Week 4 – Scratch

Undoubtedly, the opportunities to integrate Scratch into the learning process are endless, pathways can be established to link with all curricular areas, consolidating and reaffirming the learning objectives.  Through the medium of scratch,  a teacher can develop ´higher order thinking skills such as problem-solving, information processing, metacognition, creative thinking and reasoning.’ (Scratch – Numeracy in Senior Primary Classes) In a sense, it is an effective tool which can enrich and enhance learning.

College Workshops: Initially, when I was introduced to Scratch on week 1, I was overwhelmed as there were many different aspects associated with simply getting your sprite to move. However, after I was shown how to navigate around the Scratch software I gradually began to recognise the various functions associated with the categories ‘motion’, ‘looks’, ‘variables’ etc. An aspect to note was that using scratch is an exploratory process, the children must learn what the various action buttons represent and experiment with their own scripts. Essentially, it is a process of trial and error in which we must continual return and try and ‘crack the code’.

Week 1 – Scratch Placement

This week I began my placement at Donoughmore National School. I was in 5^th class and there were 24 enthusiastic pupils who were eager to explore the world of Scratch. There were four children in the class who had used Scratch previously and they were an invaluable asset assisting their fellow classmates when necessary. The children worked in pairs and took turns on the various tasks throughout the lesson. This proved problematic as some children tended to dominate. To combat the occurence of this next week, we are going to set a timer on the interactive whiteboard and label the children as either A or B and allocate a specific amount of time to each task.

I taught the introduction phase of the lesson, explaining what Scratch is, showing examples of winners from the Scratch competition and allowing them to design and create their own sprite. I recognise after my first week that clarity of instruction is a necessity when explaining how to operate the software. Explanations that are clear, concise and asking children to model tasks proved a recipe for success. It was apparent that some children had a great knowledge of Scratch and with this in mind, we will pair these children with their weaker counterparts in the class, in order to make this programme accessible for all. Another aspect to note was that some children were completed much quicker than others and to overcome this problem we will set an array of challenges forcing the children to experiment and inevitably think critically to complete the task.

Overall, all pupils in the class were able to create a simple script at the end of the lesson, in which their sprite could move up, down, left and right. They were also able to complete an array of tasks as illustrated on the PowerPoint below:

Scratch Week 1     – PowerPoint used to explain tasks

Scratch has the potential to be an invaluable pedagogical tool and through this elective we are educating not only the students but also their teachers, illustrating the use of ICT within the classroom domain. As Dewey once stated, ‘If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tommorrow.’ Therefore teachers must become accustomed to using software such as Scratch to accomodate the pupils interests and contextualise their learning in an innovative and creative way.

Week 3 – Reflection; ‘Blogging in the Classroom’

Blogging in the classroom – Initial Reactions & Possible Relevance:

This week we explored how blogging could be incorporated effectively into the classroom environment through the medium of the wordpress website.  Essentially a class blog can act as a link between the home and school, a simple post can inform parents of their child’s work and also achievements at school.  This site is not solely for the parents and teachers, it is a place where children can take pride in their work and voice their own opinions with regard to curricular areas, school outings and also the Green Schools initiative.  Another advantage is ‘Bloggers continually search  filter and post ideas and information which engage in higher order thinking skills.’ (NCTE) Consequently, a class blog can enhance the relationship between the home and school, as a dialogical relationship is established and parents can become part of the learning process in an interactive way.

As outlined by Richardson, ‘The best way to fully understand the potential of web-blogs as a teaching and learning tool is to become a blogger’. Therefore, I created my own personal blog to chart my experience of the ICT elective and be come familiar with the various methods I can use to incorporate blogging into the primary classroom. To develop my own personal knowledge, I decided to investigate further how schools utilise blogging, visiting the following websites:

http://www.ballyeaschool.ie/

http://www.cbsennis.com/

http://kilrushns.ie/home/home.php?active_page=home

http://clarecastlens.scoilnet.ie/blog/

(I had my teaching practice placements in the above schools)

After visiting the above sites, I saw how both teachers and principals used the site to display projects, inform parents of school outings, post information regarding parent teacher meetings, insert links to educational games and activities. Essentially, I have learned that the opportunities for integration are endlesss and that they are ‘constructivist tools for learning’. (Richardson 2010)

However, an interesting element to note is that very few teachers’ avail of this resource and this was illustrated clearly in the ‘ICT in schools – Inspectorate Evaluation Studies’.

After reading several articles, I recognise  that it is the role of the teacher to equip the children with the necessary skills and knowledge when interacting with a blog especially with regard to safety. ‘It means teaching kids never to publish personal identifiers about themselves.’  (Richardson 2010) Consequently, it is my aim to learn about the many aspects of blogging in order to make my future classroom as an interactive and technologically enriched environment which is conducive to the learning process.

Sources:

‘Blogs, Wiki’s & Podcasts’ – Richardson, 2010

‘Blogging in the Classroom’  NCTE

‘ICT in Schools – Inspectorate Evaluation Studies’