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The skill I have chosen to focus on is ‘Real World Problems and Innovation’. I have selected this skill as I feel problem solving skills are invaluable in today’s world. Promoting problem solving skills and the ability to be innovative encourages children to observe, judge and make decisions. These skills help ensure children are well-equipped and ready for challenges that will face them in the future and also help to promote resilience.
In my class I enjoy using STEM challenges or activities to promote problem solving and innovation. I find STEM cards in particular a really fun, active and child-friendly activity that encompasses these skills. In the past with younger classes, I have used story books as a way to pose STEM challenges for younger children. Last year with Senior Infants, we read a story about a bear who got stuck in the rain. I posed a challenge to the children that they had to design and make a raincoat for the teddy bear using old scrap materials. Children working in small groups using a variety of materials to make raincoats. As the activity began, different children were met with different issues e.g. connecting two pieces of material together. At moments like this I encouraged children to explore different options and in some cases prompted them to arrive at solutions independently. I felt an activity like this really allowed for high quality learning experiences to take place. Using STEM challenges in this way is a really fantastic way to promote problem solving skills and innovation in an age- appropriate way.
There is no question that using digital technology in the classroom enhances children’s learning. Using tech in the classroom provides interesting, fun and practical opportunities for children to present what they learn and additionally it is a key aspect of teaching and learning in today’s world. Children nowadays are incredibly tech savvy so incorporating technology into education makes sense. Technology and the huge variety of platforms and applications available to teachers are all very open-ended and can be used and adapted to fit so many different learning styles, learning experiences and subject areas.
Children are already exposed to digital technology before they step into the classroom. It’s important as teachers that we continue with CPD so that we can provide the best digital environment to support the children in our classrooms with their learning. Using the SSE is a valuable tool for teachers to self-reflect on their own use of technology in the classroom and how we can improve upon it. It’s also a valuable opportunity for collaboration in school among teachers and staff.
Hi All,
Prior to this summer course, I haven’t previously used One Note or One Note Learning Tools. In my school, we predominantly use Google Applications therefore I have found this course really helpful and practical for showcasing a huge variety of ways One Note and it’s learning tools can be implemented in the classroom. It’s always beneficial to learn about other platforms and new resources.
From looking at One Note during this module it’s clear it has a large range of resources that are very practical for classroom use. I think it would be very group projects such as class projects or presentations. I think to introduce One Note in the classroom with children it would take a lot of background work to ensure children have the skills set to access and navigate the platform with ease. I think it would be well suited to the Senior Classes. I also like the Notepad would be a great way to facilitate online collaboration among children in the class, particularly during project work. I think Notepad could be a good feature for homework activities also, particularly for solving problems or labelling diagrams.
Having not used Teams during Online Learning I found that I wasn’t familiar with it and all the different things it could do. I thought it was very similar to Zoom but I was surprise to realize it is so much more. I learned from this module that teams is a great resource for collaboration between teachers, students and outside agencies. It is something I would like to try using more in my classroom in the future.
I really like the idea of a class team. I think this would work really well for more senior classes. I think it is a fantastic way to prepare students for moving on to secondary school and also a fantastic way to build up digital skills and digital literacy. As an infant teacher I’m not sure if I see much of a purpose for it in my classroom this year but I think it is a great resource to learn more about
I originally learned about Sway during my Digital Learning modules in college and immediately knew it would be a practical resource I could use in my classroom. Since qualifying I have used Sway in my class on multiple occasions. I find it very versatile, easy to use and it can be easily adapted to work for different age groups. I’ve used Sway for project work where children in 4th class have worked in small groups to research their chosen topic over a few weeks then at the end they presented their work in the form of a sway presentation. A different way I have used sway is with infant classes we were working on the Artic for SESE, we inserted a variety of pictures of work children had completed then the children did a voice over with information on certain slides. The finished result was a great display of the children’s learning.
Forms:
I had never used Forms before this module and as others have previously mentioned I really like how simple and straightforward to use it is. I like the idea using forms as a method of assessment. I also think it would be a nice group work activity as a consolidation activity at the end of a period of work. That children could create questions for another group to answer.
