Hello! I did get a Nintendo DS for my birthday and have been playing Brain Training for about 10 days now, and I think I am really getting better at mental maths. There are several games with one set of 20 mental maths questions and one with 100 questions and you have to beat your time to get high scores. At first I was rubbish but now I'm getting quicker and quicker and using strategies to work out the questions (for example, using number bonds to ten, partitioning etc). The game is also good for improving memory and practising reading so all in all I think it's doing me some good!
School starts next Monday eeek! I'm looking forward to it but also quite nervous...I'll update on the ICT I see being used soon....bye bye and Happy New Year!
Love rach
xxx
Tuesday, 30 December 2008
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
Wow
Hello, guess what?! Hopefully I'll be getting a Nintendo DS for my birthday/Chrimbo! (see below how they can be used in school). This is a good idea because I had a practice for my QTS Numeracy test yesterday and I was RUBBISH! So if I get the game called Brain Training then hopefully I shall be able to practice my mental maths (which is awful at the moment).
I'll let you know how it goes...
Love rach
xxxx
I'll let you know how it goes...
Love rach
xxxx
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
Look at this!!!
I wish we'd have used Nintendo DS's when I was at school! This is the kind of ICT we need to be looking at...of course only if it has a positive effect on children's learning :)
Although the lady who came in to talk to us about her research said it did. All very encouraging.
Love rach
xxxx
I wish we'd have used Nintendo DS's when I was at school! This is the kind of ICT we need to be looking at...of course only if it has a positive effect on children's learning :)
Although the lady who came in to talk to us about her research said it did. All very encouraging.
Love rach
xxxx
ICT in school
Having done a week now at school, I feel the need to comment on the ICT use I observed whilst there.
I was working in a Year 1 class and they used a fair amount of ICT. The teacher used the Interactive Whiteboard every day for a number of tasks. For example, using a programme to match pictures to captions, using it as a normal whiteboard, brainstorming, watching videos from the internet etc. It really is a very versatile tool! Note to self: must get to grips with the IWB programmes but heard rumours we'll be doing that in ICT next week anyway!
The children in the class were also given a task to draw a bonfire and fireworks picture using the programme, Dazzle. I was given the responsibility of taking half the class to the ICT suite and supervising them throughout this task which was quite daunting but I was pleasantly surprised as the majority of them knew the programme inside out, despite being only 5 or 6, and I didn't need to help them at all really!
The children are fairly au fait with the computers as at some point during the day they usually have 'signing up time' where they can choose to do different activities and one of these is to play educational games on the computers. The game set by the teacher for the week I was there was called Superstars and was all about phonics. I played the games with a couple of the children and although the games seemed to be fun and educational, I'm not sure the children took it all in as they just seemed to be pressing any button just so the speakers would make a sound or play a tune or the characters would move! I think Marc Prenksy should think about the value of educational computer games such as these as I'm doubtful as to how much the children are actually learning whilst playing these.
Apart from using computers and the IWB, I didn't really see use of any other ICT equipment. It's all very well supporting this new gadget and that new invention but most schools don't have the money (or the inclination to learn about) the new and swish technology which will probably be 'past it' in a few years time.
However, saying this, I do think it is important to slowly incorporate ICT into schools as the children going through the education system now will inevitably be adults living in a technologically advanced world. Judging by the children I saw at school, I think they can definitely cope with this. They are digital natives after all!
Love rach
xxx
I was working in a Year 1 class and they used a fair amount of ICT. The teacher used the Interactive Whiteboard every day for a number of tasks. For example, using a programme to match pictures to captions, using it as a normal whiteboard, brainstorming, watching videos from the internet etc. It really is a very versatile tool! Note to self: must get to grips with the IWB programmes but heard rumours we'll be doing that in ICT next week anyway!
The children in the class were also given a task to draw a bonfire and fireworks picture using the programme, Dazzle. I was given the responsibility of taking half the class to the ICT suite and supervising them throughout this task which was quite daunting but I was pleasantly surprised as the majority of them knew the programme inside out, despite being only 5 or 6, and I didn't need to help them at all really!
The children are fairly au fait with the computers as at some point during the day they usually have 'signing up time' where they can choose to do different activities and one of these is to play educational games on the computers. The game set by the teacher for the week I was there was called Superstars and was all about phonics. I played the games with a couple of the children and although the games seemed to be fun and educational, I'm not sure the children took it all in as they just seemed to be pressing any button just so the speakers would make a sound or play a tune or the characters would move! I think Marc Prenksy should think about the value of educational computer games such as these as I'm doubtful as to how much the children are actually learning whilst playing these.
Apart from using computers and the IWB, I didn't really see use of any other ICT equipment. It's all very well supporting this new gadget and that new invention but most schools don't have the money (or the inclination to learn about) the new and swish technology which will probably be 'past it' in a few years time.
However, saying this, I do think it is important to slowly incorporate ICT into schools as the children going through the education system now will inevitably be adults living in a technologically advanced world. Judging by the children I saw at school, I think they can definitely cope with this. They are digital natives after all!
Love rach
xxx
Sunday, 9 November 2008
BEAN BLOG!
Seeing as I'm trying to get into blogs, have a look at our Bean Diary Blog that we're doing for our science activity - we'll try and keep it updated on all things bean related...
Love Rach xxx
p.s. I'm going to post more soon...something actually related to ICT!
Monday, 20 October 2008
Wow - my first post!
HELLO!This is my first blog post. I'm not sure what to write. So here's a picture of a nice sunset.
So far I have discovered that ICT does not just involve computers and word processing. Sites like Flickr and Del.icio.us are useful and novel ways of using the internet and can also be useful for primary school children.
Remember to look at Monty's PGCE Blog regularly.
Love Rach
XOXO
(This is a picture of me on holiday in Hawaii:)
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