Evaluate and Use Information and Communications Technology Essay

The objective of this composition is to analysis a scientific toy, I focused on Bee Bots, which I use in my personal setting, evaluate and critically analyse the effectiveness of that doll in promoting children’s learning. Afterwards I will display my personal make use of ICT and a record of make use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) over a period of one month as a professional role to promote children’s expansion in my environment. Finally, I will reflect on my tracking linen and discover the opportunity to develop ICT in communication with parents.

In accordance to Siraj-Blatchford, Whitebread (2003) in promoting children in their development of a beginning understanding of ICT we are concerned to support these people in learning with regards to a wide range of goods that are used to manipulate, store, access, transmit or perhaps receive details not only personal computers. Most of the ICT applications we are familiar with today are used in electronic products including telephones, audio and video, CD participant, recorders, pcs, television. Let me focus on a programmable gadget – Bee Bot. I selected that particular piece of ICT plaything as we put it to use quite often within our setting. Bee Bot is known as a bright and a colourful and multi-sensory pre-reglable floor robotic, suitable for use in Early Years.

According to Morgan, Siraj-Blatchford (2009) the use of pre-reglable toys in early years educational settings is based upon the constructionist teaching approach, which is underpinned by idea that learning can happen many effectively when people are actively engaged with doing and making things in the real-world and was first developed by Papert, in 1993. Bee Android “enable young kids to learn through play about control and directional vocabulary and provides a great ‘hands on’ introduction to robotics” (Sprainger, 2007). Sturdy construction and colourful, easy-to-operate design is a perfect tool to get teaching abece, number identification, fine electric motor skills utilizing the directional switches, and interpersonal skills just like turn currently taking.

Direction keys are used to enter up to fourty commands which usually send Bee Bot forward, back, right and left. Pressing the green ‘Go’ switch starts the toy on its way. ” Bee Bot blinks and beeps at the conclusion of each and every command allowing children to adhere to Bee Robot through the plan they have came into and then verifies its competition with lights and sound” (Terapine Software, not any date). Functions on tough or easy surfaces which is small enough to be applied to a stand (Inclusive Technology, no date).

Bee Bot moves in 6″steps and 90 degree transforms and compact size as well as durable material help to make Bee Android child and classroom friendly. Bee Android is evenly adaptable to home and school environment, it might be use both indoor and outdoor and operates upon three LUKE WEIL batteries (Interactive Learning inside the Early Stage, No date). In 2006, Bee Android was honored a Gold Award with the Practical Pre-School Award in London and in 06\ Bee Robot was a champion of an Education Resources Prize in the Major ICT category awarded by The British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA), (TTS: Educational Materials for Colleges, Nurseries & Childminders, Not any date).

Following an initial summary of the plaything Bee Robot help children to engage in playful educational activity which allows for many opportunities just like self-initiated activity, which present opportunities pertaining to quality adult-child and child-child interactions (Siraj-Blatchford, Whitebread, 2003). According to Light and Butterworth, actions requiring ‘joint attention’ and which involve ‘children learning how to share’ provide a better cognitive challenge pertaining to young children than activities were they operate alone” (Developmentally Appropriate Technology in Early Child years, No date).

Learning with all the Bee Bot is a remarkably social knowledge and support communication and social skill development, kids learn about discussing, taking converts, sharing and peer work. The Bee Bot can support kids to develop a diverse range of important skills around curriculum and the only limit is the specialist and kids imagination. It really is available with across curriculum pads to enhance children learning in all of the area of their particular development, as a result in my work place we adapt the rugs that we already have in our setting and I continue to feel that we did not make use of its total potential.

To date we used Bee Android with Abc mat, and alphabet display cards to extend children page sound identification and mouth language creation for children with English as an Additional Dialect (EAL) to support their being attentive and remembering skills. Number and condition mat is utilized to increase children statistical skills just like counting, amount recognition, positional language, shape recognition. Road mat is employed to develop children orientation because they need to shape, orientate, trail and rotate the Bee Bot and also road security skills.

By using a Bee Robot also present the children to a range of research skills because they interpret design and style challenges, create possible alternatives, make strategies, test and evaluate and adjusting the program were necessary (Sprainger, 2007). I founded and a number of eachers around the world (see teachers testimonials in Appendix C) that Bee Android are good value for money (manufacture teaching enclose in Appendix B) and the just disadvantage I could find is the fact after every single activity plan needs to be cleaned in order to reprogrammed again.

Even though, it is clear that ICT should be applied ‘to develop skills around all half a dozen areas of learning’ it is the ‘Knowledge and Knowledge of the World’ strand by itself in the direction that makes direct reference to ICT usage. “It is clear that young children are computer… well written at an early age” (Keating, 2007, pg. 126). In respect to DATEC (No date) any software introduced to kids in order to develop understanding and experience of ICT should not you need to be enjoyable, although this is important but more importantly must be educationally successful.

Children desire a variety of applications which encourage a range of development, including creativity, self-expression and dialect. From examining my checking sheet which in turn recorded the usage of ICT inside my setting (details in Appendix A) I need to admit that we was quite impressed together with the amount of ICT equipment we work with with children each day without even realising. In the tracking piece I recognized how important modelling and collaborative play is at Early Years. Programmable toys and a lot of screen primarily based applications provide you with the possibility of cooperation but mature intervention is generally needed to gain the most in the ICT ‘equipment’.

According to the UK Effective Supply of Kindergarten Education (EPPE) (Sylva ou al, 2004), and Exploring Effective Pedagogy in Early Years as a child (REPEY) (Siraj-Blatchford et ing, 2002) research have located that the most effective foundation stage settings mixed the provision of free play opportunities with more focused group work including adult teaching. This approach seems to be most attractive model to market ICT and I must proudly admitted that individuals are focusing on small group activities to meet almost all children’s needs, especially with EAL children. The relationship between cognitive strategies and language advancement is currently considered to be central to understanding children’s difficulties growing language as being a first or additional language.

Skinner highlights the functions of bogus, repetition, reward and reinforcement in formal language educating situation (Lewis, Norwich, 2005). Adult-child communications that engaged some portions of ‘sustained distributed thinking’ were especially useful for terms of children’s early on learning” (Siraj-Blatchford, and Siraj-Blatchford, No date). Activities I use provided for the children in my placing are differentiated according to their interest, grow older and learning style and were “targeted at learner’s educational requirements and stage of understanding” (Hurst, 97, pg.

82), as according to Callier, Devereoux (2004, pg155) “children need to be in a position to experiment, do it again activities in variety of techniques and have a few control over a pace of what they are doing… ollaborate with adult and each other and share their discoveries and triumphs”. Furthermore, the job of Bruner and Vygotsky suggests that “we actually come to understand what it is we think through talk” (Moyles, 1995). “Bruner showed that children must be reminded of previous experience… by images, books… he called this kind of ‘iconic thinking’, he as well felt that role of adult was important… as… adult delivers support since children develop their skills and confidence” (Tassoni, Huccker, 2005, pg. 31).

I really believe that in respect to North, McKeown, (2005, pg. 72) “ICT meets all learners styles since it “lets learners learn by looking, listening and doing”. “Although the evidence in gender variations in attitudes toward computer-related actions, levels of engagement with computer systems, … it appears that girls carry out just as well because boys whenever they engage with computer-based learning” ( Bancroft, Carr, 1998, pg. 104) and it has been proved in my placing that girls get involved as equally often and well in ICT related equipment as boys.

Via my traffic monitoring I as well realised we are appointment entire need as Every single Child Subject (2008) recommended relating to remark, assessment, planning, key person by using ICT equipments just like cameras, video recorder, Interactive White Table (IWB) and Fronter – School Blackboard (explained deeply in Appendix D), which is available through London Maintained Learning Environment (MLE) (Ealing Grid pertaining to Learning, No date) and everything the staff have been given training on it. Kids from key stage one and two are able to gain access to Fronter at home and share their particular school lifestyle with their father and mother.

In the sector I work in – Early Years Foundation Level parents are provided individual logins and passwords to be able to observe what is happening in our nursery every single term, check any occasions that are occurring in school but in my opinion dealing with parents in relation of ICT is a location that needs improving. I discovered three main issues that must be better in my opinion to produce a better conversation and build better relationship with the parents. To begin with, I must which even though being a school personnel we have possibilities for specialist development and ICT “supporting learning” (Teaching and Learning, No date). Training are generally organised simply by our institution ICT co-ordinator.

Insets often and I identify myself being computer well written person as a result we must consider that not our parents “can present barrier” (Plowman, Stephen, 2003, pg. 160) and perhaps school can extend ‘children Fronter club’ for ‘parents Fronter club’ to help parents overcome that barrier because “home institution link and oldsters involvement can be therefore a factor of powerful school” (Curriculum Guidance, 2001). Secondly, chinese barrier could possibly be one of the reasons how come parents are less than keen on applying our Institution Blackboard.

To overcome this kind of barrier following having an Inset with my director we decided that the institution news notification both in electronic form and hard copy could possibly be translated in the most common used languages in our school, just like Tamil, Somali, Arabic and Farsi. Being a Foundation Level Practitioners we all agree that whenever “parents, professors and kids collaborate on the same goals it causes the better academic performance of children” (Curriculum Guidance, 2001). Last but not least, in my opinion the primary issue could be, as the school is situated in low-income industrial area, that not all home might have a great access to the computer.

According to Morgan, Siraj-Blatchford (2009) exploration evidence indicates that the initiatives of parents and preschools can make a considerable difference to children’s future educational achievements irrespective of their socio-economic background and current national insurance plan initiatives aim is to close the distance in educational achievement for children from disadvantaged background. “One of the ways in which this dedication has manifested itself has been in the Government’s three hundred , 000, 000 pounds Home Access job which provides computers and internet access to families to enhance learning at home” (Morgan, Siraj-Blatchford, 2009, pg. 13).

The school received the financing three years in the past and designed the ‘parent computer room’ which was quite popular at the pleading but now seems to be forgotten. I believe it is a good time to bring up that concern during the Inset to make use of that room again. When speaking about ICT I need to mention in regards to a “number of queries and concerns with regards to health and safety issues and other dangers, which may be associated with technology often used by children (Morgan, Siraj-Blatchford, 2009, pg. 39), just like using electric power.

Our children are thought not to “investigate or get any equipment that uses mains electricity” (Creary, 2002, pg. 4) and all electrical sockets are shielded with socket protector to reduce any problems. According to Health and Security at Work Take action (1974) Lightweight Appliance Screening (PAT Tests and Lightweight Appliance, Not any date) is needed once a year and our school has passed one particular two weeks back.

It is important that whilst children learn about ICT additionally, they learn how to take care of their own space and select the proper tools the moment sitting on the computer. Relating to Morgan, Siraj-Blatchford (2009) it is therefore recommended that the frequent use of any kind of computer app by three years old child ought not to be longer than ten to twenty mins. Young children, parents and experts are using ICT in novel and imaginative ways” (Morgan, Siraj-Blatchford, 2009, pg.

40) and it is essential to use every available ICT equipment safely. Our school leaders with ICT co-ordinator “consider the issue of e-safety” (E-safety, No date) and attracted Acceptable Employ Policy (AUP) (See Appendix E). According to Every Child Matter (2008), suitable premises, environment and equipment the outdoor and indoor spots, furniture, tools and toys and games are safe as they are checked about regular basis and university is supervised by CCTV camera and locked.