooks/digital_literacy.pdf

 Marsh, J. et al, (2005) ‘Digital beginnings: Young children’s use of popular culture, media and new technologies’ Literacy Research Centre, University of Sheffield

 Tiemensma, L, (2009) Visual literacy: to comics or not to comics?: Promoting literacy using comics, World Library and Information Congress: 75th IFLA General Conference and Council, [ONLINE] accessed 01/04/2014, Available: http://conference.ifla.org/past/2009/94-tiemensma-en.pdf

 Walsh, M. (2010) ‘Multimodal literacy: what does it mean for classroom practice?’ Australian Journal of Language and Literacy 33 (3) pp211 – 239

Blog 10 - Shirley Warren Visit Part 2

This week I was given the opportunity to visit Shirley Warren Primary school again, but this time I was able to work with six year one children to produce a multi modal text. The children and I used ipads to create a ‘talking book’ using the ipad app, ‘Book creator’. We based our ‘talking book’ on Article 13, from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which focuses on Freedom of Expression. Book Creator was something I had briefly experienced before in a seminar session, however, by being given the opportunity to use it with children in a school setting, it enabled me to assess children’s ICT abilities and gain a better understanding of the skills and knowledge they have and gain when using technology and ipad apps. It also helped develop my own skills and understanding of using apps for learning opportunities ,as we used a variety of apps including, ‘Veescope’ and ‘imovie’.

At first, I was anxious as to what the year 1 children knew and didn’t know about ipads and the apps we would be using. However, I become aware that not only do they use ipads on a regular basis, some of them also own their own ipads at home. This supports the view that children are growing up as digital natives (Palfrey and Gasser, 2008) and that subject learning should be relevant to the digital world they are growing up in (Hague and Payton, 2010). Also, as the use of ipads supported children’s home experiences, it may have made them more motivated and engaged in completing the given task (Lambirth, 2003). However, just because children are growing up in a world that has a heavy focus on technology, this doesn’t mean all children have developed the skills needed to use certain forms of technology and apps available. We found that within our group of children, each child had very different knowledge and skills of how to use the specific apps. Therefore, this argues the need for teachers to pitch their ICT teaching at the correct level for children to achieve their full potential (Hague and Payton, 2010). If children are ready to explore and work independently, then this needs to be encouraged. In relation to my future practice, at first I was very quick to help and support the children, however, from stepping back I realised that most of the children knew how to use certain aspects of the apps available.

A future target that has come to light from my visit is that it is important to let children provide their own ideas and self-correct their work when editing. For example, in our talking book we used voice recordings. At first the children’s voice recordings were too quiet which meant that the audience of the ‘talking book’ would not be able to hear the children on the recording. However, instead of letting the children provide ideas of how this can be improved, I provided the solution for the children. Therefore, due to discussions and evaluations of my own practice, I now have an understanding that we as teachers need to let children identify errors in their work and provide their own ideas in order to promote independent learning (Allen, Potter, Sharp, Turvey, 2012).  

To conclude, in my own experience I have seen topic and group work be produced in paper topic books and posters. However, after experiencing the use of a ‘talking book’ to present information, I feel that this is a very beneficial way of collecting evidence on topic related areas as it can include sound, animation, movement and videos as well as print and images, which a paper topic book cannot.

 Allen, J. Potter, J. Sharp, J, Turvey, K. (2012) Primary   ICT Knowledge, Understanding and Practice London: Sage, Learning Matters  .

Hague, C, & Payton, S (2010) Digital Literacy across the Curriculum, Futurelab, Available at http://www2.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/handbooks/digital_literacy.pdf

Lambirth, A. (2003) ‘”They get enough of that at home”: Understanding aversion to popular cultures in schools’ Reading 37(1) pp.9-13

Palfrey, J. & Gasser, U. (2008) Born Digital: Understanding The First Generation of Digital Natives New   York: Basic Books (Introduction p. 1 – 15)

Reflecting on the module (Week 12 blog post)

This module has developed my understanding of the use of multimedia in the primary classroom, in particular its relevance within the new National Curriculum for teaching computing and English (DfE, 2013).  In my first post I argued how the increased use of technology by children is a positive step forward in our increasingly digital society; the learning from my blog posts and the experiences I have gained within schools and seminars over the last twelve weeks have offered support for this. As a result, this offers implications for my future practice as I now have a better idea of how technology is best used in the classroom; a key skill needed for teachers and especially ICT subject leaders (Kennewall, Parkinson and Tanner, 2002). 

Schools are encouraged to embed the use of ICT across all primary subjects (Futurelab, 2010; Kennewall, Parkinson and Tanner, 2002; and DfE, 2013). This module has demonstrated how ICT can be linked with English through the teaching of multimedia and I am now able to consider the power technology has on enhancing teaching and learning (Futurelab, 2010). My experiences within school have provided me with many implications for using pupil generated videos in future practice. One of these is that subject leaders should understand the need for assessment (Field, Holden and Lawlor, 2002). Today’s learning was particularly helpful as assessment of digital literacy was something I felt less confident with, however looking at the school’s assessment strategy has given be a better idea of how I could assess learning. Looking at assessment profiles has also developed my understanding of the expected route of progression for ICT skills; supporting my future practice as an ICT subject leader, as I will have to create curriculum plans which provide accurate next steps and learning experiences which meet children’s capabilities (Field, Holden and Lawlor, 2002).

In my first blog post I established my own target for the module; this was to ensure that my positive view on technology does not bias my responses to reading and experience. I believe that I have met this target because on all blog posts I have been able to take a critical stance regarding the use of technology in classrooms, looking at its benefits and possible barriers for learning where applicable. This critical stance will help me in my future role as an ICT subject leader as I will have to consider the possible benefits and risks of using technology in the classroom (Kennewall, Parkinson and Tanner, 2002; Bell and Ritchie, 1999; and Field, Holden and Lawlor, 2002).

A good subject leader must work with their colleagues to help develop their skills and expertise in ICT for teaching purposes (Bell and Ritchie, 1999). This module has developed my ICT skills and provided real experiences for me to implement multimedia and I will now be able to teach future colleagues what I have learnt, showing a clear implication of this module. However, I will need to continue to develop my knowledge of multimedia in the classroom to keep up with this increasingly digital society and the digital natives I will be teaching (Kennewall, Parkinson and Tanner, 2002; Pahl and Rowsell, 2005; and Prensky, 2001). This is important because a good subject leader continues to develop their subject knowledge (Bell and Ritchie, 1999; and Field, Holden and Lawlor, 2002).

Bibliography:

DfE. (2013) The National Curriculum. In Scholastic (Ed.) The National Curriculum in England: Handbook for Primary Teachers Key stages 1 & 2. Oxfordshire. Scholastic.

Bell, D., and Ritchie, R. (1999) Towards Effective Subject Leadership in the Primary School. Buckingham: Open University Press.

Field, K., Holden, P., and Lawlor, H. (2002) Effective Subject Leadership. London: Routledge.

Futurelab. (2010) Digital Literacy across the Curriculum. Bristol: Futurelab.

Kennewell, S., Parkinson, J., and Tanner, H. (2002) Developing the ICT Capable School. London: Routledge.

Pahl, K., and Rowsell, J. (2005) Literacy and Education: Understanding the New Literacy Studies in the Classroom. London: Paul Chapman Publishing.

Prensky, M. (2001) ‘Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Part II: Do They Really Think Differently?’ On the Horizon. NCB University Press, 9 (6).

Blog 11: Evaluation of the module

Prior to this module, my experience and understanding of using digital technologies in the primary classroom was limited which resulted in my lack of confidence and apprehensiveness towards using digital media with children. However, through both theoretical and practical learning, I feel better equipped to incorporate ICT into my future practice in order to provide children with opportunities to engage with a range of digital technologies to enhance their learning. The importance of improving teachers’ confidence in using technologies is highlighted by Future Lab (2010) as digital technology has become embedded in popular culture therefore it cannot be neglected. Teachers often find themselves at a disadvantage when pupils seem to be more ‘digitally literate’ than they are, therefore teachers need to master these new literacies and use them effectively in teaching and learning (Rudd and Tyldesley, 2006). Dean (2010) concurs by adding that it is important that teachers have opportunities to explore and engage with a range of technologies in order to build the confidence to use them with children. Having opportunities to explore and use a range of digital media during seminar sessions has broadened my knowledge about how to effectively implement ICT into the literacy curriculum which I hope to put into practice in my future role as a teacher. Therefore this supports the idea that teachers need training and professional development in using technologies in order to understand the effective use of such technology to support teaching and learning aims (Higgins, Xiao and Katsipataki, 2012; Marsh, Brooks, Hughes, Ritchie, Roberts and Wright, 2005).

The focus has not solely been on the use of digital technology with children but also the impact of popular culture and other types of media, such as comics and graphic novels, on children’s learning. Through discussions in seminars and reflections on blog posts, it is evident that the use of popular culture in the classroom is a key way of engaging pupils with literacy (Marsh and Hallet, 2008). Children are more immersed in their learning when it involves popular culture as they are growing up in a digital world (Higgins et al, 2012; Marsh et al, 2005) therefore teachers should seek to validate and celebrate popular culture as it is an authentic part of pupils’ learning experiences (Buckingham, 1998). The session relating to comics and graphic novels further supports this as comics and graphic novels are a major part of popular culture. They can offer children opportunities to be creative (Stafford, 2009) and they also promote reading for pleasure (Gibson, 2008; Krashen, 2004) therefore demonstrating their effectiveness in the primary classroom. These sessions have enabled me to develop my understanding of how to incorporate popular culture and popular texts within the literacy curriculum to enhance children’s learning experiences which I hope to pursue in my future role as an English subject coordinator. 

According to Lambirth (2003) teachers today are not aware of the variety and value technology and media can hold within the classroom, therefore having the opportunity to work with children in a school setting enabled me to gain first-hand experience of this. Teachers need to overcome the ‘fear’ related to using technology in the classroom (Future Lab, 2010) and need to inhabit this technological environment as it has proved beneficial to children’s learning (Higgins et al, 2012; Rudd and Tyldesley, 2006). Using a range of digital technologies with a group of children not only increased my confidence to use them in the classroom but also made me a more competent user of ICT which was a challenge I faced prior to this module. Therefore, I feel that this module has developed my understanding of how to incorporate ICT into the literacy curriculum in order to use digital media and other forms of media to develop children’s learning. In my future practice as an English coordinator, I will be able to use what I have learnt to achieve the aims of the National Curriculum in supporting children to become ‘digitally literate’ as they are active participants in a digital world (DfE, 2013).

Buckingham, D. (1998) Teaching Popular Culture: Beyond radical pedagogy. UCL Press Ltd.

Dean, G. 'Rethinking Literacy' in Bazalgette, C. (ed) (2010) Teaching Media in Primary Classrooms. London: SAGE

Department for Education (2013) National Curriculum in England: English programmes of study. London: HMSO

Future Lab (2010) Digital Literacy Across the Curriculum: (Sections 3.5 – 3.6 Digital Literacy in Practice)

Gibson, M. (2008) ‘So what is this mango, anyway?’ Understanding Manga, Comics and Graphic novels. National Association for the Teaching of English. [Online] http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/3109/1/So%20what%20is%20this%20mango%2C%20anyway-%20Understanding%20manga-%20comics%20and%20graphic%20novels.pdf Accessed: 29/03/14

Higgins, S., Xiao, Z., and Katsipataki, M. (2012) The Impact of Digital Technology on Learning: A Summary for the Education Endowment Foundation. Durham University: Education Endowment Foundation.

Krashen, S. (2004) ‘The Power of Reading: Insights from the Research’ Observations and Reflections from BEHS Staff. CO: Libraries Unlimited [Online] http://teachers.saschina.org/jnordmeyer/files/2011/06/The-Power-of-Reading.pdf Accessed: 29/03/14

Lambirth, A. (2003) "They Get Enough of That at Home" Understanding Aversion to Popular Culture in Schools. Reading Literacy and Language 37 (1) pp.9 -13

Marsh, J., Brooks, G., Hughes, J., Ritchie, L., Roberts, S. and Wright, K. (2005) Digital beginnings: Young children’s use of popular culture, media and new technologies. Sheffield: Literacy Research Centre.

Marsh, J. and Hallet, E. (2008) Desirable Literacies, Los Angeles: Sage

Rudd, A. and Tyldesley, A. (2006) Literacy and ICT in the Primary School: A Creative Approach to English. London: David Fulton Publishers Ltd

Stafford, T (2009) ‘Teaching Comics’ in Duncan, D. (2009) Teaching Children’s Literature: Making stories work in the classroom  Abingdon: Routledge

Multimedia and Multiliteracies in the Primary School - Part 2

Informal Blog Task: Multimedia and Multiliteracies in the Primary School: Linking Theory and Practice (Part 2)

Upon returning to Shirley Warren we were eager to meet the year 1 children and commence work on our talking book relating to article 29 of The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNICEF, 1989). The concept of a talking book related to our experimentation with various apps in week 8 and allowed us to build on and expand our expertise.

I valued this opportunity to immerse myself in all that the iPads have to offer, particularly the apps of iMovie, Book Creator and Veescope. This links with a promise made by Apple (2014) that ‘powerful creative tools, interactive textbooks and a universe of apps and content make endless learning possibilities’. It also goes to satisfy the aims of the new National Curriculum (DfE, 2013) for children to engage in a variety of technology and media across the curriculum as even the one resource of iPads had multiple purposes.

As John and Sutherland (2004) express, ICT is a growing part of children's everyday lives, yet is was still a pleasant surprise to see just how well such young children responded to the features of new apps and technology. However, an important consideration may be whether children fully comprehend how to use the apps when given a specific purpose, or rather is their confidence misleading? Hague & Payton (2010) highlight how many teachers often report that a majority of young people are not as knowledgeable and as technologically savvy as they can appear. This may be true to an extent during our work at Shirley Warren as our group recognised aspects of the apps and were eager  to experiment, yet on more than one occasion would click on a link and unintentionally lose their recordings. The fact that the children remained enthusiastic with the task and were willing to learn demonstrates how the use of technology within the classroom offers a range of opportunities for fun learning and development for children (Byron Review, 2008).

Despite this, the key to our success was collaboration as adults and children helped each other and turned potential hiccups into problem-solving opportunities applying higher-order thinking. Children responded well to having a degree of freedom which was in fact very useful as we could occupy all of the five children by giving them their own task to be getting on with.  Heinrich (2012) supports this, suggesting that iPads and other forms of digital media are a valuable resource due to do their increasing flexibility with applications that encourage children to employ skills that printed texts may not. The lack of time prevented us, however from placing as much of the decision-making in the children’s hands as I would have liked to, yet a longer session could help to overcome this in future practice. Also, regarding the time frame, I would have liked to use the I Can Animate software, but will now look forward to trying that next time!

As an English specialist, I enjoyed the chance to see digitall literacy in action and aimed to reinforce literacy so that ICT is seen as a cross curricula resource (Potter and Darbyshire, 2010). This is even more true as the session incorporated children PSHE, ICT and literacy learning in an active context. This links to Medwell, Moore, Wray and Griffiths’ (2012) belief that ICT should support children’s learning across all subjects where possible.

The visit provided a supportive context as the way in which children were permitted to behave differentiated from some more formal tasks. The challenge of producing a talking book in a limited space of time provided incentive for both adults and children so that they could accomplish their learning while talking, laughing and working collaboratively (Cook & Finlayson, 1999). As well as problem solving, this creative opportunity also allowed for higher order thinking according to Cennamo, Ross and Ertmer (2013: 55) as we as teachers placed the challenge into a relevant context.

From a trainee teacher's perspective, I recognise that the extent to which the school has welcomed new technology remains rare, yet I also feel that it is a natural step that many schools are beginning to take. Children need to be taught at school about technology and how to use it, not only for pleasure at home, but also for educational purposes (Bazelgette, 2010). This may be extended to my own practice and expertise regarding new technology. I plan to always familiarise myself fully with any new technology or specific app before carrying out a lesson, allowing me to plan for the best learning opportunities for that lesson. Brooks-Young (2007:34) suggests the importance of feeling prepared to use technology in the classroom and the positive effect it can have on teaching, ‘as your level of confidence with technology grows, your ability to make adjustments in technology use will also increase’. It would be a shame to miss out on the potential for engaging and memorable learning that interactive technology facilitates (BBC Active, 2010).

References

Bazelgette, C. (2010) Teaching Media in Primary Schools, London: Sage

Heinrich, P. (2012) The iPad as a Tool for Education: A study of the introduction of iPads, Winchester: Naace.

BBC Active. (2010). Ipads in the Classroom. Retrieved from: <http://www.bbcactive.com/BBCActiveIdeasandResources/iPadsintheClassroom.aspx> [Accessed 25/03/2014]

Brooks-Young, S. (2007) Digital-Age Literacy for Teachers: Applying Technology Standards to Everyday Practice Washington: ISTE Publications

Byron Review (2008) Safer Children in a Digital World. DCSF Publications.

Cennamo, K., Ross, J. and Ertmer, P. (2013) Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. Second Edition. California: Wadsworth.

Cook, D. & Finlayson, H. (1999) Interactive Children, Communicative Teaching: ICT and classroom teaching , OUP,  Buckingham

DFE/QCA (2013) The National Curriculum in England, DFE/QCA

UNICEF (1989) The United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child, London: UNICEF UK.

Heinrich, P. (2012) The iPad as a Tool for Education: A study of the introduction of iPads, Winchester: Naace.

John, P and Sutherland, R (2004) Teaching and Learning with ICT: New technology, new pedagogy? Education, Communication and Information, 4, pp101-107

Potter, F. And Darbyshire, C. (2010) Understanding and teaching the ICT National Curriculum. Oxon: Routledge.

Blog 9 - Visit to Shirley Warren (Part 1)

My visit to Shirley Warren Primary School developed my knowledge and understanding of how ICT and media can be used within literacy and other curriculum subjects. The different forms of technology available at Shirley Warren highlighted the importance that the role of ICT and media can have in education, as children grow up in the 21st century which is centered on digital media and information (Noor-Ul-Amin, undated). This is supported by Hague and Payton (2010) who agree that subject learning in schools needs to be relevant to a society in which growing technology use is changing the way that both adults and children represent and communicate information and meaning and participate in cultural life. Through my experience at Shirley Warren Primary School, I believe that this is focused on and achieved.

During my visit to Shirley Warren Primary School, I was given a tour around the school and I was surprised and excited to see a studio available for the students to use and also a functioning radio station. Due to this, I became aware of how this can be used to provide many learning opportunities, including develop children’s skills in sound effects, songs, dramatizations, comic sketches, and other performance conventions which will compel the students to listen and become more involved in the their lessons and activities (Noor-Ul-Amin, undated). Also, as the studio is very interactive and engaging, it increases children’s motivation levels which could lead to enhanced performance in subjects (Oliver, 2000).

At Shirley Warren I became familiar with different apps on ipads that can be used to support curriculum subjects. I was particularly interested in the use of the app ‘Veescope’ which enabled teachers and students to use green screen. This is something I had never thought of using before my visit and I gained an understanding that it can be used to support children’s overall learning experiences by being motivating, fun and engaging, as well as professional. Also, it can help develop ICT skills as children can learn to design and edit backgrounds including lightening and shadows, dragging and importing.

However, a question that needs to be discussed in relation to my visit to Shirley Warren is, how confident do teachers feel in embedding unfamiliar technology into their lessons and how much support is available for them? Marsh (2003) suggests that teachers may lack in confidence due to lack of own experience and lack of knowledge. Cuban, (2001) states that classroom teachers are simply using the technology to do what they have always done because they are worried they do not have the knowledge to embed it into their lessons effectively. Therefore, this implies the need for teachers to have opportunities and access to training of how to use and embed different technologies into the curriculum (Marsh et al 2005). Luckily at Shirley Warren, teachers are given the opportunity for specific support and training in order to help develop their skills in using and embedding ICT within their classroom. However, do all schools provide this? In relation to my own future practice, although I have an understanding of how different technologies are available to support children’s learning, I am anxious about how to embed ICT into my own lessons. Due to this, more experience and research is needed so I can progress as a teacher in this area.

To conclude, although this week I became familiar with different ICT based learning opportunities for children in schools, I feel I need practice with working with children in order to gain a better understanding of how children feel about using ICT and what they already know and don’t know about specific technologies. This will be explored in my next visit to Shirley Warren.

 

Cuban, L. (2001) Oversold and Underused: Computers in the Classroom (Cambridge:Harvard University Press).

 Hague, C, & Payton, S (2010) Digital Literacy across the Curriculum, Futurelab, Available at http://www2.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/handbooks/digital_literacy.pdf

Marsh, J. et al, (2005) ‘Digital beginnings: Young children’s use of popular culture, media and new technologies’ Literacy Research Centre, University of Sheffield

 Noor-Ul-Amin, S., (undated) ‘An Effective use of ICT for Education and Learning by Drawing on Worldwide Knowledge, Research, and Experience: ICT as a Change Agent for Education’ University Of Kashmir, Accessed online at http://www.nyu.edu/classes/keefer/waoe/amins.pdf (29/03/2014)

Oliver, R. (2000). Creating Meaningful Contexts for Learning in Web-based Settings. Proceedings of Open Learning 2000. (Pp; 53-62).Brisbane: Learning Network, Queensland.