Blog Task 1: Sharing a professional stance

Over the past 20 years technology has made massive advances. The internet has gone from being used for official government use to being a modern day utility, accessed by a vast proportion of society. The advances in personal computers, laptops, net-books, iPads (the list could go on) is unprecedented and was wildly unpredictable.

I believe it is impossible to keep this technological advancement out of the classroom and would be a travesty if it was excluded from schools. Children are the future generation, they will be moving into a society rich in technology and therefore must be prepared to live, function and develop this technological society.

It is not only essential that children have access to technology but that they are taught how to use it effectively and safely! With an increase in technology it has lead to a development of inappropriate uses for this technology. Cyber bullying being one of the largest areas of concern, with 34% of young people being affected (DfE 2011), and child protection on the whole being an important part when teaching children how to use this technology safely.

I believe we cannot leave children in a place of technological naivety, they must be prepared for and aware of the uses and abuses of the digital society we live in.

Other than these abuses of technology, technology holds a wide multitude of different learning experiences and opportunities that we never had in years gone by. In my own time at primary school we had access to computers and towards the end we had some interactive whiteboards but still nothing to the level of today’s primary classroom. I myself find it hard to believe that schools coped without photocopiers or online registers, they seem common place in schools and have made practical elements of classroom management easier and less time consuming.

I am excited to be learning new way to bring ICT to life in the classroom and only have little concern over my personal understanding and confidence with technology. My main weakness and therefore aim of this module will be to learn how to incorporate technology in exciting ways, not just using it so children can research topics on Google.

DfE (2011) The protection of children online: a brief scoping review to identify vulnerable groups. London: DfE [online] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/181476/CWRC-00085-2011.pdf (accessed 29/01/14)