Week 5

Hi there, 

This week in our ICT lesson we learnt about modelling, Computer programming and Games based learning.  We were told about the importance of programming in a modern age where the demand for computer programmers is increasing.  

London Paris Milan

.......No, no, not that kind of modelling!!.......

What kind of modelling  then?

In the context of ICT in Primary schools modelling refers to the process whereby children explore 'what happens if'...using computer software.  Software in everyday life allows us to simulate how things would work if they were a certain way before we go to the time, effort and cost of making the real thing!  Examples of this are when engineers use computer software to model an aeroplane or architects 'model' a building using Computer Aided Design (CAD).

To be honest, I knew that adults in the grown up world created 'simulations' before producing the real big thing or at least I hoped they did!  But I had never actually thought about children modelling.  The more I thought about it the more brilliant I thought it was!  Modelling allows children to be creative, be logical and make them think.  There are lots of different simulation programmes.  We took a look at a few...

My Modelling Toolkit 1 

My Modelling Toolkit 1 is very popular in schools for EYFS – For example, you can make a birthday cake. You can vary the level either 1 or 2. Children can practice making a cake before making a real one.  

2simulate 

An example of one of the activities on this site is where children could simulate going into space.  They looked at all the things that they needed to take into space and added them to their space craft.  Not only is this interactive but it is very educational.  

Poisson Rouge 

One of the sites I really liked was poissionrouge.com  This site contained lots of games for example on maths were early years children are encouraged to count and fill in the missing numbers with the aid of popping balloons.

With modelling children are encouraged to try things out and see what happens in real and make believe situations.  Some of the topics on these sites are more serious, for example, what you would do if you were locked out of your house. Children are encouraged to find out the effects of changing values, patterns and relationships.

With regard to modelling programmes it has been said that 

 "The learning activities were presented with a general goal and sub-goals with a storyline encompassing all of these goals. These general characteristics resulted in a fun learning experience. For example, it was observed that children celebrated and congratulated each other after finding a lost child; roared, chirped, and hummed while controlling the motorcycle avatar...and expressed their enjoyment through conversations with their peers. These general characteristics seemed to generate four affordances: exploration, interaction, collaboration, and presence". (The effects of computer games on primary school students’ achievement and motivation in geography learning. Hakan Tüzün, Meryem Yılmaz-Soylu, Türkan Karakus , Yavuz Inal and Gonca Kızılkaya) 

Computer Programming 

LOGO was a programme we used in class to create different shapes.  Whilst this sounds quite straight forward and easy, it really was not.  In order to create the shapes, as shown above you need to provide the program with instructions.  For example, REPEAT 4 [FD 50 RT 90] is just one instruction to create a square.  This needs to be repeated to create more of a shape like the one above.  What I found was really important here was thinking about the processes, you actually have to think about how you are going to do something.  

It is similar to the programmable toys we looked at the earlier session but I would say that this is more complex.  You can attach instructions to patterns which the program recognises.  This allows you to type in 'pattern' instead of the whole instruction.  I enjoyed doing work on LOGO because unlike a lot of other interactive activities the process was more important than the finished article.  This is known as constructionism.  Producing the shapes involved a lot of concentration and care and I think this is good for children to focus on.  It is also great for them to use programmes such as LOGO in Maths lessons, maybe even before they have been introduced to shapes as it makes them really think about the properties of a shape.

Scratch

Finally, we were also introduced to a programme called Scratch.  Scratch enables children to create interactive stories, games, music and art which can be shared online. Children can choose their own characters and backgrounds and add their own music.