Hardware is:
“The physical equipment of computing and computer-directed activities”
(www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/UserInfo/Resources/Hardware - 23/11/06).
There are many types of hardware that can be used to promote education. Cameras, scanners, tape recorders, telephones, video recorders, Cds and CD-ROMs are just a few examples.
“Pupils should be given opportunities to apply and develop their ICT capability through the use of ICT tools to support their learning in all subjects” (www.nc.ac.uk.net/nc_resources)
The Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage states practitioners should
“Provide a wide range of opportunities to motivate, support and develop children and help them to be involved, concentrate and learn effectively”.
(Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage pg 17)
By using many different resources and pieces of hardware, this learning outcome can be achieved. Different pieces of hardware can promote different areas of learning.
One useful resource is the following: The “Maths Mat Challenge Game”
The Maths Mat Challenge Game
“Children listen to the equation, do the maths, and then step on the right answer” (http://www.rm.com/Primary/Products/Product.asp?cref=PD539109 - 22/11/06)
There are several games that you can play and use with this mat. Simple games can achieve simple milestones of the curriculum. For example, the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage states children of 3-5 years should
“Recognise numerals 1-9”, “Count reliably up to 10 everyday objects” and “Select the correct numeral to represent 1-5, then 1-9, objects”
(Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage).
The children can step on the correct number when the teacher says a particular number, the child can cover up a number and get a classmate to recite to him the numbers he is covering. This would aid number recognition and number sequencing. Participating in this activity and using this Maths Mat can cover most aspects of mathematics. This mat is also good to support and adapt for the diversity we now see in society. Within classrooms today, each child is individual. Some are more able, some children are of average/able ability and some children are less able than others. Because of the structure of the learning environment, activities now have to be adapted and have to be able to be used in many situations with many diverse abilities.
- Online Resources
Online resources are now used widely to educate. They are defined as:
“Sources that are available in an electronic medium, most commonly on the Internet. These resources include CD-ROMs, discs, and the Internet.”
(www.somervillepubliclibrary.org)
One particular website that is useful when educating mathematics to children in the Foundation Stage is the Birmingham Grid For Learning’s website or www.bgfl.org. On this site there are many different resources that can aid many different branches of mathematical development.
On the BGFL website there is a game called “Fruits”. (http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/index.cfm?s=1&m=220&p=136,view_resource&id=196)
On this game there are 3 levels. This can be useful to enable all children with diverse learning capabilities to learn numbers 1-10. Children of every ability can participate.
On level two there are 3 games:
- Making 10
- How many fruits? And..
- What's the number?
Making 10 – The teacher’s role is to state how many pieces of fruit they would like in the bowl. The children can then drag the different pieces of fruit to the bowl and then drop it into the bowl until they reach the number asked. This can be adapted by choosing smaller numbers for children of less able ability, and for the children who are more able, the children can be asked to place higher numbers of fruit in the bowl.
How many fruits? – The children count the fruit and then click on the correct number from the ones given. Praise and encouragement is given after.
What's the number? – This is similar to the second game in which the children are counting the fruit in the bowl but the children have to enter the correct number instead of it being automated
The game is good as it provides plenty of support and also encouragement and praise when then the children give the correct answer. Even when they don’t, the response is not negative but encouraging for the child to try again.
Other online resources include dictionaries to help children learn new words. There are also other websites such as Cbeebies. Cbeebies accommodates children of all ages with links to websites, fact sheets, assessment examples and tasks to encourage the learning of new skills and to educate them in a number of areas in the curriculum.
E-books and E-chapters are other resources that can be useful. These can provide detailed insights into areas of learning, which children can read and build on existing knowledge and skills.
One of the main theorists in education is Lev Vygotsky. He believes that
“Social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of cognition” (http://tip.psychology.org/vygotsky.html)
By using ICT; Hardware, software and online resources, social interaction can be achieved and development can be supported and built on. When using hardware such as the one mentioned above or a Roamer, social interaction is very visible. Children can work in teams in order to proceed or attain the correct answer. Social interaction also comes into play when using software such as Tizzy’s First Tools. The children can work in pairs, therefore expanding on their knowledge and working together to attain the correct answer. This works the same with online resources.
Conclusion
There are many different advantages and disadvantages of using ICT in education.
Advantages – If content Rich software is used it can aid grammatical knowledge and improve/illustrate spelling. The work itself is more legible and children can often enjoy working with ICT more than any other method of teaching. It can appeal to many learning styles and is easy to use as a structure or base for knowledge (especially software).
Resources in ICT are believed to be good learning resources in the Social Constructivism Model of Learning.
“The key idea is that students actively construct their own knowledge”
(http://www.mcgraw-hill.co.uk/openup/bookshops/tk/tk_dec06.pdf)
By using content-free software, a child can actively build on the knowledge that the teacher would like them to. The teacher is able to input the information he/she thinks the child requires in order to gain the most he/she can from the activity. The child can then build on the knowledge to acquire new information.
However there are some disadvantages of using ICT.
For one there is sufficient lack of teacher input and the knowledge that can be passed over to pupils. Children can be distracted from the activity and worry too much about quantity instead of quality. They can get easily distracted. On the other hand the children can get fixated by colours, fonts, structures and may not benefit as much as they could from the activities through ICT.
Only a limited amount of information can be transferred through ICT. Not all knowledge may be relevant and some useful knowledge may not be given to the child and could lead to recession.
Reference List
http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/UserInfo/Resources/Hardware - 23/11/06
http://www.rm.com/Primary/Products/Product.asp?cref=PD539109 - 22/11/06
http://
http://www.tip.psychology.org/vygotsky.html
Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage
