I will be discussing how digital
technology contributes to fostering
inclusion in early years foundation
stage and key stage 1. Discrimination may
affect children learning English as an
additional language, gender or children
with a disability or additional
educational need. Schools have duties
under the equality act 2010, to 'make
reasonable adjustments to make sure
disabled students are not discriminated
against.' (DfE, 2016) Integration is where the child
in the classroom but isn't involved in
the same activity, whereas the child that is
included will be involved in the same
activity and can join in. This is
inclusion and is what teachers should be
working towards to ensure children are
valued and not discriminated against.
Teachers who include all will provide
children with the same opportunity as
the other children to reach their full
potential. As a requirement of teaching
standard five teachers must 'adapt
teaching to respond to the strengths and
needs of all pupils.' (DfE, 2011) Digital technology
can make a significant contribution to
enable children with additional
education needs to learn. The technology
enhanced learning research program
states 'to be without digital technology is
to be marginalised.' (TEL, 2011) Inclusive technology
provides schools with software devices
and communication aids for children with
additional educational needs. Tablets
apply an endless quantity of
applications to support children, Rhys
discusses how 'Apps provide visual magic...
they open up whole new interactive
sensory experiences for pupils. (Rhys, 2013)
Specialised equipment such as eye gaze and
assertive technology can support
children who have a physical sensory or
learning difficulty. The computing
national curriculum states 'lessons should be
planned to ensure that there are no
barriers to every pupil achieving.' (DfE, 2014) This
technology therefore helps to reduce
barriers in learning and helps to
support each child's ability to become
successful learners. Technology can be
integrated into the classroom to assist
learning for many different learners.
Visual learners process information and
benefit from seeing videos, diagrams,
graphs, maps and charts. Video-sharing
sites such as YouTube provides teachers
with the opportunity to show children
educational videos to help them
understand complex concepts visually.
The use of videos for visual learners is
supported by The Study Gurus who state
that 'videos are great resources for
visual learners.' (The Study Gurus, 2016) Another program is
Glogster. This is a program children can
use to make interactive multimedia posters
to visually collect and display data and
information. This can help students with
fine motor skill difficulty. Using google can
help children some applications and
street view can help to visually see
them. Another resource is an online
called Prezi, which children can use to
create visual presentations
independently. Kinaesthetic learners
benefit from carrying out physical
activities to process information. Software
such as interactive whiteboards or
Inspiration allows children to
manipulate objects around the screen to
create a map of information. Websites
such as Sporcle allow children to use
their keyboard to press buttons to
answer quizzes online. Children can
therefore use their fine motor skills
and physically move rather than just
listen to or view information. Expression
software such as Glogster as well as
being visual allows children to arrange
boxes and images rather than just have
them pre-arranged. Auditory learners
benefit from listening to information to
learn. Technology such as audio books
helps learners to enjoy stories and
information books.
This is especially helpful for students
who have difficulty reading such as
dyslexic partially or blind children.
Audacity is an easy-to-use audio editor,
which allows children to record and edit
audio. Programs such as ReadPlease allow
children to highlight a piece of text
and change it to speech that is read out.
Some children find it easier to work
with music playing. A social experiment
called Project Playlist, is a program
that makes it easy for auditory learners
to access free music to play while
learning. There are many more programs that
can support children learning visually
kinetically and auditory. Students
learning English as an additional language
can also benefit from technology. Becta
states that 'ICT is particularly
effective in providing pictorial support
for learning basic vocabulary.' (Becta, 2005) Computers
can provide very types of simulation
that can be used for collaborative
learning activities. Learning of concepts
can be supported with animation, 3D
images, text and sound to encourage
children with more language knowledge.
Translation engines and eBooks can also
help children's language development. Rowe
states 'iPads can help support children
with creating eBooks using both their native
language and English.' (Rowe, 2016) Using a child's
native language is supported by Cummins
who believes 'children learn a new
language more effectively when they
continue to use and develop their
heritage language.' (Cummins, 2000) I have experience
using technology including use of
whiteboards, laptops, Beebots and iPads.
Most of the time these were effective
editions however Bateman states '47%
of students claim teachers
need more training.' (Bateman, 2011) Technology is an
invaluable part of the future of
children's learning.
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