Primary ICT: Extending Knowledge in Practice

174 Pages·2006·2.398 MB·English

by  John Duffty

A c h i e v i n g Q T S
Extending Knowledge in Practice
Primary ICT

A c h i e v i n g Q T S
Extending Knowledge in Practice
Primary ICT
John Duffty

Learning Matters
ForSia“nandRhys
Firstpublishedin2006byLearningMattersLtd.
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedina
retrievalsystem,ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from
LearningMatters.
(cid:1)2006JohnDuffty
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ACIPrecordfor thisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
ISBN-13:9781844450558
ISBN-10:1844450554
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CONTENTS
Introduction 1
PART1:THEPLACEOFICTINSCHOOL 7
1 TheplaceofICTinschool:planningandmanagingICT 7
PART2:EXPLORATION 15
2 Explorationinpractice 15
3 ICTstrategies:exploration 32
PART3:TEXTUALCOMMUNICATION 45
4 Textualcommunicationinpractice 45
5 ICTstrategies:textualcommunication 59
PART4:MULTIMEDIACOMMUNICATION 72
6 Multimediacommunicationinpractice 72
7 ICTstrategies:multimediacommunication 89
PART5:DEVELOPINGIDEAS,MODIFYINGAND
EVALUATINGWORK 105
8 Reviewing,modifyingandevaluatinginpractice 105
9 ICTstrategies:reviewing,modifyingandevaluatingwork 118
PART6:CONTROLTECHNOLOGY 130
10 Controltechnologyinpractice 130
11 ICTstrategies:controltechnology 144
Indexofteachingexamp les 159
Glossary 161
Index 165

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author’s thanks go to the following companies and organisations for images
reproducedinthisbook:
2simple,p53
AspexSoftware,p111
BBCScienceClips,p100
BBCWales,p78
BedfordBoroughCouncil(EducationServiceforBedfordMuseumandtheCecil
HigginsArtGallery),p94
CrocodileClips,p77
d2digitalbydesign,p81
DataHarvest,p29,p139
FlexibleSoftwareLtd,p34
NorthumberlandLocalAuthority,p154
SherstonPublishingGroup,p79,p149
SofteaseLtd,p48
Everyefforthasbeenmadetocontactcopyrightholdersforpermissiontousethe
imageswithinthisbook.Intheunlikelyeventofanyomission,thiscanberectifiedin
asubsequenteditionbycontactingthepublishers(www.learningmatters.co.uk).

INTRODUCTION
ThisbookhasbeenwrittentohelpyoutodevelopyourknowledgeoftheICTcurri-
culumandto translate thatsubjectknowledgeinto effective teaching.Its aimis to
enable you as a beginning teacher to extend your knowledge of ICT in a way in
whichwillenableyoutouseitmoreactivelyinplanningandimplementinglessons.
There are two related themes within this work; oneis that the contextinwhich
ICTisdevelopedshouldbebothengagingandmeaningful,theotheristhattheuse
ofICTshouldbeseenaswhollycross-curricular.AsPotter(2002)hasindicated:
inanerainwhichtheprimarycurriculumhasbeenallowedtobecomeatomised,ICTis
uniquelypositionedtomakesomeoftheconnectionsagain,allowingchildrentoexplore
andlearninwaysthatmostsuittheircuriosityandexploittheirpotentialasproblem
solvers. (Potter,2002,p90)
Part1ofthebookdescribestheimportanceofICTintoday’sprimarycurriculum,and
offersanillustrationofthewayICTisusedina‘typical’school.
Theremainingsectionsofthebookconsistofpairedchapters.
. Thefirstchapterineachpartexaminesanumberofpracticalexamplesdrawn
fromschoolwork,researchandadvicefromexpertsandgovernmentbodies.
. Thesecondchapterunpicksthecurriculumexpectations,describesaseriesof
‘tools’whichcouldbeusedtodeveloporenhancelearningsituationsand
discussesarangeofprofessionalissues.
Part2identifieswaysinwhichchildrencanuseICTtodeveloptheirinvestigativeand
explorationskills,aswellasdevelopingeffectivelearningpractices.Part3highlights
theimportanceofusingICTtodevelopchildren’scommunicationskillswhenworking

with text.Thisis one of themostrecognisable forms of waysinwhich ICTassists
learning.However,withtheadvancesintechnology,childrenandyounglearnersare
becomingwellversedinvisualliteracy,andthenotionofmoviefilms,cinematography
andmultimediacommunication.Asaresultofthis,someformsofwrittencommuni-
cationmaybesupersededbytheuseofmultimedia.ThisisdiscussedinPart4.
Theimportanceofreviewing,modifyingandevaluatingworkisillustratedinPart5;
clearly there ismuch overlap.When children are working with any aspectof ICT
thereneedstobesomeelementofreviewingandevaluating.Itistreatedasaseparate
sectionhere,simplyasawayofemphasisingitsimportanceandasameansofclarify-
ingthestrategiesthatcanbeused.Thenotionofongoingreviewandevaluationisa
keycomponentwhenworking withcontrol technology.Thisis exploredin Part 6,
whichalsoillustratesanddiscussestheimportantdevelopmentandlearningopportu-
nitiestobegainedfromworkingwithcontrolandmodellingtechnology.
1
INTRODUCTION
Throughout the chapters you will meet a number of reflective and practical
tasks.Thesehavebeendesignedtoenhanceyourunderstandingofthematerialand
tohelpyoutoplacetheideasandstrategiesintosituationswhicharerelevanttoyou.
The reflective tasks indicate areas where you can reconsider the elements under
discussion.Learningismoremeaningfulif itis activelearning; bycarryingout the
reflectivetasksyouwillbeexploringandanalysing theideasinthisbookinamore
purposefulway.Thiswillassistyouinbecoming familiarwiththenecessaryknowl-
edgeandunderstanding.
Thepracticaltasksareagainintendedforyoutointeractwiththematerial.Theywill
usuallyaskyoutodosomething:tomakenotes,toadjustyourplanning,toorganise
teaching in a particular way or to adapt an idea already given.Clearly, depending
uponwhatstageyouareatwithinyourstudies,notallofthepracticaltaskswillbe
relevanttoyou.However,itwillbeusefultoreturntothematalaterdatetowork
on them when they are more applicable.The practical tasks should assist you in
becomingfamiliarwiththenecessaryskills.
AswellaseachofthechaptersbeingcloselylinkedtotheFoundationStageareasof
learning (the examples given here will still be relevant to the new Early Years
FoundationStage)andtheNationalCurriculumprogrammesof study(the knowl-
edge,understandingandskills thatchildrenshouldbe taught), youwillnotice that
reference is made to the new Professional Standards for Qualified Teacher Status
(QTS).Pleasenote thatonly the draft standardswereavailableatthe time of this
handbookgoingtopress.Althoughwedonotanticipateanychangesbeingmade,if
thereareminoramendmentsthesewillbeputontheLearningMatterswebsiteinfor-
mationfor thistitle(www.learningmatters.co.uk).
ThedraftstandardsforQTSaresetoutinthreeinterrelatedsections.
1. ThefirstsectionoftheQTSStandardsdescribestheProfessionalCharacter-
istics/QualitiesandResponsibilities:thissectionsetsoutthepersonalqua-
litiesthatteachersshouldpossessinorder tomeettheirresponsibilities.
2. The secondsectionof theQTSStandardsidentifiesProfessional Knowledge
and Understanding: this section indicates the areas about which teachers

shouldbewellinformed.
3. Thefinalsectionof theQTSStandardsdescribes theTeaching,Learning and
Assessing:thissectionstateswhatteachersshouldbeabletodo.
Themajorelementsinthisbookaredesignedtooffertoolsandstrategiesfordevel-
opingyourownteachingpracticeswithICT.ThisdirectlyrelatestotheProfessional
KnowledgeandUnderstandingStandard.
Forexample,manyofthechaptersofferspecificguidanceandtoolstoenableyouto
dothefollowing.
. Developyourknowledgeandunderstandingofarangeofteachingandlearning
strategiesfortheirsubjects,andknowhowtouseandadaptthemtomeetthe
variedneedsoflearners.(Q2.4)
2