I am going to comment on the use of discussion boards in schools and how useful they can be.
Would the children be able to use them effectively? I find it useful although there is somethimes too much to be able to look at what everyone is saying, and I think children would find this very overwhelming and might be out off using the board if there is too much going on - at school I think the format would need to be simplified for children to find them useful.
However, I would be happy to introduce them to a class of children competant on computers. I would explain to the parents what this would involve as I feel parents can sometimes be nervous of their children writing on the internet as they may not be fully aware of how the information is shared.
Children would be able to comment on the topics being covered in school and develop their own discussions through this will can be rewarding and will help in their understanding.
Wednesday 12 December 2007
I found a problem!!
I have just found an issue with this blog - it will not let me copy my graphs onto my post for you to see. Any advice s welome!
Using graphs - how useful are they? What do you need to include?
Graph 1 - Comment on the shortcomings of the following graphs, and suggest improvements which might be made.
How useful is this graph? What are its main shortcomings?
Graph 1 is not very useful at all. There is no title, no units for the values displayed and no description of what the graph is showing.
Graph 2 again displays no heading, units for values or description. Furthermore, the two sets of data for distance and time have been displayed separately rather than correlated together to produce one line.
In Graph 3 this mistake has been rectified, but the other limitations still exhist and make the graph rather unhelpful. The data could be better represented as follows:
Graph 4 could represent an offroad bike race, which would account for the increase in time to cover the same distance at points on the graph, as the ground may have become more uneven at these points and have taken more time to cover. The data could be displayed as follows:
How useful is this graph? What are its main shortcomings?
Graph 1 is not very useful at all. There is no title, no units for the values displayed and no description of what the graph is showing.
Graph 2 again displays no heading, units for values or description. Furthermore, the two sets of data for distance and time have been displayed separately rather than correlated together to produce one line.
In Graph 3 this mistake has been rectified, but the other limitations still exhist and make the graph rather unhelpful. The data could be better represented as follows:
Graph 4 could represent an offroad bike race, which would account for the increase in time to cover the same distance at points on the graph, as the ground may have become more uneven at these points and have taken more time to cover. The data could be displayed as follows:
Saturday 24 November 2007
www.everyclick.com
http://www.everyclick.com
Welcome to the free online fundraising tool that helps charities raise extra money whenever you search the web using Everyclick.com
Wednesday 14 November 2007
Davies – ‘Keeping computers in their place’ (2003)
The author makes some interesting arguments in this article about the extent of the influence of software programmes in teaching in schools. The main argument focuses in the control that software developers can have over the curriculum, and the impact this will therefore have on learning. The article highlights the limitations of the software programmes in terms of their practicality and flexibility when being used in the classroom. It also comments of the need for suitable infrastructure in a school to manage the technology required (wireless systems, in cabinets to be moved around the school).
The greatest issue highlighted is that teachers are lacking in the skills to be able to work these new systems with confidence in front of a class, which is a barrier to development for both the teachers and the children – referred to as the ‘skills gap’. This leads teachers to use simpler programmes which will obviously be less beneficial to a child’s learning.
The main question posed, as stated above, relates to the control of software manufacturers over the curriculum and how children can learn it – these programmes therefore need to be seen as a support and not a replacement to a teacher in the classroom.
The author makes some interesting arguments in this article about the extent of the influence of software programmes in teaching in schools. The main argument focuses in the control that software developers can have over the curriculum, and the impact this will therefore have on learning. The article highlights the limitations of the software programmes in terms of their practicality and flexibility when being used in the classroom. It also comments of the need for suitable infrastructure in a school to manage the technology required (wireless systems, in cabinets to be moved around the school).
The greatest issue highlighted is that teachers are lacking in the skills to be able to work these new systems with confidence in front of a class, which is a barrier to development for both the teachers and the children – referred to as the ‘skills gap’. This leads teachers to use simpler programmes which will obviously be less beneficial to a child’s learning.
The main question posed, as stated above, relates to the control of software manufacturers over the curriculum and how children can learn it – these programmes therefore need to be seen as a support and not a replacement to a teacher in the classroom.
Underwood and Underwood – ‘Why put IT into schools?’
Again this article was published in 1990, so its relevance today can be questioned. It does however illustrate the need for ICT in schools due to its increasing dominance in society, which can play a vital role in a child’s intellectual development. Today it also needs to be highlighted that ICT plays an even broader role in a child’s development, as has become part of everyday life.
Underwood and Underwood provide what I feel is a simplistic view towards the role of ICT in schools – as ‘artificial information processing skills’ used to process information through ‘data bases and word processors’. Today the role of ICT in schools, and in wider society is used for a variety of reasons including data processing.
Again this article was published in 1990, so its relevance today can be questioned. It does however illustrate the need for ICT in schools due to its increasing dominance in society, which can play a vital role in a child’s intellectual development. Today it also needs to be highlighted that ICT plays an even broader role in a child’s development, as has become part of everyday life.
Underwood and Underwood provide what I feel is a simplistic view towards the role of ICT in schools – as ‘artificial information processing skills’ used to process information through ‘data bases and word processors’. Today the role of ICT in schools, and in wider society is used for a variety of reasons including data processing.
Hawkridge – ‘Who needs computers in schools and why?’
Although this article does make some useful observations, I struggled to always see the relevance it what was being said due to the date that the article was published (1990). For example, the introduction of interactive whiteboards into most classrooms today has seen a huge increase in the use of ICT by children in schools. Not only that, the vast changes that have taken place since 1990 are far greater than just the use of interactive whiteboards in the classroom and can be seen in most aspects of today’s society.
When I think back to 1990, when I was only 4 years old I can’t remember many experiences of using ICT at school and did not have a computer in my classroom. I was however fortunate enough to have one at home, but this was very simplistic compared to what children today are able to experience (for example digital cameras, mobile phones, Playstations (etc) and laptops).
The rationales that Hawkridge discusses however do still have relevance today – children should be competent on computers by Secondary school, but today it could be argued that they are confident by a much younger age, at Primary school. Children do still use computers in the learning of subjects, and to a much larger extent. ICT in schools does have a positive influence and helps in many areas of teaching and learning.
Although this article does make some useful observations, I struggled to always see the relevance it what was being said due to the date that the article was published (1990). For example, the introduction of interactive whiteboards into most classrooms today has seen a huge increase in the use of ICT by children in schools. Not only that, the vast changes that have taken place since 1990 are far greater than just the use of interactive whiteboards in the classroom and can be seen in most aspects of today’s society.
When I think back to 1990, when I was only 4 years old I can’t remember many experiences of using ICT at school and did not have a computer in my classroom. I was however fortunate enough to have one at home, but this was very simplistic compared to what children today are able to experience (for example digital cameras, mobile phones, Playstations (etc) and laptops).
The rationales that Hawkridge discusses however do still have relevance today – children should be competent on computers by Secondary school, but today it could be argued that they are confident by a much younger age, at Primary school. Children do still use computers in the learning of subjects, and to a much larger extent. ICT in schools does have a positive influence and helps in many areas of teaching and learning.
Session 1 reading – from the Guardian, May 2007-11-13
The title of this article, ‘In class I have to power down’ illustrates how many children today feel about using their ICT skills in school. The article discusses how children access new technology out of school and develop skills that are not utilised in school. These children, as well as learning valuable skills are also enjoying their experiences of ICT outside school – the article, as I read it then developed the question of whether this be said for the experiences they have of ICT in school?
I found this article interesting in the conclusions it made regarding the bridge between education and entertainment – it is interesting to see how ICT in school is viewed as a tool to educate the children whereas they are allowed to enjoy the experiences and learning with ICT out of school. Surely in a world where ICT plays a growing role, children should be taught the benefits of it in school, rather than being put off by having to repeatedly create spreadsheets, graphs and be restricted in their explorations by the Curriculum? In this sense I agree with the argument made in the article. I also agree that distinction should be made between education and entertainment, but surely these cannot be separated completely so children do not enjoy their experiences of ICT in school compared to what they are able to do at home.
The title of this article, ‘In class I have to power down’ illustrates how many children today feel about using their ICT skills in school. The article discusses how children access new technology out of school and develop skills that are not utilised in school. These children, as well as learning valuable skills are also enjoying their experiences of ICT outside school – the article, as I read it then developed the question of whether this be said for the experiences they have of ICT in school?
I found this article interesting in the conclusions it made regarding the bridge between education and entertainment – it is interesting to see how ICT in school is viewed as a tool to educate the children whereas they are allowed to enjoy the experiences and learning with ICT out of school. Surely in a world where ICT plays a growing role, children should be taught the benefits of it in school, rather than being put off by having to repeatedly create spreadsheets, graphs and be restricted in their explorations by the Curriculum? In this sense I agree with the argument made in the article. I also agree that distinction should be made between education and entertainment, but surely these cannot be separated completely so children do not enjoy their experiences of ICT in school compared to what they are able to do at home.
Monday 29 October 2007
Reflections on ICT
Here is where i shall reflect on the things I learn, both in ICT sessions, from readings and at school (where i started today and am loving!)
ICT ( use of computers, interactive whiteboards, digital camaras etc) is an incredibly important skill that children need to be confident with in a world that is growing more dependent on new technologies....
ICT ( use of computers, interactive whiteboards, digital camaras etc) is an incredibly important skill that children need to be confident with in a world that is growing more dependent on new technologies....
Tuesday 16 October 2007
as i am now back in ICT cos its a tuesday morning I am adding more to my wonderful blogging blog! today we have looked at wikis which was really useful as i had no iadea what they actually were before, being as good on computers as i am!!
we have lots of work to do at the moment for our PGCE and it is a little scary but everyone seems to be doing ok - i keep making lists of everything i need to do each week and they just get longer and longer and longer every day.....
must remember everything is important!
we have lots of work to do at the moment for our PGCE and it is a little scary but everyone seems to be doing ok - i keep making lists of everything i need to do each week and they just get longer and longer and longer every day.....
must remember everything is important!
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