PGCE (Early Years)Evaluation
Below is the response data in response to the questions. The initial impression is that the Project was, once again, successful in meeting its aims. The entirely school-based format for this run of the project led to some communication issues with schools who had not participated before, but these were clarified during tutor visits on the planning day. Once again, uniformity of experience in schools appeared to be an issue for some associate teachers and several would have liked more time in schools on the project day. Overall, however, this appeared to be a worthwhile experience for all concerned.
Teacher Evaluation
Did the project lead to improved teaching with technology and extend and enhance what pupils learn?
Yes. It gave us the opportunity to produce a completed piece of work in one session where all children were supported and able to participate rather than having to complete it over serveral weeks. Children were engaged and enthusiastic all the way through and were able to see results quickly. It enabled us to record voice overs and use microphones whcih would have been very difficult otherwise.
Yes, it was a good opportunity to look at some new software that we had recently bought. Animation was one of the areas that we had previously struggled to cover. The 2Animate program was ideal for the age range and as the children were already familiar with 2simple software it was only a matter of introducing the concept of how an animation is created and using a few new tools. The children quickly understood how to use the programme and it was great to have so many other adults in the class to support them. Normally as I would be in the class by myself I wouldn't be able to provide the support the children received today.
A successful morning using 2Animate in Year 1. Really good to have the students in class as it meant one adult per table. This allowed children to be fully supported and resulted in greater engagement with the software. We were also blessed with one of those rare days when both hardware and software didn't malfunction, which was a bonus! I would be interested to hear what the students learnt from the session too.
It was a one off lesson that incorporated some elements that the children already knew and quite a few new skills to learn. The children knew how to access class blog and how to write their 5 sentence challenge. The new skills were cut and pasting into Word, spell checking their work, pasting back into their class blog. Which was a bit tedious as they carried this out in very small steps after me modelling on the IWB. They also had never created a Voki so that had to be modelled too, but they really enjoyed creating their own and it would have been great to have spent more time on this part. They then had to paste their 5 sentence challenge into the Voki and save their work. The students and I did the embedding part of the activity, only because we were really short on time and it would have been a shame for the children not to have an end product after all of their hard work. Differentiation was mainly to do with the number of sentences they wrote in the time given and the amount of help they required during the lesson to perform the tasks. I felt that all of the children enjoyed the lesson, they were very excited listening to their Vokis and the level of independence definitely improved. Even though the lesson was a one off, the skills taught and learnt are transferable and will be used again.
The project did allow us to do a lesson which I would otherwise not attempted. It was great to have the extra hands to enable us to try something completely new. The children completed the activity very well and enjoyed the activity and the results.
I was delighted to have 3 good students who were able to lead their own group of children. It meant that the children could use Flexitree in small groups receiving the help and support necessary. My children have not used such a programme before and were very keen to do so. It not only enhanced their ICT skills but also Literacy through the use of questions and Topic through the theme of vegetables. We carried out preparation work prior to the actual ICT session which helped the children enormously to visualise how the branching data base helped us to sort vegetables. The children were over the moon with their outcomes, especially as the students kindly printed and sorted everyones work to show in their Topic books.
The project was thoroughly enjoyed by the pupils. They had the opportunity to follow an idea all the way through within the morning session, however for some children this was too much crammed in to too little time. Some of the children would have been better with a longer session or more than 1 session (as I would normally teach it) in order to practise each stage. Having said that, I have followed up our project on branching databases with a paper based homework activity with good results. The Associate teachers who attended were well prepared and worked really well with the pupils. Being able to split the class into smaller groups was beneficial to them.
How could the project be improved?
It would have been good if the students could have brought some of their skills and knowledge from university and come prepared with ideas about what they would like to do as well as the input from the teachers. This would have allowed them to be a little more involved in the planning stage and share their expertise too. Overall the projects is a good idea and a very good experience especially from the childrens point of view.
It would be great if the day the students come in to observe could be flexible then the lesson could fit into the whole curriculum better. Friday afternoon isn't always the best time.
Personally, I think this was probably the most successful of the projects that I have been involved with. The students were self-motivated and a great help with the children. I only met with one of the students on the 'planning' day but that wasn't a major issue as we had decided that I was teaching the lesson and they would work with groups. The original plan went to pot because of a technology issue, so that changed anyway! In hindsight, it would have been better to have two sessions with the children, one to do the literacy part with the 5 sentence challenge and one to do the Voki. As all children wrote their 5SC, if some of the Vokis weren't successful, I can sort that out at a later date, so all children have an end product. I've also given students my email and told them if they want to come in again, or think I can be of any help, they are more than welcome to contact me.
The communication could be better from the University - of what the expectations of the teachers and students was. It would also have been useful to have had a little more input from the students and to have had some more ideas and suggestions - based upon what they had learnt in University. The suggestions for the lesson came from our teaching staff and we then did the lesson plan and delivered the main teaching - so would have liked a little more of thier input. The students all worked very well and supported the children very well and completed the activity very well.
Having now done the project for 3/4 times, I would like to see the students have more input in the actual planning. Im sure, at times, the students would like to put their own slant on things and i would be very happy to see what their ideas would be. Im sure they're up to date with various new and exciting programmes which we could possibly use in our school.
I think the project overall was a success. The meeting beforehand was essential for planning and discussion and resulted in a smooth operation! As I said before, the amount of new learning we put in to a morning session did not lend itself to much practise time and the children were perhaps moved on quicker than they normally would have been. More sessions or a full day would have eased this problem.
Yes. It gave us the opportunity to produce a completed piece of work in one session where all children were supported and able to participate rather than having to complete it over serveral weeks. Children were engaged and enthusiastic all the way through and were able to see results quickly. It enabled us to record voice overs and use microphones whcih would have been very difficult otherwise.
Yes, it was a good opportunity to look at some new software that we had recently bought. Animation was one of the areas that we had previously struggled to cover. The 2Animate program was ideal for the age range and as the children were already familiar with 2simple software it was only a matter of introducing the concept of how an animation is created and using a few new tools. The children quickly understood how to use the programme and it was great to have so many other adults in the class to support them. Normally as I would be in the class by myself I wouldn't be able to provide the support the children received today.
A successful morning using 2Animate in Year 1. Really good to have the students in class as it meant one adult per table. This allowed children to be fully supported and resulted in greater engagement with the software. We were also blessed with one of those rare days when both hardware and software didn't malfunction, which was a bonus! I would be interested to hear what the students learnt from the session too.
It was a one off lesson that incorporated some elements that the children already knew and quite a few new skills to learn. The children knew how to access class blog and how to write their 5 sentence challenge. The new skills were cut and pasting into Word, spell checking their work, pasting back into their class blog. Which was a bit tedious as they carried this out in very small steps after me modelling on the IWB. They also had never created a Voki so that had to be modelled too, but they really enjoyed creating their own and it would have been great to have spent more time on this part. They then had to paste their 5 sentence challenge into the Voki and save their work. The students and I did the embedding part of the activity, only because we were really short on time and it would have been a shame for the children not to have an end product after all of their hard work. Differentiation was mainly to do with the number of sentences they wrote in the time given and the amount of help they required during the lesson to perform the tasks. I felt that all of the children enjoyed the lesson, they were very excited listening to their Vokis and the level of independence definitely improved. Even though the lesson was a one off, the skills taught and learnt are transferable and will be used again.
The project did allow us to do a lesson which I would otherwise not attempted. It was great to have the extra hands to enable us to try something completely new. The children completed the activity very well and enjoyed the activity and the results.
I was delighted to have 3 good students who were able to lead their own group of children. It meant that the children could use Flexitree in small groups receiving the help and support necessary. My children have not used such a programme before and were very keen to do so. It not only enhanced their ICT skills but also Literacy through the use of questions and Topic through the theme of vegetables. We carried out preparation work prior to the actual ICT session which helped the children enormously to visualise how the branching data base helped us to sort vegetables. The children were over the moon with their outcomes, especially as the students kindly printed and sorted everyones work to show in their Topic books.
The project was thoroughly enjoyed by the pupils. They had the opportunity to follow an idea all the way through within the morning session, however for some children this was too much crammed in to too little time. Some of the children would have been better with a longer session or more than 1 session (as I would normally teach it) in order to practise each stage. Having said that, I have followed up our project on branching databases with a paper based homework activity with good results. The Associate teachers who attended were well prepared and worked really well with the pupils. Being able to split the class into smaller groups was beneficial to them.
How could the project be improved?
It would have been good if the students could have brought some of their skills and knowledge from university and come prepared with ideas about what they would like to do as well as the input from the teachers. This would have allowed them to be a little more involved in the planning stage and share their expertise too. Overall the projects is a good idea and a very good experience especially from the childrens point of view.
It would be great if the day the students come in to observe could be flexible then the lesson could fit into the whole curriculum better. Friday afternoon isn't always the best time.
Personally, I think this was probably the most successful of the projects that I have been involved with. The students were self-motivated and a great help with the children. I only met with one of the students on the 'planning' day but that wasn't a major issue as we had decided that I was teaching the lesson and they would work with groups. The original plan went to pot because of a technology issue, so that changed anyway! In hindsight, it would have been better to have two sessions with the children, one to do the literacy part with the 5 sentence challenge and one to do the Voki. As all children wrote their 5SC, if some of the Vokis weren't successful, I can sort that out at a later date, so all children have an end product. I've also given students my email and told them if they want to come in again, or think I can be of any help, they are more than welcome to contact me.
The communication could be better from the University - of what the expectations of the teachers and students was. It would also have been useful to have had a little more input from the students and to have had some more ideas and suggestions - based upon what they had learnt in University. The suggestions for the lesson came from our teaching staff and we then did the lesson plan and delivered the main teaching - so would have liked a little more of thier input. The students all worked very well and supported the children very well and completed the activity very well.
Having now done the project for 3/4 times, I would like to see the students have more input in the actual planning. Im sure, at times, the students would like to put their own slant on things and i would be very happy to see what their ideas would be. Im sure they're up to date with various new and exciting programmes which we could possibly use in our school.
I think the project overall was a success. The meeting beforehand was essential for planning and discussion and resulted in a smooth operation! As I said before, the amount of new learning we put in to a morning session did not lend itself to much practise time and the children were perhaps moved on quicker than they normally would have been. More sessions or a full day would have eased this problem.
Associate Teacher Evaluation
Did the project enhance your knowledge and skills in relation to excellent teaching of ICT in the core subjects?
The project was very helpful in enhancing my knowledge and skills in relation to teaching ICT in subject contexts. I have learned a great deal about using the 2Simple software and have been very impressed with the animations the Year 1 class had created. I now feel very confident in leading an ICT lesson using this software and I can see how easy it is to relate it to different subjects.
Yes this project was upon branching databases/binary trees (using simple 2question), relating to the classification of mini-beasts. I have had no experience of this programme before, and it it is fantastic. The class teacher did the introduction activity, demonstrating how to break the activity down clearly and in a number of diverse ways. This thorough approach gave the children a heightened understanding of binary trees prior to reaching the computers. I feel this was necessary to tackle this complex activity, which required the children to sort 8 different minibeasts. I am looking forward to my next placement, where I will hopefully be able to apply the ICT skills learned from this project.
The project was useful in that I got to see a teacher delivering a good ICT lesson, with my first placement being in Reception this was not something I had previously experienced. I learnt that ICT lessons need to be planned differently compared to the introduction, development, plenary structure of normal lessons. The children were shown how to do a bit, went away to do it and then returned to the carpet to be shown how to do the next bit. Breaking the content down into small manageable steps definitely helped the children to succeed. I would feel more confident teaching an ICT lesson after what I have learnt today.
The session was extremely useful and I feel it greatly enhanced my skills using ICT. The teacher split the session up into manageable tasks which made it easier for us to work with the children and develop my understanding of the tasks. I felt I was learning along with the children to an extent and feel confident that I could deliver a lesson similar having seen how to break it down. The children were very engaged and considering it took 2 hours they concentrated and did not become distracted which I was very impressed with but I was most impressed that it was the teacher who kept their interest through effective lesson delivery and design. It had good links to literacy and the children initially began the task through a simple writing task. This then linked in nicely to the next task and so on showing the whole process which was another good aspect of the lesson. The children were already quite competent but did require some help so I had to use both English subject knowledge and ICT which tested my capabilities but I found that I was probably more competent using ICT than I thought. Although the lesson was fast paced and there were time constraints, the children were on task and enjoying their work. I felt that the use of the 'bitesize' pieces of information worked well as the children understood clearly what was required of them and knew they had to do it quite quickly in order to move on. I thought the cross curricular links were made very clear and the use of resources such as the picture the teacher used were really effective in encouraging the children to think and talk. The lesson was fun and the children really enjoyed creating their 'Voki.' This is something that I had never seen or heard of before but now feel like I could adapt this for lessons of my own.
This project has really enhanced my ICT skills and knowledge. I would never have believed that it was possible to get a Year 1 class to create their own animations, particularly at the speed in which they did it. Children are so much quicker to catch on than adults!! I found the micro presentations on the Teach Meet session really valuable and I have a bank of new ideas that I can't wait to try out. Also the networking aspect of the project has been really beneficial. I enjoyed meeting teachers and their headteacher and seeing the passion they have for the job that they do.
The project helped to enhance my knowledge and skills in relation to excellent teaching of ICT in subject contexts because I hadn't thought previously about how animations could be used in the context of Science. The children were making an animation about how plants grew and this was the nature of their learning at the moment because the school approaches the curriculum in a theme or topic based manner, therefore, this ICT activity would have good links to all their current input on life cycles.
The communication could be better from the University - of what the expectations of the teachers and students was. It would also have been useful to have had a little more input from the students and to have had some more ideas and suggestions - based upon what they had learnt in University. The suggestions for the lesson came from our teaching staff and we then did the lesson plan and delivered the main teaching - so would have liked a little more of thier input. The students all worked very well and supported the children very well and completed the activity very well.
Although we were not able to observe a teacher teaching ICT, I was able to enhance my knowledge and skills in teaching ICT. We were all given small group of children to work with and planned a different activity each based on the children's topic, Titanic. Through this I had to develop my own way of teaching stop start animation which worked effectively for the small groups I worked with. This however, will not be the approach used when working with the whole class. I now feel confident in how to use Digital Blue cameras but it would have been good to see how a teacher would deliver this lesson to the whole class.
I attended Cobbs Infant school and had the opportunity to work with a reception class. We used photo story. The objective of the lesson was for each group to produce a short video clip whihc could be uploaded to their school website to show visitors of the thier website the areas of their classroom. I found the input part of the lesson very valuable, the teacher spent a great deal of time ensuring the children had fully grasped what they were going to do before she proceeded to sending them off to the computers. I found this to be a very effective strategy and took away knowledge regarding the best approaches to use to explain complicated ICT concepts to young children. The teacher also demonstrated well how differentiation can be incorporated into ICT, which is something I struggled with on SBTA. In hindsight this was quite a complicated programme for reception and although the lesson was very successful it was reliant on having 6 adults present, 1 with each group. For it to succeed I do not think this lesson could be taught as a wholeclass if the the adult assistance is not available. However I think the children really enjoyed it particularly as the lesson had meaning as they had taken the photos and the videos they made are to be uploaded onto their school website.
Yes the project has enhanced my knowledge and skills in relation to excellent teaching of ICT in subject contexts. The photo story project enabled the children to work collaboratively. They all had a go at doing sections of the story. As the children worked and talked with one another, there was evidence of higher order thinking. They analysed and evaluated their choice of pictures, words, colour and position of words etc. The computer also gave them the opportunity to create and modify text and voice recording with ease. I encouraged them along and made suggestions without dominating the learning.
The project provided a great opportunity to enhance my ICT skills and produced a successful lesson that I would feel confident to teach myself in the future. We used an ICT programme called photo story which was simple to use but created a very effective piece of work for the children to put on their school website. The class teacher said that this is a lesson that she could teach herself, but over a number of lessons. Having the support from associate teachers allowed the class to finish their photo story in one lesson. It was nice for the children to be able to see a finished product after one afternoon.
Working with a group of Year Two children to produce a Stop Start animation opportunities can be planned for effectively. The children had not been prepared for use of the equipment, simply showed a Digital Blue camera the previous day. Despite this, children were able to pick up on the use of equipment effectively to produce high-quality videos. Further tools which enhanced teaching included creative backgrounds and the empowerment of children to create their own Titanic ships, engaging them in the task. the project enabled me to research computer software and become familiar with how it can support children individually and as a group. My own expertise enabled a child to add a range of effects and create an imaginative video about the Titanic sinking, including explosions and sound effects. Further exploration of the equipment with the children demonstrated that teaching ICT involves allowing children to take control, as this is where they produced the best work and were fully engaged.
The morning was very productive and with each different group I learned more. A thoroughly enjoyable and extremely useful exercise, especially looking toward my next placement in key stage 1. It helped in thoughts for how I could go about planning and executing an excellent ICT lesson which would be topic related.
For just one morning working on the ICT project, I learnt so much! Firstly, the main highlight from the morning was how important it is to have a "run through" first! Even though it is benefical for the children to trial and error their own work, it was important we knew exactly what we aimed to achieve and exactly how to use the equipment (and any backs ups just in case it fails on us!) The children thoroughly enjoyed the project and were very proud of their own work. One of the most important aspects was to allow the children to edit their own work, introducing the necessay language for that. One thing I took away from the project was the time it takes and also the adult support needed to complete the project. Knowing how benefical it was to the children and how much they enjoyed, I hope teachers do not steer away from implementing these kinds of activities into their planning. I certainly won' and the project certainly did enhance my knowledge and skills.
How could the project be improved?
I cannot think of how it could be improved. The staff were very helpful and knowledgeable in their use of the 2Simple software, everything was very well planned and the lesson was a huge success. Thank you for organizing this project, it was so incredibly useful.
I feel this project was quite rushed due to the complex nature of branching databases. Although I feel a full day of ICT would be too much for the children, possibly conducting this over 2 half day sessions would be valuable to explore this fully. I was at Belgrave Primary School and I would like to add that was Emma was extremely helpful, her input at the beginning of the session was fantastic and throughout she took photographs and supported the groups. At the end of the session she presented us with copies of the children's work and photographs from the lesson which are invaluable evidence for our file.
I did have to travel quite a distance just for the half day. I would of liked it if we could of spent the full day at the school. That way we could have watched the teacher deliver the lesson in the morning and then deliver it ourselves in the afternoon. It would have been a good chance to practice teaching ICT (something I haven't had the opportunity to do so far) and to get feedback from a teacher who is confident using IT.
I think the time constraints were a factor but the teacher did highlight that she would normally have done this over a couple of lessons. I think this could be done over perhaps 2/3 lessons so that the children had a chance to listen back to their 'voki's' and reflect on their writing.
I think that it would be useful to perhaps have a follow on session, it was all over very quickly and the teacher found it really helpful having us there, so perhaps another session would be possible? Also I think that it would be beneficial to have more students attending the TeachMeet as the evening was invaluable.
I felt that I could have benefited from this project by having opportunities to go in to the school previously in the week to see the other input that the teacher did with the class prior to them completing the animation. However, I really enjoyed the morning and felt it was really beneficial because we got to see use of mini-plenaries and I liked the way that the class teacher had prepared hand out sheets for the children of 'breadcrumbs' so how the children could go about certain steps.
I am happy with the project. The class teacher taught for the first hour while I observed, then for the second hour I taught a group of ten children how to use the program and encouraged their work when needed. I believe this structure worked well as I had an opportunity to become familiar with the children and observe the teacher, before teaching my own group.
I enjoyed my time in the school and working with the children with brilliant carried out this teaching. We found their was initially an element of misunderstanding between the information we had received and the school had recieved realting to what we were to do. This could be clearer in the future. However other than this I found the opportunity really worthwhile and took away more from this lesson than from all the ICT lessons I experienced on SBTA.
The project could be improved through better communication with the teachers. that way they will have a clearer idea what their role is and what we are meant to be doing. I enjoyed the project and hope to do something similar with my class at the next placement.
To improve the project in future, clear instructions need to be sent to the school prior to the first planning meeting. There was still some confusion from the teachers as to what the objectives of the project were. All in all I found the project very beneficial.
More time observing teachers at work rather than taking responsibility for a group, although teaching it and improvising provided an experience to reflect on. A series of days in school could improve the project because it is unrealistic to expect an afternoon to produce best results. I felt pushed for time, especially with a lack of equipment, meaning my own group activity was was rushed. Schools which have a strong expertise/ reputation for teaching ICT or teachers who are familiar with the topic may benefit the students who undertake the project in future, as our teacher was unsure of our roles and had not provided children enough time to explore with the equipment in advance of our arrival and the activity.
I think both the schools and the students need clarity as to what is expected so that all students receive the same experience.
I do no feel that any improvements could be made. The teacher was very helpful and enthuastic and offered for us to come into school if we need any more help regarding ICT.
The project was very helpful in enhancing my knowledge and skills in relation to teaching ICT in subject contexts. I have learned a great deal about using the 2Simple software and have been very impressed with the animations the Year 1 class had created. I now feel very confident in leading an ICT lesson using this software and I can see how easy it is to relate it to different subjects.
Yes this project was upon branching databases/binary trees (using simple 2question), relating to the classification of mini-beasts. I have had no experience of this programme before, and it it is fantastic. The class teacher did the introduction activity, demonstrating how to break the activity down clearly and in a number of diverse ways. This thorough approach gave the children a heightened understanding of binary trees prior to reaching the computers. I feel this was necessary to tackle this complex activity, which required the children to sort 8 different minibeasts. I am looking forward to my next placement, where I will hopefully be able to apply the ICT skills learned from this project.
The project was useful in that I got to see a teacher delivering a good ICT lesson, with my first placement being in Reception this was not something I had previously experienced. I learnt that ICT lessons need to be planned differently compared to the introduction, development, plenary structure of normal lessons. The children were shown how to do a bit, went away to do it and then returned to the carpet to be shown how to do the next bit. Breaking the content down into small manageable steps definitely helped the children to succeed. I would feel more confident teaching an ICT lesson after what I have learnt today.
The session was extremely useful and I feel it greatly enhanced my skills using ICT. The teacher split the session up into manageable tasks which made it easier for us to work with the children and develop my understanding of the tasks. I felt I was learning along with the children to an extent and feel confident that I could deliver a lesson similar having seen how to break it down. The children were very engaged and considering it took 2 hours they concentrated and did not become distracted which I was very impressed with but I was most impressed that it was the teacher who kept their interest through effective lesson delivery and design. It had good links to literacy and the children initially began the task through a simple writing task. This then linked in nicely to the next task and so on showing the whole process which was another good aspect of the lesson. The children were already quite competent but did require some help so I had to use both English subject knowledge and ICT which tested my capabilities but I found that I was probably more competent using ICT than I thought. Although the lesson was fast paced and there were time constraints, the children were on task and enjoying their work. I felt that the use of the 'bitesize' pieces of information worked well as the children understood clearly what was required of them and knew they had to do it quite quickly in order to move on. I thought the cross curricular links were made very clear and the use of resources such as the picture the teacher used were really effective in encouraging the children to think and talk. The lesson was fun and the children really enjoyed creating their 'Voki.' This is something that I had never seen or heard of before but now feel like I could adapt this for lessons of my own.
This project has really enhanced my ICT skills and knowledge. I would never have believed that it was possible to get a Year 1 class to create their own animations, particularly at the speed in which they did it. Children are so much quicker to catch on than adults!! I found the micro presentations on the Teach Meet session really valuable and I have a bank of new ideas that I can't wait to try out. Also the networking aspect of the project has been really beneficial. I enjoyed meeting teachers and their headteacher and seeing the passion they have for the job that they do.
The project helped to enhance my knowledge and skills in relation to excellent teaching of ICT in subject contexts because I hadn't thought previously about how animations could be used in the context of Science. The children were making an animation about how plants grew and this was the nature of their learning at the moment because the school approaches the curriculum in a theme or topic based manner, therefore, this ICT activity would have good links to all their current input on life cycles.
The communication could be better from the University - of what the expectations of the teachers and students was. It would also have been useful to have had a little more input from the students and to have had some more ideas and suggestions - based upon what they had learnt in University. The suggestions for the lesson came from our teaching staff and we then did the lesson plan and delivered the main teaching - so would have liked a little more of thier input. The students all worked very well and supported the children very well and completed the activity very well.
Although we were not able to observe a teacher teaching ICT, I was able to enhance my knowledge and skills in teaching ICT. We were all given small group of children to work with and planned a different activity each based on the children's topic, Titanic. Through this I had to develop my own way of teaching stop start animation which worked effectively for the small groups I worked with. This however, will not be the approach used when working with the whole class. I now feel confident in how to use Digital Blue cameras but it would have been good to see how a teacher would deliver this lesson to the whole class.
I attended Cobbs Infant school and had the opportunity to work with a reception class. We used photo story. The objective of the lesson was for each group to produce a short video clip whihc could be uploaded to their school website to show visitors of the thier website the areas of their classroom. I found the input part of the lesson very valuable, the teacher spent a great deal of time ensuring the children had fully grasped what they were going to do before she proceeded to sending them off to the computers. I found this to be a very effective strategy and took away knowledge regarding the best approaches to use to explain complicated ICT concepts to young children. The teacher also demonstrated well how differentiation can be incorporated into ICT, which is something I struggled with on SBTA. In hindsight this was quite a complicated programme for reception and although the lesson was very successful it was reliant on having 6 adults present, 1 with each group. For it to succeed I do not think this lesson could be taught as a wholeclass if the the adult assistance is not available. However I think the children really enjoyed it particularly as the lesson had meaning as they had taken the photos and the videos they made are to be uploaded onto their school website.
Yes the project has enhanced my knowledge and skills in relation to excellent teaching of ICT in subject contexts. The photo story project enabled the children to work collaboratively. They all had a go at doing sections of the story. As the children worked and talked with one another, there was evidence of higher order thinking. They analysed and evaluated their choice of pictures, words, colour and position of words etc. The computer also gave them the opportunity to create and modify text and voice recording with ease. I encouraged them along and made suggestions without dominating the learning.
The project provided a great opportunity to enhance my ICT skills and produced a successful lesson that I would feel confident to teach myself in the future. We used an ICT programme called photo story which was simple to use but created a very effective piece of work for the children to put on their school website. The class teacher said that this is a lesson that she could teach herself, but over a number of lessons. Having the support from associate teachers allowed the class to finish their photo story in one lesson. It was nice for the children to be able to see a finished product after one afternoon.
Working with a group of Year Two children to produce a Stop Start animation opportunities can be planned for effectively. The children had not been prepared for use of the equipment, simply showed a Digital Blue camera the previous day. Despite this, children were able to pick up on the use of equipment effectively to produce high-quality videos. Further tools which enhanced teaching included creative backgrounds and the empowerment of children to create their own Titanic ships, engaging them in the task. the project enabled me to research computer software and become familiar with how it can support children individually and as a group. My own expertise enabled a child to add a range of effects and create an imaginative video about the Titanic sinking, including explosions and sound effects. Further exploration of the equipment with the children demonstrated that teaching ICT involves allowing children to take control, as this is where they produced the best work and were fully engaged.
The morning was very productive and with each different group I learned more. A thoroughly enjoyable and extremely useful exercise, especially looking toward my next placement in key stage 1. It helped in thoughts for how I could go about planning and executing an excellent ICT lesson which would be topic related.
For just one morning working on the ICT project, I learnt so much! Firstly, the main highlight from the morning was how important it is to have a "run through" first! Even though it is benefical for the children to trial and error their own work, it was important we knew exactly what we aimed to achieve and exactly how to use the equipment (and any backs ups just in case it fails on us!) The children thoroughly enjoyed the project and were very proud of their own work. One of the most important aspects was to allow the children to edit their own work, introducing the necessay language for that. One thing I took away from the project was the time it takes and also the adult support needed to complete the project. Knowing how benefical it was to the children and how much they enjoyed, I hope teachers do not steer away from implementing these kinds of activities into their planning. I certainly won' and the project certainly did enhance my knowledge and skills.
How could the project be improved?
I cannot think of how it could be improved. The staff were very helpful and knowledgeable in their use of the 2Simple software, everything was very well planned and the lesson was a huge success. Thank you for organizing this project, it was so incredibly useful.
I feel this project was quite rushed due to the complex nature of branching databases. Although I feel a full day of ICT would be too much for the children, possibly conducting this over 2 half day sessions would be valuable to explore this fully. I was at Belgrave Primary School and I would like to add that was Emma was extremely helpful, her input at the beginning of the session was fantastic and throughout she took photographs and supported the groups. At the end of the session she presented us with copies of the children's work and photographs from the lesson which are invaluable evidence for our file.
I did have to travel quite a distance just for the half day. I would of liked it if we could of spent the full day at the school. That way we could have watched the teacher deliver the lesson in the morning and then deliver it ourselves in the afternoon. It would have been a good chance to practice teaching ICT (something I haven't had the opportunity to do so far) and to get feedback from a teacher who is confident using IT.
I think the time constraints were a factor but the teacher did highlight that she would normally have done this over a couple of lessons. I think this could be done over perhaps 2/3 lessons so that the children had a chance to listen back to their 'voki's' and reflect on their writing.
I think that it would be useful to perhaps have a follow on session, it was all over very quickly and the teacher found it really helpful having us there, so perhaps another session would be possible? Also I think that it would be beneficial to have more students attending the TeachMeet as the evening was invaluable.
I felt that I could have benefited from this project by having opportunities to go in to the school previously in the week to see the other input that the teacher did with the class prior to them completing the animation. However, I really enjoyed the morning and felt it was really beneficial because we got to see use of mini-plenaries and I liked the way that the class teacher had prepared hand out sheets for the children of 'breadcrumbs' so how the children could go about certain steps.
I am happy with the project. The class teacher taught for the first hour while I observed, then for the second hour I taught a group of ten children how to use the program and encouraged their work when needed. I believe this structure worked well as I had an opportunity to become familiar with the children and observe the teacher, before teaching my own group.
I enjoyed my time in the school and working with the children with brilliant carried out this teaching. We found their was initially an element of misunderstanding between the information we had received and the school had recieved realting to what we were to do. This could be clearer in the future. However other than this I found the opportunity really worthwhile and took away more from this lesson than from all the ICT lessons I experienced on SBTA.
The project could be improved through better communication with the teachers. that way they will have a clearer idea what their role is and what we are meant to be doing. I enjoyed the project and hope to do something similar with my class at the next placement.
To improve the project in future, clear instructions need to be sent to the school prior to the first planning meeting. There was still some confusion from the teachers as to what the objectives of the project were. All in all I found the project very beneficial.
More time observing teachers at work rather than taking responsibility for a group, although teaching it and improvising provided an experience to reflect on. A series of days in school could improve the project because it is unrealistic to expect an afternoon to produce best results. I felt pushed for time, especially with a lack of equipment, meaning my own group activity was was rushed. Schools which have a strong expertise/ reputation for teaching ICT or teachers who are familiar with the topic may benefit the students who undertake the project in future, as our teacher was unsure of our roles and had not provided children enough time to explore with the equipment in advance of our arrival and the activity.
I think both the schools and the students need clarity as to what is expected so that all students receive the same experience.
I do no feel that any improvements could be made. The teacher was very helpful and enthuastic and offered for us to come into school if we need any more help regarding ICT.