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!
1 comment:
...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...
What are these basics? Learning to switch on a TV / DVD /VCR (about to go to the great scrapheap in the sky) play games like Wii, use a video camera, digital still camera... others?
..Further up the years I believe that the children use more ICT programmes that help with their subject areas such as science and history...
Writing tool, reading tool, research tool, creative tool, thinking tool, investigative tool, entertainment tool, communication tool, collaborative tool, sharing tool, teaching tool, cooperative tool, learning tool... |Ant other way we can use it in school, or at home?
Useful comments - thank you. I really think we need to look at ICT from a wider perspective if we want to understand its true potential. We need to use it far more imaginatively in schools.
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