The Fourth Prac

I must say I have been disappointed to still not have had a chance to see the SmartBoard in action. Unfortunately, this is actually quite common and many teachers tend to neglect ICT in the classroom (Monteith, 2002). I am surprised as ICT is an important section of the NSW Institute of Teachers’ Professional Teaching Elements. It is contained within Element 4: Aspect 4.1.5 (Use a range of teaching strategies and resources including ICT and other technologies to foster interest and support learning). In an increasingly technological world, it is (to put it bluntly) simply impractical to not include ICT within the classroom. Due to the amount of technology children are surrounded with today, it is actually quite appropriate to include ICT within the classroom (Fellowes & Oakley, 2010). I believe it has so much potential to make learning fun yet effective, and children need to develop an interest in engaging with technology on an educational level. I had grown up with a slight fear of technology as I only had minimal exposure to it during my school years. This is certainly not something I would want to pass on to my students, so I have made a mental promise to include plenty of ICT in my teaching!

I came across the Storybird website and was impressed by what it had to offer for reading activities. This site allows you to view other people’s stories and to make your own! It’s a great way for teachers to create their own stories which may include sight words along with a topic the children have been learning about. Additionally, it allows students to actively create their own StoryBird by first selecting pictures on the site and developing their own storyline. Below is a link to the StoryBird website:

http://storybird.com/

I am also very passionate about using the interactive whiteboard in the classroom. When I first came across it I was very impressed and quite excited to include it in my own teaching repertoire! It allows you to create your own educational programs or even find some online. Below is a link to a site which has extra resources for each subject.

http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Interactive.aspx

References

Fellowes, J. & Oakley, G. (2010). Language, literacy and early childhood education. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

Monteith, M. (2002). Teaching primary literacy with ICT. Philadelphia: Open University Press.