Summaries of readings and discussion

English, R. (2006) – Does using an IWB create a more meaningful environment for children to learn?

This article highlights some key benefits from using an IWB which I would have to agree with after teaching with IWBs over the last few months. One of the main benefits I found was that the children would all be able to see the screen and I could often organise my lesson around using a powerpoint or notebook on the IWB to ensure the flow of the lesson and return to work done earlier in the lesson. Another benefit that was highlighted within this article that I also found within the second school I worked in was that I could use lots of resources from the internet and fun, interactive games with the children, especially during maths lessons. Unfortunately, in my first school I found that the IWB was very impractical to use with a risk to Health and safety for the children if they attempted to use it interactively due to the height and position of furniture around it. This meant using games that could be interactive within maths lessons were less interesting and frustrated the children as they could not join in. This was shown as a negative side to some IWBs due to the way they have been positioned in the classroom.

Another benefit highlighted within the article was that the resources can be shared. Again, within my second placement, I planned lessons for the whole of year 5 using resources and powerpoints on the IWB and shared them using the network at the school with the other year 5 teachers to save them having to produce their own resources as well.

I also agree with the point that the article makes that using the IWB can increase the children’s communication skills and confidence. This was the case for some of the children I came across as they were fairly shy but coming out to the IWB was seen as a treat and so were keen to come up and explain their answers, using the IWB pens to also write out what they were trying to express. However, I only agree to this to an extent as some children did not like using the IWB to show their ideas as they found it very difficult to write on.

One of the major drawbacks of IWB illustrated within the article and something I feel is central to the debate on IWBs is that it can reduce the amount of input teachers carry out. Teachers need to make sure that they are still interacting with the pupils alongside the IWB and do not overemphasise the entertainment side of the IWB rather than producing quality teaching and learning. It is good to motivate the children but teachers need to constantly be thinking, ‘what is the educational value of this?’ to ensure that they do not fall into the trap of simply entertaining the children rather than actually teaching them. Over-using the IWB can also lead to the class spending more time as a whole where smaller groups are sometimes more beneficial, more traditional routes can sometimes be more useful. Therefore, IWB can be a fantastic addition to the classroom and a valued tool in teaching and learning if used correctly and safely with children and not over-relied on.


Muirhead, G. (2005) - Which creates a more meaningful environment; a computer suite or wireless laptops?

One of the drawbacks about ICT within schools shown in the article is that the government leads initiatives; however, each initiative is not always given enough time to be followed through before the next one has started, moving in a different direction. I think this is the case with computer suites and wireless laptops. No longer has a school managed to build and resource a computer suite than the new system comes in with wireless laptops, leaving their brand new computer suite as old fashioned before it has even started. From reading this article it showed that there is currently a debate over whether an ICT suite is more effective than portable laptops.

One point in the article explained the flexibility of laptops meant ICT lessons can take place anywhere in the school. Plus, using laptops meant more chances to incorporate ICT into a variety of lessons across the curriculum to prevent them becoming a separate lesson. As well as this, there are more opportunities for using wireless as you don’t need to keep to your slot in the suite. Plus, the children can also access all their classroom resources during the lesson. From my experience, some ICT suites have a double function due to lack of space within the school which will reduce the time used for ICT even more.

Another issue raised within the article is the possibility of children being able to take laptops home with them to complete their homework on if they do not have the resources at home. The risk with this is that parents need to be made aware that the child may be able to access the internet so they need to make sure they are monitoring their child’s use. Also, the risk of damaging the laptops is a lot higher than computers that are sat in a suite and all schools have to consider costs when deciding how to use ICT.

The health risks of wireless laptops explained in the article show there has not been enough time to conduct effective research and so it is still contentious. However, I do not think this can be a serious health risk as otherwise schools would not be allowed to use the wireless laptops until further research was completed. Therefore, using a mix of both laptops and a computer suite will reduce the amount of time that children have to be using the laptops and give them another option. From my experience within schools using both laptops and a suite, the suite rapidly became redundant so having both may not be successful.

Using a Blog was a completely new concept to me as a tool for writing and communication but I have found it surprisingly simple and effective to use. I have enjoyed reflecting on my use of ICT through it and feel that it has been a beneficial exercise to really get me thinking about the ICT use and provisions at the school I am working in. I hope this will make me think about any barriers and opportunities for ICT in the future schools I work within.

I was initially a bit nervous about posting pictures onto the Blog as it took me a couple of attempts to get my first picture on there but once that first one was done, I found it fairly easy. I have also been using a Blog for my Bean Project in Science and have posted several pictures relating to this with explanations and labels. This has been a really important part of the Blog so I could track the progress of my bean. It also meant I could go onto the Blog at any point and look at how the other members of my group were getting on with their beans, which was really useful.

I had a comment on my Blog from a PGCE student at Northampton University, who had stumbled across my Blog entries and wanted to share her link with me. It is a Blog for all the students on her course as a place where they can share ideas, resources and tips. Using Blogs could therefore, not only be a great way for me to reflect over my practice and communicate with my university colleagues but also a great way to make links with other PGCE courses across the country. Building these connections could expand our resources base even further, which is always helpful when thinking about new ideas to use when planning lessons. Their link is http://pgceprimary.blogspot.com/ if anyone else is interested in using them to share ideas and resources in the future.

This Blog has been really useful for me as a tool for facilitating my reflective writing about ICT and it has really made me think about the ICT opportunities around me. Using this Blog has also been a great communication tool for making a link with another university PGCE course. My Science project has also been made a lot easier through knowing how to use a Blog and communicating about the project through it. I found it easy to use and it didn’t take me long to get used to the software. Overall, I found that writing this Blog has been a really useful task as part of the PGCE course.

The Gruffalo

Being on my first placement as a trainee teacher has meant that occassionally my lessons are timed incorrectly, either leaving me with lots or no time to spare. On those days with lots of time to spare I have found that the IWB can again come in very useful in having a bit of fun at the end of the lesson whilst waiting for assembly, playtime or whatever was planned next.

One website which I think I loved as much as the children was http://www.gruffalo.com/chorus/index.html. This brought a bit of music into the lesson and was great for keeping the children quiet and happy whilst waiting for playtime. The website has all the characters from The Gruffalo book singing the Gruffalo song. They can be turned on and off by clicking on them so it meant that the children could choose which character would sing/be turned off. It tied in brilliantly with the lesson, meaning we could talk about all the characters while we listened to the song. I have recommended this website to other teachers and trainees I know and shall post it on the Wiki so hopefully others will be able to have as much fun as we did with it!

Teaching in a computer suite

Having the extra help of a TA with the class has meant it is possible to split the class in half and have two ICT sessions in the computer suite. This means that each child can have a computer to themselves, giving them more opportunity to practice. This week I took each group for a 30 minute session into the suite. It is well laid out with the computers around the outside of the room and an IWB in the centre. This meant I was able to show all the children at the same time how to access the computer programme they were going to be working on and how to play the typing games that were planned for the lesson. We all logged on and got into the programme together before trying out the games. This prevented the need to go round to each child to make sure they knew what they were doing and enabled me to dedicate my time to those children with particular needs.

I feel that if schools are going to have computer suites then this is a good way to lay them out so that there is a big screen for all the children to easily see while the teacher is modelling the activities and the teacher can see what all the children are accessing at all times making behaviour management a lot easier.

My first week of SBT1

Since starting at the school I have heavily relied on the internet for resources and ideas for lessons I have done. The main website I have used is the primary resources one and I have also used the links on the Jotspot learning resources Wiki, which I have found very useful.

One problem I have found with the classroom I am working in is that the interactive whiteboard is placed on the wall too high and set back behind desks. Unfortunately, that means it cannot be very interactive. However, it is still a very useful visual resource that I can show the children different websites and documents on. Therefore, I have still tried to incorporate it within some of my lessons but I have have kept the control of the computer to myself due to behaviour management and safety reasons. Next week I will try to make sure there is a clear area around the computer so that the children can be in control of the mouse when playing interactive games, making it more interseting and fun for them!

Portable laptops or computer suites?

Currently there is a debate over whether an ICT suite is more effective than portable laptops. There are many positives and negatives of both and so perhaps introducing a mix may be the best option?

Portable computers offer flexibility which means that ICT lessons can take place anywhere in the school. Plus, using laptops, there is more chance to incorporate ICT into a variety of lessons across the curriculum so that ICT lessons do not have to be a separate lesson, in which it is the only chance for children to improve their computer skills.

As well as this, there are more opportunities for using wireless as you don’t need to keep to your slot in the suite. Plus, the children can also access all their classroom resources during the lesson. From my experience, some ICT suites have a double function due to lack of space within the school which will reduce the time used for ICT even more.

One more positive of laptops is the possibility of children being able to take them home to complete their homework on if they do not have the resources at home. The only risk with this is that parents need to be made aware that the child may be able to access the internet so they need to make sure they are monitoring their child’s use.

However, on the negative side, there are the health risks of portable laptops that have been highlighted. There has not been enough time to conduct effective research on this issue and so it is still very contentious. Therefore, using a mix of both laptops and a suite, will reduce the amount of time that children have to be using the laptops and give them another option.

As well as this, there is a much higher risk of damage to the computers in a portable trolley than in a suite. Plus, parts or computers may get lost as they are constantly being moved around the school. The more portable laptops there are, the more likely this is to happen. As these are a very expensive pieces of equipment, this is a negative that all schools need to be aware of.

Therefore, there are positives and negatives of both a suite and the laptops so a combination of both could prove to be the most successful way…however; I suppose it could be argued that if you have both, then you also have the negatives of both as well.

The Use of Discussion Boards

I found the discussion board quite useful for this task, mainly because I live in Bournemouth and my partner is living in Southampton. Therefore, although the task required us to discuss and work together, this could be done at separate times and places. It is easy to post comments and attach files onto the discussion board so there were no problems accessing each others work. The only issue that occurred was that I had to save the work I did at home in a format compatible with the university’s software to allow it to be opened without a problem as I have a more recent version of Microsoft.

Discussion boards could be a useful resource in primary schools when doing tasks such as book reviews, as we have done in English. Children could work in groups to write a review, post it and then comment on other groups’ reviews. They could also be very useful to get children to post their individual or group ICT work onto a discussion board so that it can be marked by the teacher online – the children could also feedback their comments after the teacher has marked it so they can carry out some self-assessment and reflect on the work they have done. This can then be re-visited when completing their next piece of work.

Although discussion boards are very useful for the above tasks, Wikis and Blogs could also provide these advantages. The negative side of the discussion board is that once a document has been posted it cannot be edited as easily as on a Blog or Wiki. Plus, on the discussion board, the work has to be posted so another programme has to be used to produce the work on, whereas Wikis and Blogs can be worked on as they are and contributed to by anyone in the group. Another advantage is that it is possible to limit people's access on Blogs and Wikis, which may not be as easy on a discussion board - anyone could read the messages we have put up on the discussion board on Blackboard. Sometimes it is great to share ideas but occassionaly it may be necessary for only the teacher to access certain work so that all children produce soething original.