Within an educational context, I
believe that advancements in technology have had huge effects on both the
curriculum and the pedagogical methods of how
things are taught.
The Donaldson Report discusses the importance of “cross-curriculum responsibilities between literacy, numeracy and digital competence” (Gareth Evans, 2015)“A digital competence framework and an accompanying ‘Routes to Learning Digital Competence” (The Donaldson Report, 2015) The Donaldson Report reiterates the importance of ICT within the education sector.
My experience, within the primary setting technology has progressed from the interactive whiteboard which was the teacher’s domain to every child having access to their own personal use of technology.
The introduction of ICT in the National Curriculum states that within the rapidly changing world, “the increased capability promotes initiative and independent learning.” (DfEE/QCA, 2000) “Key skills can be developed through the use of ICT” pg5 and the limited access which used to be is no longer the norm for this generation.
Beauchamp,
G. (2016) Computing
and ICT in the primary school : from pedagogy to practice. Edited by Routledge. 2nd edn. London:
Routledge.
Crawford,
R. (2013) The ICT
teacher’s handbook : teaching, learning and managing ICT in the secondary
school. Edited
by Routledge. 2nd edn. London: Routledge.
Department
of Education (no date) All DfE
services and information.
Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education.
Donaldson
Report (2015) Initial
Highlights of the Donaldson Report. Available at: http://www.cscjes.org.uk/getattachment/34a3bdcf-370f-4c92-aa1c-29500bea443c/Initial-Highlights-of-the-Donaldson-Report.pdf.aspx.
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ReplyDeleteAlthough I do agree that technology within a classroom can be beneficial, I do feel that technology is jeopardising the social and physical development of children. Shirael Pollack supports this argument within the video below. She discusses the negative impact that technology can have on children’s development when it is used to excess.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSmE1YPhtA8
Howcast (2013b) How media & technology affects children | child development. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSmE1YPhtA8
(Accessed: 4 November 2016).
I think that including the cross-curriculum responsibilities between literacy, numeracy in the Donaldson Report is a great way for children to develop cognition. However technology needs to be balanced.
ReplyDeleteTechnology such as interactive books have brought a new light into classrooms. Robb, M (2010) discovered ‘interactive books can be part of a set of tools for developing the emergent literacy skills that are the precursors to formal reading, but only when parents participated within the activity’. This could be very problematic within schools/nurseries as staff do not always have time to read to individual students.
Robb, M. (2010). New Ways of Reading: The Impact of an Interactive Book on Young Children's Story Comprehension and Parent-Child Dialogic Reading Behaviors. 144.
Although I do agree that the excess use of technology without careful parameters will have an adverse effect on a child’s development, I believe that there are huge advantages to its use for students. Jamil and Shan, 2011 states that “there are a number of potential positive effects of technology on teaching and learning such as being faster, more efficient, effective and interactive classroom experiences”. This is also reiterated by Gully (2003) who says that using technology within the classroom has many advantages as it increases engagement. The creation and use of apps such as Puppet Pals have positive effects on a child’s educational attainment in improving their creative writing skills. From my observation, I believe that when technology is used in the correct context in the education setting, this does improve the engagement within the classroom for different types of learners.
ReplyDeleteJamil, M., and Shah, J. (2011) Technology: Its potential effects on teaching in Higher Education. New Horizons in Education, 59 (1), 38 – 51.
Gully, P. (2003) Pros and Cons of Computer Technology in the Classroom. Available at: http://nau.edu/uploadedFiles/Academic/COE/About/Projects/Pros%20and%20Cons %20of%20Computer%20Technology%20in%20the%20Classroom.pdf