ICT in Schools - Serial Week

After having spent a week in the classroom, I have made a few observations about how ICT is used within my school.

The school has one ICT suite which is shared between all of its ten classes. The children all have a log-in and are able to use the computers during lunch-time if they have permission. In a survey carried out last week throughout the classes, the Year 1-2 class in which I am based claimed that they used the computers 'sometimes but not enough'. They did not use the suite once when I was there.

The teachers have all been well trained to use their interactive white boards, however I can't help but feel that the use of these whiteboards is used as an excuse not to incorporate other types of technology into lessons. The school use Promethean whiteboards, and compared to the other brands I have seen/used before, they seem quite easy to use and they have plenty of features to create interesting and interactive pages for teaching.

The school appears to have invested a lot of money into its ICT provision, as there is also a 'laptop trolley' which holds about 12 laptops for use throughout the school. The main focus of the school budget now is to update the literature in the library, therefore this would suggest that they do not plan to invest in more technology in the near future. I think that if this is the case then the school certainly needs to be more creative with the technology it already has.

My class teacher often plays music in the classroom as a treat for the children. She asks the children to come up to write on the IWB and move items around for her. It would be beneficial for the children to have more hands on experience with computers, especially as there is a current focus on the 'perfection' of display work. Allowing the children to type their work gives them the opportunity to see when they have spelt a word incorrectly and lets them change it themselves. As well as the use of computers, there is an important place for cameras in the classroom. Children can take photos of science experiments instead of drawing pictures. They can take photos of scenes to then write about in literacy, or photos of people to then discuss in PSHE. There is so much more to education than writing things in exercise books. It is time that children were allowed some freedom in their expression.