Week 9: Visiting school

This week we were fortunate enough to visit a local primary school in Southampton to learn about how they use ICT in the classroom and also how they are adapting to the new computing curriculum with a specific focus on the digital literacy’s aspect, thus allowing application of the theoretical and practical seminars in university into the context of a classroom setting.

From a talk with a year 1 teacher it became evident that the experiences the children have regarding technology are endless, it was discussed how often the children use the iPads and we were shown examples of work that they had created. As an ICT specialist I support the use of technology in all curriculum subjects but I was truly mesmerised by what the children had achieved. When we went on a tour of the school it was clear to see how much technology is available to children at all time. It was interesting to see the radio studio and that all children are able to use it rather than just Year 6 as I witnessed in my SE1 school.  

It was clear from speaking to the year 1 teacher that the staff at Shirley Warren were keen to use children’s ICT abilities in a variety of subjects. This was great to see as previous SE schools have not shared that passion for incorporating different technologies into every day learning. Marsh (2003) suggests that this may be because teachers lack in confidence due to lack of own experience and lack of knowledge, therefore teachers need training in technology in order to implement this into their own lessons.

To further Marsh’s point it has to be said that my own iPad skills are not amazing, and this will be a challenge for me during the time in school. However I was fortunate enough to have experienced iPads when in Estonia but I have not had opportunities to explore these devices independently, but due to having sampled some apps in university and this session in school I feel confident in this selection of applications.

Many of the apps we used in school today I had experienced before especially. However, I hadn't thought of using some (green screen) with younger children in Key Stage 1 due to finding difficulties when I have previously used green screens myself. However verescope (the app we were introduced to) was simpler to use than program I have previously used and I would definitely consider using it throughout further practice.

I really enjoyed this first session in school and am looking forward to working with the children next week to create our own digital books. A personal target I set myself for the second session is to discover what the children already know about the apps we are using.

Marsh, J. (2004) Popular Culture, new media and digital literacy in early childhood. Oxon: Routledge Falmer.