I have now completed the mandatory Internet safety module on the University’s Blackboard page.
One thing that drew my eye was the key stage 1 friendly (and I suppose early ks2) Think U Know videos which help to enhance the digital literacy of 5-7 year olds. One of them, “Lee and Kim’s Adventure”, explored the dangers of giving too much information to people that you do not know personally offline. By showing how they can be tricked when playing a game by somebody pretending to be a child, it was exploring a heavy message that was delivered sensitively. The featuring of a wise superhero character who sang a song at the end was a good move as it prevented the piece from causing upset and anguish to its young audience. In order to take this e-safety module further in the classroom, Blackboard suggested turning the videos into short mini-dramas. Having recently explored drama in the classroom, I’d also suggest that this is an area that conscience-alley or freeze framing could work well in.
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At my GPP school, reading for pleasure was a huge focus. There was a system in place called “Around the world in 80 books”, which asked children to attempt to read 80 books in the eight(ish) months of term-time. For each twelve books (approximately) the children could move their names from one continent to the next on a world map, to indicate progress.
To facilitate this unplugged system, the school employed an online library system, which certain children (Librarians) were given the responsibility to use. Each book was scanned (using a shop-like USB scanner provided by the company) into the library system (using the book’s barcode to automatically download information about the title) and attributed to a unique barcode for the system which was stuck in the inside front cover of the book. Each child in the school was also given a unique barcode so books could be scanned in an out. Aside from the technical glitch of the internet in the school going down for two-weeks (as mentioned in my previous blog), this system was extremely popular. It is a prime example of technology enriching the school lives of children, in this case by giving them a taste of responsibility. It is also a useful system that ensures that there is accountability for all books which, in theory, prevents the loss of school stock. |
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