ICT Resources

To keep up with the ever advancing technological world, the NSW Institute of Teachers has now included Information and Communications Technology (ICT) into the Professional Teaching Elements. Element 4: Aspect 4.1.5 states use a range of teaching strategies and resources including ICT and other technologies to foster interest and support learning. Fortunately for us teachers, ICT resources are easily accessible and as a result we are provided with many opportunities to create the best learning environment possible.

There are innumerable ICT resources which can be incorporated into the classroom. Many sites offer resources for students of all ages and resources for every subject can be found as well. I believe the online digital reading books are one of the most effective ICT resources we can use for children. I found a cute story called 'Ted the Ant' which was created by Montessori Home who specifically develop interactive children's stories in order to help them to read. I thought it was a great story for kindergarten for the following reasons:

• it is simple and easy for the children to follow
• each word is highlighted in pink as the story is read
• animations assist in developing students' comprehension skills
• children can learn how to read with expression

Click on the picture below to read 'Ted the Ant'

ICT resources are also great for teaching mathematics. Children often find maths quite uninteresting and dull but it doesn't always have to be! Below is a maths song called '10 Little Numbers' which was created by A.J. Jenkins. I thought it was a fantastic way to teach kindergarten their numbers for the following reasons:

• children love to sing, thus creating a song for numbers makes maths fun 
• songs help children to learn easier
• a visual representation of the number was provided as well as a word representation (e.g. 5 and 'five'). So they not only learn how to write the number, but how to spell it.
• the song teaches children to count backwards not just forward
• animations of the numbers make it more enjoyable for children 

Have a listen to this song!

As a teacher I believe it is important to not only use already produced ICT resources, but to create your own. This is a great way to improve your confidence in using ICT if your understanding of it isn't quite up to scratch. Below is a SmartBoard document I have created for kindergarten mathematics. The task for kindergarten is to count how many objects there are in each picture then press the correct number. The exciting part is that when the correct answer is pressed, the number spins around along with an audio accompaniment of a round of applause. I believe an ICT resource such as this is a great change from the traditional worksheet!