The Use of Comics and Graphic Novels in the Classroom

Comic books and graphic novels are not necessarily the most commonly used text during primary school. This could be due to a number of reasons, one being, there is no explicit requirement for them to be introduced into the primary curriculum (DfE, 2013).

Millard and Marsh (2001) write about the concerns surrounding children reading comics and graphic novels, under the subject of popular culture. The mixture of cartoons and colloquial text leads to adults seeking for children to read more wholesome and educational texts.

The website, (Comic Book Classroom, 2010) provides resources and support for the productive use of comics in schools and aids the notion of comics and graphic novels being ineffective learning tools; the site is valued to develop a love of learning, increase literacy and celebrate diversity through the tools of popular culture. Furthermore, UKLA (2005) researched the use of multimodal texts to help readers appreciate how images and words contribute to the communication of a text. Paper-based and screen-based texts were used from foundation stage to year 6, including picture books, comics and graphic novels. The case studies provided evidence where multimodal texts were steadily introduced then studied. Learning was linked directly to assessment strands showing the significance of introducing different text types. Correspondingly, Stafford (2009) suggests that preparing children for the introduction to comic books is beneficial to be able to distinguish comics as credible literature. He suggests by presenting examples of comics and discussions of the children’s knowledge and awareness so far imbeds that comics are too be taken seriously; the same as any other text.

Millard and Marsh (2001) conclude with the thought that schools providing texts such as comics and graphic novels may aid to bridge the gap between school and home literacy practice’s, taking into account individuals interests. What is more, Education Scotland (n.d.) put forward that comics and graphic novels, as popular culture, enhance reading skills rather than undermine them as well as providing engaged learning. If a child’s learning can benefit from using comic and graphic novels then why should they not be available in primary classrooms?

 

References:

 

Comic Book Classroom (2010) [online] Available at: <http://www.comicbookclassroom.org/cbc/mission-values-and-vision/> [Accessed 28th January 2014]

 

Learning and Teaching Scotland: Graphic Novels in the Curriculum [online] Available at:

http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/resources/g/graphicnovels/intro.asp [Accessed 28th January 2014]

Millard, E. and Marsh, J. (2001) 'Sending Minnie the Minx Home: comics and reading choices', Cambridge Journal of Education, 31: 1, 25 — 38

 

QCA/UKLA (2005) More than words 2: Creating Stories on page and screen.  London: QCA  pp. 19-23 [online] Available at: http://www.suehorner.com/resources/8_More+than+words+2+$282005$29.pdf [Accessed 28^th January 2014]

 

Stafford, T (2009) ‘Teaching Comics’ in Duncan, D. (2009) Teaching Children’s Literature: Making stories work in the classroom Abingdon: Routledge

Comic resources as posted by luke Allen in his blog

www.themangabible.com/‎

A manga adaptation of the bible. Reads a little odd sometimes as it was translated from English, to Japanese, to English again. But it's pretty... and DRAMATIC.

http://kingstonecomics.com/kingstone-bible

Traditional western-style comic adaptation of the bible. Excellent for boys, but this style generally doesn't appeal so much to girls. However, the stories will be much more accurate than the manga bible.

https://www.facebook.com/theactionbible

Probably a happy medium. Also has a few awesome hooks on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKvr3S9NSzU.

http://www.vimanikacomics.com/

Another really cool one for Hinduism.

http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/resources/g/graphicnovels/recommendednovels.asp?strReferringChannel=resources&strReferringPageID=tcm:4-621334-64

Link to some recommended graphic novels for the classroom, including adaptations of classic novels and playscripts.

CREATE YOUR OWN MARVEL COMIC, CLICK BELOW

Popular Culture in the Classroom

I recently carried out a survey, requesting the views from a student teacher, regarding using popular culture in the classroom. A range of ideas and consideration was due to the students thought processes which concluded with a mixed response.

The student’s initial reaction was to embrace the use of popular culture, with the idea that to plan a lesson around an individual’s interests will increase engagement and commitment to learning. Linking to, Marsh, Brooks, Hughes, Ritchie, Roberts and Wright (2005:6) whom wrote in a study that the introduction of popular culture, media and/or new technologies into the language and literacy curriculum has a positive effect on the motivation and engagement of children in learning. Similarly to Dyson (1997) who wrote that by using popular culture allows the teacher to draw from children’s different experiences therefore providing engagement. Drawing from my own personal experience, I observed a plenary where the whole class played ‘Who wants to be a millionaire?’ The questions were all educational and based on the topic they were learning presently however the atmosphere was completely relaxed. All children were engaged and a sense of competitiveness motivated all the children to focus on their knowledge to gain the correct answer. A high level of engagement and motivation, while incorporating individual’s previous experiences and knowledge, is a recipe for a productive learning environment.

Nevertheless, this then stimulated further questions during the survey; What if the popular culture area/subject chosen was not engaging for all pupils in the class? Would children get mixed up with their hobbies and interests and then learning?

This takes us to Lambirths (2003) view, who suggests some teachers find popular culture, particularly television and computer games, intellectually inferior and that children are exposed to these cultures enough at home. Additionally, Marsh (2003) highlights the lack of confidence teachers have when teaching using popular culture. This is due to the lack of previous experiences teachers have had and also the lack of control they have over what they can teach. Therefore teachers are more likely to persist in traditional planning which they feel comfortable teaching. From my own experiences I have seen a popular cartoon character or story being used as a stimulus for a lesson, not necessarily watching a TV programme or playing a computer game.

The survey and research I have undertaken has challenged my views and raised issues I was not aware of before. For example, Arthur (2004) identified views of the use of technology and popular culture in the classroom in the late 1990’s; where technology and popular culture were not necessarily used as a learning tool in primary settings. Therefore the use of watching television and videos, containing popular culture, were seen more of an entertainment tool rather than an educational opportunity. Although time has moved on, schools will still be at different levels concerning technological resources and therefore the exposure to popular culture will vary in each school. Especially as popular culture is increasingly digital due to today’s generation being bought up in an evolving digital world. Furthermore, the new curriculum states that, by the end of key stage 2, children should be able to and have had the opportunity to explore computer networks and use a variety of software on a range of digital devices... as active participants in a digital world (DfE, 2013).

Concluding that, as teachers and for future practice, we will need to be able to adapt planning and learning depending on the facilities provided in school. Whilst making sure popular culture is being used for successful and productive learning experiences, without being afraid to take risks when doing so.

References:

Arthur, L. (2004) Popular Culture: Views of parents and educators. Routledge Falmer Oxon.

DfE (2013) 2014 National Curriculum [pdf] Available at: >https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-curriculum< [Accessed 24^th January 2014]

Dyson, A (1997) Writing Superheroes: Contemporary childhood, popular culture and classroom literacy. New York: Teacher’s College Press

Lambirth, A. (2003) “They get enough of that at home”: understanding aversion to popular culture in schools. Reading Literacy and Language

Marsh, J., Brooks, G., Hughes, J., Ritchie, L., Roberts, S. and Wright, K. (2005). Digital beginnings: Young children’s use of popular culture, media and new technologies. Sheffield: University of Sheffield. Available at: http://arrts.gtcni.org.uk/gtcni/bitstream/2428/27212/1/DigitalBeginningsReport.pdf [Accessed 24th January 2014].

Marsh, J. & Millard, E. (2003) Literacy and Popular Culture in the Classroom  Reading: National Centre for Language and Literacy

Comic Life

 

This is my first attempt of using comic life. Once I got used to the tools, I found the software easy and fun to use. The first problem I had was deciding on a story and I think this could be a problem for school children as well. After deciding on a story, the rest was very simple. However, I think this lesson would have to be spread over 2-3 lessons in school to gain a high quality comic. However, I really enjoyed the software and will try to use it during school experience.

Three Little Pigs comic

Comics and graphic novels

This is the comic which I have made using comic life programme. I found it an easy to use programme and enjoyed creating the comic.

The use of comics and graphic novels in the primary classroom can be used as an effective literacy tool, yet, there are some issues when considering the use of these texts. There is much evidence that shows the growing increase of interest for graphic novels and comics suggesting their popularity and therefore being more contemporary and important to pupils. Marsh and Millard (2008) highlight the importance of providing children with a variety of texts to engage them in their learning and reading.

 However, there is no requirement for their use in the National Curriculum (DfES, 2013), even though they were listed as a text in the PNS Literacy Framework (DfES, 2006). This does not mean that they cannot still be used; it is the teacher’s decision to decide whether they are appropriate and relevant to the class and topic of the lesson.

Millard and Marsh (2001) and Dean (2010) convey the concerns about the use of comics and graphic novels in the classroom, conveying that children are reading comics and graphics novel which are not seen as educational at all due to the colloquial language and cartoon pictures. In contrast to this, in the seminar we discussed the idea of using comics and graphic novels to teach the non-standard forms of English, as well as using comics to develop children’s comprehension skills as the story often revolves around the comic pictures as well as the text. The UKLA (2005) suggests the development of children’s reading and comprehension skills

Graphic Novels in the Curriculum website highlights that although there are some issues that surround the use of comics and graphic novels they suggest the positive impact they have on children’s ideas and work. Marsh and Millard (2001) portray that these types of text are popular with children as the bridge the home-school link and are often not seen as “reading”.

Bibliography:

-          Dean, G (2010) ‘Rethinking Literacy’ in Bazalgette, C. (ed) (2010) Teaching Media in Primary Classrooms. London: Sage

-          DfES (2006) Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics, DFES

-          DfES (2013) National Curriculum for England And Ireland. DfES Publications.

-          Learning and Teaching Scotland: Graphic Novels in the Curriculum (see online)
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/resources/g/graphicnovels/intro.asp (Accessed: 1/02/2014)

-          Millard, E. and Marsh, J. (2001) ‘Sending Minnie the Minx Home: comics and reading choices’, Cambridge Journal of Education, 31 (1)

-          QCA/UKLA (2005) More than words 2: Creating Stories on page and screen. London: QCA

 

Comic Life

This is my first attempt on the programme 'Comic Life', inspired y the hard copy of Disney Princess's I have recently purchased in a store. It is easy to use for children and has a a good cross curricular purpose. It is a great way of presenting research for all su_jects or improving ICT skills during independent learning time. I had lots of fun creating this!

Comic produced using Comic Life

Here is my comic made with Comic Life! I found it quite easy to use and would consider to use this program with children in a classroom setting.  It would be a nice way to produce a final piece of work by the children, from the storyboard phase through to using Comic Life to make a professional looking comic.

Popular Culture: Childhood in the Digital Age

Explore the outcomes of your parental/student teacher survey. Did any responses surprise or challenge you? What might be the subsequent implications for your future practice? Make links to the in-session discussion and to any relevant readings.

 

 

Using popular culture in the classroom creates opportunities and challenges for teachers in the classroom but it also opens up possibilities for children to be actively engaged in their learning.  Merchant (2007) believes it is also important to stress that an education system has a responsibility to provide children with the tools and understandings necessary for interpreting the world of popular culture around them and to be able to provide a critical view (Merchant, 2007).  It is important to recognise the fact that the children will be engaged critically with popular culture when it is used in the classroom and it should not be seen as something used as a reward to children; a judgement with which previous generations may view this practice. As Lambirth (2003) argues, by using popular cultural texts to enhance learning and motivation in the classroom it can capture the interest of children as well as empower them to continue their learning outside the classroom. These popular cultural texts, which can be accessed through new media, used alongside traditional texts may make some children feel more comfortable and welcomed into an environment that could have been inadvertently alienating them, through instilled beliefs from previous middle class culture (Lambirth, 2003).

 

The concerns for the use of popular culture in classroom mainly focus on consumerism and issues on ideology. I came across these views during my survey as parents can still view using popular culture as consuming school time to promote or advertise products. These views are born out of culture fuelled on consumerism and can be understandable if the parents are not aware of the context popular culture is used in the classroom (Arthur, 2005).  Another negative view by using popular culture in the classroom are long held views gender ideology. Dyson (1997) describes males as having agency, power and independence while females are generally defined to roles that ‘privilege romantic relations’ (Dyson, 1997: 178). Arthur expands on these popular perceptions as positive male characters are more numerous to female characters in television and video games (Arthur, 2005).  An alternative view drawn out from my survey is that traditionally brighter children use books as a stimulus (Lambirth, 2003).  Though I think there may be changing perceptions regarding children’s levels of engagement with popular culture alongside their intellectual capacity and attainment.

 

Through my readings and discussions in seminars, implications for my future practice include how new technology can help to establish more varied collaborative relationships within the classroom particularly when learners recognize that skills and knowledge can be distributed between themselves and that their teacher may not necessarily be the expert. (Burnett, Dickenson, Myers, Merchant, 2006).  I believe children bring a wide experience of texts to their school work from their own experiences growing up, from expecting to read images as well as print through to expecting to use computers in seeking information. When they come to express ideas and to participate in classroom work, children readily draw on their experience of popular culture to create multimodal texts using words, diagrams and pictures (UKLA, 2005).  Dean (2010) argues we as teachers should begin to rethink literacy, from the outdated attitudes to class and culture, by embracing new media and popular culture in today’s society to aid and enhance children’s learning.  Therefore, teachers will be helping children to become digitally literate which is becoming increasingly important in today’s digital world (DfE, 2013).

 

 

 

References

 

Arthur, L. (2005) ‘Popular Culture: views of parents and educators’ in Marsh, J. (ed) (2005) Popular Culture, New Media and Digital Literacy in Early Childhood. Oxon: RoutledgeFalmer

 

Burnett, C., Dickenson, P., Myers, J., Merchant, G. (2006) ‘Digital connections: transforming literacy in the classroom. Cambridge Journal of Education. Vol 36 (1) pp.11-29

 

Dean, G. (2010) ‘Rethinking Literacy’ in Bazalgette, C. (ed) (2010) Teaching Media in Primary Classrooms. London: Sage

 

DfE. (2013) Computing programmes of study: key stages 1 and 2. National Curriculum in England. DfE

 

Dyson, A (1997) Writing Superheroes: Contemporary childhood, popular culture and classroom literacy. New York: Teacher’s College Press

 

Lambirth, A. (2003) ‘They get enough of that at home’: Understanding aversion to popular cultures in schools’. Reading Vol. 37 (1) pp.9-13

 

Merchant, G. (2007) ‘Writing the future in the digital age’. Literacy Vol. 41 (3) pp.118-128

 

UKLA. (2005) More than words 2: Creating stories on page and screen. QCA. [Online] http://primary-english.weebly.com/uploads/8/7/2/5/8725723/more_than_words_2.pdf

Interviews about the use of popular culture in the classroom

Interviews about the use of popular culture in the classroom

This week’s task where about parents or other teacher education students sight of the use of technology in the classroom. Sadly I only got to interview other students and their sight where the same.

I interviewed both an English and a Danish student, and they both weren’t afraid of using neither technology or popular culture. You just have to ask yourself the question – “What will the learning outcome be with this input?” That is a question you need to ask yourself every time your entering the classroom door as a teacher.

I think Marc Prensky has a point in his explanation of how kids are playing video games.

“Several hours a day, five days a week, sharply focused attention—does that remind you of anything? Oh, yes—video games!”

We still need to have the subject in mind while teaching. If one pupil struggles with putting a comma in the right place – hours of Tetris on their game boy won’t help them neither will watching Sesame Street. So back to the Question: “what do they need to learn – what will the outcome be?”

We cannot close our eyes to the future, a lot of things has changed in a very little time. In the seminar we were asked to think of when we got our first phone/PC and it got into me that ten years ago when I where finishing high school my dad helped med bringing our families stationary computer. In contrast of today’s school where having a laptop and an Ipad is perfectly normal we also need to interact to those new possibilities. Our work is to prepare the pupils for the social community and for the future and from my point of view, my education takes place online. In Denmark I only go to school every 1,5 month and the rest of the time I’m online skyping or uploading tasks. That has coasted me a lot of struggle because I didn’t participate in the digital world before now.

As a teacher we also need to get along with the ethics and use of the internet and social networking. We must teach the pupils in how to come around the internet, how they navigate safe and also how you present yourself on the social networks. Especially the social networking can interrupt the classroom such as bullying. I think it is important as a teacher to participate in the social network so you know what is going on there.

References

The Byron Review  (2008)

Prensky, M. (2001) ‘Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants

Julie states Technology in the classroom On the teacher education we talk a lot about literacy. Literacy for me is all varieties of communication. It contains the ability to speak, listen, write and read. We live in a constantly changing and evolving world where we meet up online. Everybody is using web 2.0, whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, blogs, wikis. We make videos and share them on YouTube, post pictures on Flickr and everything is more or less available for everyone. Our kids need to know how to act on web 2.0. They need skills to participate in the world online. When they start in primary school most of them already know have to use a tablet or a phone. They play computer games, watch videos and sooner or later they’ll get even more knowledge about web 2.0 whether we want it or not. As a teacher I see a lot of possibilities in this increased use of technology. We have to open our eyes for this world online, this is the future and we can help the pupils by preparing them for it. I think the problem in not doing it is that pupils are so entertained by technology at home. It can be challenging to catch everyone’s attention without a smart board, where the internet is just a click away, or without having a tablet for those who struggle with spelling problems. Today at class when we talked about using the blog, a lot of students first remembered using it when they where put back to an activity outside the classroom, taking pictures and uploading them to their blog – it works on us to. When you want someone to learn something the best way is by doing activities and use technology, or else today’s kids will be bored. It’s not so much that we need to entertain them, but we need them to get in to action by waking their curiosity. My challenges for this course will be to find the red line in using all this new technology and find the best ways to include whit it.

Popular Culture in the Classroom

Using popular culture in the classroom is a regularly debated topic as it has both advantages and disadvantages. Jenks (1993) suggests a culture consists of norms, beliefs or values for a particular group in society. Therefore the type of culture school children have will consists of objects or beliefs that are normal and important to them, such as popular toys or brands. Whilst interviewing a student teacher, she expressed her support for popular culture in the classroom stating ‘it can provide a hook for a difficult topic that can engage and motivate children’. Dyson (1997) supports this stance, as he believes teachers need to engage and understand children’s emerging cultural forms. Teachers can enhance children’s learning by using popular culture in the classroom as it promotes motivation and a desire to learn.

Another statement from the interview suggested that reading and writing should not be taught through forms of popular culture. Children need to be taught the basic skills of reading and writing however, I would disagree that these skills could not be taught through popular culture. A type of popular culture that can benefit reading and writing skills is computer games. Livingstone and Bovill (2002) carried out research on computer games and found 6% of girls and 14% of boys had no access to computer games at home. It must be noted that this research was carried out over 10 years ago so it is likely that the percentages have lowered further. Sanger et al (1997) suggest most children have access to computer games, even if they do no have them at home. Furthermore, computer games can be used to develop a child’s reading and writing skills if the task set is crafted to the individual child or class. Creating a computer game or computer game character can open many opportunities for creative writing, instruction writing or character profiles. Throughout this process, children will also develop their computer literacy skills, which will be necessary in later life.

To use popular culture effectively, it needs to be crafted to the particular interests in the class. History Professor, Clay Morgan suggests “effective teaching hinges upon communication, and you can’t communicate without entering into the world of those you wish to reach” (Online Universities, 2013) (Online). By asking a child to write about a topic that interests them or using popular culture as a discussion starter can help children develop a deeper conceptual understanding of a topic as they are more interested and engaged.

Popular culture provides opportunities for both teachers and students, therefore as a future teacher; I will be able to tackle difficult subjects by using popular culture as a hook or for motivation. Popular culture can be viewed as a novelty and if it is overused then the impact will not be as great. Therefore, popular culture should be used in classrooms as it's impact can help tackle tough subjects but only use it when necessary to ensure the novelty is not lost.

Dyson, A (1997) Writing Superheroes: Contemporary childhood, popular culture and classroom literacy. New York: Teacher’s College Press

Jenks, C (1999) Culture. London: Routledge

Livingstone, S and Bovill, M (1999) Young People, New Media. London: London School of Economics

Sanger, A., Wilson, J., Davies, B. and Whitaker, R (1997) Young Children ,Videos and Computer Games. London: Falmer Press

www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2013/03/cool-teachers-guide-pop-culture-classroom/ (Online, accessed 21st January 2014)

New media and popular culture in the classroom

The main outcome of my parental survey was that new media and popular culture are beneficial within the classroom if used in conjunction with traditional methods of literacy and for educational purposes only. The parent I interviewed raised concerns about the use of new media taking over and how it may detract from traditional writing. Children need to learn these basic skills to excel in life. The written word was seen as the “currency of success” which is why it has been a main focus (Dean, 2010:53). However, Harrett and Benjamin (2009) wondered if educators are perhaps asking children to write too much. This is the main form of assessment which is why children are asked to write in almost every lesson. This raises debate around the use of new media in the classroom.  

Lower literacy standards over the last century are blamed by new media within the home being too distracting (Dean, 2010). However, latest neurobiological research states that various stimulation activities change brain structures and affects thinking ways. It is this ‘digital native’ notion that supports the use of new media as a learning aid as evidence suggests well designed games produce learning by engagement (Prensky, 2001). Children’s home environment and culture shapes their experiences at school (Heath, 1983), surely suggesting the positive elements of incorporating this within the classroom? As Arthur (2005) highlights teachers’ responsibilities for investigating family literacies at home, enabling provision of a curriculum to build upon the competencies, I believe this will impact upon my future teaching. It will be purposeful of me to gain knowledge about the children I teach to ensure my pedagogy acts upon their desires and competencies. Otherwise, it could disadvantage and alienate those children who engage centrally with popular culture at home (Elliot, Hufton, Hildreth and Illushin, 1999).

As children’s attention spans increase when something interests them (Prensky, 2001), the use of new media and popular culture in the classroom is supported. My parental survey suggested how popular culture could further engage children within the curriculum, which is reinforced by Marsh and Millard’s (2000) belief of it capturing children’s interests and empowering readers. Regarding comics, the parent interviewed stated that ‘any form of reading can be beneficial’ and that they will ‘encourage younger pupils to read’. I challenge this view as I believe comics, or popular culture in general, will engage every child as it relates to their ‘cultural capital’. As discussed in the seminar, this is what children have grown up with and are familiar. Conversely, it can be noted how popular media culture negatively portrays people with stereotyping of non-standard dialects (Giroux, 1997), raising concerns with its use in school.

The parent interviewed deliberated the use of graphic novels containing upsetting content for the primary school age, and should only be used for mature students. However, many children have already been exposed to media well above their age range in the home environment (Dean, 2010), suggesting debates with this controversial issue. During teaching in a Year 3 class, I had to be conscious of the songs played within the morning sessions of ‘Wake and Shake’ and what advertisements were displayed on a YouTube channel. Nevertheless, today’s society is allowing children exposure to this at home, questioning children’s innocence.

As is widely suggested, children need to become digitally literate to enable active participation in today’s digital world (DfE, 2013). I advocate its use in the classroom as an enhancement to the traditional methods, as I believe children need the basic foundations. Popular culture has its advantages and disadvantages, but as long as teachers are aware of this, I fully support its use in school to engage and enrich teaching and learning opportunities.

 

Bibliography

Arthur, L. (2005) ‘Popular Culture: views of parents and educators’ in Marsh, J. (2005) Popular Culture, New Media & Digital Literacy in Early Childhood. Oxon: Routledge Falmer

 

Dean, G. (2010) ‘Rethinking Literacy’ in Bazalgette, C. (ed) (2010) Teaching Media in Primary Classrooms. London: Sage

 

DfE (2013) Computing programmes of study: key stages 1 and 2, National Curriculum in England, DfE

 

Elliot, J., Hufton, N., Hildreth, A. and Illushin, L. (1999) ‘Factors influencing educational motivation: a study of attitudes, expectations and behaviour in children in Sunderland, Kentucky and St. Petersburg’. British Educational Research Journal, 25 (1)

 

Giroux, H. (1997) ‘Are Disney movies good for your kids?’ in Steinburg, S. and Kincheloe, J. (eds) Kinderculture: The Corporate Construction of Childhood. Boulder, CO: Westview Press

 

Harrett, J and Benjamin, T. (2009) ‘Travel with a Time Lord: using media to enhance literacy’. UKLA

 

Heath, S. B. (1983) Ways with Words: Language, Life and Work in Communities and Classrooms. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

 

Marsh, J. and Millard, E. (2000) Literacy and Popular Culture: Using Children’s Culture in the Classroom. London: PCP

 

Prenksy, M (2001) ‘Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Part II: Do They Really Think Differently? in On the Horizon 9 (6)

 

Technology in the Classroom.

Technology has now become an expected feature in the modern day classroom. Varying from laptops, iPads, tablets, interactive whiteboards and even robots, a vast amount of schools now contain and use different technology. So, is technology improving children’s learning? Have teachers got the right balance between using technology and pencils? What will be used in the classrooms of the future? What will I be using in my classroom in years to come? My knowledge on this matter can only be drawn from my own opinions and my personal of technology in the classroom so far.

In my recent school experience, the interactive whiteboard was a main feature of each lesson. As well as engaging the whole class the technology also assisted with the termly, weekly and daily planning. Lesson plans were shared within the year group and a sequenced schedule was followed for each topic. The technology involved the class teachers to open a flipchart created purposefully for that lesson, that topic and even the time of year; all flipcharts were stored away in co-ordinated files. This enabled a constructive and invaluable resource automatically made available for each lesson, which the class teachers could build from and edit depending on the requirements of the class. In addition, educational video clips, images, games, puzzles and website links were saved and stored which provided a wide range of inclusive resources for each lesson.

Consequentially each lesson was extremely varied meaning all children were engaged and excited to learn. The children’s attitudes towards learning was that ‘learning is fun’ and the class teacher and I certainly achieved this through using different technology to make lessons attractive to different types of learners: auditory, kinaesthetic and visual.

On the other hand, there is the idea that if the technology is used consistently then it becomes less of an appealing feature and more ordinary and accepted within a lesson. The interactive whiteboard had become part of the class’s daily routine however there was a healthy balance of exploratory talk, peer interaction, reading, writing and listening etc.

In my opinion I believe that as long there is a healthy balance between the uses of technology and ‘traditional’ learning within a lesson then the overall impact can be extremely effective. The pace in which our world is evolving is dramatic therefore children need to be provided with the opportunities to stay up to date with their world and prepare for their adult life. However I think it is crucial that skills such as reading and writing independently, without the help of a computer, are paramount within a child’s education.

This module will allow me to make technology a key aspect to think about and plan into my future teaching. There is no doubt that technology will only evolve and it is important for me to feel confident using it in the classroom to facilitate productive teaching as well as considering the well being of my students.

Popular culture in the classroom.

From carrying out the survey, I received some interesting feedback about the use of popular culture in the classroom. The student teacher gave the impression that they believed that the use of popular culture was a positive influence on children and their learning as it has the potential to enhance children’s engagement in lessons due to the familiar context and can often then create memorable learning. Lambirth (2003) conveys that by using popular culture in the classroom children are more relaxed and feel ‘empowered’ in their learning. While, Arthur (2004) states that “many children’s passions and literacy expertise are associated with popular culture” highlighting the importance of popular culture on the development of literacy skills.

However, the student stated that although they believed that popular culture was a positive influence on the children it has the potential to make the teacher feel uncomfortable as it can raise some difficult questions and issues that will need to be addressed. Arthur (2004) suggests that children are exposed to content that is not meant for them inadvertently, for example by watching television with their parents. Similarly, I have observed year six pupils being set the homework task of watching the news each day at six o’ clock and from watching the news myself at this time there were some topics that were raised that I would deem inappropriate for children, such as details about murders and wars etc., which can cause children to raise some difficult questions. This idea is similar to children playing computer/online games or watching internet videos and films that contain inappropriate content for them.  Palfrey and Gasser (2008) claims that there is a risk of psychological harm for children, who are exposed to things they are not ready to witness yet it suggests that parents and educators should address these topics and issues with children rather than ignore them.  

Nevertheless, from drawing on the seminar discussion and my own experience, I have observed the use of popular culture engaging all students in the classroom. The school I was in had a whole topic based on superheroes, which focused on children bringing in and reading comics and developing knowledge of the different types of English language. I found that this topic was inspiring for all the class, especially boys, who produced some wonderful pieces of writing and seemed switched on in their learning being able to discuss their favourite superheroes such as iron man, spider man etc.. Nevertheless, it can be argued that through the use of popular culture in the classroom there is less of an emphasis on spelling, grammar and handwriting (Merchant, 2001) as it is not seen as important anymore with the use of computers etc.  

On the other hand, the use of laptops and ipads in the classroom enable children with disabilities to engage with their learning more and be able to develop crucial life skills. I have observed a child in year five, with cerebal palsy, who types all his work rather than writing as it is a more beneficial life skill for his future than developing his handwriting skills. This also means that he engages with and enjoys his learning when he types as his feelings of frustration and anxiety are gone compared to when he writes.  This links to the Barriers to Achievement (2004) document which highlights the importance of an inclusive curriculum for all children, with or without special educational needs.

Therefore, for future practice I believe that popular culture should be used in the classroom with the use of more traditional texts to give all children access to their learning as well as developing their literacy skills in a variety of different ways. In addition to this, I feel that educators should be comfortable in using popular culture and be aware of the possible of risks of using it.

 

Bibliography:

-          Arthur, L. (2004) Popular Culture: Views of parents and educators. Routledge Falmer Oxon.

-          DfES (2004) Removing Barriers to Achievement: The Governments strategy for SEN Executive Summary. DfES Publications.

-          Lambirth, A. (2003) “They get enough of that at home”: understanding aversion to popular culture in schools. Reading Literacy and Language.

-          Merchant, G. (2001) ‘Teenagers in cyberspace: language use and language change in Internet chatrooms’ Journal of Research in Reading 24:3 (pp 293-306).  

-          Palfrey, J. and Gasser, U. (2008) Born Digital: understanding the first generation of digital natives. Basics Books. New York

Thank you for your entries so far.

Thank you for your entries so far. These are thoughtful and informed by the literature. A very good start to the blog and to your assignments. I look forward to reading the entries of others once everyone has successfully accessed the blog. Best wishes Sandy

Technology in the classroom

I believe the increased use of technology by children to be a positive step forwards due to the increasingly digital society in which we live. Technology is always changing and improving and we need the next generation of children to be able to access these appropriately.

I would not suggest technology to always be used by children at home as this opens up a broad range of issues. Social networking would be a major issue with relation to strangers and not forgetting how all this technology could hinder children’s active social life.

However, I believe the increased use of technology by children to be positive within school as it allows for a broader range of teaching and learning opportunities, especially with research on the internet. During my SE3 placement in Year 3 the children were learning about the badger cull and were asked to research this area of controversial debate using the internet to produce some reasons for and against. This gave the children a sense of ownership as they were finding out for themselves instead of receiving passive knowledge from the teacher. Moreover, working in a nursery over the summer and being placed in Reception for SE2 enabled me to observe and engage in early years practice. Computer games were used considerably for the children’s learning, especially phonics games within Reception. The children enjoyed this experience and were computer literate in accessing the games.  I do believe this is an inevitable outcome in today’s society which is why I am for its use in the classroom. However, I do not believe that we have to use technology in the classroom because of this ‘inevitability’; I genuinely believe it would enhance children’s learning in many different ways.

Nevertheless, the limitations of technology should not be forgotten. As teachers we have to ensure that children’s basic handwriting, reading and spelling is not obstructed. Moreover, technology’s temperamental status can cause issues in the classroom.

Personally, the use of all the different web 2 technologies seems a bit daunting at the moment, but I assume this is only because I haven’t really been a consumer of them or generally just don’t have much knowledge about them. However, once I am engaged within the module, through seminars and own independent reading, I am sure I will be ready and raring to practice all of what I have learnt in the classroom.

The Increased Use of Technology in the Classroom

The increased use of technology within classrooms is a part of teaching that should be embraced by newly trained teachers and all teachers alike whether they are, as Prensky (2001) describes them, Digital Natives or Digital Immigrants.  It is how these teachers use and harness the effectiveness of new and emerging technologies/multimedia with good pedagogical content that will define how positively the increased use of technology will be seen in the classroom.

 

From a teaching point-of-view it is important to know how the technology can be used in the classroom; as teachers do we want to use technology/multimedia to enhance teaching or to redefine teaching i.e. using technology to create and teach tasks which would have been seen as inconceivable only a short time ago. Using Dr. Ruben Puentedura’s SAMR Model (2006) we can see how teachers can use technology to engage children with the learning and how it affects teachers planning of tasks created for lessons.

This model may enable us to classify the technology used in schools and to allow us to question the value of technology in a particular area. By value I think we should mean whether learning is enhanced, made more accessible, more interesting or more motivating.

On my SE, when technology has been used in my lessons, children have always responded positively and have been engaged in the learning. However, I have often found it a challenge to create a well-balanced lesson when incorporating technology with good pedagogy and content. Mishra and Koehler’s Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) Model (2006) demonstrates the aspects of planning teachers need to consider to create an outstanding lesson using modern technology.

When looking at the three primary forms of knowledge: content, pedagogy and technology, it is easy to see why some teachers still resist using technology in the classroom as ‘effective technology integration for pedagogy around specific subject matter requires developing sensitivity to the dynamic, transactional relationship between all three components’ (Mishra and Koehler, 2006).  It is these challenges that some teachers fear and still resist using modern technology instead of the tried and tested methods they are comfortable with. Hopefully, with an increased awareness of new technologies and new teaching practices, all teachers will have more confidence to integrate new technologies into the classroom to create lessons that enhance children’s learning and engage them in ways that other teaching methods cannot.  Luckily on my previous SE's I have observed outstanding graded lessons by teachers using video clips in the classroom and I view these schools as having seen the value in our increasingly digital society and have taken it upon themselves to positively use a variety of multimedia to engage and motivate the children in a range of subjects.

The main challenges I can see for me during this module are critically responding to other posts from this blog and to engage in the readings set each week to help evolve my knowledge and thinking on using technologies in the classroom relating to all subjects including English.

 

References

 

Mishra, P and Koehler, M.J (2006) Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A new framework for teacher knowledge. Teachers College Record. 108(6), 1017-1054

 

Prensky, M. (2001) ‘Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Part  II: Do They Really Think Differently?’ in On the Horizon 9 (6)

 

Puentedura, R (2006) Transformation, Technology, and Education