Blog 9: Module Reflection

At the beginning of this module I was very doubtful over my own ICT abilities which made me apprehensive about using new technologies in my future practice with my own class. I put this down to inexperience and lack to interaction with a range of different technologies, as I felt that I only had limited basic skills. The children who we will go on to teach are classed as digital natives (Palfrey and Gasser, 2008) and have been born into a world where technology is established and flourishing, and will therefore have an automatic feeling of ease and confidence when using technology as they have never known a world without it. Although I was born into an era where I would be classed as a fellow digital native, I feel that I am more a digital immigrant as technology is changing rapidly and constantly and so I am having to keep up and adapt my own teaching and learning to incorporate these into my practice in order to meet the needs of a new generation.

The visits to Shirley Warren School have demonstrated how important it is to keep up with the times and to take advantage of technology and digital literacies, as they have been found to be a great way to enthuse, motivate and inspire children and make learning ‘more engaging for children’ (Merchant, 2007). The fact that these new technologies can be so adult and child-friendly has made me feel more at ease with using them with children as there are so many benefits to be gained, by both the children and by us as new teachers.

After reflecting upon the module and my experience, I feel that an implication for my practice would be to not fear technology. FutureLab (2010) noted how teachers need to remove the mystique that surrounds the use of technology in order to overcome their fear of using it. I feel that, after experiencing new technologies first hand and having the opportunity to use them with children I will no longer feel apprehensive about using new technologies and will instead embrace them and incorporate them with confidence in my teaching.

Futurelab (2010) Digital Literacy Across the Curriculum: Digital Literacy in Practice [online] http://www2.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/handbooks/digital_literacy.pdf [Accessed 12.02.13]

Merchant, G. (2007) ‘Writing the future in the digital age’ Literacy 41 (3) pp.118-128

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

Module Reflection

Prior to starting this module I considered myself a digital native (Palfrey and Gasser; 2008) as I have grown up with technology, therefore, I feel comfortable using computers and different kinds of software. However, this module has enlightened me to the amount of multi-modal resources that are still available to use within the classroom, for example, comics and graphic novels.

The visit to Shirley Warren Primary School was extremely beneficial in demonstrating the potential that different types of techology and media have to offer. Being able to practice using the software myself and with the children definitley allowed my confidence in using and teaching it to grow, which, according to Jones and Hafner (2012), is an area school's must take notice of. The experience also demonstrated how simple certain tasks can be, for example, animation.

The main implication for my future practice is that I, and the children, are aware of how much technology and media is available and how I can incorporate it into lessons. According to Lambirth (2003), teachers today are not aware of the variety and value technology and media can hold within the classroom. The value of using technology was highlighted in the trip to Shirley Warren as a way of motivating and engaging children, particuarly those who may find putting thier thoughts into words difficult. I am excited to continue my practice and try to incorporate technology into lessons, encouraging children's confidence in using it as I go.

Jones, R.H. and Hafner, C.A. (2012) Understanding Digital Literacies: A Practical Introduction. Abingdon, Routledge

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

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

Reflection on the module and implications for the future

"Excited". This was the word I used to sum up the module at Shirley Warren last week. The module has made me want to use new technologies and media within school. Prior to the module, although I was willing to use technologies within school, I was aprehensive about using certain material such as comics and graphic novels in the classroom, due to some of the content and my own engagement and lack of enthusiasm towards them. However, the module has challenged my thinking, and allowed me to see the benefits of harnessing such texts into the classroom.  It has allowed me to see that children will not only seek enjoyment out of such texts but  recognise that using such texts with children enables them to write in new formats developing new skills (Stafford 2009).

The module has also allowed me to learn new skills with new technologies. At the start of the module, I held the view that the use of powerpoint was very limiting and there was not much else it could lend itself to. However, as a result of the practical sessions, I was able to see that such programmes allow children to acquire new skills to create an array of things (Futurelab, 2010). The introduction of other Web 2.0 technologies that can assist learning in the classroom, such as Tagxedo and wordle have also raised questiones for me as to how far they can enable, motivate and possibly improve literacy in the classroom, which I aim to find out through my dissertation.

With everything we have learnt across the module my thinking has been challenged and thoughts and opinions have changed, and I now have a better understanding of technologies that can be used and the full potential of them this was reinforced by Tom at Shirley Warren. An implication for my furture practice is enabling children the oppotunities to enjoy and engage with the technologies they are growing up with in an environment that is safe and approved by adults (Lambirth 2003).

 

Futurelab. (2010) 'Digital Literacy Across the Curriculum: Digital Literacy in Practice [online] http://www2.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/handbooks/digital_literacy.pdf (Accessed 14/3/13)

Lambirth, A. (2003) ‘“They get enough of that at home”: Understanding Aversion to Popular Culture in Schools’ in Literacy & Learning 37 (1) pp.9-13

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

Blog 9: Module reflection

Prior to this module, I was apprehensive about using technology in the classroom as I had only ever experienced IT being used for typing up work and creating PowerPoint presentations.  I was not confident in using it in the classroom, which is quite common of the teachers of this generation, possibly because we are 'digital immigrants' in children's technological world (Prensky, 2001). 

After having visited Shirley Warren School I was able to see the potential benefits of technology and media being put into practice, and using this myself enabled my confidence in teaching it to grow.  Improving teachers' confidence is important as 'digital technologies have become embedded in popular culture' which is something we cannot ignore (Futurelab, 2010:7), particularly as children would be placed at a disadvantage upon leaving school if they do not know how to access this (Dean, 2010).

One of the implications for my future practice is that I should ensure that children know that I value multimodal texts and technology, as well as developing my own confidence in using it.  The potential for technology was evident in the media that children produced at Shirley Warren, particularly for children who find writing difficult.  This provides them with an alternative method of recording as well as an exciting mode and context.  I am eager to use technology in school, integrating it into the curriculum and supporting children in their development of digital literacy and confidence in using media and technology.

Reflecting on the Module

Lankshear and Knobel (2003) state that although new literacies are associated with technology, the way teachers use them is not always effective and can merely be copying work onto a computer. I have been guilty of this in my teaching practice because of a lack of knowledge and confidence in using computers and other equipment with children. I believe this is greatly due to the opinion that children are digital natives (Futurelab 2010) and have much more experience with these new media, therefore I would not be in control or aware of where the lesson could go.

The experiences of using technology we have had in this module have been the most apparent in helping me build my confidence in working with children. This is because I am now aware of how simple some programmes and devices can be when used correctly and the benefits they have. This was clear whilst at Shirley Warren because the children were continuously engaged in the activity and able to use the equipment easily.

This module has been extremely beneficial for my future practice and not only has it built my confidence in teaching about technology, but it has also made me more secure in approaching other teachers and using technology more frequently. I look forward to working with children and using some very exciting tools to enhance their knowledge.

Futurelab, (2010) Digital literacy across the curriculum [online] Bristol: Futurelab (accessed 19.03.2013) www.futurelab.org.uk

Lankshear, C. and Knobel, M. (2003) New Literacies: Changing Knowledge and Classroom Learning Buckingham: Open University Press

Reflections of module and implications for the future: blog 9

The DfES (Clarke, 2012, p. 2) states that 'what makes good primary education is the fusion of excellence and enjoyment'. Whilst in Shirley Warren school this was apparent, especially on the last visit where both children and the student teachers that had been involved within the digital literacy sessions. There was an electric atmosphere that we all encountered whilst watching the finished productions. The children and adults who had worked together each other were extremely proud of their productions.
Carrington and Robinson (2009) suggests that not only do children enjoy this style of education that multimodal technologies should be taught because it also scaffolds learning through a constructivist approach so is relevant for not only social skills, but also learning styles. Digital literacy can also help to 'characterize the lifeworlds' (p. 14) which children grow up in.

At the beginning of this module I felt like a lot of teachers do according to Ansley and Bull (2010) as I lacked the confidence and knowledge of multimodal literacies but within the ten weeks I feel embraced by the module and as a future teacher I will certainly implement some, if not all, off the areas in which we have learned. One of the oat important points I feel that I have learnt is that if I struggle with any of these concepts there are people who can help, and I must not be afraid to ask for help.

Ansley, M, Bull, G. (2010) 'Helping teachers to explore multimodal texts' Curriculum Leadership: Electronic Journal for Leaders in Education vol. 8 issue. 16 4 June 2010

DfES (2012) ' Excellence and Enjoyment, a Strategy for Primary Schools [Online] www.dfes.gov.uk/primary document (accessed 22. 03.2013)

Carrington, V, Robinson, M. (2009) ' Digital Literacies: Social Learning and Classroom Practice' London: SAGE publications

Reflection on visit to Shirley warren

When working with the children, we chose article 6 'The right to life and to be healthy' to focus on and create a stop motion animation. We took the idea of healthy eating and getting your 5 portions of fruit and veg a day. We decided to use real fruits to make a smoothie by moving each fruit into a blender for a child to drink. In the process of making the film, children took turns in each role and each took the voice of one fruit, fortunately we had 5 children in the group. We were able to use 'i can animate' software which was simple to use and the children were all comfortable using which worked in our favor as time was a constraint. However with this aside, the children accepted the task, being enthused to take part at each stage, suggesting their ideas throughout the process.

Splitting our group into small groups worked well for creating our animation as it allowed both the audio and animation to be completed within the time frame we had.This also enabled discussion to be focused on what effects/music and extras the children would have liked when it came to editing. If I was to use such technology within the classroom, I would ensure that children are involved in all the stages from planning through to editing. With the children's ideas in mind, we edited the animation and overall was pleased with the final result.

Working with the children was really beneficial, and allowed me to develop new skills as well as put into practice skills I had previously learnt, however on future practice if I was to use technology within a lesson I think it would be a struggle if there was not sufficient adult support.

Blog 8 Reflection on Shirley warren

On arrival at Shirley Warren our group which initially consisted of four turned out to be two, so we had to adapt our overall plan for the morning. The children we worked with were highly motivated with an eagerness that was infectious throughout the whole group including us student teachers.

It was apparent that the children in our group were 'digital natives' (Futurelab,2010, p. 9) and got immediately involved with the whole process. Our group had had previous experience of animation so it was relatively easy as students teachers to be able to observe them and how they engaged in the animation. There was however, a hiccup with the technology as the microphones decided they did not want to work so had to wait for someone more qualified to set up another system so we could have sound.

Even though the children made a fantastic animation because of time limitations they had no input in the process of editing. As a future teacher I will certainly use this type of technology within the classroom but will have to bear in mind time limitations. However a massive positive for me as a 'digital immigrant' I found the animation an easy procedure, but was a bit I intimidated by my lack of knowledge of technological appliances and how long winded the editing process takes. My gratitude goes to my student partner Charlotte as by observing her in the editing process I feel I have gained some of the knowledge required.

Hague, C, Payton, s. (2010) 'Digital Literacy across the Classroom' Bristol: Futurelab www.futurelab.org.uk

Blog 8: Reflection of working with children

When working with the children at Shirley Warren, our group focused on Article 15 ‘All children have a right to meet, make friends with, and join clubs with other children’. Having been absent from the previous trip to Shirley Warren, I had to adapt quickly to what was planned and how the filming would take place. Luckily, I was part of a group who had a very clear structure, and so I was able to get up to speed with ease.

The group of children we worked with were very lively, and were extremely keen to get involved with the filming and to play on the iPads as part of our short film. The fact that the children were so comfortable and confident when using the technology surprised me, and I did feel a little taken aback as they seemed to have a lot more knowledge and experience than me! This has been referred to by Palfrey and Gasser (2008) who makes the distinction between Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants in relation to how exposure to technology can impact someone’s confidence and ability in using such methods in the classroom.

The software we used to compile and edit the film was surprisingly straight-forward, which surprised me, but it is easy to see how child-friendly it is and how it could easily be incorporated when used with children. Overall, I feel that this experience was incredibly valuable as it gave me an opportunity to learn hands-on with the children about how to use technology in the classroom and with small groups of children. I do feel that using such methods in a whole class situation would be a lot more difficult, and there would need to be a lot of adults present in order to ensure that learning objectives were met and that the children were on-task. Having had this experience, I am more determined to gain more experience using technology in the classroom and I aim to make use of it in my planning and teaching in the future.

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

Blog 7: Reflection of visit to Shirley Warren

After visiting Shirley Warren Primary school, I have realised how beneficial the use of ICT resources can be within classrooms. The range of resources available was really good, and all of the children and staff seemed comfortable and at ease when using the equipment and software, which really opened my eyes as to how incorporating technology into our classrooms will result in more confident and inspired users of ICT. The visit has really helped to create links between what we have been exploring in the seminars to how it will implement my future practice as a teacher, and has helped me feel a bit more confident about using ICT and new technologies in my own classroom.

Blog 8 - Working with Children

Reflecting on Using Film with Children.

Whilst at Shirley Warren I had to adapt to another groups article. Although planning for the right to be healthy, another member of the class had all their group members missing, therefore I was not a part of the planning/organisation process however gained a lot from it. The article I ended up with was the right to relax and have fun.

Working with the children was fantastic and it amazed me how much they knew about filming. Although it is a worry how this would work with a whole class, I think it could be a valuable experience for all as long as groups were organised well and teacher/TA deployment was effective. The behaviour of the children was impressive and I think much of this is due to the engagement with using technology (Dean 2010).

The most valuable part for me today was being able to use the technology in the school. It intimidates me using all these advanced programmes like it does many teachers (Marsh et al. 2005), however I recognised how simple they actually are to use! When in school and on my self directed placement, I aim to use a wide range of resources available on their computers so I can use them in a variety of ways for the children.

Dean, G. ‘Rethinking Literacy’ in Bazalgette, C. (ed) (2010) Teaching Media in Primary Classrooms London:Sage

Marsh, J. Brooks,G. Hughes,J. Ritchie, L. Roberts, S. Wright, K (2005) Digital beginnings: Young children’s use of popular culture, media and new Technologies University of Sheffield (Section 2.10 p.46; Sections 3.2 & 3.3 p48/49)

Blog 8: Reflection of working with the children

When working with children, we created a film focusing on Article 21 of children's rights: A right to live in the best place for you if you cannot live with your parents. We used Harry Potter's 'cupboard under the stairs' as a context and began by asking children about his living situation and how it could be improved. In the process of making this film we used a green screen to place 'Harry Potter' in different living environments. The children responded well to this context and had a lot of ideas. Everyone had a role to play in the creation of the film, whether it was an acting part or filming characters.

One thing that surprised me was that the film was easy to create. It required basic equipment however the editing programme is one the school would need to buy. I was also surprised with how easy the programme itself was to use. Something as simple as adding a background to the green screen area can completely transform the film.

Whilst the whole experience was really useful and exciting, having such a high teacher-pupil ratio made it easier than it possibly would be with a whole class. Additionally, because of the nature of the session, it was difficult to incorporate the children in the planning when we had very little time. If we had a longer session it would have been lovely to see the children taking complete ownership of the film.

Overall it was a very enjoyable experience and has highlighted the potential of technology in the classroom, building my confidence and commitment to use it myself.

Reflection of working with the children

My group and I created an animation based on Article 15 'All children have the right to meet, make friends with, and join clubs with other children.' I found it very successful as the children were all engaged and seemed to enjoy the task they had been set. I felt that we were very lucky with the children in terms of behaviour as they were all patient in taking turns on the computer. Additionally, they were all contributing ideas in what we could do and how we could have improved it.

However, one of the main reasons I feel that it was successful was there were four adults in the group to six children. If I was the class teacher on my own with thirty children I would find it much more challenging to keep the class engaged and on task, especially with media such as animation as it can be very time consuming and requires a lot of patience from everyone involved. I look forward to hearing from Tom further techniques on how to have a successful and enjoyable session using technology such as animation.

Schools and Multiliteracies

Unfortunately I was unable to make it to Shirley Warren, however after reading the other blogs and reflecting on my own experiences in school I think there are many ways that media can be brought into the Primary school to enhance children's education. I look forward to going into the school and planning the lesson on animation because I feel I will benefit greatly from seeing the uses of technology in what seems to be an advanced school with great resources.

As Halsey (2007) suggests there are a variety of ways in which technology can be used in the classroom and although we have had hands on experience in seminars with technology we have not yet put that into practice. This opportunity will be beneficial to extend my knowledge of digital Literacy and will allow me to see what children really are capable of and how it can further their Literacy skills, as well as seeing if they really are much further ahead than our generations (Marsh 2005).

My experience in school is not overly sufficient in using media in the classroom. The closest I have personally got is using paint to make Christmas cards with reception children and using powerpoints to support the lesson. Towards the end of my placement I was lucky enough to be trained in using Espresso, however there was not enough time to use this in lessons and really see the benefits of the programme.

Finally, from my personal experience in schools and the opportunities we have had in seminars, I feel much more confident about teaching digital Literacy and can see the values in using aspects of the media and technology in all aspects of the curriculum to enhance children's education. However I do question how cost efficient this can be at a school on a budget.

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

Marsh, J. Brooks,G. Hughes,J. Ritchie, L. Roberts, S. Wright, K (2005) Digital beginnings: Young children’s use of popular culture, media and new Technologies University of Sheffield (Section 2.10 p.46; Sections 3.2 & 3.3 p48/49)

Reflection of visit to Shirley Warren Primary

I have visited schools before that were considered technologically advanced, however, the trip to Shirley Warren Primary was extremely eye-opening to just how far behind those schools were in terms of technology and how it can be incorporated within the curriculum. I was amazed at the variety of media opportunities the school was offering the children, from presenting on a radio station to filming in front of a green screen. It was also interesting to see the simplicity of the programmes demonstrated as they were child-friendly and teacher friendly for those who may lack confidence. However, it was mentioned in the talk that the school were ‘lucky’ in terms of how they were able to afford so much. For other schools with a budget I do not think it would be as easy to purchase new media opportunities. I think the trip last week and the following visit working with the children will enable me to  explore some new media that I may not have considered using myself.

Reflections on Shirley Warren school

Firstly I would like to say thank you to Tom, whom without this day would have not been possible. I was amazed by the technology that one school could have. The classroom that we were in was brilliant. I have on past school experiences only seen one other fully set up computer room, the others only had a portable laptop station and the odd computer based around the school. Tom discussed the potential of the easy speak microphone for children who find it hard to put words down on paper, thus allowing the skills that are required in the literacy classroom (speaking, listening, writing); the animation and filming can be used in conjunction with storytelling bringing another dimension to this area as well as being used as a motivation tool to help the different way in which children learn, not to be stereotypical but visual, audio and kinaesthetic, plus all the learning styles. However, one thing that I learnt was that Shirley Warren had chose quite expensive equipment, and as schools are on quite tight budgets, costing will be one of the factors to which and how much each school can cover. Although as Tom pointed out he has collected tokens from a big supermarket to buy his microphones and this could be a starting point. As a 'digital immigrant' I love this saying! Am am truly motivated to give these ideas a go and feel my confidence growing weekly from this module, and hopefully will take this into the classroom with me.

Blog 7: Reflection of our experience at Shirley Warren Primary School

The morning we spent in Shirley Warren helped me to develop an understanding of the opportunities to use media in the classroom purposefully.  One thing which stood out for me was the notion of including media in a cross curricular fashion rather than adding to the curriculum.  I think that teachers often feel that there isn't enough time for digital technology, but if you use it to record work and create animations and films based around existing topics, it becomes much more manageable.  Tom spoke about teacher's lack of confidence due to children's existing bank of skills using technology, which reminded me of when we discussed 'digital immigrants'.  Viewing the children's work just emphasised how important it is to build this confidence as you can see the impact it is having on the children through their productions.  I was surprised by the amount of equipment the school had.  When we were shown how easy this technology is to use, the possibilities for using it became more and more vast and imaginative.  I am really eager to use this with the children on our next visit, realising the potential academic and social benefits that media can provide in the classroom.

Blog 7: Reflection on trip to Shirley Warren Primary School

Today's trip to Shirley warren was beneficial and put what we have been learning into context. It was good to see the range of resources some schools have available to them and have a teacher with a high level of enthusiasm and passion about multimedia in the classroom, explain software and the benefits of its use in the classroom. One of the things that surprised me in school was how simple and child friendly the software programmes are. Although we were only shown three software programmes, I am looking forward to using them with the children in coming weeks to both practice and implement the skills I have learnt. I hope that by carrying out this project it will secure my knowledge of media and allow me to use it more confidently and willingly within the classroom.

Blog 6: Katrina Horn

Should children learn about advertising in school and if so, what do teachers need to understand about the way in which children engage with advertising?

Advertisements are a constant in the everyday lives of children, and not just in technological terms. They are on television, billboards, supermarkets and even in written texts such as newspapers and children’s magazines (Gunter, Oates and Blades, 2005)There are negative issues that surround advertising and children such as children not understanding the concept and the power that adverts. However, according to Banaji ( p. 64) children can have ‘sophisticated understanding of different types of advertising.However, where literacy is concerned advertising, I feel maybe advertisements can to be used as a motivational tool for persuasive writing, if understood properly.Being able to make an advert on an I pad gave me inspiration other that just writing. By being able to construct the advert with peers and the enjoyment that we had as agroup, I will certainly use with children when I am next in the school environment and will be constructed within a shared/ guided writing session. Another plus side is that this form of literacy will be able to be used for children who have different styles of learning (VAK) (Rampantred’s weblog 2013)

Banaji, S. (2010)’Analysing Advertisements in Classroom’ in Bazelgette, C. (Ed)Teaching nedia in Primay Schools London: Sage

Gunter, B. Oates, C. Blades, M. (2005) Advertising to children on TV New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates pp. 1-13

(Rampantred’s weblog) (2013-ongoing) [online] http;//www.rampantred.wordpress.com/multimodal-literacy/    (accessed 24.02.2013)

 

Blog 6: Should children learn about advertising in school and if so, what do teachers need to understand about the way in which children engage with advertising?

Despite being surrounded by a variety of advertising formats, children spend a considerable amount of time viewing them on television (Gunter, Oates and Blades, 2005). Some of these are arguably inappropriate, encouraging children to 'pester' their parents on shopping trips for things they don't need, as well as giving an 'unachievable stereotype' of the people and their lifestyles (Gunter et al, 2005). This can have an effect on children's perceptions of themselves, particularly as they are considered to be vulnerable and unaware of advertising intentions (Gunter et al,2005). Furthermore, Banaji (2010) suggests that whilst revealing these intentions may educate children, it 'does not guarantee that children have an understanding of the complex, profit-based factors involved', for instance the use of celebrities (p.63). An implication of this is that when teaching children about advertising, teachers should be aware of what children already understand and what could be misleading, for instance, the celebrity is paid for the advert and therefore 'may not be providing an objective recommendation' (Gunter et al, 2005:p8). I feel that it is important to teach children about the intentions of advertisers so they can make their own informed opinion about products. Also pressure on parents to provide their children with the latest toy or game is evident as parents shopping with their child appear to spend more than they would alone (Banaji, 2010), arguably encouraging materialism.

Banaji, S. (2010) 'Analysing Advertisements in the Classroom' in Bazalgette, C. (Ed.) Teaching Media in Primary Schools London: Sage

Gunter, B., Oates, C., and Blades, M. (2005) Advertising to Children on TV. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

Blog 6: Children and Advertising

Should children learn about advertising in school and if so, what do teachers need to understand about the way in which children engage with advertising?

Research has found that contemporary children are growing up watching some form of electronic media daily (Cooke 2002) thus being exposed to advertising due to it increasingly being accessed by children via television and other media (Gunter, Oates & Blades 2005). Livingstone and Helsper (2006) found that ‘there is evidence that children of all ages are affected by advertising’ (Banaji 2010: 63) and that children are ‘more vulnerable […] to the effects of media ' (Banaji 2010: 63). Advertising to children is surrounded by controversy, with it often being suggested that children ‘need protecting from the effects of advertising in general or from the advertising of particular product’ (Gunter et al 2005: 2) however, Himmelweit et al. (1958), believes that advertising empowers children as consumers in a changing (increasingly globalised) economy (Himmelweit et al. 1958 as cited in craft 2012).

As a trainee teacher, the controversy’s need to be considered for use of adverts in the 21^st century classroom. I feel that adverts although can be seen as harmful or impose a negative influence on children, they can serve a useful purpose within the literacy context. They allow children to explore their personal preferences and develop items of interest to them however, Gunter et al 2005) argue that this can lead to ‘pester power’, meaning that they persist asking parents for inappropriate or expensive items. IN the classroom adverts can be used as a valuable resource as a tool for writing with a particular focus on persuasive texts. Adverts are seen as an invasive medium that effectively influence consumers in their own home (Gunter et al 2005), but do children know or understand the full impact of what they are viewing. Blackburn (2008) suggests that it is important for pupils to interpret what they see thus needing a repertoire of knowledge surrounding advertising vocabulary, intentions and purpose.

Word count: 306

Bibliography

                                                                                                               

Banaji, S. (2010) ‘Analysing Advertisements in the Classroom’ in Bazelgette, C. (Ed) Teaching Media in Primary Schools. London: SAGE

Blackburn, B. (2008) ‘Literacy from A to Z’ New York: Eye on Education

Craft, A. (2012) ‘Childhood in a digital age: creative challenges for educational futures’ in London Review of Education, 10 (2), pp. 173-190.

Gunter, B., Oates, C. & Blades, M. (2005) ‘Advertising to Children on TV’ New Jersey, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. pp1 – 13

Livingstone, S. & Helsper, E. (2006) ‘Does advertising literacy mediate the effacts of advertising on children? A critical examination of two linked research literatures in relation to obesity and food choice’, in Journal of Communication, 56 (3) pp.560-584

Blog 6: Advertising to Children

How far do you think advertising influences children’s perceptions of themselves?

According to Banaji (2010), children are more vulnerable than adults to the effects of the media. As advertising intersects with children’s emotions, desires, fantasies, aspirations and identities (Kenway and Bullen; 2001), children of all ages are affected (Livingstone and Helsper; 2006). Living in the 21^st century provides opportunities for businesses to not just advertise their products on television, but also on the radio, internet, posters, billboards etc. This amount of exposure means that it is hard for anyone to avoid advertising.

Gunter, Oates and Blades (2005) state that children today are exposed to a large number of television adverts trying to persuade them to choose unhealthy snacks, with little emphasis on the alternative option of healthy food. Lewis and Hill (1998) found that half of adverts aimed at children in the UK concerned unhealthy food. According to Gunter et al (2005), this heavy focus on advertising junk food could be one of the reasons childhood obesity is rising. The use of celebrity within branding on products can also have an effect on children. Gunter et al (2005) suggest that children today, particularly girls, are ‘getting older younger’ and this is due to images they see on television and in magazines of ‘the perfect model’. This has a negative impact as it encourages children to critique how they look when they should be enjoying the innocence of childhood.

Gunter et al (2005) suggest that a less controversial example of advertising is toys as they are more age appropriate. However, according to Nairn (2011), if advertisers give children a false sense of desire for a toy and in the end their parents do not get it for them, they could face being ‘brand bullied’ or left out for not having the latest product. Nairn goes on to state how one of the major motivations for children today when buying products is to not ‘appear poor’ to their peers. Therefore, she suggests that parents talk to their children about the role of consumer goods.

Gunter et al (2005) pose the question of ‘Is it fair to advertise to children unless they fully understand the intent of the advertisers?’ Beder (2009) supports this by stating how advertising is unethical as children cannot critically evaluate adverts. Consequently, Banaji (2010) encourages teachers to educate children about being ‘Adwise’, therefore, unpicking advertisements and their persuasive features to make them aware of what the real aim is.

 

Banaji, S. (2010) ‘Analysing Advertisments in the Classroom’ in Bazelgette, C. (Ed) Teaching Media in Primary Schools. London: SAGE

Beder, S. (2009) This Little Kiddy Went to Market.

Gunter, B. Oates, C. and Blades, M. (2005) Advertising to Children on TV. New Jersey, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates pp1 – 13

Kenway, J. and Bullen, E. (2001) Consuming Children.

Livingstone, S. and Helsper, E. (2006) ‘Does Advertising Literacy mediate the effects of Advertising on children? A critical examination of two linked research literatures in relation to obesity and food choice’, Journal of Communication, 56 (3):560 – 84.

Nairn, A. (2011) Compulsive Consumerism – Child Rearing in the UK. New Left Project

Blog 6: Advertising and its influence on children

‘Children have spending power’ (Gunter, 2005) and it is for this reason that children are deemed more vulnerable to the effects of advertising than adults (Benaji, 2010). Everywhere you look, there is some form of advertising on display; through television, newspapers, magazines, posters, billboards etc, and therefore it is practically impossible to protect children from its’ influence. Cooke (2002) notes how children in the United Kingdom and United States spend, on average, between 4 and 5 hours watching some form of electronic media through which advertisements are transmitted, and Kunkel and Gantz (1992) found that in the US, 10 minutes of every hour is dedicated to adverts on television. These research findings were concluded over 10 and 20 years ago, therefore it can be assumed that due to the ever-evolving and ever-increasing technology, that these figures are significantly larger in today’s society.

Advertisements are predominantly criticised for playing a negative effect on how children perceive themselves. Ross et al, (1994) acknowledged how the use of celebrities within advertisements can increase children’s liking for a product; however the use of celebrities can also be used to project idealised images to young, influential children. Martin et al, (1999) found that ‘magazine advertisements that included attractive models has the most influence on girls who had poor body image themselves’, and therefore this type of advertisement can ‘reinforce the pressures on young people to conform to ideals of beauty that are hard or impossible to achieve’ (Gunter, 2005). This form of advertisement can also lead to what Cohen and Cahill (1999) describe as ‘getting older younger’ whereby’ toys or products usually associated with a particular age group are now being bought by or for younger children’. This can be seen as the exploitation of children who have little understanding of the power advertisements hold and their persuasive nature.

Gunter (2005) poses the question of whether it is fair to advertise to children if they do not fully understand the intent of the advertisers and noted that a way to increase children’s understanding of advertising is through school education. Banaji (2010) states that teachers who wish to educate children on advertisements should approach them as ‘complicated social and media texts, unpicking their narratives in the way we might unpick written fiction’. In this way, it is proposed that children increase their ability to judge the ‘facts, opinions and persuasive content’ of advertisements (Banaji, 2005). Studying the use of persuasive writing through advertisements is a great way to engage children as it is almost certain that they have had some form of exposure to them, and is therefore providing a link with what they have seen at home to what they are learning in school, providing motivation and interest  and making the learning accessible to all children.

Banaji, S. (2010) ‘Analysing Advertisements in the Classroom’ in Bazlegetter, C. (ed.) Teaching Media in Primary Schools London: Sage

Gunter, B., Oates, C. And Blades, M. (2005) Advertising to Children on TV New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp 1 – 13.

Blog 6: Advertising

Should children learn about advertising in school and if so, what do teachers need to understand about the way in which children engage with advertising?

The purpose of advertising is to increase purchases of a product (Gunter, Oates and Blades 2005). Therefore, why are so many advertisements aimed at children as consumers? And why should children be taught about advertising in scools? 

Children purchase billions of pounds worth of products every year over the world (Gunter et al. 2005). They spend four to five hours a day accessing technological media outside of school (Cooke 2002) and with there being approximately 10 minutes of advertising in every hour of television, children are a prime target to appeal to as consumers. Therefore, teachers need to provide an education to pupils about advertising, to make them more aware of it's purpose and uses (Banaji 2010).

As a student teacher, I see advertising and examples of advertising as a great opportunity to teach children about many aspects of Literacy, for example features of persuasive writing. Although there are many other ways of teaching persuasive writing, using adverts as an example is relevant to the children and can  be much more exciting when combining the use of technology with Literacy (Monteith 2002). Through teaching this particular topic, children will become aware of the purposes of advertising. It will also increase teacher's awareness of why advertising is used and how they can be used for their ideas, rather than focussing on what the product is that the advert is trying to sell (Banaji 2010).

Children need to engage not only with advertising, but with all which is around them in the world to greater prepare them for society. If this does not happen in school, they may not receive all they need at home, leaving them with a disadvantage. Therefore, teachers and parents need to work together to provide a positive educational experience for children, allowing them to explore all aspects of the media, including advertising, for them to understand the meaning behind it.

Word count: 313

Banaji, S. (2010) ‘Analysing Advertisements in the Classroom’ in Bazelgette, C. (ed) Teaching Media in Primary Schools London: SAGE

Cooke, T. (2002) in Gunter, B. Oates, C. and Blades, M. (2005) Advertising to Children on TV New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

Gunter, B. Oates, C. and Blades, M. (2005) Advertising to Children on TV New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

Monteith, M. (2002) Teaching Primary Literacy with ICT OUP

Blog 5: Multimodal Texts

I created a Multimodal text using PowerPoint in order for children to retell the story of ‘The Gruffalo’. Prior to the lesson, I had not thought of using PowerPoint as a means for engaging with digital literacy, however I found it to be a simplistic yet effective way to create digital texts which would transfer into classrooms with ease, which children would be able to engage with to create new texts of their own or to interact with pre-existing ones. The National Curriculum (1999) states that children should be taught literacy skills through the use of ICT based texts, and Medwell, Moore, Wray and Griffiths (2012) note how ‘electronic texts are becoming more prevalent’ in every-day lives of pupils and so harnessing these types of text in our teaching is extremely important in order to keep motivation and engagement levels high and to keep learners ‘mentally active’ (Medwell et al, 2012). Electronic texts offer ‘literal interaction between texts and readers’ which printed text cannot (Medwell et al, 2012), and although printed text does and will continue to hold great precedence within classrooms, it seems only natural to progress into more digital forms of literacy as texts are ever-evolving and it seems impractical to ignore such changes.

Department for Education and Employment (1999) The National Curriculum, Handbook for primary teachers in England Qualifications and Curriculum Authority: London

Medwell, J., Moore, G., Wray, D. and Griffiths, V. (2012) Primary English Knowledge and Understanding London: Learning Matters

The Triangle

Blog 4/5: Reflections of New Technologies

Upon reflection of the use of new technologies and multi-modal texts, I think that they are extremely beneficial to providing children with an interactive and engaging learning experience. According to Bearne and Wolstencroft (2007), interaction within core lessons is crucial to engaging and motivating children. Merchant (2009) supports this by stating that visual literacy enables its users to see the possiblities for different kinds of learning relationships, different kinds of interaction and the variety of genres and purposes for literacy. However, whilst exploring the new technologies such as, jigzone, wordle and PowerPoint, I was able to understand why some teachers might feel uncomfortable or apprehensive about introducing new technologies into the classroom. Medwell, Moore, Wray and Griffith (2012) state that multi-modal dimensions of digital texts have challenged the notion of literacy, therefore, teachers are encouraged to keep lessons simple and to not let the fear of technology get in the way of creative lessons.

Merchant (2009) suggests that the central concern of visual literacy is reading and writing alongside new technologies. Therefore, by combining the two as opposed to separating them, children are able to see the links between school and home experiences more clearly. Bearne and Wolstencroft (2007) support this by stating how learning should be centered around children's experiences as many children use their experience of visual texts to give them inspiration for writing.  Additionally, according to Merchant (2009), if literacy and ICT are separated then children are more likely to lack in progression.

As most children today could be considered 'natives' to technology (Palfrey and Gasser, 2008), there is a real opportunity for lessons to be more pupil-lead. Evans (2004), therefore, suggests that it is the teacher's role to allow pupils time to experiment with PowerPoint, the internet and other multi-modal texts at their disposal to decide for themselves how to make creative use of new media. I believe that through the incorporation of ICT in literacy, teachers will be providing children with more opportunities to access 'effective learning' that is of a similar experience to their home life (Walsh; 2010).

Bearne, E. Wolstencroft, H. (2007) Visual Approaches to Teaching Writing: Multi-modal Literacy 5-11. London, SAGE.

Evans, A. (2004) The Joys of Text. London, TES Magazine.

Medwell, J. Moore, G. Wray, D. Griffiths, V. (2012) Primary English Knowledge and Understanding. London, Learning Matters

Merchant, G. (2009) Literacy in Virtual Worlds. Journal of Research in Reading, Volume 32, Issue 1, 2009, pp 38–56

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

Walsh, M. (2010) 'Multi-modal literacy: what does it mean for classroom practice?' Australian Journal of Language and Literacy 33 (3) pp211-239

Blog 5

Multimodal texts are used throughout daily life with the expansion of new technologies. They come in a variety of forms such as blogs, powerpoint, websites, social networking and wikis (Walsh 2010). The use of these in the classroom is widely debated and although much evidence shows they can be an extremely valuable tool for teaching, the confidence of teachers can hinder children’s experiences with these (Dean 2010).
Multimodal literacy combines reading, writing, speaking and listening for children to develop their Literacy skills and technological awareness. As a trainee teacher, my confidence with multimodal texts has been limited until recently because of a lack of experience with a variety of technology myself and to improve this I need to work with technology and the media, rather than against it (Dean 2010). However, from further reading I have been able to recognise simple and exciting ways to engage children and further their Literacy knowledge. The use of multimodal texts also allows children to develop a range of further skills, for example, when reading on screen children have to take into account symbols and scrolling and the different ways of reading than turning the pages (Medwell et al 2012).
Another apparent factor in the use of multimodal texts is the legal requirement for children to be taught reading and writing through a range of ICT based texts (DfES 1999). This can be done through different tools because there is such a wide range of programs and resources available and the internet gives children all of these at their fingertips. Therefore, as a trainee teacher I need to become aware of these resources so children can gain as much as possible from their education in my classroom.

DfES (1999) The National Curriculum DfES: London
Dean, G. 'Rethinking Literacy' in Bazalgette, C. (ed) (2010) Teaching Media in Primary Classrooms London: SAGE
Medwell, J., Moore, G., Wray, D. and Griffiths, V. (2012) Primary English Knowledge and Understanding London: Learning Matters
Walsh, M. (2010) ‘Multimodal literacy: what does it mean for classroom practice?’ Australian Journal of Language and Literacy 33 (3) pp211 – 239 (in reading pack)

Blog 5

Multimodal texts are used throughout daily life with the expansion of new technologies. They come in a variety of forms such as blogs, powerpoint, websites, social networking and wikis (Walsh 2010). The use of these in the classroom is widely debated and although much evidence shows they can be an extremely valuable tool for teaching, the confidence of teachers can hinder children’s experiences with these (Dean 2010).
Multimodal literacy combines reading, writing, speaking and listening for children to develop their Literacy skills and technological awareness. As a trainee teacher, my confidence with multimodal texts has been limited until recently because of a lack of experience with a variety of technology myself and to improve this I need to work with technology and the media, rather than against it (Dean 2010). However, from further reading I have been able to recognise simple and exciting ways to engage children and further their Literacy knowledge. The use of multimodal texts also allows children to develop a range of further skills, for example, when reading on screen children have to take into account symbols and scrolling and the different ways of reading than turning the pages (Medwell et al 2012).
Another apparent factor in the use of multimodal texts is the legal requirement for children to be taught reading and writing through a range of ICT based texts (DfES 1999). This can be done through different tools because there is such a wide range of programs and resources available and the internet gives children all of these at their fingertips. Therefore, as a trainee teacher I need to become aware of these resources so children can gain as much as possible from their education in my classroom.

DfES (1999) The National Curriculum DfES: London
Dean, G. 'Rethinking Literacy' in Bazalgette, C. (ed) (2010) Teaching Media in Primary Classrooms London: SAGE
Medwell, J., Moore, G., Wray, D. and Griffiths, V. (2012) Primary English Knowledge and Understanding London: Learning Matters
Walsh, M. (2010) ‘Multimodal literacy: what does it mean for classroom practice?’ Australian Journal of Language and Literacy 33 (3) pp211 – 239 (in reading pack)

Blog 5 Katrina Horn

Burnett, Dickinson , Myers and Merchant (2006) state that new smart boards have replace the old blackboards, in doing so it has seemed to transform teachers pedagogical approaches in how to teach literacy. I chose to a simple PowerPoint that can be placed onto one of these smart boards that was to with sequencing a fairy tale. This PowerPoint could be use in both Key Stages in the National Curriculum (1999) with Key Stage 1 sequencing the fairytale (3b, p. 47)and key Stage 2 children could develop their understanding of character and plot etc (4c, p. 53) are identified as the lower half of the PowerPoint has been left blank for their contribution. Burnett et al (2006) suggest that quite often some teachers tend to avoid technology as much as possible. I have until recently tried to avoid technology as I have described myself in previous blogs to be a 'digital immigrant' and was very afraid of using technology. Having the opportunity to see different multimodal ways in which to teach literacy I am now beginning to build some confidence in trying new approaches.

Burnett, C, Dickinson, P, Myers, J and Merchant, G (2006) 'Digital connections: transforming literacy in the primary school' Cambridge Journal of Education 36 (1) pp. 11-29 (see online)
Http://extra.shu.ac.uk/bvw/Cambridge%20Journal%20piece.pdf

Department for Education and Employment (1999) The National Curriculum, Handbook for primary teachers in England Qualifications and Curriculum Authority: London

Using Powerpoint to create a multimodel text

Prior to the seminar, I had a very limited view as to what powerpoint could be used for. Modwell, Moore, Wray &  Griffiths (2012) believe that ‘children should be taught the skills of reading and writing through ICT based texts’, and as a trainee practitioner, I feel that using such software in the classroom will be both a manageable and enjoyable task. Within the 21^st century classroom, it is suggested that we need to extend the definition of literacy to include ICT based texts (Modwell et al 2012). I feel that by incorporating such texts into classrooms, it will benefit the learning of children, especially boys, as they tend to use visual texts as a means of escaping the hard work involving continuous prose (Moss 1999 as cited in Millard & Marsh 2007) thus making reading and writing an meaningful task which is accessible to all. 

Blog 5: Multimodal texts

 

Blog Task:
When creating this multimodal text, I was able to present my story using images and text.  I enjoyed this way of working as it appears to be much more forgiving and less permanent than printed texts.  According to Medwell, Moore, Wray and Griffiths (2012) there is a growing need for electronic texts as computers are now used for a multitude of daily tasks.  They also state that electronic texts are more literally interactive than printed texts, which is more engaging (Medwell et al, 2012).  I agree with this, however I do not believe that it should eradicate printed texts altogether - it simply provides a different context for children to create texts.   Using PowerPoint to create electronic texts is something I hadn't previously considered, however after having done this myself I can see that it has numerous benefits across a variety of subjects.

Medwell, J., Moore, G., Wray, D. and Griffiths, V. (2012) Primary English Knowledge and Understanding London: Learning Matters

Blog 4: Harnessing new technologies

After exploring a wide range of new technologies, I have a greater understanding of the use of multimodal texts in the classroom, and am in support of the view that using these technologies provide children with the skills, knowledge and understanding that they will need to become ‘a full and active part in social cultural, economic, civic and intellectual life now and in the future’ (Futurelab, 2010). Leu (2000) has acknowledged that ‘new literacies, whether intentionally or unintentionally, impact literacy instruction in classrooms’ (Halsey, 2007) and so using them to our advantage to engage and motivate children is imperative.

Whilst engaging in the creation of multimodal texts myself, I can understand the apprehension some teachers face, and why they feel they may be constrained by their own limited, print-based understandings of literacy (Halsey, 2007). According to Palfrey and Gasser (2008) I am a ‘Digital Native’ who was born into an era where new technologies were established; however, as Leu (2000) noted, ‘the nature of literacy is rapidly and continuously redefined by changing technologies in this information age (Halsey, 2007) and so, even for those classed as ‘digital natives’, teachers are feeling ‘inadequate or under-prepared’ to incorporate and harness these new technologies in their classrooms. I feel more prepared to integrate these new technologies after having adequate time allocated to exploring and experimenting with them, which supports Dean’s (2010) opinion that teachers need to be provided with the opportunities to develop their use of media in order to build the confidence required to harness the technology growing around us. I created multimodal texts using ‘Tagxedo’ , ‘Wordle’ and ‘Jigzone’. Using these within a classroom would provide children with another context for learning (Futurelab, 2010), and using them alongside existing methods, rather than as a separate body of work, would deepen children’s’ understanding in literacy, whilst at the same time inspiring and motivating them to learn.

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

Futurelab (2010) Digital Literacy Across the Curriculum: Digital Literacy in Practice [online]http://www2.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/handbooks/digital_literacy.pdf [Accessed 12.02.13]

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) pp99-107

Leu, D. (2000). Literacy and technology: Deictic consequences for literacy education in an information age. In M. Kamil, P. Mosenthal, P. Pearson & R. Barr, (Eds.), Handbook of reading research: Volume III (pp. 743-770). Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates. In 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) pp99-107

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

Turning powerpoint in to a media file

Blog 4: Harnessing new technologies

Harnessing new technologies

In recent years, there has been a rapid emergence of new digital technologies ‘which have offered up the possibility of extending and deepening classroom learning’ (John & Sutherland 2005 as cited in Beauchamp 2012: 1). It is suggested that ‘as educators, we have no choice about inhabiting this technological environment, [as] it is very much with us and is highly unlikely to go away’ (Rudd & Tyldesly 2006: 1). Abbott (2002) states ‘we have moved from a simplistic view that books and computers are in opposition, and we now recognize that using ICT to read and write is part of being literate’ (Abbott 2002: 4). The emergence of digital literacy enables children to develop skills, knowledge and understanding whilst engaging with new digital technologies (Futurelab 2010). Although digital technologies are developing, and ‘some teachers feel that their own functional skills are not as developed as their students’, (Futurelab 2010: 22) Merchant (2009) found that introducing them into the classroom is encouraged by both policy-makers and educators. As practitioners, including digital literacy in the classroom comes with strengths and limitations. With pupils growing up in a technology driven world, they can bring their pre-existing knowledge and apply it digital literacy (Futurelab 2010: 24), potentially enhancing their understanding within the curricular subject. However, the use of digital technologies is under scrutiny due to the safety issues surrounding it. If as teachers we are to use digital technologies to introduce digital literacy, it is of high importance to make the links to e-safety explicit to children (Futurelab 2010). Reflecting on the use of new technologies such as Jigsawzone and Tagxedo, the use of digital literacy is a new and creative means of teaching children, fostering their creativity in a way that pupils enjoy and commit to (DfES/QCA 1999: 3). As future practitioners have been at school, the advances in technology have meant that literacy Is not same, and we should endeavor to facilitate children with current technologies as ‘the literacy of yesterday, is not the literacy of today, and will not be the literacy of tomorrow’ (Leu 2000 as cited in Halsey 2007: 104).

Bibliography

Abbott, C. (2002) ‘ICT & Literacy Teaching’ Reading: National Centre for Language and Literacy

Beauchamp, G. (2012) ‘ICT in the Primary School: From Pedagogy to Practice’ Essex: Pearson Education Limited

DfES/QCA. (1999) ‘The National Curriculum: Handbook for Teachers in England’ London: DfES/QCA

Futurelab (2010) Digital Literacy Across the Curriculum: Digital Literacy in Practice [online]http://www2.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/handbooks/digital_literacy.pdf (Accessed 11/2/13)

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) pp99-107

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

Wyse, D. & Jones, R. (2008) (2^nd Ed) ‘Teaching English, Language & Literacy’ Abingdon: Routledge

Week 4: Creating texts using technology

Blog 4: Harnessing New Technologies

Unlike our own generation’s childhoods, there is a vast amount of technologies which can help children to create almost anything (Futurelab, 2010). Whilst some teachers are concerned that Digital Natives are more competent than our generation of Digital immigrants (Palfrey and Gasser, 2008), it is vitally important that we learn how to foster children's digital literacy, as teachers ‘are still more equipped with higher order critical thinking skills and the subject knowledge to apply to digital technologies’ (Futurelab, 2010:p22).  Halsey (2007) is an example of where this has been successful.  The teacher created a class website which gave children an authentic audience, therefore increasing motivation and emphasizing a purpose (Halsey, 2007).  This is something I would be interested in doing in practice, as it can be an exciting on-going project which children could run parts of themselves. 

 

Whilst the functional skills of using technology are often presumed to be only taught in ICT, these could debatably be learnt and practiced amongst other subjects (Futurelab, 2010).  Learning these skills can also be child-led, as encouraging children to experiment with technology can enable them to learn from mistakes, along with considering appropriateness of the technologies for particular tasks (Futurelab, 2010). 

 

When creating multimodal texts using ‘tagxedo’, I was able to create a word cloud based on ‘The Three Little Pigs’.  This text appears to be an effective way of enabling children to consolidate some of the vocabulary they have learnt, as well as being appropriate for many subjects.   However, as Futurelab (2010) suggests, technologies are not a starting point for learning, they provide another context for learning.  Furthermore, as teachers we should strive to learn about these technologies in order to support children, as ‘fostering digital literacy is an on-going process’ (Futurelab, 2010:p21).  Technologies such as word clouds and blogs appear to provide exciting and meaningful opportunities for children therefore according to Halsey (2007), digital literacy should be embraced.

 

Futurelab (2010) Digital Literacy Across the Curriculum: Digital Literacy in Practice [online] http://www2.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/handbooks/digital_literacy.pdf (Accessed 10.02.13)

 

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) pp99-107

 

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

Blog 4 Katrina Horn

Harnessing new technologies ‘a reflection’

 Having a greater understanding of digital technology allows teachers to build upon their own subject knowledge which they can use to scaffold children’s digital literacy skills. Using a multimodal context within the classroom will help children to gain collaborative, creative and critical understanding of literacy according to Futurelab (2010) There are a variety of ways that this can be accomplished such as linking phones that have video footage to film making (Futurelab 2010), which is a form of storytelling; through to class website that again help children to work in a collaboration thus gaining social skills (Hasley 2007). However I used Tagxedo which is similar to wordle and felt that this could be a great tool for writing such as storytelling and poetry as children can build their word banks up to use within the frame of the picture, this allows children to keep focused on what their purpose is, whilst still being creative. Boyd (2010) agrees, suggesting that this is a simple tool that can help children to ‘build their vocabulary on a whole range of topics’. One of the biggest benefits to having a multimodal classroom is that it inspires, motivates and challenges children, at the same time being achievable to every child, whatever their ability (Hasley, 2010)     

As a ‘digital immigrant’ (Futurelab, 2010) I find it very daunting when thinking how to teach digital literacy to children in a way which will motivate and inspire them to progress with their literacy knowledge through different modes. However, according to Fountain, 2005; Huffaker, 2005 and Valenza, 2006 (cited in Hasley, 2007, p 104) ‘web based technologies are an ideal entry point, as they require little technological expertise’ this will be something worth considering when looking for inspiring lesson concerning literacy.

Word count 294

Boyd, B. (2010) The Literacy Adviser, Literacy for the 21^st Century [Online]                               http:// www.literacyadviser.wordpress.com/tag/tagxedo (Accessed 10.02.2013)

Futurelab (2010) Digital Literacy Across the Curriculum [Online] http://www2.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/handbooks/digital_literacy.pdf

Hasley, 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