Week 9: Informal Blog Task, Reflecting on the use of technology and media in a local Primary School

From my visit to a local Primary School, I experienced the technology and the media they were using.

I am surprised by how much children already know, and the skills they have, to use technology successfully. This is because children are born in a highly technology based environment (Prensky, 2001). This is supported by the example a Year 1 teacher gave regarding how much his class surprised him with being able to create algorithms. This shows we should not underestimate children’s ability. Beauchamp (2007) argues teachers should provide children with opportunities to take ‘ownership’ of their own learning, by developing new learning through their existing experiences. I am now even more surprised by how technology can be used so simply but can create such a powerful impact. For example, the video we watched where the children were recorded creating a large art attack picture. Therefore, something as simple as using video is very powerful because it showed the progression of creating the big picture by placing the video camera on the ceiling to capture the footage.

I have realised how easy it is to plan ICT alongside other curriculum subjects. For example, children could be learning about recycling where they could use cameras to take pictures of recycling strategies that are being used around the school grounds. Then, in Literacy, they could write a news report of what they have found. As part of using ICT, the children can record presenting their news reports. This example illustrates how the use of technology can be integrated for cross-curricular learning. Hayes (2007) argues teachers need to integrate a range of technologies within the classroom, because it maximises the positive impacts they have on children’s learning.

The challenge for me is keeping up to date with the current forms of technology and media in order to support my teaching and enhance children’s learning, because they should have opportunities to experience the latest forms of technology. This is because it is relevant to their everyday life. In agreement with Prensky (2001), I need to develop my knowledge and skills of engaging with technology in order to effectively incorporate it into my future practice. In previous blog posts, I have suggested it would be very time consuming to teach children using new programs and apps. I have challenged my thinking because I now believe that, instead of teaching the tools, I will provide children with opportunities to explore for example, the app first (Duffty, 2006). We experienced using the app Tellagami, where you can create avatars. Instead of telling the children this is how you use the app, it would be interesting for the children to explore the app first.

A challenge that I may experience next week is working with the children for the first time, where I will not know what experiences they will have with using technology. Therefore, the question I will need to answer is what existing skills do the children have with technology? In that way I can support them according to their needs.

Bibliography

Beauchamp, G. (2012) ‘What is ICT in the Primary School?: Tools and Techniques’. ICT in the Primary School, From Pedagogy to Practice. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.

Duffty, J. (2006) Primary ICT: Extending Knowledge in Practice. Essex: Learning Matters Ltd.

Halsey, S. (2007) ‘Embracing emergent technologies and envisioning new ways of using them for literacy learning in the primary classroom’ English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 6 (2) pp. 99-107. [pdf] Available from: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ832191.pdf  (Accessed: 18/03/2014).

Prensky, M. (2001) ‘Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Part II: Do They Really Think Differently?’ On the Horizon, 9 (6) pp. 1-9. [pdf] NCB University Press. Available from: http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf (Accessed: 18/03/2014).