Session 5 and session 6: Programming and computer modelling

Session 5:
In today's session we began by talking about computer modelling. We discovered that computer modelling involved allowing someone, in our case children, to experiment with things on the computer and testing out 'what happens if..' scenarios. Examples of modelling in real life may be testing medicines or using aeroplane models for testing before sending a real aeroplane flying. In terms of software that could be used in schools some examples are My modelling toolkit, 2simple (available on www.purplemash.com), Logo (a free download) and Scratch (another free download).

We were also told about some other useful websites such as http://www.poissonrouge.com/ and http://www.kenttrustweb.org.uk/kentict/kentict_home.cfm.

The skills that children can develop from computer modelling can include:
-learning by trial and error
-become willing to take a risk
-problem solving
-changing strategies
-thinking of ideas
-understanding cause and effect
-reviewing work and strategies and making appropriate changes.

We then spent a while exploring these programs, getting to know them and thinking about how we could use them in the classroom.
I spent some time on purplemash.com on a program which allowed you to build your own maze and then test it out.

This game activity is fun and would be engaging for children of any age. It can be cross curricular as it not only supports ICT, but could support design and technology. Many of the other activities on the website are supportive across the curriculum in a similar way. For example there are activities where you can design your own vehicles. This example is designing a car. You can see that it shows the net, and this may also help children to understand how nets of shapes work in Maths.

Programming:

In the second part of the lesson we discussed computer programming. In this modern day it is very common for children to spend a lot of time playing computer games. However, it may be rare that they actually get the opportunity to design games and play their own games. Therefore, there is a big emphasis on computer programming to come back in to schools priorities.

Purplemash.com also have programming activities, such as their 2go activity where you can program your own character to move through a scene, shown in the image below. A child who has used a beebot or a pixie (mentioned in an earlier week on programming) to do simple programming should recognise the controls and how to use basic programming skills.

We then had a go at using a program called Logo, which is free to download. This program teaches basic programming skills as you have to enter a command and it draws lines on the page depending on what you have asked it to do. It is a very good activity as it can be extended for older children. You can try and program it to draw shapes and patterns, and this can get very complex. Even we found it difficult! It has a strong cross curricular link to maths as it can require a child to use their knowledge of shapes, degrees and spacial awareness.

Next we looked at a program called Scratch, which is also available free to download. It involves children making their own games, which as mentioned earlier, is great as it means they are not just playing on standard computer games, and it will make them aware of the complex process behind making games. This program allows you to create characters, add sound, pictures, text, questions, create movement of characters etc. It is easy to use so accessible to both KS1 and 2.

Overall this session made me realise how there is such a wide range of resources available on the internet, purple mash stood out as particularly useful to me. They all seem to be free and easy to access, and can help support learning across the curriculum. They do not have to be used solely in teaching about computer modelling and programming, but instead can be used in a vast variety of lessons. They are also engaging learning tools for those who find it difficult to concentrate on the standard reading or writing activity.

Session 6:

In session 6 we continued to discuss computer programming and modelling.

We began by looking at Kodu, a program which is free to download by Microsoft. This program allows you to play already created games and edit them, but mainly to design your own games where you can program characters or objects to do certain actions. It allows you to design your scene, characters, add objects, add instructions by programing them in. It is a bit difficult to get to grips with so would be used mainly for high ability key stage 2 children. It could be a good idea to get the older children to design their own games for the younger children to play. It is a way for children to see how the games that they often play are made. It may make them think about programming when playing computer games in their spare time. It is a useful cross curricular program as it can encourage use of maths (directions for example), language development (instructions) and design and technology when creating scenes.

The next program we looked at was called Dance to Advance- which when bought comes with two dance mats. Dance mats will be recognised by lots of children from arcades so may engage them immediately. The program allows you to design your own levels, changing the prompts and answers, where the children have to answer a question and press the correct answer with their foot using the mat. Levels that already exist on the program differ in age range and subject. It is a cross curricular activity as you can play science, maths, English related games for example- or create your own to suit your particular topic. I had a go at making my own. I made a maths game, having the first 8 numbers in the 8 times table as the answers and the multiplication sums as the prompts, shown in the picture below. You can also add pictures and sound to make it more engaging for the children. Using this program you can also ask older children to design levels for younger children which they might find enjoyable. It is a useful resource to use at the end of a topic to assess what the children have learnt. It can be a very enjoyable way of practicing times tables too. Here is an image of my 8 times table game!

Games such as these, or games where you cannot program but simply play already existing games can all be useful tools in the classroom if used appropriately. You can access existing lesson plans online which use games such as the wi, or satnavs to help with geography, as a learning resource. Games are useful in the classroom if this can be justified.

Simulation:

We then went on to discuss simulation, which is actually very similar to computer modelling. Simulation has very similar purposes to modelling as it allows children to experiment. Simulation is more building your own scenes e.g. building a town e.g. in the game The Sims. Modelling is more focused on testing things out, for example the rollercoaster game shown in the image below, available on Kent ICT website. In this game you had to alter the track and test if it worked for the roller coaster to have enough power to get through the whole track.

Simulation is useful to use in classrooms for ideas that cannot easily be explored without the computer aid. However, simulations shouldn't be used in circumstances where real life activities would be more beneficial e.g. in most science experiments.

We looked at a few more useful tools for the classroom. Wordle was a useful one as you can enter a load of words and it generates an arrangement of these words for you. You can change the colour, layout, font etc for your desired effect. This could be useful for covering topic books, classroom displays, or used as a way of mind mapping, for example. Here is an example:

We also looked at Voki: a website which allows you to create your own customised speaking avatar. This could be useful in the classroom for many reasons. You could use it to create a character in a story you have read. You could use it to tell a story. It may also be useful to get children to talk about themselves as they will sometimes be more open if a photo of themselves is not used. This is inclusive for the quieter children, or those with EAL or SEN as they can type their speech.

This is a voki in the making!

M Learning: We quickly mentioned M learning as being the new E-learning. This is learning through mobile equipment e.g. phones or ipods. Lots of schools have taken this on board and have ipod touch's in the classroom, which can be useful for internet research or the many apps you can download. This is likely to be a motivating and engaging learning tool, and many children are so familiar with such devices, they can sometimes use them better than many adults!

All of these programs are useful, if used appropriately and the children have a purpose. They must be used in a way that is meaningful to the child and relates to a set of learning objectives, similar to any resource used in school.

Directed Task Week

During directed task week I spent 3 days in a local primary school. During these 3 days, I in a year 1 class and was fortunate enough to be present for their weekly ICT lesson. This was interesting to see whether they used any of the resources we have been looking at in our sessions. It turns out they did not, but this just meant I learnt something new. The class went to an ICT suite in the school where they sat at their own computers (some had to share as it was a very big class). They used a program that involved drawing and using various artistic tools. Their task was the represent the four seasons on one sheet divided in to four separate sections. They were using tools such as paintbrush, pencil and shapes to draw their interpretation of the seasons. They had to label each box using text to name the seasons. When the teacher was satisfied that their pictures were full enough, they were allowed to print them off.
This lesson seemed very much like a standard, traditional lesson that I remember doing in school. It used no particularly interesting equipment that we have learnt to use such as animation programs and digital microscopes. However, it was suitable for this particular lesson in representing seasons. Some of the children were very distracted by others work and barely did anything on their own. There were also problems with those sharing computers as they would get bored when it wasn't their turn.
I think using different, more interesting modern equipment would make an ICT lesson far more engaging!

Session 4: Speaking and listening and Digital Imaging

In the first part of this lesson we discussed how ICT can provide opportunities for speaking and listening. We came up with a few examples to start us off:
-Mobile phones- using technology to understand different ways of communicating
-Sharing computers- in lessons, sharing a computer with a partner or small group can encourage collaboration skills
-Interactive whiteboard- using the tools to promote discussions, for example having pre-written questions on the board encourages asking and answering questions
-Webcams and digital videoing- allows for conversation techniques to take place
-Recording equipment- allows you to listen back on relevant recorded conversations
-Downloadable recordings e.g. podcasts- improve listening skills.

 After coming up with our immediate thoughts and ideas, we were then shown some more specific examples of how we could use ICT in the classroom to encourage speaking and listening. Below are some examples of this:


Talking photo album:

 I thought this was a very good tool to use and could be used all across the curriculum. It has slots to put your own pictures in it, and each slot has a play button which plays a pre-recorded message attached to that picture. All you need to do is press the silver button and the record button at the same time, record your message then press stop. This could be use for any age as you could change the type of activity you use it for. For example, in reception and year 1 you could use it for phonics by putting a picture of the grapheme in the slot and recording the sound. You could use it for recording events on school trips, by taking photos and recording messages to explain what you were doing in the photo. It could be used as a story telling tool-for EAL or SEN children this may be particularly useful. It is such a diverse piece of ICT that could have great benefits if used well.

 Talking Tins:

Talking tins are small round plastic objects that simply consist of a recording device and a speaker, so you can record a message and play it back. These may also be useful tools for phonics, by getting the children to record their sounds and listen back on their pronunciation. They may also be useful for recording instructions for an activity and leaving it on the tables for children to refer to if they need reminding. They can be used to make a talking display board, by recording facts and sticking the tins to the board, to provide a more interesting, sensory display. They can be used in a treasure hunt, each message telling you how to get to the next talking tin. They can be used in all areas of the school not just the classroom, but you must be aware they are not water proof. Of course there are many uses for these, these are just a few useful examples.

Talk time cards:

Talk time cards look like small whiteboards with a record button and speaker on them. They are useful tools especially for literacy. Again, they could be useful for phonics by getting children to listen to a phoneme then writing a grapheme (exemplified in he image). They could also be used for maths by writing a sum and getting the child to listen to the answer to see if they got it right, or by listening to a number and writing a sum that could equal that number. Again, there are many uses for talk time cards. There are also talk time cards where you can record a number of different things, for example 'chatterbox' where you can record 10 things and press a button to listen to each message. Such equipment is very inclusive, especially for SEN or EAL children.

 

Podcasting:

We discussed how podcasting could be very useful in schools to develop speaking and listening skills. Podcasts are recordings that you can do and publish them online for others to listen to. This is a great activity for children to do in school because they enjoy it thoroughly as it gives them a voice and they enjoy having an audience and being able to connect with the rest of the world. As well as making their own, they can also download other peoples podcasts and listen to them, this is great for listening to children in other schools. They can be downloaded on to PC's or mp3 players. 

Audacity is an example of computer software which is useful for children to be able to record podcasts. They can export them to different formats which is useful for example, if they have a blog they can post them on. It is free to download and can be used for any age group.

The SMART notebook also includes a recording device. This is particularly useful as you can add sound to objects which is a useful teaching tool across the curriculum.

Digital imaging:

We also looked at digital imaging equipment and how it can be used in schools. One example of this is 'tough cams'. These are used to record videos, plug in the computer and play them back. They are useful for primary age because, as they state, they are tough and difficult to break. In this session we used one to make a short video using play dough models and computer software which allowed us to take lots of frames and put them together to make an animation. This would be great fun for children as they can use it to tell a story, practice their ICT skills, and do some art by making the models. Below are pictures of our animation in progress!

 

Photo Story 3

We discussed and got to use a computer software called Photo Story 3. This software is available free to download and is suitable for children. It is used by taking images on a digital camera and putting them on the computer to make a story. You can add text, effects to photos, music and sound recordings to make a story. It can be very simple and effective. It may be best to use cheap, strong digital cameras so you have no fear of children breaking them. This is also useful across the curriculum, for example it may be used in literacy, or telling stories related to other subjects such as history and geography.

The best thing about all the equipment we used today is how many different areas of the curriculum they can address. They provide an enjoyable way for children to learn effectively, as long as they are used well.

Session 3: Computer control

In this weeks ICT session we learnt about computer control and got a chance to use different types of equipment. We started off by defining computer control and came to the conclusion that it is when a computer controls a device for example when your press a button and the computer does an action that it is programmed to do. As a class we came up with some examples of this both inside and outside of the home.

Inside the home:
-Timed light switches
-microwave
-sky plus
-central heating
-burglar alarm
-washing machine

Outside the home:
-Car keys
-traffic lights
-CCTV cameras
-barcode scanners
-aircraft
-electric gates

There are benefits to computers controlling things. We decided that it can be more accurate, more efficient, cheaper and more consistent than human labour. Computers never get tired, they don't loose concentration, they don't require breaks and holidays, and they don't make mistakes unless they break down (which is due to human error). However, it is important to consider the disadvantages this change has on society such a the way it decreases job opportunities. It is important to discuss such issues with children. Key stage 2 will be capable of discussing the impact technology has had on our lives including the loss of jobs and the music industry.

Programable toys:

We then went on to learn about programmable toys and how they can be used in the classroom. We discovered they are not just useful for ICT, but they can be cross curricular if used well.
Below is a list of the equipment we looked at and how they can be used well in a classroom, including pictures of us testing them out in the session:

-Bee bots
These are programmable toys, particularly useful for the younger classes, as you can put in simple instructions to make it move forward, back and turn. They are simple and attractive looking for younger children. The problem is they will always look like a bee so there is not much scope creativity. You can use them geography by getting them to follow co-ordinates on a map, English by getting them to go over a letter poster spelling out words, maths or art by getting them to draw pictures or shapes.

-Pixie
These can be used in the same way as bee bots, however they can be decorated, such as downloading a cover and decorating it, to be used to different creative purposes.

-Pippin
Pippin is also a programmable toy like the bee bot and pixie. However, it is more advance as you can choose which degree it will turn and you have to use bigger numbers for the distance it will move. You can also put a pen in the middle of it so it draws shapes.They will be more beneficial for key stage 2, particularly year 6.

-Flexiscope 
This is a microscope that can be plugged in to a computer and used with specific software. You can see the image from the microscope on the computer screen. It has a light you can choose to have on, and you can take a picture which saves on the computer. These may be particularly useful for science to look at materials.

-Data logger
A data logger can record information and using computer software you can view this data on the computer. It can record temperature, sound level and light. It comes with an attachable probe for flexibility of where you want to measure data e.g. putting it in soil. This is a useful tool for cross curricular activities. It can be used in science for testing experiment conditions. It can be used in music for monitoring sound of instruments. It can be used for measuring traffic noise or other noise when exploring the local environment. It can be used to decide how to make things such as curtains or ear muffs. There are many different options and it should be something that is used by all teachers, however this is definitely not always the case.

I will now focus on one programmable toy, The Bee bot.

Workshop Activity

Bee Bot

Maths activity:

-Children will program the bee bot to follow given co-ordinates and plot them on a chart.

• In which areas of the curriculum could you use this activity? Consider cross-curricular links

Maths: Drawing graphs and plotting co-ordinates

ICT: Learning the basics of programming

Geography: Following co-ordinates on a map 

• What is the purpose of the activity? (Is it to teach new ICT skills? To consolidate and practice existing skills, or is the ICT simply a tool and the focus lies in the subject being taught?)

-The Bee bot as a piece of ICT itself does not teach much about ICT, except the basic concepts of programming. However it is unlikely that children will have learnt previously how to program something to do a routine, so they will be learning this skill. However, the most beneficial way this toy can be used is to teach knowledge from the other subjects such as learning about co-ordinates in maths or geography. They will be able to practice knowledge and skills they have learnt about graphs and co-ordinates in maths, or this activity can even be used in the first time teaching about graphs and co-ordinates

• What skills, knowledge and understanding does the activity support and/or extend in terms of the subject and ICT?

In maths it would support knowledge of shapes and co-ordinates. In ICT it will support the basic knowledge of programming. 

• What is the key vocabulary used in the activity?

-Forward         -Programme

-Backwards    -Instructions

-Turn               -Routine

-Left                 -Co-ordinates

-Right              -Axis

• How could you extend the activity for more able children and/or older year group?

-The more able children could plot co-ordinates on 4 quadrant graphs, using minus numbers.

• How would you differentiate the activity for less able and/or younger age group?

-The children could use the bee bot to plot co-oridnates that are already marked in pen on the graph. It will help them to understand how to get to that point so they can then go on to plotting them themselves.

• What opportunities are there to assess the children’s learning?

-You can ask a child to plot a challenging co-ordinate and watch if they do it correctly. 

• What are the practicalities involved in organising and managing the activity in the classroom/computer suite?

-There will probably not be enough bee bots for one per child so activity will have to be done in groups. This may make it difficult so asses childrens individual ability.

Session 2: Interactive Whiteboards

Interactive whiteboards can be greatly beneficial to learning in the primary school- if they are used often enough and to their full potential. However, many teachers may not feel confident in using them or using all the resources they can provide.
Despite the education benefits of the interactive whiteboard, there are some considerations:
-You will need a back up plan if the technology fails- which isn't that unlikely!
-It must be at the correct height so the children can reach it
-Consider whether everyone in the class can see it and whether the lighting is suitable
-Will your classroom have it's own interactive whiteboard or will you have to share?
-Are you using it interactively or just as a normal whiteboard?

However, although there are various considerations, the benefits seem to outweigh the negatives. They can be beneficial for the following reasons:
-Developing discussion skills- they enable you to have text already set up on the whiteboard such as discussion questions
-Audio, visual and kinaesthetic learners will all benefit from this type of learning
-It provides a record of what happened in the classroom that you can go back to and review
-It is more stimulating and motivating for children as it is a more entertaining interactive form of learning
-It may help SEN and EAL children, especially as a source for visual learning
-It can be a useful tool for developing ICT skills, for the teacher as well as the children!

In our ICT session this week we split in to groups and each had a go at using a resource on the interactive whiteboards, which we then showed to the rest of the class and taught them how to use it. Our group focused on a tool called 'Click to reveal'.
The instructions follow:

We used to tool in our group to create a mathematics activity. Sums were written on the board (they were random but in your class they would be designed to meet the learning objectives of that lesson). These sums had one part missing, this could be the answer or one of the main parts of the sum e.g. 5 + ? = 9 or 4 + 11 = ?. The children would have to work out the missing part and click on a button to reveal the answer. An activity like this may engage the children more than simply answering sums in their maths books. It is interactive and therefore should be more engaging, especially for children who benefit from visual activities.

It was a useful lesson as we learnt one tool in depth, and briefly learnt the other tools that the other groups presented. Following the lesson I am downloading the software and practicing with the different tools so that I can confidently use them in my teaching.

This book is useful to read to understand the benefits of IWB's:

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=XU7NzGpb_-UC&printsec=frontcover&dq=interactive+whiteboard&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Z8W9UILTAa6r0AW454HADQ&ved=0CD4Q6AEwAA