IT/Computing in the National Curriculum
ICT in schools has the potential to be highly responsive to these ways of working
and this freedom should have a positive effect on the teaching of ICT within
schools. Technology moves on very quickly and schemes of work often don't
reflect changing technologies, times and contexts.
As children develop their skills using ICT both inside and outside school with
innovations such as the internet, broadband, games consoles, Wiis, Nintendo DSs,
iPods, iPads etc, children could be in the position where they use more
technology outside school than in the classroom and perhaps even 'dumb down' as
far as their achievements and their understanding of what technology can do. The
knowledge, skills and understanding of children varies greatly depending on
their experiences with technology outside school.
In order, to utilise the skills that the children already have, in school
teachers should allow the children to choose when it is appropriate to use
technology (and when not).It should also be that teachers don't teach children a set
of skills as a whole class but teach skills as and when it's appropriate.
Teaching a skill at that point of need is key to children remembering it and
using it again. To encourage a more flexible use of computers,
The use of ICT suites and timetabled lessons can limit student access to IT. The ability
of students to make creative use of ICT as and when their learning requires can
be inhibited if ICT is delivered as a standalone subject. One example would be,
edit these sentences adding capital letters when necessary using the shift key.
It would be better to teach the usage of the shift key at a time when the
children are typing letters, addressing envelopes, postcards linked to a
geography topic, letters to a pen pal or a thank you note. The skill they need
to be taught needn't wait until their timetabled lesson later in the week or
term but when they are asking for the answers.
Having the freedom to choose how the children larn under the direction of the teacher
and what technology and software they use, enables teachers to support children
with different learning styles, personalising learning and addressing multiple
intelligences.
Traditionally, ICT has focused on supporting children who's
strengths lie in linguistic and logical (mathematical)
intelligences.However, a look at the range of intellegencies children possess, indicates that we are in
an ideal position to support learning across all
intelligences.The publication of the Independent Review of The Primary Curriculum (Rose 2009)
highlights the role of ICT as “across all areas of learning” rather than it being a separate subject.
In summary, the report states that specific requirements for ICT are rightly linked
to each area of learning and ICT should be taught through other subjects
applying skills in cross curricular studies. It also indicates the need for
discrete teaching of specific skills
There should be two aspects of ICT teaching:
Through high quality teaching of ICT specific concepts and
skills.
Through ICT supporting learning in other subjects; applying skills in real
contexts, using AfL should identify the next steps in their learning in both the
above.
In ICT, an established assessment for learning (AfL) strategy can transform the rate at
which the children adopt technology. In many cases, children learn skills from
their peers (and from their mistakes!) before their teachers.
Too often schools substitute paper based activities for computer based ones. Which
undermines the capacity of technology and is wasteful of resources. A vast range
of solutions, information, examples and perspectives can be offered only through
the use of ICT (such as looking at geographical features or ancient sites using
Google Earth).
and this freedom should have a positive effect on the teaching of ICT within
schools. Technology moves on very quickly and schemes of work often don't
reflect changing technologies, times and contexts.
As children develop their skills using ICT both inside and outside school with
innovations such as the internet, broadband, games consoles, Wiis, Nintendo DSs,
iPods, iPads etc, children could be in the position where they use more
technology outside school than in the classroom and perhaps even 'dumb down' as
far as their achievements and their understanding of what technology can do. The
knowledge, skills and understanding of children varies greatly depending on
their experiences with technology outside school.
In order, to utilise the skills that the children already have, in school
teachers should allow the children to choose when it is appropriate to use
technology (and when not).It should also be that teachers don't teach children a set
of skills as a whole class but teach skills as and when it's appropriate.
Teaching a skill at that point of need is key to children remembering it and
using it again. To encourage a more flexible use of computers,
The use of ICT suites and timetabled lessons can limit student access to IT. The ability
of students to make creative use of ICT as and when their learning requires can
be inhibited if ICT is delivered as a standalone subject. One example would be,
edit these sentences adding capital letters when necessary using the shift key.
It would be better to teach the usage of the shift key at a time when the
children are typing letters, addressing envelopes, postcards linked to a
geography topic, letters to a pen pal or a thank you note. The skill they need
to be taught needn't wait until their timetabled lesson later in the week or
term but when they are asking for the answers.
Having the freedom to choose how the children larn under the direction of the teacher
and what technology and software they use, enables teachers to support children
with different learning styles, personalising learning and addressing multiple
intelligences.
Traditionally, ICT has focused on supporting children who's
strengths lie in linguistic and logical (mathematical)
intelligences.However, a look at the range of intellegencies children possess, indicates that we are in
an ideal position to support learning across all
intelligences.The publication of the Independent Review of The Primary Curriculum (Rose 2009)
highlights the role of ICT as “across all areas of learning” rather than it being a separate subject.
In summary, the report states that specific requirements for ICT are rightly linked
to each area of learning and ICT should be taught through other subjects
applying skills in cross curricular studies. It also indicates the need for
discrete teaching of specific skills
There should be two aspects of ICT teaching:
Through high quality teaching of ICT specific concepts and
skills.
Through ICT supporting learning in other subjects; applying skills in real
contexts, using AfL should identify the next steps in their learning in both the
above.
In ICT, an established assessment for learning (AfL) strategy can transform the rate at
which the children adopt technology. In many cases, children learn skills from
their peers (and from their mistakes!) before their teachers.
Too often schools substitute paper based activities for computer based ones. Which
undermines the capacity of technology and is wasteful of resources. A vast range
of solutions, information, examples and perspectives can be offered only through
the use of ICT (such as looking at geographical features or ancient sites using
Google Earth).