Interactive Whiteboard

The benefits of technology that is wireless are indisputable! Keyboards that can be passed around the classroom provide teachers with the freedom to use the interactive whiteboard as part of an interactive lesson where children can contribute to the work. The children can type a contribution to the lesson using the wireless keyboard and then pass it on so that the next pupil can also type something. The interactive whiteboard can also be used to allow the children chance to move things around the screen and participate using the coloured interactive pens that are available.

http://www.shanballyns.ie/2007%202008%20images/Interactive%20Whiteboards1.jpg

Youtube Ban!

Schools are locking down the access that teachers can have to worldwide popular and very useful sites. Schools are being stopped from accessing such sites as Youtube, Flickr and the majority of social networking sites due to concerns that inappropriate content may potentially be looked at. At the school where I have just been observing there was a need for a clip of ‘chick’ being hatched from a egg as part of a science lesson. The teacher had no video or dvd that could be played and so i suggested that there would be loads of clips on Youtube that the children could watch and use in their science lesson. I was then informed that no access was available to Youtube at school nor could any videos downloaded from Youtube at home, later be played at school. I can understand why there maybe concerns as to whether pupils should have access to it but in regards to teachers who could use is valuably for teacher purposes – it is awful that they are deprived of such a resource. Youtube is being used to teach children across the world and in universities etc today – there is no reason that primary schools should be stopping their teachers having access to it!

Dazzle Art Software

Firework Art with Dazzle!

Having just finished my Serial Placement week at a local primary school, I was surprised by the amount of ICT there is available in the school (some of which was rarely used). Having spoken to the ICT man who works full time with the school he thought that a lot of improvements could be made especially in regards to the software used – but he had more experience of what ICT was advanced and what was not. Obviously the amount of ICT that is useful for each class varies depending on their Year Groups and the capabilities of the individual teachers. Interactive whiteboards are available in most classes and in the cases there is not one, a device is used which converts the regular whiteboard into an interactive one. In the early stages of primary school, years R and 1, it is very hard to integrate ICT fully into the lessons the children do because the focus is on the children learning to write and read not work computers. The basics of ICT are introduced at this stage but it is not the main focus of the lessons. Further up the years I believe that the children use more ICT programmes that help with their subject areas such as science and history. The main programme I came across was a programme called DAZZLE which the classes used during their Art lessons. The programme is fairly similar to Paint but it allows the children to use a whole variety of more exciting colours and use different techniques to blur or enhance different parts of the pictures they draw. Since it has been Bonfire Night this week the children focused on creating pictures of fireworks and bonfires. The Dazzle programme allowed them to be imaginative and explore the various ways you can make effects such as explosions and flames!