Having been in school, share your observations and reflections in terms of the use of technology/new literacies.

From my time is school during my self-directed placement in the summer, I found that the use of technology was strong but basic within my chosen school. I observed within each classroom and learned that the use of Interactive Whiteboards within the classrooms were strong and the main resource within each lesson. Hague and Payton (2010:44) discuss that ‘supporting young people to become competent, discerning users of technology is about helping them to develop their skills that allow them to critically question their own and others’ technology use’. I feel that the use of interactive whiteboards is positive and generally keeps the children engaged throughout each lesson. Children are actively involved within the use of the whiteboards and are all well educated in how to use them safely and to help engage their learning. The resources that are available through using Interactive whiteboards are endless and can cater for any child’s individual needs. Allen et al (2007:197) highlight that the use of Interactive whiteboards ‘increases the pace of lessons’. Throughout my observations, this became apparent and the children were very responsive throughout the input of the lessons.

In terms of facing challenges with the use of Interactive whiteboards, I would be concerned about becoming firstly, too reliant on the use of the whiteboard itself, and secondly, too reliant on using online resources and therefore wasting time when I could make them myself. Allen et al (2007) discuss that although it is useful and efficient to have access to a world of resources and sharing, it also takes a lot of time and careful examination of resources to make sure that they are suitable and well differentiated for your children. To overcome my challenges when using interactive whiteboards, I will try to use differentiated resources within my classroom so that if they were to be a system failure or error, I will always have a ‘plan B’ so that my lessons will never become too technology heavy. I also will attempt to create my own resources, as well as using online ones, to ensure that I don’t waste time and make life more difficult for myself.

The school also has portable laptops on offer for every year group. They are widely used across the curriculum and make a change to the children’s learning. Hague and Payton (2010:44) highlight that ‘developing students’ digital literacies means supporting them to think critically about why certain practices are unsafe and how they can be made safer’. Through using the laptops across the curriculum, the children are able to make sensible decisions about what will impact on their learning, and are given an independent responsibility to use the laptops with care and always think about their online safety. I found the use of the portable laptops a great resource to allow the children some responsibility for their learning, but feel that within a potential class of 30 children, I would feel a little uneasy about letting them use the laptops freely; if I wasn’t sure about the extent to which they know of online safety.

Questions that have arisen for me within this reflection of learning, is that firstly, how will I ever know if my children are going to be fully aware of the dangers online? And secondly, how do I incorporate different technologies safely and effectively, if I were to be within a schools who uses a wider range of technology? 

Bibliography:

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

Allen, J. Potter, J. Sharp, J. Turvey, K. (2007) ‘Interactive Whiteboards’. Achieving QTS. Primary ICT: Knowledge, Understanding and Practice. (3^rd edn) Exeter. Learning Matters.