Having reflected on the use of technology and media at Shirley Warren Primary School, discuss anything that surprises or challenges you. What questions arise for you as a result of today's visit?

After having visited Shirley Warren Primary School and being shown around by Tom I was amazed at the vast quantity of media equipment and resources that the school had readily available. I found it hugely impressive the way they have brought the school into the 21^st century and really embraced the positive impact technology can have on our teaching.  I liked that the whole school seemed to be incorporated in this love of technology rather than just a small number of the staff and the fact that is was integrated into daily life within the school. Marsh et al (2005) found that there was a digital divide which influences teachers’ confidence in using technology, however Tom stated that is just a fear of the unknown. He solves this by ensuring all the teachers are trained with all equipment and by running technology drop in sessions on a fortnightly basis so his knowledge is readily available allowing teachers to ‘become learners themselves, and discover the digital world’ (21^st CFP: 4). Despite the fact that some of the projects undertaken by Shirley Warren, such as the radio station, were time consuming all staff seemed to be on side and get involved.

The technologies available to the class teachers were of a wide variety which, as an ICT specialist, was really interesting for me to see how they valued the very simple technologies up to the more technical media. I found it very inspiring to see such a committed, enthusiastic ICT coordinator and think that his passion is very much reflected throughout the school; the children are very lucky to have such access to the equipment. I have never had the fortune of working in a school with such passion around ICT but wonder whether, if all schools had such technologies available to them, they would put them into good use? 

Marsh, J. Brooks, G. Hughes, J. Ritchie,L. Roberts, S. Wright,K. (2005) Digital beginnings: Young children’s use of popular culture, media and new Technologies University of Sheffield

The 21^st century Fluency Project Understanding Digital Kids II 

week 7 blog

Having reflected on the use of technology and media at ShirleyWarrenPrimary School, discuss anything that surprises or challenges you. What questions arise for you as a result of today’s visit?

 

The school had an impressive range of technology which offers children opportunities to engage in Literacy activities with new technology. However, it was interesting to see how the school created cross-curricular links with Music and Literacy. The range of technology can prepare children for higher education, which was an aim of Shirley Warren Primary. It was interesting to hear that the school uses new technology as a stimulus to develop persuasive writing, which is supported by Banaji (2010).

A question which was raised on the blog was how would advertisement be approached in Key Stage One? Before I attended the session I did not know how I would use new technology to create media projects with Key Stage One children. The session surprised me when the teacher spoke about Key Stage One children creating media projects. From this I have learnt that the opportunities Key Stage Two children have can be the same for Key Stage One, as the teacher takes on an active role and models editing which will be a future skill for the children. The session has given me ideas of how to support Key Stage One children when planning new technology projects.

Palfrey and Gasser’s (2008) concerns of internet safety might be shared with parents whose children are using new technology and uploading pieces of work on the internet. It was interesting to hear how the school addressed these matters by; parents consenting if their child’s work can be shared and by using first names only.

The teacher training surprised me as it reflected the 21^st Century Fluency Project (21^st CFP) that teachers need to become learners themselves when using technology. Before the session I had limited knowledge of using media software packages which put me off wanting to use new technology in the classroom. The description of the success of teacher training and the support given to teachers from the specialist teacher is something I would find valuable, as I had limited knowledge of media software packages before the session.

An issue raised from the session was the amount of time the projects consumed and the reality of time given to complete the projects.

 

Banaji, S (2010) ‘Analysing Advertisements in the Classroom’ in Bazelgette, C. (Ed) Teaching Media in Primary Schools London: Sage

Palfrey, J. & Gasser, U. (2008) Born Digital: Understanding The First Generation of Digital Natives New York: Basic Books

 

The 21^st Century Fluency Project Understanding Digital Kids II

week 7 - reflection on Shirley Warren School

Having reflected on the use of technology and media at Shirley Warren Primary School, discuss anything that surprises or challenges you. What questions arise for you as a result of the visit? Make any relevant references to readings.

Shirley Warren School provides a vast amount of opportunities for using technology and media in the classroom through animation, film and podcasts. The school also had their very own radio station used daily, played around the school and gave the opportunity for children to share their learning; this is supported by Halsey (2007) who highlights the importance of creating a real context for learning. It was suggested that children are really enthusiastic about this opportunity.

Having an ICT leader passionate about digital literacy seemed to hold a crucial role in the school being fully committed to ensuring children use media and technology. He expressed his dedication to training as he stated one aspect which holds teachers back is the lack of knowledge to use the equipment; this was also expressed by Marsh et al (2005) who found the digital divide can influence teacher’s confidence. I feel this training of how to use editing programs and equipment to create animations and films has given me confidence in how simple but effective using digital literacy can be. However this could be a challenge which may occur in other schools, if there is not an ICT leader who is as enthusiastic to provide training and help for teachers will this affect other teacher’s outlook of using it?

I was surprised at the extensive resources the schools has, as stated by the ICT leader having a permanent set up for animation, filming and media readily available makes incorporating these aspects into the curriculum a lot easier. However this is the only school I have viewed this in and many colleagues also expressed that they had not experienced anything like this before. Therefore, if many schools do not have these advances in technology will this be a challenge to share resources and time consuming to set up, resulting in digital literacy not being used at all opportunities?

 

Halsey, S. (2007) ‘Embracing emergent technologies and envisioning new ways of using them for literacy learning in the primary classroom’ English Teaching; Practice and Critique 6 (2) pp 99-107

Marsh, J. Brooks, G. Hughes, J. Ritchie,L. Roberts, S. Wright,K. (2005) Digital beginnings: Young children’s use of popular culture, media and new Technologies University of Sheffield

 

Having reflected on the use of technology and media at Shirley Warren Primary School, discuss anything that surprises or challenges you. What questions arise for you as a result of today's visit?

On reflection, from my experience in Shirley warren primary school, I feel that I will now be able to use technology on my own teaching practice. We were shown a wide range of media resources, some of which I had not heard of before the trip, and how they are used. I was surprised at how simple the process was, and felt that I may have been previously cautious because of the appearance of technology, and the unfamiliarity of the dials, icons and technical names. This highlights an implication for current teachers, as they may not be willing to use technology in their classroom because of their own fear (Harwood and Asal, 2009), however I now know how easy it is to learn, therefore feel teachers should have this opportunity too, because the 21st century fluency project suggests that this will increase the amount teachers use technology in their classrooms (21^st CFP).

The experience also highlighted the positive effect of technology, on the children’s attainment and also enjoyment. They regularly use the media suite, as a cross-curricular link, and we were provided with various examples of how it worked well. Toyn and Simpson (2012) believe that using ICT as a cross-curricular link enforces theory in a practical way, whilst rehearsing the skills needed for digital media. During the tour of the school, we were shown various rooms that had a digital focus. I noticed that they were all used on the basis of rewards for children. This raises the question that is technology being used for the children’s attainment or for other reasons? The implications of this could be a future curriculum that does not have the children’s learning as a primary focus.

In conclusion, my confidence with using media in the classroom has grown, however I have reservations on the purpose for using technology, and am unsure if it is being used for the children’s learning or for praise and rewards.

Bibliography

Harwood, P. and Asal, V. (2009) Educating the first digital generation. USA: Rowman and Littlefield education.

The 21st Century Fluency Project: Understanding Digital Kids II.

Toyn, M. and Simpson, D. (2012) Primary ICT across the curriculum. London: Sage publications.