Prior to this module I held negative preconceived
thoughts on the entire subject of ICT which mainly stemmed from my own negative
experiences in secondary school. This may seem surprising as Palfrey and Gasser
(2008) claim that children in current society, and teenagers alike, are born as
digital natives due to schooling incorporating ICT lessons. Correspondingly,
Byron (2008) states that the majority of the population of children, teenagers
and young adults interact with online social networking sites and a large
amount of these children have access to laptops, tablets, iPad’s and other
technological devices at home. Interestingly, Byron (2008) stipulates that the
parents interviewed believed that having access to these devices enhanced childrens
development in other areas and allowed them to complete their homework tasks to
a high standard. As a result of the modules engagement, and extensive reading
from key authors in the field, my eyes have been opened to the benefits of ICT
in the classroom. The module has improved both my attitudes and confidence in
ICT.
My future role as an English subject leader will,
of course, highlight the importance of traditional literacy as Dean (2010)
raises parental concerns over children still being taught traditional methods
of Literacy. This was also illustrated in my survey from week 1 highlighted
parents’ concerns towards their children being taught about popular culture;
the survey entailed parents opinions towards teachers using technology to teach
Literacy and every parent stated that whilst they can understand the importance
of it they also believe that childrens should ‘stick to pen and paper’ and be taught
traditional methods of Literacy because they watch telly and engage in
technology enough at home. This relates to Lambirth (2003) study into why many
teachers and parents do not favour technology in the classroom. Despite this
however, as an English subject leader I will also stress the importance of the
role of ICT in the primary classroom and how teachers can use it in simple ways
to make English lessons interactive by using a range of technology and media.
This was effectively demonstrated in a visit to a school where children created
a ‘talking book’ on Book Creator, on iPad’s, to inform an audience about
Children’s Rights. This lesson used digital literacy and the children were
deeply engaged and had fun developing vital ICT skills. As Dean (2010)
stipulates children need to become digitally literate to function in current society.
Potter and Darbyshire (2005) state that ICT
teaching in the primary school can have two different purposes; ICT lessons can
be cross-curricular to develop and enhance another subject as well as being
used to develop ICT skills. Potter and Darbyshire (2005) stipulate that the
latter of the two requires the children to hold a certain level of ICT skills
to access the learning. This relates to the shift in the new National
Curriculum (DfE, 2013) which declares that children need to access a variety of
technology to develop their ICT skills in a cross-curricular manner. In
relation to this, Medwell, Moore, Wray and Griffiths (2012) claim that childrens
ICT skills are best developed when teachers integrate them into other areas of
the curriculum. In light of this, I will ensure I integrate ICT teaching into
the other areas of the curriculum to promote the use of ICT skills in everyday life.
As well as this, I will often use a variety of media and apps to create digital
books and stories to promote both Literacy and ICT. Interestingly, the module
has entirely changed my stance on the teaching of ICT and I now welcome it
openly.
Bibliography:
Byron, T. (2008). Safer children in a digital
world: the report of the Byron Review: be safe, be aware, have fun. [Online]
Available athttp://dera.ioe.ac.uk/7332/1/Final%20Report%20Bookmarked.pdf.
(Accessed 06/03/2014)
Dean, G. ‘Rethinking Literacy’ in Bazalgette, C.
(ed) (2010) Teaching Media in Primary Classrooms London: SAGE.
Department for Education (2013) Primary National
Curriculum. [Online] Available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-primary-curriculum
[Accessed 17/1/2014].
Duffy, J. (2006) Extending Knowledge in Practice:
Primary ICT. Exeter: Learning Matters LTD
Lambirth, A. (2003) ‘”They get enough of that at
home”: Understanding aversion to popular cultures in schools’ Reading 37(1)
pp.9-13 (pdf on LN)
Medwell, J., Wray, D., Minns, H., Coates, E.,
& Griffiths, V. (2012) Primary English Teaching Theory and Practice (6th
Edition). London: Learning Matters
Palfrey, J. & Gasser, U. (2008) Born Digital:
Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives. New York: Basic Books
Potter, F., & Darbyshire, C. (2005)
Understanding and Teaching the ICT National Curriculum. London: David Fulton
LTD
Stafford, T. (2011) Teaching Visual Literacy in
the Primary Classroom Abingdon: Routledge
Wyse, D. & Jones, R. (2008) Teaching English, Language and
Literacy Second Edition. Abingdon: Routledge
