ICT and Literacy – Speaking, Listening and Digital Imaging

Well, to describe the session as ‘hands-on’ would be an understatement, wandering around the university grounds with a digital camera, and making a stop-motion animation with a digital camcorder and plasticine was an interesting experience. To give these topics proper representation, it is only fair to look at these two items individually; I think it is safe to assume that we know the majority of the functions of plasticine.

For the classroom environment, digital cameras are becoming more and more of an valuable resource, and are being used in a variety of ways, but is not limited to;

·         Capturing children on camera as a record of achievement
·         Permanent capture of work
·         Keeping a record of activities

Furthermore, in addition to those listed above, we used computer programs to create a photo story, another asset to the classroom because in the form of encouraging artistic development, it allows the children to play around with photographs, and annotate them to tell a story, based on their actual experiences. This can then be made into a video using the same software. The created videos give the child not only a sense of achievement, because these can be shared in a varitey of different ways, but it also allows the other children, and staff in the room an oppurtuinity to see the world as they see it. I, for one, think that as a teacher, an insight into the mind of the children that you are teaching is a wonderful oppurtunity. The following video provides a basic tutorial on how to use the PhotoStory3 software, which we used in the session to create our photo stories.

The photostory also provides a very effective link to literacy lessons, by allowing children to plan out a story, and then physically go out and (albeit not write about it) but to create the story in their own way, and construct it effectively, both very important literacy components regarding writing. Abbott, when writing about ICT and Literacy and positives and negatives of a fusion of the two, (such is the case with photostories), suggests that because of the wide range of resources available online, it can help the student, but it should not be used as an alternative to writing, because new technologies will constantly appear, but some things, such as writing, should never be replaced and overlooked, and it is implicitly suggested that writing is one of those.

Moving onto stop-motion animation, this provided a lot of opportunities for some very interesting creations. The digital camcorder that was used was able to not only record, but take still photos of ‘frames’ that were then collated and put in order to produce a moving picture. Within the classroom context, this can fit in very well with literacy, and especially story writing, because the children can write out a story, or script, and then use the digital technology to put their ideas onto film. I have had some technical difficulties in uploading the video below, but hopefully, this will work, and you can see a very basic stop-motion animation in action. If not, just think of any film or cartoon with the two characters above in it, and pretend that we did that!

To sum up, digital imaging can have a huge cross-curricular influence, especially with literacy, and can provide the teacher with records of achievement, and is a method of recording the child so assessment and development can be made a lot easier. As a teacher, I can see myself using the technology quite a lot, especially the digital cameras, mainly for assessment purposes, but it will also allow the child some freedom with technology, which they do crave.

Until next time,

Keep Calm and Stay Sane,

Alex

Chris Abbott, ICT: Changing Education, (2001)

Bee-Bots, Technology and Digital Media

This session was a bit of an amalgamation of several items of technology, from Bee-Bots to Digital Microscopes. However, the sheer amount of technology available is startling. Digital media is also becoming more and more available within the classroom, with a variety of programs and other activities of interest that can be used in the classroom; Messenger-Davies describes media as a collection of different medium, because every aspect of technology or print is a different medium, and as such, has value in education. It just happens that some different mediums are responded to better by the children. 

Despite having prior experience of using some of the robotic technology in the classroom, albeit when I was 7, the Bee-Bots, Pippins, and similar devices fascinated me. To be able to use and program simple robots within the classroom environment was an amazing experience, and one I definitely enjoyed when I was in Year Two. The following video shows some of the applications of Bee-Bots in the classroom.

However, at that age, I found it difficult to grasp the concepts that it brought up, and what relevance it had to computers and the world other than mathematics, we were using angles and lengths, that made sense, but making a connection was difficult. This is my only negative to using this fun, and highly accessible form of teaching as it can be used within a variety of lessons and situations.

Moving onto the digital microscopes, I found these to be great fun and very simple to use. The program itself, 'Digital Blue' was fairly self explanatory and user friendly, but having no labels for some of the more complex buttons that you could press was a bit difficult and made certain areas confusing. On the whole however, it was a fun and rewarding task, and the role for it in the classroom was ideal, especially when a twenty pence coin was put in it. Just to see how dirty it was! This tool is perfect for use within the classroom, and particularly in science, in my opinion, because it allows the children to really investigate the materials that are around them, and by letting them find objects themselves, can really exploit their natural curiosity.

Whilst these aspects of technology are useful, it is important to remember that they are not toys, and there have to be restrictions on their usage, but it is important to make sure that this does not stifle the children, and by doing that, make them lose interest. The important thing with this is to make sure children enjoy the technology, because, I absolutely love using it all!

Until next week,

Keep Calm and Eat Cupcakes!!

Alex

Virtual Learning Environments

Quite a recent development for schools, the managed and virtual learning environment is a new way for teachers, staff and students to share work, lesson plans and other relevant information over the internet. However, the usage of the systems varies massively depending upon the institution and the staff working there, if staff members are reluctant to use the system, there is very little chance of the system being used effectively within the school environment.The following video describes the VLE much better than I can...

Due to the current position of many of us here at Middlesex University, we are unable to access the systems that are used in schools, however, at Middlesex University, we are able to access our own one, which is operated by Blackboard Learning (and WebCT), which we know as MyUniHub. The following demonstration shows how it is possible to use the available resources that have been placed upon MyUniHub as a student. It is important to understand here, that whilst all VLEs are different, their main function remains exactly the same, and that is to support the learning of the students that use the facility.

Step One – Logging In:

In order to use the virtual learning environment, the user must have an ID Number/User ID and a password. This will enable the user to access all the features and resources that have been made available to them by their teachers/lecturers, the personal areas will remain locked away until a username and password have been entered.

Step Two – Finding the Resources:

Once logged into the required area, you will come up to a screen, which may be similar to the following, outlining the different subjects that you are taking, or points of study that are being followed. Selecting one of these will guide you into that subject area, and towards any resources, tasks or work required for that subject. For an example here, we will look inside the folder for Primary Mathematics.

Step Three – Opening the Resources:

Once you have selected the subject, and filed through the different folders representing different areas of study, (in the Mathematics area here, you need to go through some different screens before the main area appears). You will be able to access the course content, which in this case, holds resources, help for assignments and other useful things. Clicking these will open the resource.

The Virtual Learning Environment, when used properly, can massively enhance the learning of the students, and make it possible to access their learning outside of the confines of the school building.
                                   

MyUniHub into the teaching at Middlesex caused huge confusion, especially amongst new students, myself being one.

Martin Weller, in a book directly concerning the formation and use of these virtual learning environments, claims that despite initial worries and concerns, mainly around the operation of the systems and training, that people do grow to appreciate their use. The main point that he wishes to get across is 'Don't Panic', because it will become easier and more manageable over time.

Overall though, the virtual learning environment, if used properly, can be a wonderful tool for the development of learning in and outside of the classroom.  It does take a while to get used to the software, yes, but once this obstacle has been overcome, they can be brilliant tools to use.

Until next week,

Keep Calm and Eat Cake! (yes there is a new one of these every week...)

Alex

Martin Weller, Virtual Learning Environments: Using, Choosing and Developing your VLE (2007)