Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Developing 21st century skills is essential in the classroom. Collaborative learning leads to deeper learning, higher-level thinking, effective communication, self-management and leadership skills. Skilled communication enables children to build and develop relationships, express themselves and ensure they can participate fully and confidently in tasks and projects. Knowledge construction promotes deeper learning and understanding and independence. Self regulation allows children to improve their learning, understand targets, adopt approaches and not to be afraid of trial and error. Engaging in real-world problem confident, independent and responsible individuals. Using IT for learning opens children up to a new world of learning and prepares them for the world in which we now live.
Long-term projects allow for many 21st century skills to develop in unison. The project I have listed below is a project I have tried, but have re-examined it to try to incorporate the skills we explored in this module:
Collaborative Narrative Writing
Children work in groups
• To develop their knowledge of the narrative framework
• Create a narrative text to accompany a picture book to be read to junior infantsThe 21st skills developed are:
• Collaboration
• Skilled Communication
• Knowledge Construction
• Self Regulation
• Use of IT for LearningActivities
1. Explore the elements of a story
2. Creating simple plots
3. Engage in a workshop with an author – many are offered during the year via zoom.
4. Select a picture book that would engage the infant class
5. The opening paragraph – includes the setting, introduces the character and portrays the first step in the emotional journey of the protagonist.
6. Collaboratively, create the story over a number of sessions on a word document as follows:
a. Step 1 – record a basic sentence for the event
b. Step 2 – discuss and experiment how to improve that sentence to enhance the mood of the story and the experience of the reader.
c. Step 3 – edit for spelling and grammar
i. Repeat the above until the story is complete
d. Edit the full story, improving sentence structure and conciseness where necessary.
7. Prepare for the story telling:
a. Each child practises their story for fluency – recording and self/peer assessing.
b. Identify simple discussion topics from the story to discuss with the infant classes
8. Narrate the story for the infant classes
9. Create a digital recording of the story including animation or pictures.Sway:
I am beginning to be able to engage more with the 3 domains of teaching and learning in primary schools. I hadn’t much experience of the Digital Learning Framework prior to this module. I was aware of our school’s DLF and the implications for my role as a class teacher. We have some great IT experts in our school and they lead our DLF excellently. As a whole-staff and individually, we have engaged with ‘Looking at our School’ and have used the document to inform SSE under the domains of learner outcomes, learner experience, teacher’s individual practice, teacher’s collaborative/collective practice.
Now, I plan to reflect on my own teaching using digital technology. It can feel a little overwhelming when you see how much it encompasses, so I need to take it in small chunks. Naturally, as you stated in this module, we all want to be highly effective, but it is important to be realistic and honest and to genuinely see how we can improve. One central thinking I am gaining from this course is that the use of digital technologies should be focused on the technology enhancing the learning, and not just learning to use digital technology.
Regarding DLF as a whole school approach, I think that this is important and would enhance the cohesiveness of the teaching with technology in our classrooms. However, I know from feedback in general in our staff, that there are so much new curricula, methodologies, planning that teachers feel so overwhelmed – PLC, the new maths curriculum, the Primary Curriculum Framework, planning by outcomes and experiences rather than content. SSE began with selecting 3 targets for one subject in year 1. The aim was to continue with this in year 2 and add another subject; and the same in year 3. The number of targets meant that teaching was in danger of becoming initiative driven. Our DLF was a huge focus during lockdown and the learning curve of all involved does not need to be stated. After lockdowns, the advice was to go back to one subject again and not to overload ourselves. This was such necessary advice, and was welcomed with huge relief from our very hard-working staff. The challenge of trying to include DLF or technology in our SSE is certainly concerning. No doubt that digital technology is the way forward. But everything seems to be a priority and finding the time in a large school to discuss, plan and bring it all together is challenging. I think, at the moment, it has to be led by a small group of teachers with expertise in this area, that the changes have to be natural and almost embedded in our teaching before we document it…This way the SSE/DLF is not so overwhelming.
I created a OneNote page for a Gaeilge lesson I will be using in September. I like the suggestion that all lessons created should have a similar layout. I think that this reflects and supports the teaching ethos of sharing the WALT and WILF with the class at the beginning of a lesson. I used WALT in my template instead of Learning Outcomes as that is the language used in our school. I think including a checklist at the end of the lesson is also very valuable for self-assessment and for giving children a opportunity for feedback. Some children only focus on what they didn’t achieve – a checklist helps them to appreciate the little achievements and hopefully helps them become more comfortable with some learning taking time. Here is the link to my OneNote lesson: Gaeilge – Mé Féin
I think OneNote has great potential for supporting and expanding deeper learning opportunities for students by first of all supporting teacher preparation – particularly for team teaching. I think the lessons could be clearly followed by all teachers involved; it allows for collaborative planning when you don’t have the opportunity to meet physically and it also allows for all teachers to share a particular resource for that lesson.
From a students point of view, I think using a similar template for all lessons helps children understand the focus of the lesson and to identify and aim to meet the expectations. With OneNote, all the resources, handouts, links are all in one place which is hugely beneficial. OneNote also keeps a digital recording of all learning. I think it would be a great tool to help children learn at their own pace. I am only beginning to see the opportunities OneNote provides and will definitely explore further during the coming year.
Here is the link to the Swayhttps://sway.office.com/CaBs7E3KfHghGyHV?ref=Link ( a very rough newsletter)
And to the quiz https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=xcRWV-zBDUyVyTaAgZ7lIGbm-EnipW1Ht2mScEvFAL1UODZSMDYxVzUxTzJBRTZNM09JQ085VU5KUi4u
I hope I am posting these in the correct place – I can’t see any place to upload them. Please advise if I have missed something. Many thanks
MS Teams appears to be very useful for sharing. I will have to play around with it a little more to really get comfortable. I have tried to use teams in the past, but I found that it could be glitchy and a few rare times, I found I had no access. This is probably down to my WiFi service at home.
I have used Teams quite successfully with my Learning-Support Teacher. We have planning files to organise team teaching and folders to upload the content we will use. My LS teacher has recommended that we try OneNote going forward. So, tomorrows module will help me with that. I think it would be worth exploring Teams for sharing information, ideas, files across our class standards (we have 3 classes of every stream).
I am not really sure where to go with using Teams in the classroom. I think it would be an effective tool to keep assignments together and create a digital portfolio. I think it is suitable to some assignments, but at primary school age, I do believe personal feedback still has a central role. I am definitely interested in exploring the Learning Accelerators further – they appear to be extremely useful tools.
I engaged with the PowerPoint recording activities here, but could not find the ‘Publish to Stream’ button. I searched for advice online and as a result tried to activate the button under the ‘save’ option with customising the ribbon. That option wasn’t there either. I am using our schools MS office account. Can anyone advise please?
Based on what I have learned in this module, I would hope to explore both MS Sway and MS Forms a bit further in the coming year.
MS Forms:
I am thinking that MS Forms could be used for
- Mulitple Choice Assessments
- Multiple Choice Homework Assignments
- Children’s Self-Assessment
- Options to create forms allowing children’s voice to be heard
- Feedback from parents
MS Sway
- I think children using Sway for project work would be a very worthwhile skill to teach. I need to play around with MS Sway a little more before I introduce it to children.
- I like the idea of a class newsletter – not sure if I will have the time, but I will definitely think about it.
- I love the idea of having a template for children to record their learning, particularly when I use written templates for many activities at the moment (elements of a story, writing planning templates, science lesson recording templates etc.)
