Bee Bots
Once children understand the theory behind coding (by learning ‘unplugged’, as mentioned in my previous blog), they can then move on to working with physical props. Bee Bots are an excellent way of learning the early basics behind coding. They are essentially bee shaped robots, black and yellow, with directional buttons on the top and wheels on the bottom. They can be programmed to follow a particular pattern, and then the bee bot zooms off, following its prescribed program. It is another example of a machine doing EXACTLY what it has been told, and teaches children about specificity. Here is a Youtube video I used to self-teach myself how to use them. www.youtube.com/watch?v=52ZuenJlFyE In terms of practical application beyond learning to code, the bee bots are also a wonderful tool for teaching space/co-ordinates in maths, electronics (further up the school) in science, and is a great stimulus for writing, DT (make a home for the bee bot) and even orienteering in PE. It is worth noting, even if there are not many bee bots in school, that this learning can also be completed ‘unplugged’. Simply teach it as normal, but use a template image of a bee bot for groups to predict where the bot will end up. This allows children to still be active while they await for the technology to become available.
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In my GPP school, there is a real impetus in terms of creating a paperless environment wherever possible. Obviously, children still have workbooks and will work from worksheets that will be stuck into them, but the teachers are working hard to counterbalance this with their own efforts to be paperless.
Firstly, the teachers share planning across each classroom in the three-form entry school on Microsoft Word, using a grid system. They work together to input the subject they are responsible for into the shared grid, and then they all work from a master copy which is attached to an email so that it can be viewed at home on their school-issued iPad. Secondly, the school showed pupil progress by subscribing to a system called “Learning Ladders”, which the separate Infants School also subscribed to. Each subject for each year was broken down into every conceivable target (eg: for Maths, “I know my number bonds to 10” or for English “I can identify an adjective”) and each child in each class in each year would be ticked off when they could achieve that target. The learning ladders were useful because they could generate data for teachers to show which children are below, meeting and exceeding expectations. When talking to my mentor about paperless systems, she said that it took some getting used to, but ultimately it made sense for A) saving the planet, and B) efficiency – automatically generated data saves them a lot of time. Evening, all! My word, I've been busy! Yesterday I had a swotting up session in the University of Manchester's Main Library, and I learned some exciting* new tips and skills, including this doozy; if you download the iManchester smartphone app from the App Store/Google Play, and then select 'Library', you can search for whatever book you wish to withdraw. You can seek by title, author, or use a generic search term (such as "Primary Curriculum") and, once you have hit 'search', it will furnish you with a comprehensive list of relevant content. But the fun does not stop there, oh no, as it will also furnish you with the book's exact location in the library, which is incredibly useful (as anyone who has written out book locations in longhand will concur). I am now armed with 19 books, ready to take on assignment A. Following yesterday afternoon's brilliant Professional Studies seminar with Martin, I then went home and set to work on A) my subject knowledge in English, Maths and Science, using pages from BBC Bitesize, ahead of my seminars on those areas today, and B) my computing action plan, based on Tuesday's audit.
If you click on My Computing Action Plan above (or hit the hyperlink), then you will be able to see my plan in full. Today it seemed as if much of my revision had paid off. I found all three core subject seminars absolutely fascinating. Mathematics (traditionally my weakest subject) was full of practical games and top tips (from Lawrence, who is brilliantly engaging) about the teaching of the subject. I learned that to get Maths across effectively you must ALWAYS use a Practical element (such as an activity), a representational element (pictorial) and an abstract element (symbolic). But even more than that, to school enthusiastic mathematicians you must teach a deeper level of mathematic reasoning that involves convincing, justifying and proving. It got me thinking about how I might use technology in the classroom in order to achieve those goals (more on that at a later date, I'd imagine!) My homework for this evening was a Key Stage 2 Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG) SAT test. I did not disgrace myself, but I have a decent amount of work still to do in order to brush up on clauses (relative, subordinate), conjunctions (sub-ordinating vs co-ordinating), and past perfect/progressive verb forms. Primary teachers have to know this stuff! Tomorrow, more Maths, Science (including an big audit) and English. The fun never stops in PGCE-Land! * Okay, exciting to no one but me! |
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