New technologies in Primary Teaching

Question one:

During this Teaching practice I have used a lot of technologies, as the school is well equipped and the teachers and students know how to use it. In my first week I used the laptop and projector to show a short Maori myth from youtube. This improved my teaching because it was reinforcement of the myth and helped those students who are visual learners see the story in a different way than just reading it. It also made the lesson more interesting. Over my four weeks I have used the projectors and lap tops a lot. The children have previously learned how to use the Mac computers and programmes on it like its photo shop. They have the freedom to play on this programme, make mini movies and slide shows. We were doing Puppet shows, and to improve the children’s progress and performances, we had time where each group performed there puppet shows and one child recorded it. We had the sound system and microphone set up to do this as well. So, by recording their performances, they were able to play back and they could see what they did well and most importantly where they need to make changes and improvements. I think it’s amazing the amount the children know about the computers and other technologies. It was great for me as they could teach me how to use it and implement it. Each class room had a camera as well. This was good for me as I took a lot of photos of the children doing their work. Near the end of my placement, I was able to make some slide shows showing them their own work. It was especially good in jump jam on Friday, as I took photos of the children dancing to the video and then while they ended I plugged the camera into the laptop in the hall and put them into a quick slide show with one song. Then I was able to play it up on the big projector there and then. The equipment was so available and I had learned by this stage how to make the slide show. The children loved seeing themselves up there. It defiantly helped with their motivation and confidence in doing the jump jam activity! The other teachers in the school all so have this equipment available and implement it in their classrooms. And during assemblies they use power points. I believe that all of this technology available to me helped improve my lessons and teaching.

Question two:

Thinking back to my primary years, as a pupil I have to say there had been a HUGE change in technology especially within schools. Even though it’s been less than ten years since I was at primary school, the change has been dramatic. For example, I bought my first tape when I was about 10-11 years old then moved onto CD’s about 13 years old, then this moved very quickly into MP3’s and most recently the IPOD. This is just a simple example of the speed technology is moving. When I was primary student I was lucky enough to have a father that was skilled in ITC and had computers in the house. But for most of my friends the computer was still a novelty and very rare to have in the home. I went to a public school and a private school for my primary years. There was a difference in technology between them. At the public school we barely saw or touched computers, I can’t remember using any sort of technology past a camera. However, at the private school we had a computer lab and we all so used to do radio talks to people in places like Antarctica. This was very high tech. The computers were very basic though. No video cams or flashy programmes. We only practiced typing and wrote good copies of hand written writing. So, reflecting on technology from the last 10-15 years there has been a big change. If I compare it to the school I am in now, with computers, laptops, projectors, and cameras in every class room, to one or two very basic computers in the whole school, I can only imagine the speed of new technology and its availability is going to rapidly increase. I think it is a very good thing schools such as mine are able to have this kind of technology in their school and classrooms. In my other placements I have also seen this kind of technology in classrooms. Because of the rapid increase and use of technology, especially computers, I believe it is important that all children up to secondary school years are equipped with computer skills. Because, in New Zealand and around the world, most jobs are based around computers so for them to be fully equipped to go out into the work force computer skills are essential.

Question three:

I had some conversations to colleagues about their view on the technology in the school and classrooms. My associate teacher thought it is great the way the school is moving with making technology more available in the classrooms. Because she understands how important these skills are going to be for the children when they make it in to the work force. It will help them fit in and enhance the prospects of their community. However, she did say because it’s changed so much it is hard to keep up with, especially with her having to learn from scratch. It’s harder for older people because computers were not always there and it can feel quite foreign to them. It would be like asking children these days how to use an old radio from 30 years ago. She has been trying her best to learn how to implement technology into her class room and learning from the children. She said there are some crash courses available to improve your computer skills. She believes they are very beneficial. I personally don’t think I need any now, but in the next five years I think I might need them as technology increases. We discussed blogging during my time there, as the school decided with the recent outbreak of Swine Flu that each class should have its own blog. Just in case all the children were sent home, they could still communicate with the whole class. She had to create the blog herself and then teach the children how to use it. I think this broadened her view on technology and how it can be useful for many things. Each week the class blogs and puts up new pictures or videos. It is great because all the families can look at the blog and get a fair idea of what is going on and what learning is taking place. It is also a good place to share notices. All of this has helped the teachers around the school become more aware of how we can use technology and how beneficial it can be. I didn’t meet any teachers in my school that had a negative attitude towards the technology in the school. They all are very accepting of the increase of it and want the best for the students, so have been trying there best to implement it into the class room.

Question four:

I think that in the school and classroom environment I have experienced over my TE5 doesn’t have much to improve on to do with technology. The school is well equipped, the teachers are understanding and are implementing technology into their classrooms, and they all have positive attitudes towards it. Although, the students are becoming very good at using the computers and cameras etc; I did not see any sort of typing skills being taught. This could be something the school needs to look and teachers need to take time once a week or so to put aside for basic typing skills. And using programmes for typing and writing out their good copies of work. This could become integrated into the writing part of the day; just like handwriting is practiced typing could be practiced as well. It is a very important skill. In most jobs you are required to be competent with computer programmes and you need to be fast at typing. It is vital they learn to type when they are still young. When learning to type as an older person it can become very difficult. Children need to know the keyboard like the back of their hand. If this did take place in the class room, I think it would help the children become more confident when using the computers and through this they will learn more and more about it uses and I will feel like a better teacher if they can take these skills out in to the community and use them.

Through this paper, I have learned that technology is increasingly becoming more and more imprortant within the classroom. As a teacher, integrating computers,digital cameras,  projectors etc to enhance your lessons can be bennificial to the learners. They can help motivate students or you might need them to show and support something they are learning about. Teachers need to educate themselves and have relevant knowledge to be able to to teach implementing teachnology. Teachers need to move with the development of  technology
Which of the readings I read were the most appropriate to my learning outcomes and  to my needs as a learner? Why?

The readings were all informative and relevant to learners outcomes and needs. Because they talk about teachers in our society and their role through ICT.