Day 2

Back to ICT.......

I wanted to focus primarily on how the school maintains a positive environment today but I witnessed an exciting ICT initiative this morning that must take priority.  I was in class 4 and it was a maths lesson.  All of the pupils were given learner response devices called ActivExpression and this is the first time I have seen this technology out in the field.  The pupils were given 4 minutes to answer 10 addition questions, 10 subtraction questions and 10 multiplication questions as a 'warming up' exercise.  The teacher was able to track the students' progress on a moving graph, enabling him to easily notice weak areas and the students in need of extra help.  It really was fascinating to watch and the pupils were totally engrossed in this activity.

The next part of the lesson involved more challenging addition sums that required the pupils to adopt mental strategies.  A question was posed on the IWB and then all students were given a time limit (ranging from 40-60 seconds) to answer.  The first question was 342 + 50.  All of the pupil's names were visible at the top of the screen and their name changed colour when they had submitted their answer.  A summary of answers given were reflected on a graph on the IWB.  The different answers were discussed and the class was asked which strategies had been used.  It is important to note that the pupils are  unaware of who has written which answer.  The questions got progressively harder as the time went on.  After approximately 5 questions and discussions, a worksheet was handed out and the pupils wrote out sums by hand in their maths books.  The lesson finished with 2 more sums on ActivExpression, where I also got the chance to test out a device!

I asked the boy who I was sitting next to whether he liked using ActivExpression and his answer was "Yes, it's awesome" and I have to say that I totally agree.  Just holding the device felt exciting.  The feeling of anticipation as the teacher wrote the question on the board was immense and the desire to want to get the answer correct much stronger than simply working out sums in a maths book for only the teacher to see.  Even though the answers are anonymous, it felt very important to get it right and be a part of 'the correct' column on the graph.

As with most classes, there are a wide range of abilities present.  I strongly believe that ActivExpression helped the teacher effectively determine the ability level of his pupils, enabling him to issue appropriate worksheets and individual support.  The pupils seemed to concentrate the most and were focussed on the task at hand when they were using ActivEpressions.  What I saw today was another example of ICT being combined with traditional methods and it was both innovative and effective.

I am taking a camera into school tomorrow and will be posting my pictures :).  I will be writing about discipline, respect and positive reinforcement.