Educated

Most young children are operating some sort of reading program were they are able to have stories read to them or they are able to read stories at their leisure. This article discussed the effects that these programs are having on children. Are they assisting and facilitating the learning of these children or are they hindering? There has been an extensive research performed to determine the result. This article goes into depth with the results of the surveys commenced.

Through the experience I have had with these programs during practicum I have found that they aren’t as effective as a lesson performed with a teacher or parent helper supervising. I strongly suggest you read the article to determine for yourself what you think and what the research reflect in regards to this program.

Effect of a Computer Based Beginning Reading Program on Young Children.. By Tara Watson and Kerry Hempenstall

Teachers TV is a channel for teachers which is boardcasted on the internet, accessable for everyone. I just watched an interesting, 13 minute presentation on three new technologies which are being introuduced in the UK schools. I know that we have similar products in Australia but there are some which we don’t have and I haven’t seen before. The three focused on in this program were:

AverVision -  which is a visualiser to present any image, item and object to  a class of students and they are able to see very close up. It can be used for science, fine arts, math and English really any subject. It is useful and versatile, the size makes it portable and overall good value for money.

Activate – is a voting system that can be used in conjunction with a white board there is a similar product in Australia called a senitor. They allow instant feedback for teachers and fits in with curriculum assessment. Easy to use for all children.

Talking tins – are a recordable device used to record information very easy to use and inexpensive.

I suggest you log on to Teachers TV and take a tour around the website there are so many valuable resources available for teachers to use.

Text books are being replaced by virtual versions, say good bye to the typewriter, handwriting and the 3kg, 700-page textbook which used to, took 3 years to get published and was already out of date. We are now working with taking notes on laptops and researching with an online database while having coffee at Starbucks.

Don’t get me wrong there are still text books out there that weigh 5kg that still takes 2 years to get published and is yes still out of date. The amount of text books you need to buy say for an education degree has decreased, although this means that the amount that you have to search for through the internet has drastically increased which is must more convenient.

Wikitext is a fantastic idea so that all of the texts you need are there and available instead of waiting on them to be returned to the library. School find it hard to fit text books into a budget this is one way to solve that problem where the students will not suffer for lack of budgets.  I personally suggest you read the article to provide you with more information.

Are Textbooks Becoming Extinct? Welcome to the Age of the Wikitext! By David Fontaine

Kings Ridge Christian School, Atlanta, Georgia, is a school that is immersed in technology. Every school these days has a computer lab but, at Kings Ridge there is much much more, to prepare students for the real world. We are all aware that technology in the future is going to be so much more than it is today. From kindergarten to year twelve students have access to a computer, although kindergarten and Year nine to year twelve have a one to one tablet PC available to them, which is their own laptop. They are currently using software called Dyknow solutions provide the students with a ‘competitive edge’. Dyknow ‘has permitted students to think in a way that may not be possible in schools that don’t have the technology’.

Students of Kings Ridge are getting ‘more involved in the class as they are immersed in the curriculum and flow of ideas. Students have ownership in the learning and therefore are more empowered and encouraged to advance to activities requiring higher levels of thinking skills.’

Kings Ridge is very similar to the school which I attended for Practicum, Bariner Public School Quakers Hill, (http://www.barnier-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/). The amount of technology supplied to the students provides a different feel amongst the whole school. The students are privileged to have access to schools like this and they aren’t only in the United States we in fact have our own Kings Ridge in Sydney. I suggest you firstly read the report on Kings Ridge (technology prepares students for the real world) as well as viewing Bariner Public Schools website and compare the two.

Technology Prepares Students for Real world…

Imagine taking a year 5-6 class on an excursion and they are able to take their own photo graphs and record information on their own device (similar to a mobile phone, personal digital assistant (PDas) or PCs) to use the information at a later date. Wouldn’t this be fantastic, a mobile, portable technology which can be used ‘ubiquitously’, that is in any location or context.  A growing number of educators are taking an interest in such handheld technologies for learning, for a number of reasons. ‘First, there is the question of how to encourage personalisation of learning and enhance leaner’s responsibility; second, there are the organisational and logistical difficulties of enabling teachers and learner to use digital technologies to enhance all aspects of learning (the drive to embed digital technologies instead of relying on the all-too-familiar computer suite); and third, there is the challenge of creating coherent links between children’s experiences of learning across different sites and across home, school and community.

I read the handbook concerning the handheld technologies; they are an interesting concept and could be used in multiple environments. They two main aims of the handbook is first to draw out the lessons learnt from experimentation in the area thus far, and second to offer an overview of the range of such early trials. I will defiantly be keeping an eye on the transition of the research, I could possibly use this device when  I have completed my course. I strongly suggest you take some time to read the handbook it provides you with useful information on the new technology.

As there has been the occasional discussion about the use of Smartboard’s within the class room since posting about my time on practicum. I have decided that I would post one of my lessons I designed while on prac. I hope that it gives you some idea of a lesson on a Smartboard. . I found the software very useful and easy to use, it is quite similar to power point. Have a look and I hope that you enjoy it.

smartboard_activity_1

Emily and I did it, we found that it actually wasn’t as hard as we first imagined. We totally designed and created the WebQuest with a little assistance in terms of structure from www.wikispaces.com and we’re both very proud of it. The WebQuest focuses on classroom management theories in casual teaching.

Please feel free to have a look at it, Emily and I would be very proud if you happen to be in a group of four people huddled around the computer, give it a go and please let us know how it goes!

www.emloz.wikispaces.com

Around 4 weeks ago I came across a very interesting article in the Sunday Telegraph Newspaper, titled ‘Kids find computers are child’s play’ written By Miawling Lam. When Child Care Centres are incorporating computers into their daily programming, Primary Schools and High Schools should defiantly be following suit. The article’s focus is on how children as young as 2 are being exposed to word-processing and design programs to keep up with the digital era that we are currently in.
 

The article has discussed this change with a lecture of Early Childhood  at the Western Sydney University Joanna Orlando. She feels the move is necessary as computer literacy has to be developed from the early age. “one of the things that we know about early childhood is that stimulating experiences really set them up for being able to learn latter in life” she said.
According to the skills children learn from computers us endless. Children as young as 2 could benefit as it marked the start of their ‘ability to read and allowed them to express creativity without being limited by their handwriting.
Early Child Care Centre operators are certainly embracing this change in society by allowing the children to use the computers supplied on a rotating basis.
I defiantly support the studies and article, I personally believe that implemented correctly there can only be success. I suggest you  read this article from the Sunday Telegraph.
 

After viewing Jess’s blog and she has discovered a fantastic website full of great resources for teachers. The website has lesson plans, sample activities and ideas for technology lessons. I strongly suggest everyone to have a look at this website it is very useful.