So, this week was the final ICT session, and the time to present out assessment presentation! Nerve wracking stuff! We were grouped into threes, and I was paired up with Miss Lynch and Miss Cruz - both are great with ICT, and we gave our presentations to each other to be peer assessed.
I thought we all did really well, all of us producing attractive and fun presentations that children would be sure to enjoy! After we gave the presentation, we were given a short period of time to reflect on our presentations, as well as the ICT module in general.
Overall, I felt the presentation went really well! I had produced a colourful and attractive presentation (See below for one of the slides) and I felt I produced some really engaging activities such as the erase to reveal (below), magic magnifying glass and click and drag!
I felt I had included lots of opportunities for discussion, as well as providing for SEN and EAL children and providing a good justification for the use of ICT.
The one thing I felt I could have done better is further explain what exactly would have occurred in the lesson prior to this plenary exercise. I would have also liked to include some more fun activities such as 'magic tunnel' (talked about in the IWB blog) as that provides excellent assessment opportunities.
Overall, it went well. As has the ICT module in general. And with so many opportunities to engage with ICT within the classroom, I cannot wait to get into a classroom of my own and explore the amazing opportunities!
Have a great Christmas! That's all from me folks, stay safe!
This weeks ICT workshop was an extremely enjoyable session! Today we focused on the potential benefits that gaming can have on children's development. As the proud owner of virtually every computer gaming console under the sun, this is an area I took a particular interest too. To ease us into the concept of gaming, and to take us away from the programming we have been focusing on for the last few weeks, we began the session looking at the program Kodu Game Lab, an interesting piece of software that combines the two.
Kodu combines the world of programming and gaming by allowing children to create their own worlds and games within them. While this software may appear much more complicated that some of the previously mentioned programs, it works using the same procedural based operations mechanisms. For children who enjoy gaming outside of the classroom, this program provides a great opportunity for children to develop their programming abilities while developing games much like the ones they play on a day to day basis.
By allowing children to create their own, personalised worlds, they are much more likely engage with it and enjoy learning to program and is therefore an excellent program to consider when teaching the older children in the primary school.
Engaging the children is an important aspect when considering the application of gaming in the classroom! The majority of children would love to play a game as opposed to a traditional lesson, so opportunities to combine both learning and gaming should be jumped upon. Another program that children love to use is Dance to Advance! Dance to advance combines opportunities for learning with the popular dance mat technology!
In this program children are asked a series of questions where the answer corresponds to one of the positions on the dance mat. As you can see from the above example, the questions can cover any topic meaning this software can be used in any subject! Not only do the children improve their knowledge but also motor abilities and coordination as well as having a whale of a time doing so!
In the video below, we can see a teacher using the popular 'Myst' game series to really engage with the children in order to develop their literacy skills, in this case, their ability to create good metaphors! Literacy is a subject that boys in particular struggle to engage with and therefore the use of gaming to encourage good work is a great idea!
Online Simulation Games
Similar to modelling software, simulation games allow children to explore different outcomes by changing certain variables. Simulations are commonly used in many vocations and therefore simulation games are an excellent opportunity for children to get hands on experience early on in their life. Experience with simulation games improves children's ability to identify patterns and make predictions! There are many websites available with a whole range of free games such as KENT ICT and Learning4Good ! Go check them out!
Here are a couple of examples of some of the Simulation Games we played around with in our session:
The roller coaster simulator allows children to create their own roller coaster using their knowledge of physics. Great fun but sometimes a little frustrating!
The parachute simulator allows you to choose the size of the parachute depending on wind speed etc. to attempt to get a little man to land on a set platform! Once again, great fun and requires logical thinking from the start!
Other cool ICT ideas for the classroom! As well as the many games, we also took time to check out a couple of cool little programs that could spice up a lesson using ICT! The first was called Wordle , a cool little website that allows you to create word clouds or other nice displays from your own text that you can input yourself. Check out the one below to get some cool ideas for displays or even book covers! The next is called Voki, which allows you to create talking avatars that can be used to give instructions or ask questions! Not a bad idea if you want to set up a morning activity for the children but you're still rushing around sorting things out for the day! The children could simply come in a play the Voki to get there task! Sounds great right?
<--- Wordle Voki --->
And Finally...
M - Learning
Well we've already covered what E - Learning is (Check out the earlier blogs for more info!) but what does M - Learning stand for? Well M - learning is the next big thing. Standing for Mobile learning, the use of mobile technology such as iPods and iPads have become commonplace in some classrooms. In today's society children as young as 2 can find their way around a iPad, so its not surprising to find, with a range of incredible Apps at your finger tips, that M - Learning is quickly becoming a favorite way of engaging children within the classroom. More mobile than a laptop/computer, devices can be carried around with the children whilst they experiment and they often come with built in cameras meaning children can snap away whilst they work to record what they're doing! Awesome! We're all in for a bright future my friends! But for now, stay safe!
Buenos Dias amigos! This weeks session focused on the use of computer modelling and programming in the classroom. Computer modelling allows children to explore the questions such as 'what if?' and allows them to trial and plan things such as designs and experiments using computer software before before committing to anything in real life. Computer Modelling Computer modelling is a great skill for children to develop as in today's modern society, computer modelling is used in most professions. From architects planning buildings, the building of aircraft (and spacecrafts!) to the computer trialling of new medicines, computer modelling plays an important role in a modern society. For this reason, it is important for children can get a head start and that is why computer modelling skills can be developed as early the as foundation stage. There are many programs available that children can use from a very early age in order to improve their modelling skills. These include My Modelling Toolkit and 2simple, both of which contain many activities for children to design and create a variety of items/scenes. My Modelling Toolkit contains games that include designing a space monster, dressing a baby and creating your own bedroom. These games provide an endless opportuniy for cross curricular links as well as improving children's ICT skills. For example, think about a child who has just created this monster (<----). A child could go on to make a model of it in D.T, paint a picture of it in Art or even write a creative piece about it in Literacy. The possibilities are endless!
2simple is a similar idea. Found on the purplemash website, 2simple software includes programs such as 2design and 2simulate. These allow children to once again create a variety of items virtually before committing to creating the real life object. Such items include: Nets of cubes, houses or vehicles. Once again, the opportunities for cross
curricular links to mathematics or design technology are huge. This activities are also suitable for any ability group; from Key Stage 1, where chan can focus on
creating a simple objects to high ability Key Stage 2 children, who can experiment with
creating their own models and nets.
As well as 2simple and My Modelling Toolkit, there are hundred of other websites and a huge variety of software out there waiting to be used! I really recommend checking some websites such as the kent trust and Poisson Rouge as these contain a multitude of games and modelling programs that can provide great opportunities for children to not only master their ICT skills but to improve hollistically across other subject areas.
Computer Programming The second half of the session was devoted to looking at computer programming possibilities. While we have already looked at some programmable hardware such as the Beebots and Pippins mentioned in previous blogs. Programming software also offers a large range of benefits to children.
Once again, there is a range of software available that is suitable for all age ranges. 2simple once again provide a great starting point with the program 2go! This is a simple program that allows children to control simple objects using basic instructions
This kind of software gives a child a basic introduction to the concept of programming, especially allowing them to realise that most electrical equipment in modern society works using programming and we only push the button to start it! Microsoft Logo is another great program for children to begin designing more complex objects using detailed programming. Children can use simple commands such as "forward 10" to draw and create patterns. By helping to build upon the procedure technique developed using simple programming software and hardware, logo can really help build skills such as spatial awareness and logical thinking.
Scratch is a another great piece of softwarethat enables children to improve their programming abilities. Scratch allows children to create interactive story boards using avatars, movement and sounds. This is a great program as it can be used across all areas of the curriculum, especially literacy. Once complete the story boards can be shared online for others to watch which can really encourage the children to work hard on it! For more information on Scratch check out this cool video introduction:
Hope you enjoy using the extremely cool tool that is computer programming! It's really worth checking out but that's all for now folks! Stay safe!
