Week 10 - visiting school

This week we were able to go back to a local primary school in order to create digital books with the year 1 class to teach about children’s rights. The right in which our group focused on was Article 15: Every child has the right to meet with other children and join groups and organisations (UNICEF, online). Whilst planning before we met our group we discussed assessment criteria that we wished the children to meet before the end of their session, including understanding and being able to explain their right and to use the iPads to create their own digital book.

It was difficult to set targets when we did not know the children in our group, we had not met them and we did not know their previous experiences, therefore in future practice I will personalise targets to each child/small group in order to ensure they are receiving the most out of the given task.

When we were first told we would be working with year 1 children I shamefully thought this would be a lot harder due to the children being of such a young age, but upon meeting them this soon changed, the children were confident in the basic features of iPads and were able to navigate between the apps effectively. Prensky (2001) explains the reasoning for this because children are born as digital natives meaning the children will probably have used iPads or similar smart technology before entering school, which was verified by the class teacher in the first visit. Following this information it was clear that all of the children were digital natives with a sound understanding of technology (Palfrey & Gasser, 2008).

The children really engaged with creating the ‘book’ and by the end of the session all were confident to film and be filmed/voice recorded whereas at the beginning of the session a few of the children are in our group were cautious to be filmed/recorded. Children were initially shy to share their ideas but within five minutes these hesitations almost disappeared as they were able to submerge themselves in the task and ‘take control’ of their work.

When we first discussed the task with the Children they were unsure of some of the apps and how to use them but were very keen to take part and learn and offering valuable contributions to the task. And following the earlier concerns about not knowing the children’s capabilities, from working with a small group I found it was easy to assess what the children knew and understood as we carried out the task, thus allowing me to appropriately guide the children were required.

Time management was a key issue today, the children were late which meant we had less time to film and edit, which meant we had to work as quickly as possible.  Considering the children coped well and were full of ideas about what they could do.

By the end of the session all children in our group could tell us about the right we focused on and why it was important, with all children meeting the criteria we had discussed at the beginning. If I was to carry out a similar task with my own class I would allow sufficient time for planning, filming and editing individually to ensure all children created projects they were happy with

I really enjoyed this experience in school and can see how simple it can be to create similar projects; I am really looking forward to seeing the final project in week 12 and seeing the different approaches each group took.

Palfrey, J. & Gasser, U. (2008). Born digital : understanding the first generation of digital natives. New York : Basic Books

Prensky, M. (2001) ‘Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Part  II: Do They Really Think Differently?’ in On the Horizon 9 (6)

UNICEF (2012) Children’s rights. [online] available at: https://www.unicef.org.uk/Documents/Publication-pdfs/betterlifeleaflet2012_press.pdf

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. 

Week 8: Copyright in Schools

Copyright arises in everyday life; therefore this blog will look at the laws surrounding materials protected by copyright as well as issues that teachers face regarding copyright in schools as well as how this may impact my own future practice.

Copyright is defined by Ross and Kinsley (2007) as the legal protection granted to the creators of a work-piece over a fixed time period. It is important to understand that this copyright law occurs whether the work has been published or not. First introduced in 1709 as a development from common law known as the statue of Anne, this copyright outlines explicit guidelines to follow for the acceptable use of others work (Patterson, 1965).

The copyright law has been developed throughout the years and the current act was released in 1988 (Copyright, 2009). Copyright regulations apply to teachers, pupils and the school as a general organisation, however there a number of permitted acts and exceptions thus making information readily available to teachers and pupils (copyright NEN, 2012).  Since 1988 there has been a large increase in the amount of data available over the internet, although this is a different way to gather readily available materials it is important to understand that this material is still protected under copyright laws (Copyright NEN, 2012). Following this change, Davies (2012) discussed that in October 2003 there were important changes made to the 1988 act relating to the dissemination of copyright material obtained via the internet taking into account the rights of the authors. One of the key amendments made in 2003 was the guideline for teachers to create temporary copies of work found on the internet, this allows teachers to use materials obtained online to share with their class and school where appropriate (Davies, 2012).

To overcome any issues that teachers may face when obtaining information from the internet the ‘fair use’ policy was introduced to allow teachers to access media found online for use within the classroom (Davies, 2012). This policy allows for teachers to use material found online safely without breaking copyright agreements as long as they do not pass this work off as their own, the main reasoning behind these rules is so that children’s learning is not affected by a lacking accessibility to suitable resources to aid learning.

 Throughout education children are required to conduct research using textbooks and online sources, therefore, as well as teachers being aware of copyright they need to ensure that children understand regulations regarding materials protected by copyright in order to protect children from breaking copyright law.

• Copyright (2009) Copyright 2000-2009 UK Copyright Service. Copyright Witness Ltd. [online] available at: www.copyrightservice.co.uk/ukcs/docs/edupack.pdf (Last accessed 26.03.2014)

• Copyrights NEN (2012) Copyrights and wrongs. [online] available at: http://www.copyrightsandwrongs.nen.gov.uk/schools-a-copyright (Last accessed 26.03.2014)

• Davies, G. (2012) General Guidelines on copyright, in Davies, G. (ed.) Information and Communications Technology for Language Teachers (ICT4LT), Slough: Thames Valley University [Online] accessed 9.03.14 at http://www.ict4lt.org/en/en_copyright.htm.

• Patterson, L. R. (1965) The Statute of Anne: Copyright Misconstrued, Harvard Journal on Legislation, 3 (1). Harvard Law School: Harvard.

• Your Rights (online) Your Rights; The Liberty Guide to Human Rights. [Online] available at: http://www.yourrights.org.uk/yourrights/right-of-free-expression/copyright-and-allied-property-rights/meaning-of-copyright.html (Last accessed: 28.03.2014)

Week 8: Informal blog task - Different Apps for use in school

The 2014 National Curriculum (DfE, 2013) states that through computing children become digitally literate and they are able to express their own ideas through ICT at a suitable level in order to become active participants in a digital world. Following this, during this session we were introduced to a number of applications that are suitable for creating multimodal texts within the primary classroom.

The first app we were introduced to was Book Creator. This app allows children to create their own story books in a quick and simple way by adding text, images, video and audio recordings, with a further opportunity to ‘publish’ any books created to iBooks (Apple 2013).  Bearne (2009) discusses a number of scenarios of children creating multimodal texts in the classroom and discusses the benefits including the teaching of cross-curricular links between English and ICT and providing the children with control over how to display their books, showing an increase in motivation towards writing stories.

When we were first introduced to the idea of creating digital talking books I thought this would be a time consuming tasks, however it was seen in this seminar that digital books can be completed to a high standard in a short period of time and it was interesting to see the different approaches and ideas each groups took, thus showing the great opportunities this app can present for future practice. Due to the features of being able to input audio recordings and videos this app can be adapted for children who may find reading and writing difficult, they can record themselves telling their story, therefore turning their ideas into an audio book. A final point about this useful app is that because the app provides a blank canvas it can be adapted to any age or ability.

Another app that we looked at in this session was puppet pals. I was fortunate enough to attend an interactive boot camp with the university in Estonia during year 2; during this experience we used puppet pals in school with a group of children to explain different landforms. This app is particularly useful for children who may be uncomfortable being filmed as they do not need to be filmed and the audio recording they give can be warped to sound different. A positive of this app is that it is also suitable to use with a number of children as you can add a number of puppets to one project. From my own experience this app is easy to teach with and when used in school the children enjoyed this experience.

After this session I am looking forward to going into school next week and put into practice what we have been learning throughout the module so far, it will be interesting to see how the school uses ICT within learning as my SE3 school had iPads that were not used whilst I was there due to teachers not having experience using and teaching with them.

Apple inc (2013) Book Creator for iPad. [Online] available at: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/book-creator-for-ipad/id442378070?mt=8

Bearne, E. (2009) Multimodality literacy and texts: Developing a discourse. ‘Journal of Early Childhood Literacy’ 9 (2)

Department for Education (2013) National Curriculum in England: Computing programmes of study. London: HMSO

Blog 8- Examine the Copyright issues within schools

Part One Formal- Examine the Copyright issues within schools

The copyright law was introduced in the United Kingdom in 1709 known as, the Statute of Anne. This became statutory with the passing of the Copyright Act 1911. The current Copyright Act is, the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988 (Patterson, 1965). When someone creates a piece of original work, it automatically becomes copyright. The piece of work does not have to be registered before it is protected, however the creator can also assign the copyright to a third party, such as a publishing business (Davies, 2012). This means that unless the copyright owner gives permission, then you cannot use for use or copy the piece of protected work (Intellectual Property Office, 2010) (Online). It is important that teachers are aware of the Copyright law when using and copying work for lessons.

Copyright laws apply to everyone, therefore, teachers need to be aware that it applies to them, even though they may be using it for educational purposes. Whilst copyright applies to everyone, there are specific concessions and licensing schemes that schools and educational establishments can use in order to stay within the law (Davies, 2012).Teachers can use material for educational purposes however, if the teacher uses the material to make reprographic copies or broadcasts passages from literary, musical or dramatic works then a licence is needed, if they are copying without reprographic methods such as writing it down then a license is not needed. Anything for setting or answering examination questions and performing, showing or playing work within the school does need a license, however if parents are included in the audience then a license will be needed (Intellectual Property Office, 2011) (Online).  

Copyright is a serious and complex process, it is therefore important that teachers and especially as student teachers, we find out what other teachers do when working in schools. It is important to remember that schools are given more of a leeway when using works for educational purposes, therefore it is important to not let copyright stop you from using any other works. It is also important that teachers make children aware of copyright laws, so that they can work safely both within schools and at home. The internet and media can greatly enhance teaching and lessons so as long as the guidelines are followed the law will not be broken.  

Bibliography:

Davies G. (2012) General guidelines on copyright. In Davies G. (ed.) Information and Communications Technology for Language Teachers (ICT4LT), Slough, Thames Valley University [Online]. Available at:http://www.ict4lt.org/en/en_copyright.htm [Accessed 25/03/14].

Intellectual Property Office (2011) Copyright: Essential Reading [Online] http://www.ipo.gov.uk/c-essential.pdf.

Intellectual Property Office (2010) [Online] About Copyright http://www.ipo.gov.uk/types/copy/c-about.htm.

Patterson, L. R. (1965) The Statute of Anne: Copyright Misconstrued, Harvard Journal on Legislation, 3 (1). Harvard Law School: Harvard.

Part Two: Informal

During the seminar, you will have trialled
a number of different Apps. Please
reflect on these, selecting one to discuss in
depth, exploring its potential for literacy
learning. Identify any implications of this
session for your future practice, drawing on
any relevant sources.

During the seminar I was introduced to a range of different Apps. I really liked the Big Cat Phonics books, sock puppets and the Winnie the Pooh app. I was really surprised at how many different Apps there are and how even really young children will be able to access them.

I worked in a group to explore Book Creator. As it was pancake day, we created a fact book on Shrove Tuesday. I found the app really easy to use and navigate around, which is child user friendly. The app not only allows you to write text, it also can insert film clips, pictures and sound. This is great as children can create interactive books which are more engaging and exciting to create rather than just using paper. Due to the versatility of the app, it could be used for any subject and any topic, which make it extremely adaptable. The app could also be used by children which would develop their ICT skills, literacy and subject knowledge for the topic they are researching or writing about.  It could also be used by teachers as a starter or plenary which makes it very versatile. One negative about the app is that it has to stay on the iPads, however a positive is that with an adaptor or by using AirDrop the teacher or children can present their work onto a big screen.

I thought Book Creator is a really versatile, fun and different app which could be used by any ability, age or for any subject. I would definitely use it in my practise in the future and think that it has many different uses which children would enjoy to work with. It is a platform in which those children who are less confident with transcribing onto paper, would feel safer due to its interactivity and those children who are more competent, would be able to challenge themselves further. 

Blog 5- Children and advertising

Children are bombard by advertisements wherever they go and increasingly they are permeating into the public and private spaces where children learn and play (Beder, Varney & Gosden, 2009). Advertisements for children are increasing, but television is still the most predominant platform in which they are shown (Gunter, Oates, & Blades, 2005). Advertising to children is a highly topical issue as many are concerned that advertising is exploiting children (Buckingham, 1993).  Young (1986) characterizes the situation as the ‘child-as-innocent and advertiser-as-seducer’ (cited in Buckingham, 1993). Advertisements start to influence children as young as two and children up to five years old cannot distinguish what happens on television from reality (Beder et al. 2009). Dorr (1986) states that children do not become aware of the motivations of advertisers until the age of eight (cited in Buckingham, 1993), however, Young (2010) claims that whilst eight year olds may start to recognize the intentions of advertising, they are still heavily influenced  up until the age of twelve. Therefore children should learn about advertisements in school, as children are especially influenced by them, so it is important that they are shown how adverts can entice and deliberately target specific audiences to help children understand and be able to utilize this knowledge in order to be protected from the intentions of adverts.

Advertisements are causing children to become huge consumers, with $28 billion being spent by children aged twelve or under in the United States during 2000. Adverts are enticing children to possess products, which is leading them to pester their parents to buy on their behalf (Gunter, Oates & Blades, 2005). Advertisements do not only encourage people to buy things they do not even need or want, it is also instilling materialistic values into our society. A concern for children in particular is that advertisements are convincing us that our identity is reflected by what we consume and buy (Buckingham, 1993). Crucially, having beautiful models in advertisements causes huge pressures on young people as they feel they have to conform to certain ideals of beauty which are not achievable (Gunter, Oates & Blades, 2005). Therefore it is important that children are taught about advertisements in school, so that they can start to become protected from the power that adverts can have, and so that children start to realise that their identity is not based on what they consume, but on who they are as a person. It is important that teachers highlight to children that adverts sensationalize products and people so that they are aware that certain products may not make them change into a different person or give them superpowers, in order to protect them false claims.

Bibliography:

Beder, S., Varney, W., & Gosden, R. (2009). This little kiddy went to market: The corporate assault on children. London: Pluto Press.

Buckingham, D. (1993) Children Talking Television: The making of television literacy. London: The Falmer Press.

Gunter, B. Oates, C. & Blades, M. (2005) Advertising to Children on TV New Jersey, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 

Young, B. (2010) ‘Children and Advertising’. In  Marshall, D. (Ed.)  Understanding children as consumers. London: Sage Publications. 

Week 11 - School Visit

Today I was given the opportunity to revisit a local primary school and work with a group of children to create a talking book. As the school is a rights respecting school, each group focused on one of the rights of the child (UNICEF 1989). As a group, we focused on article 29 which states that children have to right to become the best that they can be.

As an English specialist I found it useful to have planning time as a group to discuss and structure our ideas before meeting the children. This allowed my group to sketch out what we needed to do and work out roughly how much time we had to film and edit. Although we only had a short amount of time to plan, from gaining first-hand experience I can see how teachers need to plan and ensure they have all the resources available before the children begin working in order to save time.

I was surprised at how capable the children were with using the app and Ipad, although they are only in year 1. They were confident and willing to try out different things such as camera angles and the green screen. This allowed me to witness first-hand The Future Lab’s (2010) theory of children being digital natives and having the knowledge and confidence to use technology at an early age. 

I think one of the biggest challenges of the day was the time limit. Although as a group we had planned the morning and the children were confident with the apps we were using, timing was an issue. This has highlighted the need for teachers to allow sufficient time for children to edit their work and discuss what worked and what didn’t at the end of a project. This is something I will consider in my future practice.  

Although there were challenges and surprises throughout the day, I found the experience valuable and enlightening as it allowed me to put the theory we have been learning about into a real life context.

FutureLab (2010) Digital Literacy Across the Curriculum: (Sections 3.1 – 3.4 Digital Literacy in Practice)

United Nations (1989) United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), Geneva: United Nations.