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.