Week 1:

▪Literacy in the 21st Century/Popular Culture

Do you see the increased use of technology by children as a positive step forwards?

I do in some ways. Being skilled in the use of technology is a fundamental skill needed for work, communication and even pleasure nowadays so children need to grasp technological competence at an early age so they can operate devices effectively, and then also apply these skills to any different kinds of technology they may encounter in the future.
However, I believe that increasing usage of technology is only acceptable if it does not take precedence over reading and writing; traditional literary skills. Increasing use of technology should not be separate from learning how to read and write but it should be used to support it.   

Is this an inevitable outcome in our increasingly digital society or is it something to be resisted, especially within the classroom?

I believe this is inevitable as part of the purpose of the school is to equip children with skills and knowledge they will need for later life and technology plays a important role in our society. I do not believe it should be resisted, but it should not replace other areas of learning.    

Where do you stand at present on using new technologies and media within English teaching?

I believe that new technologies and media support English teaching as most of our form of communication occurs digitally nowadays as opposed to pen and paper, e.g. for writing emails and essays. There are also many fantastic online resources which can support English; a personal favourite of mine is an app called ‘My Story’, where children can create their own storybooks by adding photos, text and even voice. However, traditional methods of learning how to read and write should not be made less important in classroom learning.  

What do you perceive as the possible challenges of this module for you personally?

My biggest challenge will be understanding how various forms of technology work and how I can combine English and technology together to ensure children are becoming literate in being able to read and write but also digitally literate.

New technologies in the English Classroom

New technologies in the English Classroom

In todays society technology is becoming increasingly popular, and playing a major part in children’s lives both in education and at home. Using interactive whiteboards, iPads, Laptops and other small technologies play a positive part in education today. I feel that the use of technology in the classroom means that teachers are able to do more with fewer resources.

However, I do not think the media has a positive influence on technology, 1 in 10 children have a mobile phone by the age of 5!! I find this statistic shocking, our world is becoming increasingly dependent on technology. But having said that I can see the positive outcome of using technology whilst teaching.

The school I worked at during my gap year and as a teaching assistant very much encouraged technology in the classroom, each day the children were greeted with a morning task on the IWB. They also had weekly sessions using the iPads to play on apps helping with fine motor skills, phonics, spelling and mathematics. It was surprising yet interesting to see how many of the children were so competent using technology, most of which whom have their own iPads.

Stephenson (1997) states that as children gain more confidence using technology, the technology will soon become invisible, meaning the children are able to fluently use these ICT skills.  

In this module, I believe that I may struggle on the seminar based on advertising purely for the fact I do not have young children in my family, which could mean that it is hard for me to define what age should be watching what.

Bibliography

Stephenson, D (1997) Information and Communications Technology: Expanding the Space of Learning, vol. 7. New York: Springer.

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2013/aug/23/children-first-mobile-age-five (Assessed September 27th)

The use of new technology in the English classroom

Today technology has become a great part of our society. It is an ongoing process that keeps developing and growing. As educators it is our task to teach and prepare children for adult life and citizenship, and therefore we have a responsibility to include and teach them how to function successfully and effectively in our society. Therefore it is no longer only enough just to teach them to read the written word, but also to teach them about the new technologies and how to use and access them (Stafford, 2011).
This does not mean that we should only be focusing on the new technologies, but that it should be a part of our approach in the way we teach.

Not only children but every single individual has different learning strengths (Schmidt, 2011), and from what I have seen and experienced in e.g. Denmark the new technologies can be a very helpful learning source to children, which might not be as strong readers or have difficulties in the process of learning. It helps them achieve new and difficult information, which they would have been struggling with in the past.

Motivation is also a huge factor when it comes to learning new things. If the motivation and commitment is not there, it can become quite difficult to catch the children’s attention. It is our job as educators to motivate the children, and if new technology can be a part of that, then let us connect it to learning, and use it.

The challenge in this module would for me be the written assignments, since English is not my first language. I hope it will help me improve my writing, and also give me a great knowledge on how the English school system works, and where it stands when it comes to using new technologies in the classrooms.

Bibliography
Stafford, T. (2011) Teaching visual literacy in the primary classroom. Abingdon:Routledge
Schmidt, E.S. (2011) Børns læringsstil: Teori og praksis. Dafolo

Where do you stand at present on using new technologies in the English Classroom?

Technology in the classroom is increasingly becoming an important part of children's education, as well as their day to day lives. From interactive whiteboards, to iPads, to portable laptops, to smart phones, we are gradually becoming more reliant on all aspects. The growing popularity of technology on a daily basis is becoming overwhelmingly advanced and is giving teachers, both technologically experienced, as well as not, the opportunity to enhance and stimulate learning further than the original textbooks.

I feel that the increase in the use of new technologies is a positive step forward because it allows the children to incorporate their every day experiences with various technologies, into their learning. As the use of technology progresses, I feel that it is therefore crucial for children of the modern age to be taught through the use of technology, as it is inevitable that the future will continue to become more technologically advanced and society will continue to progress with this change.

Hague and Payton (2010) state in the Futurelab handbook that "children and young people, then, are actively manipulating digital media to participate in social and cultural life outside of school and making and sharing media has become increasingly important in the way that young people communicate with each other." (Hague and Payton 2010; p7)

This statement further highlights my point in that as society progresses with media, children need to be able to learn with the current technologies so that throughout the education system, they are well educated and equipped for later on in life,

In terms of in the English classroom, I feel that technology and media, such as Interactive Whiteboards and online games can help develop a variety of areas from; Phonics, Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling and many more subjects across the English Curriculum.

In this module, I feel that I may be faced with the challenges of having to teach ICT in a classroom setting during Week 4. I am slightly nervous about having never taught a session before, and having to plan and go straight into the task without much previous experience or preparation.

Bibliography:

Hague, C and Payton, S (2010) Digital Literacy Across the Curriculum. Futurelab

Addition to Week 1 post

I mentioned seeing interactive whiteboards in my previous blog entry and have now realised that the paragraph implies that I have not seen any other technologies.  This is not the case, I have seen iPads and cameras and a few other bits of technology but the IWB is by far the most used.

Week 1: Technologies in the classroom

As a firm believer in the increasing use of technologies in any classroom, its use in literacy is inevitably going to be an area that I would encourage.  Much of my experience has seen the interactive whiteboards used for phonics sessions and that is as far as the use of technology seems to have progressed.  However, that being said, it does not mean that this is as far as I would like to see it being used.  

A continued increase in the use of technology and media, both by teachers and by children, is something that I perceive to be nothing but positive.  Its influence, and potentially beneficial academic reward, should not be resisted, rather that it should be encouraged.  Furthermore, with the society that we live in, the speed at which technology is improving and the scope that this brings for improvement, it is evidently inevitable that technology will be a permanent feature in education.

Higgins et al (2012) suggest that there are small, yet consistent positive associations with education outcomes where there has been technology provided for use.  This suggestion is one that I agree with and reinforces my opinion that technology use should be further implemented in classrooms.

A possible challenge that I can ‘foresee’ with this module for myself will most likely be with the directed task involving adverts.   This may turn out to be less of a challenge that I imagine it to be, yet I believe it will still be a challenge to be overcome.

Higgins et al. (2102) The impact of digital technology on learning: A summary for the education endowment foundation. p3. Durham:Durham University