Teaching ICT KS2 - Open University



Teaching ICT KS2

Course information 3

Learning outcomes 3

Course schedule 4

Introduction 4

The Practitioner Research Cycle 5

Introducing ourselves 5

Using the course resources in your project 6

The project 7

Reflect, evaluate and share with others 9

Discussion 10

Shared learning 11

Evaluation 11

Resources 12

1 Understanding ICT at Key Stage 2 12

The self-review framework 12

Sources of information and support 13

National Curriculum in Action 13

2 Hard to teach areas – sequencing and programming 14

Other resources 15

Progression – more advanced learners 16

3 Teaching ICT at KS2 in other contexts – simulations 17

Cross-curricular activity using Google Earth 17

Other online simulation games 18

4 Using games-based learning in schools 19

Use of games in ICT 20

Other games-based learning resources 21

Background reading on gaming and education 22

5 Using ICT in MFL – social media in the classroom 22

MFL and ICT at KS2: e-twinning 22

Other MFL/ICT KS2 resources 23

References 23

Acknowledgements 28

Course information

This is one of the ‘project courses’ from Vital. It provides an opportunity for you to plan, carry out and evaluate a project in your classroom. It is supported by a set of resources and activities to give you ideas for possible projects. You are not expected go through every resource but to pick those which are most relevant to your interests, context and possible project.

You will need access to:

• a computer with a web browser

• headset (including microphone and speakers) for online tutorials (optional webcam)

• a class/group of students – groups could be within classes, whole classes, or groups across classes (e.g. clubs) and schools (e.g. clusters of schools or in collaborative projects).

Duration of the course: You should allow for about one to two hours per week for this on top of the time taken to do the project in your classroom or other setting.

Learning outcomes

N.B. The technology or technologies to be used are identified in the Resources section for the course.

Professional and reflective practitioner skills

At the completion of this course, you should be able to:

• identify statutory requirements for teaching ICT at KS2

• identify opportunities for the effective use of technology to support learning activities linked to your curriculum plans

• reflect on, and discuss, the impact of the use of technology to support learning

• share your learning with others in your field.

Practical skills

At the completion of this course, you should be able to:

• use technology to support teaching and learning in KS2.

Knowledge and understanding

At the completion of this course, you should be able to demonstrate an understanding of:

• a range of uses of technology to support KS2

• the issues involved in using technology in KS2.

Cognitive skills

At the completion of this course, you should be able to:

• critically review the use of technology to support teaching and learning in KS2

• share these reviews with others, and constructively critique their views.

Course schedule

|Week |Course activities |Type |Approximate duration |

|1 |Activity 1 Getting to know others on the course |Online |30 minutes |

|1–2 |Activity 2 Exploring the resources |Online tutorial |1 hour |

| |Activity 3 Guidance on using resources and planning for | |30 minutes |

| |project | | |

|3 |Activity 4 Drawing up course plans |Individual planning |1 hour |

| |Activity 5 Confirmation of course plans |Online tutorial |1 hour |

|4–8 |Activity 6 Classroom project |Classroom |No extra time needed |

| |Activity 7 Reflective journal |Individual |30 minutes to 1 hour per week |

| |Activity 8 Keeping in touch with your cohort and |Online |30 minutes to 1 hour per week |

| |facilitator | | |

|9 |Activity 9 Reflecting and reporting back |Online |1 hour |

| |Activity 10 Extracting our shared learning |Online |30 minutes to 1 hour |

| |Activity 11 Course evaluation and certification |Online |30 minutes to 1 hour |

| | |Total |9–12 hours over 9 weeks |

Introduction

The course applies a practitioner research model to look at how aspects of learning may be supported and enhanced through the use of technology. Your starting point is ‘a need’ within your practice, which you will investigate how to address. This will involve exploring how other people have already attempted to address a similar need in their practice (bringing in some practical examples of how particular technologies are used in schools), before you plan and implement their use in your school and reflect and discuss what worked and what needs further refinement.

At the heart of your learning is a project that you will carry out in your teaching and learning setting. These materials are written assuming that you have signed up for a course, although they can be followed in self-study mode. Where you have signed up for a course you will be carrying out a project with similar focus to others, both in terms of the phase of education, technology and the curriculum.

Throughout you have an opportunity to share experiences with other participants. Where you have signed up to use these materials as part of a course you will have a facilitator who will conduct tutorials and help support you in your learning and reflection.

The Practitioner Research Cycle

Vital courses are based on a Practitioner Research Cycle as shown in the diagram below.

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This cycle draws on, and develops, personal and professional knowledge bases. The latter may be seen in the literature, resources, policies and other materials that are used to inform practice.

Throughout the course small icons will indicate the stage of the cycle being addressed.

NB Prof/Pers KB = Professional/Personal knowledge base

Introducing ourselves

For the purposes of clarity the activities from this point on assume that you are on a course with others. If you are in self-study mode then some activities will not be applicable.

This part of the course provides an introduction to each other, to get a feel for the contexts others are working in. This may allow for cross-fertilisation of ideas in projects and for supported reflection.

Activity 1 Getting to know others on the course

30 minutes during the first week of the course (online).

The objective of this course activity is to get to know the other participants on this course

Task 1 Go to the course forum and the ‘Introductions’ thread. There it will explain how these introductions will be done – e.g. face-to-face, online, using a forum.

Task 2 Where a forum is used, introduce yourself, and your context, telling the other course members what you hope to get out of the course. Reply to some of these messages, identifying areas of overlap with your own context and interests.

End of activity.

Using the course resources in your project

These materials, are complemented by supporting resources and activities, which you can use to support your project. Your facilitator, and others on the course, will help to you to plan and refine your ideas for this project.

Activity 2 Exploring resources

1 hour over the first two weeks of the course (online)

The objective of this course activity is to develop your understanding of the resources provided to support this course.

Go to the Resources section, explore what is there and reflect on how might use them in your classroom or other setting. You are not expected to look at all of the resources, but to choose those which seem to be of most interest and relevance to you. In Activity 4, you will develop a project of your own and these resources are designed to help frame that project. As you explore you might want to make notes that you discuss with your facilitator in Activity 3.

End of activity.

Activity 3 Guidance on using resources and planning for project

30 minutes over the first two weeks of the course (online)

The objectives of this course activity are:

• to develop your understanding of the resources available

• to develop a shared understanding of suitable project resources.

Go to the course discussion forum and to the thread ‘Tutorial: Resource and project guidance’. This will contain guidance on how the tutorial will be conducted – for example, it may be online or face-to-face. The tutorial will be supported by discussion in the forum. When you attend the tutorial, online, you should be prepared to discuss initial ideas for your project.

End of activity.

Activity 4 Drawing up course plans

1 hour during the third week of the course (individual activity)

The objective of this course activity is to plan your use of the resources and associated technology in a project in your setting.

You will need to consider:

• how your plan fits with your performance management or other targets

• the classes or groups of learners to be used in the project

• the learning gains or learning intentions

• the intended purposes for using the technology and resources

• what evidence you will look for of the impact of the resources and technologies on learning and teaching

• how you will share your findings with others in your setting.

End of activity.

Activity 5 Confirming course plans

1 hour during the third week of the course (online)

The objectives of this course activity are to:

• develop your understanding of the resources available

• develop a shared understanding of suitable project activities.

Go to the course forum and to the thread ‘Confirming plans’. You should go to this thread and outline what you plan to do. Comment on others’ plans looking, in particular, for plans which are similar to your own so that you may share ideas and findings.

End of activity.

The project

[pic]

Having developed your plan on how to use the supporting resources in your classroom you now need to carry out the project. This will last for about half a term. Each week, as you work through the project, you should reflect on what you have learnt and the impact it is having on learners. You should be prepared to share your thoughts and reflections with others.

Activity 6 Classroom project

To be carried out during weeks 3 to 7 (half a term of classroom activity)

The objective of this course activity is to carry out your plan for the use of the resources and technology in your classroom. It is not intended that, in doing so, you spend any extra time over and above your normal teaching and preparation time.

End of activity.

Activity 7 Reflective journal

30 minutes to 1 hour during each week of the project (individual activity)

The objective of this course activity is to reflect systematically on what you have learnt.

Each week you should note down what you have learnt from the project. This might take the form of reflection on your plans in Activities 3 and 4. These reflections may be kept in a blog or some other electronic journal. You will need to use these reflections to inform Activities 8 and 9.

End of activity.

Activity 8 Keeping in touch with your cohort and facilitator

30 minutes to 1 hour during each week of the project (online)

The objectives of this course activity are

• to share your learning as the project progresses

• to gain support from colleagues on the course

• provide support for others in the cohort.

Each week you will receive a message from your facilitator to support your progress through the course and project.

Go to the course forum and to the thread ‘Project discussions’. Share how your project is going, what you are learning and any other resources that you have found to be of use. Respond to the message sent by your facilitator.

You can also use the forum to ask for support and guidance and to support and guide others. You should check back into the forum regularly – little and often is probably the best method here (15 minutes every other day is likely to be much more useful than a one hour block once a week).

End of activity.

Reflect, evaluate and share with others

Having carried out a classroom project, you will share your reflections of what you learnt from it.

Use the key questions below to help evaluate your project. Use your initial planning sheet and the reflections you have captured as a source of data to help you do this.

• What did the learners do? This is a descriptive activity that explains your action with the learners.

• What did they learn and how do you know? This is an issue of assessment including observation, discussion, question and answer, testing, etc

• Was it worthwhile, i.e. did it succeed in meeting your targets? This question relates to your purposes and intended learning outcomes.

• What did I do? Practitioner research is often done by individuals in their own work. This question requires a description of your own actions.

• What did I learn? This requires analysis of your data and reflection on your answers.

• What do I intend to do next? This relates to your next steps for action. This is where you will try to do things to achieve an improvement and to make the work you do with learners more worthwhile in your terms.

Adapted from Open University Curriculum in Action materials (1981)

Activity 9 Reflecting and reporting back

1 hour (online) during the final week of the course.

The objectives of this course activity are

• to share your reflections on the project

• give feedback to others as they reflect on their projects.

Make a brief presentation to share your findings – maybe as a couple of slides, short video, images etc. Go to the forum, in the thread ‘Reflections’ upload your presentation, and discuss:

• the extent to which your intended learning outcomes were achieved

• the evidence you have for this

• the ways in which you shared your project with others in your setting

• key reflections emerging from the consideration of the key questions for evaluation (listed above).

The use of technology in learning and teaching will provide you with evidence that may be useful when considering the Professional Standards for Teaching. You will have collected evidence from planning through to your notes and evaluation to discussion in the forum. Such evidence may be useful to you when demonstrating ways in which you have met the standards.

Depending on the stage of your career, certain Training and Development Agency for Schools TDA standards may be more relevant than others. Click the ‘Discussion’ button to reveal a possible set of standards. If appropriate you can reflect on these in your feedback to this activity.

Discussion

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TDA standards relevant to you might include the following:

• C7 Evaluate their performance and be committed to improving their practice through appropriate professional development.

• C8 Have a creative and constructively critical approach towards innovation; being prepared to adapt their practice where benefits and improvements are identified.

• C17 Know how to use skills in literacy, numeracy and ICT to support their teaching and wider professional activities.

• C27 Design opportunities for learners to develop their literacy, numeracy, ICT and thinking and learning skills appropriate within their phase and context.

• P10 Contribute to the professional development of colleagues through coaching and mentoring, demonstrating effective practice, and providing advice and feedback.

• E2 Research and evaluate innovative curricular practices and draw on research outcomes and other sources of external evidence to inform their own practice and that of colleagues.

• E14 Contribute to the professional development of colleagues using a broad range of techniques and skills appropriate to their needs so that they demonstrate enhanced and effective practice.

End of discussion

End of activity.

Shared learning

The reflective practitioner cycle is based on developing the professional knowledge base. We have come to the end of the personal reflection phase and will now develop a common understanding of what we have learnt. We will share the key learning points as a group so that these may be collated and added to the community knowledge.

Activity 10 Extracting our shared learning

30 minutes to 1 hour (online) during the final week of the course

The objectives of this course activity are to discuss and agree what we have learnt as a group.

Go to the course forum and, in the Discussion called ‘Shared Learning’, post the key learning points that have emerged for you during the course. With your facilitator, agree on the common shared learning from the group.

End of activity.

Evaluation

This final section allows for evaluation.

Activity 11 Course evaluation

30 minutes to 1 hour (online), during the final week of the course

The objectives of this course activity are to complete an evaluation form and rate and review the course.

Your task is to complete the evaluation questionnaire, which can be found on the course page. There are also links there to print a certificate and rate the course. The certificate will be ‘released’ by your facilitator.

End of activity.

Resources

You do not need to do all the activities contained in this Resources section. Select those that are most appropriate to your context, interests and possible projects.

Where possible we provide links to materials hosted by Vital. However, this is not always feasible so please bear in mind that over time material from external websites may become unavailable or obsolete.

1 Understanding ICT at Key Stage 2

The National Curriculum requirements for teaching ICT at KS2 can be found in the programmes of study.

Reflection

This Teachers TV programme from 2005, Primary ICT – Back On Line (), the progress of a school moving out of special measures – it had failed its Ofsted inspection due partially to its lack of ICT capability. Since then it has worked to invest in resources and training in ICT.Watch this programme then browse the resources about the self-review framework below.

End of activity.

The self-review framework

The self-review framework (SRF) provides a scaffolding for looking your school’s use of ICT and how that use of technology affects your school improvement.

It was made to help you review your use of technology in a planned and systemised way; this will then help to shape your whole school improvement strategy and plans.

The framework is designed to support all schools, and all of the aspects are equally as relevant to infant schools, special schools and early years settings as to mainstream primary or secondary schools.

In June 2010 the self-review framework was revised following consultation with teachers, head teachers, and organisations such as the TDA, National Strategies, Naace and SSAT, in order to ensure that it remains up to date and relevant to changes in quality standards, practices and ICT.

Although Becta no longer exists as a government body, their resources on the self-review framework for ICT are excellent. These are currently available at:



Reflection

Go to to see where you might be in your cycle of planning of ICT in your school.

• If you are just beginning, what do you need to get started and to sustain the use of ICT throughout the curriculum?

End of activity.

Sources of information and support

Other teachers

The ICT register () is a database of schools who are doing things with ICT that they are happy to share with others. You can search by topic, region, school name, etc. to find others who might support what you plan to do.

Look on the TeachMeet site () to see if there are other teachers in your area who are meeting to share elements of expertise in ICT.

TeachMeets social events, usually in the evening, where teachers get together to network and socialise as well as to share good practice. A number of films of TeachMeets can be seen at or .

The TeachMeet area of the Vital site is ongoing and has resources added regularly. All these films are issued under a Creative Commons share-all licence and allow you to download, use, modify and redistribute them for educational purposes.

Naace () is the professional association for the advancement of ICT in education (Naace is a subscription-based organisation, and so not free). For specialist IT and computing there is also the at School Working Group ().

National Curriculum in Action



These examples of pupils' work show how the programmes of study and non-statutory frameworks for Key Stages 1 and 2 translate into real activities.

ICT in subject teaching



This area of the National Curriculum website deals specifically with ICT across the curriculum.

From this area there are relevant links to both cross-curricular and subject-specific information, for example in mathematics and geography:



! Hyperlink reference not valid.ttp://curriculum..uk/key-stages-1-and-2/learning-across-the-curriculum/ictinsubjectteaching/ictingeography/index.aspx

This latter activity for geography could now be easily adapted using Google Maps – perhaps more of a narrative feel could be given and the Robot used within a story situation.

2 Hard to teach areas – sequencing and programming

Sequencing and programming can be seen as a very time-consuming and specialist skill. Fortunately there are some good video exemplars and lots of free resources linked to excellent practitioners available on the internet.

In the KS2 programme of study, the ‘Developing ideas and making things happen’ section states that

Pupils should be taught how to create, test, improve and refine sequences of instructions to make things happen and to monitor events and respond to them [for example, monitoring changes in temperature, detecting light levels and turning on a light]

(section 2b).

Reflection

1 Watch the following video clip of a lesson in using Lego® NXT Robotics Kits with a whole class:



(It takes a few seconds to start.)

Notice how the teacher elicits answers and models instructions for the pupils. See how he breaks down the complicated vocabulary and pulls out the information from the class. (This sequence on the video is from 2 mins 50 secs to 12 mins 20 secs).

Could a similar approach work in your school on a smaller scale or have you got access to a CLC and equipment where you could try these ideas out?

2 Have a look at the ‘Other resources’ section below – particularly ‘Scratch’. This is a simple ‘drag and drop’ progamming environment that you can use on its own or link to and control ProBot cars or WeDo Lego® kits. The MIT Scratch community site has thousands of pre-programmed exemplars of students’ and teachers’ work which you can download, adapt and reconfigure for teaching and learning purposes.

What issues might prevent you from adopting the ideas offered? Where are these issues located – for example, are they to do with resourcing in school? Or to do with matching your curriculum? Or something else?

End of activity.

Other resources

Videos



Videos of Miles Berry demonstrating the use of Scratch



(Watch from 7 mins and 25 secs into the video – you can pull the video time bar at the bottom to view the precise section.)

At Hillfields Primary, Beccy Sherratt updates her teaching of programming and control by borrowing robotic cars from her local city learning centre. Her pupils program them to follow various obstacle courses, or attach a pen to create patterns through programming.

Websites

Alphabet Designer example from the National Curriculum in Action website:



Ollie Bray's blog on the use of Scratch, Picoboard and WeDo Lego® kits:



A whole host of videos about the use of Lego® WeDo and Scratch programming:



Scratch:



Miles Berry, a lecturer at Roehampton University, has produced a module on the Vital website, called Programming in Primary schools: promoting creative learning, about using the Scratch programming environment in Primary schools. This promotes creative learning and is a comprehensive set of materials on the use of programming and exemplars of creative learning including:

• learning through play

• interactivity

• early approaches to computer-assisted learning

• the children’s machine

• games-based learning

• informal learing with technology

• software development / AI

• social constructivism and open source

• control and monitoring

• virtual worlds.

Each section refers you to more comprehensive reading, blogs, lectures, slides and PDF documents.

Further resources are available on the MIT Scratch website ().

Progression – more advanced learners

Alice: Video of students at KS3



On this video, boys at KS3 talk about their use of Alice programming () between home and school. See how they are able to use Open Source Programming Software, Alice, between home and school and how different individuals have different levels of expertise – some even being able to transfer skills across different programming environments.

Greenfoot



Greenfoot allows you to program directly in Java using a drag and drop environment similar to Scratch. There are quite a few useful screencasts on the site and this would be very useful and challenging for more gifted learners.

Websites and companies with robotics and control kit

These are links to commercial company sites which have resources that have been tried and tested by different practitioners. The articles, blogs and links below show how they are used and planned for in schools.

, TES article on Bee- and Pro-Bots.

, excellent KS1 resources to do with Bee-Bots that can be adapted for KS2.

, useful grid from Somerset Council giving exemplars of use of robots in context.

, the Pro-Bot Floor Robot is a commercially available programmable floor robot that has proved to be popular with teachers teaching sequencing and programming.

, the First Lego League uses commercially available Lego® equipment and involves teams of up to 10 children, between 9 and 16 years of age, working in out-of-school clubs as part of the curriculum or within a community group. Participating teams across the UK and Ireland have 8–10 weeks from September to prepare for one of the regional tournament events.

The First Lego League has recently been accredited with the British Science Association CREST award scheme. CREST is Britain's largest national award scheme for project work in the STEM subjects and was established over 23 years ago. Although it is Key Stage 3 in focus it is a useful set of activities to adapt or share with more gifted learners.

CREST

, STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

Background reading

Papert, S. (1980) Mindstorms: Children, Computers and Powerful Ideas, New York, Basic Books.

3 Teaching ICT at KS2 in other contexts – simulations

Cross-curricular activity using Google Earth

This activity is based around the National Curriculum’s objective to use simulations and explore models ‘in order to answer “What if … ?” questions, to investigate and evaluate the effect of changing values and to identify patterns and relationships’. At ICT Level 3, pupils are to demonstrate that ‘they make appropriate choices when using ICT-based models or simulations to help them find things out and solve problems. They describe their use of ICT and its use outside school’.

Reflection

Watch the video on TeachMeet Talks (from 6 minutes in) by Tom Barrett. It shows his use of Google Earth to replicate the story of one small section of Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach. He uses Google Earth to make a simulation of the story that can mirror the narrative. He then works with the children to elicit spoken and written responses to the story.

He has outlined this in far more detail in five blog posts covering the process:

Google Earth is our Paper – Part 1: Find a location, Begin a journey

Google Earth is our Paper – Part 2: Add your Voice

Google Earth is our Paper – Part 3: Consolidate and Empower

Google Earth is our Paper – Part 4: Improve the Story

Google Earth is our Paper – Part 5: A Week in Review

This is quite a sophisticated use of Google Earth, and allied Web 2.0 programs, used in a very cross-curricular way. It encompasses the use of several subject areas and combines them – using media to re-tell and re-invent story.

• Could you think of a similar process that could be locally relevant to you and your school?

• Does it have to be as complex a process? Could you simplify or streamline the process and working?

• What are the barriers to doing this?

End of activity.

Other online simulation games

Lemonade Stand is a simple text-based simulation of running a lemonade stall. You can buy or sell supplies and the different options allow you to change how much profit/loss you are making. This would involve cross-curricular maths skills.

The Great Balloon Race is a relatively simple simulation with two parameters – using a ‘burner’ and ‘vent’ to control the cartoon balloon over a series of objects in a countryside landscape.

Design a room is a Geffrye Museum history resource allowing you to design different types of rooms. It takes you through an animated walkthrough of rooms of different periods.

Plant Force is quite a complex plant-growing simulation with different parameters for optimal growth and outcomes leading to profit or loss.

This simple graphical modelling exercise for a classroom or park is aimed at year 5 pupils.

The coffee simulation game is a year 3/4 exercise from the Northumberland grid for learning enabling students to make informed choices about making ‘Colin’ a cup of coffee.

ECO2 Home asks how much money and carbon dioxide can be saved by running the energy system in a house efficiently. Quite a complicated simulation for KS2.

These online simulations are just a few of hundreds available on the internet. However, just because they are readily available doesn’t mean that they can be used ‘cold’ or ‘out of the box’ with pupils. Like Tom Barrett above, it might be wise to think of cross-curricular contextual opportunities when introducing these – or maybe they could be used as starters or plenaries to enrich or highlight other areas of the curriculum. Rather than just lay these resources out in front of learners, it is much better to try and build in frequent opportunities for discussion and reflection and sometimes reworking in different media.

For example, ‘Lemonade Stand’, ‘Plant Force’ and ‘ECO2 Home’ might benefit from an interesting variation where you could lay some of the figures out in a spreadsheet to see the discrete data and how it affects the outcomes of profit and loss or other parameters.

The ‘Great Balloon Race’ could be linked to the ‘Storybird’ () storytelling site, or similar, where elements of the race could be incorporated into a simple linear narrative. You have list-making and other opportunities also built into that activity.

‘Design a room’ would obviously be linked to history and historical account; again this could involve quite specific use of vocabulary in writing.

The ‘coffee simulation game’ lends itself beautifully to a manipulation of the data using sheets of paper and discussing the options to solve the riddle of Colin’s perfect cup of coffee.

4 Using games-based learning in schools

Why should we consider using computer-based games in the classroom? One of the reasons put forward is that video games are very much part of younger people’s culture these days.

Familiarity is not, in itself, a justification for teaching and learning. However, if more emotional engagement with the subject-matter improves teaching and learning then that is a far better justification. The question still remains: how is ICT involved with this process other than just the use of gaming computers?

In the exemplar blogs below, such as Dawn Halleybone’s and the Consolarium’s, these activities lead to quantifiable outcomes and progression in certain subject areas, and that is a more specific reason still. We would refer you to those blogs for specific instances and research.

There are also many arguments for and against the culture of using games in the classroom. Many people will justify it, in that it can bring a truly cross-curricular focus and social hub (through the process of gaming) around learning. Bringing activities that are fun and engaging into the classroom to bind together disparate cross-curricular themes in a socially cohesive way is the aim. The idea is that if people are having fun, constructively socially engaged and involved then they will learn better...

In light of this, look at this Teachers TV video about the use of computer games in the classroom.

Reflection

Do you think the use of computer video games is relevant to your practice? Look at the Teachers TV video above and study the activities and resources in the following section about games-based learning and games-making software. Then reflect on how this might inform your awareness of the use of video games in the classroom.

• How do you think your SLT will react to the use of games-based learning?

• Do you think there is a case for games-based learning in your institution?

• What games do your pupils play at home? Ask them about their use of games.

End of activity.

Use of games in ICT



Watch the first of these two videos outlining Matt Lovegrove's use of games-making software. It shows his work with making games with pupils at Sonning Common primary school.

The second video is more to do with the teacher’s reflections on how he has used the games and gives a little more detail and insight into the planning process and outcomes.

Reflection

Although games-making software is not on the National Curriculum, if you view the TeachMeet video of the Skype conversation between Matt Lovegrove and Helen Caldwell he outlines many of the skillsets used in making games.

• Can you make a list of these skillsets and do you think they are transferable to other parts of the curriculum?

• Matt was using these activities as a ‘contextual hub’ for teaching and learning activities across the curriculum, where the school community was able to work across the curriculum and age group. Do you think you could establish similar processes in your school – if not what are the barriers? Would you want to – would they be consistent with the school's ethos?

• How would you use social activity based around games to extend teaching and learning in ICT? Would it involve explicit teaching of skills – where could you embed those learning outcomes in cross-curricular work?

End of activity.

Other games-based learning resources

Games-based Learning Exhibition/Conference is an annual exhibition/conference based around games-based learning bringing together several practitioners on the subject.

Missionmaker is commercial software that enables you to make traditional first person adventure games.

This video interview with Donna Burton Wilcox tells how to use Missionmaker to make interactive games.

2simpleDIY is commercial software that can make simple Flash-based video games.

See also the Vital resource on Making Games with 2Simple DIY. by educators who use games in their practice

Hallybone’s blog. Her presentation at MirandaMod contains a number of allied resources about the debate around games-based learning.

Consolarium blog,

Ollie Bray's blog on how he uses ‘Guitar Hero’ as a transition project,

and specifically his blog entry on planning:



Some of the ICT elements contained in the planning are:

• podcast a concert

• design T-shirts/merchandise for battle of the bands – monitor how they sold

• make a pop/rock video/poster

• design a guitar using a CAD package

• make a CD (MP3 files of music).

The video of his presentation to Naace on games-based learning is available and gives more information about contextual hubs.

Background reading on gaming and education

Gee, J. (2004) What Videogames Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy, New York, Palgrave Publishing.

5 Using ICT in MFL – social media in the classroom

The National Curriculum’s MFL Level 2 attainment target expects pupils to ‘show that they understand short phrases presented in a familiar context. They match sound to print by reading aloud single familiar words and phrases. They use books or glossaries to find out the meanings of new words’. The word ‘computers’ may be subtituted for ‘books’.

Here Lisa Stevens talks about her use of MFL in the Primary classroom. Her pupils then talk about their use of VoiceThread.

Reflection

• How might these exemplars – especially the use of VoiceThread – fit with your teaching of MFL in the Primary classroom?

• How would you adapt these exemplars for your classroom?

• How could you personalise the resource for different levels of learners? Could you devise strategies to use the resource in different ways, as Lisa has done here, by pre-recording a welcome and instructions for her learners?

• What elements of these resources/ activities could you use ‘live’ in the classroom and which elements could be put on a VLE or used by the learners at a later stage?

• How would you blend ICT with face to face teaching and learning?

• What cross-curricular elements could you include?

End of activity.

MFL and ICT at KS2: e-twinning

Lisa Stevens’ slidecast on e-twinning contains embedded level descriptors with concrete examples and photos. Another slidecast deals with a range of ICT uses in the language classroom.

Reflection

• How would you go about establishing an e-twin for your school?

• Are there any barriers to you establishing this in your school?

• How are you going to manage the project?

• What time will you have to establish this activity?

End of activity.

Other MFL/ICT KS2 resources

Background reading/video material

Link to non-statutory MFL in the NC:

of MFL practitioners who use ICT

The websites below all have excellent examples of the use of ICT to teach MFL. They have been chosen because they are gateway sites to dozens more resources; a wider MFL teaching community and even more exemplars of practice; and they are all regularly updated.

Lisa Stevens: , a blog that points to thousands of MFL activities/resources using ICT with the focus on the Primary KS1/2 classroom. Dale: , probably the most comprehensive website about the integration of ICT into the MFL classroom. It has literally hundreds of resources and classroom exemplars/videos all free to download and explore.

José Picardo talking about the use of social media in MFL. Some of these are KS3 examples but could easily be adapted for KS2.

resources he mentions are listed here:



Again José also has an excellent MFL website outlining yet more resources. for KS3, it is still a wonderful showcase of exemplar material that may also be used with upper KS2.

eTwinning is the online community for schools in Europe. Teachers from all participating countries can register and use the e-Twinning online tools to find each other, meet virtually, exchange ideas and practice examples, team up in groups, learn together in learning events, and engage in online-based projects.

Schools from at least two different European countries create a project and use ICT to carry out their work. As schools communicate and collaborate via the internet, there are no grants or administrative conditions connected to the scheme and face-to-face meetings are not required.

References

Alice. Programming software Accessed 26 August 2010

Alice. Video of students at KS3 Accessed 3 September 2010

Barratt, T. ‘Google Earth is our Paper – Part 1: Find a location, Begin a journey’ Accessed 6 September 2010

Barratt, T. ‘Google Earth is our Paper – Part 2: Add Your Voice’ Accessed 6 September 2010

Barratt, T. ‘Google Earth is our Paper – Part 3: Consolidate and Empower’ Accessed 6 September 2010

Barratt, T. ‘Google Earch is our Paper – Part 4: Improve the Story’ Accessed 6 September 2010

Barrett, T. ‘Goole Earth is our Paper – Part 5: A Week in Review’ Accessed 7 September 2010

Becta. ‘Schools – Self Review Framework’ Accessed 25 August 2010

‘Bee-bots Downunder’ Accessed 26 August 2010

Blip TV. Dawn Hallybone speaking at the MirandaMod Games Based Learning Event at the Institute of Education Accessed 26 August 2010

Blip TV. ‘Lego NXT and Mindstorms Control Lesson’ Accessed 26 August 2010

Blip TV. ‘Matt Lovegrove’s Skype at Teachmeet Milton Keynes’ Accessed 26 August 2010

Blip TV. ‘MFL in the Primary classroom using VoiceThread’ Accessed 3 September 2010

Blip TV. Miles Berry demonstrates Scratch at OSS Accessed 3 September 2010

Box of Tricks. Technology & Education Accessed 26 August 2010

Bray, O. ‘Creativity & Innovation in Education – Scratch, Picoboards & WeDe Lego Kits’ Accessed 26 August 2010, O. ‘Guitar Hero Transition rocks in Falkirk’ Accessed 26 August 2010

Bray, O. ‘K-12 On-Line Conference 2009: Computer Games in the Classroom’ Accessed 26 August 2010

British Science Association. ‘Crest Awards’ Accessed 26 August 2010

Caret Brainteazers and Puzzles. ‘Plant Force – Growing Plants’ Accessed 6 September 2010

Cool Math Games. ‘Run your own lemonade stall’ 6 September 2010

Computing at School Working Group. ( Accessed 3 September 2010

Dale, J. Integrating ICT into the MFL Workshop Accessed 26 August 2010, L. ‘Recording Skype and editing in Audacity’ Accessed 27 August 2010

Dragonfly TV. ‘The Great Balloon Race’ Accessed 6 September 2010

eTwinning: online community for schools in Europe Accessed 3 September 2010

First Hand Technology. Accessed 26 August 2010

Gee, J. (2004). What Videogames Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy, New York, Palgrave Publishing.

Geffrye Museum. ‘Design a room’ Accessed 7 September 2010

Greenfoot. ‘The Java Object World’ Accessed 26 August 2010

Hallybone, D. ‘From Dawn till Dusk – Games & Life: musings on ICT, handhelds and life’ Accessed 6 September 2010

ICT Register. Accessed 25 August 2010

Immersive Education. ‘MissionMaker’ Accessed 7September 2010

Learn for Life. Accessed 25 August 2010

Learning and Teaching Scotland. ‘Consolarium blog’ Accessed 26 August 2010

Naace TV. Games-based learning Accessed 3 september 2010

Naace – The ICT Association. Accessed 25 August 2010

Naace TV. How to make an interactive game with MissionMaker 3 September 2010

National Curriculum. ‘Alphabet Designer’ Accessed 26 August 2010

National Curriculum. ‘ICT in Mathematics’ Accessed 26 August 2010

National Curriculum. ‘Housing in the Local Area’ Accessed 26 August 2010

National Curriculum for England. Modern Foreign Languages Key Stage 2 26 August 2010

National Curriculum for England programmes of study. Accessed 25 August 2010

National Curriculum in Action. Accessed 26 August 2010

Northumberland Grid for Learning. ‘Clever Colin’s Coffee Conundrum’ Accessed 7 September 2010

Northumberland Grid for Learning. ‘Graphical Modelling’ Accessed 7 September 2010

Papert, S. (1980). Mindstorms: Children, Computers and Powerful Ideas, New York, Basic Books.

Scratch. ‘Create and share your own interactive stories, games, music and art’ Accessed 26 August 2010

Simple Software. ‘2Simple DIY’ Accessed 7 September 2010

Somerset County Council. ‘Developing Ideas and Making Things Happen: Control and Monitoring Progression’ Accessed 26 August 2010

Stem Directories. Accessed 26 August 2010

Stevens, L. ‘Exciting ICT for the language classroom Accessed 3 September 2010

Stevens, L. MFL Primary resources Accessed 26 August 2010

Stevens, L. Use of MFL in the Primary classroom Accessed 26 August 2010

Stevens, L. ‘What can eTwinning do for you?’ Accessed 26 August 2010

Storybird. Collaborative Storytelling Accessed 26 August 2010

Teachers TV. ‘Teaching the Future Today – Teaching Web Design and Programming’ Accessed 26 August 2010

Teachers TV. ‘The Games Children Play’ Accessed 7 September 2010

TeachMeets (list). Accessed 25 August 2010

TeachMeet Talks. Accessed 25 August 2010

TeachMeetTalks (2010). 'TeachMeet NorthEast London – Tom Barrett' Accessed 3 September 2010

Travail, B. ‘Primary ICT Bee-bot and his Big Brother TES Magazine 19 September 2008 Accessed 26 August 2010

TTS. ‘Pro-bot Advanced Programmable Floor Robot’ Accessed 26 August 2010

Ustream. ‘MFLSat3’ Accessed 26 August 2010

Vital module. ‘Programming in Primary schools: promoting creative learning’ Accessed 26 August 2010

Wikipedia. ‘Graphic Adventure Game’ Accessed 7 September 2010

Wmnet. ‘E-CO2 Home’ Accessed 7 September 2010

YouTube video. ‘Making Games at Sonning Common Primary School’ YouTube-Making Games at Sonning Common Primary School Accessed 26 August 2010 videos. Use of Lego® WeDo and Scratch programming Accessed 26 August 2010

Acknowledgements

Author: Leon Cych

Reviewers: Terry Freedman, Pete Bradshaw

Editors: Peter Lee and Matthew Driver

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