At my setting we have a variety of ICT resources we integrate into our planning on a daily basis (appendix 1). A clear Policy helps teachers and parents understand the use of ICT at our setting (appendix 2).
Before starting the multimedia project I was looking at the children’s interest and our termly topic list. Many children in my setting are interested in vehicles (appendix 3) and therefore I decided to design my project based on our “Transport” topic.
Using a multimedia project which can be used to enhance the planned lessons as well as children being able to build on their knowledge independently during free play was one of my other main objectives when planning the project. I based the project on children’s abilities to use a mouse unaided and ensured that the project will build on their mouse skills. Using simple buttons to click on each picture ensures interactivity as well as simplicity for children to do project unaided.
Children with SEN and EAL will also be able to use this multimedia project as I used simple pictures and words on each page. By only needing to click on a picture will help children who have not yet developed their fine motor skills.
While planning the main outline of the project I was considering all six areas of learning (Personal, Social and Emotional Development; Communication, Language and Literacy, Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy; Knowledge and Understanding of the World; Creative Development; Physical Development) in the early years foundation stage to ensure a holistic approach of education. (DCFS, 2008) This project encourages children to take turns and focus on a set or self-chosen activity for a longer period of time. It also incorporates reading labels and listening to stories, poems and rhymes. Understanding the importance of emergency vehicles and how other modes of transport are being used are introduced through pictures, sound and video files. The story and animation includes some numbers such as 999 (emergency phone number) and 14 (bus number). The teacher can also encourage children to count how many vehicles they can see on each page and looking at shapes and sizes. Songs, rhymes and stories help develop their creative development and using the mouse will improve children's fine motor skills and hand-eye-coordination. Overall the project incorporates all areas of learning and develops many skills.
My personal subject knowledge and capabilities and skills of using the various software has also had a great impact on my plan and design for the project. I have basic computer skills using mainly Word and Excel so therefore I tried to keep it a simple process without loosing the educational and suitability factor.
Using the 2Create software has had its limitations and challenges. One of the challenges was that I am not very good at drawing and creating a story was one of my main fears when starting the project. I tried to think about the children when drawing the different scenes as children won’t judge the story by its drawing but by the content.
The use of videos and sound files was limited to 1 minute each and so I had to cut certain videos to the correct size. This brought on another challenge when attaching the different videos and sound files . Some of the files I wanted to use were messing up the project and I had to keep on re-attaching files. After making the decision to not use certain files I had to rethink of how to incorporate sound to pictures. Singing and Talking myself was the only resolution to that problem.
The topic I have chosen for the project is so vast that having only 5 pages, including the home page, was not enough to ensure a wide range of interactivity and subject knowledge. Since completing my project I have added on another page to extend the project.
Last week I had a chance to use the project with my children. I first introduced the project to all children during circle-time, outlining the different parts and learning intentions. Children were very engaged and wanted to get actively involved straight away. On the next day I had the project on our computer in the main classroom for children to use independently. Some children who went to the computer area recognised the program from the day before and started to use it. They went through each page, taking turns with the help of the sand timer, naming the different vehicles before clicking on it. 3 of my boys kept on watching the rocket video, talking about wanting to be an astronaut going to space, another child joined in with the submarine and row your boat song. 2 girls used their fingers to follow the written words when listening to the emergency story.
After watching the different children using the project I did feel it would need more pages to give them more interactivity and games they could play while extending their knowledge of the topic. Games and Interactivity would also help with assessing their skills and subject knowledge. Without it the teacher can assess through observation and listening to them.
Completing this assignment has taught me that using multimedia is a good way to enhance existing learning opportunities. The access to ICT and the size of the setting is surprisingly an important factor when designing a project. I have learned a lot about my own skills and how fear of failure can hold me back establishing new skill sets important for my chosen profession. Cutting videos and sound files to a certain size has been a challenge at first but through research and determination I managed to learn how to do it. Now I have a new skill which I am able to use in many areas of my job. Overall the main outcome for me by doing a multimedia project was that ICT resources used in the early years foundation stage should be intuitive for children to use. Resources should be simple enough for children to use and explore independently.
“ICT should enable and empower children rather than provide barriers to their learning.” (Niederle, 1995)
Bibliography:
-
Allen, J. & Potter, J. & Sharp, K. & Turvey, K. (2011) Primary ICT. Exeter: Learning Matters Ltd.
-
DCSF. (2008) The Practice Guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Nottingham: DCSF Publications
-
Lachs, V. (2000) Making Multimedia in the classroom. London: Routledge Farmer
-
Niederle, Ch. (1995) Methoden des Kindergartens. Linz: Landesverlag Druckservice
