Schools Birth Dates
The web is here to stay
The way forward VIEW HEAD
Today’s young already know how to create word documents, send emails and can even do whizzy things on PowerPoints. Most pupils are competent ICT users so it is no longer of the same importance to teach them computer literacy in senior schools but it is useful and interesting to know how the computer works.
Integrating the use of ICT into the curriculum rather than keeping it as a discrete subject is, in my opinion, the way to go. But more than that schools must continue to evolve and even lead with new technology and I am excited by the arrival of a Raspberry Pi to help our pupils understand and participate in programming. Already the girls at Portsmouth High School have
developed Android phone apps and even raised some money at the same time for charity through their sales and developed X Box games. It may be simple programming but from these small beginnings grow great things and I have no doubt that for some it will lead to a career in com- puter engineering. The girls at PHS are excited by learning basic programming and the teaching staff are mindful not to place them at the bottom of the mountain and say the rest is too hard to climb. We make sure that the program-
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The internet is here to stay and we are better to embrace what is good about it
While being vigilant of the pitfalls of the web, schools must pave the way for new technology, says Jane Prescott
ming topics they learn leave them feeling they really have achieved something. We constantly examine new technology to make sure we are offering our pupils the opportunity to use new devices that aid learning. A hot topic in education is the value of electronic tablets. Many educators are predicting the demise of text books
” 38 FirstEleven Summer 2012
and can see a future where all the information a child needs is loaded on to one electronic device. No more heavy bags carrying many reference books. This is all good and moreover many of these devices have exciting apps which enhance learning and provide opportunities for stu- dents to understand quite complicated topics. As a lover of any technology, I embrace these changes with enthusiasm and would have liked a chance to learn in this way when I was at school. I am reminded of a quotation from George Bernard Shaw: “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man”. We require the unreasonable man to help us embrace this new way of working, otherwise we have a chance of being unaware of how our lives may be brightened by the digital age. Through the internet and portals that link to school homepages, material from lessons that take place at school can be seen at home too. This is useful to parents who take an interest in their child’s homework or help catch-up missed work when pupils are absent. Moreover, through portals parents can see their child’s attendance record, read their report or grade card and even see commenda- tions and awards that have been received. The advantage of this is that it enables parents to access information about their child that might have, in the past, been re- stricted to strict reporting times. Social networking sites are useful for schools to dissemi- nate information to a wide audience and through notifications they can keep their past and present pupils, and parents, up-to-date with cur- rent happenings in schools. The internet can be misused of course, but considering its vast usage every day the violations are in a mi- nority; even if relatively small in number, schools must still remain vigilant. The internet is here to stay, and we are
better to embrace what is good about it, use it to inform and educate, and promote it as a useful educational tool that aids learning.
www.firstelevenmagazine.co.uk
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