8.+ICT+in+the+Classroom

While at Grovedale Primary School and teaching in London I have had the opportunity to become quite competent on the Interactive Whiteboards as they are an integral part of everyday teaching in my 5/6 classroom and in the United Kingdom. I have gathered many great resources to use, and feel that I can get the best out of the students learning with my understanding of the Interactive Whiteboard. I have also been using technology (specifically website construction and Photo Story) meaningfully in the classroom. This has been a great benefit for my students. I have looked at websites from the perspective of communicating with parents and students, encouraging reluctant writers to use online journals (or blogs), and the incorporation of digital portfolios. My year 5 children have been involved in the 1:1 Netbook trial program taking place in some Victorian schools at the moment, and this has been a major influence in changing my thinking about classroom teaching.



In terms of literacy, I have looked at enriching the range and quality of students’ literacy experiences by involving them in the process of constructing online portfolios. I have also looked at a range of programs like Microsoft Photo Story and considered how these could be used to enrich literacy practices. Generally speaking, technology is a great way of engaging students in learning and one that I believe I am using well in my classroom. At times I have felt that my students seem to know more about computer technology than I do. This experience for me has forced me to improve my own computer knowledge and consider how and for what purpose we could use technology in my classroom. I have found Photo Story to be beneficial in terms of visual literacy, sequencing, getting students to retell an event using pictures as a prompt, and exploring visual indicators of emotion. These are just a few of the benefits that I have found, but there are many more out there!

I am also aware that society is becoming more and more technological all the time. More and more things are now ‘online’, in fact we are getting to an age where you can only access some things online. Students will need to develop the generic skills that will make them technologically literate in order to get by in their lives. We cover ‘concepts about print’ with students to make sure they know to read a book from front to back, left to right and top to bottom. However, we need to expand these concepts because they will not necessarily be enough to help them negotiate a website. The internet is a non-linear text; there is no front and back, start and finish, there are infinite pathways that can be followed. I am looking at this from the perspective that the best way to learn about something is to do it. So… the best way to learn how to use websites is to make one.

I have also considered this in terms of dealing with critical literacy through website construction. I am aware that critical literacy is an important life skill that we will need to help students develop. They need to be able to consider and analyse the things that they are reading and not simply accept everything they read as truth. Again, what better way to help them understand how unregulated the internet is than by experiencing it from the inside and becoming internet ‘authors’.