Range and Purpose of Technologies (ICT)

The Technologies covers a wide range of subject areas which are relevant to our everyday lifes. In reading the introductory statements for the Technologies experiences and outcomes it is clear that many skills are tackled and developed through this subject. In my opinion, the following statement sums up effectively the amount of aspects covered by the ‘Technologies’…

‘creative, practical and work-related experiences and outcomes in business, computing science, food, textiles, craft, design, engineering, graphics and applied technologies.’ (Scottish Government;Unknown)

The above statement shows the various different areas covered within the Technologies Experiences and Outcomes. The main purpose of the Technologies is therefore to make children aware of the impact technology has on our society today but also how to use this effectively in order to protect our environment and to become sustainable.

After looking at the main areas covered in these experiences and outcomes, I now intend to look at the purpose of ICT within The Technologies.

ICT skills are vital within todays society as technology is so prevelent. The main purpose of ICT in my opinion is to enhance the use of new technologies emerging and having the knowledge and understanding to use these. ICT

‘refers to forms of technology that are used to transmit, store, create, display, share or exchange information by electronic means.’ (Scottish Government, Unknown) as stated in the Technologies Principles and Practice document.

 ‘ICT  brings together different forms of technologies and uses them for communication and learning’  as discussed in the Priniciples and Practice Document (Scottish Governement; Unknown)  this is also highlighted in the Curriculum for Excellence Four Capacities document where it is stated that ‘Successful Learners’ will be to ‘use Technology for Learning’ (Scottish Government;2007).

To conclude, ICT is vital to the progression of society and can also be used effectively to enhance the learning of children through Curriculum for Excellence.

 

Lesson ideas based on one Experience and Outcome

There are many experiences and outcomes related to the use of ICT to enhance the learning of the children. In this blog post I intend to look in more depth and one of these experiences and outcomes and come up with some thoughts and ideas of ways in which I could teach this to a class of children.

The Experience and Outcome I have chosen to look at is :

‘Throughout all my learning, I can use search facilities of electronic sources to access and retrieve information, recognising the importance this has in my place of learning, at home and in the workplace.’ TCH 2-03b

Lesson One: It is obvious to us that the internet is a great tool and you can find out fasinating things using it. However, in my opinion it is very important that before we begin showing children how to use search facilities, they must first know how to use the internet safely. At this stage I feel it would be appropriate to use tools such as the CEOP’s site to show children about the hazards of the internet and make sure they know the risks to them in school, at home etc. It would also be very important to say however what an amazing thing the internet is and make sure not to scare the children and put them off using it.

Lesson Two: After the children undertand the hazards that can occur using the internet, this experience and outcome would be a great link into the topic work the class are doing at this point in time. To demonstrate a benefit of the internet over other sources, I would show that you can get much more current imformation on the internet where as texts go out of date and can have inaccurate data. These search engines can be used to form a piece of research about their topic; perhaps creating a fact wall or a time line if each child was asked to find an interesting fact about their topic.

To conclude, there are many ways in which each experience and outcome could be approached but each of them will allow the children to see how important ICT is in the 21st century.

ICT Technologies Principles and Practices

ICT is a broad subject which applies and can benefit a vast range of the curricular areas. Whilst reading the ‘Technologies Principles and Practice’ document it became apparent to me that whilst ICT has importance throughout the Technologies there are some key aspects which stand out as being more important to the particular subject. Some of these aspects I have picked out and will discuss below.

ICT plays a major part in our current lifes and the way in which our lifes are run. Everyday, new technology is emerging and I feel that it is vitally important that the future generations of our country are confident with how much ICT impacts upon the way we live our life. This is highlighted in the principles and practice document when they discuss how important it currently is for children to

‘broaden their understanding of the role that information and communications technology (ICT) has in Scotland and in the global community’.

With this in mind it is also vitally important that children have a good grasp of how technology works so they are confident now and as new technology emerges in the future. This is highlighted through the below statement.

Through A Curriculum for Excellence we aim to encourage children to

‘gain the skills and confidence to embrace and use technologies now and in the future, at home, at work and in the wider community’

With all this said, it can be seen that ICT has a huge impact on the way in which children learn in school, ICT also gives a great opportunity to incorporate active learning. Finally, the experiences and outcomes that are encouraged in A Curriculum for Excellence offer great opportunities to develop the four capacities and the essential skills required to succeed in life. These I feel are the key aspects of ICT.

ICT Task 1-IWB

What is an Interactive Whiteboard? Interactive whiteboards are powerful teaching tools which are becoming more popular across schools in every stage. They allow teachers to create dynamic lessons and they encourage active learning.

So, how do we use them? Once an interactive whiteboard is linked to a computer it becomes a ‘live’ computer desktop on the wall. These are noramally linked through USB connections and some use bluetooth connections. Once the board is up and running you can then use an interactive pen or on newer models your fingers/hand to do exactly what you would do on a computer desktop and more such as creating interactive lessons.

And finally, why use and interavtive whiteboard in your lessons? Well there are many positive reasons to encorporate an interavtive whiteboard in your lessons for example, it makes the lesson active and involves the children, it increases the pace of the lessons and can enhance demonstrating.

‘In English, for example, the use of interactive whiteboards can
support aspects of shared writing. The process of planning
and composition is demonstrated by the teacher and writing
is modified and adapted on screen through interaction and
discussion with pupils.’ (Getting the most from your
interactive whiteboard: A guide for primary schools)

 This can also be applied to a variety of curricular areas for example the Students’ ideas could be written directly on the whiteboard and the class can mindmap their ideas in an organised fashion whilst discussing any topic. Overall, I feel interactive whiteboards can enhance many lessons by encouraging the class to work as a whole and by making it more exciting. Having said this, it is important to make sure that what you are teaching using the whiteboard is appropriate to their learning.

Initial Reading

During my preperation for my first BEd 1 assignment I have read a variety of different texts. One which I found very helpful for a variety of different areas was ‘Beginning Teacging Beginning Learning; 4th Edition; Moyles, Geogreson and Payler’. 

This book covers a variety of different areas, from an insight into specific curricular areas for example Ch 12 which I read in detail in relation to my assignment ‘Encouraging enquiry: Exploring the world around us’ to classroom management and behaviour. At the end of each chapter it also provides you with links to other reading related to the chapter topic.

I found this book particularly helpful as throughout it, it used case studies which I find more effective as I can picture the theory they are discussing in practice much more easily. The book was also helpful for me as I said above it also pointed me in the direction of other related reading which led me onto various other areas of similar topics.

Overall, I found this book great, it helped me with an initial introduction to a number of the areas I wished to look at.

Intial Feelings

During my initial weeks at University I have learnt a variety of differend things, however there are a few that stick out in my mind as being more important than others. Firstly, I think our French workshops have been invaluable. They have allowed us time to make and look at a variety of resources which are relevant to teaching modern languages but some of which can be attapted to other curricular areas. These workshops have also been very enjoyable and interesting. The other aspect that I have enjoyed greatly has been Geography, as I have always had a passion for this subject. I feel the lectures have brought it to my attention how much I will love teaching this subject in the future!