Media Arts
During professional experience placements (PE), I have seen technology
being used. On PE3, with grade 2’s, I
used an iPad to video the children teaching each other how to complete certain
mathematical processes. This was the
first time they had done this kind of activity, but they loved performing in
front of the camera and seeing themselves on the TV at the end of the
session. Some children came out of their
shell and would talk about mathematical concepts in a way which showed they had
some conceptual understanding (Skamp, 2012) which was maybe not so apparent in
their written work.
As a parent, my son has used an iPad in both grade 5 and
6. I have found it to be very useful for
him as an alternative way to present his information to both myself and his
teachers. He has undertaken PowerPoint
presentations, iMovie’s, keynote speeches and garage band. He still writes in grey lead and text books,
but his iPad has opened up new ways to show his learning to others and that is
only a good thing. As advocated in Universal
Design for Learning [UDL] (Ashman, 2013) engaging children can effectively be
completed through the use of different forms of expression, ICT being one of
these.
I will definitely be using media arts in my future teaching
as a way to engage those who may struggle to convey their knowledge the
conventional ways. Not only does it
engage the children, but it teaches them skills needed for future schooling and
in their future jobs.
References
Ashman, A. (Ed.) (2015). Education for inclusion and
diversity. (5th ed.). Melbourne: Pearson Australia.
Skamp, K. (Ed.). (2012). Teaching
primary science constructively. (4th ed.). South Melbourne:
Cengage.
I agree, I think Media arts will be one particular area that will be easier to 'integrate' into lessons. I really like the idea of a 5/6 class creating some mini-films. But as it said in our text, this can require a lot of scaffolding and planning. From what I've witnessed on PE, time is at a premium.
ReplyDeleteSuch a plan might be left for a teacher with a few years teaching experience!
So true about engagement. On my last PE I integrated ICT/Media arts into a Geography unit by having the students create their own 'Guess the city' game in Powerpoint. They all loved it!