Reflective and critical elements
Today ICT plays a major role in children’s learning. According to Daniels (2002) ICT has become, within a short space of time, a core element of education alongside Maths and Literacy. It can enrich, motivate, deepen skills and engage children in their education. ICT was promoted at my host school with the view that it encourages children to develop skills such as using the internet safely, researching effectively and developing fine motor control. I therefore tried to incorporate it into my own lessons where appropriate. Children can develop their knowledge through accessing, being selective and interpreting and organising information (Shan Fu, 2013). For my science investigation task, the children were encouraged in pairs to investigate a means of visual or auditory communication to convey meaning using Morse code. Part of the task was to research Morse code using the laptops to enable them to create a ‘fact file’ in their next lesson (Appendix 7). I researched some websites that were appropriate for the children to use and talked to them briefly about note taking. By encouraging the children to work collaboratively, it enabled them to communicate, cooperate, explore ideas and develop concepts.
More recently there has been some controversy regarding the benefits of using ICT, namely a lack of clear goals, low teacher expectations (Al- Bataineh et al 2008) and lack of teacher and pedagogical support (Ertmer and Otternbreit- Leftwich, 2010). However, I found that by planning precisely and ensuring the teaching assistant was aware of the expectations of the children (Appendix 8), a learning process that engages the children in higher order thinking can be facilitated. In addition, I also believe that using ICT to support the class teaching increased the children’s engagement significantly. A vital aspect of a child’s progression is through facilitating their individual learning styles through effective use of resources. By accommodating their needs and using a variety of materials and resources to engage the children ensures that they are on a task that is appropriate to them as individuals.
More recently there has been some controversy regarding the benefits of using ICT, namely a lack of clear goals, low teacher expectations (Al- Bataineh et al 2008) and lack of teacher and pedagogical support (Ertmer and Otternbreit- Leftwich, 2010). However, I found that by planning precisely and ensuring the teaching assistant was aware of the expectations of the children (Appendix 8), a learning process that engages the children in higher order thinking can be facilitated. In addition, I also believe that using ICT to support the class teaching increased the children’s engagement significantly. A vital aspect of a child’s progression is through facilitating their individual learning styles through effective use of resources. By accommodating their needs and using a variety of materials and resources to engage the children ensures that they are on a task that is appropriate to them as individuals.