ICT Week one

ICT week one

 

Today we had our first lecture for ICT on the Primary PGCE course. We were asked if we could think of five things in technology that were not in our vocabulary when we were in primary school.

 

"IPads, IPhone, Blackberry messenger, Facebook, Facetime" the list was endless!

 

From this starter task it showed us how far ICT and technology has come on in the last ten years!!! We became aware of how the use of technology is effecting the school environment. It is important that we prepare children for the use of technology as it is very relevant to the modern world.

 It is vital that we have a good understanding of how ICT can help us with our teaching and the children with their learning. ICT is a key subject within the National Curriculum and in this modern age as important as Maths and English. Although teachers have freedom to teach ICT in the way that they see fit it is necessary to remember that not only is ICT an important subject in its own right but it also plays a major role in supporting all of the other National Curriculum subjects as well as the day to day running of a productive learning environment.

 

What is Web2.0?

Like most technology the internet has developed and adapted since the world was introduced to it in the 1990’s. People are no longer just consumers of the internet, we make the internet! By using the internet we have the power to communicate with people all over the world. We gather together to create an online community who collaborate to give and gain information from one another. This cumulative change in the way in which the internet is used is often referred to as the development of Web2.0.

 

Examples of Web2.0 include:

Instant messaging and web chat/video calling- Skype, Msn messenger, facetime.

Blogging- blogger, edublog, tumblr.

Social network sites- Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Bebo.

File storage- Dropbox, Dumptruck, Flickr.

Music and Video Sharing- Youtube, Teachertube.

 

Why is Web2.0 relevant to us?

As discussed previously Web2.0 gives us the chance to be involved in an online community. Web2.0 allows us to have information from around the world at our fingertips! If we are aware of what is going on in the world around us we can inform the children in our care about it to. By using the internet we can show children in our classes what is going on in the world. Giving children visuals of a hurricane or allowing them to Skype with children in another country will give them a far better understanding then just getting them to read facts and figures from a book! It is necessary for children to know that although Web2.0 can be a useful tool to find information we must show them that not everything is accurate and reliable. We all need to become good at picking out the information that is relevant!

 As trainee teachers we must remember to promote the positive uses of the internet and how children must use it in a safe and productive way. It is crucial for us to have an up to date understanding of technological advances particularly in the ways in which the internet is being used. We must know this as even if we are not using the internet to the fullest there will be children in your class who are, it is our responsibility to protect them from any of the dangers connected with unsafe use of the internet.