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I have picked the skill of ‘Real- World, Problem Solving and Innovation’. This is an important skill for children to have as they get older and become more independent. They should be well equipped and ready for challenges that will face them in the future. In my classroom I would use this skill in a variety of lessons. I think the use of STEM challenge cards is a great way for them to work out practical problems collaboratively and come up with their own ideas and solutions. For example, one lesson that I could use is designing a raft for ‘Billy Goat’s Gruff’. In this lesson the children are faced with a predicament, Billy Goats Gruff cannot cross the river and they must design a raft that will float successfully on water using a variety of materials. In this lesson, children are problem solving, coming up with ideas and theories. They are testing and trialing different materials and also it is a great lesson for children to present their findings to others in the class. The could use ICT to present their findings on a slideshow to show what they have done. It definitely requires quite a few 21st century skills.
Digital technology can be used in various ways. Students can be active in their own learning by retrieving information from the internet. Allowing them use of laptops and ipads, means they are fully engaged and also able to enjoy these learning experiences. It is easily accessible for the teacher to monitor and assess work. The students have various ways to present their work using the various applications; Microsoft Powerpoint, Excel and One Note. The SSE guidelines are helpful to assess the digital technology of schools and focus on areas that need improving under the digital learning framework. They are important to regularly monitor targets and check if they are being met. It would benefit the school to develop a digital learning strategy to make sure that ICT is being used across all areas of the curriculum and across all levels of the school. It would also be advantageous to provide continued professional development for teachers to become more confident in using ICT for their lessons.
I found this module very useful. I have never used One Note before and it gave a good step by step instruction on how to set it up on a classroom basis. I think it is a fantastic way of bringing ICT and learning together. I especially like the way lessons can be divided into different ‘chapters’ and are easily accessible. I also like the feature of adding in external links, audio clips and printouts. The ‘immersive reader’ is very helpful for children that may need extra support. It is very adaptable and allows the teacher to differentiate documents by changing font size, highlighting parts of speech and emphasizing the syllables. The picture dictionary will help EAL students while reading. One Note is also useful to locate school policies and documents and a great way for teachers to share resources. We use Microsoft 365 in our school but mainly for emails. The One Note application would be very valuable resource.
<p style=”text-align: left;”>Microsoft teams is a fantastic way to share and upload lessons and resources. During Covid, there was such an emphasis on digital and online learning. Teams makes it easier to stay connected with the students through online presentations. Keeping track of events through use of the calendar and also keeping track of students progress. Teams also allows teachers to have an online portal of their own that they can use to create meetings and also share resources. One challenge with using teams is childrens accessibility to the online platform and children with additional needs might find it difficult to navigate. Some children would be very able to work independently but others might need help.</p>
I use Microsoft 365 every day for my emails. I find it the most efficient way to keep in contact with parents and it is also linked with my phone if I get important emails. I never knew you could add on extra apps to the outlook and think this is a useful feature as you aren’t limited. I have never heard of Sway and think this is a fantastic modern way of presenting information to the children. It is also a useful way to incorporate ICT into lessons as children can work together and become creative making their own digital portfolios. The module was useful to show you step by step how to create these portfolios. In terms of SSE, it is a useful way of incorporating more ICT into lessons and making sure that staff and students are getting relevant experience with technology in the ever changing environment.
Hi Aoife,
I have also tried the dancing raisins activity but never thought to link with floating and sinking and also great to link with gravity. Thanks for the tip!
I would make a spacecraft with the children as my chosen activity. I would begin by reading a story book on aliens and spaceships. I would discuss with the children the types of spaceships they could imagine that aliens use? What do they look like? How fast would they go? Why do some people refer to them as flying saucers. I would then ask them to compare them to what humans use. Describe a space shuttle. Who drives the space shuttle? What do they wear? How would you feel be launched to space in a space craft? I would show clips of rocket launches to outer space and ask the children to describe what they see. I would then gather the materials necessary to make our space craft and model the launch using an effervescent tube and tablet. I think the children would have great fun designing their space craft and enjoy launching them outside.
Hi Hannah,
The glance cards are a fantastic resource to use for future planning and I think it will save a lot of time for teachers! I agree with you about being more confident. I would like to use the information to hopefully set up and achieve a SFI award for my school.
I found this module very interesting and I would like to set up our school for an SFI science and math award in the next school year.
One activity I think my junior and senior infants would love is the ‘animals in the cold activity.’ I would like to incorporate the north and south pole activity from previous modules to link in with this. I would begin by discussing our country’s climate and the different seasons we experience. I would brainstorm with the children the types of clothes we wear during different seasons. I would then show the children a picture card of the polar bear and the penguin and ask the children to think of how the animals keep warm in the cold climate. I would use the method of ‘think-pair-share’ with a partner to discuss their reasons and then I would explain to them about the layer of fat insulating their bodies and compare this to coats and jumpers. I would then experiment with the children with Vaseline and tell them of the layer of grease the animals have to repel the water. I would also discuss the colours of the animals that help protect themselves in their environment. The children would be engaged in various skills of predicting, observing, exploring and analysing.Hi Meadhbh,
I like that your class had a live streamed drama show as Gaeilge. I also teach in a school sa Ghaeltacht and I was wondering could you pass on the details of the company that ran that for you. I would greatly appreciate it and I think the children would love it!
Thanks!
I would choose the activity based on space and aliens. I would begin by reading a storybook based on aliens in outer space. I would use trigger questions to ask the children about what similarities and differences do they notice between the alien illustrations and humans. What must it be like to live on another planet? How is it different to Earth? I would play them the ‘Planet Song’ seen in Module 2. I would brainstorm with the children about different features they would like to use to create their own alien. I would guide and prompt them to use features that would be necessary to live on certain planets. I would give the children playdough, pipe cleaners, eyes and various materials to let them create their own alien. We would then have a ‘show and tell’ at the end of the lesson to showcase their alien and describe them in front of the class.
Hi Aoife,
I also chose the same topic about day and night but really liked your idea with the hula hoops. I think the children would have a lot of engagement when sorting pictures between the two hula hoops. I think it would have a lot of scope for discussion between the children about their daily and night time activities and to compare those with their friends and see the similarities and differences.
I would choose the activities based on the Sun. The concept of day and night is always an important topic in Math and Science for the children in junior and senior infant level. I am referring to the activity based on ‘What you do in a day?’ This activity really gets the children thinking of their daily activities and breaks the time up into morning, afternoon and evening. I would incorporate the puppet theatre to show these daily activities, getting dressed, eating breakfast, going to school, doing homework, going to sleep, etc. I would also like to link the sun and the moon when discussing day and night. I liked the clip of the teacher in ‘My Sky Tonight’. I would use the lamp and globe to show the difference between the sun shining during the day and the other half in darkness. I think this would be a great opportunity for the children to understand and relate with their day and night time activities. I would also ask them about what changes does the sky make during the day and the night. What can they see? What are the activities we do in the day time that we don’t do at night and vice versa.
Hi Aine,
I like your experiment on heat. I think the children would absolutely love to conduct this experiment. It really gives them a good opportunity for prediction and exploration and a nice treat at the end by making buns! Thanks for the idea!!
One inquiry based approach I would use is for investigating fruit. I would begin by asking some trigger questions, ‘What fruits do they know? Where do they grow? What colours are certain fruits? Do they feel the same? Do they taste the same? Then I would begin the activity of placing all different types of fruit in front of the children. We would discuss the different smells, size and feel of each fruit. The children would have the opportunity to hold each type and explore similarities and differences. I would then cut the fruit up and get the children to describe the inside of each fruit, taste the fruit and describe its taste and texture. I would get the children to vote for their favourite fruit and represent this on a class bar chart. I would then question children on the class’ favourite fruit. Living Things- Plants & Animals- variety and characteristics of plants. Skills- experimenting, observing, sorting & classifying, recording, analysing.
