After week 2 of my EPL placement I thought I would post a brief summary of my progress so far! I have been placed in a Year6/7 composite class and I am one of the fortunate people who have been placed in a classroom with great ICT'S including student Laptops and an Interactive Whiteboard which I am still trying to figure out how to use! However The students love the technology and are always willing to show me how to everything (The class even has "Technology Officers"!).
There are several special needs students in the class and many that the MT has advised should be classified as special needs, but have not been for varying reasons. So far I have identified many areas where I can incorporate ICT'S into my lessons included the Year 6 and 7 integrated units and Narrative lessons which I have outlined in previous postings. (Please refer to my postings on Google Earth and YouTube in the classroom)
The one thing that became most clear to me when working with and observing students behaviour and classroom management was their eagerness and excitement to use the Laptops and the Interactive Whiteboard. Classroom management was no longer an issue during lessons where the ICT'S were incorporated as students really focused on their set tasks and related easily to the technology. Proving Kearsley and Schniedermans Engagement Theory really does have merit!
My MT also, uses any technology she can when applying the curriculum, however she did mention that she is still struggling with finding the time to learn and understand the technology working out the Interactive Whiteboard. Something which I can really relate too! And I myself am unsure what resources we have used in this course I will be able to incorporate into my pedagogical approach as the school policy regarding ICT'S looks like it was written before the interactive whiteboards and Laptops were introduced into the classroom so I will adapt as I go!
Surprisingly also, having the ICT'S in the classroom also has had the effect of promoting a caring and accepting classroom environment as students help each other to use the laptops and take good care and maintenance of the equipment. Students who may also previously been slower workers and students with special needs are finding that they are just as capable of using the technology as anyone else and it is wonderful to see how their self-esteem and commitment to learning improves when working. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs states the students need to be in a safe and accepting classroom environment in order to learn and having the introduction of ICT'S certainly has had a positive influence on the classroom environment so far from my observations over just two weeks and the MT comments regarding the classroom progress and behaviour.
So I have had to admit to myself, yes using ICT'S is hard for me and a challenge but they definitely have there place in education today even (or maybe most especially) at a primary school level and I need to do all I can to practice with the resources I have learned so far and develop skills using other technologies as they introduces students to so many different ways of learning and working and help to develop important skills which they will no doubt synthesize in future learning.
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Hi Meegan,
ReplyDeleteI have to say I felt quite jealous when reading this post, my EPL experience has been so far from this that it is hard to relate.
The only laptops I have seen are the teachers, the only ICT has been powerpoint, and often students don't even have a pen to write notes so most lessons my MT is lending a few pens and sometimes even sheets of paper to those who haven't brought a book into class.
It is sad really, this is high school. These kids should really be very tech savvy and it is not being incorporated into their learning experiences. Do you know if the high schools your primary school feeds into continues this use of technology?
Regards,
Abby Green
GDLT (secondary)
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