Digital Media

There is so much out there in the Digital Media world! I will explain some of the things you can experience.

What is Computer Control?

It is a set of instructions that you (the human) put into a machine which then causes it to operate in a predetermined manner.

So basically we actually experience this daily. Here are some examples:

• In the home we will find things such as, Washing Machine, Microwave, Security Alarm, the list goes on.
• Outside the home we will find things like; Traffic Lights, Car's Central locking, Sprinklers, and so on. 

There are many benefits with these machines; they never lose concentration, they don't make mistakes (well if they do then it's purely human error!), they can repeat the same instruction over again, in exactly the same way each time, and they are much cheaper to employ than humans... It doesn't look like us humans are as important and useful as we all thought....

There are some really cool programmable toys for children too. I have been looking at things such as Beebots

These are toys that do as you tell them (well not everything...) you put in instructions like; forward, back, left and right. You have to put, in numbers, the amount of forwards, backs, rights and lefts you want it to do. This can allow children to estimate distances and how many turns to do (which has the idea about degrees without explicitly saying degrees, if you used it with small children), because it doesn't move right it just turns 90 degrees. 

Here is a video of a group of us having a go at it: 

Interactive Whiteboard!

Interactive Whiteboard!

Well this was very interesting to learn about!! There is so much you can do!

Here are some of the benefits to teaching using the interactive whiteboard: 

First of all it's all in the name.... It is Interactive! 

Children can come up, out of their seats and physically engage with the teaching. They can present their answers in various ways using the resources provided on the whiteboard. This then helps with all the different ways children learn; auditory learners, kin esthetic learners and visual learners are all involved as a whole class!

It's not just excellent for children's learning, it also helps the teacher - the teacher can save previous lessons and switch between them, so there isn't any time wasted sorting through previous paper work!

Another good aspect to it is for the Child in your class who is learning English as an additional language - you can provide parts of the lesson in their home language, how great is that to not make them feel left out! 

So I can not find a fault with this teaching tool and I hope I have made you see just some of the benefits to it! 

 

eSaftey

I am going to present answers that I have researched to some questions asked about eSafety. So here we go...

1. Who is responsible for eSafety in a school, and what are they key features?

www.ofsted.gov.uk/news/students-safest-using-internet-when-they-are-trusted-manage-their-own-risk

This is a good website which focuses on how important it is for pupils to use managed online systems (systems that have fewer inaccessible sites so require students to take responsibility for their own safety), which in tern will educate them on how to stay safe when using the internet. It states that the most effective schools had an active approach to keeping pupils safe when they are online.

All members of staff are responsible for eSafety which may be monitored through a maintained site.

2. How are parents and carers informed about eSafety? Where can parents find out about health and safety issues regarding their children's use of the internet?

www.thinkuknow.co.uk

www.blaengwawr.co.uk/website/downloads/policies/e-safety.pdf

Many schools provide parents with information about what their children are doing in ICT and eSafety, along with the schools policy regarding the internet. Most of the information will be on School websites, or a letter will be sent home which would outline eSafety in ICT.

3. What are the rules about photos of children on a school website?

Here is a website of one school's rules about photos of children: www.brookesideprimary.co.uk

This schools policy states that if they are to put a picture up of a child there must be consent signed by parent or guardian. The child must be suitable dressed, and only first name of the child should be disclosed. 

www.news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/school_report/47799//.stm

This website states that for child protection purposes only the first name of a child should be used, not the surname and this also applies to blog entries, as above, it also states that signed consent must be provided. 

4. How long should you allow a child to work on a pc (in health and safety terms)

www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/haveyoursay/2010/07/how_do_you_stop_your_child_bec.html

There isn't much information that I could find about any specific time limit, however this website states the negative affects of long periods of time infront of a computer.