Formal Blog Task 12: Media, Language and Multiliteracies/Multimedia and Technology

Formal Blog Task 12: Media, Language and Multiliteracies/Multimedia and Technology

Over the period of this module my thinking has changed dramatically. With 92% of children having access to the internet and other forms of digital media (Livingstone and Bober 2005)  it has been highlighted to me that this is a very important area for me, as a primary teacher, to address in the classroom appropriately.

I have been challenged to teach skills alongside competencies. Children should have the ability to use digital technology as well as know when it is appropriate to be used, What FutureLab would define as ‘Digital Savvyness’ (FutureLab 2010). They need to be able to use the technology to its fullest but they must also be aware of the draw backs and limitations. This may act to inspire a generation of future developers with a drive to overcome the limitations with new technologies that haven’t even been dreamt of yet. This makes me aware of my own ability and skill with technology to teach it effectively I have to know how it works and how to use it, my personal skill needs to be high and this is something I must work on as I go out into the classroom.

As an English specialist I believe ICT is an essential tool to help develop key English skills. ICT can act as a very effective hook to gain and hold children’s attention (Stafford 2011) this is particularly useful as sometimes English can be seen as a boring subject by some children. Also Technology can also be used across the curriculum in many ways and can act to link subjects in an effective way, as we have seen on our visits to school. I intend to challenge myself to continue to use technology in many areas of the curriculum, creating opportunity for children to become ‘digitally literate’ (FutureLab 2010).

I believe teaching is not only about academic knowledge but about preparing children for the world which they will be part of and one day the world which they will be shaping. Therefore, it is essential that children can function in a digital society. I have been challenged as to how I teach children to use technology and especially how I teach them to use it appropriately and safely. Children are vulnerable to many areas of technology from advertising (Gunter, Oates and Blades 2005) to cyber bullying (DfE 2011). Children need to be equipped with the skills and kn0owledge to avoid the negative aspects of technology and to respond to the appropriately when they do appear (Marshall 2010).

Finally in a world of increasing change and advancement in digital technology I must be aware of the knowledge which children come in to the classroom with. They may know more about some aspects of technology than me, especially in the future when I am not so on trend with technology. Children must be taught how, when and why to use technology in order that they may be fully functioning members of the modern digital society we live in.

Bibliography

Gunter, B., Oates, C. & Blades, M. (2005) Advertising to children on TV. New Jersey: Lawrence Erbaum Associates

Marshall, D. (2010) Understanding children as consumers. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

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)

FutureLab. (2010) Digital Literacy across the Curriculum. [online] http://www2.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/handbooks/digital_literacy.pdf (Accessed: 25/03/14)

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

Livingstone, S. and Bober, M. (2005) UK Children Go Online [online] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/28_04_05_childrenonline.pdf (accessed 30/03/14)