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For younger classes, describe how you would plan and conduct a lesson on map making and explain how you might incorporate some online tools such as Google maps or Geohive.
From experience, the ease and accessibility of online mapping platforms (Google maps etc.) is hugely beneficial but I believe it has led to a belief that traditional map reading skills are outdated. It is my hope that lessons on map making will develop spatial thinking, reasoning and spatial awareness, where the children begin to understand the relationships between pictures, symbols and objects.
- We will begin our journey into map making with a read aloud – Martha Maps It Out.
- We will then discuss the world known to the children, starting with our classroom/school.
- I will provide 3D materials for the children (Lego, blocks, Unifix cubes etc.) and challenge them to make a model of their classroom/school in groups. We will discuss our models and compare/contrast each model. I will introduce the relevant map making vocabulary.
- I will add ‘treasure’ to the classroom and encourage the children to add this to their map. We will begin to explore legends and how to use them to identify things within our classroom models.
- We will use Google maps to look and see the school and the children will be provided with the opportunity to alter or change their model based on what they now see/know.
Assessment for learning will determine subsequent lesson direction with the inclusion of further technology where required.
After reviewing Liston’s (2018) paper on Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths education, it is my hope that my approach to integrating STEM education in the classroom enables all children to develop the necessary skills to become active and informed learners.
Liston (2018) emphases the importance of providing opportunities for children to apply new skills and knowledge in a wide range of cross-curricular learning contexts. From experience, I have found this approach to learning engages the children further as it provides an active, hands on approach to learning and more opportunities for group and pair work.
Furthermore, integrating STEM projects into teaching and learning enables all children to develop the essential skills of communication, problem-solving, reasoning, resilience and leadership. I have found that the combination of science, technology, engineering and maths challenges the children to work collaboratively to generate solutions to real-life problems and engage fully with exploring the world around them through playful investigation and experimentation.
<p style=”margin: 0px; text-align: justify; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: ‘Helvetica Neue’; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: #000000;”><span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>https://makecode.com/_iih3vPXJ68X4 </span></p>
<p style=”margin: 0px; text-align: justify; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: ‘Helvetica Neue’; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: #000000;”><span style=”font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;”><b>Location</b> – </span>Mole Hunt Grid.</p>
<p style=”margin: 0px; text-align: justify; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: ‘Helvetica Neue’; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: #000000;”><span style=”font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;”><b>Player – </b>M</span>oving Character.</p>
<p style=”margin: 0px; text-align: justify; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: ‘Helvetica Neue’; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: #000000;”><b>Enemy</b> – Timer.</p>
<p style=”margin: 0px; text-align: justify; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: ‘Helvetica Neue’; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: #000000;”><span style=”font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;”><b>Food – </b>T</span>ag the mole and earn points.</p>
<p style=”margin: 0px; text-align: justify; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: ‘Helvetica Neue’; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: #000000;”>I chose to use the step-by-step tutorial on Microsoft’s Make Code to design this simple game. I was drawn to the fun, relatable carnival interface and believe the children would enjoy this simple mole-chasing game.</p>
<p style=”margin: 0px; text-align: justify; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: ‘Helvetica Neue’; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: #000000;”>The curricular inspiration behind the game was to provide free choice and exploration to the children. In doing so, I believe the children will gain significant exposure to all the elements they need to successfully create their own game using MakeCode Arcade. The game provides many opportunities for the children to edit, change and develop as their computer science concepts progress. Using technology in this engaging and interactive manner across subject areas challenges the children with projects that aim to build creativity, computational thinking, and collaboration skills.</p><p style=”margin: 0px; text-align: justify; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: ‘Helvetica Neue’; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: #000000;”><span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>https://makecode.com/_iih3vPXJ68X4 </span></p>
<p style=”margin: 0px; text-align: justify; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: ‘Helvetica Neue’; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: #262626; min-height: 12px;”></p>
<p style=”margin: 0px; text-align: justify; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: ‘Helvetica Neue’; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: #000000;”><span style=”font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;”><b>Location</b> – </span>Mole Hunt Grid.</p>
<p style=”margin: 0px; text-align: justify; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: ‘Helvetica Neue’; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: #000000;”><span style=”font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;”><b>Player – </b>M</span>oving Character.</p>
<p style=”margin: 0px; text-align: justify; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: ‘Helvetica Neue’; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: #000000;”><b>Enemy</b> – Timer.</p>
<p style=”margin: 0px; text-align: justify; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: ‘Helvetica Neue’; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: #000000;”><span style=”font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;”><b>Food – </b>T</span>ag the mole and earn points.</p>
<p style=”margin: 0px; text-align: justify; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: ‘Helvetica Neue’; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: #262626; min-height: 12px;”></p>
<p style=”margin: 0px; text-align: justify; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: ‘Helvetica Neue’; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: #000000;”>I chose to use the step-by-step tutorial on Microsoft’s Make Code to design this simple game. I was drawn to the fun, relatable carnival interface and believe the children would enjoy this simple mole-chasing game.</p>
<p style=”margin: 0px; text-align: justify; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: #000000; min-height: 12px;”></p>
<p style=”margin: 0px; text-align: justify; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: ‘Helvetica Neue’; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: #000000;”>The curricular inspiration behind the game was to provide free choice and exploration to the children. In doing so, I believe the children will gain significant exposure to all the elements they need to successfully create their own game using MakeCode Arcade. The game provides many opportunities for the children to edit, change and develop as their computer science concepts progress. Using technology in this engaging and interactive manner across subject areas challenges the children with projects that aim to build creativity, computational thinking, and collaboration skills.</p>https://makecode.com/_iih3vPXJ68X4
Location – Mole Hunt Grid.
Player – Moving Character.
Enemy – Timer.
Food – Tag the mole and earn points.
I chose to use the step-by-step tutorial on Microsoft’s Make Code to design this simple game. I was drawn to the fun, relatable carnival interface and believe the children would enjoy this simple mole-chasing game.
The curricular inspiration behind the game was to provide free choice and exploration to the children. In doing so, I believe the children will gain significant exposure to all the elements they need to successfully create their own game using MakeCode Arcade. The game provides many opportunities for the children to edit, change and develop as their computer science concepts progress. Using technology in this engaging and interactive manner across subject areas challenges the children with projects that aim to build creativity, computational thinking, and collaboration skills.
Part 1
Tell the children they are going to bath a baby doll. Ask them to choose the equipment they need (providing some distractors), and put these on the table. Ask what they do first; make sure water is in the bath and that the cloth is wet. Ask questions such as ‘Why do we use soap?’. Dry the doll. Children put the equipment away as directed.
Computational Thinking – communication and language, logic, deconstruction, debugging, sequence.
Resources: bath or bowl, water, towel, cloth, soap, doll.
Part 2
The role of technology in early childhood education tends to be a controversial topic. On one side, teachers recognise that children will benefit from using the newest technology early and often but are also acutely aware of the need to protect children from technology because of the potential dangers of exposing children to too much screen time and an unsupervised internet. As an early childhood educator, I believe we can be both careful and creative in the ways we introduce children to technology and teach them about computer science. It is of vital importance that children should not only develop their literacy skills such as reading, writing, and maths, but also learn CT-related problem-solving skills such as logical thinking, sequencing abilities, abstraction, and algorithms. I agree whole-heartedly with the article when it states that children being exposed to computational thinking from a young age provides ‘real-world relevance’ to learning. In the early years, computational thinking can be explored through the use of ‘unplugged’ activities in the classroom, requiring no access to digital devices. I think this would be a useful and important step in progressing the children’s understanding of computational thinking.
Technology has affected education immensely and has the potential to transform the learning experience of our students. When used effectively, digital tools help children not only better understand various disciplines but also provide a helping hand for teachers who sometimes find it hard to explain certain things within the boundaries of a physical classroom. The use of technology has made things more engaging and interactive. It allows children build their digital capacity and use it to empower others to become more confident, passionate users of digital technologies. Developing the use of digital learning tools in the classroom can boost student engagement, assist teachers in improving lesson plans, and enable personalised learning. In addition to that, embedding digital learning equips our students with the tools they needed to support them in their future careers. Aligning your SSE with the Digital Strategy for Schools to embed digital learning will provide meaningful learning experiences for the children and enable students to realise their full potential.
In my experience, children learn to respect others and to control their emotions through collaboration. In the early formative years, I recognise the importance of teaching children to be collaborative learners through play. I plan to focus on role-playing different scenarios with children, for example “What if your friend doesn’t want to share his toys with you? and what would you do?” providing many opportunities to teach about collaboration and show how people must work together towards a collective goal. In the past, I have observed that when children are given the freedom to engage in free play together, it helps them learn how to work well with others, make decisions, and solve problems. I plan to focus on using floor puzzles and provide opportunity for the children to work towards a “team goal”. It is my hope that this will continue to foster and better prepare children to cooperate with their friends, resolve conflicts, and build and maintain friendships in a meaningful way.
SWAY Link: https://sway.office.com/I1vvyVcBBCjlLfBx?ref=LinkFirstly, I am very much aware that using digital technologies in your classroom can be a scary, sometimes daunting idea. Over the years, I have sought to find creative ways to use technology in the classroom that both make my life easier as a teacher and that also boost the children’s excitement levels and engagement with learning. I enjoy that use of digital technology in the classroom allows for greater communication between school community and has greater home/school link benefits. Digital technology has given the children in my classroom a louder voice and I have found its use to be more mindful of our different learning styles.
Using digital technologies in all aspects of teaching and learning has enabled me to easily identify and affirm the good practice happening in our school and my classroom, and to identify and take action on areas that need improvement. I can now see how using tools like Sway, Forms, Teams and OneNote provides a space online where meaningful collaboration can take place and look forward to sharing these platforms at our next staff meeting. Developing my own use of digital technology across teaching and learning and upskilling to learn more about recent technological developments has empowered me to share this new knowledge with my school community.
I am a newbie to OneNote so today was a steep learning curve! Initially I like that OneNote makes organisation simple and in a way that makes sense to you. I also like that if I used OneNote for teaching and learning, I am giving the children in my class access to learn long after class time is over. The most important factor for me in choosing to use a tool like OneNote is the ability to appeal to all styles of learning. I found I could easily add text, images, audio, video and digital ink to any page and it afforded me multiple methods for formative feedback. I feel that OneNote supports the continuity of learning for students and would lead to deeper and more meaningful learning opportunities. I was particularly taken by the digital ink aspect as I feel my students would benefit from this feature and make meaning from this form of new thinking.
I was first introduced to Microsoft Teams during Covid. I like that Teams is one shared workspace, where simultaneous document editing, chat, etc. can occur. During this time, where teaching and learning was online, my school used Teams to amplify children and staff voices during the pandemic. Once the children and teachers got to grips with the process it became a collaborative shared hub. I found it to be a seamless platform that gave both children and staff a space online where meaningful collaboration could take place. A challenge that I found was regarding permission settings. Sometimes you want to differentiate and make permission settings more granular – which is not possible at the moment.
Wow, what exciting tools to use in the classroom!
I had never heard of Sway before today and have found it challenging to find new digital resources that allows children to demonstrate their learning. I can see myself using Sway in the classroom and with colleagues to share classroom resources, create blended learning resources, and communicate with the school community.
I have used Microsoft Forms before but refreshing my memory on its potential today allowed me to see just how useful this tool can be in the classroom. I like that all data gathered can be easily exported to Excel, shared with Teams, and most importantly shared with the children.
I think that both these tools are collaborative and inclusive. They enable teachers to identify, analyse and make judgements about their students’ learning and plan for how they will enhance teaching and learning.
