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)
I think your point about being trained to use the program Espresso is interesting. I have luckily been trained to use the software 'ActivInpsire' but am yet to find a school that not only has it but also uses it effectively within the classroom. I think that sometimes teachers are sent on training courses for the sake of the school 'ticking a box'.
ReplyDeleteOur school only used Espresso for phonics in teaching EAL learners the English language, yet it had so much more to offer. It was updated every day with a thought of the day or video of the day and even something like that to promote discussion links ICT with talk. It's a shame tos ee them go to waste but I really do think from this module we will all have a bank of resources to draw upon and use in our claassrooms.
ReplyDeleteOn SE I helped to set up 'Merlin' which is a really good platform for children to be introduced to aspects of ICT. Although it was not solely used for literacy, it was a home school arrangement with children having passwords to activate at home as well as school. It also had boxes in which teachers could place various pieces such as E-safety which has been discussed in previous blogs so that school parent partnership could take place. I got quite excited because in one of the boxes we decided to place 'phonics play' so the children could build on their phonetical awareness through fun either in the school or in the home environment. With this knowledge and the module we are in I, like yourself Alice, feel more confident in placing and teaching within a multimodal environment.
ReplyDeleteGreat its nice to see you all discussing the positive aspects of using ICT and infact to be honest its great to see you discussing ICT as it does seem to be a an area that teachers are wary of and use either to search the web or tick boxes as you state Beth , over the years millions of pounds has been spent on the introduction of ICt programs and training for teachers but I still hear so many tales of bad practise when as Tom demonstrated so well it can be the easiest thing in the world to use and the children gain so much from it. IT will take a few like minded teachers in a school to ensure that ICT is embeded in Literacy and basically acroos the curriculum because everything we have been doing in literacy can be used equally well in other subjects
ReplyDeleteSorry it's taken me so long to reply!I love the idea of parent partnerships and using technology to promote that. Whilst on SE so many of the children were saying about heir parents being on the computers and social networking etc. and I think a school could use that to their advantage by allowing teachers and parents to have conversations about the school and education. An issue with this would obviously be privacy and confidentiality. However, I think the more the parents are involved the better. Whilst thinking about my confidence I also think I would be more confident in speaking up in school and suggesting to other teachers trying to use technology. I don't know if anyone else feels this way?
ReplyDelete